Chapter 25

When Sharese and the soldiers brought Duke back to the room, nobody said a word. Duke entered the room and then the soldiers and Sharese left immediately without taking Wilma. He entered the room and went straight for the only open bunk. Wilma looked at him.

"What happened?"

"We talked. Mostly about stupid stuff. He talked to me like we were long lost brothers or something. I don't know what he's doing."

"They didn't beat on you or anything?"

Duke shook his head. "No, nothing like that. Tell you the truth, I think I would have preferred to be tortured."

Buck grinned slightly. "I know what you mean."

"How come they didn't take me?" Wilma wondered.

Buck and Duke both turned to look at Wilma. "I guess he doesn't want to talk to you," Buck replied.

Duke scratched his chin. "I wonder if that's a good sign or a bad one?"

Buck started to say something but stopped. The more he thought about the question, the more he wondered the same thing. He swung his legs up onto the bunk and lay down.

Buck rolled over on the cot and suddenly got the strange feeling that he was being watched. He opened his eyes and saw Sharese standing just inside the door.

"What are you doing here?" he asked louder than he intended.

Duke suddenly woke up at hearing Buck's voice. He saw Sharese standing by herself at the door. He jumped to his feet, but didn't move to approach her. She moved slowly toward Buck's bunk.

"I'm here to explain what's going on."

"I know what's going on," Duke said loudly, causing Wilma to wake up. "You're in league with this Caputi guy and one of us is going to die!"

"That's what it's supposed to look like."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not stupid enough to ask you to trust me… yet. There's only one person here I have to convince."

Everyone turned to look at Buck. He sat up on the cot. "What do you have in mind?" he asked.

"Back up against the wall," she ordered.

He stared into her eyes for only a moment before nodding. He scooted backwards until his back leaned up against the wall. She stepped up to the cot and sat down in his lap. She placed her hands on either side of Buck's head. Wilma started to move toward them, but Buck caught the movement out of the corner of his eye.

"No, Wilma. I think I know what she's doing."

They both closed their eyes. Buck saw the same images in his mind that he had seen in Caputi's office. However, this time they were going slower and he finally figured out what they meant. Sharese was sharing her thoughts, feelings, and intentions with him. They remained in mental communication for several minutes before she released her grip on his head. Slowly they opened their eyes and stared at each other for another long moment. At last Buck nodded.

"It all makes sense," he said.

"What does?" Wilma asked.

Buck continued to look into Sharese's eyes. "Did you really have to sit on my lap to do that?"

She smirked slyly before shaking her head. "No," she breathed softly. "I just like sitting on your lap!"

Buck made a motion and she slid off his lap and onto the cot. Buck turned to face Wilma and Duke.

"She's on our side."

"How can you be so sure?" Wilma asked.

"It was the only way to get Caputi. Without her help, we never would have made it into the mansion. Also, she needed us to get herself inside the mansion."

"Let me get this straight," Duke started. "You needed us to get inside?"

She nodded. "I don't have much time to explain. I was able to disable the monitoring device in this room, but I don't know how long it's going to last. Let me explain quickly. Buck and I agreed that we were going to go after Caputi. I would have preferred to leave him alone, but I gave Buck my word, and I know how much that means to him, I couldn't turn my back on him when we got rid of the handcuffs. I needed Caputi to believe that I was coming back to him, so I had to pretend to turn you all over to him. That got me in the mansion, and it got you inside the mansion. I had every intention of killing him once I got my chance and then coming back to save you."

"Then why didn't you?" Wilma asked.

"Two reasons: first of all, I couldn't. Somewhere he picked up some kind of technology that blocks my psychic powers. He also has a personal shield which makes any physical assault ineffective. Second of all, I found out that he has more than one factory. Buck wants to put him out of business, but destroying the factory on this planet would only hurt the business, not destroy it. We need to find out where the other factories are located."

Wilma nodded reluctantly. "That does make sense."

"So if we can't get through his shield, where does that leave us?" Duke asked.

"There is someone who can get through the shield," Buck answered.

Duke and Wilma looked at Buck and grinned. "Varek!" they said together.

Just on cue Varek walked through the wall into the room. Buck stood up and shook the big man's hand.

"Do you know what she's planning?"

Varek nodded. "I do."

"Can you do it?"

"I don't know. I have never tried it before. But I don't see a reason why it wouldn't work."

"What's going on?"

Buck turned to Sharese. "Go ahead. It's your plan."

She turned to Duke and Wilma. "I actually got the idea when Buck was looking for Bettino's ship. He said that Bettino was going to get his revenge for Caputi killing him. Then when I heard how Varek can transform his molecules, I wondered if there was something else he could do with them. He said that he can transform them to change the way light reflects, so I asked him if he could manipulate individual molecules."

"Get on with it," Buck urged. "We don't have much time."

She nodded and looked at Varek. "Show them."

Varek closed his eyes and began to manipulate his body. He turned invisible at first, and then slowly came back into view. The only difference was that he no longer looked like himself: he looked like Pep Bettino! Everyone looked at him in amazement.

"How long can you hold that shape?" Buck asked.

"I am not sure. I have never done anything like this before."

Buck tapped him on the shoulder. "Okay, that's enough. I don't want you wearing yourself out on us."

Varek quickly became himself again. Wilma smiled and shook her head. "That's amazing!"

Sharese went to the door and picked up a small duffel bag she had dropped there. She handed the bag to Duke. "Here's the plan for everyone. I need you to go back into the factory and plant the bombs again. In exactly one hour they will be detonated."

"Wait a minute. It took four of us half an hour to plant all those bombs. How am I going to do all of that in an hour?"

"There is a uniform in there. You will not have to sneak around and avoid anyone. There is also a keycard in there that will give you access to anywhere in the factory you want to go. There is also a letter of authorization for the guards at the tram station. When you're done planting the bombs, I want you to go to the spaceport. You will be able to use the transponders there to activate the bombs. Just remember: you have exactly one hour."

"What happens in one hour?"

She ignored the question and moved to Wilma. "I want you to go to Caputi's office." She handed her a small plastic card. "This will let you access his computer. I don't know what you'll find there, but this card should give you freedom to explore what's on the computer."

"What about Buck?" she asked.

"He's with me," Sharese answered.

"Of course," Wilma muttered.

Sharese went to the door and opened it. "You know the way back to the station, Major?"

He nodded.

"Good. Everyone else with me. Let's go."