D2-670A
Epilogue
Four more guards burst into the reception area carrying shot guns as Rufus
closed the red dimensional portal between worlds. At a look from Christian, the
leader ( a young man named Aronsky) explained that the weapons cabinet had been
locked and that they had had to break it open. Although it was clear to Heather
that Christian doubted their story, he said little other than to order the
guards to begin cleaning up the mess - including the bodies of the men outside.
After that, the four survivors debated whether they should open another portal
and go after Daphne and the other women right away. Heather made it clear that
that was exactly what she wanted to do, and Christian also appeared eager, but
Rene and Rufus explained the possibility that they could end up melded into a
wall. As such, they would have to use a known safe point for a jump between the
dimensions. It was clear that more planning was required.
With Lois and Veronica missing, Christian was effectively in charge of Davidson
Global. He asked Heather and the others to wait for him while the bullet that
had torn a furrow across his scalp was seen to. Heather was less than certain
about doing so - after all, she had just escaped from being Lois Davenport's
captive - but Rene appeared calm about the idea, and Heather found herself
trusting her implicitly. She even managed to push aside the tension that came
from again confronting the man who had been responsible for her original
kidnapping. They were provided with casual clothes from Lois' wardrobe, allowing
Rene to dress and Heather to strip out of the dominatrix uniform. Both
re-dressed in reasonably well fitting jeans and long-sleeved cotton tops.
Heather was surprised to find that she felt numb. Too much had happened in too
short a time. Besides being bound, gagged and shipped back home to be Lois
Davenport's slave, Heather had also survived a deadly gun battle during her
ill-timed escape and discovered that her life's work had not been in vain:
Travelling between dimensions was indeed possible and had been mastered by the
inhabitants of one of those dimensions.
Heather, however, was not too distracted to fail to notice the tension that
existed between Rene and Rufus. The huge man attempted to address this by
explaining his employer - a slaver from their world - was dead, executed by
Edric and his Retrieval Team. The same was apparently also true of another man
named Tarrant.
"Which means I'm just as wanted as you, Rene," Rufus finished.
Rene nodded but said nothing, evidently still grappling with everything that she
had been told. Rufus allowed her some time to consider his words before speaking
again.
"What are you going to do?"
"Go back," she said quietly. "I won't leave Shana and Daphne to the fate I
escaped."
It was Rufus' turn to nod. "Then I'll be coming with you."
Rene looked at him sharply, mistrust evident in her gaze.
"Daphne saved my life, and then I couldn't stop Edric from sending her through
the Portal. I owe her." He smiled thinly. "But I'll want some guarantees in
place for if - when - we get back."
"Such as?"
Rufus turned to nod at Heather. "Your scientist friend here is to work on
accessing another portal while we're gone. One that will take me through to a
dimension where I don't have to worry about being hunted."
"And just how am I going to do that?" demanded Heather.
Rufus stood and walked over to her. He fished in his jacket pocket for a moment
and then handed her the result of his search. It was an odd looking key with a
button in the center of it. "That's a D-key," explained Rufus. "Given how close
you are to cracking the secret with your own research, that should be just the
thing to help you make the final break through."
Further words of protest died in Heather's throat. Rufus could actually be
right. With the technology of the D-key to work with, it might not be beyond her
to construct something similar - if she had the use of Davidson Global's labs.
"Each Key is attuned to a specific frequency," Rufus explained, "meaning it's
only good for travel to one dimension. This allows The Council back home to
keep track of who's going where. As far as I know there are only eight
dimensions which are sanctioned Retrieval Zones."
"Retrieval Zones?"
"Where women are 'retrieved' from. You would probably use the word 'kidnapped'.
But that's just our way of life." He shrugged. "If you can use that Key to
develop a different frequency, it will allow me to get away from anywhere the
Council can reach me. You might also want to think about that as well, Rene."
"No, I have my own plans. But everything else goes on hold until Shana and
Daphne are rescued."
"So we're agreed then?" asked Rufus, eyeing both women carefully.
"I feel like I'm entering the lion's den with a tiger beside me, but I don't see
that I have any choice. Until I can make contact with the Followers of the
Goddess, I'm going to need a man to act as my slaver." Rene met Rufus' gaze.
"Think you can deal with that?"
"Yes. But I won't have anything to do with the Followers. They'll be as likely
to castrate me as help you."
Rene managed a smile. "And the downside to that would be?"
Rufus laughed, but Heather was confused. "'The Followers'?"
"It's a long story," answered Rene, "but basically The Followers are a rebel
group of women in my dimension that are exceptionally well hidden. They worship
the Goddess of the Willow, an outlawed female deity. I tried for years to make
contact with them, before I was approached by a member. He ..."
"He?!" interrupted Rufus.
"Why so surprised? You don't think a group of females could survive
independently in our dimension without some form of underlying male support? Who
do you think hides them? Acts as their front? He," she said firmly, "taught me
many of their ideas - with the foremost among them being that men and women are
equal."
Rufus raised his eyebrows but said nothing further on the topic. Instead he
asked Heather: "And you, Dr Landcom? Will you take a shot at that D-key?"
Heather nodded. "With pleasure."
"Good," said Christian as he entered the room, his forehead swathed in bandages.
"The three of us go, and you'll stay and work in the labs."
"You're coming?" asked Rene.
Heather saw Christian's eye twitch. "Just try and stop me."
*****
They wasted as little time as possible. One night's rest and the next morning,
the four of them arrived at Harold Cromb's house. None of them commented on the
smell emanating from upstairs.
"It's hard to believe that I entered this dimension here only two days ago,"
Rene commented as she descended the steps leading into the basement. She was
wearing a dark blue shirt, black jacket and black jeans, under which were hidden
knee-high boots.
"Really?" said Christian, who was dressed all in black - turtle neck jumper,
jeans and shoes. Rufus, for his part, wore the only things that had been found
which would fit him comfortably: an extra large white shirt, dark pants, and an
ankle length coat. "I can barely remember anything that happened before ..." He
trailed off but all were aware of his unspoken words: "Before Kitara was
killed."
The four of them said their good-byes in the dank light of the basement. It was
impossible to discern how long they would be gone for, so all treated it as if
it could be a lasting farewell. Rene and Heather moved away from the men to
speak quietly among themselves.
"Be careful, okay?" said Heather. "I'm not sure I trust either of them." She
motioned at Rufus and Christian as they discussed the subtleties of firing the
MP-432.
"I will, but it's okay. If we can get out of the city and reach the Followers of
The Goddess, I'll be fine. Until then, I'll be on full alert." She palmed the
MP-432 she also carried reassuringly. "You also watch yourself. Who knows what
orders Christian has left with his guards. And if anyone else gets wind of what
you're working on ..." There was no need to finish the sentence because Heather
had already lived through that experience. Although she still wondered how Lois
had known where to find her in the first place.
"Let's just make sure we both get through this in one piece." They hugged. "What
about Lois and Veronica?"
Rene half-shrugged. "As far as I'm concerned, the two of them can both rot in a
cell somewhere. But the others might have their own ideas. My goal is Daphne and
Shana."
"Please get them back for me."
"I will, but for both of us." They hugged again, this time for a slightly longer
period. Then Rene turned away and walked back over to the men.
"Are we ready?"
In answer, Rufus palmed his D-key and thumbed the activating switch. The
now-standard glowing red sphere appeared. It rapidly expanded as Rene checked
for her own D-key stashed in the pocket of her jeans, . Christian had the third
and final key. Each therefore had a method of escape - provided he or she was
willing to risk the dangers of an uncharted jump.
"Be ready for anything," Rufus said as the portal flattened out into its final
shape and irised open. "The Council might have reps guarding this re-entry
point."
"Good luck!" called Heather. Rufus nodded, and MP-432 in hand, stepped through.
Christian took a deep breath and followed suit. Rene gave Heather one last
encouraging smile. Then she disappeared into the doorway between worlds. A
moment later the portal irised shut and began to fold in on itself.
Heather watched until it again became a small sphere and vanished.
Then she climbed back up the stairs and exited the house into the early morning.
She walked across the front lawn to the waiting limo they had arrived in. She
climbed in and closed the door behind her. "Back to Davidson Global, please,"
she said through the intercom, more than aware of how much there was to be done.
The driver tipped his hat and immediately pulled away from the kerb.
Neither he nor Heather spotted the figure watching from amidst a think bank of
shrubbery that began five houses up the suburban street. As soon as the
limousine pulled away, the figure lowered the binoculars around its neck and
raised a two-way radio to its mouth. It spoke a few short words and then
disappeared from view.
END - BOOK ONE
