"I am Tommy Wilks, a Terran, but that doesn't matter. Maxis, one of
your friends, is waiting at the table down the hall. Can you walk, sir?"
A tired smile brightened the old Martian's face. "Strange indeed are
our times--when a Terran juvenile comes to aid the Lord of the North
Hemisphere. The times have gone mad and we can only go where destiny
directs--or seems to."
Fanton, with Tommy's aid, had got to his feet and Tommy helped him
from the cell. But now there was a barrier--three scowling Martian
guards. One of them barked a challenge in his own language. "Don't say
anything," Tommy warned Fanton. "Maxis said it might work out like
this."
To the Martian, he said, "I've been sent to bring the prisoner," but he
knew the Martian did not understand him.
The three spoke among themselves, their confusion quite obvious.
Then it worked exactly as Maxis had hoped. At a command from one, the
other two guards took Tommy and Fanton each by an arm and hauled them
along the corridor toward the key-center. As they approached it, Tommy
saw that Maxis had gotten to his feet and was waiting for them. The
grim Martian stood with both hands behind his back.
As they came to a halt, the leader of the trio spoke questioningly to
Maxis in their own language. Before Maxis could answer, the other's
eyes opened wide and Tommy knew what was going on in his mind. He was
recognizing Maxis as a false key-keeper.
The leader got short satisfaction from his discovery. He died with his
questions still unanswered as Maxis brought his right arm around and
blasted the man's head into a cinder.
The other two guards fell away quickly, their reflexes in perfect
condition. Both snatched for their own guns, one going down as Maxis'
ray cut him in two.
The other guard was bringing his gun up. Maxis had no time to match
shots with him or perhaps chose not to from a certainty that both of
them would die as a result.
Instead, he hurled himself on the guard and caught the latter's wrist
bending the gun away from himself and the others. The guard was far
heavier than Maxis, his bulk possessed of greater strength. He dropped
the gun but heaved Maxis to one side and come down heavily upon him.
He had trapped Maxis' arms successfully and it was a matter of moments
before he would again have the gun in his fist.
Tommy acted from desperation--without plan. A heavy ring of keys lay
on the desk. Tommy snatched them up and swung them, from high over his
head, down hard on the skull of the guard. The guard's head was indeed
hard. The keys rang dully against it but the guard's hand only faltered
in reaching for the gun.
Tommy swung the keys again, and again. Unable to grip the gun, the
guard reached with both hands, thus loosing his hold on Maxis for a
moment.
The moment was enough. Suddenly the guard stiffened and came awkwardly
erect. There was an empty look in his eyes and then Tommy saw the
reason. The handle of a dagger protruded from his chest, driven in by
Maxis who was even now rolling the corpse over and coming free.
Maxis sheathed his dagger, still dripping blood. He snapped, "We've got
to move fast. Now all we have to go on is hope."