"I can't tell you, they're listening in. But if it works...."
"Look, don't do anything stupid."
"I can't hear you," Tom said. "You try to hold them for fifteen
minutes ... and don't worry. Take care of yourself."
Tom snapped off the speaker and moved to the hatchway. The corridor was
empty, and pitch black. He started down toward the airlock, then stopped
short at the sound of voices and the flicker of headlamps up ahead.
He crouched back, but the lights were not moving. Guards at the lock,
making certain that nobody tried to board their own ship. Tom grinned to
himself. They weren't missing any bets, he thought.
Except one. There was one bet they wouldn't even think of.
He backtracked to the storage hold, crossed through it, and out into the
far corridor. He followed the gentle curve of the deck a quarter of the
way around the ship. Twice along the way he stumbled in the darkness,
but saw no sign of the raiders. At last he reached the far side, and the
corridor leading to No. 2 airlock. Again he could see the lamps of the
guards around the bend; they were stationed directly inside their own
lock.
Inching forward, he peered into blackness. Each step made a muffled
clang on the deck plates. He edged his boots along as quietly as
possible, reaching along the wall with his hand until he felt the lip of
a hatchway.
The lights and voices seemed nearer now. In the dim reflected light he
saw the sign on the door of the hatchway:
No. 2 Airlock
BE SURE PRESSURE GAUGE IS AT ZERO BEFORE OPENING HATCH
He checked the gauge, silently spun the wheel. There was a _ping_ as the
seals broke. He pulled the hatch open just enough to squeeze into the
lock, then closed it behind him. Then he switched on the pumps, waiting
impatiently until the red "all clear" signal flashed on. Then he opened
the outside lock.
Just beyond, he could see the sleek silvery lines of the _Scavenger_.
It was their only chance.
He took a deep breath, and jumped across the gap to the open lock of the
_Scavenger_.