ide loose dirt and pebbles, he pressed
his ear first against the ground then back to the
cover. Scraping noises from the other side were
audible, but diminishing.

The odds were not with him but timing and surprise
might even them a bit. Lifting the cover slowly, he
felt the texture of the surface and slipped into the
dimness beyond. He crouched in the rubble, the faint
sounds giving him direction.

The tunnel lights were low and flickering, their
sconces widely spaced. It was enough.

Working his way forward along the tunnel, short
dashes from one bend to the next, Hodak closed on
the laughing, cursing pack. They were close beyond
the next bend.

Feeling along the waistband of his tunic, Hodak
drew a thin, flat metal strip from the weave.
Holding the strip gingerly, he jerked their ends in
opposite directions and sensed the sharpness of
the blades that instantly snapped outward along
both edges. Twisting and turning formed a half-meter
long scimitar and bending it slightly along its
length added a curve comparable to the ancient
Australian boomerang. It was both silent and deadly.

Hodak eased closer to the bend in the tunnel, and
snaked his way along the ground until he had a view
of the scene ahead.

Ram lay in a heap against one wall, motionless.
His captors, facing the opposite wall, were busily
examining its surface. Words bounced back along
the wall.

"...as good a place as any, huh?"

"Yeah. Let's get this over with and head for the
Blind Pig. I'm thirsty as hell."

"OK, Patch and Swat, you two -- start burning
the hole. Cut it deep enough so all of him can be
shoved in. Leave enough room so we can seal it
over with the same dirt. Flume, you start collecting
rocks to pack around the body once we get it
in place. Then we'll just pack and fuse-seal until
it's all smoothed over. This guy'll be riding this
ice ball when hell freezes over."

"What're you gonna do, Angel?"

His tone was sarcastic. It brought a snarl in
return.

"Scarf put me in charge of this detail, Flume.
Remember? So when I tell you to haul rocks, don't
fight it." The heavy tone eased. "I was ordered to
search the guy. Scarf wants everything from his
pockets, and all his clothes, just in case he's got
something stashed away. I gotta deliver the stuff
as soon as we're done here. My orders are also to
mess up the body so it'll never be identified, even
if it does get found. So let's get with it."

As Hodak watched, Flume