"There hasn't been time until now to put it all together," Carrolson said. "I'm sorry about the delay."

"It doesn't make sense," Lanier said, shaking his head. "Maybe she was just captured by the Russians. Maybe—"

"Rimskaya's asked around. He thinks not," Carrolson said. "There wasn't anybody in Thistledown but a few Soviet paratroopers off course—no diversionary troops, none of our troops—not at that time. Nobody but Patricia."

"And a boojum," Heineman said. "The coincidence is too close, Garry."

He continued to shake his head. "It's over. Please. I just can't handle much more," he said. "Judith, tell them. I can't do anything now. There's the negotiations, and the—"

"Of course," Hoffman said, gripping his shoulder firmly with one hand. "Let's all get some rest."

Lanier held one hand to his face, as if to smooth the deep grooves of anguish around his mouth. "I'm supposed to take care of her," he said. "She's important. Judith, you told me to take care of her."

"It's all right. There wasn't anything—"

"Goddamn this place, Judith!" He raised his fists and shook them helplessly. "I hate this fucking rock!"

Carrolson began to cry. Farley held her. "Not just you," Carrolson said. "You put her in my charge."

"Stop it," Hoffman said quietly, looking away. Heineman stood back, embarrassed and uncertain what to do.

"I'm not going to just give up on her," Lanier said, lowering his arms and opening and closing his hands. "She's not just gone. Larry, can we have the tuberider fueled and ready to go soon?"

"Any time you give the word."

"Judith, I think you chose wrong," Lanier said.

"I don't think so. What do you mean?"

"I'm not going to see it through. I'm going to run off on a foolish rescue mission, not stay here and argue with a bunch of Soviets. You know me. You know I'm going to do that."

"Okay," she said. "You'll go after her. There are other reasons."

"What?" Lanier asked.

"We're stuck here, aren't we?" Hoffman said. "We have to find out what's down there soon anyway. Larry, does the V/STOL work? The tuberider?"

"They work fine," Heineman said.

"Then we'll plan. But we'll do it carefully. Is that okay, Garry? Not right away, but soon?"

"Okay," Lanier said meekly.

"I think we all need to relax and eat and rest," Farley said, looking around for agreement.

They stood in silence, a bit shaken by how close to the edge Lanier had come—and by the realization of how close they all were.

"I'd like to go, too," Carrolson said.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Three

So I suppose you want to get away from it all. Feel like it's very remote.

—Yes.

Go chasing down the corridor after her. Why?

—To save my goddamn soul, that's why.

You haven't done badly.

—The Earth is in ruins, the Stone is half-occupied by surly Russians, and I've lost the one person I was specifically told to protect.