Read Online Wrath of Axia (The Arcadian Jihad) by Eric Schneider - Free Book Online

he was not entirely convinced. He’d much sooner have a Heavy Battlecruiser on his side than a useful piece of philosophy. When they’d drunk the toast, Tell looked at Rusal.
    “What’s the news from your man in Tulum, Admiral?”
    “My former adjutant, Ban Cantar, is prepared to do his utmost to help us get off the planet. He says he’ll try to commandeer a cruiser to take us to Cadmus. He’ll transmit a code to my communicator when he has the details. It should be available tomorrow, so we’ll need to travel to Tulum spaceport without delay to be ready to leave. We also need…”
    He was interrupted by a thunderous knock on the door. A voice shouted through a loudhailer system.
    “Security Bureau, open the door! We have to search the house!”
    Max leapt into action. “Quick, this way.”
    He led them through the house and down into the basement. In the far corner he pressed a hidden switch and part of the wall swung open.
    “This city is a honeycomb of old tunnels and caves, a throwback to the time when the Hesperian priesthood were being hunted down and killed. Follow the tunnel to the junction and take a right turn. After two hundred paces you’ll come to a flight of steps. At the top of the steps there’s a door, here’s the key,” he handed them an electronic keycard.
      “Go through the door and you’ll find you’re in a warehouse. It belongs to Berg, but no one knows about it. You’ll find spare clothes, food and even a vehicle, a ground transport. Take what you need and get out of Peria. They’ll be looking for you everywhere, Mr. President, now that they know you’ve escaped. They must be going crazy.”
    “I hoped they’d assume that I got lost in the swamps surrounding the plantation and died of hunger or exposure.”
    Max chuckled. “I can assure you, Sir, they won’t be satisfied until they’ve seen your body, alive or dead. They’ll tear this planet apart to find you. You’d better move fast, they’ll break the outer door before too long.”
    Tell shook his hand. “Thank you, my friend, for everything. We will see you soon.”
    “Good luck,” Max responded. He closed the door behind them and the tunnel was in darkness.
      Max ran up the stairs just in time to see them kick in his front door, a squad of SB troopers rushed in. At their head was Pieter Bose. He nodded to his squad leader.
    “Hold him, the rest of you search the house.”
    The burly sergeant took Max by the arm in a vise-like grip while the troopers began their search. Max heard them pound up the stairs, through the house and a shout as they found the door to the basement. He smiled. An expert had constructed the doorway to the tunnel and they wouldn’t find it. But he hadn’t counted on them finding something else. A trooper ran down the stairs clutching a bundle of rags. Tell’s clothing. Pieter Bose snatched a torn shirt and held it under Max’s nose.
    “Where is he, Biermann?”
    “Who?”
    Bose nodded at the sergeant who hit Max a stunning blow with his fist.
    “I asked you where is he? Where is the escaped prisoner?”
    “Sir, I don’t know who you mean? What prisoner?”
    “The man who wore these clothes.” Another nod at the sergeant and Max reeled as the fist hit him again.
    “I don’t know about any prisoner. Those are just some old rags that belonged to a beggar who came to my door asking for food. I felt sorry for him and gave him some new clothes, that’s all there was to it.”
    The rest of the troopers arrived back in the living room. They shook their heads. Nothing.
    “Very well, Mr. Biermann, we’ll do this the hard way. Bring him along, Sergeant. We’ll show him our cells, and that may change his mind about talking to us.”
    “You can’t arrest me. I haven’t done anything wrong,” Max shouted.
    Bose grinned. “But I’m not arresting you, Mr. Biermann. What in space gave you that idea? This is just protective custody, and it’s for your own welfare. Escaped prisoners can