In Enemy Territory - Shannon West Page 0,56
elbow planted itself in his stomach.
“Shut up, I said. I’m going to assume that drug you took last night has given you temporary insanity,” Bonnett whispered fiercely. “You’re going to mess everything up if you don’t stop talking so loud, so shut your mouth. Right now.”
He nodded, dropping his gaze. He wasn’t sure why, just like he wasn’t sure why the idea that Pax had come up with the plan bothered him. And he especially had no idea why seeing Bonnett and Pax together arm in arm that way had made him so damn angry. This man made him uncertain about everything.
But it had all bothered him, and there was no denying it. Maybe it really was the drug Setin gave him, or hell, maybe he should just admit it. He was jealous. He’d certainly never felt so restless and out of sorts before. It wasn’t just the idea of Kylon not relying on him, but of him talking to Pax instead—trusting him, but not Rasc. It seriously messed with his head, though he couldn’t have said just why that was. He ran a hand over his face and huffed out a breath, trying to get his emotions under control. He was being stupid and reckless, and it wasn’t like him.
Egam and the others were glancing their way curiously, and he was glad when the horn sounded again for them to all head back inside. His collarbone was aching by the time they got back to their cell, and he was feeling grouchy, restless, and exhausted. He flopped down on his back in his cot and closed his eyes. How had he allowed his life to get so fucked up?
“Don’t you want to know what we talked about?” Kylon asked softly after a few moments, staring at him from the other bunk.
Though he still would have preferred to act indifferent, he was curious, so he turned to look over at him. “Sure, why not?”
“We have to be careful because it’s dangerous. I think it will work, though it’s extreme.”
“Okay. So what is it?”
“Pax says we need to get over there as soon as we can, and we need to all be together when we arrive. It’s a dangerous island, and the guards on the island are known to be well armed and vicious.”
“More than the assholes here? Is that possible?”
“Apparently it is. Anyway, the only way for us to all arrive at the same time is for us all to do something at the same time—we’re going to make an escape attempt.”
“An escape attempt? That’s the great plan?” Rasc frowned at him and sat up impatiently. “You’ll get us all killed. You may have noticed these fucking guards don’t play around, and how in the hell would we get over to that island even if we did manage to climb over these walls?”
“Rasc, use your brain. That’s not what I meant. We get the guards to take us.”
“What?”
“It’s really quite simple. We make an escape attempt. We don’t really escape.”
“You lost me.”
Kylon sighed. “You’re right about the island—the seas surrounding it are far too rough to navigate. We need them to provide us aerial transport—so we make an escape attempt. It has to look good, so we’ll take some of the Gatifreyans hostage and take their disruptors.”
“Oh well, then! Why didn’t I think of that? Just take away their disruptors…and you think that will be easy?”
“No, of course not. But it can be done.”
“Really? What’s your plan for overpowering even one of them and not getting your ass blown off in the process?”
“It depends on Gatifreyan physiology being a little different from most humanoids. Larz and I did the research before I arrived and found that the Gatifreyans are particularly vulnerable to a carotid grip.”
“A what? What are you talking about?”
“It’s a grip used in Krag Harr. A nicely delicate, fast application of the fingertips to a carotid sinus. The carotid arteries provide the blood supply for the brain in humanoids, and if they’re blocked by pressure or receive an impact that causes a pause in the pulse’s flow, and unconsciousness will be the result.”
“And you’re saying you know how to do this?”
“Of course. It’s fast, but it can also be deadly. About six seconds is as long as the pressure can be safely applied before the possibility of lasting damage or death. There normally would be no way I could show you and the others how to do it without great risk. We don’t want to kill any of