Lucifer's Hammer - Larry Niven [287]
"Don't talk yourself into anything," Marie said. "I don't need that. I would like to be your friend."
"Sure. I'd like that. Who's your real target?'
"Oh, I'm going to marry George Christopher."
Harvey was startled. "What? Does he know?"
"Of course not. He still thinks he's got a chance with Maureen. He tells me about her every chance he gets. And I listen, too."
"I just bet you do. What makes you think he won't get Maureen?"
"Don't be silly. With you and Johnny Baker to choose between? She'll never marry George. If they hadn't known each other forever, if he weren't her first, she wouldn't even consider him."
"And me?"
"You got a chance. Baker has a better one."
"Yeah. I suppose it would be silly to ask if you're in love with George," Harvey said.
Marie shrugged. He could feel that in the dark. "He'll be sure I am," she said. "And it won't be anybody else's business. There won't be any repetitions of tonight, Harvey. This was … something special. The right man at the right time. I've always … Tell me, all those years we lived next door, weren't you ever tempted to come over some afternoon when Loretta was out and Gordie was at the bank?"
"Yes. But I didn't."
"Good. Nothing would have happened, but it always worried me that you didn't try. Good. Now let's get some sleep." She turned away and curled up in the blanket.
Poor George, Harvey thought. No. That's not right. Lucky George. If I didn't know her so damned well … Dammit, I'm still tempted. George, you don't know it, but you're about to be a happy man.
If you live long enough.
If Marie lives!
Dawn: a red smear in the Sierra. The winds blew fitfully, light airs. Mist rose from the San Joaquin Sea.
When the sun was high, they saw them: A hundred or more of the New Brotherhood had crossed during the night. They were concentrated near the old Lake Success bed, and they moved back toward the ruined bridge, sweeping aside the screen of Stronghold defenders. The Brotherhood's mortars began to fire, forcing the defenders back up the valley and onto the ridges.
The withdrawal was orderly, but steady. "By noon they'll have cleared the valley," Harvey told Marie. "I thought—I hoped—they'd hold longer. At least they aren't running like rabbits."
She nodded, but went on reporting the enemy positions on the CB. There wasn't anything else to do.
Alice sounded terrified whenever she spoke, but she demanded their reports anyway.
Useless, Harvey thought. It's no good. He looked at the map, wondering if he could find a way into the Sierra that didn't go back down and through the enemy—or where the New Brotherhood would be soon.
"They're repairing the bridge," Marie reported. "They've got big trees, and hundreds to carry them."
"How long until they can get trucks across?" Alice asked.
"No more than an hour."
"Stand by, I have to report that to Mr. Hardy," Alice said. The radio went silent.
"It's no good," Harvey said. He tried to smile. "Looks like it's you and me after all. Maybe we can get up there and find the boys. I don't suppose I'll have to fight Gordie for you—"
"Shut up and watch," Marie said. She sounded scared, and Harvey couldn't blame her.
The bridge took a little more than an hour; then a stream of trucks, led by the pickups with the machine guns, moved over them. They swept on up the valley roads. Other trucks brought the New Brotherhood mortars forward, while crews dug in emplacements for them. The Brotherhood army swarmed into the valley below, probed toward the ridges, fell back wherever opposed. They had plenty of time—and night would be on their side now. They could infiltrate men through the rocks, over the ridges, into the Stronghold itself.
The day became warmer, but not for Harvey and Marie. The rising air from the San Joaquin Sea drew a cold wind down from the Sierra. The enemy moved on forward in the cloudy bright day. Noon came, and they had reached the far end, were beginning to climb the ridges toward the last defenses.
"Stand by," Alice said. She sounded excited now. Not afraid.
"Stand by for