People of Mars by Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli Page A

him.
    “Don’t you fucking
touch me!” Robert said, pushing him away.
    “Hey, calm down. I
just want to help you.”
    “You’ve already done
enough for today.” His voice was broken by adrenaline, which still
flowed in his body. Finally, a click was heard and the helmet’s
base detached from its seat.
    “You are in shock. Sit
down for a moment and breathe.”
    “Where the fuck have
you gotten to?!”
    Hassan looked at him,
puzzled.
    “I’ve been calling you
for at least five minutes!” Robert continued. Now he was trying to
take off the remainder of his suit, but he didn’t appear to be
making any progress.
    “I didn’t hear you.
Are you sure you haven’t turned off your transceiver?”
    As he heard the
calmness of the other man’s voice, Robert lost his temper and
lunged at him, grabbing his neck. “Fuck you, you tried to kill
me!”
    But Hassan didn’t seem
at all perturbed by the accusation. His gaze expressed a composure
barely tinged by annoyance.
    “Rob, get your hands
off me.” He articulated those words one by one. “I have no
intention of hurting you, now. But if you don’t back off, I will be
forced to.”
    Robert stared straight
at his eyes for some moments. Hassan was bigger and stronger than
he was. With a tug, he pushed his colleague against the wall and
took a step back.
    “You unhooked my
safety rope.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement.
    “I beg your pardon?”
There was an air of superiority in Hassan’s tone. How it got on
Robert’s nerves when he used it.
    “Don’t pretend you
don’t understand!”
    “I was twenty metres
away.”
    “No.” Robert shook his
head. That wasn’t what he meant. He felt confused. “I mean … you
didn’t fasten it as you should have on purpose.”
    Hassan let a chuckle
escape. “You’re out of your mind. I bet you smoked a joint before
breakfast … or worse. Lately I’ve noticed some inconsistencies in
the medicine inventory …” He stopped abruptly and tilted his head.
“What’s on your neck?” And he tried to get closer to him. “It looks
like a big bruise.”
    Robert instinctively
touched the spot pointed by the other guy and, as he did so, it
hurt a bit. But he didn’t want to offer him an opportunity to
change the subject.
    “It’s very strange.
Let me have a look at it.”
    “I said don’t touch
me!” His voice exited his throat with a higher tonality than the
one he’d have wanted. “You fastened my safety rope. I trusted you!”
Robert pointed his finger at him.
    “I’ve fastened it
perfectly. You were there, too.” Hassan picked up the snap-link and
started examining it. “Here it is, I knew it, look, it’s bent. The
latch doesn’t match completely and the rope passed through it,
while you were struggling.”
    “You bent it!” Robert
realised he was sounding like a broken record, but he couldn’t
stop.
    “Oh, yes, now I can
bend steel with the power of my thoughts,” Hassan mocked. “It’s
your responsibility to check all your equipment before any external
activity.” His tone became grave. “Don’t get mad at me because
you’ve become inattentive and you’re sloppy when doing your tasks.
They should’ve never selected you for this mission.”
    “You’d have liked
that, wouldn’t you?”
     
     
    Why didn’t Michelle
answer?
    She had sent her the
data and pictures more than half an hour earlier. She needed to
talk with her. The more time went on, the more frequently she swung
between the sensations of great discovery and great blunder. But
no, it couldn’t be a simple artefact. She felt it was
important.
    The sudden and abrupt
opening of the door, as she was immersed in her thoughts, made her
start.
    “What the …
Robert!”
    He had stormed into
the laboratory in a flash. But why was he still wearing the
external activity suit?
    “I don’t wanna be
caught in the middle.” He was speaking and shaking his head. He
looked upset.
    “What happened?” She
was worried. She had never seen