Hellfire Rebellion

5

They took two rooms upstairs at the inn, one for Lucas and one for Finn and Andre, since Andre was posing as his “ward.” The bed was barely large enough for Delaney alone, so no one thought it was unusual when they asked to have a cot brought in for “young Andrew.”

“One of us should go and tell Hunter what’s going on.” said Andre.

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” said Lucas “I can clock on over there and be back in-”

“No. I don’t think that would be such a good idea.” Andre said. “I was thinking maybe I should walk over there alone.”

Lucas frowned. “Why?”

“For all we know, Adams is still having us watched,” she said. “If that’s the case, then one of us should be seen going over to Hunter’s. That way, we’ll appear to be doing exactly what we said we’d do.”

“She’s got a point.” Delaney said, nodding. “Besides,” said Andre, “I’d like to find out if they’re still keeping tabs on us. We’ve got no idea what to expect from this scenario. If I spot anyone following me, I don’t want to have to wonder if it’s someone Adams sent or somebody else. I can flush a tail much better on my own than with you two along and it would look less conspicuous, if only one of us left to meet with Hunter. We need to convince Adams that we know what we’re doing and that we can be trusted, otherwise we’re liable to be tripping over Sons of liberty everywhere we go.”

“Okay.” said Lucas. “I guess you’re right. But be careful. The streets of Boston aren’t safe after dark these days.

She grinned at him. “I learned how to take care of myself long before I met you. Lucas.” she said. “But I appreciate the thought. See you guys in a while.”

She picked up her coat and hat and left the room. Delaney went over to the window and pulled the curtain back slightly so he could look out into the street below. A few moments later, he saw Andre come out into the street. He continued to watch. Several seconds later, someone came out after her and quickly crossed the street, keeping to the shadows, heading in the same direction.

“She was right.” Delaney said. “Adams still has somebody watching us.”

“Was it Revere?” Lucas said, joining him at the window.

“I couldn’t tell for sure.” Delaney said, letting the curtain fall back into position and turning around. “Could’ve been someone else, I-”

He suddenly threw himself to one side, hit the floor and rolled, coming up to a kneeling position with his pistol cocked and ready.

“Well, that was certainly amusing,” Dr. Darkness said. “What will you do for your next trick?”

“He had appeared sitting in the wooden chair across the room, with his legs crossed casually and a heavy blackthorn walking stick held across his lap. He was dressed in dark brown tweeds and a long, brown Inverness wool coat, which he wore unbuttoned. He wore a heavy gold watch chain in his tweed vest and a paisley silk ascot loosely tied around his neck. A brown fedora was tilted rakishly low over his right eye. They could see the back of the chair right through him. He seemed to flicker like a ghost on a television screen, parts of his body appearing solid one moment and transparent the next, the result of his atomic structure having been permanently tachyonized, making him “the man who was faster than light.”

Delaney exhaled heavily and lowered the hammer on the gun. “Christ, Doc. I wish to hell you wouldn’t do that!”

“What did you expect me to do, Delaney, come to the door and knock?” said Darkness. “Somehow I don’t think you’d enjoy explaining to the locals what a ghost was doing knocking on your door in the middle of the night.”

Delaney got up and put away the pistol.

“I always did rather enjoy Boston,” Darkness said, pushing his hat back on his head, “but not during this particular time period. Another hundred years or so and it will be a worthwhile place to spend a weekend.” He reached inside his coat and produced a bottle of wine. “I took the liberty of bringing this up from the wine cellar.” he said. “Not exactly your California red. but I suppose it will do if you’re not terribly particular.

He tossed the bottle to Delaney. Finn caught it one-handed and went over to the sideboard, where they had a decanter and some glasses.

“Come to check up on the old prototype, eh. Dec.” said Lucas. wryly.

“No, I just happened to be passing through this century and I thought I’d stop by for a drink,” said Darkness, sarcastically Delaney held a glass of wine out to him and Darkness negligently reached for it. His hand passed right through it. Delaney almost dropped the glass. Darkness frowned and grunted with annoyance. He reached for the glass again, this time more deliberately, and succeeded in taking it from Delaney’s hand.

“It’s getting much worse, isn’t it?” said Lucas.

“Well, it isn’t getting any better,” Darkness said, “How about you? Any problems?”

“So far, so good,” said Lucas.

“Taken any unscheduled trips lately?” Darkness asked. Lucas grimaced. “Not lately, no. I try not to allow myself to have any stray thoughts about specific times and places. I do my best to keep my mind on the here and now, wherever the here and now might be.”

“Don’t you find that a bit of a strain?” asked Darkness.

“It was a hell of a strain at first, but it seems to be getting easier. I guess my concentration is improving.”

“What about when you go to bed at night? Don’t you find your mind wandering? Do you have nightmares?”

“I meditate,” said Lucas. “I try to focus my mind. Like I said, it seems to be getting eater. I haven’t had any nightmares for a while. At least, none I can remember. And I keep waking up in the same place, which seems rather encouraging.”

“Yes, it certainly does,” said Darkness. “Perhaps you’re finally getting used to it. On the other hand, perhaps its because you’re exercising greater mental discipline. One would think that would go by the boards when you fell asleep.. unless you’re conditioning yourself with some sort of auto-suggestion through your meditation.” He frowned, it would be just like you to find a way to screw up the field testing by exercising greater self-control.”

“Well, excuse me all to hell,” said Lucas, sourly.

“You’re missing the point. Priest,” Darkness said. “While it is certainly laudable that you’re working to improve your already considerable powers of concentration, it is nevertheless not the object of this exercise.” “Oh, it’s an exercise?” said Lucas. “Forgive me. I thought we were talking about my life here.”

“Which. I will remind you, I had gone to particular trouble to preserve,” said Darkness. “The point is that an infant does not learn to walk by using various objects to steady itself. At some point, it has to let go and fall down a few times.”

“Yeah, well, if I should happen to ‘fall down,’ as you put it,” Lucas said, “I’ll wind up in some other time period, possibly in a highly unpleasant situation. And in case it’s escaped your notice, we’re on a mission here. I don’t exactly have the time for any side trips.”

“Your mission here is only of secondary importance,” Darkness said. “The telempathic temporal transponder will revolutionize time travel, but the field testing has to be completed first. That is the primary consideration, above everything else.”

“To you, maybe,” Lucas said. “To me, the primary consideration is staying in control. One slip and I’m liable to pop off to some other century. You have any idea what it’s like having to live with that?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.” said Darkness. “I have to live with the fact that I may discorporate at any time and cease to exist… or exist everywhere at once. Becoming some sort of cosmic phenomenon was never my ambition. Priest, but it was the price I had to pay in order to perfect the device I’ve given you.”

“Well, forgive me if I’m not suitably grateful.” Lucas said, “but I never asked to be your guinea pig.”

“I don’t expect your thanks,” said Darkness.

“My thanks? For what? For playing God with my life?” Lucas snorted. “Christ, Darkness, your arrogance is simply unbelievable!”

“Arrogance?” said Darkness. “Mine is the greatest scientific mind in the history of temporal physics. That isn’t arrogance, it simply happens to be the truth. And there have been many times when I’ve wished it were not so. It’s an awesome burden. I must find a way to overcome the confluence phenomenon because. indirectly, it was my work that brought it about. In the meantime, it’s imperative to prevent the occurrence of a timestream split, because that could bring about a chain reaction of temporal disasters that nothing could overcome. The telempathic transponder is a vital element to maintaining the integrity of the timeline and you’re the key to its success. Your personal concerns are insignificant compared to that responsibility. I can’t afford to be concerned with individual sensitivities, Priest. There’s far too much at stake. The instability in the timestream is increasing because of the confluence phenomenon. We must

try to buy some time… before we literally run out of it.”

Lucas sighed. “All right. What do you want me to do?”

“Let go.” said Darkness. “Stop fighting it. You won’t be able to keep it up anyway. Sooner or later, you’re bound to succumb to the strain. The transponder is designed to function on conscious thought. You have to become adapted to it just as an infant must learn how to walk. Eventually, you should be able to control it as easily as you control your appendages. But you have to give yourself a chance to become accustomed to it. In order to learn how to exercise proper control, you must first take the risk of losing it.”

“And what happens if I lose it and translocate to some other time period right in the middle of a crisis, when my partners need me?” Lucas said.

“It’s a risk you’ll simply have to take.” Darkness replied. “If you can keep your head about you and refrain from panic, you should be able to return just as quickly. That’s the advantage of the telempathic transponder. You don’t have to waste time programming transition coordinates. It’s all designed into its particle-level chronicircuitry. Your thought triggers the process and the desired transition coordinates are automatically computed and selected. Don’t be afraid of it, Priest. Give it a chance to serve you.”

“And what if it induces molecular instability?” asked Lucas.

“Highly unlikely.” Darkness said. “I believe I’ve solved that flaw in the process.”

“You beleive?” said Lucas. You mean you don’t know for sure?”

“I’m a scientist. Priest. I can never know anything for sure. What do you want, guarantees? There aren’t any in life.”

“Or in death, it seems,” said Lucas.

“I would strongly suggest that you stop agonizing over the metaphysical implications of your existence.” Darkness said. “Concentrate on what you know and leave eschatological questions to philosophers. Otherwise you’ll only give yourself an ulcer. My regards to Miss Crass.”

He disappeared.

“That man is a stone lunatic.” said Lucas. “Maybe.” said Delaney. “But like it or not, he also happens to be right. He does have the greatest scientific mind in the history of temporal physics. If I was in his shoes. I’d probably be a bit around the bend myself.”

“A bit around the bend?” said Lucas. “Hell, he is the bend.”

“Don’t think about Hell.” said Delaney, with a grin. “If you do, the transponder just might send you there.”

“Somehow I doubt that even Dr. Robert Darkness could have programmed those transition coordinates.” said Lucas, with a wry smile. “Although on the other hand. I’m not all that sum I’d be surprised.”

Andre had spotted her tail within four blocks. And she knew right away that it wasn’t Paul Revere. Whoever he was, he was very good. Revere had been clumsy in his shadowing attempts, but this man moved with a quick and silent grace, like a cat, keeping a careful distance and taking full advantage of the darkness. Several times, she had almost thought she lost him, but he was always there, dogging her heels persistently. She was almost to Hunter’s place on Long Lane when she decided to make her move.

It was time, she thought, to demonstrate to Samuel Adams that the Sons of Liberty were not the only ones adept at skulking in the night. She turned a corner into Milk Street, ducked into an alleyway, and waited. She reached behind her neck and drew her knife. The shadower was on top of her almost before she knew it. He moved through the dark streets without a sound. As he passed the mouth of the alleyway, she quickly stepped out behind him, brought her arm around his neck, yanked him close, and held the knife up to his face. He gasped.

“If you resist. I’ll cut your throat from ear to ear,” she said, though she had no intention of making good on the threat.

“Don’t!” he said. “Please!”

She swung him around and pressed him up against a wall, holding the knife point to his throat. He stared at her with fear. She quickly patted him down and relieved him of a large hunting knife in a beaded sheath at his belt.

She was surprised to see that he was just a boy, no more than sixteen or seventeen year old, slim and slightly shorter than she was, with light brown hair, dark eyes, and smooth, regular features. He probably hadn’t even started to shave yet.

“You’ve been following me ever since I left the inn.” she said. “Who are you?” For added emphasis, she pressed the knife point against his throat, not hard enough to break the skin, but enough to frighten him. “J-Jonathan Small.” he stammered “I–I meant no harm, I swear.”

“Who sent you’?”

He swallowed hard. “M-Mr. Revere. I–I am his apprentice. He-he said that I should follow you and your friends, see where you went and-and whom you met with.”

“So.” she said, taking away the knife. “It seems Sam Adams doesn’t trust us. You’re a Son of Liberty, then? Show me your medallion.”

Jonathan looked down at the ground. “I–I haven’t got one.” he said. “Mr. Revere said that if I performed my task well, I would be accepted. But it seems that I have failed. They will not want me now.”

“If they will not want you, then neither should they want Revere,” she said. “It took me far less time to spot him following us from The Two Palaverers than it took me to notice you, and you may tell him that I said so. Where did you learn to stalk like that?”

“I learned my woodcraft from the Indians in Pennsylvania,” he said. “They taught me how to hunt with bow and arrow, how to use a knife and hatchet, and to move through the woods without making a sound. I thought that I had learned it well, yet it appears that I could not even fool a city dweller.” She smiled “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Jonathan.” she “You would easily fool most people. but I am not without some knowledge of woodcraft myself.”

“How old are you?” he asked.

“Eighteen.” she lied.

“You are scarcely older than myself.” said Jonathan.

“True.” she said, “but sometimes a year or two can make all the difference in the world. I have seen my share of hardship and adversity. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Jonathan. You did very well, indeed. Do your friends call you Johnny’?”

“Yes.”

“Well. Johnny, mine call me Andre, because my mother was a Basque. I hope we can be friends.”

She gave him back his knife and held out her hand. He smiled and they shook. “I’m on my way to see Reese Hunter and tell him that we have made contact with the Tories.” she said. “With a man named John Hewitt, who promises to take us to a meeting of men who follow the horseman and oppose the Sons of Liberty. And give a message to Sam Adams that if he continues to send men to follow us, he may give us away. We are already risking much. We do not need him adding to the risk. Tell him we came to him forthrightly to offer our help. He must make up his mind whether to trust us or not.”

Johnny nodded. “I will tell Mr. Revere, exactly as you said. And for whatever it is worth. I will also tell him that I trust you.”

“Thank you. Johnny.” Andre said. “Now perhaps you’d best be on your way before-”

The stillness of the night was suddenly shattered by the sound of rapidly approaching hoofbeats. A rider turned into the street, his handsome black stallion galloping at a breakneck pace. The rider was dressed all in black, a long black cloak with a high collar billowed out behind him like a cape. The high collar made it impossible to see his face and it appeared as if he had no head.

“The headless horseman!” Johnny said. “Run. Andre!”

He drew his hunting knife, holding it high, ready to throw, then shoved her away with a hand on her chest. He gasped and his eyes went wide. He had felt the breasts beneath her shirt.

“By God! You’re a girl!”

“Johnny, look out!”

There was a hissing sound as the horseman’s whip whistled through the air and cracked like pistol shot. Johnny cried out in pain and clutched his wrist as the knife fell from his hand. The horseman was upon them. Andre quickly drew her pistol, cocked the hammer, and fired. The shot had no effect. The horse struck her a glancing blow and she went spinning to the ground. Her pistol clattered to the street. She grunted with pain and Johnny was suddenly beside her, helping her up.

“Get up!” he said. “Get up quickly, or we’re done for!”

She looked up and saw the black rider rein in and turn his horse. A figure ran out from the shadows into the street. Andre saw him lift his arm, aiming a gun, and a bright, pencil-thin beam of light shot out and seemed to strike the horseman squarely in the chest… and go right through him.

And suddenly the horseman was no longer there. He had simply vanished. “What…” said Johnny, stunned. “Did you see? It’s true! The horseman really is a ghost! He vanished into thin air! And that light…”

“It was only muzzle flash.” said Andre quickly. “Doubtless one of your fellow Sons of Liberty.”

“But.. where did he go?” asked Johnny.

“Took his shot and ran, most likely.” Andre said.

“And who can blame him?” Johnny said, apparently accepting the explanation of the “muzzle flash.” He shook his head with disbelief. “A ghost! A real ghost! You saw it, didn’t you, the way he disappeared?”

There was shouting as people flung open their windows and started to run out into the street. Andre grabbed Johnny by the arm and pulled him along down an alleyway. When they had gone far enough that they were well out of sight, she stopped and turned to face him.

“I’m not certain what I saw,” said Andre. “But his horse felt solid enough to me. And you felt his whip.”

“Aye, that I did.” he said, looking at the bloody welt on his wrist. “But… “ He stared at her. “But… you’re a girl! I felt your… that is. I–I-” He looked away, flustered and embarrassed. “Forgive me. I–I never meant to-”

“Johnny. look at me.” He met her gaze, his eyes wide.

“You said you trusted me.” she said. “Did you really mean it?”

He nodded.

“Then I must trust you to keep my secret and never tell a soul.” she said.-Will you?”

“He nodded.

“Will you swear?”

“I swear it,” he said. “I will tell no one if that is what you wish.” He grimaced, ruefully. “Anyway, how would it look if they knew that I was bested by a girl? But-but why? Why do you pretend to be a boy?”

“Because I am as good a patriot as you are.” she said, “and because I want to do my pan as badly as do you. But would they let me if they knew I was a girl?”

“No, naturally not.” said Johnny. “That is a man’s work.”

“And can you deny that I can take care of myself as well as any man?” asked Andre.

Johnny looked down at the ground again and shook his head. “No.” he said. “No, in truth. I cannot. I must admit that you are powerful strong. For a girl. And you can shoot, too.”

“Not well enough, apparently,” said Andre. “ I missed the horseman.”

“At such close range?” said Johnny. “I do not think so. You had aimed straight at him. The ball must have passed clean through him. And that other man, who fired from across the street..

“We both missed. Johnny,” she insisted. “I was forced to rush my shot, There was no time to take a careful aim. And a fast-moving target is difficult to hit. I do not believe that there is such a thing as ghosts.”

“But we both saw him disappear!” said Johnny.

“We only thought we saw him disappear.” said Andre. “Sometimes the eyes play tricks. Have you never been hunting in the woods and seen something move out of the corner of your eye, then turned to see that there was nothing there?”

“Yes, truly,” Johnny said, “but this was different. We were both looking right at him!”

“And the street was dark.” she said. “And there were people shouting from their windows and flinging open their doors. The horseman could have turned quickly into a narrow alleyway and in all the noise, we’d not have heard the stallion’s hoofbeats. Now admit it, does that not sound much more likely than the existence of a ghost rider and a ghost horse, who seem to be solid flesh and blood one moment and disappear the next?”

Johnny sighed. “I suppose so.” he said. He grimaced. You make me feel like a fool.”

“It seems this horseman has fooled a lot of people,” she said. “He clearly knows the streets of Boston well, knows all of the back alleys, knows of places to hide. He rides only when the streets are dark and the shadows can conceal him. He is a very clever man, but he is no ghost. And you arc no fool, Johnny Small.

“I have never in my life met a girl like you,” he said.

“Nor I a boy like you.” said Andre. She smiled and touched his cheek. Suddenly he darted forward and kissed her quickly on the lips. He seemed as taken aback by his own action as she was. Before she could respond, he turned and quickly ran down the alley and into the next street.

For a moment, Andre was too surprised to move. She slowly brought her fingertips up to her lips.

“Bit young for you, isn’t he?”

She spun around and saw Steiger, leaning with his arms folded against the wall.

“Damn it, Creed! Don’t go sneaking up on me like that!” She was grateful that in the darkness, he couldn’t see her blush. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Officially, I suppose I’m A.W.O. L..” said Steiger. “Un-officially, I’ve assigned myself to keep an eye on Hunter. Frankly, I don’t trust him.”

“That was you back there, firing the laser.” she said. “That was stupid. The boy saw you.”

“Yes, but I think he accepted your explanation about the muzzle flash,” said Steiger. “And the ghost rider made a much more lasting impression. As, no doubt, did you.” He grinned. “I think that’s called contributing to the delinquency of a minor, Lieutenant.”

“Forget the wisecracks,” she said. “What did you make of the horseman?”

“Well, he wasn’t any ghost, that’s for sure.” said Steiger. “Somebody equipped with a warp disc, programmed for a fugue clocking sequence, so that he keeps clocking in and out faster than the eye can follow. What you see was only there a fraction of a second earlier. It’s risky as all hell, a good way to wind up in the dead zone if you’re not very careful, but it’s certainly effective.”

“That’s what I figured, too.” said Andre. “It’s the only possible explanation. You think maybe it was Drakov?”

“Maybe, but I’d guess not,” said Steiger. “He’s too smart to take those kind of chances. It might well have been a hominoid. Which means that Hunter was right. Drakov is unquestionably here.”

Andre nodded. “Or one of his clone, is,” she said. “Either way, it amounts to the same thing. Big trouble. And thanks to your using a laser, now he’ll know we’re here, as well.”

“That ought to make things interesting,” said Steiger.

“That really wasn’t very smart, Creed.”

“You’d rather I’d have let him run you down’? You’re lucky I was there. I had Hunter’s place staked out from a room across the way. When I saw what was going down. I had to move fast. There wasn’t a lot of time for planning something smart.”

“We’d better go see Hunter.” she said.

“No, you go see him,” Steiger said. “I don’t want him to know I’m here.”

“But his information has panned out,” she said. “ Drakov is here. A temporal disruption is in progress.”

“All the more reason not to alert Hunter to my presence,” Steiger said. “That way I can keep an eye on him, just in he decides to take advantage of the situation. Or have you forgotten that he’s on the other side?”

“I haven’t forgotten.” she said. “But he’s been dealing straight with us so far.”

“And I intend to make sure he keeps it that way,” Steiger said. “What do you figure Drakov’s planning?”

She shook her head. “We don’t know, yet. A disruption, obviously, but there’s no way of telling exactly what he has in mind. If we’re lucky, we may get to find out soon. We’re supposed to be infiltrating a secret Tory group that’s working against the Sons of Liberty. Sounds as if Drakov might be behind it, because there’s no record of any such group in colonial history. The horseman is apparently their leader or at least their symbol. They’ve all been talking about him. Last night, four Sons of Liberty were hanged from the Liberty Tree.”

“A temporal anomaly,” said Steiger.

“Yeah.” said Andre. “The Sons of liberty were essentially unopposed during this time period. Sam Adams led them in agitating the colonies against the British. There are Sons of Liberty groups forming in other colonies and Adams will soon be running them all, through dispatch riders like Paul Revere, who will eventually become the core of the Committees of Correspondence between the colonies. The governor of Boston has sent to New York for British troops, but they’re not due to arrive for a while yet. If the Sons of Liberty are stopped here, before things really get rolling, it could change the course of history. Drakov might actually be trying to prevent the American Revolution.”

“Interesting.” said Steiger.

“What do you mean?”

“In the congruent universe, the American Revolution was won by the British.”

“What are you saying?”

“I just find it interesting that Hunter put us onto this in the first place and that the disruption appears to be intended to alter our timeline in a way that would match the timeline of the congruent universe. Don’t you find that interesting?” She stood silent for a moment.

“You think there’s a C.I.S. team here that’s behind all this and Hunter’s trying to lure us into a trap’? But if the horseman’s one of Drakov’s hominoids, then how does that fit with-”

“We don’t really know he is a hominoid.” said Steiger. “And if he is, we don’t know if he’s one of Drakov’s hominoids, do we’? The hominoids were originally developed in the congruent universe by Dr. Moreau as part of Project Infiltrator, before Drakov hijacked the entire project. The C.I.S. could still have some hominoids left. And there’s also another possibility. For all we know. Hunter could be working with Drakov.”

“I don’t buy it.” Andre said. “Drakov almost had Hunter killed. Hunter wants revenge.”

“Or so he says.” said Steiger. “Maybe they buried the hatchet. Maybe Drakov promised Hunter a trip back home in exchange for trapping us. Maybe Hunter isn’t even Hunter.”

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe he’s a hominoid.” Andre expelled her breath. “Jesus, we never even considered that. How the hell did you manage to come up with that one?”

“You play games with T.I.A. and the Network for as long as I did, you learn to suspect everyone and everything,” said Steiger. “Don’t forget. I infiltrated Drakov’s old organization back when I was undercover as Sgt. Barry Martingale. I know how the man thinks. I wouldn’t put it past him to play out a hand like that. Think about it.”

“Andre sighed. “You may be right, that’s the scary thing about it,” she said. “The trouble is, how would we know?”

“The early hominoids had run numbers tattooed on them somewhere, often high up on the inner thigh.” said Steiger. He grinned. “I’ll leave it up to you to decide how you can manage to get that close. But if Hunter’s got a run number on him somewhere, then he’s probably a C.I.S. hominoid left over from Project Infiltrator. If he hasn’t got a run number on him anywhere, then he may be one of Drakov’s more advanced models. the result of genetic engineering and implant program ming. Which means he’s essentially as human as you and I are, only Drakov doesn’t think of them that way. Or maybe he’s actually who he claims to be. Only that still doesn’t tell us whose side he’s really on.”

Andre shook her head. “I sometimes wonder what it’s like inside that mind of yours,” she said. “It must get very complicated.”

“Not really.” Steiger said. “There’s a refreshing clarity to knowing that when it gets right down to it, you can depend on one thing and one thing only Yourself.”

“I see,” she said. “I wonder, if that’s what it comes down to, how can you he sure that I am who I say I am?”

Steiger chuckled. “Go see your friend. Hunter,” he said. He touched his warp disc and clocked out.