Khyber Connection

Chapter 10

Andre had her laser pointed at Martin. Bryant had his pointing at Finn. He smiled."Well, it seems we have a standoff. You kill Martin, I kill Delaney. And then where will that leave us" You might be quick enough to try a shot at me, but with four other weapons pointed at you, I doubt you’d make it."

"Either way, Martin dies," said Andre.

"Well, that would be regrettable," said Bryant, "but it wouldn’t change the outcome. I’m prepared to lose Martin if I must. If you’re determined to die and you want to take at least one man with you, go ahead and shoot. Personally, I think it would be pointless."

Andre hesitated.

"He’s right, Andre,"said Finn. "They’ve got us."

"Damn," said Andre. She lowered her laser and Mar-tin took it from her grasp.

He chuckled, but the sound froze in his throat when he saw Bryant and the others suddenly enveloped in the blue mist of Cherenkov radiation. A second later all five men were gone, their atoms disintegrated. Darkness lowered the molecular disruptor.

Martin yelled and fired at him point-blank, but he was no longer there.

"Try over here," said Darkness from the other side of the room.

Martin fired again, but the target had disappeared.

"Behind you.""

Martin spun around and Andre and Finn both dropped to the floor as he fired wildly all around the room, vainly trying to keep up with a target that moved faster than the speed of light.

""Hi," said Darkness, manifesting directly in front of Martin, about three inches away. Martin screamed and leaped back, but Darkness was gone again. His eyes staring madly all about the room, Martin kept jerking to the left and to the right, spinning around, trying to find something to shoot at. A fist materialized out of thin air and connected with his jaw. Martin collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

Darkness reappeared seated in one of the chairs.

"God, I’m exhausted."

Finn and Andre both got up off the floor. -Having fun"" Delaney said.

Darkness stared at him. -You’re welcome," he said. "Ipull your butts out of the fire again and you be-grudge me even some minor amusement. You’re an ungrateful man, Delaney."

"I'd have been a damn sight more ungrateful if one of those wild shots had hit me," Finn said. "I’m glad to see you, Doctor. We could sure use some help. How’d you find us""

— Peculiar little chap named Gunga Din told me you were here," said Darkness."Iwas looking for the confluence when I spotted him sitting on a ledge out there, looking unutterably morose."

"God, we’ve got to get him down from there!" said Andre.

"No, no, he’s all right," said Darkness. "He’s running about somewhere. The important thing right now is to do something about these characters. I left that one alive to tell me where to find the confluence. I know it’s around here somewhere, but I can’t seem to pinpoint it. ‘,

"So you know all about it then"" said Finn.

"Of course I know all about it, you cretin. What do you think we’re talking about" Vargas has already been warned, and I expect he’s gotten on to Colonel Forrester. However, there’s a certain question of timing involved, and a few other minor problems. But before I do anything else, I need to find the confluence point."

"We can help you there," said Andre. "It’sright below us. We spotted several of them coming through with jet-paks. There’s a narrow section of the pass down there, directly below this temple, where the walls jut out like two giant pillars. The confluence point is there."

"Well, then it was fortunate for me I saw that little fellow sitting on the ledge," said Darkness. "Iwas about to go right through there. I haven’t yet perfected a means of measuring for inertial surge. That’s the key, you understand. The phenomenon is truly fascinating. What we have here is-"

"Doe," said Finn, "I don’t mean to sound rude, but we can get into temporal physics some other time, okay" You said there were problems. What problems""

"0h, well, it’s a question of timing, partly. It appears as if their plan is to support Sayyid Akbar in his fight against the Tirah Expeditionary Force."

"Iknew it!" Andre said. "Thatmust be where the others have gone, to check on the progress of the force.

With their help, Sayyid Akbar will be able to set up ann ambush, and then they’ll bring their own troops in to do the mopping up."

"It’sa bit more complex than that, I’m afraid," said Darkness. "Sayyid Akbar is none other than our old friend, Nikolai Drakov."

"What"" said Andre.

"Hemust have stumbled through a confluence somehow," said Darkness, "or perhaps created one by actions of his own. He fell into their hands and now they’re using him to control the Ghazis. "

Delaney strapped on his warp disc. "I’m getting really tired of tripping over Drakov at every turn," he said."Thistime he’s not getting away."

"Thistime he’s not a great priority," said Darkness.

A tribesman came through the door. Before either Finn or Andre had a chance to move, the tribesman had collapsed to the floor as if felled by an unseen hand.

"Where was l"" Darkness said, apparently not hav-ing moved from his chair. "Oh, yes, Drakov. Forget about Drakov for the moment. There’s something much more important. When I tached to Plus Time and briefed Vargas about the situation, I discovered they had arrested one of the programmers in the archives section of TAC-HQ. He was caught tampering with the implant education and mission program files. A clear-cut case of sabotage. The historians were called in to run a scan check on the files, and they discovered a number of them had been tampered with. They ran a cross-check on the subknowledge of various adjustment personnel and confirmed that the sabotage goes back a number of years. I think you’ll find one of the discoveries made by the historians significant. All data pertaining to Winston Spenser Churchill had been altered. He was entirely erased from all the archive files."

""That explains it"-Andre said. "We encountered Churchill while we were with the Malakand field force, but only Lucas knew who he was. Or rather, what he would become. Neither Finn nor I knew he would become prime minister of Great Britain, because there was nothing about him in our subknowledge or in the mission programming. Lucas couldn’t understand it. An omission like that seemed inconceivable, but then he realized that he didn’t know about Churchill through his subknowledge either. He remembered reading about him."

"Hegave his life to save Churchill’s," Finn said.

"Yes, I know,"said Darkness."I’m sorry. "

"Wethought the incongruity had something to do with Churchill being the focus of a disruption, but that wasn’t it. It was sabotage. Christ, it’s all starting to fit together now. They must have discovered a confluence in Plus Time. Either that, or used the confluence back here to get someone through and clock ahead to the 27th century. They infiltrated someone into the archives section with instructions to delete all programming having to do with certain key historical individuals-targeted individuals. But they didn’t count on history books. Only a small group of dedicated scholars and anti-quarians read books anymore. Everyone else uses information retrieval systems. They couldn’t have known one of the commandos sent back on the adjustment was a history fanatic. Lucas was a collector of old history books, specializing in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. "

"There’s an anomaly right there," "said Andre. "It’s one example of how their timeline differs from ours. Their Lucas Priest can’t be an historian, otherwise he would have suspected that ours might be."

""Their Lucas Priest""" said Darkness.

"An identical twin from the alternate timeline," said Delaney."It’sscary. He’s the one in command of their advance force."

"Incredible," said Darkness. "The Fate Factor never ceases to amaze me. But you realize what all this means. The strike against the Tirah Expeditionary Force is only part of their overall plan. They’re out to create a massive historical disruption in the hope that it will force the two timelines apart and eliminate the confluence effect that endangers them both. What they don’t realize is that there’s every possibility a time stream split could only make matters worse by com-pounding the problem. It could result in three timelines experiencing a confluence effect. In fact, I believe the odds favor that possibility. Once such an effect was under way, it could be impossible to stop it. We’d wind up with four timelines, then five, then six, leading to God only knows what. However, since they apparently don’t know that, they’re out to create a timestream split, and this scenario offers them an outstanding opportunity. Defeat of the Tirah Expeditionary Force could end British control of the frontier and drastically alter the picture in this part of the world. And assassinating Winston Churchill in the same scenario would not only further disrupt history in this time period, but it would disrupt it in the early 20th century as well. It could lead to not one, but two timestream splits."

"That’swhy they sabotaged the archives," Finn said in a low voice."Theydidn’t want an adjustment team to know that Churchill was a key historical figure and concentrate on covering him. We left him on the march to Chakdarra. Christ, he’s wide open."

"AndPriest and some of his men are gone," said Andre.

"There’snot a moment to lose," said Darkness. -You must find Churchill. I’ll help you if I can, but I need to keep track of their movements against the British Expeditionary Force, as well as maintain a watch on the confluence point. I need to recuperate, and besides, I can only be in two places at the same time."

"We’ll find Churchill, Doc. You’ve got enough on your hands."

"Here, take this," said Darkness, handing Finn the disruptor. -Between that and the laser, you should have adequate f irepower. Don’t hesitate to use it."

"Count on it."

"Good luck."

"Andgood luck to you, Doctor," said Andre. They programmed their warp discs and clocked out.

"Somethin’s gone wrong,"" Learoyd said." "They haven’t come out.""

"I knew we shouldn’t ‘ave left ‘em," said Mulvaney. -Bloody green subaltern’s goin’ to get ‘imself killed for sure."

"We’ve got to go back,"" said Learoyd.

" "Go back"" "said Ortheris. ""Are you out o’ your mind"""

Learoyd turned on him angrily. "Whatthe hell do you want to do, Stanley" Leave them there" Fine! You can turn tail and tuck it up between your legs while you’re about it! Go back to Peshawar and warn the troops. I suppose someone’s got to do it. But I’m not walkin’ out on Finn and Andre, no sir, not Chris Learoyd! I’m not one to leave friends in a lurch. You with me, Mulvaney""

"Inever was much for sneakin’ about an’ keeping me ‘ead down," said Mulvaney. "I say we go back an’ give those sods what for!"

"Well, if we’re goin’ to kill ourselves, we might as well do it together, — said Ortheris. "You’re right, mate, we can’t just leave ‘em. What’s the plan then""

" They’ll never expect us to return, that’s for certain," Learoyd said."Thatshould work in our favor. We sneak back in the same way we got out, posin’ as Ghazis. Mulvaney, fix your puggaree. I can see your red hair stickin’ out."

Mulvaney adjusted his turban.

""Right. Let’s go.""

Walking boldly and purposefully, they headed back toward the temple. They passed the sentries without any trouble and went up the stone stairs into the columned entryway. They were greeted by several tribesmen in-side, and Learoyd replied in Pushtu, keeping his answers brief and guttural for fear of betraying an accent. They were almost to the far end of the main chamber when a voice cried out, echoing in the stone hall,"On your knees! On your knees before the Light of Islarn!"

They turned around and saw a man standing in the center of the chamber, flanked by four guards. He was tall and muscular, dressed entirely in black with loose-fitting trousers, a flowing, long-sleeved shirt, high black boots, and a vest intricately embroidered in gold. He wore a black turban fastened with a giant ruby clasp. The tribesmen in the chamber immediately dropped to all fours, pressing their heads to the floor. The three soldiers did likewise.

"Where the devil did they come from"" whispered Ortheris. "They weren’t behind us, were they""

"Did you hear what he said"" Learoyd whispered. "The Light of Islam. That’s none other than Sayyid Akbar himself."

"Nowthat’s what I call a stroke o’ luck," Mulvaney said."Wecan shoot the blighter where ‘e stands an’ end this jehad once an’ for all."

"Don’tbe a fool," Learoyd hissed."Andkeep your damn voice down! You’ll give us away."

Drakov ignored the kneeling tribesmen and walked quickly across the chamber, heading for the innermost part of the temple with his guard accompanying him.

"Let’sfollow them," Learoyd whispered, "butnot too close. Watch yourselves."

They followed Drakov and his guards down the long corridor which ran to the left of the giant obsidian statue of Kali. Drakov’s guards stopped outside one of the chambers and took up posts by the entrance while Drakov went inside.

"Wecan’t pass this up," Mulvaney whispered as they approached. "There’s only four of ‘em. We can slit their throats with these ‘ere knives an’ then do in that miserable fakir. We might never get another chance, Chris. "

"Isaid no," Learoyd whispered."We’vegot to find Finn and Andre first. We’re the only chance they’ve got. 11

They had to pass the guards on their way to the cell where they were being kept before. They kept their heads down and grunted as they went by.

— You three!" Drakov called out behind them.

They stopped.

"Bloody hell’ "whispered Ortheris.

"Turnand face me when I speak to you!" said Drakov.

They turned slowly, keeping their heads down, as if with great humility.

"Where are the warriors of the host of heaven""

"Whatthe devil is ‘e talkin’ about"" whispered Mulvaney.

"Howthe hell should I know"" Learoyd whispered back. Then, with his head still bowed, he replied in Pushtu,"1 do not know, Your Holiness."

Drakov stood silent for a moment, thinking. "Iam told there are British soldiers being held prisoner here. Take me to them."

"Well, what do you know"" whispered Mulvaney. "We’re goin’ to get our chance at Sayyid bloody Akbar, after all."

Learoyd elbowed him in the ribs. "This way, Your Holiness," he said, bowing low and pointing out the way.

"Lead on," said Drakov.

"Steady, lads," whispered Learoyd. "Steady now."

They walked ahead of Drakov and his guards, heading toward the cell they had recently escaped from. They paused at the door. Drakov stopped in front of it.

"This door is unbolted! What is the meaning of this"" He opened it. "There’s no one inside! Where are the prisoners"" He reached out and jerked Mulvaney’s head up. "You’re not-"

Mulvaney slammed a hard right into his stomach and pushed him into the cell. Learoyd plunged his knife deep into the abdomen of one of the guards while Ortheris kicked another in the groin with all his might and stuck his knife into the other’s chest. Learoyd wrestled briefly with the fourth guard, his hand clamped over his mouth, then slashed his blade across his throat. Ortheris disposed of the one remaining guard, who was on the floor, clutching at his vitals. They quickly dragged the corpses into the cell and shut the door.

Learoyd had Drakov backed up against the stone wall, the point of his Khyber knife against his throat.

"Well, well," said Mulvaney, grinning. "Look what we’ve got ‘ere!"

He had lost his turban in the scuffle, and Drakov stared at him, then at the others. "Who are you men""

"You speak English!" said Ortheris, not so much surprised to hear a Pathan speaking it as he was to hear it spoken so well, without an accent.

"You’re the soldiers," Drakov said. "I commend you on your resourcefulness. Where are the others who were being held with you, a man and a woman""

"Look at this, will you"" Ortheris said. "A knife at ‘is throat an’ Vs dernandin’ answers like a bleedin’ rajah! "

"That’s just what we’re here to find out, Your Holiness," Learoyd said.

"Chris, watch ‘is ‘ands!" cried Mulvaney.

Learoyd quickly batted Drakov’s right hand away from his left wrist. It looked as if he had been reaching for a dagger hidden up his sleeve. Mulvaney quickly stepped up and checked.

"What’s this"" he said, examining the warp disc on Drakov’s wrist. He pulled at it, trying to figure out how to take it off, and managed to yank it loose.

"What is M-said Learoyd.

"Looks like some sort o’ bracelet," said Mulvaney.

"Be careful with it," said Learoyd. "These devils can be tricky. It might have some sort of poisoned needle in it or the like."

Mulvaney flung it away from him and it landed in the far corner of the room. "Right, — he said. "Let’s finish 1m off."

"Don’t be too hasty," Drakov said. "I’m your best chance of finding your friends. As long as I’m alive, you remain alive. If you harm me, they’ll cut you to pieces."

"I’m afraid you’re right," Learoyd said. "Where’d you learn to speak English so well""

Drakov smiled. "You would not belive me if I told you.

" "I say we kill them an’ ‘ave done with it!" "Mulvaney said.

"No, let’s not be rash," Learoyd said."Hehas a point. If we kill him now, we may never get through this alive. He’s our ticket out of here. And he can get us safe passage to Peshawar. Wouldn’t that be something, us ridin’ in with Sayyid Akbar himself" We’d be heroes."

"Live heroes are generally preferable over dead ones," Drakov said.

"You keep shut,"" Learoyd said. "Mulvaney, take him. "

He’s a big one, but he won’t break away from you. Get on, you."

They pushed him out into the corridor. It was filled with heavily armed tribesmen.

"BlasW’ Learoyd said.

"Now aren’t you glad you didn’t kill me"" Drakov said, smiling.

"Tell them to back away!"

"You tell them. You speak the language well enough."

"Iwant it comin’ from you."Learoyd jabbed him with the knife."Now."

Drakov called out to the tribesmen to back away. They did so, slowly, keeping their weapons ready.

"Now ask them where they’ve got the prisoners."

Drakov called out to the tribesmen again. There was a brief silence, then one of the men answered.

"There are no prisoners, Your Holiness. There are only those with you. The others have escaped."

"Escaped"" said Ortheris.

"They’re Iyin’," said Mulvaney. "We never saw ‘em come out. "

"Why don’t you search the other chambers then"" said Drakov. "I’m in no great hurry to go anywhere. I’ll wait. "

"I don’t like this," Ortheris said. "This chap’s actin’ too cocksure of ‘imself. -

"I have nothing to lose," said Drakov. "You don’t dare risk harming me. And as for getting me to Peshawar, you’re dreaming. If you think about it, you’ll see how hopeless your position is."

"We’ll see about that," Learoyd said. "Come on."

They proceeded farther down the hall to check the other chambers. Mulvaney kept a firm grip on Drakov while Learoyd and Ortheris quickly checked the rooms. Each one they came to was empty. There was no sign of Finn and Andre. The tribesmen followed, keeping their distance, alert for any opportunity to attack and rescue their holy man. Among them, his khakis hidden by a long white robe, was Gunga Din.

The British camp was below them, on the plain before the Bedmanai Pass. It was Mohmand territory, the land of the savage tribesmen of the Mamund Valley. After the relief of Chakdarra, Blood had pressed on to put down the revolt of the Mohmands, who though they had been deserted by Sadullah, nevertheless had no shortage of holy men to spur them on in their jehad. The entire frontier situation was unstable, from Chitral to the Khyber Pass. The fever of jehad had spread like a disease, infecting all those tribes except those already pacified by force of arms.

General Blood knew he could not fail to put down the rebellion. It was not enough to defeat Sadullah at the Malakand Pass, nor was it enough to rescue the garrison at Chakdarra. He needed to put down each and every tribe, thwart each and every holy man who incited the mountain people to revolt. Those tribes that had been defeated by him, those khans who had been forced to make peace along his line of march, would remain subjugated only so long as he did not fail. One defeat, one withdrawal, one serious setback, or one recalcitrant tribe not met on its own ground would be interpreted as a sign of weakness, and those khans who had so humbly and respectfully agreed to terms would immediately rise up again, like the embers of a campfire not properly doused would soon erupt in flame.

Finn and Andre stood upon a rise overlooking the British camp. They knew from history that this was one of the most difficult moments in Blood’s campaign. Before him was the Bedmanai Pass, held by the Ghazi followers of Hadda Mullah. Behind him was ground broken by ravines and nullahs, across which retreat would be extremely difficult. He had only one brigade with him. The 2nd Brigade, which had been meant to rendezvous here with him, was still engaged in fighting in the Mamund Valley, twelve miles away. The Ist Brigade was stuck with transport problems on the Panjkora River. A relief division was still miles away, struggling to get through difficult and hostile country. Blood was squarely in the middle at Nawagai.

Heliograph communications under such conditions were difficult, as was the local khan, who was" loyalto the British only while Blood remained encamped upon his doorstep. If he went to reinforce the 2nd Brigade, the khan of Nawagai would turn against him and the Hadda Mullah’s Ghazis would pour down out of the Bedmanai Pass to harass his rear. The entire region would be out of control. Blood’s brigade was the only thing between the Hadda Mullah’s Ghazis and the tribesmen in the Mamund. If they were to unite, his situation, and that of the British in the northern sector of the frontier, would almost certainly be hopeless.

"He’sdown there somewhere," Finn said,"ayoung cavalry officer on leave from his regiment and having a high old time. Can you beat that" Most soldiers go on leave so they can see their loved ones or have a party somewhere. This one goes so he can see a war. It’s not enough he’s faced with thousands of berserkers with knives and swords and rifles, now he’s got a hit squad from a parallel future on his tail. ‘How was your leave, soldier"’ ‘Oh, not so bad, sir. Bit of a dustup with several thousand savages; some difficulty crossing rugged terrain while being harassed by snipers night and day; a few assassins from an alternate universe gave us a rough time for a while, but otherwise, routine, sir. Just routine.’ What was that line about mad dogs and Englishmen""

"You’re tense," said Andre. -You always babble in-coherently when you get tense."

Delaney snorted. -You’re feeling relaxed and mel-low, I suppose""

"Sure. I’m fine now. When this is over, I’m going to have a nervous breakdown. I hope to hell you’ve read the situation right."

"1 hope to hell I have too, " said Finn. " I f I was going to do what they’re planning, this would be the perfect opportunity. This was a turning point in Blood’s campaign. If he failed here, the whole northern frontier would have gone up, and the Tirah Expeditionary Force would have been nowhere near enough to pacify the region. With Blood putting down the uprisings in the north, all Lockhart had to worry about were the tribes in the southern sector. This scenario would give them the perfect chance to kill two birds with one stone. Assassinate Churchill and sabotage, Blood’s drive against the Bedmanai Pass. Add that to the strike against the Tirah force in the Khyber and you’ve got a massive temporal disruption on several counts, with at least one timestream split, guaranteed."

"Howdo you think they’ll go about it"" Andre said.

"If I was them, I’d wait for the battle," Finn said.

"It would be easier for them to kill Churchill in all the confusion."

"You don’t think they’re down there already, do you"""

"Idoubt it. It would be difficult to infiltrate a brigade that’s been together as long as this one has. Most of the men would know each other, and strangers would be spotted pretty quickly. And infiltrating the tribesmen would make it that much harder for them to get close to Churchill. Easier when you’re on the same side. No, they’ll wait for all hell to break loose when the brigade goes up against the Ghazis. My guess is they’re out here somewhere in the dark, just like we are. Waiting. "

"Orlooking for us," said Andre. "If they can scan for warp discs, then they know we’re here."

"I’m betting against it," Finn said. "They have no reason to carry scanning equipment with them on this trip. They want to travel light. And as far as they know, we’re still back in that cell inside the temple, being interrogated by Bryant and the others in the party."

"Unless one of them’s gone back to check in,"" she said. ""Any way you look at it, we’re taking a big gamble. ""

"True," said Finn, grinning at her,"butyou’re tak-ing it with an Irishman. That’s as near to a sure thing as you can get."

"I’d still feel better if we had the entire First Division with us," Andre said. "I’m also worried about Mulvaney, Ortheris, and Learoyd."

"Iknow," said Finn. "I hope they weren’t foolish enough to go back when they saw we didn’t come out."

— They’re just the type who would," said Andre.

Finn nodded. "Much as I hate to say it, we can’t af-ford to worry about them now. Their lives aren’t as important as Churchill’s. We have to take care of the hit squad first. Then we can go back for thern."

"Assuming we’re still alive."

"We will be. I’m not quite ready to retire yet. We need to get close to Churchill in a hurry when things start happening," said Finn. "I don’t like trying to clock into the middle of a battle and looking for him while everybody’s shooting at each other."

"You’re right. I think we should go down there," Andre said.

"How do we explain our presence" We were sent back to Peshawar from Malakand, remember""

"True, but what if we never got there""

"Okay, what are you thinking""

"Listen to this and tell me if it sounds plausible. We started out towards Peshawar, but ran into enemy tribesmen on the way. We ran, but we couldn’t get through. We became separated from the others when my horse was shot out from under me. You turned back to help me, and we were cut off. We managed to escape and wefollowed the regiment, keeping to concealment as much as possible. Your horse went lame several miles away from here and we had to chance going the rest of the way on foot. We arrive at the brigade camp looking very tired, and relieved as all hell to get through with our skins intact. What do you think""

"Not bad," said Finn. "I don’t think they’ll have any reason to question the story. We already look pretty bedraggled, but it’ll help if we mess our clothes up a bit more. It’ll get us back into the camp, and we’ll be able to keep close to Churchill. I like it. You’d better carry the disruptor. We can tear up these robes a bit and rig up a way to tie it to your thigh. It might be difficult to conceal on me, and I don’t think anyone will go looking up your dress. These are Englishmen, after all."

"Toobad," she said, smiling."1 was going to suggest one way to keep close to Churchill tonight."

Delaney stared at her.

"Just kidding."

"With you, sometimes it’s hard to tell."

They made their preparations and then started down toward the camp. "Be careful," said Finn. "We don’t want to get shot by the pickets."

When they were a short distance from the camp, Finn spotted the picket line. At almost the same time an alert soldier spotted him. A shot sent them both sprawling face down in the dirt.

"Holdyour fire!" Finn shouted.

The astonished soldier challenged them, and when Finn replied, told them to come forward.

"All right, here goes," said Finn."Crossyour fingers. We may be able to pull this off yet."

"You won’t find your friends,"" said Drakov.

"What ‘ave you done with ‘em"" Mulvaney said, tightening his grip.

"Finn Delaney and Andre Cross have made good their escape," said Drakov.

"Howdid you know their names"" Learoyd said.

"Thereis more involved here than you could imagine," Drakov said. "Far more than I can allow you to interfere with. They understood how much was at stake, and they could not afford to concern themselves with you. Neither can 1. "

He broke Mulvaney’s grip easily and threw him into Ortheris. Learoyd lunged at him with the knife, but Drakov was quicker. He blocked the thrust, turned Learoyd’s wrist, jerked him off balance, and chopped him to the ground. The Ghazis quickly closed in and the soldiers were taken.

"Nowthat I’m satisfied you’re no more than what you appeared to be, I can safely dismiss you from my mind," said Drakov. "Unfortunately for you, I can’t let you go. You’d warn the Tirah force and upset my plans. "

"Don’t you worry, mate," Mulvaney said. "We’ll upset more than yer plans yet."

"Brash talk," said Drakov, "and utterly pointless." He opened the door to the cell and went inside to pick up the warp disc Mulvaney had tossed into a corner. He smiled as he came out. "If you had known what this was, you would not have treated it so casually. But then, you’ll never know. I have only one question for you. What became of the soldiers who were holding you here"

"I haven’t the foggiest notion," said Learoyd. "If they had any sense, they went back to wherever it was they came from. It’ll take more than a few Ghazis and a handful of mercenaries to stop the Royal Indian Army, I can tell you that."

"You may be right," said Drakov. "It will take more. And there will be more. Meanwhile I have wasted enough time with you."

"Then kill us and have done with it, you swine," said Learoyd.

— Doubtless my friends would dearly love to slice you into ribbons," Drakov said, "but I am not a barbarian and I see no point to having you killed. And you may be of some value to me later, one never knows. I will leave instructions for them to keep you alive."

"Howbloody gracious of you," Ortheris said.

"I cannot promise more than that. After all, the British are my enemy, and I do not wish to appear too gracious. These cutthroats may decide to have some sport with you. Keep a stiff upper lip." He smiled. "After all, I could have had you sentenced to the Death of a Thousand Cuts. Are you familiar with that quaint custom" The victim is tied down and slowly sliced with knives.

Then thorns are pushed into the wounds as they’re sliced open. And that’s only one of the more creative amusements these people indulge in from time to time. We’ll see each other again before too long. And then you’ll have an opportunity to show me what soldiers in the Royal Indian Army are made of. Lock them up."

Drakov watched as they were thrown into the cell, then turned and headed back toward the main chamber. He was convinced that the three soldiers posed no threat, but he was uneasy. At first he had suspected that they might be time commandos, but he never would have broken away from them so easily if they were. Martial arts worked well on 19th century British soldiers. With commandos from the 27th century, it would have been another matter entirely.

It had sent a thrill through him when he learned that the troops from the alternate universe, the commandos of the Special Operations Group, had captured Andre Cross and Finn Delaney. It was all coming to a head once more, and perhaps this time it would happen. He had failed to bring about the ultimate temporal disaster twice before. Both times Delaney, Priest, and Cross had thwarted him. This time he felt sure he would succeed. This time it would not be an army of cutthroats and killers recruited from periods throughout time, as his pirates had been, but an army of highly trained commandos from an alternate timeline, people who were the match of his father’s cursed First Division.

Drakov was insane. Perhaps it had begun from child-hood, when his Russian Gypsy mother tried to explain to him how he had been born, but Vanna Drakova herself had not even fully understood it. Whatever she told her son about Moses Forrester, a father from the future — a man who had been lost and badly broken, whose life she had saved and with whom she had fallen in love — whatever strange version of the story she might have told him had only served to terrify the boy.

He could not comprehend how it was possible for a father to sire a son hundreds of years before his own birth. So his highly imaginative mind, already influenced by his mother’s Gypsy superstitions, led him to believe that he was born of some sort of supernatural union-a demon issue. This belief was only reinforced when he discovered that he did not sicken and that he healed from wounds with astonishing rapidity. It was reinforced further still as he got older and found that he did not age-or that he aged at a rate far slower than was normal. He did not know about such things as chronoplates or warp discs or antiagathic drug treat-ments until much later, but the seed of insanity was planted, nurtured by a hate for his father, who had left his mother alone and unprotected to die a violent death.

The seed of madness sprouted and began to grow when, as an adult in England, he met Sophia Falco, one of the leaders of a terrorist group known as the Timekeepers. When she learned the truth of his background, she used him to get back at Forrester. She seduced him, took him to the future with her, and obtained a black market cybernetic implant for him which, when programmed, gave him an education equal to that of a soldier in the First Division of the 27th century. And then, having fed his hate, she set the son against the father. She had failed and it resulted in her death, but she had not failed completely.

Forrester had never fully recovered from his guilt over what his son had come to, and Nikolai Drakov never understood why, at the crucial moment when he had his father at his mercy, he was unable to kill him. it had been to much. Too many things had happened to further unhinge an already unstable mind.

He escaped and formed the Time Pirates, composed of bloodthirsty mercenary soldiers from every period of time imaginable. Determined to strike back at his father and at the entire system that gave birth to him, he took upon himself the mantle of fate’s avatar. He stole a Soviet nuclear submarine and planned to use its missiles to fragment the timestream. His father’s commandos beat him once again, aided by the turncoat, Martingale. But they had not defeated him completely.

The consequences of that last great battle, Drakov was convinced, had brought about the confluence effect between two timelines. And he had been granted yet another opportunity. He would split the timeline, shatter it if possible into a thousand different timestreams, and in one of them, he knew, he would finally find peace. In his moments of lucidity, which came fewer and further between, he subsided into deep depression, an unutterable melancholy which made him weep for his mother and long for the normal life that might have been. At such moments he was tempted to escape, to find some tranquil period in time where he could forget it all and live out his extended lifespan in peace. But he was never able to escape from his worst enemy-himself.

The traitor Martingale had gotten away, but Drakov felt confident he would return. His father’s people now knew what was being planned, and they would retaliate. So much the better. The more chaos introduced into the scenario, the greater the chance of further disrupting history. He thought the commandos had been captured, and since there had been no report of Priest, he thought one of the other prisoners might have been him. He wondered what Lucas Priest’s reaction would have been when he was confronted by his twin. Now all three of them were unaccounted for. That bothered him. They were too damn resourceful, those three. And too damn lucky.

They would know about him being present on the scene now. He counted on them coming after him. it was one of the things he had tried to impress upon the soldiers from the alternate timeline-their plan had to be a multileveled one with fallback positions. The com mandos had never failed in an historical adjustment, and these three were the best of the lot. This time not even they would be able to stop it. They might stop one facet of the plan, but they would never stop the others. The moment the assassination of Winston Churchill was accomplished, and the moment the Tirah Expeditionary Force marched into the ambush, the advance team and he would move to execute the third part of the plan. They would teleport to Kabul and assassinate the Emir Abdur Rahman, pinning the blame on the Pathan warlord, Umra Khan.

The Russians would be certain to take advantage of their "friend" the emir being murdered by a Pathan warlord. They would march into Kabul and launch a punitive expedition against the tribes on the frontier, then not only control Afghanistan, but the British frontier buffer state between Rahman’s empire and India. It would lead to war, and history would be unalterably changed.

He activated his warp disc and clocked to his camp headquarters, materializing in his private chambers. Sadullah fell on his knees before him.

"I have failed, Holy One!" he moaned. "Forgive me! You have worked wonders to give me the chance to strike at the firinghi once more, and I have failed again. How can I make amends" How may I redeem my unworthiness in your eyes""

"You have failed no one save yourself, Sadullah," Drakov told him. "I warned you of this before. I did not expect for you to succeed at Chakdarra, only to light the flame of rebellion so that it would burn on after you had gone. Even now Hadda Mullah carries on your work. I am not displeased."

""Oh, bless you, Holy One! Truly, you are the most charitable and forgiving of-""

" "Charitable"" "said Drakov. "Forgiving" Let me show you how forgiving I am."

He beckoned Sadullah forward. The mullah followed him to one of the towers of the house, the entrance to which was barred by a heavy door. Drakov unlocked it. "In here," he said, "you will see the priceof failure."

He swept his arm out to indicate that Sadullah should ascend the stairs. Fearfully the mullah went through the door and slowly climbed the stairs. Drakov waited down below. He did not have long to wait. Moments later, a shrill throat-rending scream came from the tower.

Sadullah had climbed to the top of the tower, where he saw himself. Knowing nothing of Zen physics, he did not understand that he, who had been brought from the alternate timeline where he had already lost his holy war, now confronted his own twin in this timeline, whose place he had taken. He only saw himself, staked out naked on the floor, dying the Death of a Thousand Cuts.

The man Sadullah saw was beyond reason. He had been kept alive for weeks, given only bread and water to sustain him while slowly, over a period of time, Drakov’s guards had made hundreds of small incisions in his skin, pushing in the thorns while the wounds were still raw and bleeding.

Those wounds now festered with infection. The gangrenous skin was turning mottled green and black. Flies covered the filthy, scrofulous body, which despite it all was still alive. Lice crawled in the long, matted white hair. The eyes, protruding from their hollowed sockets, stared blankly at the ceiling, seeing nothing. Bilious spittle ran out of the corners of the mouth and maggots writhed in the infected wounds.

The screams from the top of the tower continued unabated. Drakov smiled. After seeing that, the mullah would risk anything, even death in battle, to avoid that fate. Sadullah would not fail now.

"What an extraordinary adventure! — Churchill said. "Attacked by Ghazis, escaping, and then traveling all alone through miles of hostile territory to find safe haven with the regiment. Incredible. I will be sure to mention it in my dispatches. What a sterling example of indomitable English spirit!"

" If it’s all the same with you, Winston, I’d rather you not mention it at all," said Andre. "A story such as that would only result in notoriety when I returned to England. I really have no wish to be deluged by requests to lecture upon my ‘harrowing adventures in Afghanistan.’ Nor would I wish to be known as an adventuress. I would much prefer to enjoy my privacy."

Churchill nodded. "Yes, well, certainly, since you put it that way, I quite understand. I will accede to your wishes. There is no lack of things to write about. We have had ourselves quite a time since we departed the Malakand fort. I said earlier that you had found safe haven here, but I must admit I do not quite know how safe it is. We have had reports the camp will be attacked tonight."

"Tonight"" said Finn. "Where did this intelligence come from""

"Thekhan of Nawagai has informed us so. He states that he has ‘definite information’ that a determined assault will take place tonight. I shouldn’t be surprised. fle will play both ends against the middle until he sees how it all comes out, whereupon he will give his allegiance to the victor. The politics of expediency seem to be a way of life with the tribes on the frontier. Friends one day, enemies the next, one battle decides the outcome and then the next is approached afresh." He chuckled. "Much like the House of Commons, in a way.

" "How does General Blood plan to deal with this threatened attack""" said Andre.

Churchill. shrugged. "There are no alternatives except to make a stand. Retreat in such uncertain political circumstances would be unthinkable. We must hold our position until General Elles arrives. The pass must be kept open, the khan ‘expediently’ loyal. And the Hadda Mullah’s Ghazis must not, under any circumstances, be permitted to join with the tribesmen of the Mamund. Therefore we are entrenched, a bold course, but soundly conceived. Our position is commanded by the surrounding heights, but unlike the Malakand, in this case the range is long. If an attack is launched, orders are to strike our tents, and all those not employed ‘ in the trenches must lie down, thereby reducing the risk of casualties. If they attack in force, we stand and fight.

"We expected an attack last night, but only a half-hearted attempt was made, one easily repulsed. We lost one man. Prior to that there had been some skirmishing. The squadron lost one horse when Ghazis opened fire on us from a nuflah, and that night one fool who strayed some fifty yards from his picket was killed by tribesmen lurking in the dark. It’s astonishing that you were able to get through. The enemy is always out there, creeping close at night and sniping or trying to kill the pickets. Everyone’s nerves are a bit on edge. You were fortunate. If you had come just one half hour later, you would most certainly have encountered savages taking advantage of the dark to get in close. They’re building up to it, that much is certain. Tonight may well be the night. I’m looking forward to it."

" I don’t think I am," Andre said.

"Never fear, Miss Cross. I shall keep close to you.

You have had quite an ordeal, but it shall be over soon. Once the pass is forced, we will have broken their resistance. After that it will only be a matter of destroying the fortified villages and bringing them to complete submission. "

"1 hope you’re right," said Andre.

Shots cracked out in the night. Churchill paused to listen. "More sniping"- he said."Orcould this be the push" "

Further shots followed rapidly, and the answer came when the order to strike the tents was passed. The men took to the trenches while others lay flat on the ground, protected by the entrenchment walls, but there was still danger from the dropping bullets. The soldiers con-served their fire. There was nothing to shoot at, no definite targets in the darkness. No one walked unless it was absolutely imperative, and even then they did so at great risk.

— Somewhat ignoble way to spend the evening, don’t you think"" said Churchill, keeping his head low to the ground.

"Iwas tired anyway, — said Finn. "I needed to lie down. "

Criurchi! i’s chuckle was lost in the screaming of the Ghazis who suddenly came charging out of the darkness on all sides of the camp. Volley after volley was poured into them and still they came, waving their swords, charging right into the bayonets of the troops. The new magazine rifles, coupled with the lethal dumdum bullets, took their toll as Ghazis fell by the dozens. There was no panic. The soldiers maintained disciplined fire in the face of a frightening onslaught, and the big guns fired star shells to illuminate the field in a pale, surreal light.

For those lying on the ground, well behind the trenches, there was nothing to do but remain flat and hope a stray bullet would not find them. Only Finn and Andre had a great deal more occupying their attention. They had to keep constantly on the alert for anyone approaching. The first charge was stopped and whistles blew, signaling an end to independent firing. Volley fire was the order now, until another charge threatened to break through.

It was not long in coming. Screaming at the tops of their lungs, the Ghazis came once more, swarming like army ants out of the darkess. Again the devastating fire was resumed. Ghazis charged up to within several yards of the big guns, only to be blown in half when they discharged. The scene in the trenches was a bizarre juxtaposition of men firing while others next to them engaged Ghazis at bayonet point.

Finn and Andre could spare no time to worry about Ghazis. They were watching their own troops, craning their necks all around to see if anyone in a British uniform was moving closer. And then the mortar fire started. The first shell exploded some thirty yards to the left of the camp, taking out more than a dozen Ghazis as it burst. The second one came moments later, striking just in front of the trenches.

Finn leaped on top of Churchill and kept him pinned beneath his weight as bullets whipped past them.

"We’ve got to find the bastards before they zero in! yelled Finn. At that moment a bullet struck him in the arm. "I’m hit!"

Churchill struggled to get up, but Finn pressed him down.

"Stay here!" shouted Andre.

Churchill never noticed Andre clocking out. Another shell landed, sending up clouds of dust and clods of earth as it struck the entrenchment wall. Men screamed. The Ghazi attack continued unabated as they charged the trenches again and again and the British soldiers kept up a punishing stream of fire.

Andre took a gamble. She clocked blind, trying to estimate relative distance coordinates for the heights behind the camp. She thought she knew the weapon being used, or its alternate universe equivalent-a pop mortar, a small tubelike weapon fired from the shoulder with scope sights attached on a slender, collapsible stalk. It would be equipptd with night sights, and it fired tiny, ball-shaped missiles about the size of walnuts. Its operation was completely silent except for an almost imperceptible popping sound made by the launching of the missles.

The plan was clear now. They had never intended to infiltrate assassins to kill Churchill. Instead they had taken up position on the heights in order to drop well-placed mortar fire into the camp, taking out the big guns and cutting down on the British advantage, allowing the Ghazis to break through. A few more shots and they would be zeroed in, able to drop missiles directly into the trenches.

Andre tried to estimate trajectory, to think as they had thought, to find the most logical place to set up their point of fire. They needed to be well away from the attacking Ghazis, and the best vantage point for the battle were the heights directly behind the encampment, on the side opposite the Bedmanai Pass. She still had to find them quickly, but it left a great deal of territory to search. Unless she was very lucky, the odds of finding them were very small. And that meant Churchill’s death-and Finn’s.