Everyone replied in the negative, with Summer just smiling.
“Great. In that case, Jordan, you and Lane go get your travel partner. Matt and I’ll figure out which one of us gets ours.” This was said with a smile because he was pretty sure Matt would volunteer, and he’d let him. “Jordan, you’ll go with one of us. Lane, you can either go alone or take Einstein with you, but let’s get these tickets now. We’ll want to be on one of the trains that gets into Spokane fairly early, so we can hopefully transfer to the Ellensburg, Pasco, or Yakima train as soon as possible. I checked: they’ve got one leaving Chicago at nine o’clock in the evening, which should get us into Spokane about six in the morning.”
“Why not just take it tonight?” Lane asked.
“Good question. Short answer is, we’re already booked in here, we didn’t have the money for the trip before now, so we might’s well enjoy a nice hotel for a night.
“Second, since we’re likely going to be on trains for the next two, maybe three days, it’s best if we get our laundry done. Pay extra if you need to, but since the train doesn’t leave until the evening, it might not be as much of a rush. Any questions?”
Everyone shook their head or muttered “nope.”
“Okay, let’s get cracking, then,” Bill said, clapping his hands together.
“C’mon, guys,” Matt said, getting up. “Let’s go get our tickets. I already know Bill was gonna volunteer me, so let’s not waste any time.”
When the three men left, Bill, Summer, and Einstein sat down in the suite and talked, something they hadn’t had time to do together since the two had joined the Explorers.
Bill learned that Summer was born in Mobile, Alabama, but had moved to Memphis just recently, after her mother had passed away. Bill was shocked to discover that the only thing she knew about her father was that he was white and had raped her mother. It appeared to be an all-too-common event in the Confederacy. “Ain’t much changed since slavery ended,” she said in way of explanation. “How you think so many Negroes have light skin? Ain’t from coming from Africa.”
She considered herself fortunate, in that she not only graduated high school, apparently an uncommon thing in the Confederacy, but she was also trained as a secretary and had a job in a warehouse office. She had taken a week off to visit family in Atlanta when she met Jordan on the train and decided that she’d rather spend time with him and see where it went. It appeared, to Bill, to be going pretty far.
Einstein had been born and raised in Germany, where his father was a professor of hydraulic engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, and his grandfather had been a professor of physics at Humboldt University of Berlin and the director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Physics. Like his father before him, Gunther Einstein grew up in Berlin and traveled the world, pursuing research opportunities, obtaining his doctorate in physics from Humboldt University of Berlin.
Less than an hour after leaving, the three Explorers were back with tickets. That left everyone with the rest of the afternoon and evening to get things done or explore the town, so that’s what they did. Bill sent another telegram to Miles, providing an estimated time of arrival in Yakima and requesting a pick-up for six people.
The next day saw them on the train to Spokane, with stops along the way, one being the border crossing into Deseret where the forged passports seemed to pass inspection. At least, neither holder was pulled off the train and thrown into jail. The ultimate test would be when they arrived in the Republic of California.
Two days later, their train pulled into Spokane after a short wait for another train to pull out.
79
Three days after starting out from the Confederacy, Drew and Wendall finally pulled into Spokane, entering the Republic of California. When asked their reason for visiting the Republic they said they were distributors for a wine and spirits company and they had heard that there were some excellent wines coming out of Washington and were looking at adding to their inventory.
The immigration officer who boarded the train to inspect passports, collect customs forms, and check over the people entering his country never bothered to look in the two men’s bags, so he had no reason to question their story. Had he seen all the handcuffs they carried, that might have been a different story. As it was, he just welcomed them to Washington State and the Republic of California and suggested they check out the wines in Walla Walla. “Lots of good stuff coming out of there, especially the Horse Heaven Hills area. Hell, pretty soon we’ll be rivaling the wines of Napa and Germany’s Bordeaux region.
After stamping their passports, the officer moved on. The two men collected their gear and disembarked the train.
Spokane was unlike anything Drew had experienced beforehand. The closest he could think of was maybe Spain or Greece, with the dry environment and heat. He found that the heat, while just as warm as Montgomery, was more tolerable due to the low humidity.
The other thing that struck him was the ethnic make-up he saw on the platform. Instead of a mix of whites and Negroes, here it was mostly whites with Asians. Looking about, he realized that there were no Negroes anywhere in sight. It was one thing to have that in private facilities, like restaurants, hotels, and train cars, but not out in public, which was why he didn’t notice it on the trip. All his time had been spent in railroad cards which he had assumed were segregated. It reminded him a bit of Europe, where neither Negroes nor Asians were in abundance.
Now that the agents had arrived in Washington, they needed to get a truck and start visiting universities. Spokane had two private universities, Whitworth and Gonzaga, and two public universities south of the city. Wendall found a phone booth with directories and started making calls while Drew sat in the shade on the platform watching their bags, his coat draped over the gun bags. Their train pulled out, and just as soon it was replaced by another westbound train, the Northwest Passage. Drew thought, Kitschy name. Fits, but still kitschy.
It wasn’t long before passengers were getting off, many of them leaving the platform for the street, some heading for the ticket station. Idly, Drew watched them.
He saw a Negro step off the train, which he found curious. The man turned around and helped another Negro off the train, this one a woman. Fine lookin’ woman, Drew thought, recognizing beauty across racial lines. The man looked somewhat familiar, as if Drew was experiencing déjà vu, but he couldn’t quite place it. Since he was looking for a single Negro, not part of a pair, his brain refused to clue in on what his subconscious was telling him.
Further down the platform, another non-white man climbed down from the train, in the company of an older white man. Clearly, not a relation, and Drew wondered what the story was. Servant? Lovers? His years in the CBE had inured him to the fact that homosexuality existed. He didn’t understand it, but it wasn’t his problem. He watched as the two made their way to the ticket office. He then noticed that the Asian was carrying a gun bag that looked identical to the one he had kept his CBE-issued shotgun in. It wasn’t a very common gun bag, but it was common enough that it wasn’t unreasonable for somebody to own one. It even had a stain in the same place his did, where he accidentally spilled some Hoppe’s Number Nine on it when cleaning the shotgun after a day at the range.
A minute later, another pair of men exited a car close to Drew, and that one caused his heart to race. If there was one face whose features he had recalled from the now-stolen composite drawings from Memphis, it was Bill Clark’s. And damned if that wasn’t him. Likely with Matt Green. And, damned if he wasn’t carrying Drew’s submachine gun bag. That bag was a special one, issued only by the CBE for its agents. It even had the brass tag with Drew’s name engraved on it on the side where he could see it.
Drew almost drew his revolver upon seeing Bill, but stopped. As he did, his hand near the butt of his gun hidden in the shoulder holster under his coat, he clearly attracted Bill’s attention, his head whipping around and focusing on Drew like a snake about to strike.
They were probably the coldest eyes he had ever seen.
Drew allowed himself to relax and tried to look as if he were just scratching an itch, while surreptitiously watching Bill head into the ticket office. Just then, Wendall returned, saying, “Found a truck for us, it’s…” Drew waved him to silence, then practically under his breath said, “They’re here!”
“What?”
“They’re here. The suspects. They just went into the ticket office. Head in there and find out where they’re going. There’s too many for us to try to take by ourselves.”
With a slightly confused look on his face, Wendall headed off to the ticket office.
80
Once in the ticket office, Bill quietly told the others, “That CBE agent who tried to arrest us in Atlanta is outside.”
Lane nodded. “I thought that was him.”
“Don’t act on like you know. Let’s just get the tickets and get on the train when it gets here.”
Just then, another man walked in and stood behind them, waiting his turn for a ticket.
First Jordan, then Lane, and finally Bill purchased their tickets. They were able to get connecting tickets from Ellensburg to Yakima, which meant a nice trip down the Yakima Canyon. Bill liked that idea mainly because it was the location of his first date with Meri; a fly-fishing trip they did on the day they met.
It would have been nice to stay on the Northwest Passage, but that train was heading toward Everett, over Stevens Pass, and they needed to one that was heading over Snoqualmie Pass, further south, that would actually pass by Ellensburg.
Taking their tickets, Bill and Matt started to return to the platform. At that moment, the man who had been waiting behind them asked for two tickets to Yakima. His accent had Confederate States of America written all over it.
Bill and Matt continued out the door, heading away from Drew and closer to their companions. Bill said, “Looks like we’ve got two after us. Tell the others to be prepared. I’m gonna make a call.”
Bill placed a call to Miles, dropping fifty cents into the pay slot after the operator told him the amount. Nancy answered on the second ring.
“Nancy, it’s Bill.”
“Hi, Bill, nice to hear from you.”
“We may have a problem.” Bill explained about the two CBE agents following them, and that he expected them to follow the Explorers all the way to Yakima. He also gave their approximate time of arrival.
“Not a problem. Miles and I’ll meet you at the station,” which meant, for Bill, that the two would be loaded for bear. We’ve been in touch with home daily, so if you get in on time, we’ll have you home by suppertime.”
Bill translated that to mean they would cross over to Hayek this afternoon. “Great. As I said in the telegram, we’ve got a couple of guests that’ll be joining us for supper. I’ll explain when we arrive.”
Saying their farewells, Bill hung the heavy handset back into its place and stepped out of the booth.
The wait for the train to Ellensburg wasn’t too long, only three hours. It consisted of four cars; a café car and three passenger cars. The Explorers elected to travel in the last car, selecting seats on the platform side. All four Explorers chose seats facing the front of the train, which meant they occupied two passenger rows. Summer and Einstein took seats facing Jordan and Lane.
After Bill boarded and took his seat, he kept an eye out for the two CBE agents. Sure enough, just before the train pulled out, the two men boarded the first passenger car, the one in front of the café car. He notified the others. “Be prepared.”
Jordan and Lane moved up to the seats facing Bill and Matt.
“I think we should take these guys out before they have a chance to do anything,” Matt suggested.
Bill shook his head, a plan forming. “Not yet. Let’s wait until we’re on the train to Yakima.” He then outlined his plan to them. As plans went, it wasn’t bad, and hopefully wouldn’t lead to the death of anyone.
Two hours after leaving Spokane, the train rolled into Ellensburg. The station wasn’t much, smaller than Spokane’s. Before exiting, Bill told everyone to stay together, but stay prepared for anything. Not many people got off the train and even fewer stayed to catch the connecting train to Yakima. It was a strain being on the same platform as the two CBE agents, but Bill figured they were probably as stressed as he, so he chose to basically ignore them.
Bill saw the agent who had tried to arrest him enter a phone booth next to the ticket office and wondered what the man was up to. Likely calling for backup, if he can find any here. Long way from the Confederate States, aren’t you buddy?
The train to Yakima was a small affair, consisting of a locomotive and two passenger cars. The trip was a short one, less than an hour, and would pass through the Yakima Canyon. Bill and his companions boarded the first car while the CBE agents boarded the second.
The four Explorers took seats by the car’s rear door, and Bill and Lane surreptitiously removed their respective long guns from their gun bags.
As the train entered the canyon, Bill remembered the physical geography course he had taken when the professor had talked about the canyon. While most rivers form and then cut a groove through land, following the path of least resistance, much like what happened in the Grand Canyon, the Yakima River was actually in existence before the land faulted and folded, and as the land rose, the river cut through it. It’s what geographer’s call an antecedent stream, meaning it was there before the landform. That’s what made the Yakima Canyon so unique. Bill loved fishing it, particularly with his wife. As he gazed out the window at the river below briefly, he thought, With any luck, Meri and I’ll be fishing it next week.
It wasn’t until after the train had entered the canyon that the men took action. The conductor, having punched everyone’s tickets, moved on to the second car. As he stepped through the door between the cars, Jordan and Matt moved up behind him, keeping low so nobody in the second car could see them. Once on the platform between the cars, the two stepped to either side of the doors. Bill could see Jordan from his vantage point, and Jordan could see Bill. Bill could also see through the doors into the second car, watching as the conductor went from passenger to passenger punching tickets. He would nod to Jordan if he saw either of the CBE agents coming.
Eventually, Bill saw the CBE agent he recognized from Atlanta, Drew Peters he recalled from the stolen credentials, get up and head toward the rear of the train. Bill suspected he was going to use the toilet. Then he saw the other agent get up and start walking toward the first car. Curiosity getting the better of you, is it? Bill thought.
By this time, the train was well into the canyon, slowing as it went around one of the many meanders. Bill caught Jordan’s eye and nodded.
Waugh slid the door to the car open. Because of the angle, he couldn’t see either Jordan or Matt, and stepped onto the platform between the cars unaware of their presence. As the door closed behind him, he turned slightly and saw the barrel of a pistol pointed at his head. Behind it was the murderous look of a light-colored Negro, who muttered “One move. Just one move and you’re dead.”
Behind him, Matt said, “Step this way, and any funny moves and I’ll gladly blow your brains out.”
Waugh backed up so he was no longer in Bill’s view, nor could he be seen by the passengers in the second car. Jordan, still to the side of the door and also out of view of those in the second car, kept his pistol trained on the CBE agent.
Bill knew what was coming next, so switched his attention to the window looking out at the river. Thirty seconds later he saw what he had expected to see, the CBE agent flying through the air away from the train. Fortunately for the agent, the train tracks were close enough to the river that when he hit, it was in the river, and not on the ground or against a tree. Before the train got too far out of sight, he saw the man’s head and arms pop up above the water, waving frantically as he made his way to shore. Bill smiled to himself. Yeah, I bet that water’s cold.
&nb
sp; Several minutes passed before Peters returned to his seat, looking about for Waugh. Initially, he didn’t appear too concerned, but as the train continued through the canyon, Bill could see his concern growing, to the point where he, too, got up and came toward the first car.
Bill tried to appear unconcerned when he saw Peters at the door, looking through the door’s window into the first car.
Not gonna see your buddy, here, Bill thought, hoping that Drew would step through the door as his partner had. No such luck. With a shake of his head, Drew returned to his seat, where he remained for the rest of the voyage.
Before pulling in to Yakima, Bill and Lane returned their long guns to their respective gun bags. Jordan and Matt remained on the car’s platform, where they would stay until the train came to a halt. Summer had Jordan’s pack and Einstein carried Matt’s.
As the train pulled into the station, Bill, Lane, Summer, and Einstein rose from their seats and made their way toward the front of the train where they exited. Jordan and Matt, pistols held down by their legs, unobtrusive but ready, got down from their platform and joined the other four. As they made their way down the platform to the main part of the station, Bill glanced back and saw Drew getting down from the back of the last car, looking about. It was clear he was worried about his partner but also didn’t want to lose sight of his quarry.
A quick walk through the station, out the doors, and down the steps, and Bill saw Miles wave to him from the same pickup truck he had dropped them off in. Was that barely a month ago? Bill thought. Seems like forever.
Bill had Summer and Einstein ride up front while the four Explorers got into the bed of the truck. Dropping his pack on the floor, he sat down and pulled his gun bag into his lap.
The Corps of Discovery Trilogy Box Set: Books 1-3: A multiverse series of alternate history Page 86
