Pathspace

by Matthew Kennedy

Chapter 93

  Lester: “Let us go then, you and I”

  Lester turned to follow Xander's gaze and saw the other tank turning toward them, two blocks down the street. “Do you have any more surprises like this one?”

  “'Fraid not. I had plans for more, given time, but he got his fuel sooner than I had counted on. Looks like we'll have to improvise. Did you tell her not to chase him?”

  “I delivered the message. You think Brutus will follow through on the original plan, now that his CO is dead?”

  Instead of answering immediately, Xander lunged into him, knocking the two of them to the ground. Behind them an explosion took a chunk out of the side of a building. “Looks that way. We should split up, and be separate targets instead offering him a two-fer.”

  The two of them lunged to their feet and diverged, zig-zagging down the street toward the tank. And exactly what are we going to do, when we get to it? Lester wondered.

  Xander scooped up his staff. Lester could see that the Honcho's tank must have run over it at some point. The wood had shattered, and the iron pipe inside it was crushed nearly flat. As the tank's gun swiveled around, Lester dove toward him and rolled to his feet. “What are you going to do with that?”

  “Well, not fly, that's for sure,” Xander said “Too narrowed for that now. But I have another idea.” He felt about in his pockets as they dodged another round. “Do you have any money?”

  Lester just stared at him. “You do remember that I'm an unpaid apprentice, right?”

  “Never mind.. I found some.” Xander pushed him down again as another shell blasted into some building beside them. He had just enough time to turn his head to avoid having glass and rock fragments pepper his face. As it was, the debris pummeled them like rocky rain as they lay there sprawled.

  Xander didn't bother to pick grit out of his hair, but rolled over and began snatching the coins he had dropped.

  The tank was closer now. “You can't stay here! Keep moving!” shouted Lester.

  “That's my line,” grumbled Xander, but he rolled to his left and pointed his staff at the approaching tank. Flow began, this time with a more whistling sound than its usual hum, and he began to slide across the street toward the killing machine.

  Not what I meant! What's he doing? But it was too late to stop him now. He dashed across the street and began approaching the tank from the other side. The tank seemed to ignore him as unimportant. It fired one more round at Xander that left Lester's ear's ringing.

  At the last second, Xander managed an extra burst of thrust from the remains of his staff, and hopped onto the right side of the tank.

  Since it was coming down the street, Lester managed to reach its left side only moments later. Trying not to think about what he was doing, he leaped up and managed to grab a handrail to swing his legs up above the wheels and tread.

  As he climbed the rest of the way onto the turret, he met Xander coming from the other side. “Hang on to something” the older man cried, “because they'll be trying to shake us off any second.” He wedged the flattened pipe between his knees as he followed his own advice. Lester gripped the handrail with both hands, the metal cold as ice, and the tank began to fishtail, swerving one way, then the other as the driver inside attempted to rid his metal beast of the two human fleas on its back.

  Right about now they should be losing patience with this, thought Lester. I wonder what their next move is? As he had that thought, the tank stopped veering, settling in a path slanting across the road. He heard the sound of metal sliding and the hatch on the right side of the turret swung up. An angry face rose into view. It was Brutus!

  Brutus raised a crossbow and aimed it at Xander, who was fiddling with something in his hand. Lester let go of the handrail with one hand but realized he was too far away to knock the aim aside.

  “Goodbye, wizard,” said Brutus.

  Xander tossed something into the open hatch and ducked under the aim of the crossbow as he grabbed his metal pipe and swung the end of it into the larger man. Brutus oomphed a grunt as the pipe struck him, but with both hands on the crossbow he could not prevent himself from toppling back into the interior of the tank. Xander let go of the pipe with one hand and reached forward to slam the hatch shut on him. “Time to go!” he yelled, and jumped off the right side of the vehicle. Without thinking Lester followed suit, landing in the snow of the road and rolling.

  The tank, for some reason, did not turn at the last moment to straight out its course, as if the occupants were otherwise engaged. Lester scrambled to his feet and watched the tank crash into the front of a building. It pushed partly through the wall and slowed, treads grinding on debris. Then the treads stopped.

  “What did you throw in there?”

  Xander grinned. “Five dollars worth of death, in the form of white-hot everflames.” He barked a laugh. “Clothing and wire insulation both tend to be pretty flammable.”

  The hatches popped open again. This time, smoke billowed out of it, followed by an angry Brutus. There were scorch marks on his uniform.

  The tank was still not moving. “Oh dear,” said Xander. “Did I get lucky and break your toy? Well, I'm not sorry.”

  There was murder in the Texan's eyes. “Nuthin that can't be fixed,” he sneered. “What I'm going to do to you, however. . . .”

  Lester could see Xander draw himself up, but he stepped forward and thrust the old wizard behind him. “I believe I have this dance,” he said. His eyes were hard as steel.

  Brutus laughed. “Grandpa can't take me, but you think you can?”

  Lester stared back at him. “We have unfinished business.”

  “That so? Well I reckon we can finish it real quick.”

  Lester looked him up and down. “I believe you're right about that.”

  He felt Xander's hand on his shoulder. “Les, you don't have to do this. War isn't personal.”

  Lester shook the hand off. “Sorry but this is.” He looked at Brutus. “In a minute or two there'll be men will be boiling out of the Governor's headquarters with enough crossbows to make you a human pincushion. They're good men so they'll probably let you surrender.” He paused. “But you killed my father. For that, and for what you did to my mother, you don't get to surrender.”

  Brutus made as if to laugh, but lunged at him instead, seeking to catch him off guard.

  Lester was ready for that. He ducked to one side, stuck out a foot and added a push to the middle of the bigger man's back to help him on his way to landing on his belly sliding toward the center of the street.

  As Brutus growled climbing to his feet on the slippery surface, the snow on the road began to move toward him from all directions. He blinked at it, in surprise, but the expression on his face shifted when he felt something begin to lift him off his feet.

  A smoke ring of snow hovered for a moment parallel to the road, then as the force of the incoming wind grew to a roar, the ring,with Brutus in the center of it, began rising into the night air. Lester let it get almost as high as the top of the Governors 'scraper before he relaxed the pathspace weave and let it dissipate.

  A cold part of him, colder than the snow, enjoyed the terrified scream that wailed from Brutus as the man plummeted several hundred feet into the now-uncovered street. If he winced at the sickening impact, it didn't show.

  He stared at the body, where something wet was spreading, making the road even darker. Eventually he was aware of Xander coming up to stand beside him. “Thanks.”

  “For what?”

  “For not interfering.”

  Xander shook his head. His eyes were still on the body. “I'm glad you're on our side.”

  “I remembered what you said,” Lester told him. “You can make a swizzle out of anything, anywhere. The metal pipe just helps anchor the pattern, to make it last longer.” He thought for a moment. “I suppose with a little sideways push I could have dropped him on the neat bullseye your melted snow made around the Honcho's tomb.” He brushed fresh snow out of his
hair. “But anyway, it's over.”

  “No it isn't,” said Xander. “We still have to find the rest of those tanks.”