by Alan Black
“His name is Wallace. We certainly will enforce these warrants.”
Sno nodded, “Okay. Dad, make sure they don’t run. They both have too many ways to get out of this. They get to Earth and we won’t have a chance of getting justice.”
Willem said, “Already working on it. Abramsohn and Sons has a handle on all of this. You just watch your back.”
Abramsohn signaled for a tall, hulking young man to join them, “In light of that, I want to introduce you to Ben.”
Sno said, “I know Ben. Good to see you again. It’s been a while since we downed a few beers.”
Ben smiled, “I didn’t think you would remember me. We only danced once.”
Sno said, “Sure I remember you even though you look like you put on some weight since I last saw you.”
Ben patted his stomach, “It’s muscle mostly. I went to college on Earth. It is amazing what a steady diet of high gravity can do for a work out.”
Sno said, “Well, it is nice to see you again, Ben. But, I don’t need a date right now.”
Ben laughed, “My wife will be ever so happy to hear that.”
Sno turned to Abramsohn, “Okay, why is Ben here?”
Abramsohn replied, “Ben is your new shadow. He is your bodyguard. He is your second set of eyes.” He held up a stalling hand. “I know you don’t think you need a bodyguard. Nobody ever thinks they do, until they do.”
Sno said, “Hey, if Ben wants to hang around a while that is okay with me. No offense to Ben here who was a good egg a few years ago, but he has been to Earth and back. Do you trust him?”
Abramsohn nodded. “I trust Ben with your life, and with my life, and with the life of my newborn grandson. Ben is my son.”
Sno laughed and looked at Ben. “So you are Abramsohn’s son’s son?”
Ben laughed, “And my baby son Toby is Abramsohn’s son’s son’s son, but I think we will keep the name of the business the way it is.”
Sno said, “Good enough. Ben, are you ready to go to jail to protect your client?” Without waiting for a response, she scooped up her shotgun and shouted. “Bob, you fat bastard, let’s both go to jail.”
Sheriff Bob looked startled, “What? Wait, you can’t do that.”
Sno said, ”I have a warrant against you and I have a loaded shotgun. What do you see that says I can’t arrest you?”
“But, I’m the sheriff. It’s my jail.”
Brandy Johnson shouted over the crowd’s laughter, “Then you should know where it is, Sheriff Bob.”
Sno turned to her father. “Dad, if you and Abramsohn’s son can handle things here, then Sheriff Bob and I are going to jail.”
Willem laughed, “Have fun, Princess.”
“Okay, Sheriff Bob,” Sno said waiving the man toward the huge double cargo hatch leading to the street and into the town proper. “I got warrants on you and you got warrants on me. I don’t think that either one of us is going to skip out on these warrants and try to leave town, but there is no sense in taking any chances, right? So, we go to jail.”
“Um, right,” Bob said as he fell into step with Sno. “I guess we might as well go at this like adults. We seem to have attracted an audience.” He gestured behind them.
Sno saw about half of the crowd followed along behind them out of the tunnel and into the street.
Sheriff Bob waved to the crowd, “Come on folks. The citizens of Arizona City don’t hide their law in backrooms and behind closed doors. You all might as well be witnesses to the whole show. This young lady and I have counterbalanced warrants requiring arbitration.”
Sno did not contradict him on arbitration. She was really glad he was thinking that way. She was ready to face a duel with Queene, Wallace and three of the four pirates, but as mean as she was feeling, she was not quite ready to face Sheriff Bob. She was sure she could take him in any kind of duel: fists, knives or guns. She practiced often. She was fast, very fast and very, very accurate, but Sheriff Bob was just more of a goofball, not someone who deserved to die.
She let Sheriff Bob fall a bit behind as he played to the crowd. She almost laughed as he launched into a campaign speech for his next election.
She turned to Ben. His eyes seemed to scan everywhere at once, looking at everything and everyone except her.
“Well, Ben,” she said. “It doesn’t look like you have much to worry about with all of these witnesses around us.”
“Not quite, Miss Whyte. Crowds can be more dangerous than empty streets. It is harder to see an attacker coming.” Sno smiled at her bodyguard. “Ben, it seems that we have known each other since we were kids even though we haven’t seen each other in a while. Maybe you should try calling me Sno. After all I do recall that we danced once or twice.”
“Danced? Miss Whyte.” Ben smiled, but his eyes continued swiveling, watching the crowd. “I seem to remember one night we even kissed.”
Sno stopped in the street, “Kissed? You and me? Damn, Ben. I am sorry, I don’t remember that.”
Ben gestured her forward. “Yes, Miss Whyte and I will expect you to clearly remember you do not remember that when you meet my wife. But, as a client you are Miss Whyte. When this job is over and you are safe, both legally and physically, I will be glad to call you Sno and even introduce you to my wife Grace and my son Toby.”
“That is a deal, Ben. You watch my back and I will watch yours. I don’t want to have you hurt, because I sure don’t want to tangle with any woman who has managed to throw her loop around you.”
He gestured with his head pointing out Vittie heading straight for them. Sno almost gritted her teeth, but gave a small shake of her head as if to clear it. She let a smile come to her face. Vittie slid up next to her and grabbed her hand. Sno’s first reaction was to pull away, but she controlled her impulse and smiled at the woman. Vittie may have been an earther, but the woman had just stood on the dock with Dad pointing a gun at a local duly-appointed, law enforcement deputy.
Sno juggled the shotgun and slipped her hand free from Vittie’s. She reached inside the shipboard utility coveralls she was wearing. She jerked a strap and shrugged her shoulders uncomfortably.
Vittie smiled, “Uncomfortable foundations?”
Sno shook her head, “I don’t know so much about that, but this bra is killing me. I have been wearing a bra with these coveralls since I took those animals on board Sedona. I guess I just am not used to this wearing many clothes for this long. I just felt the need to cover up with them around.”
Vittie nodded, “I know the feeling. After we get you settled in jail I can skip back to the Sedona and get you a more comfortable change of clothing.”
“Really? Thanks, jeans and t-shirts are good. I should have changed before we docked, but I didn’t think about it.”
Sno added, “And you, earth-girl. Nice gun skills.”
Vittie gave a shiver. “I don’t know what I would have done if I had to pull the…this thingee.”
Sno shrugged. “It’s the trigger. Either you would have or you wouldn’t. I am just glad no one had to squeeze off a round. That would have been a real mess, too many guns in too small of a space.”
Vittie looked up at Sno. “You know, I don’t get it. It would be easy enough to keep all of the guns out. That would make this place a whole lot safer.”
“Would it? I don’t know about that. I know you have read the Ceres bylaws because that is one of the conditions for you to live here full time.”
“You mean clause two? Yeah, I’ve always wanted to ask why it is clause two when it is the first clause listed.”
Sno nodded. “Exactly.”
Vittie looked confused, “What? I don’t get it.”
“No. I suppose not. Most earthers don’t get it right off the start. It kind of sneaks up on you.”
“No. I mean. I understand it. I even learned it enough to quote it. ‘A well armed citizen is necessary to the security of a free state, therefore the right of the people, collectively and individually, to keep and bear
arms shall not be infringed or abridged.’
Sno nodded. “Do you know where it comes from?”
Vittie shook her head negatively.
Sno said, “With some minor wording changes it is from the old United States of America Constitution, before it became invalidated by politicians and the world government.”
Vittie said, “I remember something about that from school, but those were different times when that was written. People needed guns to hunt and to feed their families. There isn’t anything to hunt on Ceres. Maybe some people used to need it for self defense, but crime is so minimal here and the police are only a phone call away.”
Ben snorted. He looked surprised at his own interruption. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”
Sno smiled, “The police? So you want to trust the police here?” She hooked a thumb over her shoulder where Sheriff Bob was campaigning with anyone who would listen.
Vittie said, “Okay I see the point and I can see that by the time the police get there it may be too late.”
Sno replied, “Yes, it usually is.”
Vittie said, “I know on Earth it is all but impossible to get rid of guns. Some rogue country will always try to make and export guns. But here on Ceres you are such a small town you should be able to control the import or export of such things.”
Sno nodded, “There you have it.”
Vittie shook her head, “Maybe I am as dense as you say. I just don’t get it.”
Sno laughed, “No. You are not dense, just conditioned to hear only what you have been told is the right thing to hear. Typical earther. Here this is called the second clause out of respect to the old U.S. Constitution where it was listed second in the…what was it called, Ben?”
Ben replied, “Bill of Rights.”
Sno nodded, “That’s it, the Bill of Rights. However, when Grandpa Snowden and the others wrote the bylaws they listed it first because they believed it was this very right that the people would need to protect any or all of the other rights. The right to keep and bear arms is not about hunting. It is not about self defense; although it certainly has benefits for doing that. It is about keeping any government we put in place from controlling those imports and exports. It is about keeping any government from deciding how, where, and with whom we live. It is about keeping their police,” again she hooked a thumb over her shoulder at Sheriff Bob, “from turning this into a police state, from making false arrests and from just plain getting too big for his britches.”
Vittie nodded. “But didn’t the people in the United States understand what the real meaning to the clause was?”
Sno shook her head. “I don’t know. I spent more time studying astronavigation and the properties of mining than I did Earth history and old politics. Ben?”
Ben nodded, but did not stop trying to watch everyone, everything, and everywhere all at once. “Many people did know the truth of what the original authors had written, but many others just believed what they had been told by the media and some very foolish elected officials.”
Vittie asked, “Foolish? How so? If they were elected, then they had to do what their constituents wanted them to do, right?”
“No,” Ben replied. “Normally, they did what the people who got them elected wanted them to do. That had very little to do with who actually voted for them. The normal voter only heard what the media told them.”
Vittie said, “I know that now. I can see the difference in news coverage here versus on Earth. But, wouldn’t a politician be bound to follow the wishes of the people?”
Ben shook his head, “Nope. The people voted for the person, but much of the time politicians were elected by delegates, super-delegates and backroom deals. Still, once in office they all took an oath to defend the constitution from all enemies, both foreign and domestic. They just messed it up and lost the United States sovereignty.”
Vittie said, “No. Wait. I was born there. I know the United States of America exists. It is not perfect, but it is still a good place.”
Ben nodded, “I didn’t say it wasn’t still there, it just isn’t the same country it used to be. They lost their political will to a thing called normalcy. Look, it happened a while back. A president had been elected by the usual process of a popularity contest. He was a nice guy and genuinely seemed to want everyone to like him. He seemed to be concerned about having all of the other Earth countries like his country, too. So, one day the United Nations came and told him that a hundred and twenty-two other countries had signed a gun control treaty and they wanted the United States to sign on; to make it the normal thing to do. This president declared we must join the international community. I am sure he believed the gun ban wouldn’t take away people’s rights to keep and bear arms, but he was wrong.”
Vittie said, “I know people can still get guns, they just have to prove they have a reason to need the gun, pay a fee, get registered and prove they can keep the gun safe.”
Ben said, “And they have to submit to a medical and psychological profile, get fingerprinted, optical scanned, DNA scanned and then have their name, picture and address in the news letting criminals know where they can go to steal another gun. Speaking of criminals, how is the crime rate compared to a hundred years ago?”
Vittie said, “Well, it is worse, but that is just because there are more people than there was a hundred years ago. The high crime was one reason I moved to Ceres.”
Ben said, “Okay another point: what other rights has American’s lost recently?”
Vittie shook her head, “None.”
Ben said, “Really? You didn’t go to church then?”
Vittie nodded, “When I was a little girl sure my folks would take me. But I guess it became too much of a hassle to get a permit after I got a little older. But how is getting a permit a violation of freedom of religion. You know after the 21st century religious wars the government had to watch certain religions to protect our safety. So to be fair they had to register where everyone went and what they professed to believe.”
Ben smiled, “Isn’t free if you have to ask and get permission. The citizens of Earth have to ask the government to get a permit to get a weapon to protect themselves from the government. Yeah, I can see someone in control wanting to give arms to someone who doesn’t want them in control.”
Vittie said, “But even on Earth the people are the government.”
Sno said, “Maybe so or maybe that is just what they tell you. But here it is true. The people are the government. And the guns protect us from ourselves.”
Vittie nodded in agreement, “Okay. I still don’t get it, but okay. Anyway, I wonder if Willem will let me keep this revolver.” She looked down at the semi-automatic pistol in her left hand.
Sno shook her head, “Damn, earther. It’s a pistol not a revolver. So you like the way it feels?”
Vittie nodded, “I don’t know why, but it feels lighter than I thought it would.”
Sno said, “It is not the gun that is lighter. It is your heart. You’re feeling a touch of freedom. So, you get Dad to teach you how to use it. He is a good teacher. He taught me. Then maybe you can carry it around.”
Ben said, “Jail time, Miss Whyte.” They had arrived at the jail compound; a chain link fence surrounding a small section of the city park.
Sno shouted, “Okay, Sheriff Bob, it is your lock up. You got the key?”
Sheriff Bob trotted up. “We don’t have to do this now. Calmer heads can prevail. All we have to do is set up time with an arbitrator to work out the mediation on the warrants.”
Sno snapped back, “Set up an arbitrator?! Look you sad, stupid, son-of-a-Siberian sheepdog. You will get your sorry ass in that jail or I will call for seconds and we can duel this out right now.” Sno felt the carefully controlled level in her anger tank start to bubble higher. She knew feeling the anger rise didn’t mean the same thing as controlling that anger. She knew somewhere deep inside she had an anger reservoir. It was filled to the top and just about to slop ove
r.
“What?” Sheriff Bob sputtered, “There isn’t any call for such threats and name calling.”
“No need for seconds in a duel either. I would just as soon put a couple of shells from my shotgun into your fat gut and go out for a beer. Or did you forget I was still holding this?”
“But it is my jail, I am a public figure. You are doing this just to embarrass me.”
Sno shouted, “You are an embarrassment. I don’t care how many deputies you have in this crowd, you choose right now: jail or the business end of this shotgun.”
Chapter 20.0
Sheriff Bob pulled keys from a ring on his belt and unlocked the jail gates. He unclasped his police utility belt dropping it to the ground. He unclipped his holster and dropped his gun next to the belt. He tossed the keys on top of the pile.
He stepped into the middle of the gate and said, “After you, Miss Whyte.” He gestured gallantly to her with a sweeping arm to direct her into the open chain link jail.
Sno was fuming, but she dropped her shotgun into the pile. She pulled a utility knife from a pocket, dropped it and then slid out a long fixed blade knife from a boot and dropped it on the pile as well.
She forced a smile at Sheriff Bob. “Try something in there, Bob. I would just as soon kick your tail barehanded.”
She stepped past the sheriff and into the jail compound.
Ben started to follow, not dropping any weapons.
Sheriff Bob held up a hand. “Where are you going, bub?”
“It is Ben, not bub. I have a private security contract with Miss Whyte from Abramsohn and Sons.”
“It is my jail and you can’t go in there armed.”
Ben snorted, “I can and I will. As an elected official of the government are you planning on trying to interfere with a valid business contract?” Sheriff Bob shook his head and Ben continued, “No, I thought not. I will see you inside.” He called over his shoulder, “Miss Encarcion, please take care of Miss Whyte’s weapons and try to find a neutral third party to take care of the jail’s keys.”
