Earth-Thunder

by Patrick Tilley

  The samurai drew his sword and gestured towards the door. ‘I go left along verandah, you go right. Soldiers will have white head-band. Only shoot them, not me!’

  Steve gave him a thumbs-up then looked in on Fran. She hadn’t stirred. He shut the door to the bed-chamber, doused the lanterns. Yoshijiro unlocked both doors, eased each one open in turn to check the left and right flank then signalled the all clear.

  Steve followed him out, tip-toeing along the verandah to the right as Yoshijiro went left. It was still quite dark. Steve stopped and listened. Not a sound. He tightened his grip on the bow and felt the cold sweat on his palm.

  Do it, Stevie. People are waiting. One more, one less. You can live with it.…

  He turned, extended his left arm, drawing the spearpoint of the arrow back towards the bow and aimed at the back of Yoshijiro’s neck. Theee-yunngh! The samurai heard the action of the bow and was halfway through the turn when the arrow struck him below the jaw, severing the jugular vein as it passed through his throat. A second arrow punched through his rib cage as he toppled like a felled tree off the far end of the verandah.

  Steve heard a movement behind him. It was Roz. He loosed a great sigh of relief and hugged her fiercely. ‘That was harder than it should have been. I must be developing a conscience.’

  She hugged him back. ‘I’d call that good news, wouldn’t you?’

  Cadillac appeared out of the darkness. He took a look at the body they couldn’t see then walked along the front of the house and up the centre steps. ‘Good shot … All we need now is the sound of a violent struggle to wake your friend. Let’s hope she likes you enough to come to your aid.’

  Steve handed him the bow and quiver. ‘Stand by.’ Roz and Cadillac faded into the darkness of the side verandah. Drawing the pistol from his tunic, Steve threw himself violently against the wooden wall of the house, stamped and slid his boots on the verandah, grunted, huffed and puffed, and finally collapsed face-down with the pistol lying a few inches away from his outstretched hand.

  Fran, jolted awake by the noise, sat up and found herself in a pitch-dark room. ‘Steve?!’

  No answer.

  She ran her fingers nervously through her hair while she got her bearings, then yanked open the zip of her trail-bag and found the concealed air-pistol. Crossing to the door, she slid it back a few inches and saw that the main room was also in darkness. There was no sign of Steve or the jap agent. The lanterns had all been extinguished – and both panels of the front door which had been bolted and barred how hung open, black against a dark grey sky.

  ‘Steve…?’

  No answer.

  Fran swore quietly. Easing off the safety, she selected Full Auto, then tip-toed over to the door and peeked out to check both ends of the verandah. Steve’s body lay sprawled face downwards in the right-hand corner. ‘Ohh, jeezusss!’ she breathed. ‘This is all I need!’

  Heedless of any external danger, she ran towards him and fell on her knees, laying down the pistol in order to have both hands free to turn his body over. As she got him half-way round, a tall hooded figure stepped into view.

  Fran made a frantic grab for Steve’s pistol but never reached it. A searing pain filled her head, billowing through her consciousness like a scarlet veil.…

  Steve pushed her unconscious body aside and hauled himself upright. ‘You certainly took your time getting here.’

  ‘We had to find a pair of wheels first.’

  Steve followed Cadillac and Roz into the house. ‘What did you get?’

  ‘A hand-cart and some rope. Saves carrying her.’ Cadillac spotted the two quilts as he entered. ‘Marvellous. We can wrap her in these. Are there more?’

  ‘Yeah, in here.’ Steve brought them then went to fetch the trail-bags. He placed his own pistol back in its hiding place, slipped a full magazine into Fran’s and showed Cadillac how to peel back the false bottom. ‘There’s a radio in there that might come in handy – later on. And some of her clothes. Do you want any help tying her up?’

  ‘No.’ Cadillac took out the grey leather holster, stuck the pistol in it and strapped it on underneath his kimono. ‘Have a word with Roz in case there’s anything that needs to be straightened out.’

  Cadillac went outside, and sliced the dead samurai’s long black scarf into strips which he used to blindfold, gag and bind Fran. Then he rolled her up inside two of the quilts, roped these tightly round her calves and shoulders, then enclosed her in a third, and passed rope round again, and lengthways, leaving enough space for air to get through. He then wheeled the handcart up to the verandah, and used the last two quilts to make another bundle containing the heads of Yoritomo, Mishiko and Ieyasu, and the trail-bags – roping it tight in a similar fashion.

  When both bundles were securely tied down onto the handcart, he went back inside the darkened house. He found Roz and Steve sitting on the raised edge of the split-level bed-chamber with a lamp between them and the door closed.

  ‘Are you sure you’re going to be able to manage without a gun?’

  ‘I don’t have much choice,’ said Steve. ‘If Fujiwara and his friends find I’ve been packing a pistol, they’re going to wonder why I didn’t use it to help fight off our attackers instead of borrowing that bow and arrow.’

  ‘Yehh, I see what you’re getting at. Smart move.’

  ‘Which I’ll probably live to regret – but it’s a chance I’ve got to take. Skull-Face knows his way around. If his team can’t get me out of here, I doubt that having a handgun is gonna save the day. And I don’t need a radio. These guys have their own hand-sets – courtesy of AMEXICO.’

  Cadillac accepted this with a nod.

  ‘Has Roz explained the set-up?’

  ‘Yeah.’ Steve stood up. ‘I can’t say I’m overjoyed at being handed the shitty end of the stick but…’

  ‘You can’t be the hero all the time.’

  ‘No.’ Steve brightened. ‘Roz told me how you did it. I’m impressed. Whose idea was it?’

  ‘Mine from start to finish. This is one operation you can’t claim any credit for.’

  ‘True. This time round you had another Brickman to lean on.’

  Roz jumped up as she saw Cadillac’s face darken. ‘Now stop this, right now! Clearwater was right about you – always snapping at each other’s heels! What is it with you two?! We’re supposed to be in this together!’

  Steve couldn’t leave it alone. ‘So why’s he trying to score off me?!’ He fingered Cadillac. ‘I taught this guy everything he knows! He’s been sucking on my brain from Day One!’

  Cadillac laughed derisively. ‘Listen to him! Still peddling the same old shit!’

  Roz placed herself between them and thrust them apart. ‘Shut up, both of you! And keep your voices down! You’re wrong, Steve. You haven’t been standing at the wrong end of a one-way street. You’ve both learned – from each other–’

  ‘Yeah, that’s right. Like me teaching him to fly, and him showing me what kind of leaf to wipe my ass on!’ Steve saw the disappointment in his kin-sister’s face and wished he’d kept his mouth shut.

  Cadillac took hold of Roz’s arm. ‘Let’s go. We’re just wasting our breath!’

  ‘No! We’ve gotta get this straight once and for all!’

  ‘Absolutely! It’s a great idea! But let’s beat our breasts some other time, when we haven’t got half of Ne-Issan on our tail! Have you seen outside? It’s getting lighter by the minute!’

  ‘I don’t care! There may not be another time!’ Roz pulled free and faced up to Steve. ‘You learned something far more important than that on the overground. Cadillac helped you discover who you were and why you’re here. That’s worth a great deal. Everything you done since – and everything that he’s done – has flowed from your meeting each other. Why can’t you bring yourself to admit it?’

  Steve looked at them both then asked Roz: ‘Why can’t he learn to stop crowing?!’

  Roz turned a beady eye on Cadillac. ‘Yes. Good questio
n…’

  ‘I can’t believe this!’ He saw her resolve and capitulated. ‘Okay, okay, I spoke out of turn. Killing the Shogun and Ieyasu was my idea, but without the background information you gave me I couldn’t have got started, and without Roz’s power I’d have been dead a dozen times over.’

  ‘We both would. Put it there, blood-brother.’

  Roz watched them exchange the grips and hand-clasps that made up the warrior’s greeting then threw her arms around both. ‘And don’t either of you forget that Clearwater also saved both of you.’ She hugged them in turn then said: ‘I’ll make sure everything’s okay outside.’

  Cadillac weighed up his long-time rival. ‘I feel bad about leaving you in the lurch like this. You going to be able to handle it?’

  ‘Sure. It’ll be a breeze. How are you planning to get away?’

  ‘We’re heading north to the coast. It’s not far – about six miles. Lord Min-Orota has promised to have a boat waiting off-shore.’

  ‘And from there?’

  ‘We’ve got a delivery to make at Sara-kusa, then – all being well – we should be home by the spring.’

  ‘Where’s home these days?’

  ‘Not far from our old hunting grounds. Roz and I have been adopted by the Clan M’Kenzi.’

  Steve grimaced. ‘I still can’t understand why all the M’Calls had to die like that. It seems so pointless.’

  ‘We destroyed one wagon-train and cracked open four more. I wouldn’t call that pointless.’

  ‘Yeah, but at what cost?’

  ‘It was in the stones, Brickman. The Wheel turns…’

  ‘ … and The Path is Drawn. How does it pan out? Do we all make it?’

  ‘The Plainfolk will. How’s Clearwater?’

  ‘She’s fine. Back in one piece, getting better every day – and dreaming of home.’

  ‘And her child?’

  ‘Due any day now.’ Steve laughed awkwardly. ‘I still can’t get used to the idea.’

  ‘But otherwise everything’s okay?’

  ‘Between us? Yes. Nothing’s changed – why should it?’

  ‘How do you stand with the Federation?’

  Steve shrugged. ‘I’m a hero. That’s why I was tapped for this trip. Promotion, privileges, I’m allowed to visit Clearwater whenever I want. Things couldn’t be better – for both of us.’

  ‘Don’t you find it strange – being underground again?’

  Steve grinned. ‘It’s a long story. But there is one thing I miss – Mr Snow.’

  Cadillac’s eyes reflected his feelings at the mention of his old teacher’s name. ‘Me too. When he died, it left a big hole in my life.’

  ‘In all our lives,’ said Steve. ‘He was a wise man who knew that life was not meant to be taken seriously.’ He eyed Cadillac. ‘He gave us a lot of good advice. Maybe it’s time we started acting on it.’

  ‘Yehh, maybe we should.’ Cadillac looked at the wristwatch he’d taken from Fran. Six thirty-five. ‘We’d better go. I’ll send Roz in to say goodbye.’

  They shook hands briefly. Cadillac hesitated then said: ‘About Mr Snow. This used to upset me but … he liked you. A lot.’

  Steve smiled. ‘I like to think he did – even though I didn’t always deserve it.’ He reached out and gripped Cadillac’s shoulders. ‘Thanks for telling me. I know what he meant to you.’

  ‘Take care.…’ Cadillac gave him a friendly thump on the ribs and headed for the door.

  ‘I will! And Caddy–’

  ‘Yeah?’

  ‘I love the dress!’

  Roz came in. ‘Caddy says we have to keep this short.’

  ‘Like the last time.’

  ‘You can always reach me.’

  ‘Are you happy?’

  ‘Yes. Very. Can’t you sense it? This is how it was meant to be, Steve.’ She read his thoughts. ‘We’ll always be like brother and sister, but you must let go of the old me. The colours on my face and body are more than skin deep. They go right through to my soul! We are of the Plainfolk! I know you’re involved with Fran, and I know why, but be careful. Don’t let them tempt you into betraying us! You must help to free Clearwater!’

  ‘I will!’

  Cadillac poked his head through the door. ‘Roz!’

  ‘I’m coming!’ She embraced Steve. ‘Give my love to Clearwater – and tell her we’ll soon be together.’

  They walked out onto the verandah. Cadillac was hefting the stick he’d used to knock out Fran. He grinned. ‘This is the bit I’ve been looking forward to. Where d’you want it?’

  ‘At the end of the verandah where Fran found me. It’ll help keep the story straight.’ Steve got into position and knelt down.

  ‘I was thinking of a wound to the scalp – a little blood is always impressive – then a knock-out blow to the back of the head.’

  ‘Whatever. Just don’t knock my brains out. I’m going to need my wits about me when I wake up.’

  Cadillac moved behind him. ‘Okay, this may hurt.’

  ‘Go ahead. It’s all in a good cause.’

  The first blow struck Steve on the right side of the head just above the temple, knocking him to the ground. ‘Owww! Fuck me!’ He felt the blood start to trickle down his cheek. Gritting his teeth, he raised himself groggily on all fours and then a thunder-bolt collided with the back of his skull.…

  When he came to, Steve found himself lying gagged and bound inside the house, next to the body of Yoshijiro. Sometime around dawn he heard the sound of horses, and a little while later, Skull-Face and two of his colleagues entered. Finding that Yoshijiro had been killed in their absence produced the predictable reaction, but again Steve didn’t understand what they were saying.

  Skull-Face looked at his head wound then cut him loose. Steve sat and nursed the lump that Cadillac had raised on the base of his skull. Get a grip on yourself, Brickman. It doesn’t really hurt. You’re a Mute, remember? Learn to shut off the pain. Yeah, thanks a bunch.…

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘What…?’ Steve blinked painfully. ‘Uhh, I’m not sure. We both heard voices. Speaking Japanese. Yoshijiro thought there were six of them … soldiers from the Palace … coming to search this place.’

  ‘They couldn’t have been – otherwise you wouldn’t be here.’

  ‘No … obviously.…’

  ‘Did you see them?’

  ‘No. Your man wanted to take them out. I offered to help. We went outside. He went left, I went right – got as far as the end of the verandah and … that’s the last thing I remember.’ Steve dropped his hands from his head and looked around in alarm. ‘Where’s Commander Jefferson?!’

  ‘Gone missing,’ said Fujiwara. ‘That’s one of the things that puzzles me. Why did they leave you?’

  Steve looked bewildered. ‘Search me. If we knew who jumped us, maybe we’d have the answer.’

  ‘Yes.’ Skull-Face stared at him intently, but Steve’s head wounds provided him with a perfect excuse to screw his eyes up and look away while he thought of what to say next.

  ‘Does this mean our trip to the Federation is off?’

  ‘No,’ said Fujiwara.

  ‘Because I’m sure I can cut you a deal. I don’t have the same pull as Commander Jefferson, but I do have access to the President-General, and the head of AMEXICO.’

  ‘Good. We found some horses, but I think it’s going to prove too dangerous to try for the mainland. We’ll ride south to the coast and try to get hold of a boat.’

  ‘Now – in daylight?’

  ‘It shouldn’t be too difficult.’ Skull-Face swallowed a smile. ‘This is supposed to be one of the strongholds of the Toh-Yota, but it’s amazing the number of people that can be bought with money.’

  ‘That’s something we don’t have in the Federation.’

  ‘Wise decision.’

  Steve knew he was treading on dangerous ground but his need to know overrode his caution. ‘You mentioned one of the things that was puzzling you, what was
the other?’

  ‘Ahh, yes.’ Skull-Face’s inscrutable black-button eyes fastened on Steve. ‘I can’t understand how Yoshijiro came to get himself killed with his own bow and arrow.’

  ‘I’m afraid that’s partly my fault,’ replied Steve. ‘He gave it to me to use when we went outside to beat off the intruders and that’s when.…’

  ‘You got hit on the head,’ said Skull-Face. He gazed at Steve intently then gave a satisfied nod.

  ‘I’m sorry.’

  Skull-Face waved off the apology. ‘These things happen.…’

  It was some time later, when they were running south with a full head of sail away from Aron-Giren, that Steve discovered a major flaw in their escape plan. Fujiwara and his three remaining colleagues had ditched the powerful hand-sets they had been using soon after hearing that Ichiwara had been caught red-handed!

  Terrific! They were now left literally at sea, with no way of contacting AMEXICO or any other Federation agency or outpost. And that meant there would be no quick, cosy airlift from the beach at Cape Fear to Houston/GC. They were going to have to do it the hard way.…

  Back in the Federation, Karlstrom had passed the news of Fran and Steve’s arrival to the President-General, and both now expected this to be followed up in a day or so by a progress report on their negotiations. Neither man had any inkling that the operator who had sent the message from the hidden radio room had been killed, along with Ieyasu and his top aides, for with their demise the lines between Ne-Issan and the Federation had gone dead.

  Supreme authority was vested in the Shogun but the real power had been exercised by Ieyasu. An unceasing stream of decisions and directives flowed down from the top through layer upon layer of bureaucrats for implementation at the appropriate level. There were no independent ministries. Each layer of the pyramid was subservient to the one above, and all officials, major and minor, worked within strict guidelines. Any problems that fell outside those parameters were referred back up the chain.

  While alive, Ieyasu had controlled everything – and had made it look easy – but there was now a black hole at the centre of the web he had spun and the strands were starting to fall apart.