Bull heightened the colour in his cheeks with a generous shot of grain alchohol, and laid his folded arms on the table. Thank you, son. We appreciate your frankness in this matter. Let me give you some more background on why we asked you to come on this ride. And this too is strictly between us, okay?’
‘Absolutely, sir.’
‘Last spring, CINC-TRAIN had a mutiny on their hands. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking – inconceivable. The crews called it a protest, but technically it was a mutiny.’ He motioned John Adams to take up the story.
‘Only Red River stayed in line. Basically what they wanted was official recognition that there was such a thing as Mute magic. But they also demanded a relaxation in certain disciplinary measures – the removal of ASE’s from all trains, and elimination of judicial sanctions against crews who failed to achieve their operational targets.
‘The protest was quiet, orderly, contained within the division and the whole thing was settled inside forty-eight hours with the aid of a closed-circuit video address by the P-G. As to whether or not any of the concessions we made were justified is immaterial. The point is, demands were made and – more importantly – this whole thing blew up without warning. Internal security totally failed to pick up on this. You can imagine how this made us look.’
Yeah, thought Steve. Like a bunch of –
Bull cut in. ‘One of the demands was for the reinstatement of the executive officers of The Lady, led by your old boss, Commander Hartmann. It went against the grain but we agreed – and that put us in an even bigger hole when AMEXICO decided to use The Lady as a decoy.’
‘And dressed her up as Red River.…’
‘That’s right. We ain’t never gonna know how those M’Call Mutes managed to get close enough to plant those explosives under that wagon-train but if Hartmann’s crew had been on the ball it could never had happened. That night watch must have been sleepin’ on the job. That’s the only answer. Whichever way it was, it pointed up even further the woeful state of on-board discipline. It wasn’t just sloppy. It was criminally fuggin’ negligent! Okay, so they paid the price – but once again it’s CINC-TRAIN who ends up holding the bag – for a decision made by Karlstrom and the P-G!
‘But that isn’t all!’ continued Bull. He pointed to his cousins. ‘Andrew here oversees the construction of our wagon-trains and Zach is in charge of the Design Bureau. Those explosions didn’t just cripple The Lady, they showed up every design fault and constructional weakness of the current model and damn near blew these boys’ careers away! Right, Zack?’
‘Yehh! Only it wasn’t through lack of foresight on our part! The prototypes were built way before my time, but there’s nothing in the original specifications about making the wagons capable of withstanding explosive charges.’
‘Right,’ growled Andrew Jackson, C-in-C Engineering. ‘There’s plenty of people bad-mouthing us now, but none of them ever mentioned it before. It has never been an operational requirement! Hell, as far as any of us knew, we were up against a bunch of half-naked boneheads armed with knives and cross-bows!’
Steve nodded sympathetically. ‘On the other hand, sir, this wasn’t the first explosive strike against a wagon-train. Cadillac blew up the flight car of The Lady in the previous year.’
‘I agree,’ said Zack. ‘But that was an internal explosion in a particularly sensitive area. If on-board security had been tighter and if the fire doors had been closed – as they should have –’
‘But they weren’t!’ roared Bull. ‘And that’s why Hartmann and his execs were relieved of their command and tossed in the slammer – only to be reinstated by that son of a bitch Karlstrom so’s he could play one of his silly fuggin’ games!’
He fixed his eyes on Steve. ‘You’ve probably figured out why I’m so fired up by what you told us. The loss of The Lady from Louisiana has dropped everybody round this table into deep shit and it was Karlstrom who put us there! We got the P-G and the rest of the Supreme Council accusing our family of letting things slide, but the fact is none of this would have happened if that slimebag hadn’t handed a batch of lethal ordinance to the Mutes on a plate!’
‘With respect, sir, it would be convenient to shift the blame for everything onto Commander-General Karlstrom, but it wouldn’t be fair. Some of the responsibility is mine. If I’d managed to capture Cadillac and Mr Snow – which is what I was sent out to do – The Lady would not have been destroyed.’
‘Well that does you credit, son. But these Mutes turned out to be a lot smarter than anyone bargained for. If Karlstrom had told you right from the outset that the decoy unit was carrying live explosives you might have been able to get on top of the situation. But you were kept in the dark. As it happened, we didn’t come out of it too badly. We may have ended up with our buns in a vice, but we did get rid of Mr Snow – and you brought in Clearwater. She turned out to be a prize and a half.
‘Having said that, you’re probably wondering why we swapped her for Commander Franklynne. Well, it wasn’t because she was my daughter. The Family are prepared to make the same sacrifices we demand from everyone else.’ Bull reached out and gave Fran’s hand a fatherly pat. ‘She knows that if it was her life against the future of the Federation, I’d face the pain of losing her. Hell, if I wanted her wrapped in cotton wool, would I have let her go to Ne-Issan?’
‘I guess not, sir.’
‘Damn right. We made the swap because Clearwater had become surplus to requirements. The guys in the research labs would have loved to have had her as a specimen, but we’ve got something much more valuable – her baby.’
Steve took another chance and played dumb. ‘But they were both exchanged for –’
‘You’re wrong.’ Bull grinned. ‘She was given another boy in the delivery room. We have her son. Your son, Steven. And like you, he’s no ordinary baby. Know what I’m getting at?’
‘Uhh, no sir.’
Bull glanced at his kin-folk sitting around the table as if seeking their approval for what came next. ‘It really cuts me up to see how some of our people are treated. Guys like you put your life on the line for the Federation, and end up being cheated by those they serve. By people like Karlstrom and, yes – my brother – who talk about trust and loyalty and then sell their dog-soldiers down the river.
‘I’m going to share a secret with you that they wouldn’t trust you with. A secret which is yours by right!’ Bull paused then said: ‘We have reason to believe your son is Talisman. The child-saviour the Plainfolk have been waiting for.’
Steve’s jaw dropped. His surprise was totally genuine. Everything was starting to drop into place. Clearwater had not been shedding tears over Sand-Wolf, but for the child the Federation had taken from her. Lucas … Had she known who he was?
‘I won’t go into the whys and wherefores,’ said Bull, ‘but it all lines up with the Prophecy, and is confirmed by the medical evidence. We got him, Steve – and you gave him to us. That’s gonna earn you a place in the history archives.’
Steve gestured in surrender. ‘This is all kind of, y’know – overwhelming. I just had no idea.’ He ran his eyes around the table and came back to Bull. ‘Will I be able to see him, sir?’
‘Sure, all in good time. Don’t worry – he’s in safe hands. One thing you can be sure of, he’s gonna get the best of everything – and that’s what we want you to have too.’
Bull took hold of Fran’s hand again and squeezed it affectionately. ‘Now you know how much Karlstrom trusts you. Don’t blame my brother. He listens to the wrong people. And if I’m not wrong, Karlstrom has probably tried to poison your mind against Fran here. Am I right?’
‘Well, sir –’
‘Yeah. He probably said you were just the latest of a long line of jack-dandies that got the heave-ho every six months. Is that near the mark?’
Steve looked at Fran. ‘Something like that, yes.’
‘Well it’s not true,’ said Bull. ‘No point in pretending my daughter was tempted by the
fact you were a handsome young buck, but we both knew you were also intelligent, resourceful and brave.’
Steve accepted this accolade with a modest shrug.
‘Fran has kept tabs on you and Roz for several years. She’s been your Controller. Now that may sound sinister but it isn’t. Controllers look after the people we regard as "special". Watch over them – protect them.’ Bull grinned. ‘She’s the last of a long line. You and your late kin-sister have been on the Special Treatment List since Day One. It’s all down in the file, Steve – and we both like the way it adds up.
‘This may embarrass you, in front of all these folk, but contrary to what that slime-ball has said, she has deep and genuine feelings for you, son.’
‘I’ve become aware of that, sir.’ Steve made eye-contact with Fran again. There was complicity in her regard, but not the heart-warming feedback he got from Clearwater.
Bull noted the exchange. ‘Did you know she wants to pair off with you?’
‘Beg pardon, sir?’
Bull laughed at Steve’s bafflement. ‘You know what a pairing-off party is, don’t you?’
‘Yes, sir. It’s where potential guard-mothers and fathers meet and then, if they hit it off, they take out a co-habitation bond.’
‘Right – but in the Family, it’s called "marriage". The man and woman become husband and wife – father and mother to their children. I’m not Fran’s guard-father, I’m her natural father. That’s something else which sets us apart from our soldier-citizens. We can reproduce our own kind – like you, son.’
Yeahh, and I know why. Because you’re all super-straights.…
Bull continued: ‘The First Family is a collection of families, united by one dream – the conquest of the blue-sky world and the restoration of America. Our America – good, honest and true – swept clean of striped lump-heads and yellow trash. But although we share the same dream, some of us believe the wrong people are in charge of the train – and that if we just stand by and do nothin’ it could come off the rails. Know what I mean?’
‘Yes, sir…’
‘That’s why we’d like you to join us. A man in my position needs people around him he can trust – and after the way Karlstrom has treated you, I reckon you’d like to feel you were among people you could rely on.’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘So how about it – would you like to marry my daughter?’
‘I-I-I … don’t know what to say, sir!’ The prospect was absolutely staggering. Appalling!
‘Try saying "yes"!’ snapped Bull. ‘I don’t offer a deal like this to every trouser-snake that comes along!’
‘Dad!’ cried Fran. ‘Give him time to catch his breath!’
‘I-I’d, uhh – be honoured, sir! If your daughter believes I can make her happy, then I’d like nothing better than an opportunity to prove that she made the right choice. She has … come to mean a great deal to me too, sir.’
‘A great deal more than you know, son. You’re looking at the next President-General. As my son-in-law, that’s gonna put you in the line-up. Twenty to thirty years from now, it could all be yours.’
Steve nodded. ‘Sir, you must, uhh – excuse me if I seem to be reacting like a stumble-bum. Getting hit with Talisman, then a possible marriage and now this, well … it’s one helluva lot to take on board.’
‘Sure. There are a couple of problems, tho’. If you marry my daughter it will mean changing your name to Jefferson.’
Steve managed a smile. ‘I think I can live with that. And the other one?’
‘Commander-General Karlstrom. He’s the real stumbling-block.’
‘Why is that, sir?’
‘Because he’s the other candidate for the big chair in the Oval Office when my brother hands in his card. He’s a threat to my future and yours.’
Steve was conscious that all eyes were upon him. ‘And you’d like me to help remove that threat?’
Bull slapped the table happily. ‘Now we’re talking, Stevie! Now we’re talking!’ He addressed one of his aides. ‘Get John in here.’
The aide got up and walked past Steve into the next carriage, returning a short while later with another man wearing a silver-grey jumpsuit. Bull invited him to sit in the chair vacated by the aide. It took a few seconds for Steve to realise the newcomer had played a key role in his past.
It was John Chisum. The mysterious medic and part-time fixer, supplier of black-jack tapes and rainbow grass, owner of fake ID cards and the Provo’s friend. The same man who had proved so helpful to him on his arrival in Grand Central after his return to the Federation in chains. The man who had boosted his morale during his trial before the Board of Assessors – chaired by Fran.…
The man who had set up a secret meeting with Roz in Santanna Deep before his transfer to the A-Levels – where they’d last met and almost come to blows after Chisum had blamed her for bringing about his demotion. And all the time he had been working as an undercover agent for Fran – his Controller – and probably her father too. Steve felt sick. Where did it all end?
Bull Jefferson smiled. ‘I can see from your face there’s no need to introduce you. John’s one of us.’
Chisum half-rose and reached across the table. ‘Just doing my job. No hard feelings I hope.’
‘Of course not,’ said Bull, as Steve took the offered hand without rancour. ‘This boy here is another master of deception. He conned his way in and out of the Plainfolk, then in and out of Ne-Issan after blowin’ half of it sky-high. An’ it was his contacts there who helped get him and Fran out of prison – and undoubtedly saved her life.’
‘That’s very generous of you, sir.’
Bull’s smile vanished. ‘You misjudge me, son. I reward loyalty and endeavour, but I’m not a generous or a forgiving man. If I thought you’d connived in some way with Karlstrom to destroy The Lady from Louisiana and put my kin-folk in the dock, I’d personally shove you feet-first into the fire-box of the loco that’s haulin’ this train.’
‘Dad! Don’t you dare accuse –’
‘That’s okay, ma’am. I’m happy to say my conscience is clear on that one. But I get the message.’
Bull eyed him shrewdly. ‘Only there’s still somethin’ bothering you.…’
‘Yes, sir. I took an oath of allegiance to the President-General. I’m willing to help you in any way I can, but before this conversation goes any further I have to tell you I couldn’t do anything that would go against that.’
‘Well said, son. Let me put your mind at rest. By helping us to nail Karlstrom, you won’t be betraying the President-General. You’ll be rescuing him! AMEXICO’s been bamboozling my brother for years! He thinks it’s one hundred per cent behind him, but he’s wrong! Karlstrom’s organisation is working against the rest of us! He’s turned it into his personal springboard to power!’
‘I see, well … then I don’t have a problem, sir.’
‘Attaboy!’ Bull turned to Chisum. ‘Did you bring that gizmo with you?’
‘Yes, sir.’ Chisum produced a flat rectangular box not much bigger than two video-cassettes placed on top of one another. He placed it on the table in front of Steve. ‘This is a portable tape-streamer. Battery-driven. It can record a hundred megabytes of information in fifty seconds. What we want you to do is to plug it into one of AMEXICO’s computer terminals, call up certain information from their data-base and copy it onto the tape. Once it’s plugged in, it’s just a matter of pressing buttons. I’ll show you how to attach the unit to a standard terminal before you leave the train.’
‘You’ve got a computer on the train?!’
Chisum laughed. ‘Can you think of a safer place?’
Steve turned the box this way and that and thought it over. ‘Isn’t there some way we can access this data from the outside?’
‘No,’ said Chisum. ‘The data we want to get at is held on a sealed system. AMEXICO’s communications with the outside world is handled by an entirely separate network.’
‘But aren
’t all these computers part of the system controlled by COLUMBUS?’
‘Yes, they are – but it’s not as simple as that. That name – COLUMBUS – is misleading. It makes it sound like one massive box of flashing lights and steaming micro-chips, when in fact there are hundreds of boxes – each one dedicated to performing a particular function.
‘It’s known as the controlling intelligence of the Federation, but don’t think of it as a brain – think of it as being the equivalent to the complete central nervous system – regulating the bodily functions of the Federation as well as reasoning, calculating and remembering. And just as doctors can use drugs to prevent pain-bearing messages from reaching the brain, AMEXICO has rendered COLUMBUS partially insensitive to its presence.’
‘That’s pretty damn clever. What d’you want me to look for?’
‘Well, in the first instance, we want you to copy off the list of files, programs and any special routines held on the data-base. Once we’ve had time to analyse that, we’ll get down to specifics.’
‘Okay, but what about access? If this is a secure system, it’s not going to hand over this data to just anybody.’
‘You’re right,’ said Fran, breaking her uncharacteristic silence. ‘We’re going to give you a copy of Karlstrom’s personal ID card and his personal verifications codes.’
‘Jeezuss!’ exclaimed Steve. ‘When you guys get into something, you don’t mess around! How d’you manage that?!’
‘With great difficulty,’ said Chisum.
‘So are you ready to do your bit, son?’ asked Bull.
‘Yes, sir. I feel a whole lot easier in my mind now I know I’m working for the A-Team.’
Bull slapped the table with his powerful hands. ‘Attaboy!’
Chisum picked up the tape-streamer. ‘C’mon next door. I’ll show you how to work this gizmo.’
Bull Jefferson acknowledged Steve’s salute and watched him exit with Chisum. As the door closed on them he turned to Fran. ‘Y’know something? Marryin’ that boy ain’t really such a bad idea. Ambitious young stud, from a good stable. Could do a lot worse.’
Earth-Thunder Page 43
