by Pam Uphoff
And damn well mention at every opportunity Disco's—and especially Xen's and Q's—efforts. They've saved us. Stop hating them.
The screen behind him lit with something close to Q's Multiverse map, that would record well. "This is a rough diagram of something that's not actually happening in 3-D space, but it gives a feel for the situation we found ourselves in, two years ago . . . "
He kept talking, the first unaltered diversion of Helios past another world, then the start of ". . . joint efforts to influence the path . . . " with still shots of both the Speed Team, in External Relations' field khakis, Rael in black and purple Presidential Directorate uniform, and Xen and Q in Disco gray. The civilian Witches in their triads, gates to another world visible behind them.
Charts showing the original path, and the deflected path.
"They'll come quite close to this Dinosaur World, and deflect even further. We are watching them closely, and will continue to do so. They are a ruthless and dangerous people."
He nodded reassuringly at the vidcams. "But the worst has been averted."
Chapter Fourteen
Oops!
One World, Paris
17 Ramadan 1404 yp
Two days later Urfa's comm buzzed. He snatched it, so few people had this number . . . Ra'd? He's never called before. No matter what.
"Ra'd? Problem?"
"Yes, sir. While guarding a scientific mission on a Dinosaur World . . . "
Oh shit! That one?
". . . we encountered Helaos. They were holding a dozen kidnapped Oner students for future merging. They raided the Home World." An edge of fury leaked into Ra'd's business-like tones at the last. "Colleges in both Caracas and Alcairo."
Urfa forced the emotion out of his voice. To not sound like he'd just been gut-punched. "Where are you now?"
"Embassy. We're dropping off the students. We need to return and get our scientists off the Dino World."
Of course he's already rescued them. Thank the One!
"Good. I'll get things moving here. Do what you need to do."
"Yes, sir." Click.
Urfa was cursing as he hit Major Eppa's code. "Ep? We may need your fast response group, get 'em ready while I talk to Ajki . . . "
And Xen . . . Oops, first call Orde, must let the President know . . .
***
Orde collapsed in his chair in his working office—the one where he got things done, as opposed to the ornate official office where he occasionally had his picture taken while signing bills or meeting important people.
The President sighed. "Thank the One we had Ra'd right where we most needed a Warrior. Not to mention Nighthawk."
"Yes. Handy to have someone along who can make gates and corridors. I hope Xen's kids can do that when they're older. Else we'll just have to give up and recruit Fallen." Urfa smiled wryly. "Maybe Rael can hook Xen—worse than he's hooked already."
Orde nodded. "We've always been relieved by the small size of the Comet Fall magical community. But I really wouldn't mind a few dozen more like Q."
One bloody single woman who can just see the whole multiverse!
"Or her brother." Urfa sighed. "Just ten years ago everything was so normal."
"And if Q hadn't found us . . . we'd be a few months away from a merge with Helios. All unknowing." Qayg ran fingers through her short gray hair. "What do we do next?"
Orde grimaced. "I talk until I'm hoarse, and we send some troops to Helios to destroy their gate. In fact I think we'll do the destroying first. Then talk. I won't have them raiding and kidnapping children. One! I'm beginning to think I won't feel much remorse if we end up killing them all."
He poked a button. "Jacky? Arrange a meeting here. The Prime Councilor, the Minister of War and General Yqli. First thing in the morning."
***
The general smiled. "Well, as it happens, we have plans for every contingency. We can destroy their gate mechanism within hours."
Orde nodded. "Unless the Prime Councilor or the Minister have objections? Didn't think so. General, I will first gather more information on this incursion. But you may firm up plans to destroy the Helios's gate mechanism and expect orders within the week."
Broad gleaming smile.
Six days later, he gave the orders. The Helios gate was completely destroyed eight hours later.
Chapter Fifteen
Eldon meets the Cops
Some Earth, Tunguska Cluster
4 November 2017
Eldon walked down to his usual ice cream shop.
"There you go, eating again."
"This is different. I got fat while I was stuck in a goat spell. It wasn't my fault, all that grass and beer around." He eyed Shane's sister.
She sniffed. "It's finals. Even on Sunday! We're all here today. Shane's last test is six in the afternoon!"
Eldon grinned and walked back to the shop. The Cincy game ought to be a good one.
Half time he used for a stretch break, nipping into the ice cream shop to use the privy and then buying a triple decker and chat with Milly. He strolled back for the second half kick off and there was a damned van parked outside the magic shop, so close to the wall he obviously wasn't going to be able to get in. Sounded like they were screwing inside. He thumped on the back door. "Hey, no parking here!"
The door flew open and someone flew out and tackled him. He danced back out of the way, getting his triple decker high and out of danger. The . . . bloody naked woman collapsed. The back door of the van slammed and the sounds of movement . . . He flipped a bubble over the van and turned back to the woman. She looked pretty bad. He grabbed his flask and dripped wine into her. Pocketed the flask and dug into his pocket for his cell phone. Dialed 911.
He looked at the lady whimpering weakly on the ground and then looked around for the bubble. He'd forgotten to anchor it and it had drifted off. "Damn. Well, that's just going to be a real bitch, isn't it?" He shrugged out of his leather jacket, carefully, one arm at a time, and wrapped the woman up without dropping his triple scooper. He hadn't hardly gotten started on his ice cream when the first squad car arrived.
***
Phil shook his head in disbelief at the big blond man.
". . . and after all that they expect me to drop my ice cream? Heh."
Brenard walked away from him in sheer disbelief. "I've talked to psychos before, and that's not his problem. I mean he's self centered, but he did wrap the victim up and call for help and stay there with her. He's more like, well, a big Mafioso I arrested once. I was just a minor inconvenience to him. Barely registered. His lawyers had half the department bowing and scraping and holding the door for him when he left. I just wasn't a threat. Eldon here isn't threatened, either. He rescued the lady without dropping his ice cream and he figured he could answer questions while eating it. Around all that blood. He's either a Vet with a hell of a history, or he's worked in ER."
"I dunno. I say he was more of a gang type. Used to violence, no fear of the police."
Eldon looked over. "Well, not your sort of cop. Trust me, you guys are so sweet. The tazer was interesting, though. I gotta get one of those."
The over excited patrollers had gotten a bit too enthusiastic with the "stun gun." They all knew that large men weren't always stopped by them, but this was the first time Phil'd heard about the recipient giggling about it while eating ice cream.
Sergeant Michaels, whom he'd last seen dancing naked in a fountain—and wasn't that an image he could do without—waved him out into the hallway and handed him a series of pictures. We ran your perp—or your hero."
Michaels tapped two of the pics. "I think that's him, and his neighbors says this one is definitely the room mate. They're the source of the 'unknown intoxicant' from your party. Donovan is just crossing his t's and dotting his i's before getting a search warrant for their 'Magic Shop.'
Phil choked as he recognized the pictures. "The Strangers? That's a twist I didn't see coming. Eldon's lost a lot of weight, and bleached his hair
."
"I didn't . . . " Michaels failed an attempt to look innocent, "happen to mention that you thought they were the Strangers. I figured you should get any credit for capturing them."
"Except that you're the one who recognized him. So call the Feds. Get your big arrest."
"I hate dealing with the feds. And we've only got one of them, and he's not actually been arrested."
Phil nodded and walked down to his desk to find the number, and tap it into his phone. The hotline number for the Strangers rolled to an answering machine. "This is Lieutenant Phil Farley, St. Louis PD. We're currently holding someone who may be your Eldon as a material witness, and have a reliable positive on Heso. The number here is." He quit talking as the connection clicked.
"Lieutenant, I'm Frank Meyers with the NSA. Can you send us pictures?"
"Does your phone do pictures?" Phil casually walked back into the interrogation room with his cell phone open and the camera function active.
"Word from the hospital is that Miss Granadi will live." Brenard had his own phone to his ear.
Eldon nodded. "Told you there wasn't that much blood. It always looks like more than it really is." He stretched his arms out, cracked his knuckles and placed his elbows comfortably on the table. A pair of handcuffs dangled from one wrist.
Phil stepped back out. "That do you any good?"
"Yes we're sending it on to a policeman in Houston who talked to the Strangers."
The Fed and the Houston cop arrived on military jets, two hours later. The cop looked a bit bilious. "Detective Jerry Lanton, Houston Homicide. What did you pull Eldon in for?"
"Heroism. We had a problem with a serial killer. His victims were borderline Pros, blonde, wearing red dresses, on the full moon, the whole psychosis. Eldon interrupted him, woman's fine, well, alive. She was quite aware of everything that happened, didn't lose consciousness, quite, until the EMT's showed up and she knew she was safe. She corroborates everything he said happened. We ought to have let him go hours ago."
"Well, let's see if this is him—he's lost weight and, well, anyone who can turn himself into a deer or a unicorn can probably disguise himself."
Phil looked askance at the man, but led him into the interrogation room. The handcuffs were gone, and someone had gotten him another ice cream cone.
Eldon raised an eyebrow. "Hey Lanton, I thought you worked in Houston."
"Hey Eldon, I understand you're a hero."
Eldon shrugged. "Eh. This sort of thing will ruin my reputation. I'm a Bad Guy. All it was, was this ass parked right up against the door of the shop, and I was missing the second half kick off."
Lanton rubbed his face. "What are you doing here? Running a 'Magic Potions' shop? Why are you here?"
"I missed football. Got bored sitting around between games, and hey, people will pay incredible amounts for a baldness cure, or something to restore their youth." He shrugged and popped the end of the ice cream cone into his mouth. Licked his fingers. "Think we've got better ice cream than you do. No hang-ups about fat."
"So why don't you stay home and eat ice cream."
"Well, the usual stupid teenager story, you know? Ran around with friends who were up to no good, and by the time I realized just how bad they were, I was right there being bad with them. So I skip home and enjoy it for a bit, then head back out for football, jewelry heists, bank robberies, whatever strikes our fancy."
"And is there a police force that can catch you?"
"Oh yeah. Big mean guys. And gals. Heavy magic. They're why I don't ever stay home for very long. And no, I'm not going to put you in touch. Actually I don't know how, from here." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Actually, they may show up, I left a gate open, and that damned Q can probably see it. Everyone says she can do damn near anything."
Brenard walked in with a stranger following. Presumably the Fed.
"So, I don't get this gates and Worlds stuff. Where are you from?" Lanton hadn't even glanced in their direction.
"Oh, it's a dimensional thing. Parallel Worlds and all that. Couple of Worlds have these big machines that can open gates. We use magic. Like I was explaining to the kids, time goes slow in some Worlds and fast in others. So dates don't properly match up, but traveling is always consistent. If I went home, and came back in a week, I'd get here a week from now, not a hundred years ago."
"Thought we were slow?"
"Well, you were, but the Gates seem to equalize things. Now you're at the same speed as Comet Fall, and every World Comet Fall has ever touched. It probably falls apart eventually, but it apparently takes more than fourteen hundred years."
"You don't seem worried."
"Old Gods, no. I can walk anytime I want, so what's the rush. This could be fun too. Want to see the gate I made?" He yawned. "It's almost dawn. You might want to bring some rifles along."
The Fed, who looked like he ought to be wearing a uniform, badgered Eldon a bit, and got grinning answers that sounded like something straight out of a science fiction novel. Or a fantasy. They finally managed to budge the Fed and take Eldon back to his magic shop. The Fed looked around the little room, dominated by the big screen TV and sneered.
"This is the fun part, back here." The wall behind the desk was blank concrete until Eldon waved his left hand at it. Then it showed a round picture of a dungeon. Well, a stone room. The picture was ten feet across, and Eldon stepped right through and walked up the steps. The Fed lunged forward and came to a stunned halt, looking around the room. Phil braced his shoulders and walked through. There was an odd sensations that had his nerves twitching and his muscles shivering a bit. Then he followed everyone up the steps. There was another square room, bare except for more steps leading upward and an open door. Phil stepped out and looked around the rolling hills. Tough tall grass covered most of the land, with scattered thickets of trees. The grass rippled in the brisk wind as he circled the tower, taking it all in.
Toto, I'm very, very certain we're not in St Louis anymore.
Brenard and Michaels joined him. The sergeant had brought a shotgun along, and Phil suddenly wished he had more than his usual 1911 along. Lions and tigers and bears. And a touch of hyperventilation.
He walked over to where Eldon was peering into the distance.
"So, where exactly are we?"
"Well, see besides time not going as fast in some places as others, things happen in one that don't in others. This World has either gone really slow, or something different happened. Anyhow, people never evolved here, and in fact the animals are really weird. The kids that have been exploring are talking about 'Miocene' this and 'Eocene' that."
"You say this is a whole different World?" Brenard looked around. "Full of animals that went extinct millions of years ago?"
The grass rustled and everyone drew down on it. A big speckled gray hyena . . . no, a dog with flop ears and lolling tongue.
"Don't shoot the dog, he's actually useful here." Eldon walked past, giving him a pat. "This World has never been mined. Mining companies would love it. I prefer places with movies, football and computer games, personally. C'mon, the kids can probably tell you more about it than I can." He strode off to the west, and Phil followed.
"The kids?" Phil looked around. No sign of natives, but what sign would there be?
The Houston cop stopped and held his hand out to the dog. The beast sniffed it, then sat and offered his own paw to shake. Part great dane, at a guess, but with a bit of a ruff and curly hair on his chest.
"Bunch of college students. They're having a great time out here. Bit of trouble with the terror bird things, but they haven't got hurt badly enough to need help yet."
The Fed caught up with them. "When you say terror bird, are you talking about the large flightless carnivores that replaced the dinosaurs as top predator?"
"Yep. The kids told me about some really big wolves, too. And there's this weird humongous thing that’s . . . well, it's got to be seen to be believed."
"Are there people here? Nat
ives? Cavemen?"
"Nope. That's what makes it legal to come here and do whatever we want. The Department of Interdimensional Security and Cooperation is pure death on anyone waltzing in and claiming ownership of planets that have a native population. Or even a transplanted population that got separated from their source."
"Dimensional . . . Security and Cooperation?"
"Disco. The Big Bad Cops. Small organization, trying to keep the peace, promote trade and study of the Multiverse, and prevent cross dimensional crimes. Needless to say, they don't much like me."
From the hilltop they could see a river, with an encampment beside it. Modern tents in all colors and sizes. Three people were doing something with the campfire, five more down by the river appeared to be building something. Hollowing out a log. Making a canoe?
"So, you gotta name?"
Phil glanced around. Eldon was eyeing the Fed.
"Kegler. Martin Kegler."
"You look militaryish."
"We don't give out information about ourselves."
"Ooo. However much I'd like to see it, I really don't want to be there when you meet Xen."
"One of your buddies?"
"Not since school. Xenotime Rustleson, Xen Wolfson, Endi Dewulfe, God of Spies. He uses whatever name fits the situation. Head of the Dimension Cops. Tends to forget he's not really a god. Very powerful wizard, very goodie, goodie. Nasty in a fight. But he'd just look at you and nod. And say, 'So Major Kegler, why don't you go tell Director Vincent about the gate? Oh, wait, you don't tell the FBI first, they're third on the list. Well no doubt you've got them on speed dial.' He's the most irritating person I know."
The Fed glared, and stomped down the hill toward the river. Eldon sauntered along behind him, and the various police spread out a bit and gawped. A pack of dog-sized animals burst out of the forest and charged up hill. They veered away and dived into a brushy stand of trees. Something large and hard to see wound through the forest and burst into the open. Ostrich with an attitude. Or emu, it was a splotchy speckled gray-brown and white. Except for the big broad hooked beak. It might have been after the first animals, but it had obviously spotted Kegler and switched the breakfast menu. Kegler drew his gun and Eldon bolted down hill to the right, as if trying for a clear firing angle. The dog bounded down and around, coming up on it from the rear.
