by Simon Hawke
“Perhaps not, but there is money to be lost.” said O’Fallon. “A significant disruption in this sector could affect our operations further down the timestream. The S.O.G. isn’t just a threat to Temporal Intelligence. Paul. It’s a threat to the entire timeline. And that means us, too. If the S.O.G. mounts an operation here, and the T.I.A. isn’t around to stop them, it’s going to be up to us. Don’t forget, we were Temporal Intelligence ourselves at one time.”
“Yeah, but there are only five of us.” said Zaber. “We can use Clanton’s rustlers to help us pull off operations, but sending them up against trained commandos would he ludicrous. The thing to do is get word to Forrester’s people and let them handle it. And make sure we’re long gone by the time they get around to it.”
“That could be rather difficult to do, considering we won’t know when they would be clocking in,” O’Fallon replied. “Besides, we don’t know that it is an S.O.G. infiltration. The Kid could be T.I.A. In which case, something must have tipped them off. It could have been Bailey. He wanted to get out from under. He might have contacted them and tried a double cross in return for immunity. Warning us about the Kid the way he did could have been part of the setup, or just Bailey burning his candle at both ends, trying to keep his ass covered. Either way, we don’t have enough information.
Zaber shook his head. “And either way, we could be buying into one shitload of trouble.”
“I’m not sure we have much choice, Paul. But keep one other thing in mind. If the Kid is an advance agent for the T.I.A., and if Balky sold us out and they know we’re conducting a Network operation back here, they’ll send in one of their old First Division teams. If we could take them out, we’d not only enhance our standing in the organization, we’d collect a bounty that would go a long way towards making our retirement very comfortable.”
Zaber took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You’ve got a point I can’t decide for the others, though.”
“Allan will go along with it.” said O’Fallon. “He’s young and he’s hungry. And he’s anxious to move up. Randy’s more cautious, but I think he’ll see that there’s no avoiding the risk no matter what we do. Steve won’t like it, but he’ll understand the necessity. Especially if you and I are together on this.”
“All right. So what’s our first move?”
“The Kid didn’t take the bait when you left here with Bailey. And I’m positive he followed Bailey here. So that means he’s playing it smart. He knows there’s something going on here, but we haven’t been hit, so either his backup hasn’t clocked in yet-assuming he’s T.I.A.-or Bailey didn’t tell him everything. Assuming Bailey tipped them off.” He grimaced. “That’s too many assumptions, but the one I think we can safely make is that he knows we’re here, but he doesn’t know exactly who we are Let’s put a little pressure on him. See if we can force his hand or get any backup he might have to reveal themselves.”
“One of them already might have.” Zaber said.
“Oh?”
“I was going to tell you about it when I came in, after we discussed the stage job. A few of Clanton’s boys were in town and got mixed up in a fight with a cowboy who just arrived in town. You know Jenny, down at the Oriental? Sam wanted to tear off a piece, only she turned him down. It seems she’s taken up with the Kid and given up turning tricks. Anyway, Sam got a little rough with her and this cowboy came Over to play hero. He dropped Sam with one punch, broke Joey’s wrist, used a whiskey bottle to make a mess out of Luke’s face and hit Walt with a table.”
“With a table?”
“Picked it up and used it to slam Walt against the wall. Then knocked him out. Walt said he snatched up that table as if it didn’t weigh a thing. Big guy, Walt said. Fast with his hands.
Hits like pile driver. Dark red hair, beard and a real shit-eatin’ grin.”
“Finn Delaney,” O’Fallon said.
“You know him?”
“Oh yeah, I know him. It was a few years ago, back in the old days before Forrester took over. I ran into him on a mission, when I was working with the Mongoose. He and Carnehan did not like each other. And Delaney had a real hard-on for spooks. First Division time commando all the way. only a real maverick. Crazy son of a bitch. He was a noncom in those days. Kept getting busted for punching out officers who gave him a hard time. Yeah. I know Finn Delaney, all right.”
“So then the Kid is T.I.A.”
“Yeah. And that probably means Priest is heading up their team. And Cross will be in on it, as well. Foxy lady, and nasty as a snake. Looks like Forrester sent in the first string.”
“That’s not what I’d call good news,” said Zaber.
“Are you kidding?” O’Fallon replied. “You know what the bounty is on those three? Shit. We just struck it rich.”
“I wouldn’t start counting that bounty before we collect it,” said Zaber. “And if they’re as good as you say they are, that’s not going to be easy.”
“Nothing worth doing is ever easy. Paul.” O’Fallon replied.
“But we’ve got the home-court advantage. I’ll check with the others, but I’m pretty sure that I’m the only one they know.
And they’ll never recognize me with this face. All we have to do is identify the targets and send the rustlers out to take care of them. We may not even have to get involved ourselves.
Because they’re concerned about temporal continuity, they’ll think twice before taking out any of the locals in this time sector. Our boys won’t have any such compunctions.” He smiled. “God damn. This operation is turning out to be a lot more interesting than I thought.”
“You want me to call in the others?”
“Yes. We’ll tell Allan and Steve to cancel their plan for the next shipment. Then we’ll get some of the boys together and take a ride into town. It doesn’t sound as if Delaney’s had any cosmetic surgery. They usually don’t, unless they’re going to assume specific identities. I want to make sure. I want to find out where they’re staying and what their covers are. I don’t want any mistakes on this one Once we’ve got them spotted and the situation eased, then I’ll call the boys I’m putting a bounty on them.”
“I’ve got a better idea.” said Zaber. “Have Ike Clanton do it. That way, if anything goes wrong and anybody talks, they’ll go after Clanton first. And while they’re doing that, we can make our move.”
O’Fallon smiled broadly. “That’s very good. Paul. That’s what I call good thinking.”
“Yeah, well, if we’re going to take on the First Division’s number one team, we’re going to need a lot of that.” said Zaber. “I’ll go get the boys.”
“What do you mean, he didn’t know you?” Andre asked, staring at Lucas with astonishment
“Just what I said.” Lucas replied, taking off his coat and dropping down into a chair. He exhaled heavily. “He didn’t have the faintest idea who I was. Said he’d never seen me before in his life. Thought I had him mixed-up with someone else. I came up with some story about his having a double that I met in
England and he seemed to swallow that, but it gave me one hell of a turn. I can tell you.”
“I don’t understand,” Andre said, an expression of complete confusion on her face. “Why would he do that? You think he was under surveillance?”Lucas snorted. “He acted like he didn’t even know what the word meant. I asked him that and he thought I was asking him if he was a surveyor”
“You’re kidding.”
“I wish I was.”
“What the hell does he think he’s doing?” Lucas shook his head, helplessly. “I don’t think he’s playing games. Andre. You should have been there. You should have seen him. It was spooky, He really didn’t know me. Your name, Finn’s name. Steiger’s name, the Old Man, they didn’t mean a thing to him. There was no glimmer of recognition. None whatsoever.”
She stared at him with disbelief. “My God. You think he’s got amnesia?”
Lucas shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m at a loss to accoun
t for it. I asked him if something had happened to him recently, if he’d gotten hurt or something. and he just looked at me as if I were crazy. It’s as if the role has completely taken him over. He’s not Sergeant Scott Neilson, temporal agent. He’s Scott Neilson, the Montana Kid.”
“You think the opposition got to him and brainwashed him?”
“I suppose it’s possible, but why? Why go to all that trouble? Why not just interrogate him and then take him out? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Does Finn know about this yet?”
Lucas shook his head. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to him. But we’re going to have to warn him. I don’t know what the hell’s happened to Neilson. Maybe he’s had a breakdown or something, but we can’t count on him anymore. He’s become a liability.”
“Maybe this is it,” said Andre. “Maybe this is what Dr. Darkness meant. Maybe something has happened to Scott and he forgot who he really was and somehow disrupted temporal continuity.”
Lucas sat very still, staring at her for a long moment.
“It’s possible, isn’t it’?” she asked.
Lucas nodded slowly. “Yes. It’s possible. The question is, what are we supposed to do about it?”
“No.” said Andre. “That’s not the question. The question is, what is it that we’re going to do-a not do-that we’re going to have to do differently to save the future?”
“Jesus.” Lucas said. “How the hell are we supposed to know?”
“Darkness said he’s going to tell us.”
“Yeah. At the last moment. Only why? Why wait till the last minute?”
“Maybe to make sure that we don’t have a chance to think about it.” she said. “Lucas, it’s possible that we may have to kill him.”
Lucas closed his eyes. “Oh, hell.”
“Maybe… maybe I’m wrong. Maybe there’s another way…”
“No,” said Lucas, shaking his head “No. I don’t think so. I think you’re right. Under ordinary circumstances, if you can possibly call this situation ordinary… that’s what we’d do. We’d look for some other way. We’d take him and clock him out and get him to a hospital
… and somehow, that’s what would interfere with temporal continuity. That’s got to be it. Neilson has to be the key. That’s why Darkness didn’t tell us any more than he did. It’s the only possible explanation that makes any sense. Whatever it is we have to do regarding Neilson, we’re going to have to do it at a specific time. And there’s no way we could know what that time is unless Darkness tells us. Only if he told us in advance we’d have to kill him, we’d do everything in our power to find some other way around it. He’s trying to make sure that we won’t have a chance to do that, Damn. Damn, damn, damn!”
“We’ve got to find Finn,” she said. “If he runs into Scott before we warn him about this. he’s liable to take it on his own to do something.”
“You’re right. He took a room over at the Aztec Rooming House. You head on over there, and if he’s not in. check the Capitol Saloon over on Fremont, then the Can Can Restaurant over on Allen. I’ll start at Hafford’s across the street and work my way down through the Occidental, the Alhambra and the Oriental. If he’s not in his room, he’s got to be in one of those places, following up on Ben Stone. We’ll meet back here.”
“Got it.”
“God, whatever it is. I hope it doesn’t happen tonight, before we get a chance to find Delaney.” He got up and put on his coat.
“Then let’s not waste any time,” she said, heading for the door.
Ben Stone was in the last saloon Finn checked, the Oriental. Going by his own statements. Stone was breaking his pattern. He said he liked playing in different saloons after he lost. “to keep his luck fresh.” Only here he was, in the Oriental once again. Why? Because this was where they met the last time?
“You’re waiting for me, aren’t you, you son of a bitch?” Finn mumbled under his breath as he spotted Stone sitting at a table in the back. He glanced around at the room. There were some cowboys sitting in a group at a couple of tables, a few card games going on. None of the Tombstone lawmen were in evidence. Holliday sitting in on a card game with Stone and a couple of the townspeople. And Scott Neilson at the bar. talking to Jenny. The moment Jenny spotted him, she waved him over.
“Finn, I’d like you to meet Scott, the Montana Kid. Scott, this is the kind gentleman who helped me the other day.”
“We already know each other, Jenny,” Neilson said, keeping his voice low and checking to see that they weren’t overheard. “Finn’s one of the people I was telling you about.”
Delaney glanced at him, startled. He couldn’t possibly have… no. he must have devised some sort of cover story for the girl. Which could pose a problem. since he hadn’t admitted knowing Scott before, when he’d met her. But there was nothing else to do but play along with it.
“How’re you doing, Kid? It’s been a while?
“Where have you been?” Neilson said, in a low voice. “Did you just clock in? Are Lucas and Andre with you?”
Delaney stared at him with disbelief, then glanced at Jenny with alarm.
“What the hell are you doing?” he whispered.
“It’s okay.” Scott replied. “She knows all about it.”
Delaney couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You told her? Are you crazy?”
“Finn, we have to talk.” said Scott, quietly. He glanced at Jenny. “She’s not who you think she is. She’s one of Drakov’s hominoids.”
Delaney caught his breath. “Holy shit! What the hell-”
“You’re the fella that busted up some of my boys the other night, ain’t ‘cha?” said a voice behind him, before he could finish.
Scott’s hands flashed to his coat and the two pearl-handled Colts leaped from their holsters. There were several audible clicks as he cocked them.
“Say, take it easy there. Kid.” the man said, slowly opening his coat. “I’m not heeled.” There were two other men standing beside him. “My friends ain’t. neither?
“What do you want, Clanton?” Scott asked.
“We don’t want any trouble.” said Ike Clanton; as Delaney turned to face him he was a large man, with light, curly hair, a moustache and a thin goatee. One look and Delaney didn’t like him. “And I wanted to be sure you understood that. seem’ as how you seem friendly with this here gentleman and your girl, Jenny, was involved.”
“Say your piece. Ike.” Scott lowered the hammers and put away his guns.
“You met my friends, here?” Clanton said, indicating the two men with him. “This here’s Johnny Ringo. And this gent is Curly Bill Brocius.”
“Any friends of yours, Ike, ain’t no friends of mine.” said Neilson.
“Say, now. I was just bein’ polite,” said Clanton. “I don’t believe I know this gentleman.”
“The name’s Delaney,” Finn said, watching the men carefully. “Finn Delaney.”
“Irishman, eh?”
“What can I do for you, Mr. Clanton?”
“Well. I just wanted to come over and apologize on behalf of my boys.” said Ike. “They had a mite too much whiskey yesterday and got out of line a bit.”
“More than a bit, I’d say,’ Delaney replied. “And any apologies should be addressed to this young lady.”
“I reckon so,” said Clanton. “Jenny, I’m right sorry about what happened. There wasn’t no call for it. I sure hope you won’t go bearin’ us a grudge.”
“I accept your apology, Ike,” she said.
“I ain’t gonna be so easy,” Scott said.
“Well, now, I figured that.” said Clanton, “which is why I’m keepin’ those boys out of town for a while. Fact is, they’re feelin’ poorly anyway, after what Mr. Delaney here did to ’em.”
“They got off lucky.” said Scott, if I’d been here. I would’ve killed them.
“Well, now, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” said Ike. “I don’t want any bad blood between you
and my boys if I can help it. They’re right sorry about what they done. I talked to ’em and made sure they wouldn’t be bearin’ your friend here any grudges. I don’t want any trouble. Now they promised to behave themselves and they didn’t really understand about you and Jenny. They do now. Seein’ as no harm was really done, except a little to my boys. I’m hopin’ we can just patch things up and forget about the whole thing That is, if you’re agreeable.”
Scott stared hard at Clanton. “If you really mean that, Ike, then I’m agreeable. But you keep your rustlin’ lowlifes away from Jenny or I’ll have something to say about it, understand? And I’ll be sayin’ it to you.”
“Hey.” said Ike, raising his hands up to his chest. “I got no problem with that. Looks like we understand each other. I’m happy we could work it out. Will you have a drink on it? I’ll buy. That goes for you too, mister.” he added, looking at Delaney. “Frank, whiskey for my friends here.”
Delaney was paying less attention to Ike Clanton than to the two men with him. Brocius and Ringo. Both hard-looking men, with eyes that met his gaze dead on. Gunfighters. Men who looked as if they knew their business.
Brocius shifted his gaze to Neilson. “You’re pretty quick with those fancy guns of yours.” he said.
“I hear tell you’re pretty quick, yourself,” Scott replied.
“I wonder which one of us is quicker.” Curly Bill said, with a smile.
“You want to find out’?” asked Neilson.
“Scott!” said Jenny.
“Hey. now, wait…” started Clanton.
Delaney took Scott by the arm. “Don’t push it.” he said. firmly.
“Anytime. Kid.” Brocius said.
“Now hold on just a minute.” said Delaney.
“Relax. Finn.” said Scott. “We can find out right here and now, without anybody getting hurt. You game, Curly Bill?”
Brocius narrowed his eyes. “What you got in mind?”
“I see you’re wearing a two-gun rig, too,” said Scott. “You take one gun and give it to Ike. I’ll take one of mine and give it to Finn. Then we each take the gun we got left and give them both to Frank, here, to unload. We put the empty guns back in our holsters and Frank will say the word. Then we draw and dry fire.”
