Portals in Time 2

by Michael Beals

  “It doesn’t matter; the plane can wait.”

  She looked across at Dore again. “D’you mind, Jock? We won’t be long. Ask the stewardess to prepare lunch for you. You and Ellie can talk in peace.”

  Dore waved her away. “Take as long as you need. We’ll be fine.”

  Jumping into the Jeep, she became aware of her Elite uniform. Compared to Persephone, who was wearing riding boots over white jodhpurs, she looked like some kind of space-age NAZI. “Sorry about the clothes. I wanted Hades to know I was serious and on the case.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about Haddy,” Persephone said, putting the Jeep into first gear and driving away in a shriek of tires. “He’s seriously impressed by what you’ve been doing, and so am I. I watched your gunfight with Rostock. You were amazing.”

  Kat gasped. “You were in West Fork?”

  “Who do you think shot the last demon?” Persephone laughed. “Ellie missed by a mile. Then again, I have to give her ten points for trying. She’s a plucky little thing.”

  They were driving on a country lane. She could see the paddocks in the distance, and it looked as if they were heading for the stables. “What were you doing there?”

  “Pernass told me you were going to the mines, and I wanted to keep an eye on you. You’ve no idea how important you’ve become. Couldn’t have some yippee demon gunning you down. I would have said hello, but I didn’t want McInnes to know I was there.”

  The Jeep flew down the road, then slowed to turn into the sandy track that led to the stables. Persephone enjoyed driving fast. “That’s very nice of you, Sephy. I admit, I was worried about Rostock. Dore was with me, but he’s not exactly a gunslinger.”

  “Yeah, Rostock’s a nasty little shit.”

  Pulling up beside one of the paddocks, Persephone switched off the engine and jumped out. She cut a trim figure in her white jodhpurs, and Kat couldn’t help but admire her as she unhitched a horse she’d been riding and headed for the stables. Following Persephone into the stable yard, she watched as she saddled another horse.

  “Have you spoken to Hades?” Kat asked, wondering if she should be letting Persephone do all the work.

  “Yes, I have. We had quite a discussion.” Making final adjustments to the saddle, she handed Kat the reins. “Let’s go. We can talk about it while we’re riding.”

  Hooking a booted foot into the stirrup, Kat swung into the saddle. It felt strange riding in her Elite uniform as if she was going off to war, and oddly, it reminded her of when she’d dressed up in NAZI uniforms. When they cleared the paddock and riding across a stretch of open moorland that overlooked the sea, Persephone turned to Kat.

  “The thing is, Kat, Haddy, and I don’t have many friends. Ellie’s very sweet, and she flies out here every so often, but Haddy likes people with a bit of grit, which is a serious contradiction of morals, if you’re into that kind of shit. Some people get sent to Hell because they take the law into their own hands, but they’re the very people Haddy likes. He might look like a bit of a fuddy-duddy, but he can be a fiery old sod.” She laughed. “As you might imagine. He is Hades after all.”

  “What are you saying? That he’ll never let me go?”

  Persephone cocked her head to one side. “It depends on how you approach it. He knows he’s in trouble if he doesn’t resolve the Grantham problem. The Boss is already screaming blue murder. Hades is placing all his hopes on your abilities to stop these escapes. But what’s he going to do if you disappear? And to be honest, I feel the same way. I understand, and I agree that you deserve recompense for the risks you are taking. Now the Big Boss will never allow you to be reincarnated until you change your attitude, but we need that attitude to resolve our little problem. So what we need is a compromise that the Big Boss will agree to and still be something you will accept. So I’ve been thinking. What if, after you’ve solved the Grantham thing, you opened an office in New York City… I mean BOTH New York Cities? You could have a base in the real world, and one in Hell. That way, you could fly over for lunch, and we could go riding once in a while. Better still, you’d have somewhere to escape to when the situation with Commander Fleming gets too hot to handle.”

  Kat reined her horse to a stop. “You know about Commander Fleming?”

  “Of course I do. Hell’s research department investigated you quite thoroughly before you were sent to Hell. He’s a wily old coot. Did you know he’s writing spy stories now? He’s also basing many of his James Bond characteristics on your wartime exploits.”

  “I knew he was writing something.”

  “Yeah. We just finished a novel called Casino Royale Fleming submitted it to the publishers. It’s hilarious. Haddy and I read it in bed together. I’m not surprised he works for MI6.”

  Spurring her horse into a walk again, Kat tried to conceal her excitement. This wasn’t exactly what she’d wanted Hades to agree to, but considering their last conversation, it was a pretty sweet deal. The only question was, would he give Dore and Giselle the same deal?

  Kat urged her horse into a slow canter. It was a beautiful day. The sun was glistening on the sea, gulls were wheeling overhead, and the temperature a comfortable 75 degrees. She looked around. She could see a small cottage in the distance. It was nestled in the lee of a hill, and she wondered who lived there.

  “Apart from Patrick, does anyone else live on the island?”

  Spurring on her horse, Persephone caught up with her. “Quite a few people. There’s a small village over to the east. The Palace doesn’t run itself. We have cooks, servants, gardeners, people to run the stables. Why do you ask?”

  “I just wondered who lived in that rustic cottage.”

  “You’re very observant. That cottage is very old. Haddy used to live there before he stole me from my family. I was extremely pissed when I realized where we would be living, so he had the Palace built. That’s why the Palace is so nice. I helped him design it.”

  “So Hades used to live on his own?”

  “Yes, he did, and it was very difficult for him. People used to worship all sorts of weird gods in those days. They didn’t understand what was going on when they were sent to Hell. Haddy tried to explain it to them, but they just didn’t get it, especially the reincarnation thing. Eventually, God thought it might be an idea to have religion, but they got that wrong as well, so I’m not sure if it helped a great deal. You shoulda heard some of the arguments between the Hindus, Christians, Muslims, and Jews.”

  Kat laughed. “I can imagine. So if I’m a Buddhist and I don’t do anything bad in life, do I still go to heaven?”

  “Of course you do.”

  “So why did you want to talk to me?”

  “Oh yes, I’d almost forgotten. I wanted to talk about Rostock. Some idiot did an outstanding job of rebuilding him. He’ll be out of hospital very soon.”

  “He will?” Kat gasped. “But I thought he’d be there for weeks.”

  “Normally, he would, but McInnes paid for a special surgeon to fly over from Vienna, which says something about how important Rostock is to Grantham.”

  The very thought of Rostock still being around sent shivers down Kat’s spine. The demon was becoming a menace. How was she supposed to deal with someone like that? She’d filled him full of holes, yet he was still alive.

  “So, should I be worried about Rostock?”

  “Yes, you should. And I can’t do anything to help; otherwise, I’d annihilate the little bastard. But Haddy wants him alive. He thinks he’ll lead us to Grantham.”

  “But you don’t need Rostock. I can find Grantham.” Turning her horse around, she urged it into a trot. She was getting anxious now. If Rostock was alive, it made things much more complicated. “What if he confronts me again?”

  Persephone shrugged. “Yeah, I know. It’s difficult, especially if you can’t kill him. Even I got told off for interfering.”

  “I see. I’m caught between the demon and the deep blue sea.”

  Persephone let out a shriek of
laughter. “That’s very funny, Kat. I wouldn’t worry about it too much. He can’t kill you, either.”

  “He can make a mess of me, and I quite like my body the way it is.”

  They rode the rest of the way in silence, Persephone occasionally pointing out a bird or an animal that was imported from Earth. It was hard not to think about Rostock. If Rostock decided to dress up as a regular New York City Police Officer in Hell, how could she pick him out in a crowd or at a distance?

  “Sephy, could you do me a favor? Could you find Rostock and mark him? Remove half an ear or something? Anything so I’ll know it’s him. Otherwise, he could disguise himself and ambush me.”

  Persephone laughed. “I can probably do that. How about half a left horn?”

  “Perfect.”

  Exiting the Jeep, Kat waived Persephone goodbye. Kat saw Dore and Giselle sunning themselves on the steps of the airplane ladder. Dore had rolled up his sleeves, and Giselle was tanning her legs. They looked like a couple on holiday, and Kat wondered why she’d bothered to hurry.

  “I hope you two behaved yourselves.”

  “Very funny,” Dore replied. “You missed a wonderful lunch.”

  “Oh really. What did you have?”

  “The most incredible lobster and prawn salad I’ve ever had. It came with lashings of mayonnaise and was followed up by apple pie and cream.”

  “You bastard. You mean it’s all gone. I’m starving.”

  He laughed. “I saved you a prawn.”

  Kat thought about Persephone’s offer all the way back to New York City. As Kat wasn’t the forgive and forget type, she had an uncomfortable feeling that Hades might never allow her to be reincarnated. Her best bet was to find Grantham and accept the reward Persephone offered, and get Dore and Giselle to agree without argument.

  She glanced across at Dore and Giselle. They were sitting on the couch near the television, but although it was switched on, they weren’t watching it. They were deep in conversation, and it wasn’t hard to imagine what they were talking about. Getting up, she went over and sat in an adjacent seat.

  “Guys, it’s okay. I talked to the real person in charge, Persephone, while you were boarding the plane. and she came up with a brilliant idea.”

  Dore squinted at her. “So what’s the plan?”

  Kat thought for a moment. “Persephone promised to talk to Hades if we stop Grantham. She will convince Hades to allow us to open a detective agency both in Hell and on Earth, and we’ll do all the detective work Hades wants. We’ll be able to live on Earth, but we’ll have to commute to Hell whenever Hades needs us.” Kat looked at Dore and Giselle and said, “after talking to Hades, if Persephone can pull this off, it’s the best deal we’re going to get, and we’d be idiots not to accept it. And no escaping. Remember, I gave my word to Hades.”

  “And where exactly would we all be living?” Giselle asked, moving closer to Dore.

  Kat winced. “Well, I was thinking of England. I’ve got a detective agency there, or at least the beginnings of one. If I was working for the British government and doing detective work for Hades, it might work out quite well. It wouldn’t matter how big a job Hades gave me, with an artifact I could always arrive back on Earth at the perfect time.”

  Giselle glanced at Dore. “And what about you? Would you want to live in England, with all that rain and gray English people?”

  Dore shrugged. “Wherever you want to live. It doesn’t bother me.”

  “Then, I want to live in New York City. I’ve lived here for 200 years, and it’s my home. I’ve visited England, and I’ve been to Italy, which was lovely. I’ve also been to California and Florida, but nothing beats New York City.”

  “Okay, fine,” Kat said, impatiently. “I’ll move everything to New York City, but it won’t be easy. I’ve got a great sodding house in the English countryside, but I guess it’s more important that we swing Hades to our side of the fence.”

  Giselle waved a delicate hand at her. “If we can apprehend Grantham, which won’t be easy, we’ll probably get what we want.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  A gusting easterly wind was blowing in off the sea when they arrived at Gypsy headquarters. Swirling eddies of sand were sweeping across the small airfield, and Kat was glad to be wearing her Elite uniform. Climbing out of the helicopter, Kat looked around. Pernass had made an appointment with Harper, and she’d expected him to meet them. However, there was no sign of him, and to add to her concern, Kat could see something burning in the distance. Making their way over to the main entrance, she, Dore, and Giselle approached the reception desk, where a young man looked fidgety and uncomfortable.

  “I’m agent Wolfram,” she said, smiling at the young man. “We’re here to see Mr. Harper.”

  “Yes, I know,” the young man said. “We’re expecting you, but there’s been an er… accident.”

  “Really? What kind of accident? Not involving Mr. Harper, I hope.”

  The young man winced. “No, no, Mr. Harper’s fine.” He looked around, and Kat got a distinct impression that he was afraid to discuss it. “If you wouldn’t mind waiting, I’ll call him.”

  She glanced at Dore. He was wearing his gangster suit again and already looked bored, so she gazed through the window to see what was burning. It looked like a small airplane, but it was hard to be sure. Two fire engines and an ambulance were on the scene, but there was little activity. She turned to look at the receptionist again, but at that moment, Harper appeared. He looked flustered, which was unusual for Harper.

  “Good morning,” he said, a look of surprise on his face when he saw Kat’s uniform. “I’m sorry I’m late, but there’s been an unfortunate incident.”

  The word incident got Kat’s attention. An incident was very different from an accident. “You mean that thing that’s burning out on the airfield?”

  Harper nodded. “I’m afraid so. No one’s allowed to enter Gypsy airspace without permission, absolutely no one. It doesn’t matter who they are.”

  She blinked in surprise. “What are you saying… that you shot it down?”

  Harper shrugged. “We did, indeed. We have stringent rules here.”

  She stared at Harper. He might have looked slightly flustered when he first appeared, but he was being very matter of fact about the downed airplane. “So… who was in the aircraft?”

  “We don’t know. They’re too badly burned. We know the pilot was a demon, but there were four humans aboard, and they were all armed. It’s all very annoying. It will take us days to clean up the mess. And months before the doctors can put the bodies back together, so we can ask them what the hell they were up to.”

  “When did it happen?”

  “Early this morning. It was damned stupid of them. Gypsy headquarters is heavily protected, and that protection is completely automatic. We have to turn the defense system off when we’re expecting someone. Anyway, I don’t want to trouble you with this. Come in. I’ll order some coffee.”

  They followed Harper down a maze of corridors and into his cozy living room, where a fire was crackling in the hearth. Pernass had only told Harper she needed a technical meeting. He hadn’t explained what it was really about, so the Gypsy probably thought it was about the existing artifact.

  Kat waited until everyone was seated before she spoke. “Mr. Harper, thank you for seeing us at such short notice, I’m sure you’re busy with a thousand other things, but I have an unusual request. Very unusual, in fact.”

  “Did you have a problem with the artifact? It should have been all right. It was the latest model.”

  “No, not at all. The artifact was perfect. I even managed to program our exact arrival date, so we were blessed with wonderful weather. No, I’m not here about the artifact, although on our next trip, three of us will be traveling, so we may need an extra unit. We’re here for something completely different, and I can only hope you’re able to help.”

  Harper squinted at her. “Are you still chasing Grantham?”
r />   “We are, and we think we know how he’s hiding from us.”

  “You do? We’ve been looking for quite a while, but New York City’s a big city.”

  “Yes, it is, but jumping between the years makes it even bigger, especially if he’s zapping into the future whenever he wants.”

  Harper gave her a doubtful look. “He can’t just zap into the future whenever he wants. He’s got to come back to Hell and re-program the artifact.”

  Kat shook her head. “No, I don’t think he does. Not if he has a time machine.”

  Harper scratched at his Colonel Custer beard. “Well, he didn’t get it from here. We’re still developing a device that can bend time.”

  Kat felt a pang of excitement. She’d always suspected Harper of being a dark horse. “You’re developing one? Does it work?”

  “After a fashion. It can take you forward in time, which is a real blast, but it won’t go back any further than the time you’re in. We’ve tried going back a hundred years, but nothing happens. I think there’s something wrong with the atomizer.”

  “So let me understand this. If you go back to 1875, for example, using a regular artifact, will your time machine take you into the future and back to 1875 again?”

  “Sure can. The only restriction is that it will only take one person. It’s not like an artifact, where you can squeeze two or three people into a tight radius. It’s one person only. So if you intend looking for Grantham in the future, whoever goes would be on their own.” He gave her a sympathetic smile. “But if that’s why you’re here, it’s not ready yet. We’re still experimenting.”

  “But if you’ve already used it, and succeeded…”

  Getting up, he threw another log on the fire and picked up the telephone. “Andrew, would you mind sending in a pot of coffee and a plate of nibbles?” Replacing the handset, he gazed at Kat for a moment and sat down again. “It’s not as simple as that. We know that Grantham goes into the future, but we don’t know how far, which is always a problem.”