Forty-five
One accident marred the crossing of the ultrasonic
barrier. A dislodged headphone resulted in an unconscious mercenary with
bleeding ears. “But I didn’t hear a thing,” Sarah protested, unsettled by
the risk she had taken.
The Colonel studied the headphones for some
explanation of their effectiveness. “I don’t think this technology is too
far beyond ours. Noise canceling headphones, except the noise they detect
and cancel is ultrasonic.”
“We want as much of this stuff to go back with us as
possible,” Richard reminded the man.
The Colonel threw the two a look of sheer dismay. “I
can see where you came up with that twenty-third century crap. Is there
more I should know about?”
Sarah shook her head sadly. “We told you everything
we know.”
“And now we have an adversary to go along with this
Corin character,” the Colonel said unhappily. “I can see that we’re not
dealing with some kid’s overactive imagination.”
They were just down the hill and across the river
from Silver Ridge. About them, the Colonel’s men guarded an invisible
perimeter roughly five hundred feet in diameter. But it was Sarah who
first caught sight of the intruder that had eluded them all. She shot to
her feet in silent warning.
The machine was a foot and a half long, a miniature
tank on treads armed with a single lens on a rotating turret.
“Speak of the devil,” Richard said gently.
The machine approached to within a few yards and
stopped. The voice it emitted was tinny, but clearly recognizable.
“If you knew of things worthy of your fear, the devil would not concern
you.”
Sarah took a step forward, momentarily thrown off
guard. “Billy!”
The Colonel’s radio spat static. “Sir, we have a
visitor on the perimeter. I think it’s the Trevor kid.”
Colonel Seth Clymer looked to Sarah for his orders.
Sarah quickly nodded her consent. “Let him pass.”
They watched Billy Trevor, or Corin, approach through
the trees, down the side of the hill from the direction of Silver Ridge.
He was smiling with his hands stuffed in his pockets, curiously unruffled
by the carbines pointed in his general direction.
He stopped before Sarah. “You object when I call you
mother. I’m glad to see you anyhow. I knew you’d come.”
He held his hand out to Richard. Richard shook it,
surprised by the firmness and sincerity of the handshake. “And you as
well, Mr. Welk.”
Corin nodded his greeting to Colonel Seth Clymer.
“Sir, I would imagine that you will earn the respect of my adversary
despite the magnitude of his megalomania. He thinks his stolen technology
invincible.”
“Good,” the Colonel replied and let it go at that.
“Do you wish to leave with us now?” Richard said,
puzzled by the young man’s nonchalance. “Is it over yet?”
“It hasn’t begun, I’m afraid.”
“It’s over if I say it’s over!” Sarah cried. “It’s
over if I have you physically removed from this awful place and. . .”
There was something in Corin’s eyes that stopped
her. Richard saw it as well, a dark, dangerous look completely alien to
the Billy Trevor they had known. “I asked you not to come. It wasn’t
necessary for you to risk your lives.”
“The matter is out of your hands now,” the Colonel
said forcefully, backing Sarah up.
Corin eyed the man, but said nothing. He then looked
to Richard for back-up.
“Sorry, but she’s not taking my advice on this one,”
Richard said.
“I could hold you here,” Corin said to the group,
“but I have no way to force you to retreat to a safe distance.”
“We’re at a standoff, then,” Sarah said curtly.
Corin looked to the Colonel. “You seem to have
matters well in hand.”
“We have a rough idea of what we’re up against.”
“There’s a chance my adversary may withdraw if he
sees that his forces are being bested by superior logistics. I need to
confront him here and now. News is just now reaching him of your
presence. You could help me by surrounding the motel on the north edge of
town and helping us deal with his men. I have my own means of ending the
stand off and initiating a challenge of resolve.”
The Colonel looked to Sarah for his orders. Sarah
looked to Richard for his advice. “What happens if this adversary of
yours escapes?” Richard said.
“If he escapes Silver Ridge, he will begin anew
elsewhere. Left to his own resources, he will inexorably drag your world
into savagery.”
“For what reason?”
“Let’s just say that widespread social chaos is of
practical use to him. Turmoil breeds cold-hearted men. The adversary
recruits such men.” Corin looked to Sarah. “And women, if they sport the
traits he prizes. He harbors no sexual prejudice, I assure you.”
“What do we do when we corner him?” Richard said.
“Do we kill him?”
“If he is killed, he will reappear elsewhere. He
must be cornered and challenged. He must be defeated. Defeated, he will
be permanently evicted from your world.”
“Billy complained that you never made clear sense,”
Sarah said, her tone of voice laden with tension and mounting fear. “I
can see why.”
The Colonel’s men had drawn close and were listening
in on the conversation. Corin’s voice carried well in the stillness. The
ultrasonic barrier had cleared the woods entirely of birds, insects and
animals.
“When do we move out?” the Colonel asked of Corin.
“We’ve thrown the adversary off balance. We should
not allow him to recover.”
The Colonel turned to his men. “This was a volunteer
mission from the beginning. It sure as hell remains one. If anyone wants
out, nobody in his right mind would hold it against you.”
No one wanted out. All eyes turned to Corin for
their next move. In silent response, Corin turned away began walking back
up the hill toward town. Behind him, the little tank and a hundred like
it that no one had noticed broke into motion and followed.
The Colonel fed his men a quick series of commands.
They fanned out and vanished among the trees, leaving Richard and Sarah to
follow the unsettling army of gleaming machinery.
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