Network operation. That would seem more likely, considering that Tombstone was a mining boomtown in that period. Scott said there had been some stage robberies with shipments of bullion stolen. That’s just the sort of thing the Network would be into. Hijack silver bullion from Arizona in the 1880s, sell it in some future period when it hits its peak market value or trade it for some other commodities and pyramid the profits. Security back then would have been a joke, at least to people with resources like the Network has. It would be a prime scenario for temporal speculation. If it is the Network, then it’s all the more reason for Neilson to stay highly visible. They’ll be expecting someone to clock back to check on what happened to those Observers. Neilson can help draw their attention away from us.
“And maybe get himself killed while he’s at it.” Andre said. “I think it’s too dangerous. Not only for Scott, but for the temporal continuity in that sector. Look, by his own admission, he’s already become involved with people like the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday. And he’s managed to get himself caught right between the Clanton faction and the Earps. He could unintentionally wind up causing a disruption in the events leading up to the shoot-out at the O.K. Corral.”
“Actually, the shoot-out didn’t take place at the O.K. Corral.” said Neilson. “It took place in the vacant lot between Fly’s Boarding House and the Harwood place. The O.K. Corral was about ninety feet farther down the street, with only its back entrance leading out to Fremont Street, where the gunfight actually ended.”
“What difference does it make?” asked Andre, impatiently.
“I think it makes a great deal of difference.” said Forrester. “Neilson is the perfect man for this assignment He’s got all the right qualifications. He’s well versed in the history of the period and he’s an expert with the weapons of the period, as well. His cover as a gunfighter couldn’t be more perfect. He’s tailor-made for the role I’m against pulling him out. I’m with Finn and Lucas on this one. Andre There’s a risk, but I think it’s justified. I’m leaving Neilson in.”
“Thank you. sir.” said Scott.
“You sure you’re up to this, son?” asked Forrester. “You look a bit worn out.”
“I, uh, didn’t get much sleep, sir. I’ll be fine. I can handle. it.”
Forrester nodded, “All right. What about this situation with you and Wyatt Earp? Is that going to be a problem?”
“I hope not, sir I think he’s just concerned about keeping order in town and I look like a disruptive influence to him. But Doc Holliday said he’d try to intercede for me and the two of them are very close. Bat Masterson also seems to like me. Of course, he won’t be in Tombstone much longer after I get back. He’ll be called back to Dodge City to help out his brother. And the Earps are going to have their hands full with other problems before long. I don’t think they’ll have a lot of time to worry about me. Especially if I keep my nose clean.”
“That’s just the question.” Andre said. “Keeping out of trouble might be hard to do with the rustlers out gunning for you
“Maybe,” Neilson said. “But I’ll do what I can to stay out of their way. And I’ll try to ingratiate myself with the Earps in any way I can. The way things are developing in Tombstone back in that scenario, they’re going to need all the help they can get.”
“The only trouble is you may wind up giving them more help than they’re supposed to get.” said Andre. “And you’re also faster with a gun and a much better shot than just about anyone who lived back then. How do we keep you from becoming famous as the Montana Kid, fastest gun in the West?”
“That’s the very least of our problems,” Forrester said, before Neilson could reply. “It’s nothing Archives Section couldn’t handle. It would be time consuming, but we could easily assign a team to make sure that the Montana Kid remains unknown to history. Our first priority is to determine the nature of what’s happening back there. Is it the Network, engaged in one of their clandestine operations, or is it an infiltration through an undiscovered confluence point by agents of the S.O.G.? If that’s the case, we could be faced with a situation similar to what happened in the Khyber Pass in 1897. It could be a prelude to a full-scale invasion from the parallel timeline. Compared to that, any minor disruption Neilson’s presence could bring about would be insignificant. “
“Let’s not forget Drakov.” Lucas said, softly, feeling that he had to bring that up, but hating to. Forrester was plagued with guilt and self-recrimination over what his son had become. “He’s always the Wild card. And we still haven’t tracked down all his clones, or the genetically engineered hominoids he’s scattered throughout history.”
Forrester nodded, grimly. “Yes, we can’t afford to overlook him, either.” He took a deep breath and let it out in a heavy sigh. “The trouble is, we need to capture him alive, so we can track down all his clones. That won’t be easy, but it’s the only way we can be certain that we’ve got the original Nikolai Drakov. Only the original would know where all the copies are.”
Forrester never referred to Drakov as his son. Privately, it had to be an agony for him. Years ago, when Forrester had been a rookie serving his first hitch in Minus Time, he’d been injured and separated from his unit. Unable to clock back, he had believed that he was trapped forever in the past. He had been found and nursed back to health by a Russian gypsy girl with whom he fell in love. He was later found and rescued, but by that time. Vanna Drakova was already pregnant with their child.
Forester had broken all the rules and he had made the situation worse by keeping Vanna’s pregnancy a secret, he knew if he reported it, it would have been necessary for the child to be aborted and he had not been able to bring himself to do that to the girl he loved. Or to the child. The result was that he went back to the future, after trying to explain to Vanna as best he could exactly who and what he was and why he had to leave her, and the necessity for her never to reveal that knowledge to anybody else.
But the simple gypsy girl had not been able to grasp the meaning of everything he told her. The concept of temporal physics was beyond her and when young Nikolai became curious about who his father was, the story she had told him was a bizarre mixture of truth and fantasy, richly embroidered with her colorful imagination. The poor boy hadn’t understood and was left believing that he was the result of a supernatural union between his mother and some kind of demon. Unknowingly, his mother had traumatized him deeply and the harsh lives that they led as Nikolai grew up had only served to make things worse.
They were taken in by a young Russian officer and they had lived through Napoleon’s invasion and his disastrous retreat. Then Nikolai’s adoptive father had been arrested as a Decembrist and exiled to Siberia. They had followed him there and it was in that harsh, forbidding country that Vanna met her death at the hands of a savage rapist, who had given young Nikolai the knife scar on his face when he tried to go to her defense. With her death, Nikolai Drakov had been left all alone in the world, frightened and tormented by the question of his own existence.
He never became sick. He didn’t seem to age. He did age, of course, but at a rate that was far slower than normal. He had inherited a strong constitution, with an immunity to all known diseases and a lifespan that was far greater than normal for people in his time. And he did not know why or how. It had unhinged him. Then, when he encountered the notorious Sophia Falco, alias The Falcon, one of the leaders of the crosstime terrorists known as the Timekeepers. she had recognized him for what he was, seduced him and recruited him into the organization. She took him to the future with her, where she had further poisoned his mind against his father and obtained a biochip for him. Drakov was then given the benefits of an implant education through computer downloads directly to his brain. Already born with an amazing intellectual capacity, the implant programming had turned him into a genius. An insane genius. And when he found out the true story of who his father was and how he came to be, the hate he felt for Moses Forester completely overwhelmed him. He embarked upon a course that not even the Timekeepers would have dared to contemplate.
What Drakov sought was nothing less than the complete destruction of the future, a savage revenge against his father and the world and time he came from. His goal was to bring about a massive temporal disruption that would result in a timestream split, the ultimate temporal disaster.
He had at first allied himself with the Timekeepers and eventually became one of their leaders, but after the Timekeepers were defeated. Drakov managed to escape into the past and continue with his mad plan of revenge. With his own expertise and the assistance of the infamous Dr. Moreau, Drakov had created the hominoids, genetically engineered and biologically modified humans, some appearing normal in every respect, others mutated into frightful creatures, all with an unswerving loyalty toward him, obedient to his every command. His crowning touch had been to replicate himself, to create a series of clones that he had planted throughout time, in the care of devoted hominoid parents, children that at a certain stage of their development would be programmed with his own mental engrams, so that they would all be the same in every last respect. They would all share his memories and
