pounding.”
Wow. If he was scared back in that station, he sure didn’t show it. Add that to the list. The guy was cool under pressure.
“We didn’t expect a welcoming committee,” I said. “But we’re sure glad you were there.”
Gunny nodded thoughtfully. “I’m guessing you’re Pendragon,” he said, then looked to Spader. “Which one are you?” ”Vo Spader, mate,” answered Spader proudly. “Aquaneer supreme from the territory of Cloral.”
“I like that!” Gunny laughed. “I have no idea what an aquaneer supreme is, but it sure sounds fine!”
“What’s your story?” I asked, still not sure how far we could trust this guy.
“I could bore you for hours with my story.”
“Go for it,” I said.
“Start by telling us where the name Gunny came from,” Spader said.
“The army,” Gunny answered. “It’s sort of a joke. I signed up back in seventeen to fight in the Great War. Not sure why they called it that, but who am I to say? Trouble was, I couldn’t bring myself to fire a gun. I tried, mind you. I really did. But it was the strangest thing. I’d pick up a rifle, point it, but couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger. Didn’t matter how much they hollered at me, I couldn’t do it. That’s when I got the nickname. Spent the rest of the war cooking and cleaning pots.”
“Did you know you were a Traveler back then?” asked Spader.
“Nope. Found out two years ago,” Gunny said. “I’ve lived most of a life thinking things were one way. Come to find out it wasn’t that way at all. I can’t say I’m too happy about it, but I guess I don’t have a choice, do I?”
No, he didn’t. Neither did we. Welcome to Travelerhood. I glanced quickly up at the cabbie, wondering what he would think of this conversation. My guess was New York cabbies had seen and heard far stranger stories than this.
“How’d you find out?” I asked.
“I work at this hotel,” Gunny explained. “Near twenty years now. Started scrubbing pots, now I’m a bell captain. One day this fella showed up. Nice enough gentleman. Soon as I showed him to his room, he started telling me things. Things about me he never could have known.”
“Like what?” asked Spader.
“He knew about my family; about where I was raised down in Virginia; about things I said and did forty years before that I near forgot myself. I have to tell you I was a little scared of this fella. But he calmed me down and said everything was going to be fine. He said it was time I knew about my true calling.”
“So he laid the whole Traveler gig on you right there?” I asked.
“Not exactly. He asked me to take a trip with him. Uptown. If I had known just how far uptown he meant, I’m not so sure I would have gone with him.”
“I guess he took you to the flume,” I said.
“That’s right. Before I knew it, I was flying through space. I was lucky my poor old heart didn’t give out right then and there. We landed at a place called Ta Da or some such thing.”
“Zadaa?” I asked.
“That was it. Zadaa. It was this beautiful city in the desert, with a river running under the ground.”
Spader and I shared looks. We had been there too. It was Loor’s home territory.
Gunny continued, “And he introduced me to the most beautiful lady I had ever seen.”
“Osa,” I said.
“That was her!” Gunny stopped talking for a second. I could tell his mind was back on Zadaa, with Osa. She was Loor’s mother and like Gunny said, an amazingly beautiful woman. Gunny came back to the present and said, “She’s the one who told me all about being a Traveler and how it was up to us to stop this Saint Dane fella from causing trouble. I wanted to know why I was chosen, but both of ‘em said I’d find out in due time.”
“Sounds familiar,” I said.
“It was too much for my brain to take in all at once. I’m still not sure I understand it all, even now. The gentleman took me on a few more trips, just to show me more of what was out there. I never thought I’d ever see such wondrous sights. Then he brought me back home. I asked him what I was supposed to do, and he said I didn’t have to do anything except wait and keep my eyes open. That was two years ago. After a time I began thinking I dreamed the whole thing. I kept my eyes open, but there was nothing to see. That is, until today.”
“The guy who took you to Zadaa,” I asked. “What was his name?”
“Went by the name of Tilton. Press Tilton. I suppose you know him.”
“He was my uncle,” I answered.
“Your uncle!” exclaimed Gunny with a smile. “Now that explains a few things. He told me all about you. Said you’d be showing up someday. He talked about you like you were the upside of buttered bread. Now it makes sense!”
“Upside of buttered bread?” said Spader, giving me a sideways look.
“Hold on,” Gunny said. “You said hewasyour uncle?”
“Yeah,” I answered quietly. “Uncle Press is dead. I hate to tell you this, but Osa is too.”
The smile dropped from Gunny’s face. He looked down, letting this information work through his head. “I am truly sorry to hear that,” he finally said. “He was a good person. I can say the same for Osa. The world is worse off without them.”
“Thanks, but there’s more you gotta know,” I said.
“I’m not so sure I want to,” Gunny shot back. For the first time since we’d met, he looked nervous.
“Those gangsters back at the subway station,” I began. “They’re the ones who killed Uncle Press.”
“No!” exclaimed Gunny. “Press came back?”
“No. We were at a flume in another territory. Saint Dane took off, but before we could chase him, bullets came back at us through the flume.”
I could feel Spader grow tense next to me. This was a tough memory for him.
“Uncle Press was killed by those bullets,” I continued. “Saint Dane had his hand in it. I’m sure of that. He’s the only one who could have activated the flume to send those bullets through.”
Gunny looked away. The expression on his face grew dark. He needed to get his mind around this. After several seconds he finally spoke.
“I guess that means it’s starting,” he said softly.
“What?” asked Spader. “What’s starting?”
Gunny was anxious. His mind was racing to places I didn’t think he wanted to go. “I hear things, you know?” he said nervously. “Being at the hotel and all, I see and hear it all. Maybe that’s why I was chosen for this Traveler business.”
“What did you hear?” I asked.
“Those gunmen at the subway station, they are a couple of bad apples. I heard rumors that there was going to be a hit. Somebody was going to get killed, you know? I hear things like that all the time. Usually it’s just rumors. But the thing that made me take notice this time was the place it was supposed to happen. It was that subway station. The one with the flume thing. I was hoping it was just a coincidence, but I had to see for myself. That’s why I was up there today.”
“And then we showed up,” I said.
“Yeah,” said Gunny. “And a Traveler died. I’m afraid that can only mean one thing.”
“Yeah,” Spader said to Gunny. “Looks like your days of watching and waiting are over.”
“Whatever Saint Dane’s plan is for First Earth,” I said, “it’s on.”
The car came to a stop and the cabbie slid the glass partition back that separated the front seat from the back. “Fifty-ninth and Park,” he announced.
I wondered how much of our conversation he’d heard. It didn’t matter. It wouldn’t have made any sense to him.
“Where are we?” asked Spader.
“This is my home,” said Gunny. “The Manhattan Tower Hotel. They all come through here sooner or later- movie stars, politicians, captains of industry. And gangsters.”
“Gangsters?” I said with surprise.
“Yes,” answered Gunny. “After what I’ve seen and heard today, I’ve got a feeling they’re the reason we’ve all been gathered together.”
