“Call you what, Death Guy?”
“Enough,” Blade said. He’d entertained the notion that without Geronimo along, Hickok would be more serious, and better behaved, than usual. He should have known better.
Over at a console, Tesla swiveled in his chair. “We’re ready to initiate the process. With your consent.”
Blade met Jenny’s gaze. Her face mirrored all the love in the world, and all the worry, too. He smiled, and nodded. “Start the countdown.”
“We’re rocketships now?” Hickok said. He waved at Sherry and Ringo. “Be seein’ you.”
Yama stood as impassive as a statue until his wife, Melissa, approached the bars and held her hand toward him, palm-out. Her lips moved soundlessly, mouthing the words, ‘I love you.’ Yama returned the gesture.
“There’s hope for you yet,” Hickok said.
“When I said enough,” Blade said, “I meant it.”
“Sorry, Big Guy.”
A.l.v.i.s began flitting from console to console, calling out as he went. “Green on station one. Green on station two. Green on station three. All systems are good to go.”
“Thank you,” Tesla said, and turned a dial.
“Thanatos didn’t go through all this rigmarole when he sent us into the ast,” Hickok mentioned. “I could take a nap in the time it’s takin’ them to zap us.”
“They can’t afford any mistakes,” Blade said.
“You mean we can’t,” Hickok amended. “They’ll still be here no matter what happens to us.”
“Do you always look at the bright side of things?” Yama said.
Blade looked down at the black leather vest he nearly always wore. Under it, barely able to fit, was the chest plate, their synchronous link, as Tesla referred to the device, to the time machine. No matter what, he must protect it with his life, for without it, they wouldn’t be able to return.
“Hold!” A.l.v.i.s suddenly chirped. “We have a red light at station two.” Flitting quickly, he tweaked controls with his metal fingers.
“Wouldn’t it be hilarious if they mess up and send us back to the Middle Ages or ancient Greece?” Hickok said.
“No,” Blade said.
“Better yet, the Old West. Yama had a point about meetin’ our heroes. I’d love to bump into the real James Butler Hickok.”
“I never said that the Lord of Kismet known as Yama is my hero,” Yama said.
“What is he, then?” Hickok asked.
“It could well be he is my nemesis.”
“Huh?”
“Green light restored at station two,” A.l.v.i.s let Tesla know. “We are again functional.”
Blade didn’t realize his mouth has gone dry until he tried to swallow. Butterflies were loose in his stomach, too. To take his mind off his unease, he adjusted the trap to the Commando slung over his shoulder, then rested his hand on the hilt of his right bowie.
“Our countdown continues,” Tesla said.
Blade braced himself just as a green radiance enveloped his body. He glanced out at Jenny and Gabe, wanting his last sight to be of them, but they weren’t there. No one was. The next moment he became intensely dizzy and felt as if he were falling, falling, falling……..
CHAPTER 19
Blade’s first sensation was of humid, almost moist air. He sucked in a breath and his eyes snapped open. He found himself gazing up at a harshly bright sun in a cloudless sky of slate-gray and pale blue. For a few moments his head spun dizzily and he felt nauseous.
Forcing himself to sit up, Blade took stock. He appeared to be in the middle of a forest. A tangle of trees loomed on every side From out of their depths came cries and caws unlike any he’d ever heard. Some he attributed to birds. Placing his hands flat, he pushed to his feet. A glance to the right and the left sent a ripple of apprehension down his spine.
Hickok and Yama weren’t there. He was alone.
Blade scowled. The same thing had happened the last time, when Thanatos sent Hickok, Geronimo and him back in time to the 1800’s. They’d ended up miles apart. Tesla, with A.l.v.i.s’s help, had hoped to prevent that from happening. Obviously, they’d miscalculated.
But that was all right, Blade told himself. They had planned for just this contingency. He consulted the device on his left wrist to ensure it was functioning, and grunted in satisfaction.
The device was a watch, although telling time was the least of its functions. Basically, it was a telephone, a camera, a global positioning unit, a watch, and more, combined into one. Family records indicated that such devices had been all the rage prior to the Big Blast.
From what Blade understood, millions of the ‘Micro Tech IV,’ as the thing was known, were sold. A tenth generation ‘smart watch’, the advertising campaign boasted that ‘what the Micro Tech IV can’t do isn’t worth doing’.
Kurt Carpenter had stocked a case of them in one of the storage rooms under C Block but the batteries that could power the things had long since been used up. Everyone had forgotten the Micro Techs were there until Tesla undertook a complete inventory of everything electronic the Family owned, and came across them.
It was A.l.v.i.s who supplied the batteries; Thanatos had stockpiled a large supply of different sizes and types.
Remembering his instructions, Blade pressed a button. A light came on, first yellow, then red, then green. The Micro Tech IV was working. He pressed another button and the screen flashed ‘Seeking Compatible Devices’. The flashing stopped, a blue light came on next to the green, and a message appeared. Blade read it, blinked in surprise, and read it again. ‘Full spectrum of 79 frequencies analyzed. Two piconets detected. Encryptyed scatternet also found. Fourteen discrete devices within signal range.’
Blade didn’t know what any of that meant, except for the last part. Tesla had told him that all he had to do was activate the ‘Blue’ fuction, and the watch would automatically locate Hickok and Yama by the watches on their own wrists. To link up, all they had to do was follow the watch’s instructions.
A small map had appeared, with a white dot that signified his position. It showed he was just beyond the outskirts of Bangkok, where he wanted to be.
Blade
