“And my plans, do I bring them?”
Bill shook his head. “No, those are Ford’s. As are the two flying cars. We have photographs of your plans, so we could build the flying cars without you, but your mind, your intellect, that, sir, is what we would love to support and encourage, so that many more could reap the benefits of whatever you discover or invent.”
“I need to think on this,” was Einstein’s response. “If I could have, perhaps, another glass of this fine Scotch, that would help me think.” This, said with a sly grin.
Matt poured the scientist another glass of Scotch while Bill went to the quarterdeck to invite the others back in. They were both smoking small cigarillos which they promptly tossed over deck before making their way to the lounge.
As they approached, they both gave an inquiring look at Bill, who simply said, “He’s thinking. Said he’ll make a decision soon.”
Neither man elected to have a second drink. “If’n we gotta take off in a coupla hours, I don’t feel much like gettin’ drunk,” Ford said in way of explanation.
Those still standing took a seat, waiting for the final outcome.
Einstein looked at Ford. “Mr. Ford, I greatly appreciate all you have done for me, but I fear the Kaiser’s men will continue to seek me out, and may eventually kill me. You have the plans?”
Ford nodded. “Yep, along with one of the cars. Rhodes gets the other.”
Einstein nodded. “This is good.”
Turning toward Rhodes, he said, “And you. What do you get out of this if I do not go with you?”
Rhodes’s reply was simple. “One of the cars and a copy of the plans. Oh, I’ve also gotten the rights for the Empire to produce and distribute your invention throughout the British Commonwealth.”
“So, you both can make the adjustable repulsive electromagnet?”
Both men nodded.
“And you will both have a flying car?”
Again, they nodded.
“And, you,” he said, pointing to Bill, “you, too have the plans?”
Bill nodded.
“I have seen how the British treat their colonies. I have also seen how the Confederacy treats its Negroes. I do not think I would want to live where people are treated not like people.”
Standing up, he held out a hand to Ford, who took it. “Morty, it was a pleasure working with you, but I do not desire to go back to the Confederacy.”
Releasing Ford’s hand, Einstein then turned to Rhodes. “Mr. Rhodes, I am grateful for all you have done to rescue me from the Kaiser’s men. It is my understanding that you are the one who procured this fine vessel. Without that assistance, I would still be a slave. Unfortunately, I fear if I were to go to work for the British crown, I would not live long enough to enjoy any of my wealth. The Kaiser’s reach, as we have learned, is long and dangerous.”
Raising his glass in Bill’s direction, he continued, “I hope that this Republic of California that this young man has told me about can also protect me, but I fear it may not. But it offers something that neither the Confederacy nor the British Empire can, which is to live amongst people who are treated like people, not like untermenschen. So, I will take my chance with him and his companions.”
Looking between Ford and Rhodes, he said, “You will both benefit greatly from the plans and cars you have. Morty, you know already the plans are correct, as they are the ones we used to build the cars.”
While Ford and Rhodes were not thrilled about losing the scientist, they were both happy that they had managed, with the help of the four “foreigners,” to at least retrieve the plans.
“What now?” Einstein asked.
“I suppose we should inform the captain,” Rhodes said. “Morty and I can take off with the cars once we get close enough to shore and the captain can take you all into port. That way, hopefully, people won’t be able to connect the cars with the boat when the Heinies come looking for you.”
Two and a half hours later, Captain Beron slowed the Enigma down long enough for Rhodes to lift off in the cherry red Dixie Flyer. Ford had given it to him, saying, “You broke it, you own it,” referring to the multiple bullet holes from Rhodes’ fusillade when he tried to stop the Germans from hijacking the flying car. He was planning on flying to Atlantic City, New Jersey, then drive to the British consulate in Philadelphia. From there, the car would be crated and shipped to London. Bill supposed the film of the plans would be developed at the consulate, too, and multiple copies sent back to London by various means.
Before leaving, though, Rhodes had given Bill information on where and how to obtain a false passport for Summer. It would have to wait until they got into Baltimore.
A half-hour later, the lights of Delaware were fast approaching. Saying his goodbyes, Ford climbed into his powder-blue Dixie Flyer and departed the vessel, this time heading southeast. Has plan was to fly into Maryland, drive down the coast to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, and at night fly across to Virginia. “It’s a bit less’n thirty miles across at that point,” the Confederate had said, “and the lights of Norfolk and Virginia Beach’ll guide me.” After that, it would just be a matter of driving back to Atlanta with the plans and a copy of them in a roll of film, something he vowed to keep safe and hidden.
After Ford departed, the Enigma made its way into Delaware Bay, the lighthouse at Cape May showing the northern shore as they slipped toward the southern shore and the protected harbor behind Cape Henlopen, where the Harbor of Refuge lighthouse guided mariners past the bay’s southern entrance.
Bill was on the bridge with the captain when they made their approach to the breakwater protecting the harbor at Lewes Beach. “We’ll be docking at the ferry terminal. Likely nobody there this time of day, and if there is, I’ll just let ‘em know y’all were found at sea when the small sailboat y’all were on went down.” Looking over at Bill, he grinned. “Lucky for all y’all, y’all were able to grab some of your things before it went down.”
Bill took the hint. Yacht went down, grabbed the important things, such as packs and guns, before boarding the lifeboat. Bill would be sure to pass that on to the others before disembarking so they knew the cover story.
Beron pulled Enigma alongside the empty dock. Without even tying off, he ushered the party of six off his vessel, wishing them well, then as soon as the last person was off, started backing the boat away from the dock.
Without looking back, the crew made its way off the wharf and onto the street.
“Here’s where it becomes interesting,” Bill said, looking around for a streetcar or taxi stand. Sure enough, there was a taxi stand nearby. Luckily, there were even a couple of taxis. They were likely waiting for whatever passengers rode the ferry from Cape May. Bill had the others wait while he went over to the stand. Stopping at the first taxi, Bill rapped on the passenger window, startling the sleeping driver.
The drowsy man leaned over and opened the passenger door. “Yeah?”
“We need a ride to the closest interurban or train station.”
Rubbing his face to try to come more awake, the man asked, “Which one you want? Interurban’s right over there, on the main street.”
“We’re trying to get to Dover.” Bill didn’t want the man to know that they were actually heading to Baltimore where Rhodes’s forgery expert was and to catch whatever westbound train they could at the first opportunity.
“Yeah, interurban’ll take you there. Cheaper than the train, but a bit longer.”
“Thanks,” Bill said, closing the door and letting the man go back to whatever sleep he could.
Returning to the crew, who now resembled the castaways of the old television sitcom Gilhooley’s Island, Bill told them what the taxi driver had said. “Let’s split up a bit, so we’re not all in the same car or seen to be together. Jordan, you and Summer stay together. Lane, you’re alone for now. Matt and I’ll stay with Mr. Einstein. That work for everyone?
They all agreed, and as they made their way to the interurban s
top, they naturally separated by either walking slower or faster.
76
The sun was barely above the horizon when the first interurban train pulled up at the stop. Being the Explorers’ first time riding an interurban, Summer and Einstein had to tell them how to pay. “Just give the conductor two bits when he comes around and he’ll give you a ticket. It’s good all day.” It turns out two bits meant a quarter dollar, or twenty-five cents.
The interurban was more a streetcar than a real train, with wooden bench seats. It wasn’t terribly uncomfortable, but Bill wouldn’t have wanted to ride it for too long. It also stopped a lot more than a train would, practically every half-mile while in town, then just about every mile or two in the countryside.
Two hours later, they pulled into Dover, near a bus station. Bill’s dad had been stationed at Dover Air Force Base, so Bill was a little familiar with the town from his Earth. But it wasn’t the same Dover he knew. In a way, it was, but it was also different. Many of the historical buildings looked the same, but there weren’t any real highways, and the huge military base with its thundering jets constantly overhead didn’t exist. Fortunately, the bus station was still on Calhoun Street, as he remembered it, the distinctive running horse on the sides of the bus and the big sign declaring it to be the Red Horse Bus Line.
From there it was another two hours by bus to Annapolis. Fortunately, the seats were both cushioned and individual, so everyone was able to take a short nap. Einstein had been up practically all night, and the Explorers were running on very little sleep over a three-day period; it was starting to tell. Despite being just mid-morning, they decided to call it a day in Annapolis and found hotels near the train station. Lane would stay in the same hotel as Bill, Matt, and Einstein, but Jordan and Summer elected to take a different hotel, one that likely wouldn’t ask too many questions. Even though they were no longer close to the coast, they still didn’t want to attract attention. They all agreed to meet at the train station at eight o’clock the next morning and hop the first train to Baltimore.
When Bill, Matt, and Einstein checked into their hotel, they were given a small suite with two rooms. Lane took a small room for himself. Einstein, in his rush to flee the Kleine Sassni, didn’t even have a toothbrush, let alone a change of underwear. As Einstein showered, Bill visited a nearby clothing store, picking up several changes of clothing for the scientist, along with a small valise for him to carry everything. Toiletries were bought in the small hotel store in the main lobby.
By the time Bill returned to the suite, Einstein was sitting in the main room, dressed in a robe, and sipping on a glass of something.
Raising the glass, he said, “Not quite as nice as the Scotch on the Enigma, but it certainly helps relax these tired old bones.”
Bill pulled items out of the shopping bag. “I hope these fit.”
Einstein picked up a shirt, read the measurement on the label inside the collar, and said, “They should. Thank you for getting them. What do I owe you?”
Bill shook his head. “Nothing. Consider it part of the service.”
Frowning, Einstein asked, “I never have asked you before, but what is your company’s name? Perhaps I have heard of it.”
Bill fibbed. “Discovery Corporation. It’s a subsidiary of Parallel, Inc. Have you ever heard of it?” He knew that Einstein hadn’t, but wanted to throw him a bone.
“No. I cannot say that I have. It is a big company?”
Bill smiled. “Where I’m from, it’s the biggest.”
Bill excused himself to make a phone call while the German sipped on his whiskey.
The phone call Bill made from his room was to the forger Rhodes had recommended. Bill explained who he was and how he got the man’s number. After accepting the fact that Bill wasn’t likely a cop, he asked how he could help.
“I’m going to need two Republic of Texas passports. One for a black woman and one for an elderly white man. Can you do it?”
“Sure, that’s easy. When you say black, do you mean Negro?”
Bill sighed. “Yeah, but we don’t say Negro, we say black.”
“Whatever. It’ll cost you, though.”
“How much?”
“A gold ounce for the white guy, but the black woman’s gonna run you three ounces.”
Ouch, Bill thought, then mentally calculated how much they had and how much they needed to get home. It wasn’t enough. He thought frantically.
“Okay. We’ll be there tomorrow morning. Rhodes gave me the address. There’ll be three or four of us.”
There was a slight pause on the other end of the line.
“Yeah, whatever. If you pull anything, though, don’t expect to walk away.”
“No problem. We just want the passports, then we’re outta here.”
“Okay. It’ll take about an hour, so be prepared to wait.”
Bill then called the front desk, and after a brief conversation with the concierge, a plan was formed.
Walking back into the main suite, where Matt had joined Einstein in having a drink, Bill sat down and said, “We’ve got a slight problem.”
Matt raised his eyebrows, knowing that when Bill said “slight” he meant “major.” Had Rhodes been with them, he would have understood the understatement quite well. After all, the British and their subjects had mastered the art of understatement.
“Turns out we’re gonna need more money to get some things and to get home. I’m not sure we’ve got enough.”
“Can we get it wired?”
“That’s what I’m gonna try and do. The hotel’s got a telegraph office, so I’m going to contact the home office and see if they’ll wire us some funds to pick up in Chicago. We may have to stay there a day or two.”
“We could always rob a bank,” Matt said, clearly in jest.
“Yeah, don’t even kid about that,” Bill replied. “So, I’ll be back in a few. Don’t drink so much you guys pass out.”
“Pass out from drinking? I don’t need no stinking drink to pass out. I’ll do that all on my own, tired as I am.”
Bill and Einstein just grinned.
The message Bill sent to Miles and Nancy in Yakima was short and sweet. “Need funds. Stop. Wire equivalent of ten ounces gold to Drake Hotel in Chicago asap. End message.”
Bill was informed that the message would get to the recipients within twenty-four hours. He hoped the two Explorers would receive it in time and respond. If they don’t, I might just have to take Matt up on his suggestion.
Bill thanked the concierge and telegraph operator for their assistance and made his way to the dining room where Matt and Einstein had agreed to meet for lunch. When Bill entered the dining room, he found the two seated with Lane. He doubted that a lunch meeting would be something the Germans would be looking for in their search for the Explorers. He wasn’t worried about the CBE. Not in the United States.
77
By the time Drew returned to CBE Headquarters in Montgomery, Alabama, he had formed a plan to get the cop-killers. It wasn’t exactly legal, but he doubted that it would create any real problems for the Confederacy.
When he walked into his small office, his officemate, Wendall Waugh, looked up at him with pity. He got up, held out his hand, and in his unexpectedly deep voice, said, “Sorry to hear what happened. How you doing?”
“I’ll live, unlike a few others. Bossman in?”
“Yeah, said he wanted you to check in first thing when you arrived.”
“Thanks.”
Drew sat down wearily in his chair, looking at the phone. It had been a long trip back from Charleston, particularly since he didn’t have a car and had had to ride the rails.
“By the way, they found your car.”
He turned back to Waugh. “Who found it, and where?”
“Charleston Police. Found it in one of the colored sections of town, completely stripped.”
“Guns, too?”
Waugh nodded. “Guns, too.”
Drew had already a
ssumed that the suspects had taken it and were now armed with a CSA issued submachine gun and shotgun. He nodded, turned to the telephone, and dialed his boss’s extension.
“Haussmann.”
“Sir, Agent Peters. Agent Waugh said to call as soon as I got in.”
“Yeah. C’mon down,” the head agent said, abruptly hanging up on Drew.
Drew dreaded this moment. He felt it was his fault that two CBE agents and another police officer were dead, and thought his boss was about to rake him over the coals about it.
Drew entered the inner sanctum sanctorum of the Chief of the Confederate Bureau of Enforcement, the top lawman in the Confederacy. Stepping into his boss’s office, Drew couldn’t help but compare it to his, which was not only rather small, but shared with Waugh. The desk was battered and the wooden swivel seat had no cushioning and was just as scarred as the desk. Haussman’s office, though, was twice as big. The desk, a fine mahogany with a mirror sheen on it, was uncluttered and unmarked. The chair his boss sat in was a fine leather swivel chair, the type used by CEOs of big companies.
And, unlike his own office’s bare wooden floor, the chief’s floor was carpeted, with the seal of the CBE in the center. Ten gold stars, each representing a state in the Confederacy, encircled a gold CBE badge. The badge itself consisted of an eagle with outstretched wings on the top, a small banner with red stripes on either side of a white stripe — the colors of the national flag — on the bottom, and the scales of justice and enforcement in the center. The silver scales, supporting gold coins on one side and black chains on the other, represented the wealth of the Confederacy and the role of the CBE in enforcing Confederate law.
Looking up, Haussmann gestured for Drew to sit in one of the overstuffed chairs facing his desk. Drew did, sitting upright on the edge, uncomfortable in front of his boss after his own failure to catch the cop-killers.
Haussmann leaned back in his chair. “Well, if one looked at what happened from an outside point of view, one would say you screwed the pooch on this one.”
The Corps of Discovery Trilogy Box Set: Books 1-3: A multiverse series of alternate history Page 84