‘They didn’t want to serve us liquor when we went to fetch it. They were white men of course.’ She carries on preaching at them for the next ten minutes, slowly winding them up. Her father tries to take over the stage, but she isn’t having it and neither are the men of the tribe. The younger ones, who were drinking outside, also have come into the hall now too.
She continues to wind up the mood, judging it to perfection, when the younger ones take over from her, and push for them to do something about it.
‘Let’s go down and party over the town’ one of the youngsters shouts. That is all it takes for there to be a rush for the door. That is followed by Maria’s voice saying:
‘Don’t forget to take your guns. They only listen to one kind of talk.’
Her father and brother try to stop the flow, but the alcohol is taking the action now. Fifteen minutes is all it takes for the first bullet to be fired. That one gets returned more in panic, but that is enough. They go on the rampage, fueled by alcohol and anger; they start to fire on anyone they see. They start to march into the shops and take what they want. They drive up to houses and blast their way in. They shoot at the police and kill some of them. They start to burn, they start to kill and they start to get really angry and motivated. It doesn’t take long at all, for it to turn into a scene of war.
Vee picks up on the communications. She guesses it is not Ricardo, but the other one. They are not far away, but even by the time they get there, it is chaos on the ground. Bar flies round the scene of the battle in the town, but although there are numerous people causing this damage, there is not the one she wants to find. Then she picks him up. He is not in the town, but a little way outside it.
A trip to the gas station on the way out of town; has filled the pick-up with bottles of gas and rags out of the top. They are rattling about precariously in the back of the pick-up, as Maria races back to the reservation. They stop when they get there. Maria hops out and into the back of the truck. Mario takes over the driving, following her instructions. The first two people they come across are her brother and her father. She tells Mario to drive at them and he does. They only just get out of the way in time. At the first cabin she gets Mario to slow down, so she can light her cocktail and throw it.
It doesn’t take long for them to make it a good way round the reservation, setting the cabins alight, one after the other. They are at the far edge when Vee and Bar come flying in. Amazingly Maria sees them coming and tries to throw a cocktail at them, but her aim is out. Vee decides to take the truck out first. She shoots out the front tires and the truck crashes into a tree. Maria is flung over the top of the cab and lands heavily on the ground. Mario has come into contact with the windshield. He breaks his nose, as he crashes against it. Bar circles round them, waiting to let Vee finish the job off. Mario is the one who comes to his senses first. He makes a grab for his gun, but Vee sees this and fires at the bottles in the back of the truck. No sooner fired, than the truck explodes into flames. And then it literally explodes, as the gas tank ignites. This brings Maria round. She makes it to her feet, looking round to see where Vee and Bar have gone to. Vee is just about to take her out, when Maria’s father runs up to the scene.
‘She is mine to deal with’ he says to the small craft in front of him ‘I should have dealt with this a very long time ago. I thought she would change. I thought she could change, but she hasn’t.’ He takes out his knife and does what he says he should have done a long time ago.
Vee and Bar don’t hang around. They race back into the town and bit by bit, disarm and downgrade the ability of the tribe members to cause any more trouble. There will be repercussions for their actions, but the battle is over now. They learn very quickly that they need to follow the directions of the small craft that is dancing in front of them, or they will be dealt with quickly and firmly. It is amazing how quickly people sober up, when things start to go against them. Vee and Bar make sure that all is well under control, before they leave the town. There is only one for them to find now; Ricardo.
Chapter 46 Spirit & The Keeper
I am puzzled at why there was only a robot in the vehicle, but am pleased that it has turned out that way. In a confined space like the inside of the vehicle, it would have been inevitable that the insides would have been destroyed to some degree. I pop my head out and call out to the two Guiding Masters. They answer my call, by coming out into the open and walking calmly towards me. I am still worried that there might be some more androids around. I usher them quickly into the vehicle, before taking a further look around, to see if we are now alone. From my first search, I believe we are.
It will be much better in the vehicle, than being on foot. That is, if I can get the vehicle to work for me. I close the door and sit in what I believe to be the driver’s seat. The two guiding masters have taken the seats at the back. This is definitely my show. They are only here for the ride and as moral support for me. After a little playing around with the controls, trying this and that, I get a response from the vehicle. It also has quite a good viewing system, so before we move off from the spot, I check a second time that we are clear from androids. It would appear that we are not. The sensors pick one up straight away. It is lying on the ground, but I can see that it is still in an active state. The fact it is still intact, tells me that much. I maneuver the vehicle towards where it is. I don’t get fired on, which can mean one of two things. It can mean that it thinks we are friends, or that it can’t fire on us.
I get us reasonably close and still there is no response to our movement. I have just brought us to a stop and am about to open the door to fire on it. I haven’t been able to work out how to use the weapons in the vehicle yet. As I say, I am just about to open the door of the vehicle, when GM6 shouts a warning to me. There are another two who have just appeared out of the ground. I stop my action of opening the door and sit down again, as quickly as I can. The android we have been approaching suddenly gets up and runs the last few yards that separate us. The door to our vehicle is shut, but I am not sure if that means it is locked or not. We find out the answer to that one very quickly. It is not locked. As I turn in my seat, the door is flung open and the android brings up his arm to open fire on us. I am quicker, thankfully, and he disintegrates before our eyes.
Another warning shout, is to let me know that the two who just appeared, are running towards us too. I look around the door, to see if there is anything I can press to lock the door. Nothing is apparent on that score. It must be one of the buttons on the control panel I have to press to achieve that. I don’t have the time to find out which one it is.
‘Drive this’ I say to the Guiding Masters. They don’t ask any questions, as GM7 gets up to do my bidding. He slips into the driving seat and I feel the vehicle start to move under my feet.
‘Which way do you want me to take us in?’
‘Carry on towards the base’ I say at first, but immediately change my mind. ‘No, on second thoughts, drive us in a circle. I’d like to take a look at the place they came out of the ground.’
I feel the vehicle take a turn and then continue on that course.
‘They are behind us now’ I am told by GM6. ‘They are tracking us. They aren’t making up any ground, but then they aren’t losing any either.’
‘Try to see if you can go a bit faster.’
‘I think this has the one speed, but I am trying’ comes the response.
I think about what to do.
I don’t want to just jump out of the door and take it to chance that I will get them before they get me.
‘When I say to do so, turn sharply to the left. Then stop as quickly as you can, once you’ve turned. I am going to jump out and take them out.’
I give it a few seconds to get myself ready for this next bit of action. I give the word and get ready to jump out. The door opens and I fling myself out, ready to fire in the direction they are in. They have not been expecting this. I catch them totally unawares and a few seconds later, I
have taken them completely out of the fight.
‘I have made a note of where they appeared from’ GM6 tells me, as they appear in the doorway. I will walk over with you, while GM7 follows us in the vehicle.’
We walk carefully over to the spot where the two androids had sprung from. At first sight it looks just like a shallow hollow in the ground. I was just about to decide that they must have been lying there out of sight, rather than have come out of something, when the base of the hollow slides back, to reveal another android in the ground below it. It is like a lift platform. There is just the one android on it and it is just as surprised to see us, as we are to see it. My reactions are quicker though. It would be nice to ask some questions, but we have worked it out that they are not going to answer us. I pulverize this android.
‘It might be interesting to go in this way’ I say, ‘but it might also be very constricting to us, as an only way in. Can you mark this spot somehow, so that we can come back here to investigate this if we need to. I’d like to disable it if I could, to stop any more using this way in and out, but I think all my weapon will do is to destroy it. I don’t want to do that just yet. This might be a good way in.’
‘I can mark the spot with no problem’ GM6 says ‘and if we park the vehicle on top; that should pretty much stop anything getting in and out of the trapdoor.
‘I am a bit worried that it will give the vehicle back to them, if there are any more still out here. I guess we have to do something. Let’s just mark the spot and keep the vehicle with us.’
That is what we do. We then resume our journey towards the base.
Spirit looks around, as he makes his way to see what he can do about the robot by his craft. There is little doubt in his head, that the button is a destruct button. If he gets spotted, then that is going to be the end of his craft. That will prove to be extremely limiting. He makes a complete tour round the robot. He is satisfied that there aren’t any more, close by at least, to back it up. It won’t need them of course, if the button does what he suspects it will, if the robot is attacked. His craft is so close, but it may as well be miles away as things stand. He is trying to work out if there is anything he can do, when he hears a noise coming somewhat in his direction.
It must belong to the base, is the assumption he makes. He keeps himself out of sight, as he hears the noise getting louder, as the vehicle approaches. The noise is coming from the other side of where the robot is standing. The robot has obviously heard the noise too, but it is not apparently concerned about it. In fact, if anything, it is pleased that whatever it is, is coming closer. He keeps an eye on the robot and tries to see if he can see exactly what it is that is approaching. It takes a few minutes, before he can see what is making the noise. A small vehicle eventually comes into view. It is aiming straight for the robot.
Spirit is not exactly happy about this, although it isn’t going to change things much. It doesn’t matter if there is one robot, or a few more. As long as one of them has the button, then the threat of his vehicle being destroyed is a real one. The vehicle stops about twenty metres short of where the robot is standing. It looks like it has been expecting the vehicle to come by. The robot starts to walk towards the vehicle. The vehicle waits for it to approach. As it gets close to the vehicle, it stops and changes its grip on the button. It makes it lie flat in its hand, ready to hand over to another robot, he presumes. The vehicle is stationary and the robot is just standing there. Spirit looks on and knows this is an ideal opportunity, to at least stop the button from being pressed. He can’t totally destroy the robot, but he must do enough, so it can’t use the button. He decides that the opportunity is too good to miss. He sets his weapon and fires at the robot. He takes the arm off at the shoulder and watches as the button falls from the hand, as the arm drops to the ground. He is ready to leap out of hiding and race up to the robot, to stop it trying to regain control of the button.
‘What happened there?’ The Keeper asks, as the arm flies off the robot in front of them.
‘It’s dropped a button’ GM6 says urgently. Don’t let it get to it. It is guarding something!’
I dart to the door and leap out, just as another figure comes into view a short distance away. The figure distracts my attention. It does that for more than one reason. It does not look like a robot or an android. It looks like a human, but more than that, it looks exactly like I do. It could be a mirror.’
‘It’s Spirit’ a voice says from behind me. ‘Watch out! The robot is reaching for the button.’
I spin round again and concentrate on the matter in hand. The robot is almost at the button. It is totally concentrating on doing that. It has no interest in what I might be doing, or what Spirit is doing for that matter. Its only goal is to reach the button and press it. I need to destroy the robot, but not the button, is all I am thinking of as I open fire on it. It is as if my thoughts are read by my weapon. The arm of the robot and the robot itself disintegrate in front of my eyes, but the button stays intact on the ground.
Spirit slows from a run to a walk, when he sees what I have done. He also sees that I look exactly like him. I watch him approach, whilst keeping a lookout for further robots that might be close by.
‘It is alright’ Spirit says ‘he is by himself. I am Spirit. My craft is just over there.’
I had not seen it as we approached, but now he points it out, I can see it. It is embarrassingly close for me not to have seen it. I turn to Spirit and hold out my hand.
‘I am The Keeper.’
Chapter 47 The Grand Master
The Grand Master and the robot have started out in a roundabout route. At least he thinks it is a roundabout route. The systems he has in this craft are little more than basic. In fact that might be an exaggeration of their capabilities. The robot just does what it is there to do. That is to drive them to their destination. It is down to the Grand Master to keep a lookout as they go. There could be enemies anywhere along the route, particularly if they have started to come after him. They won’t have known exactly where he has gone to. In fact it is doubtful they will have any idea where he has disappeared to.
The transport is slow, that is for sure. It is not particularly easy to drive either, as the robot is finding out. The Grand Master is only pleased that he is not walking this way again. It had been too tiring for him, to go that way again. It takes them a long time to get anywhere. The speed they are going at is maybe only twice as fast as he was going, when walking. There is something wrong with one of the wheels too, or is it the axle? Anyway they have to slow down even more, as it feels as if it is going to come off any minute. They stop to have a look. The robot tries to take the wheel off, to see what is wrong. It can’t even do that. It would appear that it has cross-threaded something, when fitting the wheel. The Grand Master starts to feel as if things are really going against him. It has nothing to do with what has been going on; it is just a badly fitted piece of the vehicle and they can’t do anything about it.
They slow down to walking pace. It still feels uncomfortable, but the wheel isn’t going to part company with the vehicle, in the short term at least. The Grand Master decides that they need to make the route more direct. The inadequacy of their transport means that they need to take a shorter route, if they aren’t going to take forever to get to their destination.
It is a long while later that they come into sight of the Grand Master’s craft. He changes his plans and makes for that instead. He has been thinking that it is very unlikely, that his robots and androids will be able to hold out forever. He has also had the thought that if that is the case, then Spirit will most likely make for his craft fairly quickly. It is doubtful that the robot he has had put on guard there will be able to hold him off for long. The button he is holding is to be able to call assistance to it, if it comes under attack. It is also the detonator to a small charge which will do some damage to Spirit’s craft, if pressed. The way the robot will hold this button, will mean that it goes off if it is taken out. The
system has not been tested in anger, but he is sure that it is effective enough.
They approach his craft with caution. There is no one about, but that doesn’t mean it is safe. He will get the robot to go in and collect some things that will make this transport more efficient. He will then make for where Spirit has left his craft. There is a chance that he can get hold of that machine and make it away from her unscathed. Well, by that he means less damaged than he has already suffered.
The robot returns and starts work on the transport. It still cannot get the damaged wheel off the vehicle. The Grand Master is getting just a little frustrated by this. By the time the robot gets anything meaningful done; then a whole raft of events could have happened. The thought comes to him, that it may not be Spirit that he should be worrying about; rather it should be The Keeper and the two Guiding Masters. As he watches the robot, he can see the time ticking away. Time he could be making his escape. Time he could be taking back control of the situation. Time he really doesn’t have enough of, now he is just a mere mortal again. Time he got on and did something positive about his situation. It is way after time to move on and stop watching what the robot really doesn’t seem to be achieving. He goes inside the craft and sees what he can rescue from here. There is nothing that is going to help his situation at this precise moment. He takes another look at what the robot is doing. He starts to pace around and then before he knows it, he has started to walk away from his craft and back towards the base. He doesn’t know exactly where Spirit has parked up his craft, but he does have a good idea what direction it lies, in relation to the base in the hillside. His step is filled with energy and he feels invigorated, with the need to get something decided. He starts to feel a little bit better, when he comes across an android coming towards him. The android sees him too and increases its pace to get to him quicker.
The Watcher Page 23