The Far Side

by Wylie, Gina Marie

  “The one remaining fellow tried to use his cell phone to dial for help, only it didn’t work.”

  “Fusors do that,” Kris told him.

  “Yes. He moved towards the power cutoff, intending to cut if off if something non-human came through. After ten minutes, he lost his nerve and shut it off anyway, and then went upstairs and called 911 on a landline.

  “Two patrolmen and a sergeant responded, and the young man explained to them what had happened. I regret to say, he wasn’t believed. The sergeant demanded that he show them the apparatus, and when the young fellow did, asked for it to be turned on. The young man complied, and when the blue artifact appeared, the sergeant walked over to it and stuck his head through it.”

  Kris grimaced. The first rule of intelligent problem solving -- if at first you don’t succeed, try something different.

  “He seemed to stumble and vanished through it. One of the other officers pulled his weapon and went through the blue artifact after him. No shots were heard...”

  “You can’t hear sounds on the other side of a Far Side door,” Kris told him.

  “Ah. At any rate the third officer called for backup, and approached the Far Side door as you call it, carefully. The young survivor wasn’t sure what happened then, but he said that it seemed to be that the officer was drawn through the door. He couldn’t see by who or what. Afraid for his own life, the young man nonetheless waited five minutes, his fingers on the cutoff.

  “More officers arrived and after another ten minutes, the watch lieutenant. I was called, and about an hour after the three officers went through, I, with great reluctance, asked the young man to shut off the machine. I had called the station, gotten a surveillance camera and had tried to insert it through the door. Something started pulling on the camera, finally breaking the camera connection -- that’s when I had the machine shut off, while we regrouped. All we saw on the picture was a gray backdrop. There was no way to tell how far away it was, nor was there any other detail visible.

  “I have talked to a number of people in the last six hours, Miss Boyle. Please, you were recommended to us by a Mr. Jon Bullman, the surveillance supervisor on your fusor in Los Angeles. He said that ideally he would recommend that I should get both you and Miss Schulz to help, except she’s on the other side of the door there and couldn’t be available for weeks.

  “Please, Miss Boyle. I’m told that you have agreed that helping rescue people who have misadventures on the other side of those blue doors is something worthy of undertaking.”

  “This happened this afternoon?” Kris asked. The police captain nodded.

  At that moment Captain Stone, General Briggs, and his wife arrived, adding to the crowd in the hallway.

  Kris used the moment while introductions were made to think about things. Finally, when Ezra had brought the late-comers up to speed, Kris asked her question.

  “Captain Wolford, in order to get my name and get here from Chicago, you had to cut through a lot of bureaucratic red tape. That means that one or more of the young men is politically connected, doesn’t it? Who to?”

  Captain Wolford met her eyes and held them. “Two of the young men’s fathers are important in Chicago politics. That means Democrat party politics. One of the fathers is on the city council; the other is significant in precinct politics. I’m sure you know who the current head of Chicago politics is. That’s the man at the top -- the son of one of his closest allies was involved.”

  Kris sneered. “You can’t even mention the name, can you? That man’s former boss assisted in the theft of billions of dollars from my friend, Andie Schulz. He gave the orders that resulted in the death of one of our employees, and the torture and beatings of others, including both of my parents. And that mother-fucking son of a bitch thinks I’ll drop everything and go and help one of his cronies?”

  “This is me personally asking you, Miss Boyle. Forget that.”

  “I bet he’d like that, wouldn’t he? Well, my father isn’t going to forget it, that’s for sure! If that man wants my help, first he resigns.”

  There were startled gasps from all involved, except Ezra and Kurt.

  “I think that is a little extreme, Miss Boyle,” the police captain said. Still, he sounded defensive.

  “You say you were in a room with a Far Side door that was open to another planet. Are you aware that it is a Class One felony, to have avoided quarantine? Conviction on that charge, so I was repeatedly informed, carries a twenty-to-life prison sentence, since you’re risking the entire human race?”

  “I was told that I was exempted, that it turns out not to be the risk it was first thought to be.”

  “Like I said, he resigns first. Plus, I’ve been studying negotiation in my spare time and so I’ve decided to raise the price. Not only does he resign, first he comes up with an Executive Order saying that quarantine can be reduced to one week and that applications for complete exemptions can be made on an emergency basis.”

  “Miss Boyle, please think about the two young men and the three missing three police officers -- two of those officers are married and have children, and a third is engaged. Please help us.”

  “And do you understand that there is a trivial chance that those five are still alive? That all I could do would be to risk my life and the lives of others to find out what happened to them? And that I can’t help but wonder if that sick bastard in the White House knows that?”

  Captain Stone and Dr. Briggs gasped. The general, Kurt, and the police captain looked contemplative. Ezra and Kris stood with poker faces.

  “Once more, Captain Wolford -- what would you have us do?”

  “Please come and help us.”

  “I’d dearly like either that man’s resignation or that Executive Order. What I’ll settle for, so long as Major Sandusky agrees, is that you get whatever political leader who is in charge of the Chicago PD to sign off on the idea that this is Major Sandusky’s operation. Anything he wants, he gets, no questions asked. If he says we can’t go, we can’t go.

  “I will, in exchange, extract from Major Sandusky the same promise my father did from him: he is to do what he can to rescue those who are lost, but he isn’t to start the First Interstellar War. He will keep the collateral damage down to tit for tat.”

  Kurt laughed. “Tit for tat? I can live with that.”

  “And you, Miss Boyle? What would your participation be?” the police captain said stiffly.

  “Why, Major Sandusky is a friend of my father’s. He and I have served in combat together. I would be willing to make myself available to consult with him, should he so desire.” She waved at General Briggs. “Further, Major Sandusky has the confidence of General Briggs, and some research will show that the major is not willing to run up the Piper’s Bill if it isn’t necessary.”

  “The Piper’s Bill?” the policeman asked, not understanding.

  Ezra, General Briggs, Captain Stone -- and surprisingly -- the Northfield policeman, all echoed the same phrase: “The casualty count.”

  Kris turned to Kurt. “Your call, Major. Go or not?”

  “It’s a go if my men get the standard rate, as negotiated by Mr. Boyle for off-world service, to be paid by the City of Chicago.”

  “And what would that rate be?” the police captain asked warily.

  “Two hundred thousand a month or fraction thereof spent off-world -- up until there is gunfire or serious threat to life and limb. In that case, a million dollar bonus and two million dollars paid to the estate of anyone killed off-world, even if they have a heart attack or slip in the shower. Standing ready, here on Earth, twenty thousand a month or fraction thereof per individual.”

  “And we’re talking how many men?” Captain Wolford asked.

  “A dozen, counting myself, Kris Boyle and Ezra Lawson.”

  “I’ll phone that ahead and they’ll have an agreement ready when we land. I don’t see any problems with that.”

  Kurt nodded and turned to Kris. “Then it’s a go. Cade
t Boyle, please pack for a couple of days. Ezra, ditto. I’ll rouse out the cavalry.” He spoke past Kris to General Briggs. “Assuming I have your concurrence, sir?”

  “You have it, Major Sandusky. You can even borrow Cadet Boyle as needed. I’ll cover for her with her professors.”

  There were a few more items, the only one of which that was important to Kris was that the police captain from Chicago had come in a Gulfstream that seated twelve. “An hour and a half, Captain, and we’ll be at the airport,” Kurt told the man.

  “I’ll make sure we’re ready to go. What can I tell my Chief to expect?”

  “Well, we’ll get off the plane and talk to him. At that point in time, I want the authority Kris Boyle requested and a signed agreement for compensation. I must remind you that the Executive Order about quarantine times isn’t as negotiable as she told you. We won’t open that Far Side door without it. My men have a reasonable desire to know how long they will be subject to those stringent, and I might add, based on personal experience, those personally invasive and decidedly uncomfortable medical tests.”

  “I can ask. But it’s out of my hands.”

  “Like I said, we’ll turn around and go home without it. Yes, we will take reasonable precautions, and we’re willing to undergo reasonable quarantines -- based on medical evidence.”

  “I’ll send that upstairs right away,” the captain told him. “Is there anything else you need?”

  “We’ll supply our own heavy weapons and will expedite their arrival, along with the shooters. We’ll need ammo, flash bangs, and tear gas grenades -- that sort of thing.”

  “We will have that on site for you as you require; just give me a list of your requirements. There are currently about forty officers there, all with body armor and with automatic weapons and some crew-served weapons.”

  “To keep the switch off?” Kris asked nastily.

  “In case they can open the door from the other side,” the captain told her. “Unless you can assure me that it’s impossible.”

  “That I can’t do,” Kris agreed. “I’m sorry to say that we’ve hit a stumbling block in that regards. Even the heavy math and theory hitters are coming up with zeros when it comes to these doors. They don’t know how they form, where they form, or why they form. Since we can empirically show them that they do form, they are still working on it.”

  General Briggs spoke up. “Major Sandusky, I’d like to appoint Captain Stone as my liaison to your group, if I may.”

  “Of course, General -- this is your mission, really. Structure it as you wish.”

  The general laughed. “I could knock you on the head and go off in your place -- except then my wife would want to go as well. No, I’m a general. In this case, I’ll content myself with listening to the after-action report and offering my 20-20 hindsight.”

  “Sounds fair, sir!” Kurt turned to Kris. “We’ll meet in front of the dorm in an hour, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  Kris went back into the dorm room; her roommate was still lying in bed, but now facing the door and propped up on one arm. “I’ll be another few minutes,” Kris told her. “Then I’ll be out of your hair. I’m sorry, Erica.”

  “You’re leaving?”

  “Temporarily. A lot of people’s heart’s desire, but it is suddenly ashes.”

  “Ashes? I don’t understand?”

  “I thought I’d be riding a white charger, swooping in to rescue clever peers. Instead, I’m morally sure that they’re all dead.”

  “Oh!”

  “Still, nothing is a sure thing.”

  Erica Mirableu grinned. “Except death and taxes.”

  “My father says that good tax lawyers can work miracles.”

  Mirableu laughed. “Okay. Kris...”

  “What?”

  “Not this time -- but another time. Just so I’ll know what it’s like. If you have another mission like this, could you think of me, when you’re thinking about staffing?”

  Kris sighed. “You understand that the odds are that some or all of us will get killed?”

  “Even that. Going off-world, Kris! Who hasn’t dreamed of that?” She paused. “And what about Diyala?”

  “She’s living with her tutor. In a month we’ll see if she is ready for junior high. It’s amazing how fast she is learning English.”

  She saw her roommate’s expression. “I know, I know. I’m a lousy mother. I never said I was going to be good at it. I can’t wake her in the middle of the night and drag her halfway across the country and maybe get her killed if she’s too close. Not to mention that Arvalans aren’t like us; once they go to sleep it messes them up to wake them ahead of time.”

  She didn’t want to talk about it. She wasn’t supposed to see Diyala until Saturday, and today was only Tuesday. The odds were they’d be done by tomorrow evening.

  She packed quickly and then went down the steps and outside. Captain Stone had a Norwich van parked there, the engine running. Kris was pleased that she’d beat Ezra, even if she hadn’t beaten Kurt. Ezra wasn’t but two minutes behind her, and then they were off to the airport.

  When they reached the airport, Captain Stone was directed through a gate to the civil aviation hanger. They all climbed out and most everyone started for the aircraft, while Captain Stone spoke to someone about returning the school van to Norwich.

  Kris’ eye lit on a familiar face -- the Northfield city cop she had seen in the dorm hallway and who was now talking to another Northfield cop. She walked over to the two men, who stopped talking as she approached. Kris wasn’t entirely sure what was running through her mind, but focused as best as she could. “Busy?” she asked the young officer.

  “Until not so long ago, it was a typical early autumn night,” the fellow told her. “Now, a little less normal.”

  He had short, well-trimmed, black hair. He wasn’t as tall as Ezra, but he seemed to move with the same lithe confidence.

  “I was speaking in a more general sense,” Kris told him. “Want a free trip to Chicago? There would be money in it for you.”

  “I’m on duty for another three hours,” he replied. “And frankly, I’d rather have crabs than go to Chicago.”

  “Have you ever thought about attending Norwich?”

  He laughed. “I had trouble affording community college. Do you know how much Norwich costs?”

  That was a low blow, because Kris knew it was expensive -- but she’d never checked. Money wasn’t an issue with her.

  “No, but I know it’s expensive. I was thinking, maybe you’d like to ride along, to see how we do it.”

  That was something she’d heard when she was a junior, going along with an LAPD officer as a “volunteer.” It had been mandatory, which had made not only her father get angry, but had made her mother laugh.

  “Like I said, I’m on duty.”

  Kris looked at Kurt and grinned. “And if I can get you a ‘get-off-duty-free card?’ What then?”

  “Then I’d wonder why you’re hitting on me.”

  Kris blushed. She was wondering that herself.

  He saw her expression and pressed his point. “I understand you don’t like cops.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “I’m a cop. My father and older brother are cops. My little sister is trying to get on the job in Boston.”

  Kris decided that there is a time to advance and there is a time to retreat. “It’s up to you. How would I know that cops can be different unless I meet one that’s different?”

  “You won’t. We’re all alike, under the collar.”

  “You mean, like the men who killed Xin and we can’t find out from their fellows what the names of those involved are? The cowards who nearly beat a graduate student to death and broke her legs, but whose coworkers won’t rat them out? The men who broke my father’s wrist and a thumb when he wouldn’t answer questions that he had no answers for? The names of the men who beat my mother several times? All those nameless people, none of whom were seen to do a
nything wrong by their brother and sister officers?”

  The officer eyed her. “Okay, maybe we’re not so much alike.”

  Kris waved at the aircraft. “If you want, get aboard. I will go to bat for you with anyone who objects.”

  “And if I get fired?”

  “I’ll offer you a better job -- certainly one with wider travel benefits.”

  Ezra doubled over, trying not to laugh, while Kurt Sandusky grinned.

  “I’m not stupid,” the policeman told Kris. “I know who you are, I know what General Briggs is building at Norwich, and I know what sort of travel you are offering.”

  “Did you know that it took four hours for the first suggestion that he was building Far Side door fusors at Norwich after he introduced me?”

  “No. I would have thought it would have been less.”

  “So did the general. But you, you know. How is that?”

  “It’s not a secret. Norwich was on the cutting edge of reform for a long time; it’s only lately it’s turned into ‘one of many.’ I’m not surprised that General Briggs is trying something radical. They weren’t the first military academy to accept black students, but they were the first where they were welcomed. Norwich was also the first military school to integrate women into their program.”

  “We digress,” Kris told him. She waved at the aircraft. “The lady, the tiger, or a doughnut when you go off shift?”

  “Kris,” Kurt said roughly, “we’re getting the ‘let’s get moving’ sign from the Chicago cop.”

  Kris spoke only a few more words. “I don’t know if you saw the movie ‘Transformers.’ I rather liked the young woman, and more importantly I admired her reaction to the question ‘Are you going to get in the car?’ with the very credible threat that if she didn’t she’d spend the rest of her life regretting not having done it.”

  “And you think if I don’t say yes I’ll spend the rest of my life pining for my lost opportunity?”

  “At the very least. Or, on the other hand, if you stay here and I come to an untimely death later today, you can pat yourself on the back for making a good call.”

  He smiled wryly. “Well, I guess I’ll call in sick.”