Choice of the Gallant_Paradox Equation I

by Sharon L Reddy

  "Dutch! It's what he doesn't want you to do! There's a reason! He let them hit him for a reason. Dutch?"

  "You're probably going to have to remind me several more times. Let's get him up. We're going drug hunting. This… stuff is fast. Let's get him moving. It should help."

  They collected the drugs. They ran into the shifty man coming out of the hold. Clete grabbed Dutch and yelled.

  "STAND STILL! Stand very, very still. If you even breathe hard, I won't be able to keep him from killing you. Drop the weapon. Just let it fall. DO AS I TELL YOU! He can move before the beam hits him. Drop it. DAMMIT! I'm trying to save your life! Good. Now the injector. Dutch. Dutch, he's unarmed. Let him go back in the hold. Back up slowly. Very slowly. He's the fastest man alive. You can't get away from him. He'd really like you to try. You're terrified. That's good. You should be. I would be if he wanted to kill me. Dutch, find the drugs. Come on, Dutch. The drugs are more important. He won't move."

  "I want him to move. Just move. I want to kill him. I want him to move."

  "He's not going to. Leave him and find the drugs."

  "Find the drugs, Dutch. We'll trance. Together. Find them. Don't kill. Bad choice."

  "Lane, I want... All right. If he stands still, I might not kill him. But I want him to move."

  The shifty man stood very still. He had looked death in the face and it was waiting for him to move. He collapsed on the floor and sobbed his relief when they left and locked him in the hold.

  They took Lane and the drugs to Frake. He became violently ill. Clete shook his head. If anything, Frake hated drugs more than Dutch did. It was why the threat of their use had been such an effective method of coercion. Dutch went hunting the blond. Clete left Lane with Frake and spaced the drugs. He had to find Dutch before he killed her. He almost didn't make it.

  "NO, DUTCH! If you hit her, you'll kill her! You haven't got the control to avoid it. You. Merith. Lock her in the cargo hold. It's the only place she'll be safe. She's drugged him and I might be able to stop him. Come back here. I'll try to keep him here til you get back. If you don't get back soon, he'll come hunting. The drug won't stop him. It just makes it easier for him to kill. Easy, Dutch. She's running for the hold."

  Clete struggled against Dutch's anger and hoped Merith returned quickly. She did.

  "She opened it and ran in. There was a man in the hold. He begged me to lock it. He saved me. She was going to inject me. He got his hand in front of the injector before--"

  "Easy, Merith, I know. He's fast. Help me get him moving."

  "I don't... need help. I need... to kill them."

  "They're locked up."

  "There's another."

  "Not yet. He hasn't done anything yet. Come on. You need to help Lane. He needs you. He can't fight it like you can."

  "You're right. Lane first. Come on."

  Clete gusted a sigh of relief. He'd barely held against Dutch's anger. He leaned against a bulkhead and dealt with his own. Merith watched Dutch move swiftly down the corridor.

  "How can he even walk? He should be out of it."

  "He's... stubborn. He just refuses to let the drug win. You come too. You don't want to be alone."

  "You're right, I don't. He's coming back with your brother. Where are they going?"

  "To our cabin. Dutch and Lane are going to fight the drug together. I'll take you to-- Frake, where are you going?"

  "Lane said I was to come along and bring the girl to somebody named Melissa."

  "Damn. I hope he knows what he's doing. Our cabin. Go on in. I'll show you the door to Melissa."

  He led them into Lissa and through to Melissa. He left them sitting on the floor, holding each other and giggling. He wondered again if Lane knew what he was doing. He found them on his bed. He'd looked everywhere else first. He had such a tight hold on himself, he hadn't been able to hunt for them by feel. He'd been about to head for the depths of the ship when he realized his door was open.

  "We're waiting for you. You need to learn. Your bed is big enough. Give me your hand."

  "All right, Dutch. I just hope... Never mind.

  Dutch took them into trance and they learned. Clete didn't need it so he surfaced almost immediately, but he now knew how. He went out to Merith and Frake and led them to the kitchen. He made cocoa and sat down in the breakfast nook.

  "What is this thing?"

  "Our home, Frake, a ship. Her name is Melissa."

  "This isn't possible."

  "Merith, if it wasn't possible, it wouldn't exist."

  "Clete, that's not what I meant. Or maybe it is what I meant. I don't know."

  "I'd better get more cocoa ready. They'll want some. They'll probably sleep just a few minutes. Dutch is too keyed up to really rest. We need to make some plans."

  "They'll be under that drug for hours, then screaming withdrawal for several more. I've seen it before. Horrible."

  "Easy, Frake. They'd almost rid themselves of it when I left them. Dutch was in a hurry. He didn't like it."

  "That's not possible!"

  "What's not possible? Hi, Merith. Scoot over."

  "You're not possible!"

  "Yes I am. Clete and Lane say they might not be, but I definitely am. Ah, cocoa. Thanks, Clete."

  "Lane?"

  "Sleeping. He won't be long. It was different, Clete. Easier. Just sort of broke it apart and made it... nothing. Lots easier than really healing something. I don't think I even really needed the trance. I started as soon as it hit me."

  "The trance didn't hurt. It gave Lane and me a chance to learn how."

  "True. So, Frake, what do you think of Melissa?"

  "I'm trying not to."

  Clete and Dutch laughed and soon Merith and Frake joined in.

  "I hate missing nice laughter."

  "Hello, Lane. Why did you tell Frake and Merith to come to Melissa?"

  "Did I? I guess I remembered them being here."

  "Remembered?"

  "Lane remembers things that haven't happened yet, Merith. Dutch can link our minds together. Me, I'm just an ordinary empath. Dutch, you're making me warm!"

  "Sorry, Clete. I like sitting next to Merith. Let's take our cocoa to the living room. This may be a bit too cozy."

  "Definitely!"

  "You know, I never knew guardian angels took heaven with them when they were working."

  "Frake, you have a wonderful sense of humor. No wonder you're a showman."

  "I lost it for awhile, Dutch. Thank you for helping me find it again."

  "It's time to spread this operation out. If they were doing it to Frake, they're doing it to others."

  "Choice. Change."

  "Grab him, Clete!"

  "Dutch, why don't you wait until he's sitting down?"

  "It's all right, Clete. I was waiting for it. We've got a straight path until the next choice. Motorcycles! He's decided he wants motorcycles!"

  "Too bad we don't have Dad to ride with us."

  "We don't need him. It would be fun though. Dutch, we get a list from Frake. Others he thinks are paying. We take both him and Merith with us. We visit a large number. Space a lot of drugs. Dutch, you must not kill anyone. It's going to be hard not to. Especially the man in gray. He's a key to stopping it all, the link to the bosses. And you're going to want him very, very dead. The girl will be all right. We'll get her through. Oh, this is going to be fun. Clete... Oh, my. Yes. A lot of fun."

  "Lane, what's the 'Clete, oh my?' It makes me nervous when you do that."

  "Don't worry. You won't have any problem. Dutch and I can put up with our teeth rattling a few days."

  "A FEW DAYS?!"

  "A sideline they're in. Yes! We learn the magic! Well, some of it. Not quite the way he did it. That's a function of who he is, but someday... Too bad. We should have kept a little to analyze. Cold turkey is hard, but they'll be grateful. That's it. Let's do it."

  "Dutch, he got excited about magic and 'someday' was a promise."

  "That doesn't surp
rise me, Clete. His eyes lit up every time Dad did a bit of magic. What's first, Lane?"

  "Frake's list. Hmm... Oh, I see. Easy. A horse race. No, two. How about that? Real leathers."

  "Whoa. You're getting really excited, Lane, and Clete's about to start bouncing off walls. Since you'd probably say you hate to spoil fun surprises if I asked for specifics… Yeah, I thought so. All right, let's do this one step at a time. Frake, make us a list of everyone you know, or think you know, is paying protection, especially traveling shows, like yours. Give us their schedules, if you can. How does Merith fit in, Lane?"

  "She's our accountant, Dutch. She's a genius at estimating a house and keeping track of what money belongs to who. She can also figure out exactly what a show needs; costumes, props, equipment. The best little shopper on the net. You made a smart move when you hired her, Frake."

  "I didn't. She just sort of attached herself to the company. Said she'd always wanted to be in show business. Promised she'd earn her keep. She looked hungry, so I fed her and said all right."

  "I was hungry. I was also dodging an injector and one of those 'sidelines' this bunch are in."

  "Why the blond was after you."

  "Probably, Dutch. If your man in gray is the same as mine, he doesn't take no for an answer."

  "Now I know why it's going to be hard not to kill him. I really don't like to kill. I haven't killed anyone since... in a very long time."

  "Dutch, his bosses take care of him. He leads us to them. If he dies, they may get away."

  "Remind me of that again when the time comes, Lane."

  "I won't be there. Neither will Clete. You'll have to make the choice on your own."

  "Here's the list. About fifteen. All I can think of. I guessed on most. Shows with good draw that are getting dilapidated. Barnard's is the worst. His ship is in worse shape than mine was. Nice old boy."

  "He's first. They've got his niece. We'll get her and take her to him, then make sure his ship gets to where it's going. Dutch, it's going to break down in flight. We'll use Lissa and do a mayday answer. Replicate parts. Clean house for him. We have to let the two in the hold loose. They're our advertisement."

  "Damn. Let's do it. Let's get Barnard's niece first. Who stays with Melissa?"

  "I do, but I meet you on the ship. We'll have to work fast. It'll take all of us. Yesterday."

  "Let's move."

  It wasn't far to where Barnard's niece was being held. Clete went into the big house to get her. It didn't take him long to find her. He just followed the path of most resistance. He smiled at the bright-eyed little girl of about seven and squatted down.

  "Hello, Jeannie. I'm Clete. Don't be afraid of me. I'm your friend, or I'd like to be. I've come to take you to your uncle. Wouldn't you like to leave here?"

  "Yes. I'm not afraid of you. I think you're here to rescue me."

  "That's why."

  "I was really hoping somebody would. They think I'm so dumb I wouldn't figure out why they won't let me go outside. They said they adopted me because Uncle Barnard didn't want me."

  "They lied to you. They're making him pay lots of money. They told him they'd hurt you if he didn't."

  "I guessed that, but I've been careful not to let them know. When Mommy and Daddy got killed, Uncle Barnard came and got me. He told me we're all the family we have and we have to stick together. He wouldn't decide he didn't want me. How did you get in? There's lots of not-nice men and Miss Perldick. She's not nice, either."

  "Come on. I'll show you."

  He took the hand of the very bright young lady and led her through the house. She asked if the men were dead. He told her he didn't kill people if he could help it. They were just napping. They'd looked tired, so he'd tucked them in. She giggled. He led her into Melissa/Lissa and she sat on his lap on the bridge. Lane dropped Lissa free not far from the ship that had just sounded a mayday.

  "Private yacht Lissa responding. We're on our way. Barnard, we have the parts you need and a surprise for you. Frake's on board. He'll fill you in."

  "Your ship is very fast, Clete."

  "Yes, Jeannie, she's as fast as any other ship in space. My brother Dutch is also a very good pilot."

  "Uncle Barnard sounded surprised. He likes Mr. Herpith."

  "You can call me Frake, Jeannie. You're his big surprise. He's been very worried about you."

  "I've been worried about him too. He needs me to take care of him, so he can take care of everybody else. Clete, where did your other brother go?"

  "He went in the cargo hold, Jeannie."

  "Come on, Clete. There isn't much time. We've got to get that ship fixed. That drive is bad. Frake, careful what you say about us. Come on, come on, get the hatch open. Hello, Barnard. I'm Dutch. Talk to Frake. I can hear-- Clete! Come on!"

  "I hear it! Bye, Jeannie."

  "Who was-- Jeannie? JEANNIE!"

  "Hi, Uncle Barnard. Here's a tissue. You're getting the pretty dress Clete gave me all wet. Now stop crying. I'm safe. You haven't been taking care of yourself. You're a mess, but it'll be better now I'm here."

  "Yes, Jeannie. Much better. Frake, what's going on?"

  "You've just acquired the best guardian angels in the business. Get your people together and keep them out of their way. And I'll tell you what real protection is. This is Merith. Oops. Wait'll they get by. Now, you get going. We'll meet you in your cabin. Questions later. Go!"

  Lane ran into engineering with parts they needed now! They worked fast. After a few minutes, they actually had time to talk.

  "Think Frake will be careful when he talks to Barnard?"

  "Yes, Clete, I do. Dutch, hand me that spanner. All right. Life support will hobble along until we get the rest of the parts replicated."

  "I want to get that drive fixed first, Lane. Clete and I barely got it shut down in time. It was about to blow. We cut it a little fine."

  "We had to wait for the mayday. You'll need an EVA suit. Don't use one of Barnard's. Get one from Lissa."

  "Tubes fouled. I just knew it. Nasty job to do in space. Easy to hole a suit."

  "Dutch, hold your breath and speed up your metabolism. Your body won't decompress. Get in within five minutes."

  "I'm going to hole the suit. I hope you're right. What am I saying? You're always right. I hope."

  "Clete, you handle the airlock for him. He's going to cut it fine. Override the automatics. Don't wait for it to pressurize. Make sure you tell me about it when you get him in. That's where the memory comes from. Get started now. He'll be ready to go. I'll replicate drive parts. See you on Lissa."

  "Done."

  Lane got back with the first load of parts just in time to stop the fellow about to take the housing off the number one power generator.

  "Don't touch that! Go find the rest of your people and stay with them. We'll show you what we did when we get done. Dutch is going to give you a very thorough lesson in drive maintenance. Get out of the way!"

  Lane watched the man head back to the cargo hold. He was a decent mechanic, but not much of an engineer. He'd been out of his depth. As soon as he'd gone, he headed back to the replicator in Lissa. He had both arms full of parts when Clete joined him.

  "Lane, he's in. Holed the suit. Held his breath, sped up his metabolism. Close. About five minutes. I overrode autos on the airlock. Popped it as soon as he got the hatch closed. He's hungry. Engineering."

  "Bring the rest of the parts and food for him. High carbo content. I'm on my way with these."

  Lane found Dutch waiting for the parts he was carrying. When Clete arrived, he tore into the food like a starving man. They rebuilt drive, generators, life support and the galley. Barnard was a pretty good hand at the computers, comm and nav equipment. The bridge was in fair shape. Dutch, however, was steaming.

  "You can come out and let your people know they're safe. Send your man to me in engineering. I'm going to have a long talk with him. Lane is sweeping up your ship. We'll space your extraneous cargo. Fire some people when you lan
d. Clete will tell you which ones. He's on the bridge. Later."

  "Is he always like that, Frake?"

  "No. Dutch is usually pretty friendly. Except when there are drugs involved. Come on, Barnard, Clete's waiting."

  "And my ship is already repaired?"

  "No, already rebuilt. I told you. Guardian angels."

  Lane convinced Melissa to be inconspicuous and they landed at a racetrack on twentieth century Earth. He replicated a two dollar bill from a numismatic collection Meister had shared and won the exacta, visited another track and placed his winnings on a long shot. He collected, gave the woman from the IRS the government's cut and they went motorcycle shopping.

  Dutch decided he wanted outfits like the men at the shop were wearing. They told him they'd have to prove themselves. They didn't have any problems. They were careful not to break anyone. Getting the modified Sportsters through Lissa and into Melissa was a problem, so they took them apart. Water conversion to hydrogen fuel would be too obvious in the time they came from, so they changed them over to alcohol fuel and put them away. There was no point reassembling them, until they were needed.

  They went through Frake's list and Merith shopped. The money they collected for 'protection' returned the next day as ship parts, sets and costumes. Newly protected show owners happily followed instructions. Drugs were spaced and termination slips arranged. Frake and Merith were returned to the Merriment a few minutes after they'd left. It was time to shut down the sidelines. A few moments later, they were on the world and in the city where they would begin.

  "This is where you meet the man in gray, Dutch. You'll tell me about it. It's going to be very hard not to kill him. Just remember, he's not going to get away with it. In fact, if you kill him, you'll be doing him a favor."

  "I'll remember, Lane. What's the agenda?"

  "Clete and I are going to clean house. You're going to clean the streets. Send all the girls to Eight-three Harman Avenue. I'll start the detox program. Clete's going to take care of everything else."

  "Terrific. I'll be dying from the heat."

  "You'll be there before things get too warm out. Dutch, the kid comes through fine. We'll get her home. Get your bike and leathers."