When my knees hit the floor, I instinctively pitched forward onto my stomach and grabbed the pistol I dropped. The metallic mesh coat I wore under my duster had done its job in diffusing the energy from the stunner. The energy blast had given me a good jolt and set my skin to tingling, but I regained control of my muscles and my facilities almost immediately. From initially pulling my pistol to hitting the floor, it had probably taken only a couple of seconds.
Falling face first to the floor allowed me to see under the heavy table where Bearclaw and Mendes sat. I was unsurprised that Mendez held a large stunner in his lap, pointed in my direction. I realized that it was Mendez who'd fired the stunner at me, so I returned the favor and put a 45-caliber slug in his foot. Mendez screamed and pitched backwards out of his chair with a thud. The stunner fell out of his hand and clattered across the tiled floor. I had no sympathy for the man as he lay there moaning piteously. He was supposed to be a doctor, a follower of the Hippocratic Oath, yet from day one he had planned to do me harm. He was now reaping what he had sown.
As soon as I fired, I rolled to my left, scrambled under the table and out the other side. I rolled left because it put me under the furthest table from the guards at the door and now all the council members were in front of me. I needed to be cautious, because according to Tonya, the mesh coat I was wearing would need five minutes to completely dissipate the charge it had absorbed before it would be effective again.
The room was now a frozen tableau, as everyone seemed in shock over what I'd done. To my right, both Tonya and Greer were on the floor unconscious. The two guards by the door were staring at Mendez, their weapons hanging limply in their hands. Bearclaw and the other members of the Pleiad were cowering in their chairs looking fearfully at me. I pointed my pistol at the two guards and pulled back the hammer. The metallic click of the hammer tang engaging the trigger sere echoed loudly in the quiet room.
"You two by the door better drop your weapons, or you'll join Mendez," I barked.
They complied immediately and I waved them away from their weapons with a twitch of the gun barrel. I rose to my feet and had all the council members stand up with their hands over their heads. When they were on their feet, I herded them over with the guards. By the time the councilors were lined up against the wall, Chairman Bearclaw had regained his composure. When he started to bluster and threaten me, I swung my pistol up and pointed it at his chest. As I brought the weapon to bear, the Pleiad member on either side of him shied away.
"I am a desperate man with nothing to lose, Bearclaw, and I hold you totally responsible for that. You are only marginally worth more to me alive, so mind your manners," I growled threateningly.
Bearclaw held up a placating hand, but he kept his mouth shut tight.
I knelt beside Tonya then, and unclipped the small communicator from her pocket. I activated the device by saying Sarah's name into it. The instrument emitted a few strange noises, but soon enough, Sarah's sweet face filled the little picture frame on the front of the communicator.
I made a large effort at keeping my voice calm and steady as I explained the situation to her. Sarah relayed the information to Lucy, who was speaking on her own communicator to Queen Elizabeth. After some back and forth, Sarah told me to stand fast, as help was on the way.
After telling Sarah goodbye, I retrieved my other six guns from Tonya's haversack, stuffed the stunners I'd collected into it, and slung the bag over my shoulder. Then I strapped on the holster rig and walked over to check on Mendez.
As soon as he saw me standing over him, Mendez started cussing me for all he was worth. He was sitting with his back against the wall by then, gingerly trying to remove his shoe. Mendez was pallid from shock, and bleeding right smartly. He'd live though, and with the medical care here in the future, he would probably be good as new in a few days. Not that it mattered to me, because I thought a little suffering was what someone as evil as he needed.
Help arrived ten minutes later in the form of Coleen and Helena. Coleen had her doctor's satchel with her, and after hugging my neck, she knelt down and treated Mendez's wound. Helena also hugged me, but she held me tighter and sighed.
"I seldom see you anymore, Jeremiah, and I miss you," she said softly.
Helena was the quietest and most reserved of the three future women who went back to my time, but her passion flared the hottest. She was also a brilliant scientist; her intellect both awed and slightly intimidated me.
"I have missed you too. After this business with Bearclaw is settled, I would love to spend some time together, just the two of us," I replied.
She smiled and nodded her agreement. I dug one of the smaller stunners out of Tonya's bag and handed it to Helena.
"Help me keep an eye on everyone, please. If anyone makes a threatening move, blast them," I instructed.
Helena looked at the stunner distastefully, but bobbed her head and took it.
Coleen gave Mendez an injection for his pain and he quieted down immediately. She dressed what I considered a mild wound then moved over to Tonya and revived her. In only a few minutes, Tonya was sitting up, groggy but conscious. I kept a wary eye on her, because the only person in the room who had given me no reason to doubt them was Helena. And with Helena there, I decided that all things being equal, now was the time to capitalize on my holding a strong hand.
"Helena, do you know how to operate the machine that brought me here?" I asked.
Helena nodded affirmatively. Helena was a smart woman and knew where I was headed. She was also about the only woman I had met here in the future who was not involved in some scheme that concerned me.
"The process is computer-controlled, Jeb, and I know for a fact that it is still calibrated to the cave back in your time."
Before I could comment on that, one of the doors to the chamber swung open and Sonja marched into the room. I watched her suspiciously as she entered, because last I heard, she was supposedly on the lam with Tonya's mother, but who knows, that might have been some sort of trick. Intrigue and double-dealing seemed to be the normal behavior of the valley people.
"Show me your hands, Sonja," I demanded.
Sonja's face went through a gauntlet of emotions at my barked request. Surprise and confusion flickered across her countenance before she sighed resignedly and raised her hands, palms towards me.
"I'm not your enemy, Jeremiah," she said reproachfully.
"I am not sure who is who anymore, Sonja, so I am disinclined to trust anyone."
Sonja looked pointedly at Helena, who was holding one of the guard's standard-size stunners. I ignored the obvious question in her look. By this point, my patience was wearing thin.
"State your business, or leave," I said.
Sonja looked at me as if I were some stubborn child.
"All of this is my business, Jeremiah Brock," she said peevishly. "As a member of the civil service, I work directly for the citizens of the valley. I might report to the Pleiad, but I answer to the Civil Service Commission. We administrators are educated and trained to advise the councilors on all aspects of government. Which begs the question of where is Noah Fletcher? It is highly irregular for the Pleiad to meet without an administrator present."
By the time Sonja finished her little tirade, I was red faced with embarrassment. Here I thought she was Bearclaw's lackey, and it turns out she was some sort of honest broker. Still, I didn't know that before, and she had been awfully chummy with the council chairman. I could, however, clear up her question about Mister Fletcher.
"Commander Greer had Fletcher hauled off to the hoosegow for something or other; maybe Tonya can clear that up for you," I said helpfully.
Sonja finally started looking around when I mentioned Tonya. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight of Mendez with his bloody foot, the unconscious Greer sprawled out on the floor and Coleen busily fussing over a slowly reviving Tonya. Sonja shot me a hard look and I just shrugged.
"I only shot Mendez after he shot me first. I think Tonya shot Greer and the Guards shot her."
It took a couple of minutes for Tonya to feel normal enough to talk. As soon as she was lucid, she, Coleen, Sonja and Helena started whispering. I let them talk because I held a 45 caliber veto to any plan I didn't like. After three weeks of being pulled from pillar to post here in this future, I was not about to relinquish the upper hand.
The women finished their little confabulation and Sonja flipped open her vid-phone. She glanced up at me when I cleared my throat. She sighed and turned her attention towards me.
"Listen, Jeremiah, I'm calling down to security to have Noah Fletcher brought back up here, along with the three councilors Bearclaw had arrested. I'm also going to have the video techs come record everything that happens. My priority is to get our government working again. As soon as that's done, we'll address your issues," she patiently explained.
I nodded, fair enough.
Bearclaw started objecting when Sonja took charge.
"You are seriously overstepping your authority, Miss Ferrens. I am still the legally appointed head of the government," he spouted.
Sonja shrugged her shoulders.
"My function as an administrator is to keep the government operating smoothly, and right now, it's doing everything but ... thanks to you and Mister Brock. Besides, everything will be on the record, so the Civil Service Commission can decide if I acted appropriately."
Bearclaw wanted to argue the point, but I waved away his objections with the five inch barrel of my Colt.
"Get on with it," I said.
Ten minutes later, Fletcher was escorted into the room by Agent Habib, Tonya's partner from the time of my arrival. I relieved Habib of her stunner then Tonya took her and the two other security men off to the side, while Fletcher and Sonja conducted a brief but animated discussion. Fletcher ducked out into the anteroom to retrieve his computing machine as Sonja busied herself rearranging table and chairs. I backed up into a corner so I could keep everyone in front of me.
After speaking with the other security agents for a couple of minutes, Tonya walked over to me.
"Give me our stunners and we'll help you watch this lot. I'll vouch for my troops," she said.
I looked her in the eye and said, "After hearing you talk to Greer, I am not sure I trust you to vouch for anything."
She returned my look without blinking.
"When we were in New London the first time, Liz smith told Sonja some disturbing news about the Pleiad. Sonja didn't want to believe it, that's why she left us and headed back to the valley. Once she was over the worst of her trauma from being captured by the Juicers, she set out to find out about the scheme for herself. Since she knew Greer is one of Bearclaw's chief allies, she suggested I make a show of allying myself with Greer. Letting him think I was acting on his behalf gave me much more latitude than I'd have gotten as just your escort. His thinking I was with him is why pretending to bring you in worked so well."
Then she grinned.
"But you suspected something like that already, or you wouldn't have trusted me to take him out when you made your move."
I returned her smile and handed over her haversack.
"I had a moment's doubt when I was frog-marching behind you two on the way here, but we were soldiers in combat together, and you were willing to die with me instead of escaping when the Juicers had me dead to rights. How could I not trust you?"
It took an additional ten minutes for the moving picture cameras to be set up and the councilors under house arrest to arrive. By the time everyone was present and everything in place, it was almost nine at night, and we had been at our intrigues for the better part of two hours.
Sonja finally had everyone situated. Mendez was laid out on a divan and Greer, the security commander, was still unconscious and sprawled on the floor next to the wounded doctor. The security personnel were spaced about the room, keeping an eye on everyone while Tonya and I were standing over Sonja's shoulder. Sonja and Fletcher now occupied the seats where Mendez and Bearclaw were when I arrived, the recently released council members sat down one side of the 'U', while Coleen and Helena sat down at the other. Bearclaw and the rest of the Pleiad were sitting in a single row of chairs a few feet back from the opening of the 'U'.
Sonja's agile fingers clickity-clacked on the lettered and numbered buttons attached to the computating machine. After half a minute, she pressed one of the buttons forcefully and leaned back in her chair. A few seconds later, the room reverberated with buzzing and ringing and everyone reached for their vid-phones. At the same time, a large picture frame mounted on the wall lit up. In the center of the lighted frame, a number appeared. The number flickered quicker than the blink of an eye, and a larger number replaced it. At the bottom of the frame a red line came to life. At the right side of the line was a smaller number followed by a percent sign. I looked to Tonya for an explanation of what I was seeing; Tonya gave it to me.
"Sonja sent out an emergency alert to every comm unit in the valley. The large numerals on the screen indicate how many citizens are online, monitoring the broadcast. The small number is the percentage of the voting public the large number represents. When a quorum is reached, the red line will turn green and Sonja can proceed," she said.
I nodded my understanding. The direct participation of all adult citizens was one of the good things about Paradise Valley. That was exactly how I thought a democracy should work.
Sure enough, a minute or so later the big number passed fifteen-thousand, the small numerals passed through seventy-five percent and the red line turned green. As soon as the line turned green, Sonja gave a signal to the woman who had set up the moving picture camera. A red light at the top of the lens came on, and Sonja started talking.
"Good evening Citizens, I apologize for intruding on your lives in this manner, but after I explain the reasons why, I think you'll agree it was appropriate. I am Senior Government Administrator Sonja Ferrens, and the gentleman on my right is Senior Administrator Fletcher. As you can probably tell, we are broadcasting from the Pleiad Chambers at the university megaplex.
"Three days ago, Chairman Bearclaw, with the support of a split Pleiad, invoked a state of emergency. He stated then that our safety and continued survival was threatened by outlanders and the man we brought back from the past. While what the Pleiad did was unprecedented, and Bearclaw's stated reasons dubious, they acted within the scope of our constitution. We administrators had no choice but to allow it.
"Since then, we have been under some sort of quasi-martial law, and under the cover of his emergency powers, Chairman Bearclaw and his supporters have had a number of people secretly arrested or detained. When Administrator Fletcher protested the Pleiad's actions, he was also arrested. Because I was responsible for bringing Brock here from the past, I was in hiding until tonight to avoid being arrested, also.
"One of the chairman's fears became reality tonight when Mister Brock was captured and brought before the newly constituted Pleiad. Brock smuggled an antique weapon into that meeting and took the Pleiad and a few other of the chairman's supporters captive. He did that not to cause problems for us citizens; he simply wanted to return to his own time.
"After taking his prisoners, Brock called one of the staff doctors for assistance. That doctor alerted me and I snuck into the building and made my way up to these chambers."
Sonja paused and motion to the man operating the second camera that was set up by the doors. When the camera came on, Sonja's picture on the big frame shifted to on side and a view of the whole room appeared next to her. Sonja then identified everyone in the room and explained what had happened to Mendez and Greer. Then she resumed her narrative.
"While I was in hiding, I received some disturbing information that puts Chairman Bearclaw's actions in an entirely different light. So Brock's intervention was good news to me. I spent the last day and a half verifying that information, and I can prove everything I say. What I discovered is that Bearclaw is the leader of a cabal of men in positions of power, who worked for ten years to gain control of our government."
As soon as those words were out of Sonja's mouth, Bearclaw leaped to his feet with a shout. His face was twisted into a mask of fury as he took a step towards the 'U' shaped table. I drew my pistol, but before I could do anything, Tonya jolted him with a low powered blast from her stunner. Bearclaw froze in mid-stride and slumped back into his seat.
Sonja nodded her thanks to Tonya and continued.
"The goal of these men was to insure there was always a majority of like-minded males on the council and in the Pleiad. They achieved this by secretly altering the computer program that randomly picks people to fill council vacancies."
She held up a tiny black box, then stuck it in a slot on the computator.
"The evidence against Bearclaw and his cronies is on this mem-chip I am loading into the main server now. Based on what is on that chip, I am suspending Bearclaw and the Pleiad he had in place tonight, under the provisions of Article Six of our constitution. The four untainted members of the council will run the government and over see the recall voting for the suspended members. By law, each citizen has 24 hours to reach their decision and cast their yea or nay vote on recalling the tainted council members and Chairman Bearclaw. The civil service commission is responsible for making sure the selection program is fixed and new councilors are appointed. Any criminal proceeding against Bearclaw and his co-conspirators is up to the courts."
Sonja informed the citizenry that tomorrow would be business as usual and bid them goodnight. When she was sure the cameras were turned off, she slouched back into her chair. The strain of arresting the highest levels of her society's government weighed heavily on her shoulders. She had performed her duty, but the whole process was distasteful to her. Sonja seemed to think that not unearthing Bearclaw's nefarious plotting sooner reflected poorly on her. That was hogwash of course, but these Valley dwellers were a prideful bunch.
I thought that disposing of Bearclaw and Mendez removed the biggest obstacles to me returning to my own time. Given the fact that I helped it happen, I figured now was as a good a time as any to ask for a favor. I interrupted Sonja as she was discussing something with Mister Fletcher.
"I am ready to go home and get out of your hair, Sonja. When do you think you can send me back?" I asked.
She turned to look at me, her expression unreadable.
"You've done us a great service, Jeremiah, and we'd like you to stay for a while. However, if you are set on leaving, we can probably arrange for that to happen in four or five days."
I nodded my head to show I understood and reiterated my desire to leave.
"Thanks for the offer Sonja, but I am going to have to pass on it. I would like to leave as soon as you can arrange it."
I joined Tonya and Agent Habib in escorting Bearclaw down to the medical floor, Helena walked along with us. I felt some satisfaction when Bearclaw was locked into Quarantine Suite Two, the same one I had been held in when I arrived.
At the same time, Coleen and a couple of medtechs wheeled Mendez down to a mediscan unit. Sonja had restored power to that part of the medical complex as one of her first actions. I was of the opinion that Mendez should wait until all the people that had been denied treatment the last few days had access to the mediscan, but Coleen nixed that idea.
Tonya appeared to have her prisoners well in hand, so Helena and I headed toward the exit. Helena called Sarah so she could meet us at the front entrance. I was more than happy to be leaving because, to me, this monstrosity of a building represented all that was wrong with the future.
Sarah was waiting at the front doors. She flung herself into my arms as soon as I walked out and kissed me fiercely.
"I was worried to death about you, Jeremiah," she said between kisses.
I had to smile when she said that, because she was picking up my manner of speech. Of all the women I had met here in the future, I was most comfortable with Sarah. Unlike the other women here, my relationship with Sarah was not complicated by politics and intrigues.
Lucy was there at the doors also. She had a kiss and hug for me as well as a request.
"Liz would like to see you before you leave, Jeb."
I did not even ask how Queen Elizabeth knew I was going home. The idea of spending my last night in New London instead of here in the valley appealed to me, so I agreed with a caveat.
"I would like that, Lucy, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. I am not up to traveling tonight and I want to spend some time with Helena."
Sarah and Lucy both agreed that trying to return to New London tonight was a bad idea, they were both tired from our long day. So soon enough, Helena and I were walking hand-in-hand to her apartment.
I had reservation about my ability to make the night pleasurable for Helena because of my tiring last twenty-four hours. Helena quickly showed me I was worried for naught. Helena was a skilled, and as I mentioned before, passionate lover. For the first time with one of these future women, she was the teacher and I was the, oh so willing, student. Helena even introduced me to the pleasures of the Sodomites, something I had never thought I would enjoy.
It was after one in the morning when she finally showed me some mercy. As I lay on my back gasping for breath, she hopped out of bed seemingly fresh as a daisy and fetched us both a chilled glass of water. As we sat propped up against the headboard, I asked Helena a question that was weighing on my mind.
"Once I leave here, will I be able to return?" I asked.
Helena smiled and nodded her head.
"Sure you will, as long as the portals stay synchronized. Since I returned from your time, I've developed a way to initiate the transfer from the remote portal, so the return doesn't have to be on a set schedule. We can even send messages and material back and forth. I've also found a way to tweak the synchronizers so that when someone from here is back in the past, time will move normally here. Time is easier to manipulate when you can account for travelers being somewhere in the stream of time that has already happened."
We departed in the portable mediscan unit the next morning. Tonya had unfinished business in Paradise Valley, so Lucy was driving. Sarah and I were the only passengers and this time I did not have to hide. I had much to think about as we rode along the smooth black roadway. The women left me to my thoughts, disturbing me only once to tell me Bearclaw and his henchmen had been voted out of office by a five to one margin.
The return trip to New London was smooth sailing and we pulled into the alley behind Liz's residence shortly after eleven. When we pulled up, Carol, Tonya's mother, came out of the house to greet us. I was seriously enamored with the senior Miss Lawson, so I was most pleased to see her. Carol must have felt the same way, because she gave me one of her patented knee-weakening kisses before she led us into the house. Lucy and Sarah went up stairs to refresh themselves and I headed towards the kitchen to see if there might be any food going to waste.
Fifteen minutes later, I was sitting at the kitchen table eating left over stew with Liz's mother and Carol fussing over me. It is funny how my disposition improves when I am shoveling good vittles down my gullet. I looked up from my plate and leapt to my feet when Queen Elizabeth slipped into the room. I held the chair for her when she sat down next to me. She thanked me and got right down to business.
"After the way you've been treated here, I can't blame you for wanting to go home, Jeremiah. But I hope you understand that the worst days are over now that Bearclaw is out of power. I won't try to stop you from going home, but I really want you to return here in a few weeks. I need you to lead an expedition into the badlands to survey sites that we can expand into."
Then Liz looked up at me from under her eyelashes and blushed pink.
"And we need you here to make babies and pass along your extraordinary genetic material."
I fell back in my chair and my breath huffed out of me.
"First you geld your own men, then you want me here to stud me out. I will not be a party to that. I will not knowingly impregnate a woman unless I care deeply for her and I will help raise any children I sire," I said heatedly.
Liz's blue eyes opened wide then she snorted a laugh and took my hand in hers.
"Calm down Jeremiah, I wasn't suggesting you bed women anonymously just to make them pregnant. We have a way of achieving that without physical intimacy; all we need is your sperm. I have to say though, that you are going to make a lot of women unhappy by insisting on that, including Lucy and I."
Before I could say anything else, Carol chimed in.
"You can include my daughter in that number and probably all three of the women who brought you here. Honey, you have to understand that in our society, everyone helps raise a child. Given our low birth rate, a baby is a blessing for everyone, not just the mother."
By then, Sarah and Lucy came into the kitchen and joined the conversation. With all four women working on me, I finally saw the light and agreed to give it a try. I also agreed to return to this time in a couple of weeks. I even admitted that I was going to miss all of them.
"Not all of us, Muleskinner," Carol said. "Because Sarah and I are going with you to keep you out of mischief."