'Hold on, when everything is gone.
I know how it feels to get a dirty deal, I do.'

J. J. Cale

9

CTRRTTC

Any more bright ideas?

It is a perfectly valid test.

It is a perfectly unequal contest!

That does not seem to be bothering them!

CTRRTTC

Slim ran to the fallen woman, picked her up and sprinted back to the shelter of the cantina, where he deposited her safely behind the wall. Jess stalked out into the centre of the square. It was a position he was familiar with from many gun-fights and he looked entirely in charge of the situation, although there was absolutely no justification for this. He just felt a whole lot better in the middle of a fight.

"Hey, you!"

The black knight swung round in surprise at this mode of address and the unprecedented sight of someone standing calmly in such an exposed position instead of crawling into the nearest cover. This moment of hesitation was his undoing. With considerable force and accuracy, Jess flung the missile he had been concealing - the wine jug struck the helmet full on. It didn't do much damage, but it was sufficient to create a diversion and allow Slim to follow it up, wielding the table from the cantina. The table was solid and, although the light-blade would soon slice it to pieces, Slim was able to force the black figure back against the wall of one of the buildings.

At this point, they discovered one of the more disconcerting talents of their opponent. One moment he was standing facing Slim on one side of the square, the next he had made an extraordinary leap through the air, landing twenty feet away on top of pile of packing cases. It happened to be the pile behind which Jess had taken cover after his bare-faced bravado had paid off. He took the greatest pleasure in flinging his whole weight against the pile and toppling the king of the castle most successfully.

The black knight recovered in mid-air from his fall and hit the ground running – or rather striding at an alarmingly fast rate. He seemed to have entirely forgotten his original targets in what was obviously a growing rage against these unarmed opponents. Slim was directly in his sights, running with all the speed of his long legs for the cover of the well-head. Jess scrambled out of the pile of boxes and flung himself across the open space in a headlong dive. He just caught a flying foot and got a glancing kick in the face for his pains. The knight stumbled, sufficient to throw off his aim so that the blade demolished the bucket winch and not Slim. The next moment Slim had made another dash, heading this time for what was, or maybe had been, the Livery Stable, where he seemed to remember seeing one or two things that might be used as weapons. Perhaps it was his determination which redefined the environment around him, so that now it was half the desert oasis and half a western township.

Finding pursuit hard on his heels, Slim jinxed to one side, leading his follower into the café. He swept the food off the table in passing and, trusting in Jess's experience, burst his way through the back wall. His pursuer was momentarily swamped in descending harpies, but the light-blade was a forceful weapon in spheres which humans usually ignored or pretended did not exist. Slim ran on, following the perimeter corridor until he reckoned it was safe to emerge into the street once more.

He found immediately that he had miscalculated. He was nowhere near the Livery Stables but had emerged somehow from the saloon into an apparently deserted street. He leaned thankfully against the rail, listening for sounds of destruction from the café opposite and unaware that his opponent was only seconds behind him.

"Slim, look out, you durn'd fool!" Jess sprinted across the street and thundered down the board-walk. The black figure turned towards the sound of Jess's voice, only to find that he had disappeared from view. He swung back to the victim who was so much nearer to him, but this was also a miscalculation. Slim was a cavalry officer and had met with sabres in battle before. He knew the safest place was close up to the wielder and inside his reach. He made a lightning turn on his heel and lunged at his opponent, grappling him round the waist and sending him staggering backward towards the saloon porch.

Meanwhile, Jess had effectively disappeared by taking a leap up for the supporting beam of the porch, using it as a pivot for an almighty swing at the enemy. The next second his booted feet, powered by the full momentum of his run and of gravity, struck clean between the black helmet and the body armour. They hit the base of the neck, the only exposed spot, where Jess had learnt that you could knock a man cold with a single blow. It was also effective for strange black knights, whether human or not.

As the black figure toppled, the light-blade left his hand and went flying through the air. Instinctively Slim caught it by the handle before it could fall to the ground. A puzzled expression crossed his face, as if he had just connected with something entirely new and amazing. Then he pressed the button on the handle and the light-blade sank back into oblivion. He and Jess stood over the fallen figure, panting.

"Thanks!" They leant against the hitching rail together, momentarily weak with the effort expended in the fight and struggling with no little amusement at the outcome.

"I thought we were going to maintain an attitude of masterly inactivity?"

"Yeah, well – you never could resist a female in distress."

This earned Jess a few moments in a headlock while Slim administered a couple of retaliatory punches, after which he teased "And you never could resist a fight! Exactly what did you think you were doing in the middle of that square?"

"Just providin' a little provocation," Jess told him, grinning.

"Yeah – you do that all right!" Slim gave up the unequal struggle to keep a straight face and burst out laughing, because, despite the heart-stopping recklessness of his actions, Jess still managed to look as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. "You are impossible!"

"I thought you just told me I was real?"

"That as well. Now just do me a favour, will you – try to stay alive and quit the death-defying actions for a while! I've had about enough scares for one day."

Jess looked at him carefully and decided this time it would not pay to rile Slim further. Besides, it felt good that someone minded whether he was alive or dead. His glance slid away, trying to conceal his emotions once again, and he ducked his head, this time in mock submission. Slim was not fooled by this, but reckoned it was the best he was going to achieve. He turned his attention to their prostrate enemy.

"His breathing doesn't sound right."

"I didn't hit him that hard," Jess protested.

"Better get this helmet off and have a look at him."

Several screws and some heaving later, they looked. The heaving which happened next was purely visceral.

"Better put it back? He looks like he might need it."

"He looks as if he might need a hospital."

"Yeah – or a competent doctor, which ain't either of us."

"Stay with him a minute, I want to take a look at the others." Slim disappeared in the direction of the square, leaving Jess wondering exactly how he was intended to deal with seven feet of angry and possibly mythological enemy, should he come round.

When Slim returned, he was carrying the woman, who was still unconscious. He looked very puzzled.

"What's up?"

"There's no-one else there. I could have sworn that at least two people got killed and more injured, but there's no sign of anyone."

"Maybe the rest carried them off?"

"Then why leave her?"

Jess shook his head in disbelief and said, "Who knows? They're the first people we've met in this place –"

"If they are people?" Slim sounded deeply worried. He laid the woman down gently. "Feel her pulse." When Jess did so, he too looked very worried. There was no pulse, yet the woman did not appear to be dead.

"She's still breathin'. Saves you from any more –"

"Shut up, will you, I'm trying to think!" Slim flushed and bent over the unconscious woman. He tried unsuccessfully to raise one of her closed eyelids. Then he looked closely at her hands and put his own hand on her forehead. After this he sat back on his heels and said unsteadily, "There's no reflex twitch in the eyelid. There are no veins in the hand. That's not skin."

"Not skin?" Jess stretched out a tentative finger and touched the pale cheek very gently. "No, I see what you mean – kind of … slick." He gave an involuntary shudder.

"And she looks … shut down, like machinery that's just idling," Slim said. He thought some more and added, "Ok, so here we have two bodies, in need of some kind of attention, even if they aren't people. What are we going to do?"

"Maybe we should just leave them be?" Slim could tell from Jess's tone he didn't much like this suggestion, even as he made it. "Everything else seems to get tidied up somehow."

Slim shook his head. "We can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because you know full well it isn't the kind of thing we do." He paused a moment to let this sink in. Jess nodded slowly, and then developed the assessment by pointing out: "All morning we've been doin' the kind of things we do, the way we do them."

"You can say that again!" A brief grin flashed across Slim's face as he reviewed the things which had happened and particularly Jess's part in them. "What was it you said about not doing things because someone was trying to make you? Well, I think you're right. Someone is trying to push us into situations to see how we'll cope with them. This is just a temptation to take the easy way out."

Jess suppressed a sigh. When Slim was bent on an honourable course of action, it generally meant a deal more effort and trouble than simply reacting with your guts. At the same time, it made him smile inwardly and with no little admiration, at least until he heard Slim's next instruction: "Find a wheelbarrow!"

"What?"

"A wheelbarrow. In the stable yard. To push the body in."

Thus unmistakably instructed, Jess found himself, a short while later, pushing a remarkably heavy black knight down the street, while Slim followed, carrying the woman.

"Why're we goin' this way?"

"There's no hospital or doctor here. We'll try the next place."

They went through the barn and across the strange yard. Jess was sorely tempted to see if he couldn't load his burden on to the black machine, but, Slim, catching that wistful puppy look again, glared at him. Jess kept on pushing.

There was a gap in the wall behind, leading to a smooth grey road which rose over a long bridge and then dipped towards the tall buildings. Jess paused to get his breath when they reached the top of the bridge and fished his gloves out of his jacket pocket, as the wheelbarrow and its load were in danger of raising blisters. At the other end of the bridge was a long white building, with a flight of steps sweeping up to the door, but also a curving, sloping ramp, clearly built to take wheels. Above the door they saw the familiar red cross.

"That's a relief!" They staggered up the ramp and found themselves faced with huge doors, apparently made of glass. Inside there seemed to be vague, hurrying figures, like white ghosts. Jess was looking more and more uneasy, despite the prospect of getting rid of the wheelbarrow and its contents. Slim was too occupied with his own burden to take much notice of this.

As they approached the doors, they slide silently back into the wall in a most unexpected fashion. They pushed on into the building and found themselves in a huge hall. It had a large circular desk in the centre and a number of corridors leading off it. Between the corridors the space was filled with rows of coloured chairs, each block a different colour, which looked as though they should be filled with waiting people. There was no-one there. The white ghosts had completely disappeared.

Jess seemed to pull himself together with no little effort. He lowered the wheelbarrow and looked around, then strode swiftly into one of the side corridors and returned pulling a wheeled bed behind him. He gestured to Slim to put the woman down on it and, when he had done so, lifted and clicked into place the side-bars which would prevent her from falling off.

"How did you know how to do that?"

Jess ran a worried hand through his hair. They had both lost their hats some time before in the fight. "It's obvious, isn't it?" He fetched another wheeled bed and they lifted the second body on to it with much effort. The knight was too tall and his legs hung uncomfortably over the end, but he still showed no signs of stirring.

"I didn't kick him that hard!" Jess reiterated defensively.

"No. Maybe you just hit some important connection in all the stuff inside."

"I hit where I was aimin' – the back of his neck." Jess's professional pride was insulted and he looked as if he was going to march straight out of the building then and there.

Slim caught his arm. "How do we get them help?"

"How do I know?"

"You do know." Slim waited expectantly. Jess turned on his heel and walked over to the central desk. He went behind it and stood looking at the lighted square frames on the front of several machines which stood on its surface.

"Is this an emergency?"

"I guess so." Slim looked over his shoulder and read on the bright, white background: 'To activate in case of emergency, press ENTER.'

"And we definitely want something active to happen?" When Slim nodded, Jess pointed down to the surface of the desk. A raised black board was covered with several rows of buttons, which were marked with letters, numbers and other symbols. On the right was one with the word 'Enter'. At another nod from Slim, he pressed it.

"C'm on. We've done the best we can. They can take it from here." Jess steered his companion and the wheelbarrow firmly out of the building and the glass doors closed behind them. They were quite unaware of the flashing lights, sprinklers and running white-coated figures that had erupted into chaos as they left the building.