Chapter 14, Alexis's in Wonderland
By
UCSBdad
Disclaimer: Not me. Rating: M, in spots. I'll let you know when. Time: The future, after my Four of a Kind.
Chapter 14. Beecher's Bibles.
The two angry men got to the table where Rick and the unknown dark haired woman were sitting before Kate did. Sensing that something was amiss, Kate stayed back and began unbuttoning her coat to reach her pistols.
Sitting, as he was, Rick couldn't reach for his Colt .44s without everyone noticing. When he recognized one of the men headed for him, he carefully lifted his leg off of the floor and pulled the Colt .36 Police revolver from its ankle holster.
"So, this is your contact." The speaker was a well-dressed man, perhaps in his early thirties, with long dark hair and a beard.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." The woman said.
"Really." Castle added. "I have no idea who she is."
The well-dressed man glared at him. "It isn't polite to lie, mister." He turned to his companion. "Mr. Marks, this man needs a lesson in manners."
Cedric Marks pulled a long stiletto from a sheath on his belt and smiled coldly at Castle. "You do need to learn some manners, don't you?"
As Marks took a step forward, Castle fired from under the table. The slug tore through the flimsy table and struck Marks in the chest. He toppled over, dead.
The other man reached for the gun at his belt. Castle shoved the table over and shot first. The man dropped to one knee, but still had his gun. The woman grabbed Castle's other arm, screaming, "No!" as Castle shot a second time. This time the man was dead.
"What the hell happened here?" Kate asked, rushing to Castle with a Colt in each hand.
"This idiot shot both of them!" Screamed the woman.
"This idiot was being threatened." Castle screamed.
"And he's my husband. Who the hell are you and why did you kiss him?" Kate yelled.
They were interrupted by a bullet zipping past them, followed by another. Two gunmen were standing at the far side of the restaurant, firing at them. As the patrons scattered, Rick and Kate fired back.
"More will be coming!" The woman screamed over the gunfire. "We have to get out of here."
"First sensible thing you've said." Castle muttered.
The three ran towards the dock where Kate B. was tied up and they were soon joined by the rest.
"What happened?" Rodgers yelled as bullets whizzed past them. Armed only with pistols, they could see other men arriving to reinforce the gunmen that were already after then.
"She happened." Castle yelled. "She started this."
"I did not. If you had let me explain, I could have talked then out of doing anything, but no, you had to start shooting."
"This is my fault?" Rick screamed.
"We haven't got time for this." She replied. "They'll be trying to flank us so we have to get to the docks. There's a new steamer there and I intend to buy a quick passage on her."
"Never happen." Kate yelled over the sound of gunfire as they leapfrogged down the street, one group providing covering fire while the other group moved.
"I have plenty of money." The woman said confidently.
"Yes, but we own the boat. You're staying here to face the music."
The woman nodded. "In that case, you'll never know who's after you. Until it's too late, of course. And I'll have to tell them all that I know about you to bargain for my life."
When they got back to the Kate B., they were able to hold off their assailants with the Colts and Sharps rifles. Rick, Ryan and Tsena quickly got steam up and Kate B.'s paddle wheel began to slowly move and push them away from the dock.
Rick turned and saw that the dark haired woman was still with them. "What the hell is she doing here?"
"Rick, we need to find out what she got us into." Kate answered. "We can put her ashore later if we have to."
"You'd better worry about making your getaway." The woman pointed behind them where a long, slender oared galley was pulling away from the docks perhaps a mile or so behind them. "That's Landwaster. It's owned by the older brother of the man you killed. It's a very fast ship with a heavily armed crew. Once you get the steam up, you can outrun her. But until then, she has a speed advantage over you. And a noticeable advantage in firepower." She smiled at them. "Most Martian vessels are oared. The canals are too narrow to use sails, especially if you have to tack when the wind isn't directly behind you. Most Martian galleys use slaves to man the oars, but not Landwaster. Those are professional rowers manning her oars. Well paid, well fed and very strong. I can attest to that."
"Landwaster?" Said Ryan. "Bloody hell. We're dead."
"Why's that?" Kate asked.
"Captain Billy Bloody Bligh and his bloody brothers and his bloody ship are the worst bloody pirates on all of bloody Mars." Ryan shot back. "There's probably fifty or so gunmen aboard her, not to mention the rowers who can be bloody nasty."
Castle looked around the boiler. The Martian galley was gaining on them. "Come on. More coal. We need to get a move on."
Kate B. slowly accelerated away from Freeport, but Landwaster was moving much faster. The pirate ship was about a half a mile behind them now. Kate loaded her Sharps rifle, took careful aim and fired. She saw a splash perhaps fifty yards in front of Landwaster.
Castle had an idea. "The oars on a galley have to work in perfect unison, otherwise they interfere with each other. Let them get a little closer, then everyone open fire at the oarsmen. If one side has to stop rowing and the other side doesn't, the ship'll make a sharp turn and we can get away."
The Martian ship was gaining on them at a slower pace now as Kate B. sped up, but they were still gaining. At about five hundred yards, the pirates opened fire at them. Everyone but Simone in the pilot house took cover behind the boiler. The modern steel would stop any bullet that hit it.
Rodgers dashed up to the pilot house carrying his Sharps. The rest remained behind, with Ryan and Tsena being issued rifles. Esposito was busy shoveling coal into the boiler.
"Okay. Open fire." Castle yelled. The five Colt rifles spat out thirty rounds in just a few seconds and Kate's and Rick's Sharps added to the din. As oarsmen were hit, their oars stopped moving and interfered with the other oars on that side of the ship. In a matter of a minute or so, only the oars on the far side of Landwaster were moving, sending the galley into a sharp turn. Then the crew of Kate B. really caught a break. The pirate galley rammed a large, sturdy barge, stoving in a part of their hull. It wasn't bad enough to sink the pirates' ship, but it was sufficient to stop the chase.
As steam built up in the boiler, the Kate B. left Freeport and the pirates behind.
"Now, who the hell are you and what did you get us into?" Castle demanded of the woman.
She smiled at him and held out her hand. "Claudia Grant, M.A.S.S."
"Mass?" Castle replied. "What kind of mass. Catholic? Inert? Cancerous?"
"It's the Martian Anti-Slavery Society." She said as if addressing someone very dense.
"They have slaves on Mars?" Kate asked.
"They have slaves in your country and in Brazil and Africa and the Arab world, so of course they have slaves on Mars."
"Our country?" Becks asked.
"I'm English, of course." She smiled as if that were a special accomplishment.
"And why did you kiss me?" Castle demanded.
"I thought you were my contact. I kissed you because no one ever pays any attention to two lovers."
"Kiss my husband again and you'll find out just how much attention you'll get." Kate growled.
"So why did the late Mr. Bligh and Marks try to disassemble me?"
She shook her head. "He wouldn't have dared to do anything in public. I'm an English lady after all. They were just trying to scare you."
"They succeeded." Castle snapped.
"Why was Bligh interested in you?" Kate asked.
"The Blighs are pirates, smugglers, bandits, and slavers. Anything to turn a dishonest pound. Naturally, they hate the Society. Do you really plan to put me ashore?" She asked suddenly.
They all exchanged glances. "I suppose not." Kate finally said.
"May I ask how two sets of twins ended up together on Mars?" Miss Grant asked, changing the subject.
They had thought about that and had a story. Castle spoke up. "I'm Rick Castle and my brother is Rick Rodgers. Our parents died when we were a few days old. We were adopted by different families in different parts of the US. Oddly, both families named us Richard. Our wives, Kate and Rebecca, called Becks, are also twins. Simone Renoir is their sister, a widow now."
"Interesting." Miss Grant said, sounding like she didn't quite believe Rick. "So, where are we going?"
"We're headed for Martian Metals at someplace called Hard Rock City."
"Do you know the shortcut?"
"What shortcut?"
"Can you bring me a map?" Miss Grant said. "I'll show you."
A map was found and they all gathered around, except for the pilot. "You're on the D'Lanat canal, a major canal. To get to Martian Metals staying on major canals, you'd need to go east for nearly a hundred and thirty miles and then pick up the Chaloona canal and go back northwest to here." Grant tapped a spot on the map. "Or you can take this nearly silted up canal and cut nearly seventy miles off your trip."
"Nearly silted up?" Castle asked. "How deep is the water?"
"At least four feet deep in the shallowest areas, and as much as fifty feet elsewhere. But, the canal is no more than two hundred yards wide and there is a warlike tribe of Martians that live there. They're quite friendly with the Society and they hate the Blighs, so you can put a considerable distance between you and Landwaster. If Bligh tried to follow us, he'll be dead."
"Out of the frying pan and into the fire." Becks muttered. But, after talking it over, they decided to try the shortcut.
They arrived the next morning at the entrance to the smaller canal. It was mostly stagnant water and Castle could see the bottom of the canal in several places. He was stationed at the bow to try to keep them to the deepest part of the canal.
"In about four miles, you'll see a fort on the right side. That belongs to the Mancala, that's the tribe I spoke of." Grant said.
The fort was a massive pile of red rocks flanked by smaller fortifications that straggled along the banks of the canal. Rodgers looked them over with a practiced eye. "Nice. You can only sail in a straight line in this damned canal, and the forts are situated to put you in a crossfire. What kind of ordnance do they have, Miss Grant?"
"They used to use trebuchets, catapults, mangonels and similar ancient artillery. But now they've learned to make black powder and crude muzzle loading cannon. At the range they'd be shooting at, they could blow just about anything that could get in here right out of the water."
"How many troops man these fortifications?"
"King Mudros Bloodeye has about eight hundred professional warriors. They man most of the cannons and are armed with most of the firearms available. But, in times of danger, the whole population of the tribe, men and women, young and old are called to service. But, most of the time they work on the farms and ranches as well as the mines. All together, I'd say they could put fifteen thousand troops in the field if they called everyone up."
"How well are the draftees armed?" Rodgers asked,
"They use longbows and crossbows mostly. A few only have spears to fight with."
"What kind of weapons do the professional warriors have?"
"Mostly muzzle loading flintlock muskets. Percussion caps are harder to come by than flint. However, there are a hundred or so modern weapons."
Simone, in the pilot house, guided them into a small pier that jutted out into the canal. Grant stood on the bow where she could be seen. The dozen or so people on the dock seemed to be glad to see her. Kate noticed that one young lad ran off towards the fort.
"Headed off to tell the boss that he has company. I hope he's in a good mood."
"It's impolite to come ashore until you're invited. Someone will be down to invite us shortly." Grant explained.
In ten minutes, they could see a mob of people head for the dock. As they got a bit closer, they could hear music, drums, horns and something that sounded like a whistle. If there was any melody, Castle couldn't find it.
"What do you think?" Kate asked.
"It has a good beat, but it's too hard to dance to. I'd give it a six."
Kate just glared at him, but then smiled.
"That's the royal march." Grant announced. "King Mudros Bloodeye is coming down himself. That's a good sign."
King Mudros was a big, muscular man, dressed in Earth style pants and a shirt, with a cape made from the skin of some animal thrown over his broad shoulder. A pair of unfamiliar revolvers were pushed under a sash around his waist. Over his shoulder was a modern rifle, although a muzzle loader. He was surrounded by armed men, and Rodgers estimated he'd brought most of his professional warriors along. He brought a band, several attractive women, who Grant told them were his official wives, and a collection of hangers on of the sort that any politician on Earth would have.
The king gestured to Grant and the others to step onto the dock. Grant walked forward to him and took his hand. They began chatting in the local Martian dialect. Soon, she called the Kate B.'s crew over and introduced them. Mudros Bloodeye shook their hand and said something in Martian to them.
"I've told the king that you're my friends and that were running from the Landwaster. He says we can pass through his territory, but we have to pay. Since we're friends, he won't ask for much."
"What did he have in mind?" Rodgers asked.
"Weapons and ammunition. He has two sons who still don't have modern weapons. Two rifles and two pistols and some black powder and percussion caps should do it."
Rodgers went back on board and came back with two Enfield .577 caliber muzzle loading rifles and two double barreled pistols, plus powder and caps. He handed them to Grant who in turn gave them to the king with some appropriate speech in Martian. The king called two your boys to him who couldn't have reached ten years of age yet. He handed them each a rifle and a pistol with a bit of ceremony.
"He's telling everyone that the Earth people give him valuable weapons because he's such a powerful king and because he has friends among the Earth folks. He's told them that Bligh and the Landwaster is headed this way. But under the king's wise leadership, they protect his people from the evil ones."
"Can we get out of here?" Rodgers asked. "I don't want to hang around any longer than necessary."
Grant shook her head. "Sorry. We're the guests of honor at a banquet tonight. To refuse would be a great insult to the king."
The party wasn't as bad as Castle had thought it would be. It was worse. The Martian food was mostly overcooked and far too spicy. That didn't bother any of the Martian partiers as their main goal was to get drunk. Luckily, in spite of all of the heavily armed Martian warriors around, there were no fights. Apparently, alcohol made Martians happy and friendly. The entertainment, according to Grant, was a poetry contest. Each of the officers of King Mudros's professional soldiers had a bard to make up poems glorifying their boss. And, of course, it was all in the local Martian dialect.
Kate and Becks, who could outdrink their men, helped them back to the boat.
"I've actually been to book launch parties that were worse." Rick slurred.
"How were they worse?' Kate asked.
"You weren't there."
Kate kissed him. "Just for that, you'll get a little reward when we get to our cabin. If you can keep it up." She teased.
"I'll never be that drunk."
Early the next day they set off down the canal. They found that it really wasn't that bad, the shallow parts being easy to see from the pilot house. Along the banks they saw Martians, sometimes alone, sometimes in what appeared to be families and occasionally in large groups. All seemed to be glad to see the Kate B. and waved and called to them.
Leaving the minor canal, they soon found themselves at the Martian Metals dock on the Chaloona canal. Apparently word of their coming had spread rapidly as the area around the docks were surrounded by Earthmen and even a few miners. They could hear the miners cheering.
"Why the celebration?" Kate asked Miss Grant.
"Martian Metals uses mostly Earth born miners. They use technologically advanced equipment, so they need trained miners. Other mining companies use Martian slaves or poor immigrants. Trained miners, however, expect to be not just well paid, but well fed. You're bringing them earth food and drink." Grant laughed. "Mostly drink. They are miners, after all."
The food and drink was off loaded and the miners headed off to eat and drink. Rodgers talked to the mine managers about any rumors of a redheaded Earthgirl.
"They haven't heard a word about Alexis. And they have no cargo for us. Their last shipment of metals left four days ago and they won't have another load for two weeks or more."
"I can find you a cargo." Miss Grant said.
"What's the cargo and where is it going to?" Kate asked, suspiciously.
"There's a city of freed slaves about two hundred miles from here. We have a shipment of farming tools and other things to make life easier for the ex-slaves. We can pay you well. The Society has ample funds."
After a brief discussion among the five and a longer discussion about payment with Miss Grant, they agreed to the job.
The tools were waiting at an abandoned city, which sat on a nearly silted up canal, not ten miles from where they were.
But when they arrived, they began to get suspicious. "How come all the armed Martians?" Rodgers asked. He counted about thirty of them and two or three earthmen.
"This is a very valuable cargo. Any manufactured products from Earth are valuable. We can't just let them sit out by a canal for anyone to steal, can we?"
As soon as the Kate B. tied up to the dock, the Martians began loading the cargo. As they worked, Castle walked among the crates until he found a long box marked "Bibles". He had a sinking feeling in his stomach. He got a pry bar as unobtrusively as he could, then pulled the top of the crate off.
"What do you think you're doing?" Yelled one of the MASS earthmen.
"Examining our cargo. You lied to us."
The rest of Kate B.'s crew gathered around the crate.
"What are those?" Asked Becks.
"Model 1853 Enfield rifles, caliber .577." Grant said. "How ever did you figure it out?"
Castle glared at her. "Before our Civil War, anti-slavery groups ran guns into Kansas where pro- and anti-slavery forces were fighting. To disguise what their cargoes were, they shipped rifles in crates marked "Bibles." The rifles were nicknamed Beecher's Bibles after a famous abolitionist. Given that the crate was about the right size for rifles, I came to the obvious conclusion."
"You're very intelligent." Grant said, then added, "For an American."
"What happens to us now?" Rodgers asked, his hand near his revolver. "Do we get dumped here?"
Grant shook her head. "We're not bandits. We will pay you every cent of what you're owed, and a bonus as well. Once we've offloaded the weapons, you're free to leave. And you'll be miles from any fighting. We are going to a town filled with ex-slaves, but we intend to turn them into an army and attack a Russian held town that's been slave raiding. Oh, officially, the Russians say that the town isn't one of their settlements, but only a group of renegade Cossacks, but that's a lie. Ekatrinburg is a stain upon humanity and we intend to wipe out that stain."
Tsena growled. "Ekatrinburg! They've raided my tribe many times. This is why I worked for the Earthmen, to get fine weapons to kill those who stole our women and children. We're I not bound by my honor to sail on the Kate B. I would follow you."
The five friends exchanged glances, then Rodgers nodded. "Okay, we'll take your arsenal to your army, but then we go looking for Alexis."
The rest of the weapons were quickly stowed aboard and, with the Martians aboard, the Kate B. headed for the Martian army. Rick, Kate, Becks and Simone couldn't help but notice that Rodgers spent a good deal of time with Tsena that day.
Over dinner, Becks asked him what he was talking to Tsena about.
"The local Russians seem to be a bunch of bastards. The Cossacks, being officially a bunch of renegades, don't obey any kind of law. They don't seem to mind how many Martian slaves they kill since they can always catch more. And they kill a lot."
"Did you want to let Tsena go with the Society?" Becks asked.
"He'd like to go, but he told me that he'd given his word to stay with us until we find Alexis and even if we tell him he could leave, his honor wouldn't allow him to go."
"We are here to get Alexis back." Castle said. "We can't solve all of the universes' problems. Hell, we can hardly solve our own."
That night the Martians took over shoveling coal into the boiler, allowing the five friends to keep only one person on duty in the pilot house. When they got up the next morning, they found Rodgers deep in conversation with the earthmen from the Society. Again, Becks asked him what he was talking about at breakfast.
"Idealists." Rodgers said. "Nice young men who do want to stop slavery, but they know less about war than they know about sex, and that's damned little. I thought I'd give them a few hints. I am the only real soldier around here, after all."
Becks took his hand. "Just remember that we have a job to do. And that job doesn't involve getting involved in a Martian war. I can't lose you now, dammit."
Rodgers spent the next ten minutes assuring Becks that she meant everything to him. But then he went over to the earthmen and began to talk to them. Soon he had every one of their passengers crowded around him, listening intently.
Becks sat watching him with a look of horror on her face. "If he gets himself killed, I'll…." She stopped. She didn't know what she'd do, exactly, but it would be drastic.
The would-be Martian army was camped miles away from Ekatrinburg. As soon as the Kate B. docked, Rick got off the ship and headed for a group of earthmen and women standing on the dock. "We've brought your weapons, but we need help. We're looking for a young woman, redheaded and with really pale skin. She's called…"
"Alexis?" A chubby blonde finished for him.
"Yes!" Castle said excitedly. "Is she here?"
"Not here, mate." A bearded young man said. "She's in Ekatrinburg. Rode in with some American blokes a while back. When was that, Charles?"
Charles thought it was several weeks past, but the blonde insisted it was less than a week ago. As they argued, Castle ran back to the Kate B. He pushed his way past Martians unloading the weapons and ran to his friends. "She's here. Alexis is in Ekatrinburg."
"Are you sure?" Becks asked. She wouldn't put it past Grant and her friends to lie to try to get Rodgers to stay and help with their war.
"We should go find out." Kate said, heading for the dock with her friends trailing along.
A short discussion confirmed that Alexis had been seen as recently as yesterday in Ekatrinburg. The Society had an excellent intelligence system in the city. They also confirmed that Alexis was being held a prisoner.
"I should tell you that I've been offered the job of leading the army." Rodgers said. "I turned them down last night because we had another mission, but now…." He looked over at Becks. "Now I'll have to take the job, I guess." He reached out his hand and Becks reached over and took his.
"Don't you dare get hurt." She said, leaning against him.
"Don't you worry. I'm going to be their general. I'll be safe in the rear."
"We hope." Castle muttered.