Simon Hawke - Khyber Connection

Gunga Din sounded three more pathetic, broken notes then fell forward, draped over the wall of the parapet. Learoyd reached him just in time to save him from going over. He pulled him back and laid him gently on the floor. Din’s back and chest were a bloody ruin. Blood frothed his lips. He stared up at Learoyd and smiled.

"Din do well, SahibV’

The troops below had dispersed and taken cover as the Ghazis started firing indiscriminately. It would be a long and drawn-out battle, but their ambush had failed. Learoyd looked down at Gunga Din, his lips drawn tight.

"You did well, soldier. You did damn bloody well."

He saluted him.

Din coughed twice and attempted to raise his own hand to return the salute, but it fell back lifelessly onto the floor.

"You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din, — Learoyd said softly. He reached forward and closed the Hindu’s sightless eyes.

There was a knock at the cell door. Mulvaney and Ortheris, leaning all their combined weight against it, stared at each other.

"Who’s there"" said Ortheris.

"What do you mean, who’s there"" Mulvaney said. "Who in bloody ‘Ell d’you think is there, you stupid sod" "

"You just can’t help some people," Finn’s voice came from the other side of the door. "You get ‘em out of trouble, and like idiots they go barging right back in.-

" Blimey! " said Mulvaney. They opened the door and saw Finn and Andre standing amidst a pile of Ghazi corpses.

"You boys ready to leave now"" said Finn. "Or were you planning on setting up housekeeping""

"You’re wounded, sir," said Ortheris. "And you, miss Cross!’

"It isn’t serious," said Andre. "Come on, we’d better get you out of here."

‘ ‘Holy jumping Chrisfl-Learoyd shouted from the parapet. "Take a look at this!"

Below and to their left, around the bend of the pass, a wild battle was raging between the Ghazis and the British troops. Below and to their right, armed men clad in field-gray uniforms began appearing as if from out of nowhere, materializing out of thin air. The moment they started coming through, Forrester’s division, hidden in the rocks above, opened fire. The pass below them became a deadly latticework of laser beams.

"I must be dreamin’," said Mulvaney, looking down. "What in God’s name is goin’ on down there""

Ortheris was speechless. He could only stare, slackjawed, at a sight he couldn’t comprehend. The troops from the alternate timeline didn’t stand a chance. Forrester had employed the same tactics against them that the Ghazis had hoped to use against the British troops, and the gray-uniformed soldiers could only ineffectually return the fire sporadically as they came through and died. Then, suddenly, the men stopped coming through.

Stability had been restored to the scenario and the rippling effect moved on. The confluence point shifted and those caught coming through at that precise instant screamed as they were caught between the timelines, materializing momentarily only to disappear again, trapped forever in the limbo of non-specific time known as the dead zone. It hadn’t lasted more than several minutes. Forrester’s men ceased fire while just out of sight, around the bend in the pass, the echoing thunder of rifle shots continued as the British engaged the Ghazis.

"What did we just see, lads"" said Learoyd. "What in the name of heaven were all those lights" Who were those men""

"What men"" said Finn.

"What lights"" said Andre.

Learoyd turned to look at them, dumbfounded. "But you were standin’ right here! Surely you saw them""

"Saw who"" said Finn. "Learoyd, what are you talking about" Are you all right""

"It must have been the strain," said Andre.

"Strain!" said Learoyd. "Mulvaney, you tell them! You saw it!"

Mulvaney looked from Learoyd to Finn and Andre. "Saw what, Chris""

"Those lights! Those men!"

Mulvaney licked his lips. "I didn’t see no lights, mate."

"You lying … Stanley! You saw it, didn’t you" You must have seen it!"

Ortheris looked away guiltily.

"Come on, Chris," said Andre, holding out her hand to him. "It’ll be all right. It’s over now."

Learoyd looked from Mulvaney to Ortheris to Finn and Andre, then drew himself up. "Right. Fine. It was all a bloody hallucination then, was it" A damned mirage" We didn’t see a bloomin’ thing, right" Right Fine. Splendid. Let’s get the hell out of here."

Phoenix didn’t waste any time. He killed the guai (h. in front of Drakov’s headquarters and moved fast, run ning across the courtyard and into the main house. lie was dressed like a Ghazi, so the women in the main chamber paid him no mind as he headed for the upstair. s section. He met Sadullah coming down the stairs, btit the mullah took no notice of him. His face was as white as his hair as he hurried to the scene of battle.

Phoenix took the stairs two at a time. He peered cautiously around the corner, looking into the main room on the second floor. There was nothing there ex-cept for the opulent furnishings, the tapestries and the thick rugs and the cushions. He glanced at the balcony facing out over the pass and saw Drakov standing there, his back to him. He took aim with his disruptor and fired.

The figure on the balcony became briefly enveloped in blue mist and then was gone. Phoenix walked into the room and suddenly felt powerful arms around him. The disruptor was twisted from his grasp and he was thrown to the floor. Drakov stood behind him, wearing the clothes of one of his guards.

"I knew you’d be back for me, Martingale," he said. "Or is that really your name" You were with them all along, weren’t you" Right from the beginning."

"It’sover, Nikolai," said Phoenix. "Your people have lost."

"I expected as much when I didn’t find any of them at the temple," Drakov said. "And when Priest did not contact me, I guessed that you had somehow foiled his attempt on Churchill’s life, as well. And that means the entire plan’s collapsed. No point in going on. They underestimated you, but they won’t do so again. It isn it over. The war has only just begun."

— What’s in it for you, Nikolai" They’re not your people. You belong in this timeline."

Drakov shook his head. "I do not belong anywhere, — he said. "I must make my own world and find a place in it. And through this new conflict, I shall succeed. You are a survivor, Martingale, but then, so am 1. We could have accomplished unimaginable things together, but you chose to serve the enemy instead. So be it. We shall see which of us survives in the end. Meanwhile the game continues."

With a smile he threw the disruptor on the floor in front of Phoenix, and before the startled agent could react, Drakov had clocked out.

"Son a bitch," said Phoenix. "He’s out of his fuck-ing mind, but the bastard’s got style."

He picked up the disruptor and made a thorough search of the house, destroying whatever modern weapons and equipment he could find. He discovered a hideous thing in the tower and put it out of its misery. Then, having done all he could think of doing, he took one last look around at the year 1897 and went home.

The attack on Blood’s brigade lasted for six hours. The British soldiers held and the Ghazis finally retired before the devastating, superior firepower of the troops. The losses among the British were astonishingly slight, considering the ferocity of the onslaught. The most serious losses were among the horses and transport animals. The Ghazis left behind over 700 corpses. General Elles arrived with his brigade the following day, and the Bedmanai Pass was forced. The rebellion in the northern sector of the frontier was broken.

Winston Churchill never discovered what became of Finn Delaney and Andre Cross. One moment they were both pinning him down to the ground, the next they were gone without a trace. He searched for them and made inquiries, but they were nowhere to be found and it was assumed that they were carried off and killed by Ghazis. Their bodies were never recovered. Churchill was tempted to mention them both in his dispatches, but two things prevented him from doing so. One was that he recalled the promise he had made to Andre Cross to respect her privacy; the other was that it was later discovered there was no subaltern by the name of Finn Delaney on the lists. It was suspected that he had committed some sort of crime and had assumed a new identity in order to escape its consequences. The officers of Blood’s brigade agreed that whoever and whatever else he might have been, the man they knew as Finn Delaney died a hero.