Simon Hawke - The Timekeeper Conspiracy

"Gentlemen," he had said, "is the king accustomed to giving you reasons for doing everything that you must do? No. He says to you, very simply, 'Gentlemen, there is fighting going on in Gascony or Flanders; go and fight,' and you go there. No, here are our three leaves of absence, which came from Captain de Treville, and here are three hundred pistoles, which came from I know not where. So let us go and get killed where we are told to go. Is life worth the trouble of so many questions?"

The issue settled, they departed for Calais, which was the quickest route to London. Finn had given Andre his cloak in place of her much more ornate one in an effort to fool the floaters. It was still dark and Lucas and Andre rode at the tail end of the group. Shortly after they left Paris, Lucas received his first contact from the floaters.

"Hawk One to Ground Squirrel, Hawk One to Ground Squirrel. Do you read? Over."

The throat transmitter enabled Lucas to speak softly, so that the others would not overhear him, but they would not have heard in any case, since they were all ahead of him and the group was in full gallop. Andre did not have a comset, so she was oblivious of the contact, but Lucas burst into laughter.

"Hawk One to Ground Squirrel, I'm getting a lot of noise. Are you reading me loud and clear? Over. ''

"You're getting a lot of noise because I'm laughing my ass off," Lucas said.

"Did you say 'over'?"

"Yeah, yeah, over, roger-willco," Lucas said. "What's with this Ground Squirrel shit? Who the hell is Ground Squirrel?"

There was a slight pause.

"What do you mean, who's Ground Squirrel? You're Ground Squirrel."

"No kidding?"

"Didn't Mongoose give you your call-sign? How the hell are you supposed to respond if you don't know your call-sign?"

"I am responding, you nitwit."

This time, the pause was appreciably longer. Lucas couldn't stop laughing.

“I don't see what's so funny, Priest. ''

"Well, Christ, if you know my name, why don't you use it?"

"Well, it would be a bit irregular, but I suppose there's no reason why-"

"Look, have you got something to report or are you just providing comic relief?" said Lucas.

There was a slightly longer pause. Finally, "Hawk One" came on and said, rather tersely, "All clear up ahead.''

"Assholes," mumbled Lucas. There was no further contact until they reached Chantilly.

The group arrived at a roadhouse a little after eight o'clock. They left the horses saddled, in case they should have to depart in a hurry, and entered the inn to have a quick breakfast. The only other patron besides themselves was a drunk who greeted them with exaggerated bonhomie. They exchanged token pleasantries and nothing more was said between them until it came time for them to leave, at which point the drunk lurched to his feet, holding a wine goblet aloft and swaying unsteadily.

"Gentlemen, a toast!" he shouted, nearly overbalancing. He clutched at Porthos's baldrick for support, then lurched back several feet, accomplishing the act, miraculously, without spilling a single drop of wine. "A toast to the health of His Eminence, Cardinal Richelieu! Gentlemen, will you join me?"

"I have no objection," Porthos said, "if you, in turn, will join with us to drink the health of good King Louis."

The drunk spat upon the floor. "Pah! I recognize no king other than His Eminence!"

"You're drunk," said Porthos. "Otherwise, I might not so easily forgive your insolence."

"Drunk, am I?" said the man, reaching for his rapier and missing it. He grasped at air in the vicinity of his waist until his hand found his sword and he pulled it from its scabbard. "Well, we'll see who's drunk!"

"That was foolish," Athos said to Porthos. "Still, there's nothing to be done about it now. Kill the fellow and rejoin us as quickly as you can."

Porthos shrugged and drew his own rapier. The drunk came on guard with a sudden, remarkable sobriety. As they left the roadhouse with the sound of clanging steel behind them, Lucas suggested that it might be simpler, since there were ten of them in all, to gang up on the man and quickly get it over with. Athos looked at him with shock.

"My dear fellow," he said, in tones of strict rebuke, "that sort of thing simply isn't done!"

"Why?"

Athos gave him a pained expression for his answer, mounted up and galloped off.

"It would be a bit dishonorable," Andre ventured, cautiously.

Lucas shook his head. "Boy, have you got a lot to learn," he said. They mounted up and galloped off after the musketeers.

"Ground Squirrel to Goony Bird," said Lucas.

"That's 'Hawk One,' " came the annoyed reply.

"Says you. Where's the other birdbrain?"

There was a short silence.

"Hawk Two is scouting up ahead. I'm at ten thousand feet, keeping you on scope. "

"How come you didn't report that character in the tavern?" Lucas said.

" What character?"

"Jesus, you're a lot of help."

" You expect me to see indoors from way up here? Give me a break, I'm doing the best I can."

"Then we're in a lot of trouble."

"Not yet, but you're going to be. Hawk Two just reported an armed party about a mile outside Beauvais. "

"I didn't hear anything."

"He's on another frequency. "

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Well, aren't your people supposed to be providing back-up on this ride? We're still well away from there. Move your agents in and clear the way."

"They're moving into position, but we can only take defensive action in case the terrorists are among them. If they're not, you 're on your own. "

"You've got to be kidding."

"Sorry. Orders."

"Okay, look, is there another road that we can take to get around them?"

"No go," said the floater. "This is part of the original scenario. You've got to go on through."

"Terrific," Lucas said.

They stopped at Beauvais for two hours, both to rest and walk their horses around to cool them off and to wait for Porthos. Lucas motioned Andre over to him. "Look," he said, "there may be some trouble up ahead. How good are you on horseback, out of armor, I mean?"

"I have been riding since I was a child," she said. "Why?"

"Well, there's a little trick I learned from the Sioux Indians at the Little Big Horn. Now listen carefully…"

The two hours passed and Porthos did not arrive. "I fear we must assume the worst," D'Artagnan said. "We can wait no longer, gentlemen. To horse!"

They mounted up and proceeded on their way at a rapid clip. After they had ridden for about one mile, they reached a section of the road that was banked steeply on both sides.

"Watch yourself," said Hawk One.

Lucas gave Andre a prearranged signal and, as she rode up even with him, men popped up on either side of the road, firing upon the party with muskets. Musqueton was hit immediately and he tumbled from his horse. Aramis took a ball in the shoulder and he reeled in the saddle, but he hung on and spurred for dear life. Andre and Lucas, riding side by side, both dropped out of their saddles to hang on the sides of their horses, using the animals' bodies as shields. Since they were riding behind the others, their maneuver went unnoticed. As soon as they had ridden beyond the ambush, they both swung up into their saddles. "An excellent tactic!" Andre said. "I must remember it." Lucas looked at her, grinning, then the grin disappeared as he saw that she had lost her hat. Almost immediately, Hawk One came on.

"Nice trick, " he said, "but I've got just one question. Since when is Private Delaney a blonde?"

Finn was getting tired of alleys. He had been sitting in the dark alleyway across the street from the TIA house in the Rue Servadoni for hours and his legs were beginning to feel stiff. The smell was offending his nostrils and once someone with a second-floor window facing out onto the alley dumped a chamber pot out and the contents landed right next to Finn, missing him by inches. He had lasered several rats that had become too curious, but there was one big one, almost the size of a house cat, that proved to be too quick for him. Clearly regarding the alley as its turf, it was annoyed at his presence and twice it attacked him. The first time, it sank its teeth into his boot and he kicked it away. The second time, he fired at it with his laser, but missed. Thereafter, it remained in the shelter of a large pile of rotting garbage and he could see its lambent little eyes glaring at him malevolently. Finn occupied himself by spitting at it.