David Robbins - Houston Run

Lynx stepped up to Gremlin and Ferret. “You two will behave or suffer the consequences.”

“Whatever you say, sir,” Ferret said meekly.

“That’s the right attitude,” Lynx stated imperiously.

“We’ve learned our lesson,” Ferret went on. “We don’t want any trouble.

We never did. It was our friend Lynx who gave you Androxians such a hard time. He’s always getting us into hot water. I guess he can’t help himself.”

“What?” Lynx stated.

“That’s right, sir,” Ferret continued. “Lynx combines monumental stupidity with a supreme arrogance. He blunders his way through life, creating more problems than he’s worth.”

“That’s enough about this Lynx,” Lynx said.

“Yes, sir.” Ferret then ignored him. “Lynx is about the dumbest nincompoop this side of the Milky Way. I’ve heard you perform lobotomies here, and you would be doing the world a favor if you performed one on Lynx. Of course, you probably won’t find anything in his head worth lobotomizing—”

“That’s enough!” Lynx declared angrily.

“Yes, sir,” Ferret said in a suddued fashion.

The elevator arrived with a clang, the door sliding open.

Lynx motioned for Ferret and Gremlin to enter.

“Thank you,” Melody addressed the android. “We’ll contact you as soon as the test results are known.”

Lynx stepped into the elevator.

“All mutants should be as efficient as you,” the Superior complimented Melody.

Melody smiled and joined the others. Her right hand reached up, and she tapped one of the buttons on the control panel to the right of the door.

The elevator door closed.

Melody pressed the button for the ground floor.

“Lynx!” Ferret exclaimed in delight. “How did you do it?”

Lynx gave Ferret an icy stare. “It was easy, even for a nincompoop like me.”

“Some people can’t take a joke,” Ferret retorted.

Lynx glanced at Gremlin, who was gawking at Melody. “And what’s with you, birdbrain? Why are you so quiet?”

“Where did you find such a lovely woman, yes?” Gremlin asked.

Melody grinned. “I take back what I said, Lynx. You’re not the brains of the bunch.”

Lynx introduced his friends, pointing at each one in turn. “Ferret and Gremlin, I’d like you to meet Melody. She’s my squeeze.”

“I’m your what !” Melody queried. She looked up at the floor indicator lights above the door.

Ferret executed an elaborate bow. “My pleasure, dear lady! Seldom have I encountered a woman of such exquisite beauty. I expect you are endowed with an intelligence the equal of your loveliness, although your taste in men leaves me in doubt.”

“Why you—!” Lynx said, bristling.

“Quiet!” Melody commanded. “We don’t have much time. The elevator will be on the ground floor soon. This particular elevator shaft is located at the rear of the reception area. With any luck, we won’t bump into any Superiors. When it stops and the doors open, take a right. There’s an exit door to the rear parking lot about ten feet from this elevator. Ferret and Gremlin, keep your heads down or turn them to the rear wall. We don’t want anyone in the reception area to notice you’re not wearing O.D.’s.”

Gremlin indicated the gleaming disk on Lynx’s forehead. “Is that for real, yes?”

“No,” Lynx responded. “It’s a fake. I’m rippin’ the sucker off as soon as we’re out of here.”

“Too bad,” Ferret said. “You’ll have problems with the draft again.”

“Draft?” Lynx repeated, puzzled. “What draft?”

“The draft from the hole in your head the disk is covering,” Ferret stated, and cackled.

Lynx looked at Melody and sighed. “With friends like these two clowns, you can see why the last thing I need is more enemies.”

The elevator came to an abrupt stop and the door opened.

The reception area was spacious. Chairs lined the green walls and were organized in rows across the red carpet. A large circular wooden counter was positioned near the front door, staffed by three women in white uniforms and a Superior. Neither the android, the women, nor any of the humans and mutants seated in the chairs paid the scantest attention to the elevator’s arrival.

“Hurry!” Melody urged, leading the way to the right, nervously scanning the reception area, dreading the outcome if they were detected and apprehended.

Lynx marched up to the exit door as if he didn’t have a care in the world, reaching it a step behind Melody. He grabbed the knob, then glanced at Ferret and Gremlin. “I don’t intend to get caught again. They’re not takin’ me alive this time! So once we’re out this door, we do whatever it takes to stay free. I don’t care if there’s a hundred Superiors waitin’ for us out there.” He paused. “And if something should happen to me, I want you two bozos to make sure Melody reaches the Home. Got it?”

Gremlin and Ferret nodded.

Lynx squared his shoulders and twisted the doorknob, then shoved, prepared to sell his life dearly, if necessary, to safeguard Melody.

But there weren’t one hundred Superiors waiting for them.

There wasn’t a Superior anywhere in sight.

There were dozens of vehicles, and a number of mutants and humans moving from the parking lot to the Medical Building or going the other way.

Lynx moved outside. He saw an entranceway 30 yards to the right.

Then he looked to the left.

Fifty yards distant, resting on a concrete helipad, was a sleek white helicopter.

“Do you see what I see?” Lynx asked.

“I see it,” Ferret confirmed.

“If the pilot is still on board,” Lynx said, “we’ll have our ticket out of here.”

They hurried toward the helipad.

Melody repeatedly glanced at the parking lot, hoping no one would become unduly curious if they beheld two mutants in loincloths hastening from the Medical Building. She breathed an audible sigh of relief when they reached the edge of the helipad, and she eagerly scrambled over the top after the others. A startling thought slowed her down, though, as she stood on the concrete: if Lynx, Ferret, and Gremlin all wore those deplorable loincloths, was it possible all mutants, even the women, wore them where Lynx was from? She saw Lynx approaching an open sliding door on the side of the chopper, and she opened her mouth to question him.

Lynx was just about to climb onto the copter when a glimmering pair of revolver barrels poked around the right edge of the door. He leaped back, crouching, his claws extended, snarling in fury at being thwarted when they were so close to freedom. So close!

That was when a grinning blond man in buckskins appeared in the doorway, a revolver in each hand. “Howdy, runt,” he said to Lynx. “What’s the matter with you? Have you got ants in your britches?”

Melody would never forget Lynx’s response. She’d failed to recognize, until that very moment, exactly how many curse words there were in the English langauge.

Two months later the Family celebrated the arrival of their missing members with the biggest bash ever held at the Home. After imbibing enough wine to drown a horse, Sherry publicly declared she was chaining Hickok to their bed and not letting him go for a week. She did not live up to her word, however, as the gunman was seen three days later walking rather stiffly around the compound.

Melody and Roger were formally accepted into the Family. After Melody recited her pledge of Loyalty, the Family women collectively presented her with a welcoming gift consisting of three hand-sewn outfits.

No one could quite understand her reaction, though, when she actually hugged the clothing and kept saying, over and over again, “Thank you! Thank you!”