Prospero's Half-Life (42 page)

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? WHY ARE THEY BOMBARDING US? WHAT
ARE THEY BOMBARDING US WITH?
He waited with
extreme impatience for a reply, and when none was forthcoming he
tapped
ANSWER ME GODDAMMIT!!!
with mind-breaking frustration.

I’M TRYING TO, STOP FOR A SECOND
came
the response. Then,
THE POWERS THAT BE
HERE WANT TO GET YOUR FORTIFICATIONS DOWN TO RUBBLE BY THE TIME THE
BIG BOSS GETS HERE. APPARENTLY SHE’S NOT PLEASED THAT IT’S TAKEN
THIS LONG TO WEAR YOU DOWN AND THE CHIEFS HERE WANT TO MAKE SURE
THERE WON’T BE MUCH OF A FIGHT WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO IT.

SO THEY’RE
GOING TO JUST KILL US ALL??

NO, THAT’S NOT THE PLAN. THAT ONE JUST GOT AWAY. THEY’RE
USING MORTARS THEY SCAVENGED FROM AN OLD ARMY DEPOT AND CLEANED UP.
PROBLEM IS NONE OF THEM REALLY KNOW HOW TO PLAN TRAJECTORY, THEY’RE
JUST SORT OF FIRING BY TRIAL AND ERROR
.

GET THEM TO
STOP! THEY’RE GOING TO KILL A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT WANT NOTHING TO DO
WITH THIS! EVERYONE IS ON BOARD WITH THE PLAN, WHAT ABOUT YOUR
END?

There was a pause, then:
PROBLEM
THERE, FRIEND. TURNS OUT NONE OF THESE CHIEFS WANTS TO MAKE A
DECISION IF THE BIG BOSS ISN’T HERE. SOME OF THEM SAY IT SOUNDS
LIKE AN OK PLAN, BUT THEY HAVE TO CONSULT WITH HER FIRST. THERE ARE
A LOT OF OTHERS HERE WHO THINK IT SOUNDS LIKE A TRAP. I DON’T KNOW
HOW THIS IS GOING TO TURN OUT
.

Richard wanted to weep with frustration. Instead, he
typed
WHO IS THIS PERSON? HOW LONG UNTIL
SHE ARRIVES?

SOME BIG VIP
FROM THE NIAGARA CONFEDERATION, SHE’S A BIG DEAL I GUESS. SHE’D
HAVE TO BE – ALL OF THE LEADERS OVER THERE ARE WOMEN, AND THESE
GUYS FROM THE HORSESHOE ARE JUST SHAKING IN THEIR BOOTS OVER THEM.
FROM THE LOOK OF THESE NIAGARA SOLDIERS THAT ARE ALREADY HERE, I
DON’T BLAME THEM. IF THE REGULAR ARMY IS ANYTHING LIKE THE SCOUTS,
THEY COULD EAT THE ENTIRE CITY FOR BREAKFAST AND STILL GO OUT FOR
LUNCH.

HOW
LONG????

TWO DAYS, FROM
WHAT I HEAR. THEY DON’T LIKE TALKING ABOUT IT AROUND ME MUCH, FOR
SOME REASON. PROBABLY DON’T WANT TO GIVE THIS WOMAN CAUSE TO THINK
THEY WERE BLABBING WHERE THEY SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN.

Richard bit
his finger to keep from screaming. Within two days they might be
dead, especially if the army on the other side kept calibrating
their explosives by trial and error. He wondered if he would be
able to gather everyone inside the city hall, and then dismissed
the idea. Even if there was room inside, the idiots upstairs would
never authorize it.

OK. HOPEFULLY
WE CAN HOLD OUT. TRY TO CONVINCE THEM THAT THERE’S NO NEED TO KEEP
SHOOTING, WE’RE ALL PRETTY MUCH DEAD ANYWAY. TRY TO TALK TO THIS
WOMAN IN CHARGE AS SOON AS YOU CAN.

I’LL TRY, BROTHER
came the
response.
I CAN’T GUARANTEE THAT SHE’LL
EVEN TALK TO ME, BUT WE CAN TRY. I’LL MESSAGE YOU AS SOON AS I
CAN.

The battery indicator went red, denoting that there was now
less than 20% of battery life remaining in the unit. Richard shut
it off quickly and stuffed it back into his shoulder-bag.
Two days
, he thought
sourly. Would they be able to hold out that long? Richard had his
doubts.

Carolyn shook with anger when he related this conversation to
her. “Those fucking
imbeciles
!” she raged, using language
that Richard had only rarely heard her use before. “They’ll kill us
all!”

They were
standing by the back entrance to the city hall; Carolyn was staring
up into the sky over the barricade of buildings, watching for any
more accidents that might come streaking out of the sky. The
explosion had driven the leadership inside of the keep into an
ecstasy of ineffectuality. They had come out to address the tent
people and had waxed eloquent about patriotism, and the need to
stand firm in the face of the enemy. Richard had noted that they
had not said a thing about the enemy being just on the other side
of the building-wall, nor had they mentioned anything about reduced
rations. After giving their supposedly rousing speech, they had
disappeared back into the old city hall and demanded wine and food
to be brought to them. Richard had found himself wishing that those
mortars could just be fired at city hall.

“
We’re going to die here,” Carolyn said, her voice flat.
Richard looked at her with sudden concern. Her expression was
composed, but there was a twitch at the corner of her mouth. “We’re
never going to leave this place. We’ll either starve to death or
get blown to smithereens by those damned mortars”.

“
We’re not going to die here,” Richard replied sharply. “Once
this woman arrives we’ll be able to negotiate with her, and we’ll
be fine. Just fine”.

“
Listen to yourself,” she said. “You’re trying to convince
yourself more than you’re trying to convince me”.

Richard shook
his head but didn’t reply. He wasn’t entirely sure that she was
wrong. There was another dull thump as the mortars wore away at the
line of buildings. A plume of dust rose into the sky over the place
where the explosives had struck. Richard watched it float upward
towards the sun, drifting over it like wind-blown cobwebs. He snuck
his hand over to her and closed it over her warm fingers.

“
Whatever happens, we’re together,” he said, and she squeezed
his hand in response.

That night
Richard was removing the leftover plates and food when he realized
that he was not alone in the dining room. He had expected that the
important freemen had retired to their private council room for
brandy, but when he turned to leave with the dishes Karl was
standing in the doorway. His arms were crossed and he was watching
Richard work with a dark expression.

“
What can I do for you, sir?” Richard asked politely. No matter
what he privately thought of the group of freemen as a whole, he
still felt respect for Karl Tiegert.

“
You can tell me what the hell is going on,” Karl replied
sharply. Richard stared at him, nonplussed, but he kept his
composure. He had to learn what Karl knew – or what the man thought
that he knew.

“
I’m not sure what you mean, sir,” he replied
carefully.

“
If you don’t, then you’re incompetent, and you’ve never been
incompetent before. I visited the servants today, Richard. Where
are Marcus and John?”

Richard forced
a friendly smile onto his face.

“
I have no idea, sir. I believe that they ran off shortly after
we arrived here”.

“
I doubt that. Marcus is too placid to run away and John would
never go anywhere without him. I think he’s in love,
actually”.

“
I wouldn’t know about that, sir, and I don’t know where they
are. I know that I’ve seem Marcus get impulsively angry before; who
knows what he might have gotten through his head”.

Karl’s eyes
narrowed. “Why are the others staring at me with such open
hate?”

“
I’m sorry?” Richard asked. He was outwardly calm but inside he
was seething, raging at the others. Why couldn’t they control
themselves, and keep their opinions to themselves?

“
You know what I’m talking about!
”
Karl screamed, and Richard dropped the plates that he was carrying.
They dropped to the floor with a resounding crash and several of
them shattered into much smaller pieces.

“
I’m not discussing this with you,” Richard replied flatly. He
didn’t not include the honorific on purpose, and Karl clearly
noticed. The man’s eyes went wide and his nostrils flared. He took
a step forward with his hands balled into fists at his
side.

“
You need to be thrashed, Richard,” he grated, “and I’m going
to have to do it myself”.

Richard
sneered and held his fists up.

“
Do it then, you fucking prick, what are you waiting
for?”

With a cry of
inarticulate rage Karl darted forward, cocking his arm back to
deliver a devastating blow. Richard felt himself fall into it; he
made a little half-spin around and stuck out his leg. Karl tripped
over it at the same time as he swung; the net result of his entire
manoeuvre was to drive himself even quicker into the floor. Richard
drove his boot into the back of the man’s head and heard something
crunch in his face. Karl did not move afterwards, and Richard
stared down at his motionless body. It had happened so quickly that
Richard wasn’t sure that it had really happened at all. He almost
said something: an apology, a pithy one-liner, he would never be
sure what. Then his presence of mind reasserted itself and he left
the dining room quickly.

His mind raced
as he leapt down the wide staircase towards the ground floor. Had
he really just knocked his master unconscious? If so, there was no
turning back from the course he was on. He would be lucky to escape
death for what he had just done. It struck him as he exited the
heavy main doors that both sides were likely to try to kill him
now; he found that far funnier than he should have, and as he
darted out into the tent city he was laughing like a loon.

He found his
way to his campsite and scrambled into Sandra’s tent. He found
Sandra and Tyler discussing something gravely; they both jumped as
he dove through the tent flap, startled and suddenly speechless.
Richard peeked out of the flap and then zipped it shut. He sat
cross-legged in the middle of the tent, and became aware that the
other two were staring at him.

“
I knocked Karl out,” he said quickly, and began to laugh
again. Sandra and Tyler looked at each other with surprised
consternation before returning their stares to him. He shrugged his
shoulders and continued to laugh in that unsettling, half-crazy
way. Their expressions turned to deep concern for him; he could
almost hear their thoughts.
Is he
crazy?
they were asking themselves.
Has he gone over the deep end?
The idea made him laugh even harder, and soon
there were tears streaming down his face.

“
I’m okay,” he blurted out between fits of laughter, but it
didn’t seem to improve their general demeanour. He shook his head,
continuing to laugh, and waved his hands as if to dismiss their
worries. Their worries seemed to remain undismissed.

“
Is he dead?” Sandra asked, revulsion creeping into her tone.
Richard shook his head more emphatically.

“
No, he’s still alive”. He paused for a moment. “Actually, I’m
not really sure. He might be dead. I don’t think so, I think he
just knocked himself out. I just tripped him. I didn’t lay a hand
on him. He’s still going to have me killed, though”.

Sandra and
Tyler both blinked with surprise, and Richard’s laughter began to
taper off into calmness.

“
He was asking about Marcus and John,” he continued, his
breathing returning to normal.

“
Oh, lord...” Sandra moaned. “We’re all going to catch
it!”

“
I don’t know,” Richard admitted. “I know that if he was
suspicious before he’ll think he knows everything by now. He won’t
be too far wrong, either. Our little plot is the only thing that’s
going to keep us from being hung, now”.

“
Has there been any word from your friend on the other side?”
Tyler asked, and his question coincided with a loud explosion from
one of the buildings nearby. A rain of bricks struck the street
outside their encampment, followed by what sounded like an entire
section of wall. There was a rising commotion from the tents around
them; several people were screaming, and there seemed to be a
confused barking of orders that contradicted each other. Richard
grimaced and then pulled out the tablet. He turned it on, saw that
the battery indicator had fallen to about 15%, and saw with worry
that no messages had come from Troy yet.

“
No,” he replied, trying and failing to keep the defeat out of
his voice.

“
We’re doomed,” Tyler said, burying his face in his hands.
Sandra tapped him on the top of the head, and when he looked up she
slapped him hard across the cheek.

“
Come off of it,” she exhorted. “We’re not dead yet, and with
some luck we won’t be. Now. We have to seriously discuss what to do
when Karl comes around here again”.

“
When?” Richard asked. Sandra nodded solemnly.

“
He’ll be by. He’ll bring soldiers. He has people whipped when
they disappoint him. What do you think he’ll do to you?”

Richard
laughed, a much shorter, uglier laugh than his half-crazed fit from
earlier.

“
I’m surprised I’m not already swinging, to tell you the
truth,” he replied. Sandra smiled grimly.

“
Exactly. Where is your lady-friend?”

“
I’m not sure. She’ll come looking here when she finds out I’m
missing”.

“
If they let her”

Richard felt
cold fear stab into him. “What do you mean?”

“
I mean they’ll likely keep her locked up as a bargaining chip
with you. Give yourself up and she can go free, that sort of
thing”

Richard got to
his knees and made as though he were about to exit the tent.

“
Where the hell are you going?” Sandra demanded. Richard shot
her a fierce, desperate look.

“
I have to go find her,” he insisted. She shook her head
viciously.