TEMPUS CHAPTER SIXTEEN

 

 

All you need for happiness is a good gun, a good horse, and a good wife.

Daniel Boone

When they arrived back at the cave, M1 had a closet framed in and the walls of the nursery almost up.

“How long have we been gone, M1?”

“Two weeks Cristian. We had a visitor.”

“I heard, I left me a note.”

“You are doing an excellent job M1, it is exactly what I had envisioned,” said Lorelei.

“Thank you” answered the mechanical.

“Husband, are you hungry?”

“Yes, but you don’t have to serve me.”

“Does it make you happy when I do? Do you go out of your way to do things for me?”

“Yes.”

“Then that is reason enough. The truth is I enjoy cooking, it is a simple pleasure. I really like cooking for you.”

“It is an admirable skill, sweetie; the truth is the food I would cook might kill us. Unless it’s beans or Macaroni.”

Lorelei laughed. “Why don’t you put your feet up, and I will bring you a coffee.”

“That is a really great offer.”

“I am sure you and Watcher have things to plan.”

Coffee finished, and he found the gun locker behind the kitchen. It wasn’t a locker, but rather a wall filled with handguns, rifles, and even an RPG. Some guns he recognized, some he didn’t.

At the bottom of the wall were locked cages filled with ammo. He thought maybe he should learn more about the guns. Another surge of information entered his mind.

Ruger, Berreta, Glock, Remington, Walther, FN, A Vintorez and an SVD and there was his 1961 Winchester 3030 with the scope mounted. He admired the 50 calibre sniper rifle. That would stop a truck. He was in Gun Crazy heaven. Let the fuckers try to hurt his wife.

“M1, are you proficient with these weapons?”

“All of them, Cristian, you made sure of that. It was your future self.

He told me that The Elders were coming. Do we have the details?”

“Yes, I have a date for the attack.”

“Watcher, can we identify the attackers?”

“Yes, Cristian, I think we can.”

“We will take the attack to them. I read once: “a warrior chooses his battleground”

“M1, does Ascalon have defensive capabilities?”

“I can add more weapons and more shielding.”

“Let’s get that done as soon as possible,” said Cristian.

“Cristian, your future self still has not rescued Ezra.”

“I guess I left me with a little work.”

“We will leave after supper.”

“Lorelei, we are leaving soon for the jailbreak?”

“I thought as much, and you don’t have room because you will have a passenger.”

“Yes, but don’t worry, I will be fine.”

“Oh, I am not worried about you, I worry about them.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Cristian, I have looked at the blueprints, I think I can get it started while you are busy with the jailbreak.”

“Where will you go, Lorelei?”

“You will have to update M1 on the way through, and then onto visit Arthur & Dorothy. I can take Arthur with me by train to get it started. We should take him some money to cover the costs.”

“That sounds good, how long are you going to stay.”

“A week or two should do it, you can pick me up at the cave.”

“After supper, they dressed in period clothes and, with a load of gold, they headed to the past.”

Lorelei had her head on his chest as they travelled the Galaxy.

“What is that, Cristian?” Talking about the bulge in his clothing.

“Protection sweetie, a 1905 colt 45. I have something for you, it’s a 5-barrel pepper box, it’s only good for close-up shots. Watcher will update you on how to use it. It was Ezra’s I think.”

“Got it. I guess it’s needed.”

“I think it is. Good guys always battle the bad guys. We are the good guys.”

“When to Lorelei?”

“1905 just before Ezra first sees the cave. I need to talk to him, Cristian.”

“I understand Lorelei, you are the red-haired woman.”

“Yes.”

“That sounds like another paradox found,” said Cristian.

They drifted off as the Ascalon entered the edge of the black hole, and then woke as they were about to enter the cave.

“Looks much better in our future, Cristian.”

“I agree, Lorelei, it certainly needs a woman’s touch.”

“Cristian, I am updating M1, he is changing his appearance.”

“Great, when he is updated Watcher we should leave. Lorelei, did you want a ride down to the Office?“

“Watcher, when does Ezra first arrive here?”

“In about a half-hour, Lorelei.”

“Cristian, maybe you could take the Ascalon down and unload the gold at the office and bring Arthur back up here, save him a long train ride.”

“I can do that, sweetie, anything you need while I am down there.”

“Some groceries would be good.”

“Can do.”

“M1 is updated, although he will only follow the instruction of the current Keeper.”

“Are you sure about this, sweetie?” asked Cristian.

“Don’t worry, Cristian, I will convince Ezra about the urgency of our task.”

“I don’t think he has a chance against you. I didn’t.”

“Thank you, husband.”

“Watcher let’s fly.”

He arrived in Vancouver and opened the basement door and turned on the lights. There were four motorcycles parked in the garage, all with whitewall tires.

Two of them had Harley-Davidson painted on the green fuel tanks. The other two were bright red. Hendee painted in gold paint on those tanks. They would change their name to Indian in 1928.

He thought the ship inside and closed the door. He walked up the familiar stairs and pushed on the bookcase door. The office was clean, and the living Quarters were ready for occupancy.

Dorothy walked in “I heard someone walking around, I had hoped it was you, Cristian. You haven’t aged a day.”

“Neither have you, Dorothy, How long has it been?”

“Fifteen years Cristian, our boys have almost grown-up?

“You have boys?”

“Cristian and Arthur Junior, twins.”

“I am flattered, Dorothy.”

“Arthur, come in here, we have a visitor.”

“Cristian, I am so glad to see you. I was about to leave you a message, the company needs an infusion of money, there is another depression.”

“No worries, Arthur, I brought you some gold.”

“How is Lorelei?” asked Dorothy.

“She is waiting on the Kamloops property.”

“She is waiting for Arthur, we have a building project for you if you can get away.”

“Can I get away, Dorothy?”

“Of course, for how long?”

“A week or two, I came down to save him a train ride.”

“Nice job on the Motorcycles, Arthur. The Indians, Sorry Hendee’s are a nice touch.”

“We also own a 1904 Cadillac, it is parked in the street.”

“Keep the Cadillac for yourself, Arthur, and when the Kamloops property is finished, have another one and the motorcycles shipped up.”

“What are you building in Kamloops?” asked Dorothy.

“A warehouse, office and residence.”

“Are we to move there, Cristian?” asked Dorothy.

“That would be entirely up to you. This office will be here until 2012. You can stay here, or you can move up to Kamloops. I can always have another residence constructed at the site.”

“Kamloops sounds excellent,” said Dorothy, “this city has gotten too busy.”

“Well, Arthur, let’s unload the gold and bring it up.”

“We need to leave about forty pounds in the ship for another purpose. That will leave you with about sixty pounds, will that do for now.”

“That will be more than enough, Cristian.”

“We will need some money for the Kamloops project.”

“We should get some of this traded right away, Cristian.”

“Sounds like we are in dire straits.”

“We are a little overdrawn, about $5000.”

“That doesn’t sound like a problem.”

“I didn’t want to sell any property if I could avoid it.”

“Pay off as many debts as you can, Arthur, Debt is a tool used to keep the masses in slavery. If you need to sell to make ends meet, by all means, sell. Just don’t sell this property. The sale of this property is what is paying for this gold.”

“Cristian, that makes things more clear for me, thank you.”

“Dorothy, would you mind picking up a few groceries for Lorelei and Arthur to eat in Kamloops?”

“I would be happy to.”

“Let’s get the overdraft and the rest covered. How much will we need?.”

“We need $30,000 to cover all the debt. Just over 51 pounds of gold at today’s price of $21 an ounce.”

“That leaves you enough for operating expenses for a little while.”

The gold was traded, and the groceries were loaded into the Ascalon, and they headed for Kamloops.