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In a closed society where everybody’s guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity.<\/strong><\/p>\n Hunter S. Thompson<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWell watch, where to now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEzra, head for that outcropping and tie up the horse.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI see there is an opening in the rocks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHead through the opening.\u201d<\/p>\n Inside, there was a red-haired woman sitting at a table.<\/p>\n \u201cSo this hideout comes with a woman watch. Excellent.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe is not supposed to be here Ezra, just a moment, I am being updated.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEzra, please sit down.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo I know you, ma\u2019am?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo Ezra but your reputation precedes you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWatch, who is she?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe is the wife of the future Keeper.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo you know about the watch.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is it I can do for you, pretty lady?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is true, you are the Gentleman Bandit.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think I like that moniker.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEzra the watch has told you about the Elders? We are about to do battle with them. I came to ask you for help. History says you will be caught after your next robbery.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat seems to be my fate\u201d answered the forlorn bank robber.<\/p>\n \u201cEzra, what if I told you that after that robbery, you would never have to rob a train again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI would be very interested. I don\u2019t seem to do very well at my chosen profession. Tell me more.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI need you to bury the watch, the gold dust and the railway bond you are now carrying.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf you don\u2019t I will never meet my Husband, and we won\u2019t be able to fight the bastards that run the world, corrupt government, corporations and much worse.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s my cut for doing this?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c20 pounds of gold and rescue from jail, delivery to the destination of your choice, with no chance of you being murdered by the Elders.”<\/p>\n \u201cI like the not murdered part. I have a $50000 bond in my possession. Why wouldn’t I just keep that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEzra, we both know that the bond isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on to you. You can\u2019t sell that bond without getting caught and going to jail with no chance of a jailbreak.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMa\u2019am, I feel a little sorry for your Husband, I would bet he doesn’t really get his way. Make that 25 pounds of Gold, and we have a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood Ezra.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI want you to think the ship visible.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted you to see her. We call her the Ascalon. My Husband will be bringing her to get you out of jail.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do we do with that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou climb inside.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat is too small a space, I can\u2019t go in that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat or jail, didn’t Watcher give you an education?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was offered, I don\u2019t need a machine to make me smarter.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI understand Ezra.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEzra, there is another part of this I need you to do?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a machine here that I need use of. It will only respond to you because you are the current Keeper. I also need you to leave your pepper box, the shells and your billfold with the cash. My Husband will need the money when he first arrives here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can do that. Watch can you arrange that the machine will answer to her.”<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Ezra\u201d answered Watcher.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere did you get the watch, Ezra?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI found it on a dead man in the wilderness. The watch said he fell off his horse and hit his head on a rock. Apparently, he died right away. He was rotten when I got there.”<\/p>\n \u201cEzra, when you bury the watch. Tell the watch to transfer control to my husband, Cristian.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe will break you out of jail on August 8, 1907. Watch for a hole under the fence on the work detail. Then you can retire and enjoy your life.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMa\u2019am, that is the best news of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell I think we are done here Ezra, thank you from me and the baby I am carrying.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou didn\u2019t tell me your name.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s right, I didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEzra, if you ever come back here the Elders will find you. I hear they are ruthless.”<\/p>\n \u201cThe watch tells me the same thing. I wouldn’t live in a cave anyway ma\u2019am, I prefer hotels. Good luck in your fight.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWill they keep their part of the bargain, watch?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI detected no subterfuge or insincerity, Ezra. I believe what she says. Only a Keeper could have let her into the cave.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI feel sorry for those Elders, I wouldn’t want to cross that redhead if she got cranky.\u201d With that, Ezra rode off to meet up with Shorty Dunn. He would soon do another robbery and was caught and incarcerated.<\/p>\n \u201cMechanical in the future Cristian will call you M1 short for Me one. When you first meet him, you will duplicate him to show him your capability. I need pants and boots, and this place needs cleaning. For now, can you change to your future configuration? I have got used to the face and accent, besides its nice to have the English serving the Irish.”<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Lorelei, I can do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Arthur and Cristian headed for Kamloops. As they pulled into the cave, Lorelei was sitting at the table waiting patiently talking to the mechanical, who looked like Alfred.<\/p>\n \u201cHey sweetie\u201d Dorothy picked up some groceries and flowers for you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGreat. I was beginning to think you weren’t coming?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJust had a few errands to run in Vancouver before we came.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cArthur, it is good to see you.\u201d<\/p>\n She gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek before going over to kiss her Husband.<\/p>\n \u201cI missed you, Cristian,\u201d said Lorelei.<\/p>\n \u201cHuh, and I only thought of you once.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOnce?\u201d she asked loudly.<\/p>\n \u201cYea, from when I left you until this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Lorelei kissed her Husband again, then she took the groceries out and made a meal. Lorelei had a lot of questions for Arthur, about Dorothy, the kids the business and a lot more. \u00a0All this was discussed while they ate.<\/p>\n After dinner, blueprints were produced for all of them to go over.<\/p>\n \u201cArthur, can we do this on the plateau above the cave?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t see a problem, except for this access shaft to the cave.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can handle that,\u201d said M1. \u201cLeave the hole location open when the concrete is poured. I will handle the rest.”<\/p>\n \u201cWell, that solves that\u201d Said Arthur.<\/p>\n \u201cArthur, I will take you into Kamloops tonight, so you can get a room. You will probably need a buggy to get back here. Grab two rooms at the Leland, tonight Lorelei and I will stay here. I will drop her off in the morning and you two can get started. Take the blueprints and 20 pounds\u00a0 of gold with you.\u201d<\/p>\n “Fifteen, Cristian” aid Lorelei.<\/p>\n “Right fifteen then. Arthur climb aboard.\u201d<\/p>\n Cristian dropped Arthur as close to the hotel as he could and went back to the cave.<\/p>\n Lorelei was waiting in the bed, the sheet dropped to her belly, perfect breasts exposed. \u201cAre you coming to bed, Cristian?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI thought I would read awhile,\u201d he said while tearing off his clothes as fast as he could, leaving a trail behind him.<\/p>\n Morning came and he heard her voice.<\/p>\n \u201cHusband, your breakfast is ready.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI thought I might have you for breakfast\u201d answered the sleepy-eyed Keeper.<\/p>\n \u201cFor dessert, now come over and have some breakfast you need to keep your strength up,\u201d she said with a wide smile.<\/p>\n Over breakfast, the discussion was about today\u2019s jailbreak and the fact that there were two Ascalon’s in the cave.<\/p>\n M1 entered the room with some clothes for Lorelei. \u201cThat\u2019s where the clothes came from.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSorry?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe first time I enter this cave, there are clothes in the closet. I opened the door and there was a billfold and the pepper box”<\/p>\n \u201cThey were a parting gift from Ezra.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow did that meeting go?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExactly as it did before. I imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat could spin a man\u2019s head in knots, figuring out who came first, the redhead or the train robber.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe redhead of course,\u201d said Lorelei smiling.<\/p>\n \u201cShall we discuss dessert, Lorelei?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cStill hungry?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOnly for what\u2019s on the menu.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe you would enjoy a double portion.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDamn.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" TEMPUS CHAPTER SEVENTEEN In a closed society where everybody’s guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity. Hunter S. Thompson \u201cWell watch, where to now?\u201d \u201cEzra, head for that outcropping and tie up the horse.\u201d \u201cI see there is an opening in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-84","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P7iYfp-1m","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rodbinder.com\/tempusone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/84","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/rodbinder.com\/tempusone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/rodbinder.com\/tempusone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rodbinder.com\/tempusone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rodbinder.com\/tempusone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"http:\/\/rodbinder.com\/tempusone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/84\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1170,"href":"http:\/\/rodbinder.com\/tempusone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/84\/revisions\/1170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rodbinder.com\/tempusone\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n