Chapter 2

Eye Patch’s feet danced down the stairs toward street level as Harold tried to keep up without falling headlong into his master.  The man in black reached the front door and started to head west to the end of the block.  Harold snatched at Eye Patch’s sleeve, stopping his progress.  The inky stranger gave a blistering look to his lackey.  Harold help up one finger while he tried to catch his breath.

“What… was… that?” Harold wheezed.

“We don’t have time to waste on your questions, Mr. Huber.  Time is of the essence.”  Harold refused to let go of Eye Patch’s sleeve. “The pearl is a, what? Is a woman?”

“A princess, if you want to be specific.  A rebel, if you want to be accurate,” Eye Patch said.  “I need to get her back so she can face her just demise.  The longer we stand here, the chances of getting stuck here increase.”  Eye Patch yanked his arm free and continued striding to the corner before turning south.

Harold caught up to him, trying hard to form thoughts, understand a broader view of reality, and keep one foot in front of the other at the same time.  “So, there’s no money?” he managed to spit out.

Without breaking his stride, the man in black turned his head toward Harold, smiled, and shook his head.  Harold’s eyes took on a moonlike shape, and he bared his teeth.  “You said there would be… You said… I was going to be rich!” Harold stammered.

“My dear, Mr. Huber,” Eye Patch cooed, “you think too small.  Where we are headed, and with the gift we bring, there will be rewards upon rewards.  What you fail to realize is that there is more going on out there,” with this, Eye Patch waved his arm at the fog covered sky, “than you could possibly understand.”  Harold looked up into the gray mist and, seeing nothing, returned his gaze to his boss.

“So, I come with you and, what, I go to your alien planet, and -”

“Realm,” Eye Patch interjected.  “My ‘world,’ for lack of a better word, is not organized by planets and stars.  The best word you would understand is ‘realm.’”

“-and I get treated like a hero?” Harold finished.

“That’s the plan.”

There were several moments of silence as Harold contemplated his choices.  He was never one for travel, yet this job had already taken him further east than he ever wanted to go.  If he stayed where he was, he could easily hide from the police, he had done that for years.  Besides, what was his real crime anyway?  Margo and Claire had done all the killing.  He was only going to be guilty by association.  But if he stayed, there would be no money for all the sneaking, fighting, and stealing he’d already invested.  If he went with Eye Patch, he would be a hero, whatever that would mean in this “realm.”  Just because it was a benefit to the stranger didn’t mean it would be a benefit to him.  Harold seemed to remember something he’d heard of travelers to remote parts of the globe having to go through horrific ceremonies to be included into the tribe – to be considered a hero.  He was averse to pain in any of its forms.  But he still wanted to get something out of all of this.

“Okay,” Harold blurted, “I’m coming with you.”

Just then, a dark figure blocked their path.  Eye Patch stopped.  “I was hoping we’d have a chance to say goodbye,” he said. “You left so abruptly.”

“I should kill you where you stand,” Margo seethed.  Harold, having recognized her voice, saw what must be the barrel of a revolver in the vague moonlight.  “You were going to throw me over.  You were going to pin all those murders on me.”

“I agree that it is unfortunate, but when you deal in these kinds of things, nothing gets cut up cleanly.  But you made your escape.  With your quick thinking, I’m certain Mr. Gold will pin everything on Miss Porter.  You can leave like a whisper, or,” Eye Patch held out his hand, “you can come with us and escape this world altogether.  My Chieftan, is a great respecter of courage and resourcefulness.  He would gladly bring you and Mr. Huber into his circle of favor.  He would make you honorary Merlain, an honor very few are granted.”

“Sure,” Margo said, keeping her gun trained on Eye Patch.  “Fool me once.  If you were willing to cut me loose so easily once, you’d do it again.  You’ll never be able to trust me, and I certainly will never be able to trust you.  No, it’s better we end it here.  I’m already on the hook for one murder in this town.  What’s a couple more?”

Harold heard the quick click-click-click of a gun’s hammer being cocked.  “Let’s not get hasty, Margo,” Harold said.

“And you,” she said.  “You were going to let them.  Fine lot we all turned out to be, huh?  Well, I’m not playing your game anymore.”

Headlights turned onto the street, briefly washing the trio in white.  Then, blue and red swirling light appeared over the headlights.

“Cops,” Harold mumbled.

Suddenly, Eye Patch grabbed Harold by the shoulders and shoved him toward Margo.  Margo let two bullets fly before Harold collapsed into Margo, knocking her to the ground.  Eye Patch took off into Soden’s Grove.  The police now had them dead to rights, and if he didn’t make his escape clean and soon, he would be trapped here with Lillian forever.

He dodged into a group of cottonwood trees, hoping the darkness and fog would make him disappear from the police.  Behind him, he heard the footfalls of someone chasing him; ahead of him, he could just make out his escape vehicle.  If it was just one eager policeman, he would be easily dispatched, and Eye Patch could make his escape without obstruction.  He decided to wait.

Eye Patch put a tree between him and the approaching person.  He felt his coat to make sure the box containing Lillian was securely in his possession.  It would be a shame if she’d somehow made yet another escape.  The sharp corners and strong sides of the box reassured his touch that she was right where she needed to be.  Good thing because the footfalls were coming faster.

Lt. Bobby Short sped past the hidden Eye Patch but soon stopped to reassess his direction.  The man in black could see the lieutenant’s pistol was drawn.  Eye Patch narrowed his eyes and drew his weapon.  Short looked left and right, his shoulders rising and falling in rhythm with his heavy breaths.   Eye Patch lined up his shot.  He had all the time in the world.  He had to make it count.

Light flooded the wooded area, and for a moment, both the man in black and Short were distracted.  A voice from behind the light called out, “Bobby!  Gun!” and just as Eye Patch squeezed his trigger, forcing a violent blue bolt of light at Short, the lieutenant ducked and hid behind a cottonwood trunk.  The man in black gritted his teeth, turned, and fired three bolts toward the lights.

The stranger took off, running into a clearing.  He heard gunfire behind him but knew that the more distance he put between him and the cops, the less accurate their aim would be.  If he could only make it to the other side, he would stand a chance.  Eventually, the gunfire ceased, but Eye Patch kept charging forward.  Then he saw it.  

Running up to a hedgerow at the side of the clearing, Eye Patch touched the leaves with his gloved hand.  In a moment, the branches and leaves melted away, transforming into his transport.  The man in black pressed on the side of the vehicle, and a door slid open.  He placed one hand on the edge of the doorway, and two hands grabbed him by the shoulders, spun him around, and punched him in the jaw.  Eye Patch went down on one knee and looked up into the angry face of Lt. Short.

“You… have the right… to remain… silent,” the lieutenant heaved.

Eye Patch pushed off of his bent leg and launched into Short’s abdomen.  The two men crashed to the earth.  Eye Patch heard the breath expel from Short’s lungs.  “Not today,” Eye Patch grunted.  He placed a well-placed blow to Short’s jaw and climbed off his foe.  The man in black scanned the area to see if there were other pests headed his way.  When he saw none, he returned to his craft.

Climbing aboard, Eye Patch turned on the control panel and felt the resonator humming.  He made one last scan of the area before raising the resonator’s control arm to the maximum.  Instantly, the craft pushed against Earth’s gravity and lifted from the ground.  Up and up, the craft rose.  The Eye Patch heard two pings outside the vessel.  He looked down, and Lt. Short stood firing his remaining bullets in the air.  Eye Patch smirked.  His delight didn’t last long as several warning lights popped up on his display.  The stranger made a quick assesment of the reported damage.  What were the chances the craft would make the push beyond this dimension?  About even he thought.  He frowned and reached for the button.  If this worked, he’d be a hero.  If it didn’t, at least Lillian would also be dead.

Eye Patch pressed the flashing button, and all Lt. Short was able to see was a momentary flash of blinding light.  Afterward, Soden’s Grove returned to the foggy autumn stillness.