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| The Return of the Gov'na part one |
At about 8 in the morning, Joe was slowing down. They were coming into the city limits of Salt Lake City. A stone wall was built around the whole city, and small guardhouses had been set inside it and everyone was checked as they came in. One of the guards came to Joe's window. "How's it goin', Joe?" he asked. "I'd let you in, but who is this with you? A Midget? We really don't like strangers in times like these." "Hey, she has gone through more battles than you have. She just came from the storming of Chicago. Did you see it on the news?" "No, there is nothing on the TV anymore. But I've heard of it." "Her name is Kari, a very ... uh ... brave girl." "Girl!" Kari cried. "I am a Mainen, and don't you forget it!" "Mainen, huh?" The guard leaned on the door. "Do you guys all have pet lobsters up there?" He gave Joe a quizzical look. "Not that Mainen," Joe said. "But you're wasting our time." "We travelled with Izzy," Kari continued. "He came from here, and he died while protecting me an' Mimi." Joe slapped her. "That news should have been told first to his father." The guard stood up straight again. "That has already been guessed. But the Lieutenant Governor will be eager to hear any news of his son." He went to the guardhouse and pushed a button to open the stone door. Joe waved as they drove through. He drove right into the heart of the city, and stopped downtown, at the City Hall. "Kari," he advised, "don't go spoutin' your mouth off. Izzy's Father isn't the governor of Utah, but he is a proud man. Don't tell him more than what he needs about Izzy, and don't mention Kat and the Tongue Ring. Oh, and don't say anything about Tai." "Why not? What's wrong with him? He's coming here, isn't he?" "Sure, but it will probably be in a way no one expects. You see, you don't go to someone and tell him his son died, only to tell him later of the man who will take over the ruling of Utah." "Huh?" "Well, maybe you should start paying attention now." Joe opened the Ferrari's door. "Come on." They got out and walked into the City Hall. Joe waved at the receptionist and walked down a hallway. He knocked on the door at the end of the hall. It opened. At the end of the room was a desk, but the man in here sat in a library chair in the corner. He didn't look up. "Hello, Lieutenant Governor of Utah. I come with counsel and tidings." Joe walked to the center of the room. The man looked up. "Just cut to the chase. Is this the girl who watched my son die?" "One of the two. The other is with the Governor of Wyoming. They are from Maine, but not the one that the omens speak of." Omens? Kari was getting confused. That would be Kat, but when were these "omens" made? The man gave them both a steely gaze. "Izzy's Brother should have gone instead." "So you know of his death?" "Obviously. I just said I did. Besides, they gave me this." He held up a slingshot. "That was Izzy's," Kari said. "Yes, it is a fmaily heirloom. But you--" he looked at Kari, "-- tell me what happened." "Uh ... well," Kari cleared her throat. "Plastic Surgery Victims just kept coming, and he shot them with that slingshot, but no one else came." "And how did you escape when he could not?" "Hey, Izzy had, like, 15 bullets in him. The Plastic Surgery Victims took me and Mimi captive. But he kept fighting to save us. We are very grateful." She paused. "Uh ... I am very much in your debt." She took out her 9 mm and laid it by his feet. Izzy's Father picked it up and looked at the gun. "Where did you get this from?" "New Hampshire. But I don't really want to talk about what happened there." "I see. You seem to be very courageous. I think I will accept your service." Kari looked back at Joe. "I offered my service?" "Just put your right hand on the gun," Joe replied. "Repeat after me," Izzy's Father said, and made her give an oath: "I do so solemnly swear that I give my public works to Utah and to the Lietutenant Governor of Utah, and to do whatever he orders me to, even if it may be to flash myself to all the male population of Salt Lake City, until he releases me, I should croak, or the world blows up. Signed, Kari from Maine." Kari was starting to wonder what she got into. "And I shall remember it," Izzy's Father said, giving the 9mm semiautomatic back to Kari. He pulled up another chair. "Tell me the tale and tell me everything about Izzy. Your first job here." Kari sat down. "We never went over my pay." "Wait, wait." Joe came forward. "I didn't ride nonstop from Chicago, eluding police cars, to bring you one little employee. Don't you care about Davis' great battle, or that Chicago is defeated, or that Ken is out of the Chess Club?" "Sure, sure." Izzy's Father waved him off. "But that can wait." So Kari started talking, trying to remember the story how she had told it to Tree a couple days back. She was careful not to mention Kat, and kept glancing at Joe to see if she was doing all right. He seemed rather impatient. When she was done, Joe took her arm and they left the City Hall and got in the Ferrari. "Are you mad at me, Joe? I did the best I could." "Yeah, sure you did." He laughed. "But that's OK. You couldn't hide the fact that Izzy didn't lead the Cult, and there was someone of high honor coming to Salt Lake City with a famous knife." "But I did tell him Izzy led us. And I left Tai out of everything." He didn't listen. "But now, you are free to go about Salt Lake City as you please, because you are in his service. Which is all right, because I really need to find Izzy's Brother now." Joe started the Ferrari and drove to the hotel they'd be staying at. Joe got out and locked the doors. "There is a rental-car place down the street, but it'd probably be easier to either walk or take a bus. Which is what I'm doing." He walked away, leaving Kari standing there. "I wonder if I can still have breakfast," Kari said aloud, and looked at the city before her. A police officer was walking his beat. Kari thought about talking to him, but thought better of it. He came right up to her. "You must be Kari the Mainen," he said. "Welcome to the service." He held out his hand. She shook it. "Hullo. Word gets around fast. So I have offered to be a cop?" "Ah, sure. I'm off duty in one minute, and I'm supposed to show you around. But I am also curious to learn about you, because we have never seen someone from Maine here." "We don't get out much." "And you are a friend of Joe's. Do you know him well?" "Uh ... not really. I think Tai was the only one in our Cult that knew him well." "And who's Tai?" "Uh ... well ... he's just a ... guy ... that went with us. I think he's in Wyoming now." "I hear you've been to Wyoming. But I am here to answer your questions. Do you have any?" "Well, I'd like some breakfast." "Maybe we can do something about that. But come," he started walking down the street. "My minute is over, and I need to go home and change into civilian clothes. Then we can go down to the station and you can take a look around." When they got to the cop shop, Kari noticed it was extremely busy. The cop she was with signed out on the board and went to get a cup of coffee. "Can you believe they won't even give me overtime for this?" He picked up a donut from the box. "Do you like donuts?" She took one. "You never told me your name." "Oh. Well, you can call me Bear. Everyone else around here does." He went to a desk and sat down. "Here is the reception desk. You're going to take it over. Not sure where Lily went. She's not supposed to leave." Kari rolled a chair over and sat down. "So all I have to do is answer the phone?" "And learn the codes." Bear took a small but thick book out of a drawer. "Otherwise, you won't know what's going on." Kari flipped throught it. 418B: Runaway. "I have to learn all of these?!" "Absolutely." He pulled something up on the computer. "I have to say that you look way too young to be doing this." "Well, I'll be 18 in two years." "Really? I thought you were 14." "Thanks so much." Lily came back. "I ... I um, just went to the loo." Bear stood up. "Well, get back to work, or the whole city will be overrun with vandalism." He motioned for Kari to follow him. She grabbed the book and walked upstairs. A large video screen was set up here. Three smaller ones were on the side of it. "What's that city?" Kari pointed to the screen in the middle. Bear came over to look. "That's not a city; just a tourist point. We in America like to call it 'Four Corners.' It was a defense point, but the enemy took part of it, sending His Rippers from Oasis." "Rippers? You mean Grim Reapers?" "Sure, they were grim. I see you know something of them." "Yeah. But I don't want to talk about it." She watched the videos and the different cities on them. It suddenly felt cold and she shivered. A shadow passed over one of the screens. "Did you see that?" Bear asked. "I wonder what it was." "A Reaper. They must have found airplanes." Kari fiddled with the book in her hands. Mimi hopped on the crotchrocket behind Tai. "Where are we going?" "Laramie. After that, I'd like to go to Salt Lake City." "Can I come with?" "I suppose." They had only driven for a couple miles before Tai rode up beside Davis. "There are people behind us!" he yelled over the wind and the motors. "WHAT?" Tai stopped. Everyone else did likewise. They all got off the crotchrockets and took out their guns. Mimi stood behind them, feeling rather useless. She took out her 9 mm. The drivers following them also had motorcycles and stopped when they got closer. "Who rides in Wyoming?!" Cody cried. "We're still in South Dakota," Tai whispered to him. One of the drivers got off his motorcycle and walked closer. "I am Trent, and I am a Cowboy. I am seeking Tai and heard he was going to be in Wyoming." Tai dropped his UZI Submachine gun and came forward to embrace the Cowboy. "Trent! Of all joys, this is least expected." MImi sighed. No danger. She put her 9 mm back in her backpack. "How many are with you?" Tai asked. "Only 7. It's all I could find. Adrien and Alec came, wanting to go to war. We came as soon as we could." "But I didn't tell you to come. You can, though, if Davis will let you." "Well," said Davis, "if these guys are your friends, I don't see why not." They stopped at Muddy Gap at 6 in the morning, and Mimi laid on a couch and slept while Tai talked with his friends in the house. |