The door swung open easily and he stepped inside, pulling it closed behind him.
The curtain of mists fell down like water through a drain, swirling, twirling, growing thicker and whiter, obliterating all sight and sound. There was a queer sensation of being pressed upon with a giant hand, and his ears popped as if he’d made the transition from a higher to a lower altitude. Doc tried to speak, but couldn’t. The last thing he remembered before falling into unconsciousness was how the metal plates on the floor of the chamber felt hot against his cheek, while the other side of his face was as cold as freshly fallen snow.
Doc AWAKENED to find he was inside another chamber. The code had proved wrong. He hadn’t gone back in time, but instead had been shuttled down the line to another one of the multitude of gateways that dotted the United States as part of the project.
“Fuck!” he screamed, and Doc’s current state of mind could be easily guessed by the usage of the vulgarity. The curse was one of the few he rarely, if ever, used, but none other seemed to sum up his situation as perfectly. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
Then he realized the color of the walls were exactly the same shade as the ones he’d just departed. Yet, he’d been told no two gateways were alike and all had different colors of armaglass. Rather than number them, one of the design engineers had hit upon using colors as a security measure. If someone transported into a chamber and didn’t know the location from the color, the jump would be quickly recognized as unauthorized.
Doc realized he hadn’t even left. He was still on the floor where he’d started from, and the stolen pistol was cutting into his stomach something fierce.
The door of the hexagonal chamber swung open and there stood a squad of the security men, a frowning Allan among them.
“Dr. Tanner, consider yourself under arrest,” one of the men announced.
A hundred retorts went through Tanner’s mind, ranging from “On what grounds?” to “I would rather be under arrest than under attack.” He used none of these.
“Fuck,” Doc said again, raising his hands.
Then, Welles pushed his way through. “You’re finished, Tanner.”
“Nonsense. I barely got started before ending up back here in your charming company.”
“We rerouted your signal,” Welles revealed. “Chan was able to stagger up and do a bounce back on the chronal-nav guidance computer. You went one way, hit a wall, came screeching back. Do not pass go. Do not collect two hundred dollars.”
“So, my computation and calculations were correct.”
“Yes. Still, you couldn’t wait, could you? We trust you and this is the result. I ought to have you shot where you stand.”
“You would not dare. I am too important to your little project.”
Welles stroked his double chin. “For now, Tanner. For now.”
Chapter Eleven
“Why here?” Mildred asked. She was taking in the tropical breeze from the open balcony and enjoying the feel of the ah” on her bare shoulders and neck. She was dressed in a midnight-blue summer dress with white collar and trim, a scavenged piece of attire Jamaisvous had obtained for her from one of the boutiques still intact in Old San Juan. She had refused the gift at first, but then decided she was being silly, and why not spend a day feeling feminine?
She was surprised to find Jamaisvous alone. Doc was nowhere in sight.
“Why here?” Mildred asked a second time, turning to face Jamaisvous.
“Why not?”
“Rude to answer a question with a question.”
“Then I will attempt a compliment. You look most beautiful, Dr. Wyeth.”
Even though Mildred knew she was being hosed, she returned his smile. Her own lover rarely tossed out such commonplace courtesies and compliments. Manners, like so many other social niceties, had gone the way of the nukecaust. While the woman knew she never would have been confused for Emily Post, by the very nature of her former positions as re- searcher, physician and Olympic champion she knew her way around a cocktail party or formal dinner.
Then, there were occasions she missed getting dressed up for a night of entertainment as opposed to trekking through a world that was not only consistently crude and inelegant but also held an inexhaustible stock of nasty surprises for them.