TOO QUICK TO DIE

PART TWO:

Maximus smiled. Caroline was good.  Really good.  He chuckled

as they stood together in the late evening, barely able to see her

now that the sun had set.  "I should have had you with me on

campaign. The barbarians would not have been able to resist so

long as they did."  

She smiled back. "Oh, well, it's just a...woman...thing."

Whatever it was, it had been enough. She had talked to the

NanoCorp guard for less than ten minutes and come away with

invaluable information.  The Arizonian was expected, would

probably have already arrived by now.  Hank, who had stayed

back at Caroline's place to take care of the horses and Marcus,

the big German Shepherd,  had suggested the best way into

NanoCorp would be through some inside connection. Maximus

and Caroline had scouted the perimeters of the huge campus

for some hours today, watching the comings and goings of both pedestrians and cars, had thought that Terry would be their

best bet. But Cort, that was on beyond anything the General

had hoped for.

Caroline had even discovered where Cort would be staying, a

blue house in a lightly-guarded area not far from the main

campus. It was easy for the two of them to slip at dusk into the

wide section of tall pines that surrounded the place.  They had

waited in a small, secluded area behind large bushes as night

slowly fell. Caroline had loved the appearance of the little

Victorian house. Her own house was pink, set among gardens,

and she found this residence appealing in every way. It was

entirely different from the look of the rest of Emerald City,

all white walls and green glass. This was her kind of place.

She and Maximus sat now side by side on a deep layer of long

pine needles, her side against his as his back rested against a

straight pine trunk.  He told her everything he remembered

about Cort, about the night he'd been flung unconscious into

the gladiator compound in Zucchabar, about watching him

work with his whip in the training yard. He spoke of that day

in the small arena when another man who simply did not fit

in that time or place had been chained at Cort's partner, of

how the blonde woman he'd come later to know as Brianna

had jumped into the arena. He told her of seeing Cort again in

Rome, how he'd come up outside the metal gates and tried to

encourage him before combat in the great arena. 

"He told me Arizonia was far way," he smiled, "further than

I could imagine.  It is only now that I have some understanding

of what he meant."

"You like him, don't you?"

He dipped his head. "I did, even before I knew who he was, what

he was. And now, now that I understand, now that I have seen

his movie, I have a certain anticipation in seeing him again. He

will help us. I know he will."

She sighed. "I hope you're right. It doesn't look like we'll ever get

in there unless somebody helps us."

When it was completely dark, they moved closer to the house. 

Silently Maximus made his way onto the wide porch, glad there

were no dogs in the area.  He peered through a tall window, his

view only partially blocked by lace curtains.  Cort was standing,

his back turned, talking with a young woman. He recognized her

as having accompanied Cort when he came to the gladiator

compound in Rome.  He motioned Caroline to join him.

"They are alone," he whispered.

"Are you sure this is ok?" she asked doubtfully.

"My instincts are telling me I may trust him, Caroline."

"All right," she said, sucking in a long breath. "I don't know of anybody whose instincts I'd trust more than yours."

He  touched  her  cheek briefly with  the back  of  his  hand,

straightened, and walked to the screen door, rapping lightly

with his knuckles on the wooden frame.

Cort turned. "Who could that be? I didn't think Terry or Bud

were coming over tonight. Maybe it's Henri?"  He came to the

door, flipping on the porch light before he actually focused on

who might be on the other side.

A man stood there, perfectly at eye level with him, seagreen eyes

that were regarding him quietly, seriously. For a split second he

thought it was Terry. His hand lifted to unhook the latch. "Ter...,"

he started to say, then paused, his hand still on the latch, his eyes

still locked on those gazing back at him. The eyes were very like

Terry's, eyes that had seen much of the world, had seen more

than they really wanted to see, experienced eyes, competent eyes. 

Did he stop breathing? He didn't know. No, this was not possible.

This was simply not...possible.

Rachel got up from the couch, ready to welcome Terry, or the

whole gang, as it would not have surprised her that they had

decided  to  at least  pass by to  make sure  they  were  safely

ensconced.  But something in the way Cort stepped back, his

mouth falling open, made her round the coffee table and step

to the door so she could see who it was.  For a wild moment, a

horrible moment, she thought maybe it was Sid come pay his

own awful brand of respects; then she saw the form and stature

of the man beyond the screen, his hair short…oh, so it was

Terry…maybe….

Cort dropped his gaze down the full length of the man who stood

there, unmoving, dressed in boots, jeans, a pale blue shirt with

its sleeves partially rolled up. No, this was a modern man.  Had

to be.  Had to be one of Russell's characters he wasn't aware of

having been retrieved.

His hand slipped from the latch so that his palm was flat against

the screen. The man on the porch smiled slightly, moving his

own hand so that his palm lay directly on the other side of the

screen. "Arizonian," the man whispered. "Brother."

Cort gulped, blinked, then blinked again.  Rachel’s hands flew

to her mouth, a sharp high-pitched gasp escaping her lips.

“Maximus!”  She practically screamed.

"Ma...Maximus? God, is it...YOU?" Cort cried.

Maximus looked quickly to the side.  He didn't like standing so

visibly under the light.

"May we come in?" he asked urgently.

Cort fumbled with the latch. We?  Who was 'we'?  He couldn't

think, couldn't get his mind around the concept that Maximus

himself was standing on his porch.  Good God...how in the world

could that...be?

As Cort opened the screen, Maximus stepped inside, turning off

the porch light as he entered and softly calling to someone who'd

been standing further away in the shadows. A woman joined him, taking his hand, a lovely woman with short honey-brown hair and sparkling blue eyes.

"Hello, Cort," she said, obviously being fully aware of his identity.

His mouth dropped open, way open.  Maximus?  In modern dress?  With a...a woman? He couldn't speak. He simply could not get a

word formed.

Maximus turned again,  shutting the  wooden front door and

locking it.  Cort found himself mentally running the scene where Maximus, after discovering young Lucius' identity, steps into the shadows and looks around to see if anyone has noticed him.

"You...you're....you," he finally stammered.  Rachel grabbed for

his hand, unable to get the words filling up her brain either.

Maximus reached out, gripping Cort's upper left arm, its many bandages completely hidden under his long-sleeved shirt. 

"Ahhhh," cried Cort, his knees almost buckling.

Quickly Maximus released him, concern flooding his eyes. "You

are injured?" 

“I’m afraid he is.  He had a bit of a run-in with a very large bear,

not too many days ago,” Rachel said, as she leaned against Cort

to support him.  She angled her leg so they could see.  “We both

did.  I was attacked and Cort saved me by killing the bear. With

only  a  knife.”   She couldn’t help  throwing  in  that  bit  of

information, even as she guided Cort to sit down.  They had to

know how impressed she was that her husband did such a thing.

"My...my wife," Cort gasped, sinking to a seated position on a

small table nearby, his face rather white.

"Forgive me," Maximus said hoarsely, truly aggrieved he had

caused Cort pain.  "I...I...am clumsy in my arrival, I fear." But

he was impressed by what Rachel had explained.  "A bear, a

large bear, and with only a knife?"

“It’s okay,”  Rachel assured  him,  turning back to the newly

arrived couple.  The last thing she wanted was for them to be embarrassed.  “He can’t move much of anything for a while

without feeling it.  And they bandaged it nicely…” she trailed

off. 

Cort nodded his head, trying to recover his composure. "Not important," he said, still attempting to control the pains shooting

up and down his arm.  "You.  Tell me about you. How? Where?"

Maximus slid his  arm around  Caroline's shoulders.  "This is

Caroline Fitzgerald Wood," he said, turning his head to smile

down at her. "I am only here because of her."

Rachel nodded her head, smiled, and then awkwardly held out

her hand to shake Caroline’s.  “Pleased to meet you,” she said.

Cort looked from Maximus' face to Caroline's. The gaze that

passed between them was familiar to him. It was the way he and

Rachel looked at one another.  "Do...do you have...any...idea

how strange this all is?" Cort said, managing a smile.  "I...I

can't imagine how...this...has come to be. I...," he stood, swayed

just slightly, and Rachel grabbed his right arm.  "Can...can...we

sit over there?"  He pointed to the couch and a couple of large,

stuffed chairs.  "My wife, she's pregnant. Need to...sit."

Cort sat on the couch with Rachel pressed protectively against

his right side.  Maximus settled in a big chair, Caroline perching

on its arm.

"Well," said Cort, beginning to recover, "look at this."  There

was so much he wanted to know he couldn't imagine where to

begin asking questions.  "Maximus."  He said the name, shaking

his head in wonder.  "Here.  Maximus."

"You were right," Caroline said, leaning toward Maximus. 

"He does like you."  Her eyes went from Maximus to Cort and

back.  "It's different," she said, "seeing the two of you together."  Turning her gaze back to Cort she added, "I've seen your movie,

Cort, so I thought I'd know what it would be like, two of you in

the same room.  But it's...more."

"She understands this, Cort," Maximus explained. "She knows

all about the movies, about us being taken out."

"And I'm still sane," Caroline chuckled. "Well, that might be debatable."  She looked at Rachel. "You were with him, there

in Gladiator?"

“Yes.  The  whole  time,” Rachel  replied.  She’d watched the

interplay of emotions on Maximus and Caroline’s faces, her eyes flicking back to Cort’s to monitor his reaction.  Maximus was

alive, and with a woman who knew about the retrievals.  And

both she and Cort flabbergasted beyond words.

Oh.  My.  God.  Here they were, all sitting down as if it were just

an unexpected reunion. 

Well, in fact, it was.

"I remember you," Maximus said, "standing with him outside the gladiator fence."

Rachel jerked slightly to attention, finding herself under the

daunting gaze of the gladiator turned modern man.  As similar

in appearance as he was to the others retrieved, none of them

exuded the same level of intensity as Maximus.  She was familiar

with an intensity of a different sort where Cort was concerned,

to be sure; but not this eagle-sharp focus, this precise measure

of her person in one glinting, glancing blow.   Suddenly, she felt

very meek and small indeed.

“Yes, that was me. I was part of the team. And we were engaged,

then.”  Rachel found herself swallowing, wondering just how

much Caroline and Maximus knew about their sojourn.  More

than that: what the hell had Sid done to him, and why was

Maximus now looking like he was one of the good old boys just

in for a visit?

And where was Brianna?

Cort's toe was tapping up and down. "I'm gonna bust wide open,"

he blurted, "if you don't tell me how you GOT here!"

“Where do you wish me to begin?" Maximus asked.

"When I last saw you," Cort said slowly, "we were waiting for

you at the end of the tunnel that led outside from the gladiator compound in Rome. But another man we didn't know was there,

a very bad man called Mikol, wanted...me, it seems. And before

you came out, he took me. In his own warp. You know about

warps?"

"Time tunnels?" Caroline offered. "Sort of like that?"

"Sort  of," Cort  smiled,  "but much  more  advanced,  more

complicated. This one nearly killed me. But that's another story.  Rachel, why don't you tell them what you know of what happened

next in that tunnel?"

She thought she had pretty much washed out all the emotion that

went with that particular event by telling it, and retelling it, to

Cort and Henri, by spending long hours in the night exorcising

all that despair in the firm and gracious embrace of Cort’s arms,

but now, with Maximus watching her so intently, so desirous of confirmation, so needing to know that what he went through was

not an unholy phantasm his brain cooked up, she found that the emotions had not been erased, merely tucked away.  She glanced

once more at Cort, who gave her a gentle smile and took her hand.

“When…” she began, her breath catching, trying to collect her thoughts.  She closed her eyes, returning herself to that instance

…no, just beyond that…  “At the moment Mikol took Cort, our

team leader, Terry, used a device he’d constructed to try and

piggy-back to Sid’s warp.  Sid had somehow knocked you out

so you wouldn’t suffer the effects of the warp.  Trust me,

Maximus.  That’s more mercy than it sounds like, if one can

call it mercy.  Actually had to do with expediency, because he

didn’t want you to struggle with him while he took you through

the warp; but coming from the time period you did, it was

probably a blessing.  When that happened, Terry, Deidre, and

I were taken back to Emerald City with you and Sid…” here

she stopped for a moment.  She should be clinical about this. 

“Sid was faster than any of us in getting you out of the warp

room.  Terry did everything he could to get you away from Sid,

but Sid is strong, Maximus, so strong! Terry tried, but couldn’t.  Brianna wasn’t able to do anything, either, because Sid had her

in a death grip…and Deidre was trying to get me to keep moving because I…well, Terry tried to chase Sid down the hall, but he disappeared behind a hidden wall…I don’t know…Terry and

Bud have been trying to get at him, but,” Rachel caught herself, realizing she was on the verge of rambling.  “Terry said Sid

appears to have an inner chamber that he built within the

building, one that has proved virtually impossible to penetrate. 

They did find an antechamber that looked like it might have

some potential, but no.  Sid was very deliberate, very careful…

and once he had you, that was it.”  She stopped.  She didn’t

want to say anymore.  She had Cort back, and that was all there

was to it.

"So, you see," Cort continued, "Sid simply took you away. No

one knew where. You and Brianna were both just...gone."  He

flicked a glance at Caroline. "Do you, um, know where she is? Now?"

"I presume she is either still on the island or else with Sid back at Emerald City," Maximus replied rather stiffly.

"Island?"

"It is a long story," Maximus said, rubbing his palm across his

chin.

"Please?" Cort said earnestly.

"In the tunnel in Rome I felt a sharp sting in my neck and the

next I knew I was waking up in a bed in what I believed must

be some part of Commodus' palace. It had every appearance of

being that.  Brianna was there.  I did not know at the time that

she was in Sid's service.  She led me to believe she, as I, was a

prisoner, taken against her will.  In fact, when I first came upon

her in the adjoining room, she lay unconscious on the floor.

Such were the lengths Sid went to make it all...authentic."

Caroline listened intently, too. She had not heard the entire story before.

"Sid had implanted microchips on either side of my head."

Cort and Rachel exchanged knowing looks.

"I have no understanding of the workings of such things, but

the purpose of them seems to have been to make me see myself

in places, situations, I was not.  I would be eating dinner and

suddenly find myself standing on a road in a snowy forest. This

went on through many different circumstances.  I can only

imagine that somehow information was being gathered for Sid's purposes.  I thought I was losing my mind.  Things shifted

without warning to completely different places.  There was a

cave, a battle, even a volcano.  Sid had arranged things so that

Brianna appeared to need my help.  It was my nature to believe

that she did.  I developed a certain amount of...feeling...for her

as a result."

He cleared his throat, licked his lips. "But then it became obvious

that Sid himself had his own feelings for the woman. He became

very angry with me and I suddenly found myself surrounded by lights...moving lights of many colors...and then I was on a beach.  Brianna was there.  Perhaps in the beginning he was angry with

her, too.  I do not know.  Then Sid came to the island and I could

see in his eyes that he wanted her.  Before we were sent from the

palace he had told me of her lies, that she worked for him.  I did

not speak with her much on the island."

His eyes found the mantelpiece, staring unseeing in that direction

for a moment.  Cort squeezed Rachel's hand. 

"I found a sea cave that I made my home." He smiled wryly.

"It was not much of a home. But Sid had brought supplies when

he came, things to make a shelter for them, food, even a television."

Cort shook his head. How strange it was to hear Maximus use

such a word so casually.

"Then Brianna was bitten by something poisonous. She was

dying. Sid took her and disappeared. I did not understand at

the time, but he must have taken her through the time tunnel, the...warp.  Then they came back and when they did everything

was different. I had noticed earlier that there were changes in

Sid, but when he came back he got sick, very sick. I had to carry

him to their shelter.  It was then, after that, he changed...more.

He began to look like me.  He grew facial hair.  Other things. 

And he and Brianna were always together.  Then one day he

showed me Gladiator.  He wanted me to know I was not real,

that I was only a thing made up in another man's mind.  He

showed me a little of you, some of Terry, of himself.  It was very...hard."

He looked at Cort. "I expect you know about that."

Cort met his gaze with eyes that said everything.

"I was very alone, very lost. It was 1243 and I was out of my time,

away from everything I'd ever known."

"1243?"

"Yes, Sid said he wished there to be no boats that might come

upon the island. I...I went back to my cave and lay there by a

little spring. I," he closed his eyes, "I lay there a long time.  And

then the lights came again and I must have been sent to 2007. 

I was in Caroline's woods. But I have no memory of that."

"He was almost catatonic when Marcus, that's my dog, and I

found him in the fog. It was my dog, actually, that finally

reached into where he had gone in his mind and led him out."                                                                                                                                                                                                           

"I have been with Caroline ever since," he added, smiling up at

her. "She has taught me about modern times, about many things."

"Zippers," Caroline laughed.

"Can openers." His eyes were filled with great fondness.

"Wal-Mart."

"Guns," he added, his eyes going serious.  "I must get to Sid. 

I must learn why he has done all this.  But I have no way of

entering Emerald City."  He opened both hands out, palms up. 

"Can you help me, Cort?  Can you get me inside?"

ON TO PART 3

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