ASJ Fanfiction: Chapter 19
Warning: this fic contains graphic descriptions of a gunshot wound, along with medical procedure. Don’t read unless that sort of thing is interesting to you.
Hannibal Heyes is gunned down by a dry-gulcher on his way back to his hotel room. He and the Kid stumble into a time portal and wind up in the present day, just in time to nearly be run over by a passing car.
Chapter 19
It was time. Dr. Kealy had given Heyes the go-ahead to check out of the hospital this afternoon. They were just waiting for Sam to return.
The Kid checked the clear bag Etta had given them. It contained extra bandages, a roll of that “tape” they fastened with, and several bottles of medicine - one was the antibiotic that made sure Heyes got over that pneumonia, one was pain medicine and one was to be taken along with the pain medicine to keep Heyes from having what Etta said was “bowel problems.” And there was a whole sheaf of instruction papers for Heyes.
They’d stopped giving Heyes that other medicine, the one for crazy people. Heyes hadn’t been as antsy since they’d done that, and had slept most of the past two nights straight through. The Kid had had a harder time of it - every time one of the nurses entered the room, he was wide awake and ready for action.
Now, he was ready to get out of the hospital and get back to where things made more sense. None of this crazy future stuff neither of them understood. The only problem was they’d have to take one more ride in Sam’s “car,” which he’d said was similar to the police machine Jed had already ridden in. That wasn’t going to be fun, especially for Heyes, who’d ridden to the hospital in the closed ambulance machine.
Sam showed up just before lunch time. “Dr. Kealy says I’m cleared to take you guys to your new home in Denver,” he said in a loud voice. He winked at Heyes and the Kid. “How does that new shirt fit, Mr. Smith?”
Heyes grinned back. “Fits perfectly, thanks. And it goes fine with the suit as well.”
Sam lowered his voice. “Everything is ready. As soon as we get into position, the portal will open and we’ll return to 1886, just a few minutes after you left.”
“You’ve got those Colts?” Jed asked. He wasn’t going back through that portal thing without a solid weapon. What if there were more Chinese assassins looking for them?
“We’ll each have a pistol, yes.” Sam set the bag he’d been carrying atop the bed. “I figured it’d be best if you didn’t carry a plastic sack back to 1886. Let’s load everything into this carpet bag instead.”
The Kid transferred Heyes’ belongings from the bag Etta had given them into the carpet bag. Sam assured him that they’d recycle the other bag (whatever that meant). Jed slipped the copy of “Harry Potter” into the bag, along with that “Sherlock Holmes” one that Heyes had enjoyed. Etta probably wouldn’t even remember how many books they’d borrowed, much less notice any were missing.
Sam led the way outside. Jed could tell Heyes was amazed at the machinery, but he was keeping his expression neutral. There was little Heyes hated worse than having somebody read his expression and guess his feelings or thoughts.
They rode the elevator to the first floor and Sam led them across a huge expanse of pavement to his own “car,” a smallish blue thing that did remind Jed of the police machine. Sam tugged on one end, and a small door opened upwards.
“We can put your bag in the trunk,” he said, showing Heyes the carpeted space below the door.
Sam then opened more doors on either side of the “car,” these large enough for Heyes and the Kid to climb inside of the machine and take seats. Jed showed Heyes how to fasten the straps across his chest and waist.
“This is so we don’t fly out,” he explained. “You might just want to close your eyes once Sam starts moving.”
Heyes leaned forward to study the machinery in front of Sam. “Do you steer with that wheel, like on a ship?”
Sam explained the basics of the machine - or tried to. “Just pretend it’s running on steam,” he finally said. “A lot of the controls are similar to a railroad engine. This is forward and that’s reverse.”
Heyes sat back, but leaned forward once more as Sam backed the “car” out of its space and pulled out onto the main road.
Jed closed his eyes and held onto the straps.
It didn’t seem to take as long to return as it had to get to the hospital in the first place. Before he knew it, Sam was calling out “We’re here,” and stopping the “car.”
“Can I drive it?” Heyes asked. “Just around the block once?”
The Kid glanced at his partner in horror. “You liked it?”
“I just wish we’d have gone faster. I’ll bet you can really pour on the speed without all those other cars in the way.”
Sam had a worried expression on his face. “You wouldn’t be covered under my insurance if you got into a wreck.”
Heyes glanced around. “What about this big open space near the hotel?”
“The parking lot?” Sam swallowed hard. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to drive around the parking lot.”
“Let me out first,” Jed said firmly.
***
Sam wasn’t sure he liked the grin on Heyes’ face. Actually, he wasn’t sure how Heyes arranged to be driving his car in the first place.
“Just press down slowly on the gas,” he said. “You don’t want to be going too fast and not be able to --“
Sam had never actually seen rubber burned onto a pavement outside of a movie. Heyes floored the gas pedal. With a loud whoop, he spun the steering wheel in a circle. Sam clung to the door handle.
“Slow down!” He yelped. “You’ll run into something!”
“This is great!” Heyes yelled back, spinning the wheel in the other direction. “When did you say these things get invented?”
Sam winced as they squeaked past the corner of the Blue River Arms. “The Germans have already invented the automobile in your time -“
“Fantastic. I’m going to Germany.”
“But it only goes about 10 miles per hour!” Sam yelled. “And you’re doing 35 in a parking lot.”
Heyes quit spinning the wheel and drove straight across the lot. They passed the Kid, who was wringing his hands and shouting something - most likely “Slow the hell down!”
“I’ve got a great idea,” Heyes yelled. “Let’s take the car back to 1886. You could run over anybody trying to shoot us. And I could practice driving on an open road.”
Sam’s jaw fell open. “We are not taking my car to 1886! And you are most definitely not driving on the street.”
Heyes raised an eyebrow. “There’s nobody coming.”
“No!”
With a melodramatic sigh, Heyes spun the wheel again, towards the middle of the lot. “You worry more than the Kid. There’s nothing to this driving thing.”
“Then let’s see you park properly. We have to get the two of you home, in case you’ve forgotten.”
Heyes pointed the car between two parking lines and stepped on the brake. They screeched to a halt within the lines and Heyes grinned. “I need a car,” he said.
“You can’t have mine. It’s not even paid for yet.”
“Then it’s not really yours, is it?” The look in Heyes’ eyes suddenly reminded Sam that he was dealing with a renowned thief. The dimple in Heyes’ cheek deepened.
Sam tried another tack. “You don’t have any gasoline. It’d run out of fuel in only a day or so and then it’d just be a four thousand pound pile of metal.”
Heyes sighed again. “You can’t fault me for trying. Can you imagine how easy it’d be to get away from a posse in this thing?”
“You can’t change history by taking a modern automobile back to your own time.”
“I’d be happy with the recipe for Coke - or espresso.”
“You can go to Italy for espresso. As for Coke, it was invented in 1886 but it was only sold in Atlanta, Georgia until closer to the turn of the century.”
Heyes’ expression perked up. “You mean I can actually get a Coke if I go to Atlanta? Heck, I might just do that some day.”
Happy that he’d deflected Heyes’ interest in his car, Sam climbed out. Heyes caressed the dashboard and followed.
Kid Curry strode over, his brow furrowed. “Didn’t you hear me say to slow down, Heyes? You could have killed yourself going that fast.”
Heyes shrugged. “We were only doing 35 miles per hour. And it is just a parking lot, not the street.
His eyes narrowed and gleamed. “I’ll bet I could have made 100 if I’d been on the street.”
“Let’s get your bag and the pistols,” Sam said quickly, popping the trunk. He pulled the gun case from the far corner where Heyes’ crazy driving had tossed it.
Fortunately, in this part of town, three men in strange outfits carrying Colt pistols didn’t raise an eyebrow. Sam led the way to the alley between the hotel and what looked like a crack house.
“I’ll let them know we’re ready,” he said, pulling out his cellphone.
Heyes stared at that with nearly as much avarice as he’d looked at the car. “How far away does that thing talk?”
“I can talk to someone on the other side of the world if they have the right kind of phone.”
Heyes’ eyes widened. “I need one of them things, too. Kid, can you imagine not having to send a telegraph to old Lom every time we wonder about the amnesty?”
Sam slid the phone into his pocket and kept his hand over the flap. “It wouldn’t work in 1886. You have to have cellphone towers and wireless hookups and …”
“Just thinking out loud, Sam.” Heyes grinned unrepentantly.
Kid Curry pointed. “I see the time thing. Let’s go.”
“Wait,” Sam called. “Let me go first -“
He was talking to himself. Curry and Heyes had already stepped through. It was like herding cats. Sam hurried forward. There was that instant of disorientation and then he stepped out into 1886.
Hannibal Heyes is gunned down by a dry-gulcher on his way back to his hotel room. He and the Kid stumble into a time portal and wind up in the present day, just in time to nearly be run over by a passing car.
Chapter 19
It was time. Dr. Kealy had given Heyes the go-ahead to check out of the hospital this afternoon. They were just waiting for Sam to return.
The Kid checked the clear bag Etta had given them. It contained extra bandages, a roll of that “tape” they fastened with, and several bottles of medicine - one was the antibiotic that made sure Heyes got over that pneumonia, one was pain medicine and one was to be taken along with the pain medicine to keep Heyes from having what Etta said was “bowel problems.” And there was a whole sheaf of instruction papers for Heyes.
They’d stopped giving Heyes that other medicine, the one for crazy people. Heyes hadn’t been as antsy since they’d done that, and had slept most of the past two nights straight through. The Kid had had a harder time of it - every time one of the nurses entered the room, he was wide awake and ready for action.
Now, he was ready to get out of the hospital and get back to where things made more sense. None of this crazy future stuff neither of them understood. The only problem was they’d have to take one more ride in Sam’s “car,” which he’d said was similar to the police machine Jed had already ridden in. That wasn’t going to be fun, especially for Heyes, who’d ridden to the hospital in the closed ambulance machine.
Sam showed up just before lunch time. “Dr. Kealy says I’m cleared to take you guys to your new home in Denver,” he said in a loud voice. He winked at Heyes and the Kid. “How does that new shirt fit, Mr. Smith?”
Heyes grinned back. “Fits perfectly, thanks. And it goes fine with the suit as well.”
Sam lowered his voice. “Everything is ready. As soon as we get into position, the portal will open and we’ll return to 1886, just a few minutes after you left.”
“You’ve got those Colts?” Jed asked. He wasn’t going back through that portal thing without a solid weapon. What if there were more Chinese assassins looking for them?
“We’ll each have a pistol, yes.” Sam set the bag he’d been carrying atop the bed. “I figured it’d be best if you didn’t carry a plastic sack back to 1886. Let’s load everything into this carpet bag instead.”
The Kid transferred Heyes’ belongings from the bag Etta had given them into the carpet bag. Sam assured him that they’d recycle the other bag (whatever that meant). Jed slipped the copy of “Harry Potter” into the bag, along with that “Sherlock Holmes” one that Heyes had enjoyed. Etta probably wouldn’t even remember how many books they’d borrowed, much less notice any were missing.
Sam led the way outside. Jed could tell Heyes was amazed at the machinery, but he was keeping his expression neutral. There was little Heyes hated worse than having somebody read his expression and guess his feelings or thoughts.
They rode the elevator to the first floor and Sam led them across a huge expanse of pavement to his own “car,” a smallish blue thing that did remind Jed of the police machine. Sam tugged on one end, and a small door opened upwards.
“We can put your bag in the trunk,” he said, showing Heyes the carpeted space below the door.
Sam then opened more doors on either side of the “car,” these large enough for Heyes and the Kid to climb inside of the machine and take seats. Jed showed Heyes how to fasten the straps across his chest and waist.
“This is so we don’t fly out,” he explained. “You might just want to close your eyes once Sam starts moving.”
Heyes leaned forward to study the machinery in front of Sam. “Do you steer with that wheel, like on a ship?”
Sam explained the basics of the machine - or tried to. “Just pretend it’s running on steam,” he finally said. “A lot of the controls are similar to a railroad engine. This is forward and that’s reverse.”
Heyes sat back, but leaned forward once more as Sam backed the “car” out of its space and pulled out onto the main road.
Jed closed his eyes and held onto the straps.
It didn’t seem to take as long to return as it had to get to the hospital in the first place. Before he knew it, Sam was calling out “We’re here,” and stopping the “car.”
“Can I drive it?” Heyes asked. “Just around the block once?”
The Kid glanced at his partner in horror. “You liked it?”
“I just wish we’d have gone faster. I’ll bet you can really pour on the speed without all those other cars in the way.”
Sam had a worried expression on his face. “You wouldn’t be covered under my insurance if you got into a wreck.”
Heyes glanced around. “What about this big open space near the hotel?”
“The parking lot?” Sam swallowed hard. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to drive around the parking lot.”
“Let me out first,” Jed said firmly.
***
Sam wasn’t sure he liked the grin on Heyes’ face. Actually, he wasn’t sure how Heyes arranged to be driving his car in the first place.
“Just press down slowly on the gas,” he said. “You don’t want to be going too fast and not be able to --“
Sam had never actually seen rubber burned onto a pavement outside of a movie. Heyes floored the gas pedal. With a loud whoop, he spun the steering wheel in a circle. Sam clung to the door handle.
“Slow down!” He yelped. “You’ll run into something!”
“This is great!” Heyes yelled back, spinning the wheel in the other direction. “When did you say these things get invented?”
Sam winced as they squeaked past the corner of the Blue River Arms. “The Germans have already invented the automobile in your time -“
“Fantastic. I’m going to Germany.”
“But it only goes about 10 miles per hour!” Sam yelled. “And you’re doing 35 in a parking lot.”
Heyes quit spinning the wheel and drove straight across the lot. They passed the Kid, who was wringing his hands and shouting something - most likely “Slow the hell down!”
“I’ve got a great idea,” Heyes yelled. “Let’s take the car back to 1886. You could run over anybody trying to shoot us. And I could practice driving on an open road.”
Sam’s jaw fell open. “We are not taking my car to 1886! And you are most definitely not driving on the street.”
Heyes raised an eyebrow. “There’s nobody coming.”
“No!”
With a melodramatic sigh, Heyes spun the wheel again, towards the middle of the lot. “You worry more than the Kid. There’s nothing to this driving thing.”
“Then let’s see you park properly. We have to get the two of you home, in case you’ve forgotten.”
Heyes pointed the car between two parking lines and stepped on the brake. They screeched to a halt within the lines and Heyes grinned. “I need a car,” he said.
“You can’t have mine. It’s not even paid for yet.”
“Then it’s not really yours, is it?” The look in Heyes’ eyes suddenly reminded Sam that he was dealing with a renowned thief. The dimple in Heyes’ cheek deepened.
Sam tried another tack. “You don’t have any gasoline. It’d run out of fuel in only a day or so and then it’d just be a four thousand pound pile of metal.”
Heyes sighed again. “You can’t fault me for trying. Can you imagine how easy it’d be to get away from a posse in this thing?”
“You can’t change history by taking a modern automobile back to your own time.”
“I’d be happy with the recipe for Coke - or espresso.”
“You can go to Italy for espresso. As for Coke, it was invented in 1886 but it was only sold in Atlanta, Georgia until closer to the turn of the century.”
Heyes’ expression perked up. “You mean I can actually get a Coke if I go to Atlanta? Heck, I might just do that some day.”
Happy that he’d deflected Heyes’ interest in his car, Sam climbed out. Heyes caressed the dashboard and followed.
Kid Curry strode over, his brow furrowed. “Didn’t you hear me say to slow down, Heyes? You could have killed yourself going that fast.”
Heyes shrugged. “We were only doing 35 miles per hour. And it is just a parking lot, not the street.
His eyes narrowed and gleamed. “I’ll bet I could have made 100 if I’d been on the street.”
“Let’s get your bag and the pistols,” Sam said quickly, popping the trunk. He pulled the gun case from the far corner where Heyes’ crazy driving had tossed it.
Fortunately, in this part of town, three men in strange outfits carrying Colt pistols didn’t raise an eyebrow. Sam led the way to the alley between the hotel and what looked like a crack house.
“I’ll let them know we’re ready,” he said, pulling out his cellphone.
Heyes stared at that with nearly as much avarice as he’d looked at the car. “How far away does that thing talk?”
“I can talk to someone on the other side of the world if they have the right kind of phone.”
Heyes’ eyes widened. “I need one of them things, too. Kid, can you imagine not having to send a telegraph to old Lom every time we wonder about the amnesty?”
Sam slid the phone into his pocket and kept his hand over the flap. “It wouldn’t work in 1886. You have to have cellphone towers and wireless hookups and …”
“Just thinking out loud, Sam.” Heyes grinned unrepentantly.
Kid Curry pointed. “I see the time thing. Let’s go.”
“Wait,” Sam called. “Let me go first -“
He was talking to himself. Curry and Heyes had already stepped through. It was like herding cats. Sam hurried forward. There was that instant of disorientation and then he stepped out into 1886.