Airship Hunters (28 page)

Yarrow asked, “You were injured during your investigations, were you not? Both of you?”

Valiantine and Cabot nodded. The latter touched the fresh scar on his cheek.

“I would encourage you both to undergo medical examinations,” the doctor said. “And consider your own exposure to the flying vapor. You describe in your reports the disorientation caused by the vox. We do not know the long-term effects of this material. The inappropriate responses of the Trio and the armed soldiers demonstrate the dangers to one’s functions.”

Yarrow gazed at the two several moments. “We have touched on the stresses your assignment created upon your physical and mental health. Coupled with the exposure to the vox, I wonder if some hallucinatory elements might have played upon your cognitive faculties and heightened the fantastic characteristics of your experiences.”

Valiantine went completely still. Cabot sat bolt upright and narrowed his eyes. “Are you calling into question the veracity of our reports?”

Yarrow raised a placating hand. “On the contrary, I believe you have documented very accurately what you perceived during the events. But it is widely understood that perception sometimes paints reality with a brush colored by an emotion- or perception-altering palette. The vox, for example.”

“The wreckage of the airship is an undeniable reality,” Valiantine said in a quiet voice.

“True,” Yarrow said, “but we have only your description of its character before the crash to rely upon.”

Silence from the visitors.

Dr. Yarrow resumed: “I am not attempting to undermine your work. You have been through a difficult period. I am here to help you and to support the President’s efforts to secure our country against foreign incursions.” He looked each man in the eyes several seconds. “I have two recommendations for you. First, I ask you to comb and sift through your recollections and impressions of the events you experienced. Measure them against what is reasonable and against the hard evidence that remains from your investigations.”

The Aero-Marshals did not reply.

Yarrow continued: “Second, I urge you to rest from your labors. You have worked diligently, under great stress, in service to your President and your country. You have continued to focus your mental energies on deducing solutions to the mysteries raised by the flying machine. But it is time for you to rest. Relax. No flying ship sightings have been reported since the wreck. No reports of strange military forces have been received. Really, how many agents could possibly remain in place? How many doppelgangers could realistically exist? Now that the authorities know how their agencies have been infiltrated, any false agents will eventually be discovered.”

The doctor stood. “You were given a mission—whatever ruse may have lain behind it—and you more than succeeded in carrying it out. Despite the will and coercion of your false superiors, you succeeded in revealing the black plot against the nation and the President. Gentlemen, celebrate your success. Close the file on this mission. Move on to more pleasant concerns.”

Yarrow smiled and spread his hands. “I am sorry, gentlemen, but I have another appointment to get to. I so appreciate your coming here. Please feel welcome to visit again.” The Aero-Marshals stood, and Yarrow shook their hands. “Thank you for your service to your country. You are fine examples for your peers.” He opened the door to the foyer. “Good day, gentlemen. Brilson will see you out.”

Minutes later, standing by the street, Cabot shivered and pulled his coat closer. “So, do you suppose we were judged sane or dangerously mad?” he asked.

Valiantine adjusted his hat. “We knew we would encounter resistance when we began to discuss these matters in detail outside our own company.” They started walking to the corner. “And Dr. Yarrow must keep the wellbeing of the country in mind. He is a doctor. Our veracity, our health are all part of his concern.”

“Hm.” Cabot glanced back at the doctor’s residence. “He is correct about one thing. We must remain vigilant.”

“He is correct in another, as well,” Valiantine said. “We are weary. Both in mind and body. We need to accept that we have resolved the immediate threats. It is time to focus on the future.” The lieutenant took a deep breath and held it a few moments before releasing it in a gust. “I, for one, am ready.”

Dr. Yarrow watched Valiantine and Cabot through his half-shuttered window. Behind him, the louver-paneled door opened. A wheelchair came into the room, pushed by Brilson. Seated in the chair, wearing an embroidered robe and a lap blanket, was the man who called himself Awanai. A large pad covered his left eye. It was held in place by a bandage wrapped around his head.

“You heard?” Yarrow asked.

“Oh yes,” Awanai said. “Quite well.”

Yarrow glanced once more out the window before closing the remaining shutter. He turned to face the man in the wheelchair. “They are filled with suppositions, doubts, confusion, indignation. But,” and he paused to touch his fingertips together before his chest, as if in prayer, “they
do
know more than they realize.”

Awanai stared at the doctor several moments. Then he touched his forefinger to his cheek below his remaining eye. “Then they will bear watching.”

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Jim Beard 
hunts the biggest of all game: good storytelling. With years of comic book collecting and obsessive amounts of science fiction, fantasy, and pulp reading under his belt, he frequently startles his Northwest Ohio neighbors with his constant muttering and note-making. Beyond that, Jim’s works include 
Sgt. Janus Spirit-Breaker
, 
Monster Earth
,
Monster Aces
, the Captain Action pulp novels, and 
Gotham City 14 Miles
, a comprehensive look at the 1966 Batman TV series.

Duane Spurlock 
comes from a long line of long-winded story-tellers and near-sighted doodlers. He writes in a number of genres and occasionally illustrates books, including Brian J. Showers’ 
The Bleeding Horse and Other Ghost Stories
, which won the 2008 Children of the Night Award from The Dracula Society. He lives with his family in Kentucky, where they garden, whistle, read folktales, and tell one another stories when not climbing bean stalks and hunting trolls.

Meteor House Titles

THE WORLDS OF PHILIP JOSÉ FARMER

Anthology Series edited by Michael Croteau

Volume 1: Protean Dimensions
(
print edition
)

Volume 2: Of Dust and Soul
(
print edition
)

Volume 3: Portraits of a Trickster
(
print edition
)

Volume 4: Voyages to Strange Days
(
print edition
)

WOLD NEWTON SERIES

Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life
by Philip José Farmer (
deluxe hardcover edition
)

Also available from Altus Press as
(
ebook
 
and
 
trade paperback
)

The Khokarsa Series

Exiles of Kho
by Christopher Paul Carey (
print edition
and
ebook
)

Flight to Opar
(Restored Edition) by Philip José Farmer (
print edition
)

The Song of Kwasin
by Philip José Farmer and Christopher Paul Carey (
print edition
)

Hadon, King of Opar
by Christopher Paul Carey (
print edition
)

The Pat Wildman Series

The Evil in Pemberley House
by Philip José Farmer and Win Scott Eckert (
print edition
and
ebook
)

The Scarlet Jaguar
by Win Scott Eckert (
print edition
and
ebook
)

The Phileas Fogg Series

Phileas Fogg and the War of Shadows
by Josh Reynolds (
print edition
)

SCIENCE FICTION ADVENTURE

The Abnormalities of Stringent Strange
by Rhys Hughes (
print edition
and
ebook
)

Airship Hunters
by Jim Beard and Duane Spurlock (
print edition
)

Visit us at
meteorhousepress.com