Escape Velocity: The Anthology (50 page)

       “
Now let me see... Yes, I do. You got yourself into trouble for a start. Fancy being captured by the very man you were studying. Actually, for that matter, why disguise yourself as a constable? I mean really, that’s damn stupid if you ask me. Why else do you think I’m here, other than saving your backside?”

       “
Besides that,” Frank smiled. “Anyway, I was in no real danger. Ned has a destiny, after all.”

       “
Show-off,” I mumbled under my breath as I struggled putting on the breastplate. “Gimme a hand with this, will you? It weighs a ton.”

Moments later, we were ready. After a lot of swearing about how I was supposed to do anything in the armor, let alone walk: I was not used to this armor as Ned was. I felt ridiculous, and part of that reasoning was that I was now the prime target of every police officer in the state of Victoria. I made Frank perfectly aware of my feelings, too.

       “
Now, get to that hotel. Pronto!” Frank said. “Oh, and don’t forget, you’re supposed to be wounded in your arm, hand, and foot. So limp like you are, all right.”

       “
You’re really pushing your luck,” I said as I turned back to him. I noticed he was already dragging Ned’s body away.

       “
I have to move this body to a safe place. Then I will get to my supplies. Like I said earlier, I came prepared. I won’t let you down, Michael.”

       “
Smart ass!”

I made my way to the hotel. As the sun rose higher in the sky, and the last of the mists swirled by my feet, I, disguised as Ned Kelly went back to Glenrowan as it was written in the pages of history.

      
I stepped out into the open and saw the hotel and the railway station. I could not hear very well under the great iron helmet. In fact, it was almost impossible to do anything. I trudged on, putting on my fake limp; which was somewhat funny, seeing as Frank didn’t tell me which foot I was supposed to be shot in.

      
My view of the world was only what I could see through the slit in the helmet. The next thing I remember there was a lot of shouting. Suddenly policemen, dressed like my brother, were in front of me. I saw them step back as I approached. Were they afraid of me? I shook my head. It was not me they were afraid of, but Ned Kelly. My breathing reverberated through the helmet.

      
Then all hell broke loose. I could hear the bullets bounce off the armor; with a metallic pinging noise that sounded like heavy rain on a tin roof. It was quite surreal, but I marched on. Then I felt a searing pain in my left leg. Then another, this time in my right leg. I had been shot, and due to the force of the bullets that had found my legs and the weight of the armor, I fell to the ground and saw a perfect cobalt blue sky above. Then, obscuring that view were the faces of all those policemen. I had been captured.

I awoke in a jail cell with Frank looking over me. “You have to sit tight for a while,” he whispered. “Remember, Ned has to be put on trial. Don’t worry, Michael.”

      
I groaned.

       “
They have done the best they can to see to the wounds. But when we get back, I’ll make sure you are better treated.”

       “
I’m gonna kill you for this when we get back.”

       “
Only this is all over. Then I’d like to see you try,” Frank smiled.

      
I blanked out again.

In the few months that followed, I was paraded in front of the people of Melbourne, given a sham trial, and sentenced to execution by hanging until I was dead. All as it was supposed to be. Frank helped me all the way; making sure I acted as Ned would have — sorry, did act; I get confused so easily.

      
It then came to the day before the execution, a Wednesday I believe: November 10
^th
. I have to be honest, I was more than nervous. You could say I was in a state of panic. I had not heard from Frank in nearly a week — well, not since the trial anyway.

      
I really could not do anything other than sit on the cell bench and feel sorry for myself. I looked down at my hands, sighed, and then thought about what would have happened if I didn’t press that backwards green button. Damn my curiosity.

      
Just then, the cell door clanked. I straightened up and in walked Frank. What a relief that was let me tell you. I had never been so happy to see him.

       “
Were have you been?” I snapped.

       “
Busy. It’s not easy setting up a dead man so he can be hanged, you know. Do you even realize the inherent problems involved with preserving a body in the 1800’s for months? Mmm, do you?”

       “
No, Frank,” I said, looking down to the cell floor. “I don’t — what do you mean, preserving a body? What have you got planned?”

       “
Never mind, you’ll find out tomorrow. I don’t want to get caught explaining it to you.”

       “
Oh, I see, not smart enough to understand,” I said with venom.

       “
What? Calm down, Michael —”

       “
Calm down! Calm down! You’re not the one in my place. You’re not the one about to be hanged.”

       “
Really. So you think I’ve been doing nothing all this time?”

      
There was a sliding noise, and the peephole in the cell door was slid open. “Is everything all right in here, sir?” A voice bellowed.

      
Frank turned to the door. “Yes, thank you. I’ll be out in a minute, officer.”

      
The cover slid back. There was now a silence.

      
This time, however, I broke it. “I will be a martyr to millions if you don’t get me out of this, Frank.”

      
Frank turned to the door, obvious that he had heard enough. “First thing tomorrow I will transfer you to the condemned cell. It will be there that I will make the switch. You’ll have to shave.”

       “
What, my beard?”

       “
Yes, your beard,” Frank said. “Having a beard is kind of bad for your health right about now, if you know what I mean.”

      
I nodded.

      
Just as Frank was about to leave, he added: “Oh and if things don’t turn out for the best, I want you to know that I have always looked up to you. You have been my pillar all these years.”

It was the longest night of my life. I just lay there on the bench staring at the ceiling. Making shapes in my mind and thinking about the last thing my brother had said to me. The sentence reverberated through my mind.
I had been his pillar.
It was possibly the most important thing I had ever been told in my life. Damn Frank, why did he have to be so honest?

      
The cell door was flung open. In the doorway stood Frank.

       “
It’s time,” he said solemnly.

       “
I don’t suppose there’s a chance of a retrial?”

      
Frank smiled. “It’s all taken care of, big brother.”

      
He then unlocked the shackles from the wall and escorted me to the condemned cell.

      
We arrived quicker than I would have liked. If my hands weren’t shackled together with my feet, I would have bitten my fingernails to their quicks by now. I was a nervous wreck.

       “
Get in,” he commanded once he had unlocked the door with one of the massive keys that hung from his belt. He was obviously putting on a show; as I did notice many guards looking on with curious glances and snide remarks. Frank deserved an Oscar for his acting; he very nearly convinced me that he was a hard-as-nails prison officer.

      
The condemned cell was just like any other. Once inside Frank’s demeanor changed. He was again my little brother.

       “
Here, quick, start shaving and get into this uniform,” he said as he rummaged under the bench, handing me the required equipment to accomplish such a thing. “I’ll drag out our dead friend.”

       “
What, he’s not under the bench as well?”

       “
Where else would he be?”

       “
I don’t believe this,” I said, climbing as quickly as I could into the prison guard’s uniform. “How long has he been in here?”

       “
Long enough to defrost the right amount,” Frank said in an off-handed manner. He looked as nervous as I was. “Quick, Michael, we don’t have much time. Get on with it.”

      
Frank then produced the body. It was the most hideous thing I had ever seen in my life. He was blue for a start. How were we supposed to pass him off as a living, breathing person I will never know.

      
I finished shaving, and I must admit it took at least ten years off me. I suppose that was Frank’s plan all along. I could see that having any resemblance to Ned would certainly be hazardous right about now. Frank had dressed Ned in my old prison outfit. It all seemed to be complete; all that was except that Ned could not walk, talk, or react.

       “
Now, shackle yourself up,” Frank said in his best authoritative voice.

       “
Damn, I just got out of those damn shackles. I’m not getting back into them.”

       “
How else is Ned going to walk if we don’t support him?”

       “
Oh.”

       “
Yes. Now quickly.”

      
Just as we had finished securing ourselves to Ned the door to the condemned cell opened. It was time.

We walked Ned to the gallows. Ever so slowly, but we got there. Frank’s plan to secure Ned to us worked perfectly. We had control of his hands and feet; and I must admit, he had defrosted just enough so that his body was not too stiff and unmanageable. I shuddered at the thought of all this. It was macabre to say the least.

      
I noticed Frank seemed to be enjoying himself. He even managed to smile in my direction from what I could make out from the corner of my eye. I simply did not have the courage to look in his direction, for I was afraid that I might see Ned do something he was not supposed to; like have a limb fall from his body for example. That would be all we would need right now.

      
Frank, in his wisdom had even placed the executioner’s hood over Ned, just in case people got suspicious. Even though Ned’s head hung down almost to his chest, no one questioned it. The charade seemed to be complete. There was only one thing that remained. How was it that Ned was going to talk?

      
Just after 10:00 a.m. on November the 11
^th
, Ned was strung to the gallows. The hangman adjusted his hood. It was then that I noticed Frank discretely pull from his pocket the iPod with the speakers that I had bought for him at Christmas last year.

      
My God ... he had recorded the line Ned was going to speak.
He was actually going to play a pre-recorded voice, and right before all these people, too. What a beautiful, fantastic, brilliant idea. I smiled. Frank had kept his promise.

      
At four minutes past ten the executioner pulled the lever, Ned had said his piece, and — well, the rest is history as they say. I hope that the time-line was all right. I had a sneaking suspicion that it was; besides, Frank’s ideas always worked out.

      
Frank led me away from the Old Melbourne Gaol; we had been given the rest of the day off by our commanding officer. Something about witnessing such an event. He was right: it was ghastly.

       “
Say, how do we get back?”

       “
Simple,” Frank smiled, “we push the green button again.” From his pocket, he produced a small black box. On it there was a green button marked ‘return’, below that was a red button.

       “
Keeping it simple I see.”

       “
Of course, human-friendly technology is the only way to go. What did you expect, a Star Trek tricorder?” Frank smiled with a cheeky grin. “I’ll give you the honors, just hold onto me.”

      
I pressed the green button. Once more, the holo-screen appeared before my eyes. The dates on the screen, fortunately, moved in the right direction –
towards the future.

When March 15
^th
2005 came up, the screen blinked orange. Frank pressed the red button. Instantly we were back in his house. I had never been so happy to see it.

       “
Ah, there we are, just in time for breakfast, too.”

      
I glanced at the clock on his study wall. It was seven in the morning, and I had to admit, I was rather hungry.

       “
So, where to next?” I said. I think I surprised him with that remark.

       “
I thought you didn’t want to be seen with me,  remember. I’m a know-it-all smarty pants, or some such thing.”

       “
I changed my mind... I think, I think — damn, you think this would be easy —”

       “
You don’t have to say it, Michael,” Frank said with a wave of his hand.

       “
No. No, I have to. I want to be with you... You’re my brother... and — well, I’ve learned a hell of a lot about us lately... I am proud of you, Frank.”

      
Frank just smiled. “It was rather cool, traveling in time, wasn’t it?”

       “
Besides, if I don’t come with you, who’s going to save your hide?”