The Timekeeper Conspiracy

10

Nobody moved. The pounding continued, unabated.

"Bonacieux, God curse you! Wake up and open this door!"

From behind a door on the far side of the room, they could hear the old man getting up, mumbling in an irritated fashion.

"Quickly," Bennett said, "put away your weapons!"

Lucas and Andre both sheathed their daggers. She picked up Lucas's rapier and tossed it to him. Bennett, now in possession of both lasers, hid them from sight, but kept them both within easy reach. "Open this door," he told Finn.

Finn went to the door and opened it, admitting the besotted Gascon just as Bonacieux, dressed in a dirty nightshirt, came out of his bedroom, looking bleary-eyed.

"Ah, Francois!" D'Artagnan said, stumbling into the room. "What brings you here? And Dumas, as well! What a surprise! Is there some occasion that merits this celebration? It is not my birthday, is it?"

"Gentlemen, please!" said Bonacieux. "Cannot a poor man get some sleep? I really must insist on quiet after dark! I am not a young man, I need my rest! Monsieur D'Artagnan, I've spoken to you of this before! It is bad enough that you do not pay rent-"

"I do not pay rent, good Bonacieux, because it was our agreement," said D'Artagnan. "Did I not rescue your wife from her abductors? Did I not restore her to you?"

Simon Hawke

The Timekeeper Conspiracy

"For all that I see her, she might as well be held captive still," grumbled Bonacieux.

"Now, Bonacieux, I cannot be held responsible for your marital difficulties," said D'Artagnan, winking at Delaney. "If you did not exhaust yourself by staying up until odd hours and entertaining company all night, perhaps you'd be in better shape to satisfy her."

"I! I stay up until odd hours! Really, Monsieur, I-"

"Come on, now, off to bed with you, you old fossil," said D'Artagnan, putting his arm around Bonacieux and propelling him back into his bedroom. "This is a rooming house and not a tavern! Sensible people are in bed this time of night!"

Protesting weakly, Bonacieux allowed himself to be propelled back into his room. D'Artagnan placed his hand upon the old man's back and gave him a final shove, then slammed the door shut.

"Unreasonable man," he said. He peered at Andre. "I say, Monsieur, I don't believe I know you. Have you a sister?"

"Monsieur Andre de la Croix," said Lucas, performing the introductions, "and Doc-"

"Monsieur D'Artagnan and I have already met," said Bennett, hastily. "Andre is my nephew."

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Monsieur," D'Artagnan said. "Now, about your sister…"

"My sister?" Andre said, uncertainly.

"Yes, you have a sister, do you not? Surely, you must be her brother, the family resemblance is remarkable. I refer to the woman who saved my life at the Carmes-Dechaux recently. I have been searching for her ever since, so that I might properly express my gratitude. I never expected that fate should bring her brother to my door, but-"

Someone knocked upon the door.

"What, more visitors?" D'Artagnan said. "Francois, be a good fellow and tell whoever it is to go away."

"Go away," said Delaney.

"But I must speak to Monsieur D'Artagnan!" came the distinctly feminine reply. "Oh! Goodness, who is in there?"

"Constance!" said D'Artagnan.

With an elaborate gesture, Finn opened the door. "Why not?" he said. "Everybody else is here."

Constance rushed in, all aflutter. "D'Artagnan!"

"Constance!"

"Constance?" Bonacieux croaked from his bedroom. "What, is my wife there?"

"Oh, I cannot see him now!" said Constance. "I mustn't! He is a spy for Richelieu!" She glanced around at all the others. "Goodness, who are these men?"

"We are not spies for Richelieu," said Finn.

"These are my friends," D'Artagnan said, expansively.

"Is my wife there?" said Bonacieux, from behind his bedroom door.

"No," shouted D'Artagnan. "Go back to sleep!"

"But I thought I heard her voice," said Bonacieux, opening his bedroom door.

"You were dreaming," said D'Artagnan, pushing him back into the bedroom with a hand upon his face, then booting the door closed. "Quickly, up to my room," said D'Artagnan.

"But these gentlemen…" said Constance.

"Will wait their turn," D'Artagnan said.

"What?"

"He means to speak with him, madame," said Lucas.

"Oh!" Constance said, looking very much relieved.

"My wife…" said Bonacieux, opening his door again.

D'Artagnan shoved it closed and a heavy thump could be heard from the other side. "Upstairs, now, quickly," he said.

Constance ran upstairs to the Gascon's room. They heard his door open and close as she went inside and then Bonacieux peered out again, rubbing his head.

"What happened?" he said.

"You were walking in your sleep," D'Artagnan said.

"I was!"

"Yes, and you struck your head. You'd best be careful, you could injure yourself that way."

"I thought I heard my wife "

"You were dreaming," said D'Artagnan. "Dreaming and walking and talking in your sleep; really, Bonacieux, this is too much. If this sort of thing continues, I fear I shall have to seek other quarters!"

"Oh, no, Monsieur D'Artagnan, it will not happen again, I assure you!"

Simon Hawke

The Timekeeper Conspiracy

"Good, see that it does not. I grow weary of these constant disturbances. Go to bed, Bonacieux."

"Yes, yes, I will."

"Goodnight, then."

"Good night to you, Monsieur."

Bonacieux went back to bed.

"You will excuse me, gentlemen?" D'Artagnan said. He grabbed a bottle off the table and staggered up the stairs.

Finn immediately reached for his rapier, but Bennett had both lasers out at once, covering both him and Lucas.

"Andre, take one of these and watch them for a moment, will you?" Bennett said.

"This is ridiculous, Bennett," Lucas said. "You need our help. If you really want to-"

"Sssh," said Bennett, removing a small box, about the size of a package of cigarettes, from his pocket. He flipped a tiny switch on it.

"— terrible thing!" Constance's voice came from the box. "You've simply got to help- "

"You bugged his room!" said Lucas.

Bennett glanced up at him impatiently. "You mind?"

"— anything I can, dear darling Constance, just let me- "

"Now now!"

"Oh, but Constance, I burn with the flame of desire, I am consumed with- "

There were the sounds of a brief struggle, followed by the sound of water being thrown and D'Artagnan sputtering.

"I think she just extinguished his flame with the water from his washbasin," Bennett said.

"Pooh, you stink!"

"Correction, not his washbasin," Bennett said.

"Now will you listen to me?"

"Lord, Constance, that was my best doublet!"

"The devil with your doublet! The queen is in dire danger and all you can think about is sex!"

“What, the queen in danger? Well then, why didn't you say so? Here, just let me remove this foul-smelling doublet- "

"The king has ordered a ball to be held in honor of the queen," said Constance. "And he has asked her to wear the diamond studs he gave her…"

"Yes, go on, I'll just remove these soiled breeches…"

"But the queen gave her diamond studs to Milord Buckingham," said Constance. "Richelieu must have found out about it, his spies are everywhere."

"Indeed. Here, come over to the bed and help me pull these boots off…"

"If the queen does not get back her diamond studs in time, she will be ruined! She has given me a letter to Milord Buckingham. You must go to London and bring back the studs or-"

"Yes, of course, I'll depart first thing in the morning."

"Oh! D'Artagnan!"

"Sssh, you'll wake your husband."

"Oh! Stop it!" There was a ripping sound. "My dress!"

"I'll buy you another. I'll buy you a whole closetful of dresses-"

Bennett switched off the speaker. "Well, that's it," he said. "Taylor's made his move. It's started."

"What's the plan?" said Lucas.

"I don't know for certain," Bennett said. "Somehow, he's going to interfere with the musketeers and prevent them from delivering the studs. The queen's affair with the prime minister of England will be made public and her reputation will be ruined. She may even be accused of treason."

"Then we're going to have to make sure that she gets her studs back," Lucas said. "We're not going to be able to do that unless you cooperate with us."

"I can't allow myself to be arrested," Bennett said.

"Look, if Mongoose wanted to arrest you, he could have done so at any time," said Finn. "He knows all about you, who you are and what you do. He's had you watched."

"You were being used by both sides, Bennett," Lucas said. "Look, Mongoose isn't interested in your connection with the underground. He doesn't care. All he wants is to get Taylor."

"So I tell him what I've told you and he lets me go, is that it? You really expect me to believe that? I've told you men everything I know. There isn't anything further that I can-"

The door was kicked in and five men dressed in the uniform of Richelieu's guard burst into the room, knocking Delaney to the floor. Bennett reacted immediately, firing his laser. One of the men fell dead, another fired a laser of his own at Bennett, killing him instantly. There was a crash of glass as Andre dove through a window. From outside, someone shouted and there was the sound of several pairs of running footsteps. Mongoose entered the room, dressed in the uniform of a captain in the cardinal's guard. He glanced briefly at Bennett's body.

"The fool could have saved himself a lot of trouble," he said.

Bonacieux came hobbling out, looking like a startled chicken.

"What is it? What's the matter? What is the reason for this ruckus? Can't a poor man get some-" He saw the agents in the uniform of the cardinal's guard and instantly fell silent, eyes wide with terror.

"Back in your room!" said Mongoose. Bonacieux gave a little yelp, then ducked back into his bedroom like a frightened rabbit darting back into its hole. The door slammed and they heard the key turn in the lock.

"All right, get him out of here," said Mongoose, indicating Bennett's body. Two of the agents lifted Bennett's body from the chair, each draping an arm around their shoulders. They started toward the door when there was the sound of a door slamming upstairs and then D'Artagnan appeared, standing at the head of the stairs, shirtless and shoeless, holding a rapier in one hand while he attempted to fasten his trousers with the other. His drunken gaze fell on the agents and he gave a shout. "Hark! An invasion! To arms, my friends! One for all and one for-"

He lost his balance and fell headlong down the stairs to collapse in an unconscious heap upon the floor, his pants around his knees.

Mongoose bent over him for a moment, then straightened. "Well, he's alive," he said. "It's a miracle he didn't bust his head open." He glanced up the stairs toward D'Artagnan's room, then back down at the senseless Gascon. "Looks like Madame Bonacieux is going to have some explaining to do," he said. "You had the house bugged," Lucas said. Mongoose sighed. "Priest, you seem to be a master of stating the obvious."

"How did you know to bug D'Artagnan?"

"I had D'Artagnan's house bugged, I had Athos, Aramis, and Porthos bugged, I had Treville bugged, and I had Richelieu's private chambers bugged," said Mongoose. "The king and queen haven't been able to fart without my knowing about it and I've had Buckingham under surveillance in London. I'm not here to fool around, Priest, I'm here to stop a terrorist plot. Now if you gentlemen don't mind, we've got work to do. Let's go."

They were taken to an unassuming house on the Rue Servadoni, one of several places the agency had established as safehouses. There were no other tenants and the landlord had been given a long vacation in the country. One of the agents made them coffee and brought them cigarettes, which they gratefully accepted.

"Looks like you blew it, Mata Hari," Finn said. "You had everyone under surveillance except the one person who really mattered. Milady was a natural, right? A perfect pawn for the terrorists to use. It was so obvious, I'll bet you figured they wouldn't come within a mile of her."

"You're becoming very tiresome, Delaney," Mongoose said.

"I love you too, sweetheart."

"Your constant efforts to provoke me are not going to succeed," he said. "I have a job to do and, for that matter, so do you. When it's over, I'll be more than happy to accommodate your barroom instincts, but until then, put a lid on it."

Finn nodded. "You've a date, friend."

"And you've just bought yourself a long stay in the hospital, assuming you survive the next few days," said Mongoose. "As a matter of fact, you're wrong about Milady, or Taylor, as the case may be. I had her house bugged. You know what I got? A lot of stupid chatter with gentleman callers about the weather, fashion, court intrigue and other senseless babble. I had my men move in tonight. Know what they found?"

"A lot of prerecorded conversations," Lucas said. "Taylor anticipated you."

"Exactly. In that sense, I'm willing to concede your point, Delaney. I did blow it. Taylor put in an appearance every now and then and did some entertaining to keep up the illusion, but no real business was ever conducted in that house. I must admit, I never even considered the fact that he might have killed the real Milady de Winter and taken her place. It was a master stroke."

"What about Bennett?" Lucas said.

"What about him? He ceased being an important factor once we heard what we needed to know."

"I'm just interested to know what you would have done with him if he hadn't fired on your men. Or was that the whole purpose of busting in like that, to provoke him?"

"Now what would have been the point in that?" said Mongoose. "If he hadn't been a suicidal fool, I'd have placed him under arrest and clocked him out and he'd still be alive."

"You mean he'd be alive to be interrogated for the purpose of tracking down as many members of the underground as he kept in touch with," Lucas said.

"You surprise me, Priest. I wouldn't have thought that you had any sympathy for deserters. Besides, that would be none of my concern. It would've had nothing to do with the job at hand. Thanks to Bennett, it's almost over now. There's only one thing left for you to do."

"Let me guess," said Finn. "You want us to go along to London with the musketeers, just to make sure everything runs smoothly."

"That shouldn't be too hard," said Mongoose. "I'll have things covered from both ends. I've got my people in position both here and in London and you'll be covered from the air en route."

"From the air!" said Finn.

"That's right. I'll have two agents equipped with Airborne issue floater paks doing recon for you."

"That should work just fine so long as nobody looks up," said Finn.

"The risk is negligible. Suppose one of the musketeers does spot them? So what? You think anyone is going to take them seriously if they come back with stories about flying people? They're not exactly known for their sobriety. Our primary concern is to prevent the split. Everything else is of secondary importance. You'll be equipped with miniature comsets that will enable you to keep in contact with the recon party. Our man in London is prepared for your arrival there, so if Taylor doesn't make his move before then, he'll be picking you up and giving you your instructions. You will also be issued lasers. It should be a piece of cake."

"Except for just one little thing," said Finn. "Taylor still has that chronoplate."

Mongoose grinned. "Well, you didn't want it too easy, did you?"

"I was just wondering what you intended to do in case Taylor and company decided that they'd reached the point of diminishing returns and skipped out to another time period," said Lucas. "You've never quite answered that to my satisfaction."

"There's always that risk, of course," said Mongoose. "But from what I know of Taylor, I'm willing to bet that he'll take it right down to the wire. He'll exhaust every possibility before he gives up on his operation. He'll use that chronoplate to try and outmaneuver us in this time period before he attempts to escape to another one."

"Suppose he does?" said Lucas.

"If he does, he'll find it very difficult to mount another operation," Mongoose said. "He'll need more financing and more manpower." Mongoose smiled. "A short while ago tonight, one of my men clocked out with a recorded testimony, in Jack Bennett's own words, proving conclusively that there has been and continues to be a link between the underground, the Timekeepers and the Temporal Preservation League. That, added to the other evidence we've gathered, will constitute all the proof the Referee Corps needs to order the arrest and interrogation of every known member of the Temporal Preservation League. The interrogation sessions will result in all the others being rounded up, as well. It will break the back of the anti-war effort."

"And result in the arrest, interrogation… what is that term you people use? Oh, yes. Interrogation with extreme prejudice," said Finn. "It will mean the arrest, re-education and forcible induction of a lot of innocent people whose only crime was in disagreeing with temporal policy. That will make things very convenient for the Referee Corps, won't it? They'll be able to draft all their political enemies."

"That shouldn't bother you, Delaney," Mongoose said. "After all, you're already in the service, aren't you?"

The door opened and an agent entered, very out of breath.

"She got away," he said.

"What? What happened?"

"She got Zebra with that damn laser," said the agent. "I hit the dirt when she fired and when I got up, she was gone."

"You idiot," said Mongoose. "Get out there and find her! I want her wasted, you understand?"

"Seems like you've thought of everything, Mongoose," said Delaney. "Now all you've got to worry about is a displaced person on the loose in Paris with a laser."

"She won't be on the loose for long," the agent said, grimly.

"I wouldn't know about that," Lucas said. "We ran into her on our last mission in 12th-century England and she struck me as being extremely capable. Jack Bennett was the only friend she had in this time period. How do you think she feels about the people who killed him?"

"Are you seriously suggesting that she'd try to take us on?" said Mongoose. He laughed. "In that case, she's as good as dead. We haven't got anything to worry about."

"Just the same," said Lucas, "I'd watch my back if I were you."

"I'm telling you, we have to get out now," said Jimmy Darcy. "They got Tonio. They must know everything by now! It's over, Adrian!"

"Don't be silly, Jimmy," said Milady, smiling faintly. "Nothing is over. Adrian knows what he's doing."

"Stop it! Stop it! Christ, Adrian, you're losing it! You're not Milady, for God's sake!"

"Jimmy, settle down. This is a most unfortunate display. There's nothing to be served by your losing control and panicking."

Darcy glanced at Freytag in exasperation. "Bruno, for God's sake, don't just sit there!"

Freytag smoked a cigarette, regarding him silently. Darcy went up to him and took him by the shoulders.

"Bruno, listen to me. There's no way we can succeed, not here, not now. They've got us hopelessly outnumbered. We've lost. They know the plan!"

"They know nothing of the sort," Milady said.

"What are you talking about?" said Darcy, spinning to face Taylor. "They know we're going to try to prevent the musketeers from bringing back the diamond studs! They'll have all their manpower focused on-"

"Who said that was the plan?" said Milady, softly.

Jimmy stared at Taylor. He looked back at Freytag, then at Taylor once again.

"What are you talking about? Of course that was the plan! We worked it all out! You said-"

"I never said any such thing," said Milady. "Adrian might have mentioned something of the sort, but that was only for your benefit."

Darcy looked bewildered. "What? I don't understand."

Milady got up and crossed the room, moving gracefully to the window. She looked out at the sun rising over Paris.

"The opposition has greater resources than we have," she said, without turning around. "Adrian always knew and understood that. He knew that the only way we could succeed was by using misdirection." She turned around to look at Darcy and smiled. "For security reasons, only Adrian and Bruno, and of course, myself, knew what the real plan was. And now you'll be able to appreciate why that was necessary.

"In a short while, D'Artagnan and the musketeers will be departing for London in order to see Lord Buckingham and get back the diamond studs in time for the queen to wear them to the ball. Unbeknownst to the musketeers, they will be supported in their efforts by the entire might of the Temporal Intelligence Agency team. I've made certain that Cardinal Richelieu knows all about the mission of the musketeers and he will have his men attempt to intercept them at several points along their route. All of this works in our favor. Mongoose will have no way of knowing if the men who will be attacking the musketeers are Richelieu's people or Timekeepers. In fact, we won't be involved at all. They will all be off on a fool's errand, a wild goose chase.

"When they reach London, should they get that far-and with the help of the TIA, I have no doubt that they will-they will collect the studs from Buckingham and start back, only to face further attempts to stop them on their return trip. Mongoose will be handicapped by history. He will be forced to use a certain amount of restraint in protecting the musketeers, since the historical progression of events must be preserved. The tension will build. They won't know when they can expect us to strike. They won't know exactly what to expect."

"What can they expect?" said Darcy, hesitantly.

"They can expect a crushing defeat when they return," said Milady. "Oh, I have no doubt that they will return safely with the diamond studs. I'm certain that, after that, it won't take them long to guess my plan. By that time, Richelieu, Queen Anne, and King Louis will have been assassinated."

"Assassinated!" Darcy's voice was little more than a whisper. "My God, Adrian, you can't do that! Don't you realize what that would mean? It would cause a timestream split!"

"A rather massive one, I should think. With all three of them dead, France will be forced to abandon the siege of La Rochelle in the face of much greater problems. It will, without a doubt, affect France's participation in The Thirty Years' War and, of course, it would prevent the birth of Louis XIV. I should think it would be an absolute disaster, well beyond the hope of any effort at historical adjustment. And with Mongoose and his agents running about like chickens with their heads cut off, it shouldn't be too difficult to isolate him and settle an old and outstanding score. Brilliant, don't you think?"

Darcy's mouth worked soundlessly for a moment and his hands began to shake. " You're mad," he said at last. "Bruno, surely you can see he's mad! Our purpose, our whole reason for existence is to stop the war machine before something happens that will irreversibly affect the course of history and that's precisely what he intends to do! He wants to cause the greatest disaster ever to befall mankind! It's megalomaniacal lunacy!"

Taylor stiffened and his eyes glazed over for a moment.

"Bruno, for God's sake, we've got to stop him!"

"Why?" said Freytag, softly.

Darcy turned pale. "You're both insane," he said. He pulled out his laser. "I'm not going to let you do it, Adrian. I won't let you throw away everything we've worked for all these years. It ends right here."

"You're right, Jimmy," Taylor said, his hand in a fold of his dress. "It ends right here… for you." He pressed a button.

Darcy gave a violent jerk, like a hooked trout breaking the surface of the water. His head snapped back and blood erupted from his nose and mouth. It trickled down his cheeks, seeping from his eyes, and it flowed from his ears and down his neck. He was dead before his body hit the floor.

"Now we can say that Doctor Bennett has fully served his purpose," Taylor said. "Bruno, will you join me in a glass of wine?"