THE SKY'S THE LIMIT
All that day, the three rocket ships sat out on the field. Nobody went
up to them, and nobody came from them; surprisingly, Wayne had found the
courage to ignore them. But rumors were circulating wildly. Bruce Gordon
felt his nerves creeping out of his skin and beginning to stand on end
to test each breeze for danger.
With the credit they'd accumulated in the fund, nearly all their
collection was theirs. Gordon went out to do some shopping. He stopped
when his money was down to a hundred credits, hardly realizing what he
was doing. When he went out, the street was going crazy.
Izzy had been waiting, and filled him in. At exactly sundown, the rocket
ships had thrown down ramps, and a stream of jeeps had ridden down them
and toward the south entrance to the dome. They had presented some sort
of paper and forced the guard to let them through. There were about two
hundred men, some of them armed. They had driven straight to the huge,
barnlike Employment Bureau, had chased out the few people remaining
there, and had simply taken over. Now there was a sign in front which
simply said MARSPORT LEGAL POLICE FORCE HEADQUARTERS. Then the
jeeps had driven back to the rockets, gone on board, and the ships had
taken off.
Gordon glanced at his watch, finding it hard to believe it could have
been done so quickly. But it was two hours after sundown.
Now a car with a loudspeaker on top rolled into view--a completely
armored car. It stopped, and the speaker began operating.
"Citizens of Marsport! In order to protect your interests from the
proven rapacity of the administration here, Earth has revoked the
independent charter of Marsport. The past elections are hereby declared
null and void. Your home world has appointed Marcus Gannett as mayor,
with Philip Crane as chief of police. Other members of the council will
be by appointment until legal elections can be held safely. The
Municipal Police Force is disbanded, and the Legal Police Force is now
being organized.
"All police and officers who remain loyal to the legal government will
be accepted at their present grade or higher. To those who now leave the
illegal Municipal Force and accept their duty with the Legal Force,
there will be no question of past conduct. Nor will they suffer
financially from the change!
"Banks will be reopened as rapidly as the Legal Government can extend
its control, and all deposits previously made will be honored in full."
That brought a cheer from the crowd, as the sound truck moved on. Gordon
saw two of the police officers nearby fingering their badges
thoughtfully.
Then another truck rolled into view, and the Mayor's canned voice came
over it, panting as if he'd had to rush to make the recording. He began
directly:
"Martians! Earth has declared war on us. She has denied us our right to
rule ourselves--a right guaranteed in our charter. We admit there have
been abuses; all young civilizations make mistakes. But we've developed
and grown.
"This is an old pattern, fellow Martians! England tried it on her
colonies three hundred years ago. And the people rose up and demanded
their right to rule themselves. They had troubles with their
governments, too--and they had panics. But they won their freedom, and
it made them great--so great that now that _one_ nation--not all Earth,
but that single nation!--is trying to do to us what she wouldn't permit
to herself.
"Well, we don't have an army. But neither do they. They know the people
of this world wouldn't stand for the landing of foreign--that's right,
_foreign_--troops. So they're trying to steal our police force from us
and use it for their war.
"Fellow Martians, they aren't going to bribe us into that! Mars has had
enough. I declare us to be in a state of revolution. And since they have
chosen the weapons, I declare our loyal and functioning Municipal Police
Force to be _our_ army. Any man who deserts will be considered a
traitor. But any man who sticks will be rewarded more than he ever
expected. We're going to protect our freedom.
"Let them open their banks--our banks--again. And when they have
established your accounts, go in and collect the money! If they give it
to you, Mars is that much richer. If they don't, you'll know they're
lying.
"Let them bribe us if they like. We're going to win this war."
Gordon felt the crowd's reaction twist again, and he had to admit that
Wayne had played his cards well.
But it didn't make the question of where he belonged, or what he should
do, any easier. He waited until the crowd had thinned out a little and
began heading toward Corey's, with Izzy moving along silently beside
him, carrying half the packages.
He remembered the promise of forgiveness for all sins on joining the new
Legal Force; but he'd read enough history to know that it was fine--as
long as the struggle continued. Afterwards, promises grew dim....
He had no use for the present administration, but Earth had no right to
take over without a formal investigation, and a chance for the people to
state their choice.
Then he grimaced at himself. He was in no position to move according to
right and wrong. The only question that counted was how he had the best
chance to ride out the storm, and to get back to Earth and a normal
life.
He was still in a brown study as he took the bundles from Izzy and
dropped them on his bed. Izzy went out, and Gordon stood staring at the
wall. Trench? Or the new Commissioner Crane? If Earth should win--and
they had most of the power, after all--and Bruce Gordon had fought
against Security, the mines of Mercury were waiting.
He picked up the stuff from his bed and started to sweep it aside before
he lay down. Then he remembered at last; he knocked on the panel, until
it finally opened a crack.
"Here," he told her. "Food, and some other stuff. There are some refuse
bags, too. Yell when you want them removed."
She took the bundles woodenly until she came to a plastic can. Then she
gasped. "Water! Two gallons!"
"There are heat tablets, and a skin tub." The salesgirl had explained
how one gallon was enough in the plastic bag that served as a tub; he
had his doubts. "Detergent. The whole works."
She hauled the stuff in and started to close the panel. Then she
hesitated. "I suppose I should thank you, but I don't like to be told I
stink so much you can't stand me in the next room!"
"Hell, I've gotten so I can stand your grandfather," he answered. "It
wasn't that." The panel slammed shut.
* * * * *
He still hadn't solved his problem in the morning; out of habit, he put
on his uniform and went across to Izzy's room. But Izzy was already
gone.
Gordon fished into the pocket of his uniform for paper and a pencil to
leave a note in case Izzy came back. His fingers found the half notebook
cover instead. He drew it out, scowling at it, and started to crumple
it. Then he stopped, staring at the piece of imitation leather and paper
that wouldn't bend.
His fingers were still stiff as he began tearing off the thin covering
with his knife; the paper backing peeled away easily.
Under it lay a thin metal plate that glowed faintly even in the dim
light of Izzy's room! Gordon nearly dropped it. He'd seen such an
identification plate once before.
The printing on it leaped at him: "This will identify the bearer, BRUCE
IRVING GORDON, as a PRIME agent of the Office of Solar Security,
empowered to make and execute any and all directives under the powers of
this office." The printing in capitals was obviously done by hand, but
with the same catalytic "ink" as the rest of the badge. Murdoch must
have prepared it, hidden it in the notebook, then died before the secret
could be revealed.
A knock sounded from across the hall. Gordon thrust the damning badge as
deep into his pouch as he could cram it and looked out. It was Mother
Corey.
"You've got a visitor--outside," he announced. "Trench. And I don't like
the stench of that kind of cop in my place. Get him away, cobber, get
him away!"
Gordon found Trench pacing up and down in front of the house, scowling
up at it. But the ex-Marine smiled as he saw Bruce Gordon in uniform.
"Good. At least some men are loyal. Had breakfast, Gordon?"
Gordon shook his head, and realized suddenly that the decision seemed to
have been taken out of his hands. They crossed the street and went down
half a block. "All right," he said, when the coffee began waking him.
"What's the angle?"
Trench dropped the eyes that had been boring into him. "I'll have to
trust you, Gordon. I've never been sure. But either you're loyal now or
I can't depend on anyone being loyal."
During the night, it seemed, the Legal Force had been recruiting. Wayne,
Arliss, and the rest of the administration had counted on self-interest
holding most of the cops loyal to them. They'd been wrong. Legal forces
already controlled about half the city.
"So?" Gordon asked. He could have told Trench that the fund was
good-enough reason for most police deserting.
Trench put his coffee down and yelled for more. It was obvious he'd
spent the night without sleep. "So we're going to need men with guts.
Gordon, you had training under Murdoch--who knew his business. And you
aren't a coward, as most of these fat fools are. I've got a proposition,
straight from Wayne."
"I'm listening."
"Here." Trench threw across a platinum badge. "Take that--captain at
large--and conscript any of the Municipal Force you want, up to a
hundred. Pick out any place you want, train them to handle those damned
Legals the way Murdoch handled the Stonewall boys. In return, the sky's
the limit. Name your own salary, once you've done the job. And no
kickbacks, either!"
Gordon picked up the badge slowly and buckled it on, while a grim,
satisfied smile spread over Trench's features. The problem seemed to
have been solved. Gordon should have been satisfied, but he felt like
Judas picking up the thirty pieces of silver. He tried to swallow them
with the dregs of his coffee, and they stuck in his throat.
Comes the revolution and we'll all eat strawberries and scream!
A hubbub sounded outside, and Trench grimaced as a police whistle
sounded, and a Municipal cop ran by. "We're in enemy territory," he
said. "The Legals got this precinct last night. Captain Hendrix and some
of his men wanted to come back with full battle equipment and chase them
out. I had a hell of a time getting them to take it easy. I suppose that
was some damned fool who tried to go back to his beat."
"Then you'd better look again," Gordon told him. He'd gone to the door
and was peering out. Up the narrow little street was rolling a group of
about seventy Municipal police and half a dozen small trucks. The men
were wearing guns. And up the street a man in bright green uniform was
pounding his fist up and down in emphasis as he called in over the
precinct box.
"The idiot!" Trench grabbed Gordon and spun out, running toward the
advancing men. "We've got to stop this. Get my car--up the street--call
Arliss on the phone--under the dash. Or Wayne. I'll bring Hendrix."
Trench's system made some sense, and this business of marching as to war
made none at all. Gordon grabbed the phone from under the dash. A sleepy
voice answered to say that Commissioner Arliss and Mayor Wayne were
sleeping. They'd had a hard night, and...
"Damn it, there's a rebellion going on!" Gordon told the man. Rebellion,
rebellion! He'd meant to say revolution, but...
Trench was arguing frantically with the pompous figure of Captain
Hendrix. From the other end of the street, a group of small cars
appeared; and men began piling out, all in shiny green.
"Who's this?" the phone asked. When Gordon identified himself, there was
a snort of disgust. "Yes, yes, congratulations. Trench was quite right;
you're fully authorized. Did you call me out of bed just to check on
that, young man?"
"No, I--" Then he hung up. Hendrix had dropped to his knees and fired
before Trench could knock the gun from his hands.
There was no answering fire. The Legals simply came boiling down the
street, equipped with long pikes with lead-weighted ends. And Hendrix
came charging up, his men straggling behind him. Gordon was squarely in
the middle. He considered staying in Trench's car and letting it roll
past him. But he'd taken the damned badge.
"Hell," he said in disgust. He climbed out, just as the two groups met.
It all had a curious feeling of unreality.
Then a man jumped for him, swinging a pike, and the feeling was suddenly
gone. His hand snapped down sharply for a rock on the street. The pike
whistled over his head, barely missing, and he was up, squashing the big
stone into the face of the other. He jerked the pike away, kicked the
man in the neck as he fell, and unsheathed his knife with the other
hand.
Trench was a few feet away. The man might be a louse, but he was also a
fighting machine of first order, still. He'd already captured one of the
pikes. Now he grinned tightly at Gordon and began moving toward him.
Gordon nodded--in a brawl such as this, two working together had a
distinct advantage.
Then a yell sounded as more Legals poured down the street. One of them
was obviously Izzy, wearing the same green as the others!
Gordon felt something hit his back, and instinctively fell, soaking up
the blow. He managed to bend his neck and roll, coming to his feet. His
knife slashed upwards, and the Legal fell--almost on top of the Security
badge that had dropped from Gordon's pouch.
He jerked himself down and scooped it up, his eyes darting for Trench.
He stuffed it back, ducking a blow. Then his glance fell on the entrance
to Mother Corey's house--with Sheila Corey coming out of the seal!
Gordon threw himself back; he had to get to her.
He hadn't been watching as closely as he should. He saw the pike coming
down and tried to duck...
He was vaguely conscious later of looking up, to see Sheila dragging him
into some entrance, while Trench ran toward them. Sheila and Trench
together--and the Security badge was still in his pouch!