Dr. Snip Ch. 05

It was like throwing themselves into the blades of a helicopter. Snip spun and slashed at all attackers, arms and legs were sliced off. The thugs were slipping on their own blood, trying to get close enough to grab this death dealer.

Jules managed to get a shot off, but his bullet passed through the place where Snip had been a nano-second ago and smashed the life out of Crusher. Jules was the last one standing, and when Excalibur hit him it was with the flat of its blade. Jules slumped unconscious to the floor.

Steve dragged all the goons alive and dead into a heap in the centre of the room, and jumped them outside the building. He then jumped back into the room, he stood over the drain and used a hose to wash the blood off his Kevlar coat. Take us back to where we were please, he asked Merlin.

If someone had been watching Crushers headquarters, they may have noticed it flicker for a second as it vanished and re-appeared one second later. When everyone regained consciousness they were at a loss to explain why people were lying on the floor. Numbers woke up to find Crushers head propped on his desk looking at him.

Written on his forehead was the warning " I am watching you" in black ink. Numbers coolly dropped the head into his waste paper bin, and wrote the order to terminate all dealings in under eighteens.

Jules was shocked speechless. One second he was in the middle of a firefight and the next he was standing on a blazingly white plain. He was freezing, the wind howled around him like a demented banshee.

Looking down he saw bodies being covered by snow, one of them was headless, he could tell it was Crusher. In Crushers hand was a note, it informed him that he was at the magnetic north pole. The writer suggested that he head south as quickly as possible. Jules was never seen again.

Steve had decapitated Crusher's body. He took no pleasure in doing this, but it had to be done to convince "Numbers" to keep his word. Dr. Snip was not playing games here; he was deadly serious.

Steve's throat was dry after all the excitement, he suddenly fancied a cup of tea. Dr. Alison Fairweather was going through reports on the children, when a polite cough warned her that the doctor had returned. She jumped up quickly and was going to hug him, when she remembered her position and restrained herself.

'Hello Doctor, lovely to see you again, what is that on your shoes?' Steve glanced down and saw snow melting from his shoes into her carpet. Sorry Dr. Fairweather it was snowing, and I forgot to wipe my feet. Please call me Alison, why am I not surprised that you have snow on your feet in a temperature of 31C.'

'I'm a magician if you recall,' he said smiling at her. 'How can I help you Doctor?' she asked. 'I'm dying for a cup of tea if it wouldn't be too much trouble' he replied. She smiled her beautiful rare smile at him, and took him into her private room where she made him his cup of tea.

'What have you been up too since we last met?' she asked. 'Putting my proverbial finger in the proverbial hole in the proverbial dyke,' he replied. Trying to stop, or at least slow down, the trade in children around the world.'

'Wow, I am impressed,' she said, 'you and whose army?' 'Tell me about it, I often think I'm wasting my time. However I have to do something with my time and money, and I honestly can't think of anything better,' he said sipping his tea.

'Surely you have someone to help you?' she asked. 'Yes, I do I would be lost without her,' he confessed. 'Oh, you have a significant other?' she asked feeling a sense of loss for some reason.

'Yes, she is a magician as well, but leaves me to concentrate on my self appointed task while she gets on with a real job.'

'What does she do?' asked Alison swallowing her disappointment. 'Angel is a sort of policewoman, very loosely speaking of course,' he said smiling at her over his cup. 'Do you think I will ever meet her?' she asked, curious as to the type of woman this strange man would be attracted to. 'God knows, she comes from a far different culture than ours. I honestly can't ever predict how she will react to any situation. I think you and Angel would be friends, given the chance.'

'Thank you again for Peggy, she has really made me happy. When things get a bit too much for me, I go for a ride and feel rejuvenated,' said Alison referring to her horse. 'No problem Alison, it was my pleasure,' he replied smiling at this woman who was looking after his children.

Suddenly after all the worry and bloodshed, he needed to do something positive. 'Alison, Test me, ask me for something, anything in the world and I will try and magic it up for you,' he said holding her hands. She giggled like a schoolgirl at the very thought of asking for anything.

'I have no idea what I want, and the scary thing is that I half believe that you could actually get me whatever I asked for. Isn't that silly?'

'Ok then, is there any place you would like to see, anywhere in the world.Any time in the world if you like.'he persisted.

'Where would you like to take me if you could take me anywhere?' she asked, playing along with his game. 'I tell you what; you would like to meet Angel. I know where she should be and I must admit I am curious to see this particular place myself,' he said.

'I would love to meet this friend of yours, how do we get there?' 'Do you trust me Alison?' he asked. She looked at him seriously; she considered all she knew about him. 'I realize that I know almost nothing about you. However I know what you have done to help our children, and on that alone I place myself in your hands,' she replied quietly.

'It would be better for you, if you were to lie down on the floor and close your eyes,' he suggested. 'Do I have to think of England?' she smiled saucily. 'Dr. Fairweather, I am shocked at such an implication. The reason for this is that the force of my magic will make you faint, and it is best if you are already laying down rather than fall down.'

'Do I have to undress?' she asked grinning at him. 'NO! of course not, what have I unleashed here?' he spluttered, 'I promise you Alison that you are perfectly safe in my hands.' 'Just teasing Doctor,' she said as she picked a clean bit of floor, and lay down on her back smiling up at him.

'Close your eyes woman, you know the rules of magic,' he ordered. As she closed her eyes, Steve asked Merlin to take them to Angel's location. Alison blanked out for a minute, when she opened her eyes again she was looking at a beautiful blue sky. She felt strange and decided to just lie still for a moment to collect her thoughts.

What on earth am I doing? she thought, I can't just nip off on a sightseeing trip. I have my children to care for, how long have I been gone already. 'Where am I Doctor, please take me home, my children need me there,' she said out loud.

'Whoa Alison, calm down. You are on Atlantis, I will take you home and your children are fine. We will be back before they realize you are gone,' he promised. 'What do you mean Atlantis? That was a mythical island supposedly sunk ages ago,' she said looking around at the verdant island dominated by a large volcano in its center.

'We thought it was an island called Thira, in the Aegean Sea. It was thought to have been destroyed by a massive volcanic eruption about 3,500 years ago,' replied Steve helping her to her feet. 'Angel is here on behalf of her scientific community, to check if that is just a theory or fact.' 'I thought you said that Angel was a policewoman, is she also an anthropologist.'

Steve decided that for whatever reason, he would tell Alison the truth. 'Alison, I am not a magician, I am a Time traveler.' She heard the words but her brain couldn't process what he was telling her. 'Rubbish, this is a trick I don't believe in Dr.Who. He is just a fictional character, and anyway he travels around in a phone box not a 40ft Steel Container.'

'I am not Dr. Who, I only call myself "The Doctor" for a reason that you don't need to know. Alison took a deep breath, which distracted Steve in his explanation long enough for her to interrupt. 'Lets start from scratch,' she said, ' my name is Alison, what is your name please?'

'My name is Steve, pleased to meet you,' he replied shaking her hand. 'Where is your Container?' 'I don't need a Container to time travel, I just used it to keep all the kids safe while I brought them to you.' Alison sat down on the grass and looked at him. 'I am sitting comfortably, you may begin,' she said inviting him to tell all.

Steve also sat down and told her as much about him as he could, without mentioning the dark side of his quest to rescue kids from evil men. When he had brought her up to date, he sat quietly whilst she absorbed his story. 'So in a nutshell, you found a time travel machine, and are using it to rescue children from various dangers, and are then bringing them to me to look after.'

'Yes.'

'Well Doctor Steve I believe you, it is impossible not to when I am sitting on an island with a big volcano in the center of it.So where is this Angel then?' Steve didn't know, so he asked Merlin to locate Angel. The figment of his imagination that was Merlin appeared.

The old wizard was also sitting on the grass. 'Hello old friend Steve, Angel is busy at the moment with her researches, but she will be free soon and will come to join you here.' The sound of a cowbell caused them to turn and look behind them. A young girl had approached as they were talking, and stood smiling at them.

Her cow was chewing the cud, and regarding Steve with bovine indifference. Steve smiled at the little girl, and assured her that he was a friend and she was not to be afraid. She replied that she was never afraid, and did he want a drink of water.

Alison looked on in astonished silence; Steve was talking to this child in some sort of Greek language. The little girl gave Steve and Alison a drink from her leather bottle, and wandered off on her travels. 'What on earth was that language? it sounded a little like Greek, but so distorted I couldn't follow any of it,' asked Alison.

'I have no idea,' admitted Steve, ' I assume it was some form of ancient Greek, I just talk normally and my implant translates for me. It also broadcasts my words in whatever language it hears spoken.' He told her that this technology was from the 26th century.

Alison spoke four languages well, she asked him to help her up in Japanese. He immediately stood up and assisted her to her feet. Alison shrieked, as an Amazonian woman suddenly appeared out of thin air. She was 6ft tall wearing a white toga, and looked like a gymnast on steroids.

She smiled warily at Alison, and walked over to Steve. Nothing was said between them, their kiss said it all. Alison looked at the volcano to avoid looking at Steve, she didn't want to see them kissing.

'Just in time my sexy man, this place is going to blow in 12hrs and it goes up like Krakatoa,' we have to be long gone before then.' 'What about the islands population? Do they get off Ok?' he asked. 'Of course not, it goes up without warning, no I'm afraid there were no survivors,' Angel replied.

Alison was listening to this with mounting anger. 'We must warn them Steve, we can't just let them die like this.' 'Who is this?' asked Angel indicating Alison. 'Angel this is Dr. Alison Fairweather, she looks after my children.' 'And she is here because?' asked Angel. 'She is here because she is my friend, and I need someone to talk to about my life.'

'Hello Alison, pleased to meet you, I understand your concern about these people but you must remember that they died thousands of years ago. We are only observers, we must not interfere.' 'Bollicks, Steve interferes all the time; he told me so just now. Steve you can't allow these people to die if you can help them. Anyway you owe them, that little girl gave you water and you accepted it. That forms a bond between you, and you are honour bound to save her,' said Alison passionately.

Steve was well aware of Angel regarding him, she was a Time Agent and was used to this sort of thing. Time Agents were trained not to get personally involved.

Alison was looking at him, waiting for an answer. 'Fuck it,' he swore,' Merlin how many people on this fucking island?' 'Six hundred and twenty one, most of whom are living in the one village on this small island.' said the old wizard.

'Any ideas on how we rescue them old friend?' The image of the old wizard regarded Steve strangely. This goes against my programming old friend. Rescuing these people may change the future, and my hardware is programmed not to allow it.'

Steve just continued to look at Merlin. 'Oh Fuck it,' said the old man, 'you will need to collect them all together in one place. I suggest the temple in the center of the village. When they are all there I can transport them to the mainland.'

'Thank you old friend, how can I get everybody to the temple?' Merlin thought for a second. 'I can broadcast a hypnotic signal from your implant, it will only affect young children but they will be compelled to follow you. You will have to be within 20 yards of them, for it to be powerful enough to work.'

Alison jumped in surprise, as an undulating tone seemed to come from nowhere. It was a pleasant sound reminiscent of a panpipe. As Merlin could only be seen and heard by those with implants, Alison could only hear Steve's side of the conversation.

'What's going on here? What's that noise?' she asked. 'I have to walk through the village and collect the children as I go. The hypnotic compulsion will only affect children due to their young ears, but hopefully the parents will follow them,' he explained.

Steve looked at Alison thoughtfully, ' Thank you Dr. Fairweather, for reminding me of my purpose in life. Would you care to accompany me on a little stroll through the village?'

Alison smiled her rare and dazzling smile at him, and taking his arm they walked down the path followed by the cowgirl with her cow.

Angel watched them go, she had a thoughtful look on her face as she jumped to the other side of the village to wait for them. As well as the hypnotic compulsion, Steve was also shouting out a warning to the adults to follow him to safety. The people were unconvinced; the volcano seemed quiescent.

They were more concerned that their children were following this strange man, who seemed to be whistling an undulating tune. Suddenly the ground shook violently, and smoke and dust rose from the flank of the looming volcano.

Out of the houses and holes in the ground, exploded the rat population of the village. They knew instinctively what was about to happen, and wanted to get as far away from the volcano as possible. This combined with Steve's warning, caused most of the adults to grab their babies, and follow the procession through the village towards their temple.

Angel was waiting for them at the temple; she looked like a Greek goddess in her white toga. 'Gather in the temple yard,' she instructed the nervous crowd. Her implant amplified her voice, so everyone could hear it easily. She lifted up her arms, and called to the Gods to protect them.

Merlin calculated the field strength required to transport the crowd of people. Waiting until Angel completed her plea to the Gods, Steve jumped everyone to the mainland. Alison felt a bit giddy, and was supported by Steve on one arm, and Angel on the other.

The adults were all unconscious, but most of the children seemed unaffected by the QT field. Alison turned to Steve and pulling his head down to her level, kissed him soundly on his mouth. 'Thank you so much Steve, I knew you could do it if you tried,' she said looking up at him with pride.

Steve decided to wait until the adults regained consciousness, before they jumped out. Angel explained to them that the Gods had spared their lives. With a beautiful smile, she vanished into thin air.

Alison found herself in a kitchen, Angel was putting the kettle on and Steve was preparing the cups and tea bags. 'Milk and sugar?' he asked. 'Where are we?' she replied. 'We are in England, this is my home, welcome Dr.Fairweather,' said Steve handing her a cup of tea.

As she sipped her tea, he explained about his house and how he had acquired it. He also told her an edited story about how he came by the funds to run her orphanage. Alison was stunned at what he had achieved in such a short time.

'We have been gone too long, I'm worried about my children,' she said.

'You will be back at the orphanage ten seconds after we left it,' he promised. Angel had plonked herself on his lap, and was dunking her biscuit in his tea. Alison looked at the pair of them, they seemed made for each other. She felt a wrench in her heart, when she couldn't see any place for her in this team.

Angel was observing Alison closely, and asked her to take a walk with her in the garden. Alison felt very intimidated, walking beside this fit young Amazon warrior woman. Steve's garden was an old apple orchard, the women walked past the Container that Steve had parked behind the house. They came to a bench under an apple tree and sat down.

'I like you Alison,' said Angel, ' if you want sex with Steve, you have my permission. I know for a fact that he fancies you like mad, but he won't dare tell you in case he hurts my feelings.'

Alison was stunned at Angels offer.Seeing this, Angel had to explain to her that in the 26th century sex just wasn't that important. The bottom line was that if she wanted sex with Steve it was OK with Angel. Angel further surprised Alison, when she kissed her lightly on her mouth. 'If you are shy, then I could always join you in bed to show you the ropes, so to speak,' she offered the astonished woman.

'I am well aware of the 'ropes' as you put it Angel, I am not a young virgin.' Alison didn't know what to think about this, she had to admit in the privacy of her mind that she did fancy Steve. She had thought about the mysterious man, who could do inexplicable things. One of the things he could do, was to make her heart beat faster when he was near her.

So he fancied her did he; she found that fact very disturbing it made parts of her body very damp. However Angels offer to share him; had shook her badly. Since her doctor had told Alison that she would never have children, she had lost all interest in sex.

It seemed pointless to just go through the motions, without the end result being possible. Still she must admit that since meeting this strange man Steve, she had been thinking about him a lot. She looked at Angel sitting there calmly waiting for her answer. 'Thank you Angel, I appreciate your kind offer and I will consider it,' she said graciously.

'Think nothing of it,' said Angel 'I have my own agenda here, I am trying to break him of this 20th Century one man one woman mind set. I love him, but he makes me feel guilty when I shag some good looking male that isn't him. If you would accept a bit of advice I would suggest that you make the first move. If you wait for Steve to initiate things, then nothing will happen.I got him into bed with another women once, we were on Mars, and I had drugged him, but it was a start. Since then he has reverted to his old guilty mindset, and I am finding it stifling. Your intervention could save our relationship.'

Alison could take no more; she got up and staggered away holding her head. She had just about accepted the Time travel situation, and now Angel was blithely talking about Space travel as well. He'd had a threesome on Mars had he? She found herself wishing that she had been the third woman. Alison decided to take the bull by the horns, and beard the lion in his den, to mix metaphors.

Steve was minding his own business and sipping his tea, when Alison returned from her walk with Angel. He could tell at once that she was nervous and disturbed. She was pacing up and down the kitchen. 'We may have a problem with Angel,' she blurted out.