The Jim Morrison Heist Pt. 02

"He calls himself Richard Darling, Gyp, and no, I don't believe he wants to sell or let anyone drive his car. It belonged to his father."

"My heart sinks but I am in total understanding, Mr. Darling, sir. I'd be unable to part with this splendid machine myself. Would you object to me peeking under the bonnet a moment? Yes? Then how about honking the klaxon a time or two?"

Jallen happily complied with the last request. Two extended squawks reverberated across the fields.

"Music to my ears, Mr. Darling, sir, thank you so many."

Zoey said, "Which way to the garage, Gyp?"

"No need for that, Meez Zoey. You can leave it parked on the other side of my wagon where no one will see it. I'll set wards around it to protect it and erase it from the view of anyone's eyes except the six of ours. You lock it and keep the keys till you're ready to depart, Mr. Darling. That way I can admire it in your absence and give it my personal attention. I'll even detail it for you for nothing."

Zoey again intervened for Jallen. "I don't think Mr. Darling wants anyone to touch his Cadillac, he waxed it after the rainstorm Monday. What about the parking garage, everyone else has to . . ."

Gyp made a show of stoppering his ears with his forefingers. "I won't hear of it, please don't say it. If some drunk sideswipes this irreplaceable testament to manufacturing or out of my sight puts a scratch on it I'd be tempted to end my own life."

Jallen said, "Would Zoey and I be immune to the wards?"

"I will cast a warding spell through which only you and she can pass. I will exempt not even myself. I won't be able to put a fingerprint on it."

"What about hailstorm or tornado protection?" Jallen asked, just to hear the fellow's answer.

"Please explain to your friend, Meez Zoey."

"Gyp can work weather with the best of them, Jal, I mean, Mr. Darling."

"Why didn't all these weathermen and women do something about that all-night deluge early this week?"

Zoey touched Jallen gently on the shoulder of his new suit and gave him a searching look. "I didn't mind that bit of water Monday one whit. Sometimes good things come from staying inside on rainy days. Think back, what inconvenience did you suffer that afternoon and evening?"

"You're absolutely right, my darling, must focus more on the positive," Jallen said. "As I recall I ate and slept very well though I stayed up later than usual."

She linked arms with him. "Then let's go to a party, Mr. Darling."

Gyp left off admiring Jallen's car like his firstborn child. "Are the two of you ready to descend? Enter into my wagon world if you please."

Jallen took a step when Zoey reminded him their next stop afterward would be the Rowling-Boyle's front door. "Did you want to put on a mask?"

"What would I do without your memory?"

Back to the Caddy, he unlocked the passenger door to remove two small clear tubes from the glove compartment. He showed them to her.

"Gel masks. Got one for you too if you'd like but after all the time you spent on your make-up you may not want to."

Gyp sang out in agreement, his voice audible to the Far Owls exit. "Meez Zoey, my precious one, you're far too indefatigably beautiful to hide your perfect face. You do not conceal your beauteous bosom for that too would be an egregious fallacy. I implore you, no mask. With all due respect I might add you dispense with those superfluous panties as well. And know that you can leave them in my faultless safekeeping until your departure. I would watch over them with the same care and attention to detail as Mr. Darling's fine Cadillac."

Jallen lips curled up at the ends in a barely suppressed smile when she informed the astral one, "Nice try, no score, Gyp."

Her escort for the evening voiced his opinion. "But both of us concur, Miss Quark. Two men in a short time advise you to forego a mask, the panties, of course, are your own personal choice. How can two males be wrong with living proof standing right in front of them?"

Zoey kissed them both on the cheek in turn. "Well, two old wise men might be correct but they can go fuck. Lord Alvin would be overjoyed too but Lady Anyys doesn't have that much of a sense of humour."

Jallen made a last effort to overcome her objections. "I thought you didn't know them that well."

Zoey held up the backs of both her fists to them, the middle fingers upraised. "Here's one for each of you gentlemen. For now we should put in an appearance at the manor."

Jallen said with a wan face for Gyp, "So how does this work? Are you saying we enter the wagon and then materialize at the Rowling-Boyle's front door?"

Gyp waved a forefinger at Zoey. "You've told him and diluted my surprise for a newcomer?"

"I've done no such thing," she said. "Mr. Darling happens to be a perceptive individual despite what the perpetual vacant stare on his face suggests."

She properly aligned Jallen's gel mask. They needed to be set properly the first time. The paper thin masks cling to the skin without the aid of strings tied behind the head. Jallen's bright red mask covered his nose and forehead with two downward wings overlaying his cheekbones. Masks that style are best applied standing in front of a mirror or by a second party. Without one or the other the mask tends to be crooked.

Zoey stood back to assess the finished product. "Rather striking, if I say so myself. You've morphed into a man of enigma and intrigue."

He asked, "How many years does the mask take off?"

"I'd say at least three, four months."

Jallen knew he looked chagrined even with his facial features masked; eyes are indeed the windows to the soul. Zoey placated him by patting his cheek. She tossed the other gel mask tube to Gyp who caught it, unpacked and unrolled it then haphazardly clamped it onto his face.

"How do I look, my stunning Eros of the heartstrings?"

"A simple pink domino with little red hearts suits you, Gyp."

Jallen stood beside her, sagely nodding in agreement.

"The mask, she doesn't clash with my outfit?"

"Not at all," Zoey and Jallen said in unison. To Jallen she said, "Ta for the mask by the way. But little red hearts? For me?"

"Knew I shouldn't've passed up the skulls and crossbones."

Gyp retrieved his 12 gauge and led the way inside his conveyance. Jallen let Zoey precede him up the wooden steps on the back of Gyp's wagon. Inspecting her superb buttocks clenching and unclenching in lewd tandem mere inches from the tip of his nose was a sight of which he could never tire. He was glad he'd had the foresight to keep his trousers zipped because by the time he stepped inside the gypsy wagon Jallen again felt the strain.

He forgot that immediately after pulling the door to behind him. The size of the wagon interior far exceeded its outer dimensions. Incredulous, Jallen reopened the door to take stock of the exterior again. He glanced over his shoulder at Gyp and Zoey. They unsuccessfully tried to maintain straight faces. Beyond them loomed a space larger than an empty aircraft hangar or a movie warehouse containing enormous indoor soundstages.

Gyp explained, "Once the door is securely closed inter-dimensional time and space begins to manifest itself inside. The transition phase lasts only seconds. All this empty space will begin to fill itself in. As you will see the effect is like time lapse photography as the wagon populates. It can be disorienting at first."

Jallen was lost for words. The place could house Trafalgar Square. Before his eyes, dirt and soil began filling in layers grain by grain of what had been the wood wagon floor and some scattered throw rugs. A terrain of earth resulted and stretched before him, vast as a desert. Trees and brush sprouted from that and grew with astonishing speed till a forest surrounded the three of them. Overhead Jallen saw a daytime sky even though night had fallen outside. When he looked down and around him trees multiplied from just a humble wood into a forest and finally a jungle. Between gaps in the trees he saw bodies of water: ponds, lakes, rivers. A mountain range reared itself into existence in the distance with an almighty grinding sound. Birds chirped and animals called to one another through the foliage.

Jallen said, "This is like watching Creation in progress."

"No one's ever put it quite like that." Zoey had clasped his hand, holding it while nature unfolded all around them. "This has always been my favorite part of visiting Runesgate Manor. It's a wonder to behold." Jallen thought the same about her buttocks but refrained from mentioning it. He didn't want to wallow in the mire of the crass and the crude by drawing undue attention to them, they needed none of his help.

Gyp ducked into the shades of green, beckoning Jallen and Zoey to follow. They went, craning their necks. By the time they got deep amidst the trees Jallen suffered a mild headache. Gyp waved them on, signaling to catch up with him. Shortly he stopped where a path began to wind and meander ahead through the jungle.

Jallen asked, "This seems like a convoluted process to pay a call on the Rowling-Boyles. Does it always take this long to get to the manor's front door?"

Gyp said, "Inside here we're no longer in an earthly dimension when my painted wagon is doing it's thing. You're in a time warp, so your sense of time is skewed. You closed the wagon door only thirty seconds ago."

Zoey leaned into him, he felt her heart throbbing under the cushion of her breasts. "This is a portal to the stars if Gyp manipulates the controls for that destination. You and I will descend to Runesgate Manor, possibly as deeply as the vicinity of the molten core of the earth."

"Or hell."

"If you choose to put it that way. When you're inside with windows you can't see out of it gets hard to tell."

"Mr. Darling, I wish you both a safe voyage and you may comfort in the fact your earthly transportation is under the best of care in your absence." Gyp gave a respectful nod and shook Jallen's hand warmly, his smile toothy and ingratiating. "A final caveat, you two. Follow this path and do not stray off of it. As you will see along the way there are tributaries and branches leading off to the side, but nothing you can misconstrue for this wide and safe walkway through nature. Enjoy the party and kiss this sweet child's lips for me."

Gyp inclined his head again then disappeared into the trees, doubtless to reassume his duties as gatekeeper and parking lot attendant. Zoey kept her arm linked around Jallen's. They started down the path through the lush ochre and emerald foilage. He looked at his watch and then at her.

"Are you shocked, professor?"

"Just before we went into the gypsy wagon I noticed the time was 9:45."

"And what time is it now?"

"9:46, but it feels like fifteen or twenty minutes since then."

"That's the time warp Gyp told you about. If your head aches a little, that's why. Mine does too. That'll go away when we get out of here."

"You told me about underground car parks earlier. Had we parked in one of those would we have taken to different route to the manor?"

"No, all visitors always go through the astral gypsy. Even the Prime Minister when he comes to hang at the manor."

"So no matter where you park or who you are you always go through the gypsy wagon to reach Runesgate?"

"I always have. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering if there's other ways in and out."

Jallen swiveled in the middle of the trail to embrace her, kissing her deeply, crushing her to him, his wandering hands massaging her ass.

"I still think Gyp is right, you really should lose the panties."

"I lost them on my first ride in your car."

"You got them back like a boomerang. Didn't you?"

"Or I could be more selective about accepting rides from men I'm not that well acquainted with."

"Not the first option I would endorse. Nor are the two of us nodding acquaintances, Zoey, you've been in my class four weeks, five. How long till we get to the front door?"

"No longer than it would take parking at the Rothschild estate, winding your way across their parking apron and up their driveway. What time is it now?"

Jallen shot his cuff and was again surprised. "It's still 9:46. I know we've been walking longer than five minutes."

"Your ticktock doesn't think so. Time's standing still."

"Then we have time to . . ."

"We'll have enough of that after the party, my randy Mr. Darling."

"We could indulge a little slap and tickle now and not be wasting any time at all."

"In theory that makes sense," she said gently. "But if we got round to the ol' push and pull it would have the same downsides as at my granny's house. Party dress, make-up, my hair, et cetera."

"It never hurts to ask I always say. Have you ever had a look at one of those side paths Gyp warned us to avoid?"

"No, and before you ask why not, it's because it could be dangerous. And I don't know about you but I'm in no mood to die or be torn limb from limb or whatever consequences lie beyond this trail."

"Surely it can't be all that bad."

"You have no earthly idea what you're talking about. Ten minutes ago you didn't have a clue stuff like this was possible. You forget we're in an inter-dimensional portal. We could traipse down some trail and end up on the surface of Saturn's ring. We would die there. No air to breathe, no atmosphere."

"Look down that path there. See that bit of fog among the trees? It's not that far off, fifteen feet maybe. Let's detour slightly for a minute and have a look. If it's the surface of the moon we'll trot right back over here."

"You bent that nicely. Adam didn't tempt Eve remember, it was the other way around."

"C'mon!"

"I don't know," argued Zoey.

"Bawk bawk BAWK! One quick kiss then we'll be drinking punch by 9:47."

Jallen pulled her by the hand toward the fog. At first she hesitated but gave in saying, "It does look like a romantic spot for some tonsil hockey," and let herself be urged along.

But the fog got too thick to see through. Both of them became alarmed and turned back to the main trail, but an unexpected lurch under their feet plunged them out of the fog into a railroad yard. With a noonday sun overhead Zoey's appearance took on the washed out quality of a ghost in a cheap special effects movie. His hand holding hers also assumed the same ethereal transparency. And they were in the midst of other people who appeared solid, and real. Two men crouched behind a picket fence in a copse of trees. The one on the right knelt, aiming a rifle into a paved street below them; the other beside him held binoculars up to his eyes and spoke quietly to the gunman. Both seemed quite unaware Zoey and he gazed over their shoulders.

A cheering crowd lined each side of the street at the bottom of the incline. On the sidewalk nearest them many people held cameras, all watching someone or something approaching from the left. Those across the street loitered alone or in small groups in a park or grassy area. They watched to their right. Tension as thick as a Burberry cloaked Jallen. The hair raised on his head like he stood in the middle of an electric field. Under his clothes the hair on his chest and arms reacted the same way. The unreal sensation creeped him out and he realized he held his breath.

Zoey said urgently, "Professor, I can see you but through your body. I can see what's in the foreground directly ahead of you."

She let go of his hand so she could stand next to him.

Not breathing, Jallen said, "You look exactly like how you described me, a transparent outline of your body."

They conversed in excitable voices behind the rifleman and one with binoculars who did not hear them or pay any heed. They were mindless of the uncomfortable proximity of Zoey and his presence.

She asked, "Is that some kind of plaza down there?"

"It sure is. Do you feel a dreadful sense of déjà vu or electrical charge humming around and through you?"

"Yes, like I know what's about to happen. I don't want to see it but I can't look away. Where in hell are we?"

"I've an eerie feeling we're about to see someone get his head blown off."

"So do I. These blokes in front of us are a kill squad."

"Y'think? The rifle made me a little suspicious too. Let me see if I can talk him out of it."

Jallen reached over to tap the gunman on the shoulder but he couldn't feel the contact and the lad taking aim couldn't either. The noise level of the people in the plaza intensified. He heard several firecrackers pop or a car backfiring, or gunshots. A long limousine hove into his line of vision on the left, an open car without a top containing men and women, seated. A man in a suit in the back clawed at his throat with both hands as if he'd choked on a mouthful of food and couldn't clear his throat. A woman seated next to him turned to see what was wrong. The limo came to an almost full stop, not once but twice.

Directly in front of Jallen the rifle discharged with the thunder of an elephant gun. A big puff of dense white smoke hung in the air above the rifleman, the other fellow long gone. In his place stood Gyp with his arms crossed and an aggravated look on his face. He appeared as solid as the other men with the gun and binoculars.

Jallen hyperventilated as he grabbed a horrified Zoey by the arm. They started running to Gyp. Again the thick enveloping cloud blotted out their vision. The next thing Jallen knew he and she tumbled in a sprawl of limbs onto the main trail they'd detoured from. Gyp maintained his footing, still standing, but he started yelling at them, discombobulated and angry, any vestige of his former jocularity stripped away.

He hollered, "I warned you two not to stray off the trail. What the if you see kay were you doing?"

Gyp's anger didn't fully register with them. Jallen reeled with shock and confusion. He'd been psychically yanked back from another time into the present after being wrenched out of it before. Zoey bounded to her feet and commenced cursing him with a sailor's vocabulary. She must be in shock from that ordeal, like me, Jallen thought, dizzy and speechless.

Once Zoey calmed down, Gyp said, "Fortunately I was still in the wagon when you two wandered off the trail. Something felt very wrong to me, like a six sense. I ran down the trail to find you. When I see all the fog I knew where you'd disappeared. Meez Zoey, what happen in there?"

Her lips tightened into a firm line, as if ready to rain a load of ire on the astral gypsy. Jallen took her in his arms, smoothing a comforting hand down her back over and over, assuring her they'd survived. Gyp hopped in nervous circles around them, face ashen.

"What happen, Meez Zoey?"

"I think we went back in time and to witness a murder." To Jallen she said, "That's what we did, didn't we?"

He nodded with agreement. "We saw an assassination that happened a long time ago."

Gyp gestured at the elements all around them. "See! There is nothing good happening out there. That's why I urge you to stay on the trail laid out here." He gave it a few stomps with his red heel. To Jallen he seemed scared and angry. "So are both of you of sound mind and body now? No injuries, not even a scratch or mosquito bite? All in one piece? Do you want to go home? Do you want to go on the party, have a little fun?"

"We deserve some after that bad trip," Zoey said.

"Do you want me to personally accompany you to the manor door?"

Zoey shook her head no. "We apologize for alarming you, Gyp, and causing unnecessary grief. From the bottom of our hearts, thanks for riding to our rescue. To make up for all the trouble we caused I assure you Mr. Darling will let you honk the Cadillac klaxon some and even rev the motour before we go."

Jallen promised, "And you can check under the bonnet till your heart's content, mate."