The Stainless Steel Rat for President

"You cannot escape. Stop at once or we will fire down upon you!" Down? I poked my head out of the window and there, just above us, hovered a two-place police floater. It drifted, light as butterfly, held aloft by a gravity generator, the same kind that powered grav-chutes. A nasty-looking, large-orificed 77 weapon pointed straight at me. I pulled my head back in just in time to grab de Torres's wrist. He had extracted a deadlylooking machine pistol from the folds of his cloak and was about to fire.

"Release me! I'll blow those swine out of the air!" "Don't! I have a better plan. Bolivar, stop the car." I managed to wrestle the marquez's gun away from him. Aside from the fact that I am reluctant to kill anyone, even Zapilote's creatures, I really did have a plan.

"Slow down, then stop. We are all going to get out of the car and wave our empty hands in the air. If they wanted to shoot they would have done so already. I'm sure that they have something even more rtasty in mind... " The marqu6z gasped. "You mean to surrender to these offal-without a fight!" "Not at all," I reassured him. "We just won't use weapons. I want that floater intact-because that is our ticket out of here. Now-let's move it before any ground support arrives." The floater just hovered there above our heads as we climbed out, the gun still aimed. I tried not to look at it and sincerely hoped that my theory was correct. Or we were dead.

"Move away from the car," the amplified voice ordered, and we did so. Only then did it slowly settle to the ground.

The pilot wore the green uniform of the police. The man seated beside him, with the large-caliber gun, was all in black, his eyes concealed by black glasses. He waggled the gun in our direction.

"Just keep doing what you are doing now," he said. "I don't want to shoot you, believe me." Then he laughed. "Because that is not what we have in mind. No bullet holes. You're all going to burn to death when your defective copter crashes on takeoff. Isn't that nice? But be warned, I'll shoot if I have to. You're not walking away from this one..." "I can't bear it! My heart..." James gasped, clutching his chest, then collapsing to the ground.

"He has a coronary obfuscation!" Bolivar wailed. "I must give him his medicine!" He bent over his brother's limp body.

"Stay away-don't touch him!" the Ultimado ordered, waving his gun at them.

His attention was off de Torres for the moment, who noticed this and spoiled what should have been a smoothly operational plan. The marqu6z roared in anger and dived for the secret policeman.

He had too far to go. The machine-gun blasted and de Torres spun about and fell-even as Bolivar moved aside so James could fire. James had drawn his needle gun the instant his brother had come between him and the Ultimado. It spat a cloud of needles that dropped the gunman, then it elevated to send more needles through the open door of the floater, knocking out the pilot before he could aim his own gun.

It was over in an instant. I jumped to the marqu6z's side, tore aside the folds of his cloak.

"Damn! Bolivar-quick-the medkit from the floater." There was blood everywhere. I used my dagger to cut away his sodden clothing. A hole in his leg, not important, a puncture wound in his abdomen. A bad one. Not much that first aid could do here. I sprayed on antibiotic, slapped pressure bandages on the wounds. Turned him a bit and did the same thing to an exit wound in his side. And tried to remember my anatomy. He had been shot in the gut, that was all too obvious, but at first look no important organs seemed to be hit. And the telltale revealed that his vital signs were still good. What was the next step? "Bolivar-can you fly this thing?" "I can fly anything. Dad. " "Right. Drag out the pilot and take his place. James, take the marquez's legs. Gentle does it, up into the seat." "Shall I get him to a hospital?" Bolivar asked.

"No, that would just be murdering him. The Ultimados would see to it that he never left the place alive. The only chance he has is to get back to the castle. In behind them, James. These two-seaters will carry three in an emergency..." "But, Dad, you..." "They'll never lift four. Start a saline drip going, watch his vital signs, you know what to do-now move. And don't worry about your old dad. He's been in tight spots before. Lift it!" They did. They were good lads. As the floater shot up into the air I dragged the pilot across the road and heaved him into the car. The Ultimado followed; I wasn't quite as gentle with him. Someone looked out of a nearby house, then darted back inside. I had to get out of this area quickly-an imoortant first step for any survival plan I might come up with. I could hear the sirens coming this way already.