The Diaries of Cordelia Chan

Our first stop was a designer fashion arcade, not in my home shadow, but Robert wasn't any the wiser. I brought a couple more dresses for my self, and a couple of outfits for Robert including a suit. Our next stop was a general clothing store, when I bought him a suitcase and filled it with general workaday, clothing, including several sets of clothes suitable for a barman. Our last stop was stop was an army surplus store, when I brought two night camouflage outfits, a ranging monocular, a combat knife, a desert eagle and a Glock 19, two H&K MP5 SDs, a flare gun, a dozen flares, and half a dozen smoke grenades. I hoped we wouldn't need the H&K's or the grenades but I couldn't be sure. I could only control probability so far. We then drove on and I picked up a 4 wheel drive to test drive in another shadow. At this point we changed into the combat gear , and I gave Robert the Glock and one of the two H&K's. He looked at me in puzzlement, the first vague comprehension of what he might have got himself involved in dawning. His only real question at this point was why I insisted on carrying the sword everywhere I went. I chose not to answer him.

Having kitted up we drove into the hills, well actually shadow, I had set ups on a course to bring us back to my home shadow but at a place where I could acquire in excess of 2 million dollars worth of bearer bonds, from people who wouldn't miss it because they legitimately shouldn't have it, weren't Triad or Yakuza, and were involved in a drugs transaction

It was about 10 minutes later, that he asked what exactly was going on, not surprising given the colour of the sky and the strange vegetation we were driving to. I told him we were going for a drive.

"Crap. We don't need guns and camo gear for a drive."

"We do to acquire what I need although I hope not to actually have to use it."

"Who exactly are you?"

"I'm a half Chinese - half English girl from New York that you fucked several times last night"

"That's not what I meant."

"It's what you asked."

"No it wasn't"

"You asked who I was. I answered your question."

"Okay, technically you answered the question but its not what I meant and you know it."

"You can always get out now. I'll come back and pick you up when I'm done."

He didn't reply, which enabled me to get on with the task at hand, which was just as well as the terrain was getting more mountainous, the trees denser, and the heat and humidty levels were increasing.

We drove for another hour before the air started to cool, primarily as a result of us being about 7000 feet above sea level in the midst of a mountain range. My senses told me we were close to our destination.

I stopped the car about 10 minutes later. About 1000 feet below us, tucked in a valley was a palatial residence. The road we were on was little more than a dirt track, obviously little used. In the grounds sat 3 helicopters, one which appeared to be a gunship.

"Exactly where are we, how did get here, and what are we doing, and don't give me technically correct answers, I want to know what's going on."

"I'd guess we're somewhere in South America and we're going to relieve the drug dealers down there of over 2 million dollars worth of US Treasury bearer bonds. I'm going to need you to drive."

"What? It's not possible. You can't get from Sacramento to South America in less than 2 hours. And I'm not going down there. I'd like to live to at least see tomorrow."

"Tomorrow is relative, and as we're here it's quite possible to get here in under 2 hours. You can suit yourself however. The chances are I'm going to have to leave in a hurry so you'll be on your own for a couple of months. I'll try and get back to pick you up then. Did you want cremation or burial? I don't even know what religion you are or who your next of kin is."

I got back into the drivers seat.

"Move over. I'll drive."

"Thought you said you weren't going down there."

"You haven't exactly given me much choice."

"You have all the choice in the world. I'm not forcing you to do anything."

"Do you know, you really are a manipulative bitch."

"Thank you. That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me today."

It took us 20 minutes to pick our way down to the valley floor and a further 10 minutes to approach within a mile of the house. I could now see why the helicopters were there, they would be the easiest way in and out of here, although you would be heard coming from miles away, as the rising volume of sound indicated the approach of some sort of aircraft. Suddenly my danger sense went into overdrive and screamed at Robert to hit the brakes.

Thankfully we weren't travelling very fast. Cautiously I got out. Something wasn't right here. I concentrated, blocking out Robert's demands for an explanation. I looked down. About 2 inches in front of the front tyre was a wire, "Robert. Listen very carefully. I want yo to back the car up about 10 feet and stay there until I come and get you. No questions, just do as I say."

Thankfully he complied. I looked about, following the wire both ways. It disappeared into the foliage on both sides of the road. Cautiously I stepped over it, then followed it to the right. It ended under a pile of twigs under a bush. Very carefully I began to remove them. The wire was looped around a small pulley arrangement which kept it in tension. The other end of the arrangement was attached to a pair of claymores. Carefully I got back up and followed the wire to the other end. After removing a similar pile of sticks, I found a similar arrangement. From the look of the arrangement the claymores would be detonated either by the wire being cut or tripped. I would somehow have to make them safe. My memory from films such as predator said that all claymores had a safety pin, so all I needed to do was put a suitable something where the pin went and they couldn't detonate. Another memory flashed by. In one film the hero had used a twig to jam the mechanism. Well these bushes had bloody spikey thorns, so I'd improvise with a couple of them. Cautiously I removed two, then bent down again. I was about to insert a thorn when my danger sense went off again. I stopped and looked carefully again. From this position, I could just make out a thin beam of light, not very bright but there. It appeared that to reinsert the pin I'd have to break the beam. I changed position so I could see the generator end of the beam better. It just looked like a small box with a beam coming out of it. I looked closer. There appeared to be two small wires that disappeared under the pully arrangement. Great. How many bloody booby traps did this thing have? Surely it can't be that complicated, otherwise they'd need bloody degree students to set them up. I looked again. There must be an on/off switch somewhere. At first nothing was obvious, then I noticed what appeared to be a hexagonal depression in the side of the case about a quarter of an inch deep. It looked like it should take a small allen key. Very cautiously I got up and made my way back to the car.

"See if you can locate a small screwdriver or similar", I began rummaging in the glove box. Robert got out, went round the back and opened the tailgate. There were sounds of something being opened before he asked "Will this do". It looked about the right size.

"Stay here. I'll be back in a few minutes, one way or another." As I made my way back I could see a medium sized aircraft coming into land directly ahead. I didn't see how it could land as I hadn't seen a landing strip from our vantage point.

Carefully crawling back under the bush, I carefully inserted the screwdriver whilst holding the housing. I tried turning it clockwise, but it didn't move. I tried the other way. It turned 30^o then stopped. I change position then looked carefully for the light beam. I couldn't see one. One way to find out. Carefully I inched a thorn towards where the pin should go. No warning sensations. I slid the thorn home. I took out the second one and repeated the operation. 1 down 1 to go. I slid out from under the bush and crossed to the other side of the track. The drone of aircraft engines greeted me as I did so. About 50 yards away a largish propeller aircraft was in the process of turning around. I slid under the bush, and repeated the process. regaining my feet I could see the plane about 300 yards away. A ramp had been lowered at the back of the plane, and pallets were being loaded into it. Now for the moment of truth. I drew my sword and sliced through the wire.

Time stopped, then resumed again. No explosions greeted me. I put the sword back in the scabbard then walked back to the car. "Okay lets go."

"Where?"

"Head for the plane and don't hang about." I loaded a flare into the flare gun, and a magazine into the MP5.

"But that's suicide."

"Don't argue just do it. I'll take care of the rest."

I buckled up my seat belt then began building the pattern into a defensive shield just in front of the car. I felt the car move as Robert floored the accelerator.

"We'd covered about two hundred yards before they realised we were there and another 40 before they started firing. Robert, made as if to swerve but I grabbed the steering wheel and held it in the dead ahead position. Bullets slammed into the pattern and stopped dead. "What the fuck?"

"Shut up and keep going. We need to find to money."

I picked up the flare gun. Took aim and fired. The flare sailed clean into the back of the plane then exploded. There was a couple of seconds delay, then a much larger series of explosions that ripped the plane apart. Beyond the fireball a sedan was racing away from us. "Over there, follow that car."

More gunfire erupted from our left, and a hail of bullets whistled past, a few pinging off the car. Robert put his foot down again. I swapped weapons and returned fire. I dropped the pattern, it had served it purpose. We needed to catch that car, what we needed was for it to get a puncture, run out of fuel, develop a mechanical fault, hit an object, or something. There was another massive explosion from behind us, instinctively I grabbed the wheel and hauled it hard to the right. Tyres squealed, and we healed over, wheels left the ground, we tipped dangerously, I let go of the wheel, momentum forced the wheels straight, and we crashed down. Something last and metallic whistled past, smashing into the back of the limousine, throwing it on to its side. It turned then rolled over several times before skidding to a halt. Robert fought, regained control and brought us to a halt alongside. I leapt out and dashed across. The car was a wreck. The mangled body of the driver hung through the hole where the windshield should have been. I looked in the back. There were a pile of mangled bodies. I reached in and began hauling them aside. There had to be a bag or case in here.

There was a shout from Robert. "We'll have company in about a minute."

"Deal with it I'm busy." I moved another body. There that was what I was looking for. I grabbed the side of the case and began pulling. It was stuck. I pushed at the bodies. Nothing. I changed position. The sound of a heavy machine gun opening up reached my ears. "Get a bloody move on he's coming round for another pass." I kicked the case and felt it move. I span, grabbed it, and tugged. I breathed in relief as it came free. I slithered out from the car, and made to stand. I felt a sharp stabbing pain in my leg, then it exploded as if fire, and I sagged to the ground. The gunship passed over head as I did so. I grabbed the case, staggered to my feet, then hauled myself into the car. Robert didn't wait.

I looked up, the gunship was on its way back. This was going to be close. I began shifting shadows. Flashes from the gunships machine guns indicated he was firing again. A line of bullets began to trace a path towards us. Frantically I changed shadow parameters. The temperature plummeted, The trees assumed unrecognisable purple forms, the sky turned black, the engine died, then the helicopter began its accelerated fall from the sky. It hit the ground and shattered.

"What the fuck just happened, and where are we?"

"Don't know. Had to improvise. Need a first aid kit. Take my sword, kill anyone alive. Get the survival kit. I reckon we've got less than 2 minutes before we freeze to death."

He looked at me. "Don't just fucking sit there. You're wasting time, I'm bleeding to death, and I'm your only means of getting home."

Suddenly the penny dropped and he moved. I slithered into what was left of the back and wedged my left foot against the head rest of the front seat. Taking my knife I sliced through the leg of the trousers. Somehow, the bullet had missed the bone, but it had gone clean through the vein. I sliced the leg of the trousers off then tore it into strips, which I began to wrap as tightly as I could around the wound. I didn't know how Robert was doing but I was beginning to feel very cold. "Robert. Get back here. We're leaving."

I felt somebody shaking me. "Come on. Wake up. You can't sleep now.". The world swam back into view. I raised my arm weakly. "Okay". It sounded very weak. Shift shadows I thought. Somewhere warmer, somewhere where the car works. God why is it so hard, the pattern feels so sticky, the parameters of shadow so reluctant to move. Somewhere a voice said "Fail and you die, and I'm not ready to die yet." I pushed harder, suddenly the pattern flared and they moved. I felt the world shift, then blackness.

I awoke sometime later. My internal clock said it was about 3 hours Amber time so how much later it was where we were I didn't know. I was still in the back of the car, although I was now laid across the back seat, my leg hanging from an improvised sling. A voice said.

"Ah good you're awake then. I thought I'd lost you when you collapsed. Still haven't got the faintest idea of where we are, but if you could get us out of here it would be really useful as we're nearly out of ammunition, and I don't think I'll be able to hold off the next attack.

My mouth felt really dry and my head hurt, but that was nothing compared to the pain in my leg. "Is there any or the drink left?"

"Afraid not. The gunship toasted most of the food and drink. does the insurance cover being strafed by helicopter gunships. Oh and we've down to less than a quarter of a tank of gas, basically whats left below the holes."

"Right. You'd better drive slowly then. I'll try and find us a repair shop as quickly as I can."

I think by the time I actually found one we'd been running on fumes for about 5 miles. The mechanic was most perturbed and I was forced to do a certain amount of memory manipulation to ensure his co-operation. Having patched the fuel tank, refilled it, and obtained supplies. We set off again. The delays due to my unconsciousness and the pit stock now worked in our favour, as we we able to drop the hire car outside the rental pound, and post the keys into the secure store. The fact that the rear section was riddle with bullet holes, had no glass, and was completely open meant that it was and unlikely target for somebody to steal. Having dumped the car I returned to my own. I was still in no position to drive and really needed to get my leg patched up properly. This also meant I'd be in no position to sail tonight so I needed to get this information to the captain of the Endeavor. I told Robert to head for the Purple Dragon

The hour it took us to reach it gave me enough time to shift us back to the Shadow Earth that was real to us, and more real than others due to the continuing influence of the family upon it. The problem was that by that time my leg was bleeding again, and I'd had to take a double dose of pain killers.

The first reaction on our arrival was where had we been as we'd been expected several hours previously, but when it became clear that I couldn't stand, let alone walk things changed. There was then the problem of opening the case, which I solved by slicing the locks off with the sword. Inside was three million dollars in bearer bonds, and five hundred thousand in new wrapped 100 dollar bills. I handed the bearer bonds over to xxxxxx. I transfered four hundred and fifty thousand to my pack, then gave 50 thousand to Robert. He was completely staggered. I told him that by the time I left he'd have earnt it. When he asked what I meant I pointed out that currently I was somewhat incapacitated, was about to go to hospital, needed someone to follow me to hospital, then to drive me home, then to get me to the ship, and finally to return the car to the condo. Then there was the fact that as soon as I'd got my leg fixed I was going to need to fuck his brains out, and if he thought I'd been horny last night it was nothing compare to what was coming.

He looked at me."Really? I was planning on going home and sleeping for 2 days, otherwise I'll be in no shape to take Marcie out."

"Plans change. Marcie can wait a couple of days. And I don't have time to argue. If you want to play hardball then I'll just rewire your brain as I did with the mechanic, and you won't remember any of this, and you'll go back to your little life as a student. Damn, that reminds me, we were supposed to go to the Dojo, and I need to talk to Xi Feng, and I also need to talk to your sister."

"You're in no shape to make threats.". Like most people in an aggressive stance he looked directly into my eyes.

"Your first and possibly last mistake, although at the moment I'm feeling generous, so I'm going to allow you complete free will, and I'm not going to actually read your mind, I'm not even going to give you an erection, oops sorry, so what's it going to be."

I withdrew control. He staggered back and sat down. "Who, no what are you. You're not just a half Chinese half English girl from New York that I fucked last night."

"For the most part the answer I gave you this morning is the truth. I am half Chinese; my mother was Chinese, and I was born and raised in New York, and you did fuck me five times last night last night."

"And your father?"

"He was from somewhere else. He always said he was from England, although he has a love of Paris, at least according to what he wrote in his diaries."

"Sorry I don't follow, he said he was from England but his diaries say he loves Paris, I thought..."

"Thought what?"

"Well I don't know now I think about it. You speak as if you know who he is but yet you don't know much about him. Don't you see him or talk to him?"

"It's complicated."

"How complicated?"

"On a scale of one to ten, I'd guess about 8. I really only found out about him and his brothers and sisters about 6 months ago."

"Alright so your family is complex but that doesn't...."

He went really quiet

"Come on, spit it out. I've saw that look on your face last night.""

"I'm not really sure how to put this, as it doesn't really make sense. There is this set of books written by a guy called Roger Zelazny, about a war of succession for a place called Amber. Anyway, in these books the characters can move between realities, alter the probability of events happening, talk to one another using some sort of magical cards, cast magic, and a whole lot of other stuff."

"And?"

"What you did today, it was real wasn't it?"

"Did it feel real, does it feel real now?"

"Yes, but I could just be dreaming all this"

"You'd have a spectacularly powerful mind to be this inventive, coherent, and consistent, so I think we can rule dreaming out."

"But its not possible."

"xxxxx says that once you've ruled out all possibilities what's left must in fact be the truth. Since you appear to have ruled out all other possibilities, what remains must be the truth and therefore what happened is not only possible but actually happened."

He looked directly at me again. I spoke audibly this time rather than invading his mind. "Didn't you learn anything from doing that last time?"

"This is pretty difficult to get my head around. It's not every day that you find out that what's written in a set of stories actually happened, and not only that you spent the night before fucking the daughter of one of the characters."

"Not quite. The events are broadly correct, but a few of the details have been altered to suit the whims of the story teller. So you're the daughter of this Roger Zelazny."

"In a round about manner. He used that name as his pen name."

"So which one is he?"

"I think I've told you enough, and more than I've told most people."

"I can't see that you've actually told me very much. If you want me to work for you then I'd like to know enough to do my job"

"I didn't say anything about you working for me."

"Not in so many words you didn't but isn't that in effect what I'd be doing, been doing. You've just given me fifty thousand dollars to run a few errands, and fuck you at your request."

He was principly right, he was working for me and I was paying him to fuck me. "My father is Corwin Bariman, Prince of Amber, although I've not seen him for 15 years and he's currently missing in action. The cards are called trumps and look like this". I produced the pack from my pocket, and my sword is a Trump power source and Logrus spell rack. As to what else I can do, not very much, and most of it you saw me do today, although I learnt how to do a new thing, and I'm very shortly going to have to pay for it, or rather you are."

"Why exactly am I going to pay for something you've learn't to do"

"Because for some reason, learning new pattern abilities, causes me to want to fuck anything with a dick, until it falls off."

"If that's true why haven't you jumped me already?"

"Because I like to think I'm civilised, because we needed to get back here, and because I'm learning to control, no not control postpone, the required payback. The longer I wait though the harder it becomes and if the bloody ambulance doesn't get here soon I'm going to have to do you on the table even if it kills me."

I waited a couple of minutes then said. "So what's your answer?"

"Answer to what?"

"Are you working for me or not?"

"I'm still here aren't I and you've not had to fry my brains."

"Good, go find out whats happened to that blood ambulance."

"No need. It's just pulled into the parking garage." Xi Feng had entered from the club office just as I'd started my question.

"Do you need any help. I could get one of the doormen to assist."

"Thank you, but I'm sure Robert can manage. On the subject of which, he would like a job."

"But he's not..."

"Yes I know that."

"But what if he's"

"I can assure you he isn't"

"How can"

"You need to ask that again?"

"Are you going to answer all my questions before I've finished them?"

"No, I'm telepathic not clairvoyant."

"What sort of job?"

"Barman to start with. He's going to go to school to learn Bujikan, so in about 18 months I'd like him considered for training for a Doormans job."

"Anything else?"

"When I'm in town he's at my disposal 24/7"

"And in return?"

"I'm sure we can come to some arrangement?"

"I'll think on it then"

She turned to leave. "Xi Feng, there is one other thing."

"Yes"

"He has a sister. He says she wants a job as a waitress."

"Does he?"

"Yes"

"And what does she say or aren't you going to ask?"

"Haven't had a chance to ask her."

"I'll bear it in mind?"