"Look, Fiorello," Manny said. "You chin if you want to; I'm doing a
fast fade."
"Don't act hastily, Manny. You know where you'll end."
"Wait a minute!" Dan shouted. "I'd like to make a deal with you
fellows."
"Ah-hah!" Kelly's voice blared from somewhere. "I knew it! Slane, you
crook!"
* * * * *
Dan looked about wildly. The voice seemed to be issuing from a speaker.
It appeared Kelly hedged his bets.
"Mr. Kelly, I can explain everything!" Dan called. He turned back to
Fiorello. "Listen, I figured out--"
"Pretty clever!" Kelly's voice barked. "Inside job. But it takes more
than the likes of you to out-fox an old-timer like Eddie Kelly."
"Perhaps you were right, Manny," Fiorello said. "Complications are
arising. We'd best depart with all deliberate haste." He edged toward
the cage.
"What about this ginzo?" Manny jerked a thumb toward Dan. "He's on to
us."
"Can't be helped."
"Look--I want to go with you!" Dan shouted.
"I'll bet you do!" Kelly's voice roared. "One more minute and I'll have
the door open and collar the lot of you! Came up through a tunnel, did
you?"
"You can't go, my dear fellow," Fiorello said. "Room for two, no more."
Dan whirled to the cot, grabbed up the pistol Kelly had supplied. He
aimed it at Manny. "You stay here, Manny! I'm going with Fiorello in
the time machine."
"Are you nuts?" Manny demanded.
"I'm flattered, dear boy," Fiorello said, "but--"
"Let's get moving. Kelly will have that lock open in a minute."
"You can't leave me here!" Manny spluttered, watching Dan crowd into
the cage beside Fiorello.
"We'll send for you," Dan said. "Let's go, Fiorello."
The balding man snatched suddenly for the gun. Dan wrestled with him.
The pistol fell, bounced on the floor of the cage, skidded into the
far corner of the vault. Manny charged, reaching for Dan as he twisted
aside; Fiorello's elbow caught him in the mouth. Manny staggered back
into the arms of Kelly, bursting red-faced into the vault.
"Manny!" Fiorello released his grip on Dan, lunged to aid his
companion. Kelly passed Manny to one of three cops crowding in on his
heels. Dan clung to the framework as Fiorello grappled with Kelly. A
cop pushed past them, spotted Dan, moved in briskly for the pinch. Dan
grabbed a lever at random and pulled.
Sudden silence fell as the walls of the room glowed blue. A spectral
Kelly capered before the cage, fluorescing in the blue-violet. Dan
swallowed hard and nudged a second lever. The cage sank like an
elevator into the floor, vivid blue washing up its sides.
Hastily he reversed the control. Operating a time machine was tricky
business. One little slip, and the Slane molecules would be squeezing
in among brick and mortar particles....
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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