Marty and Ren walked back to the field. The former Scout pointed out where the

plane had come down as best that he could remember. He admitted that the town had

covered all traces of the incident as it had grown out and around the former farms.

Ren nodded as they went. His dark eyes took in the landscape as if almost seeing

what had happened ten years before. He raised his hand to shield his eyes and they

seemed to glow in the shade.

“About here is where I found Jim, and Barry’s skull.” Marty looked around to make

sure. “The ground had been burned and cratered from the explosion.”

“I’m going to do a hypnotic trick.” Ren looked around, dark clothing making him

almost a shadow on the ground. “I want you to close your eyes and count back to one

from ten.”

“All right.” Marty did what he was told. When he opened his eyes, he stood in the

past. His younger self stood a few feet away. Jim Marley, wounded and dying, lay on

the ground. “This is crazy. I can see everything like it was.”

“Doctor Touhanbei taught me this so I could question witnesses with better

accuracy.” Ren stepped into the illusion. “This is where your comrade was?”

“Yes.” Marty turned. “Barry’s skull was there. The only reason I thought it was his

was because it was metal. Could I have been wrong?”

“I don’t know.” Ren made a gesture with his hand. The scene sped up, matching to

Marty’s memory. A column of fire erupted from the skull, taking Jim with it into

destruction. “It certainly killed your friend. They weren’t taking chances he might

have gleaned something to tell you.”

“If Doug had lived, he would have never given looking up for who did this.” Marty

spread his arms at the static scene in the air. “I never could find a lead on my own.”

“It might been your friend’s skull set to explode.” Ren folded the image and put it in

a wrapper. He put the paper square into a small bag at his hip. “It might been a fake.

I don’t like they took his body and left the rest of him.”

“At the time, he had the most advanced robot body in existence and was always trying

to make it better.” Marty shrugged. “That was the sixties. Ten years might have been

enough time to make robot bodies better than that.”

“I saw some things in the scene that I need to look at later.” Ren took one more look

around the scene. “Let’s look at the plane crash and where Positive Man died. Maybe

that will give us some more clues we can follow.”

“You saw some things we can use?,” asked Marty. “What did you see?”

“I don’t know,” said Ren. “I will have to take the scene apart after we finish our

lookaround. If I have something useful, we might be able to advance.”

“What if you don’t have anything useful?,” asked Marty.

“I will come up with some other line of attack.” Ren frowned at the other man. “I

assure you that I will not fail.”

“Okay.” Marty wondered if he had insulted the other’s pride enough that they would

come to blows. He decided not to test it. It was too early in the partnership.

“Let’s look at the plane crash,” said Ren. “That might tell us something about what

happened to the jet you used.”

“I’m pretty sure the engines blew.” Marty walked toward where the jet had crashed.

It was close enough to walk, but far enough away that it hadn’t impacted what was

going on with Jim and Barry.

The impact wouldn’t have hurt Daryl at all. Being set on fire would have cut through

her defenses and destroyed her rubbery body. The plane had went nose down into the

field. That wrapped the metal body around her so she couldn’t get out of the trap.

Then the aircraft had been blown to smithereens by the blast. It had been a miracle

that the plane hadn’t killed anyone when it went down.

It was the perfect trap for a rubbery woman.

“Jim had been right.” Marty went through the ritual to look at the plane. Watching it

crash into the ground and explode froze him in place. He felt depression overwhelm

for a moment. He seized control of his mind and directed it to push on. “It was a trap

from start to finish.”

“You didn’t get a look at the snake killing Positive Man?,” asked Ren. He set the

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scene aside like he did the first one. He could unwrap them and look at them again

when he needed to do that.

“They were both dead when I got back from watching Jim blow up.” Marty walked

toward the crowded streets. “The diner where we ate was where the snake was

nesting.”

“Let’s look at the memory of that,” said Ren. “Then we can get out of here. The town

is just the starting point. The masterminds don’t live here.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Marty spotted the diner in the distance. “No one sets a trap

in their backyard. Other parties might want to know what happened.”

“And if someone got traction in an investigation, you didn’t want them wandering

around looking for your base.” Ren nodded. “Someone might be here to keep an eye

out for anybody like us.”

“I doubt it’s worth it to try to figure out who the lookout is.” Morgan shrugged. “We

can save that for when we’re really desperate.”

“Or if we know enough that we can use it trap the lookout so he gives up what we

need when do find him.” Ren nodded. “I favor that approach myself.”

“This is the diner.” Marty studied the building. “Now that I’m looking at it, it looks

different.”

“They probably had to add on to it, so they could keep their business moving at a

regular speed.” Ren looked around. “Is this where Positive Man and the snake killed

themselves?”

“Yes.” said Marty. “I should have buried the body, but I just walked away.”

“It wasn’t in the museum.” Ren raised a hand. “Close your eyes and count. Maybe

something you heard will give us something to look at here and now.”

Marty did as he was told. When he opened his eyes, he saw the snake sprawled and

flicking its tail around. Its jaw had been broken like he expected. Doug had two fang

wounds in his chest. He sat against the still standing wall of the diner. He dug a hole

in the ground with one hand as he talked to Marty on his helmet radio. He pulled

something out of his chest and placed it in the ground. He pulled a rock over the hole

and scooped dirt around it.

“What did he bury?,” asked Ren. He matched the scene to the new landscape. The

rock stood in place.

“Probably his engine.” Marty asked a mole to dig down and unearth the item. The

animal returned with something in its talons. It vanished when the ex-Scout took the

item from it. “Yeah, it’s his engine.”

“His engine?”, asked Ren. He examined the metal cylinder. “What does it do?”

“Doug had some kind of machine in his body.” Marty brushed dirt off the cylinder

and put it in his jacket pocket. “He dialed up the amount of force he needed using the

engine. It made him stronger and faster than a normal man.”

“So we have an array of motives, and personalities to investigate.” Ren folded up the

scene and put it in his bag with the other two. “We might find more clues after

examining the scenes better. We certainly shouldn’t do that here.”

“We can rule out Cortez.” Marty looked around. He didn’t see anyone paying

attention to them. That didn’t mean anything. “We were trying to find him when this

happened. Jim got a look at the goons involved. He said everything was a trap by a

guy with access to our report network.”

“Makes sense,” said Ren. “How else would someone send you into a trap if they

didn’t have that access?”

“I have one more thing to show you in private,” said Marty. “Then we can look at the

radio logs, if they are still there.”

“All right,” said Ren. “I have a room at the hotel. We can go there to plan our next

move.”

“Are you sure you want in on this?” Marty remembered that the hotel was a few

streets over. The way the town had grown, there might be another hotel he didn’t

know about.

“I have been trained for a long time to solve mysteries.” Ren smiled. “Doctor

Toubanhei has said I am almost as good as he is. I have to learn more through

experience, but to leave his service, I have to solve a case that no one else has solved.

I assure you that I can solve this with some time and patience.”

“Even if there is trouble down the line?,” said Marty.

“Especially if there is trouble down the line.” The apprentice nodded his affirmation.

“All right.” Marty nodded. “Let’s see how good a detective you really are.”

The two of them walked across that part of town, heading for the three story Quality

Star hotel. The place only had twenty rooms, but it did have a kitchen and dining

room on the ground floor. Ren got his key from the desk. There was no mail for him.

“I got a room on the third floor so I could see most of the town from my window.”

Ren headed for the steps. He started up the staircase.

“Elevator?” Marty pointed at the cage a few feet away from the stairwell door. He

started up the steps a little slower.

“Don’t trust them.” Ren shrugged as he kept moving. “I have had some bad

experiences with elevators. It’s better to use the stairs.”

“All right.” Marty used the hand rail to pull himself up the staircase.

“I do have one question,” said Ren. “Why are you taking this meeting at face value?”

“I’ve met Touhanbei before. I think I have met you before but you were a lot younger

then.” Marty paused to search his memory. “You were like his sidekick, but he didn’t

want you talking to us. Barry did the most talking when we worked together.

Touhanbei didn’t want you mixing up in our business. I think he didn’t like me

tagging along but Barry spoke up for me.”

“I wore a mask then,” said Ren.

“I know,” said Marty. “It was some kind of bird mask.”

Ren nodded as he pushed open the door for the third floor. He walked down the hall

to his room.

“If something happens to me, please notify Doctor Tanbouhei.” Ren opened the room

door. “I am sure he will take over for me.”

“I don’t have a problem with that.” Marty examined the hall before following Ren

into the room. “This is better than I expected.”

“I made some improvements so I could work,” explained Ren.

The single room should have a bed, chair, television, and drawers, and one end table.

A bathroom and closet should be separate doors side by side. Instead the room had

been turned into a space with a large table to write on, chairs, and a shelf of books

taking up a small section of the wall.

“Does the hotel know?,” asked Marty.

“They can’t see what I have done.” Ren smiled. “You said you had a clue other than

your memories.”

Marty pulled out the ring he had been carrying for the last ten years.