“Are they…?”
“Yep, they’re dead.” Bones didn’t sound upset at the situation.
“How long was I out?”
“Only a minute.”
Another voice sounded behind him, one he recognized. “How’s the head, Mr. Maddock?”
He shifted to see Octavius Marshall, still dressed in a tux, a pistol dangling from his right fingers with the barrel aimed at the ground. “I don’t know. If you’re here, am I hallucinating?”
Marshall laughed. “You hit pretty hard, but I am actually standing right here.”
“I heard an automatic rifle. That wasn’t you, was it?”
“No. That was them.”
Marshall gestured to a man standing a few feet away watching them and two others who stood near the gate focusing outside. All of them carried long guns at the ready, not dangling in their grip like Marshall’s pistol. Dane pegged them as professionals, light on their feet with their weapons almost an extension of their limbs.
“Maybe you better start from the beginning.”
“Sure. But first can I just say that unless I miss my guess, the mild concussion was worth it. Is that what I think it is in your hands?”
Dane moved his fingers around the oilskin envelope and nodded.
“Excellent. Anyway, I went to that function I mentioned. But I couldn’t shake the idea that the two of you going up against O’Meara and Wright by yourself carried a lot of risk. As soon as I could, I grabbed three of my associates and we headed this way. Arrived just in time it appears.”
Behind Marshall, Bones mouthed a silent word with a grin. “Mafia.”
Dane debated asking more questions, but he decided that he probably didn’t want to know any more. He reached his hand up and Bones hauled him to his feet. “What about you, Bones?”
“I’m sorry to say that unarmed and facing half a dozen men exchanging automatic weapons fire, I did the only sane thing and hit the deck. I won’t let it happen again. It was over in two seconds anyway.”
Dane chuckled. “Well I’m glad you’re okay. Did any of your guys get hit, Marshall?”
“Not even close. No one even got off a shot.”
Dane started walking around to the bodies. He stopped next to O’Meara’s corpse. Three ragged holes in the forehead had done the trick, and there was a lot of blood from the head wound. Hopefully, there were no more O’Meara brothers to trouble them in the future.
As he finished his circuit he looked up at Marshall. “What about Wright?”
“What about her?”
“Her body isn’t here.”
“What?” Bones and Marshall spoke in unison.
“I don’t see her body,” Dane repeated.
“Are you sure? She went down right when you grabbed the envelope.”
“Then she should be right near where I landed, but she’s not.”
Another minute of re-checking each body confirmed it. Bones shook his head. “That lady is some kind of magician. Not only did she take you down, she managed to dodge a bullet and then sneak away.”
He looked around the shadows of the cemetery. “Think she’s still around?”
Dane said, “No way. With all her guys down and four armed men targeting her, she’s in the wind. Which means there’s only one thing left to do.”
“A trip to the nearest bar?”
“Maybe later. But now let’s see what the fuss is all about.”
He carefully removed the document from the oilskin envelope. It felt the same as the letter from Bache and the letter in the Library had, solid and relatively unscathed by the passage of time.
“Don’t keep us in suspense, read the bedtime story, Maddock.”
Dane did.
Be it resolved,
On this the sixteenth day of September in the year of our Lord seventeen-hundred and eighty-seven, we do agree that the following shall be appended to the first clause in Article IV, Section 3 of the draft of the new Constitution:
“A State may leave this Union only with the Consent of the Legislatures of three quarters of the States in the Union.”
Signed,
Alexander Hamilton
Edmund Randolph
George Mason
Elbridge Gerry
James Madison
Benjamin Franklin
William Jackson, Secretary
When he finished, Bones let out a whistle. “Short but to the point. Secession as an option in the Constitution? Our history could have been very different if this had passed. There was a point in the middle of the Civil War where most of the states would have let the South go.”
Dane frowned in agreement. “I think the Sons were thinking more about changing the future with it.”
Marshall tilted his head. “It would have an impact, that’s for sure. A lot of people who don’t like the government would now feel okay talking about secession openly.”
“I think Franklin was concerned about that. That’s why in the letter in the Library of Congress, he ended with, ‘Those who would use it to rend the Union shall be branded as traitors to all who hold dear the ideals of our revolution.’”
Bones said, “It’s as if he knew about the Sons of the Republic.”
“Maybe he did, Bones. Or at least something like them. Groups like the Society of Cincinnatus and the anti-Federalists threatened to derail things before they even got started. As long as there’s been a union, there have been people willing to destroy it for not taking the exact direction they want.”
Marshall broke the silence that followed. “So what are you going to do with it?”
Dane glanced down at the document. “Do either of you think we shouldn’t make it public? The Sons thought it could shake things up.”
Marshall shook his head almost imperceptibly. Bones nodded. “The Sons are tools. Of course we should make it public. With today’s media, it’ll be spun and played like a rap CD before the first news cycle is done. Nothing to worry about. Might be good if Franklin’s letter can accompany it, though.”
Dane reached a decision. “Unless Bones objects, I’d like you to have it.” He handed it to Marshall.
“Me? Why?”
“We’re soldiers, Navy SEALS. We try to stay as far away from politics as possible. We’d have to do it anonymously anyway. I’m guessing you have enough connections to deliver both the document and the Library to the media all wrapped up in a bow.”
Marshall didn’t disagree. “I’ll do it anonymously of course, just as you would have. I imagine O’Meara has the letter from the Library. We’ll take the body with us, see if we can find any clues to its whereabouts.”
Bones raised his eyebrows. “You have experience with transporting dead bodies?”
Dane saw a trace of a smile grace the man’s lips, but Marshall as usual remained silent when asked a question related to mob activities. Dane punched Bones in the shoulder. “If his answer is yes, idiot, you don’t want to know. You okay with giving this to him?”
“Hell yes. If you can’t trust the guy who unexpectedly saved your bacon when an eighty year old ninja had your balls in a vice, who can you trust?”
“Well put. I think.”
Dane reached out his hand to Marshall. “Octavius, you saved us. We won’t forget it. Hard to imagine you’ll ever need anything from us, but if you do I have a feeling you can find us.”
Marshall smiled and took the offered hand, then winced as he took the one Bones extended. “Thanks for helping me find out who killed Cornelius.”
“Don’t mention it. Wright is still out there, though.”
Marshall nodded. After a moment, Dane and Bones turned and prepared to leave. They grabbed the guns, which had been taken when Wright surprised them.
“Hey Bones, what happened to your Glock?”