Boogeymen - Mel Gilden [62]
“But why?” Riker said. He sounded more angry than frustrated.
Before Picard had a chance to respond, a Boogeyman voice behind them cried, “What ho, varlets!” They turned and found themselves under attack by an armored knight wielding a broadsword.
Both Picard and Riker were astonished, but as Picard picked up a stout limb, he saw that Riker was at a total loss. “I keep telling you, Number One,” Picard said as they backed away from the knight. “History is important. That includes historical weapons.”
The captain stood his ground. The knight rushed at him and swung his sword. Picard parried, and the sword hacked through the tree limb, spitting wood chips.
“You’ve done this before, sir,” Riker said as Picard watched the knight warily.
“Many times. Perhaps that’s why the Boogeymen chose this particular scenario.”
The knight came at Picard again. The captain could see that this was not a time for chivalry or even for following the formal rules of battle. He ducked inside the arc of the knight’s sword and bashed him across the ribs with the stump of his limb.
The knight grunted and tottered backward, unable to regain his balance. He crashed into a small lime green bowl and lay there, arms and legs waving in the air like an overturned Jode’s dust weevil.
Riker leapt forward and pulled open the knight’s visor. He pulled his hand away as the thing inside snapped at him. “Another Boogeyman, sir.”
“What a surprise. Leave him, Number One. Let’s keep moving.”
Riker stood up, and the knight disappeared. “What’s the point, sir? The holodeck can divert us like this for as long as it likes.”
“Perhaps. But it cannot divert Mr. Worf and Ensign Perry. If we are busy, they can catch Baldwin when he tries to leave the holodeck.”
Riker nodded, but still looked unhappy. He did not enjoy a waiting game, not even when it was fairly active, like the one presented by the holodeck. He could be subtle if the situation called for it, but waiting was not his style.
They walked on and did not see another soul for a long time. Strange perfumes came and went on the heavy air. Occasionally Picard and Riker heard the shouts of wild animals or saw birdlike creatures rising against the hot silver sky. They were resting against a boulder at one side of a clearing when a Boogeyman stepped out of the jungle. He wore the classic nineteenth-century North American cowboy outfit, including a pistol at either hip. He stepped forward, spurs jingling, hands poised for a quick draw.
“A holodeck favorite?” Picard asked.
“Yes, sir. You see I have an interest in history after all—the North American Wild West.” Riker smiled when he said it.
The gun-toting Boogeyman stopped and said, “I’m calling you out, Riker.”
“No, thank you,” Riker said to the gunman. He turned as if to leave, and the Boogeyman shot at his feet, causing Riker to flinch. The explosion of the old-fashioned percussion weapon made a covey of birdlike creatures flap into the air.
The Boogeyman said, “You’ll draw or you’ll dance.”
“Enjoy it, Number One,” Picard said.
“I don’t have—” He looked down and saw that a pair of six-shooters was holstered at his waist. “Historical weapons,” he said. He nodded and smiled grimly as he stepped forward.
The Boogeyman came forward to meet him. They faced each other with half the clearing between them.
The Boogeyman said, “You still got a chance, Riker. Leave Baldwin be.”
While watching the Boogeyman, Riker whispered over his shoulder at Picard, “We must still have a good chance to find Baldwin if the Boogeymen are trying this hard to dissuade us from searching.” Riker turned to the Boogeyman, and called, “Did you come to draw or to talk?”
The Boogeyman smiled, showing one gold tooth in his rotten mouth. Picard did not see him draw, but suddenly a pistol was in his hand, smoking from a single shot. Riker cried out and fell, gripping his leg. Blood flowed between his fingers.
Picard pulled Riker behind