Ammunition

A Wanted Man

By now, the two had already made their way into the library. Jehan was currently skimming through all kinds of books. What about Rip? He was making sure nothing, or more specifically no one, was following them. He had left the Time Masters and they he was a wanted man. If Jehan was put into any danger now, then they would either have to go back to the barricade or to the other end of the universe.

And Rip did not want to do the latter.

Every now and then, Rip would check in on the barricade boy. Jehan would then look up elated and ask Rip if he knew about a fact about this poet or that poet or this writer or that writer. Not wanting to discourage him, Rip would look surprised and tell him that he had no idea.

Sometimes Rip would hear some noise and out of habit, reach for his gun out. He'd turn the corner only to discover that someone dropped a book. Once he found that someone had tripped and caused a whole bookshelf to clatter to the ground.

Finally memorizing the entire layout of the building, he wandered back to where Jehan was still reading. He was now skimming the final book in his large pile.

"I don't mean to be rude," Rip began and Jehan looked up. "But I was just wondering which of them is your favorite so far?"

Jehan blinked and thought hard. He had gone through so many in such a short time out of excitement. After a few moments, he glanced back up at Rip.

"Well, to be honest, I found Le Mort D'Arthur fascinating. I love this tale so much and if I had all the time in the world, I would love to sit back, relax, and read every page." He sighed.

Rip smiled, "What if I told you that I could get you that book so you could have it with you at all times?"

"You would do that for me, monsieur?" Jehan asked feeling surprised.

"We're friends, right? When's the last time you were actually able to read a book for fun for hours at a time?" He inquired. Rip was searching his pocket to make sure that he had enough money to buy a copy.

"A long time, but you don't have to do that." Jehan thanked him. "When the Revolution is over, I'll be able to read all the books I wish to read."

Rip had to look the other way.

"Something wrong, Mr. Hunter?" He asked.

"Shh!" Rip held up a hand to silence him.

He had been hearing a high pitched whirling noise for a few minutes now. It seemed to grow a little louder when he sat down and was talking to Jehan. He got up and slowly moved to the corner of the room. A split second later, he reached into the dark corner and pulled out an object. If Jehan had blinked, he would not have even known that Rip had done anything.

"Mr. Hunter, what is that?" Jehan inquired.

Rip took the little thing into the light where he could see it better. By now, Jehan had joined him and the two were studying the small thing.

It was white and circular. There was a red light on the bottom of it, possibly indicating that it was turned off. Rip noticed that it had little cameras all over the sides of it.

"We're being tracked." Rip muttered.

"By who?" Jehan asked worriedly. "France?!"

"We don't have to worry about them." Rip assured him. A second later, he smashed the camera thing against the wall and it fell to the floor in several pieces.

"Do we need to leave?" Jehan asked, taking his paper and pen and putting them in his pockets.

"Sadly yes," Rip hung his head. "I'm sorry, Jehan."

"For what?" He inquired. "You've taken me to the very place I have longed to see with my own eyes. You have shown me the future and all its wonders. You've brought me here, to this large library. Why on earth are you apologizing, monsieur? You could have left me at the barricade, but no. You took me to all these marvelous places that I probably would never have seen on my own. You have no reason at all to apologize, Mr. Hunter."

Rip looked at Jehan, trying not to let any sadness creep into his eyes. "I only wish I could have shown you more."

"You've shown me more than I thought I could ever see. Now let's go. I don't want you to meet the people with that white device, because they probably mean to do you harm. I don't know why, but I won't ask." He smiled.

"If we had the time, I would tell you." Rip told him and the two walked out of the library.

The moment they were outside, the two took off running back the way they came. Jehan ran because he was trying to keep up with his friend. Rip ran because he feared that he was being hunted.

Rip had, after all, gone to a major event in history, picked up someone who was supposed to die, and take him out of his element. Even more so, he had left the Time Masters and they weren't happy about it. Also there was Vandal Savage to consider. He had killed his wife and son, what would stop him from coming after Rip?