Chereads / The Grand Tour: Paradigm Shift / Chapter 5 - Chapter 5: Hammond Makes His Decision

Chapter 5 - Chapter 5: Hammond Makes His Decision

The following week came. Hammond's mood didn't improve back at the mansion. Clarkson informed me that May and him tried to get Hammond to go out, but he seemed to have fallen in a depression. But my worst fears eventually abated when I woke up one morning and found Hammond and May arguing over how to make poached eggs. I can't say which of their methods I prefer as both were equally good and the twins had more fun with their entertainment. But it seemed after that argument, Clarkson informed me that Hammond was, for the most part, back to his normal self.

Having three clients from a different world and culture started to rub off on all of us. They told us about having smaller meals, but more of them throughout the day. Tea time, depending on who you were having it with, could almost be a religious affair. The twins were saying words like "Blimey," "Mate," and my personal favorite, "Bollocks!" Though, apparently it's considered a swear word, so I got in trouble for making the twins say it by Dorothy.

Dr. Woodward's trial was also coming to an end later that week. For once, I was thankful and Dastun shared the same sentiment with me. There wasn't that many trials left, but his trial had been the most stressful as of late. Beck was still working in overdrive, trying to help my clients find their way home. He seemed to have figured out the energy problem, but said he needed to conduct more testing.

The end of the week finally arrived, but it came with more trouble than any of us could've bargained for.

Hammond was starting to feel better from the events from the past weekend. He was chopping vegetables and meat, helping May make a stir fry for dinner.

"There, I think that should do it. What do you think, May?"

May shook his head.

"You pillock, I said julienne the peppers and onions! Not chucks! Whatever, it'll do."

Hammond mocked May and walked out of the kitchenette. May responded by throwing a kitchen towel at him, missing him. Clarkson was in the dining room, helping the twins draw animals while Dorothy held the baby, looking over some files.

"See, now you add the ears. And there! You have a hamster. Speaking of hamsters, did May not like the way you chopped the vegetables, Hamster?" asked Clarkson, with a coy grin.

"Oh, bugger off, Jezza. And I'm not a hamster!"

"But you call me orangutang and I'm not one either."

The twins laughed and Hammond smiled.

"Whatever. Here, let me show you two how to draw an orangutang…"

As Hammond began to sit down and show the twins how to draw an orangutang, the lights flickered briefly, then there was a boom and rumble that followed. Hammond fell down on the ground. Dorothy looked around her, alarmed as the twins got scared. Clarkson stood, trying to get them up.

"Come on, get to your mum," he said, softly, while looking worried.

Hammond got up on his feet as he heard May yell.

"BOLLOCKS! What the hell was that?"

"NORMAN!" Dorothy yelled.

Norman ran upstairs, as he was cleaning the guest dining hall and into the main dining room.

"Mistress Dorothy! The mansion's defense system has confirmed there's a large group of robots attacking the mansion. The mansion's defense is armed and on. But we must get to the hangar!"

Norman gathered Tim into his arms as Hammond picked up Rose. May took off his apron and joined the group, as they all ran to the lift and gathered inside, heading down into the hangar.

The lift sounded and they all exited. Dorothy and Norman headed to the console, looking over the screens, Dorothy still holding the baby.

"Norman, they're everywhere! It's the same robots from that day with Big Gamma!" she said, typing a few things on the console.

Norman sat down, grabbing the controls to begin assisting the system in defending the mansion.

"Don't worry dear, we'll manage. Call Master Roger."

Dorothy nodded and got on her comm, sending the distress signal. Moments later, she heard Roger.

"Dorothy, what's wrong?"

"Roger, the mansion is under attack! We're under attack by the same robots from that day with Big Gamma!"

"What! Damn it! I'm with Dastun right now…"

Dorothy heard Dastun come over the line.

"What's going on?"

"Dr. Woodward's little vague threat came true. He's attacking my home with the same robots from the end of the war!" Roger yelled. Dorothy then heard Dastun issuing orders on his radio.

"What! I need all available units to head to 72nd street on the double! Be advised! Enemies are robotic and well armed!"

"Dorothy, I'm coming home. Just hang on until then. If you need to, get in Big O! Do you understand?"

Dorothy nodded, trying to calm the baby, as it was now crying. "Hurry, please."

The mansion took a large hit again as dust came down from the ceiling. Hammond sat down Rose with her brother as he looked at Clarkson and May.

"We can never get a break," he said in a low voice.

"No, we can't," replied May, annoyed, "Judging from that call, it seems Dr. Woodward is after us again."

"But wot for? What do we have that he wants so badly?!" shouted Clarkson, over another large boom.

Hammond then slowly looked over to their cars, specifically his Charger. It then dawned on him what they were looking for. He looked over at the twins, who were hugging each other, Tim trying to comfort his sister, but he was afraid. Dorothy was busy helping Norman, assisting the home defense system by providing logistics and updates.

"There's another wave coming! How many did they hide after the war? We won't be able to stop them!"

As Hammond turned to look at Clarkson and May, their eyes met, and the pair realized what Hammond was up to. Hammond hopped over the railing and took off for his car, with Clarkson and May right on his heels.

"HAMMOND! HAMMOND!" shouted May, but Hammond ignored him. He reached the car and opened the door, but Clarkson shut the door. Dorothy looked up, seeing what was going on.

"Mr. Hammond, I must insist that you stay here! It's not safe!"

"I won't, dear! It's us that they want! They want our cars!"

"Have you lost your mind?!" yelled Clarkson, "You won't stand a chance against those things! There's dozens of them!"

Hammond glared at Clarkson.

"I will not sit idly by, Jeremy! The only reason why they're attacking their home is because of us, specifically this! They want the sat nav on the Charger, I'm sure of it!"

"He's lost it!" yelled May.

"The longer I stay here, the shorter our lives dwindle. Jezza, James, I got this. Let me go."

Clarkson shook his head, and hit the roof of the Charger, releasing the door.

"Bloody mad man…" he grumbled as he and May stood back.

Dorothy ran over, with the baby in her arms.

"Rich, please! I'm begging you. Stay here…"

Hammond got in the car and started it, the engine roaring to life. He smiled at Dorothy.

"You have done so much for us. Allow me to do this. I'll buy you some time. If it's us they want, they will follow me and your home, your children, will be safe. I'll come back. I've walked away from worse things before. This'll be easy."

Dorothy shook her head, and she turned toward Norman.

"Norman, get the garage door ready to go. Open it when he's close by."

"But Mistress Dorothy…"

"Do it, Norman!"

"Understood Mistress Dorothy!"

Hammond pulled out in the Charger and went to the garage door, revving the engine. Norman saw him and opened the door once he was close. Hammond shifted the car into gear and pulled out quickly into the street, tires screeching on the pavement. Norman shut the garage door again. Dorothy contacted Roger on her comm link.

"Roger, come in, Roger…"

"Dorothy, I'm on the expressway! Just…"

"No, Roger, follow Rich! He took off! He's going to lure the robots away from the mansion!"

"You can't be serious! Fine, I got him on the tracker! Tell the other two to stay put."

The street was in chaos. There was rubble and robot debris everywhere. Hammond saw the mansion's defense system shooting down robots. However, it seemed for every robot shot down, more would appear in its place. Hammond brought the Charger to a halt and stepped out.

"OI! YOU GREAT, GANGLY, FUCK-KNUCKLED BASTARDS! YOO HOO! IT'S ME THAT YOU WANT, RIGHT?"

The robots that were closing in on the mansion stopped in midair and turned around, facing Hammond. They began making weird noises, as if contemplating to go after him.

"NA NA NA NA! CAN'T CATCH ME, YOU TWATS! MY HELLCAT IS THE FASTEST THING IN THIS WORLD AND YOU GANGLY BUCKET OF BOLTS ARE NO MATCH FOR IT! MEH!"

Hammond stuck his tongue at them. Hammond got the desired reaction out of them as they turned around and began closing in on him.

"Oh shit!"

Hammond climbed back inside the car, and took off as quickly as he could, with nearly a two dozen robots closing in on him.

Dorothy, Norman, Clarkson, and May were looking at the camera feed, watching the robots turn away from the mansion and following Hammond down the street. May shook his head and walked away quickly to his Ferrari. Dorothy and Clarkson followed him.

"And where do the hell you think you're going?" Clarkson called out to May.

"I think it's pretty obvious what I'm doing. I'm going after him!"

Clarkson ran over to May, outpacing Dorothy.

"In the Ferrari? You're mental!"

"So wot if I am?"

May began to climb in, but Clarkson shut the door.

"We'll take the Alfa."

May looked at him.

"Are you mental? Its brakes are bad!"

"Will you two stop this at once! Roger said stay here. Please have faith in my husband!" scolded Dorothy.

Clarkson offered her a wry grin.

"The thing about us three is we have a tendency to stick together, dear. And, we're kinda stubborn. We'll be fine. And if we do crash, we have a good excuse. No brakes…"

May climbed in the passenger side while Clarkson got into the driver seat. Dorothy shook her head as Clarkson started the car. Norman opened the garage, and the duo took off after their friend.

"Christ on a bloody cracker, you lot are rather persistent!"

The robots had taken to firing at Hammond, and while Hammond had good evasive maneuvers, he had a few close calls with other drivers.

"Ohhh, I hope I don't get in trouble for this!"

Hammond took a sharp left suddenly and a few robots crashed into buildings, incapacitating them.

"HA! TAKE THAT YOU BASTARDS!"

Hammond sped up again, weaving in and out of cars and obstacles. He then realized where he was.

I'm close to the dock area. If I head there, I can minimize the damage and people getting hurt.

Hammond shifted the car into gear, and the Hellcat roared to life, taking off with a sudden burst of speed as it headed toward the docks, with the robots closely following.

Roger took his exit off the expressway and sped toward the docks. He was following Hammond's comm link.

Smart man. The docks don't have as many people around. At the most property damage, but that can be explained easily.

He heard a call coming in on the line. He saw that it was Dorothy.

"Dorothy! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, but… Jeremy and James… they took off after Rich!"

"GODDAMN IT! They are stubborn, aren't they?"

"Just like you, but we don't have time. Roger, Rich is heading for the docks, but he's gonna run out of road soon!"

"Stay where you are and get Big O ready. I have a feeling I'm gonna need him. I'll be fine. I'll get them back, I promise. I love you…"

Roger shut off the link.

Compared to other cases I've had in the past, these three are about ready to take first place for most difficult case ever worked if they don't knock it off!

"At this rate, we'll never catch up to him. Floor it and forget about the damn brakes!" May yelled.

Clarkson was weaving in and out of traffic, following the corpses of robots and destruction left in Hammond's wake. But the argument between the two was testing their patience with one another.

"Where the hell is he going?" Clarkson barked.

"I dunno, but if you don't pick it up…" May began.

"Personally, I would like to find Hammond and strangle him. But I can't do that if I end up in a bloody wall, May!"

"Quit complaining and keep driving!"

"THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO DO, YOU MORON!"

The Alfa continued to drive towards the docks in the south end of the city.

The Hellcat roared, veering sharply to the right. Hammond had taken out a few more robots with his driving, but many remained on his heels. Hammond shifted the stick again and made another turn. He was now along the waterfront.

Crap! I need to get ahead and lose them before I run out… SHIT!

Hammond brought the Charger to a sudden stop, turning to avoid going over into the water and hitting crates. He breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short lived. The robots surrounded him, arming themselves and aiming their guns at Hammond in his car. Hammond gritted his teeth.

"Damn it…"

Hammond stayed in the car, eyeing the robots. The miniature Leviathans and crab robots began approaching his car slowly.

Well, now you've done it. How am I going to get out of this?

The robots closed in on Hammond, making all kinds of weird and excited noises. A miniature crab robot was now close, and as it raised its claw to bring it down on the hood, Hammond closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact.

Except, it never came. What followed were sounds of a loud explosion and shots of gunfire and missile fire. Hammond ducked in the seat, covering his head as he felt the shockwaves in the car. Then, the sounds died, and it was very quiet.

Hammond peeked over the door, looking around. He saw the Griffon, and a moment later, Roger stepped out. Hammond stepped out of his car, feeling relieved.

"I have to admit, that was pretty stupid what you did, Rich!" Roger began sternly, but then his tone soften, "But… had it not been for you, everyone would've gotten hurt. And so, I owe you one."

Roger offered his hand to shake and Hammond took it.

"Don't mention it. Honestly, I dunno what came over me. Maybe it was just the last few days finally catching up. But, it seems we have a bigger problem now. We'll need to stay somewhere else, my mates and I. I think I can speak for all of us, they made their move and we need to do something," said Hammond.

Hammond released his hand as Roger looked over the corpses of the robots.

"You're right on some things, but I think you're safest with me and my household. It's not a burden, if that's how you're feeling. Trust me when I say, this isn't the first time…"

Roger stopped talking, listening for a moment. He was hearing a whistling sound, growing louder. At the same time Roger realized what it was, his comm link went off. Roger, turned back to face Hammond, and with all of his might, pushed him hard out of harm's way. Before Hammond could process what was happening, there was a loud explosion, fire, and heat. And Hammond felt himself flying backward before he blacked out.

"Jesus Christ, what was that?" May asked, horrified by the sight.

Clarkson and May had followed Hammond's trail of destruction in the south part of the city. They finally had made their way to the docks when they saw a dark cloud of brown/black smoke rising high into the air. Clarkson and May looked at each other, and Clarkson put his foot down on the pedal, trying to close the remaining distance between them and the smoke.

While the duo made their way toward Hammond, Hammond slowly came to. Dazed, confused, ears ringing, he moved his head around slowly to get his bearings.

Ow. Everything hurts…

Hammond touched his head and saw blood his fingertips. But aside from the ringing in his ears and feeling achy all over, he could move. Hammond slowly got to his feet. Roger had pushed Hammond into the enclosed entrance of a warehouse, which had protected him from the blast. Then it dawned on Hammond. Roger was nowhere to be found.

Oh Christ… no. No, no, no…

Hammond limped around the debris, fire, and smoke, looking for any sign of Roger. He checked under piles of rubble and debris. He covered his face, to protect him from the smoke. Hammond now felt panic beginning to settle in.

Please, anything but that. Please God, I don't want that on my conscious…

He then heard a faint groan and felt instant relief from the dread creeping in on his heart. Hammond limped over to the sound and saw Roger, covered under broken timber and rubble. Hammond began moving pieces as fast as he could, under his current limitations with his injuries.

"Roger! Hang on! I'll get you out!"

Hammond then heard a robotic sound, stomping around. Hammond felt the color drain from his face. A robot had survived and was looking for them. Hammond ducked behind some rubble, keeping Roger in his sight. Roger was starting to come to, groaning even more.

"Roger! Roger!" hissed Hammond, "Keep quiet! You missed a robot…"

The robot now heard Roger and started to approach them. Hammond saw him walking towards him through gaps in the debris.

"Roger, please! For God's sake, if you don't stop, we'll be dead!" Hammond whispered fearfully.

It was directly over Roger now, and Hammond took cover, feeling the sweat down his sides. Then he heard two familiar yells.

"SPEEEEEEDD AND POWAAAAAHHHHHRRRR!"

"CLAARRRRKKSSSONNN!"

The Alfa finally came into view and smacked into the robot. As the car swerved to a halt, with a noticeable dent on the hood and grille, the robot was sent flying into the sea, where it sank to the bottom of the sea floor. Hammond then heard two doors shut and voices arguing. May and Clarkson had arrived.

"YOU IDIOT!"

"I JUST SAVED OUR LIVES, MAY… wait… hold on. Is that the Dodge?"

Clarkson pointed to Hammond's car. The missile that had hit them earlier, caused debris to go up into the air and straight through the windshield, through the seats, and punched out the back driver side window. The car was totaled. The Griffon, which was not far away, had pieces of debris on fire, on top of its hood.

"God, please… I don't want to make that phone call," Clarkson whispered, "HAMMOND!"

"HAMMOND!" shouted May, also in shock at the site.

"How many Hammonds are there, May? HAMMOND!"

"Over here!"

Clarkson and May jogged over to their colleague's voice, slowly trying to crawl out from his hiding spot. They helped him up, looking him over.

"Hammond, you hit your head. You're bleeding pretty bad," said May, trying to address his colleague's injuries, but Hammond waved him off.

"Roger's underneath that pile of rubble. We need to get him out," and Hammond pointed in the direction of Roger.

The trio began working quickly, clearing most of the rubble. Finally, they got to one piece of timber laying across Roger's ribs. Hammond tried to lift it on his own, but it was heavy and pinned down beneath other pieces.

"All that exercise you do and you can't even lift that?" Clarkson joked.

Hammond flipped off Clarkson. "Will you just help me with the bloody log?"

May grabbed one side of it as well. "On the count of three… one… two… THREE!"

The trio lifted the log up and off to the side. Roger was now free. May and Clarkson picked him up and carried him over to the Alfa, laying him on the hood.

"Come on lad, wake up… wake up… Good sport!" said Clarkson, smacking Roger gently in the face.

Roger came to, wincing, breathing hard as May undid his jacket. He saw blood on Roger's left side, bleeding through his shirt.

"It's bad. He needs hospital… Roger, mate! Don't move!"

Roger was sitting up, and held his left side.

"Not as bad as the time I got stabbed, trust me," he said, panting, "We need to get out of here."

Roger then remembered someone had tried to contact him and checked his watch. However, the face of the dial was smashed.

"Damn it, would be my luck…"

Clarkson took off his comm link.

"Use mine," and Roger nodded his thanks. He hit a few buttons and spoke into the watch.

"Who ever it was… who tried to contact me… I'm here now…"

"ROGER! What the hell? You need to get outta there!" It was Dastun and he sounded frantic.

"What? Dastun? What's going…"

"There's no time! My units are tied up by the harbor's edge! There's a megadeus in the harbor. It's huge! GET OUTTA THERE! IT JUST SHOT ANOTHER ROCKET!"

As Dastun finished his sentence, Roger and the trio heard the whistle, sounding through the air.

"INCOMING!" yelled Roger.

Everyone hit the deck, bracing themselves for the impact. Except, a large shadow loomed over them, blanketing them in darkness. As they felt the ground shook, the whistle grew louder and there was a loud explosion. They felt the soundwave blow over them. Then it became quiet again. Roger slowly raised his head up, and his eyes opened wide, trembling at the sight before.

"Big… Duo," he whispered.

Big Duo had intercepted the missile and was looking at them on the ground. Clarkson, Hammond, and May raised their heads and saw the megadeus looking down at them. They got to their feet, Clarkson and May helping Roger to his. Hammond met Duo's eyes, holding his breath.

"How did he get here?" asked May, "Did you call for him, Roger?"

Roger shook his head briefly, as he got dizzy right away, and stopped. "No, I didn't."

Roger brought Clarkson's comm link to his mouth.

"Who sent the Duo unit to us?"

"No one!" came Yumi's voice on the comm, "He activated on his own. Beck's coming over from the factory right now to get into Fau! Are you guys alright? It's been nothing but pandemonium! Dorothy said you were out trying to get your clients back and…"

"Yumi, it's alright. Where's Big O?"

"Big O is being loaded into the Prairie Dog from your home. Norman just finished running the last few checks. The MP arrived and he was assisting them getting rid of the robots attacking your place. Roger? Are you alright? You sound out of breath."

May chimed in.

"That's because he's injured, severely injured on the left side by his ribs. But apparently, there's a robot in the harbor."

"Roger! You can't fight! Not in your condition! Wait for Jason! He can handle…"

"Yumi, just get Beck here as soon as you can. I'll be fine. Pilot Griffon signing off.."

"Roger! Wait…"

Roger shut off the comm link. Hammond hadn't taken his eyes off of Big Duo, still staring at it in amazement. Roger noticed.

"You saved us… but why?" whispered Hammond.

"Rich, look at me."

Hammond ignored Roger. Roger raised his voice.

"Rich! Look at me…"

Hammond turned around, staring at Roger. Roger winced and his knees buckled, but Clarkson grabbed him.

"Easy chap, you can't really be doing much right now…" Clarkson said, supporting Roger.

Roger didn't care and continued to stare at Hammond.

"Whatever you decide, Rich, you have to be firm, fair, and consistent in your actions. Do you understand me? Whatever you decide, if your will aligns with his… he'll understand."

Clarkson and May looked at each other as Roger gasped in pain. Hammond looked back at Big Duo.

"Mate, you need first aid. Do you have a kit?" asked Clarkson.

"I do. It's in the trunk. Do you mind getting that burning debris off my car?"

"Yeah sure. Give me a moment."

Clarkson took Roger's keys and went to the Griffon while May supported Roger.

"Look, I'm not telling you what to do. But I don't think you can fight with your big friend, not in your state. You're lucky you haven't passed out yet."

Roger smirked. "If I'm lucky, I won't have to."

As Clarkson returned with the first aid, Hammond spoke to Big Duo and began walking toward him.

"Listen, big fellow… I can't stay. I know you want me to, but I can't. I have a family elsewhere and I know they're missing me. I have to get home. I have to get home with my mates. I'm sorry you've been alone because no one can understand you and what you want. But… if you would allow me, just for a little while, I can help you fight. And maybe, I can help them find someone who can understand you or give them an idea of what you want. I know it's not what you want. I don't want to fight either. But neither of us are getting what we truly want right now, but we understand… that at least we'll have something from all this. We don't have much time. We need to get Roger to hospital… Will you please help me and my friends? Please?"

Hammond stopped at the edge of the dock. Big Duo crouched down on one knee, looking at him.

"Please Big Chap… please help me."

Big Duo suddenly walked forward and rested his foot on the dock, opening the garage doors. Hammond broke out in a grin, and turned around to look at his colleagues.

"I'm going! I'm gonna fight. I'll be fine, but we need to get these cars inside his foot. They want the cars, the sat nav in them. And I think I know why now…"

Clarkson and May were thunderstruck. Roger, on the other hand, smiled. Clarkson stopped applying first aid and ran over to Hammond.

"You don't know how to pilot this thing, Hammond! Let alone crash it! Think of what you're doing!"

"I did, Jezza, and I made my decision. I'm doing this, whether you like it… or not. Now I need to get my car. I suggest you do the same, with what little time we have."

Clarkson looked at his friend as he ran off, shaking his head in utter disbelief.

I'll be amazed if we all make it home, alive…