Hi guys here is the next installment. Hope you enjoy it.
=================================================
The Zax Society
THE lOCATION: GO MORE AH.
Eston walked silently with Loy Al tew deBone as they wended their way through the twisted streets of Go More Ah.
Eventually, they came to a vast clearing in the center of the city. Looking again, Eston saw it wasn’t empty. The rusted steel skeletons of buildings pointed into the sky like the rotted teeth of a carnivorous animal. Bricks, stone, metal girders, rusted cars and other junk littered the vast space before them.
“He’s in there?” asked Eston.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Right there.” Loy Al tew deBone pointed towards the middle of the so-called clearing.
“Where?”
“It’s an underground bunker. Forty feet of the best reinforced concrete you can buy and lined with titanium.
“It must have cost a fortune.”
“Yes, he has been well paid for his services by the crime syndicates.”
After a short pause, the guard continued with “This place is booby trapped. Nobody knows how many. I wouldn’t be surprised if were in excess of a thousand, maybe as many as ten thousand. There are even rumors that he has a small nuclear device.
“A nuclear bomb?”
“Yes, and I have no doubt he would use it if he believed he was on the point of being captured by the authorities. Of course, the booby traps are not a great concern to the cops. It is the nuke which has them worried.”
“Yes, I would imagine it would.”, Eston replied absentmindly.
“And this isn’t his main refuge. No one knows where he hides out when he is in the throes of his paranoia.”
“So, don’t wander off. And don’t touch anything no matter how interesting it looks. It could be your life and possibly mine as well.”
“How do we get in?”
“We start by taking that path there.” Loy Al tew deBone said, pointing to a spot between rusted cars and jumbled up stones with rusted girders.
The path was narrow and Eston had to follow in the footsteps of Loy Al tew deBone. Eston sensed movement and realized they were being tracked by a number of security cameras along the path. After 50 feet, they entered a very small clearing which had four paths radiating from it. In the center was a fat pole with a number of buttons. Loy Al tew deBone pressed the largest button and a slot opened.
“Whatever metals or pLastics you have, put them in the box.” Loy Al tew deBone said as he put change, watch, keys and his belt buckle into the box.
“You don’t have any internal metals like pins”, he asked
When he received a negative answer, he asked “How about organics?”
“No, I don’t. What is all this?” asked Eston.
“It is part of his security system. Now check again, because if you have forgotten anything, I can assure you he will find out and if he doesn’t kill us, he will never give us an opportunity to see him again.”
“What about your shoes?” to which he received the reply “They are stitched leather, no metal.”
Assured that all metals and pLastics were in the box, Loy Al tew deBone shut the box and after a moment, a voice instructed them to take the left path.
After another 50 feet, they entered another clearing, identical to the first. They were told which path to follow.
They entered another identical clearing.
“This is a maze.” said Eston. “And did you notice all those cameras following our every move.”
“Yes, and there are pressure sensors on the path, infrared sensors, vibration sensors and God knows what else.”
Eston goggled at the guard, “All those?”
“Plus some devices we have probably never heard of.”
Receiving further instructions, they continued on their way to the next clearing.
After a while, Eston lost count of the number of clearings they entered and exited.
Eventually, they came to a large clearing. A small structure the size of a telephone booth was at its center. The sides, door and roof were constructed of a transparent material, which allowed an unrestricted view of its interior.
Eston and Loy Al tew deBone crowded into the booth. Closing the doors triggered a mechanism, which caused the booth to descend.
In addition to its downward movement, the elevator slowly rotated on its axis. Within a short length of time they lost all sense of direction. Being pitch black, they also had no idea of the distance they had traveled as they moved downward.
Eventually, the elevator stopped, the doors opened and a dim light flicked on revealing a vehicle the size of a golf cart. They entered the cart.
“Make sure you buckle up, it’s going to be quite a ride.” Loy Al tew deBone instructed.
The light flicked out and after 30 minutes of twists and turns they arrived at their destination, a huge cavernous room. Eston had no idea where they were. They could be 15 miles away from the booth or have doubled back and be right next to it.
The huge room was not partitioned. Eston could see the sleeping area in the farthest corner on his right. The kitchen was on the farthest left. In front of him were tables containing chemical apparatus. Along the walls were machines of various sizes and shapes.
Out of the shadows, limped a short man who looked old and unkempt. However, his eyes were sharp and piercing and his skin was that of a young man.
“Blackheart, you old rascal! And who is this?”
“His name is Eston and he wants to purchase the seal from you.”
“You do, do you? And why do you…” Suddenly his eyes narrowed. “He’s a cop!”
“No, no, he isn’t!” exclaimed Loy Al tew deBone.
With amazing swiftness, ‘The Forger’ approached and sniffed Eston like a dog.
“He’s a cop!”
“I tell you, he isn’t!”
“If he isn’t a cop, then what is he?”
“He’s a government employee.”
“Same thing! Get out! Get out!” exclaimed the forger and ran to his sleeping area.
After making hand motions to Eston to not move, Loy Al tew deBone ran after ‘The Forger”.
Eston could see “The Forger” jamming clothes and other articles into a bag. He was close enough to catch the conversation.
“Must leave! Must leave!”
“He is not a cop!”
“I trusted you! Why did you bring him here? And he is a cop!”
“We need the seal to scam the Zaxxoness. And if a crooked government employee is a cop, then I guess he is a cop.”
“He’s a crook?”
”Yes! He wants to scam the Zaxxoness!”
“One of us?”
“Yes!”
“No. No. No. Not possible. Not possible. Even a crooked cop is bad news.”
“In all the years we have known each other, have I ever cheated you?”
“No.”
“Have I ever lied to you?”
“No.”
“We need you to do this for us.”
“No. No. No. Not possible. Not possible. You are twisting my brain!”
“You said you would do it for 20 Zaxxonites.”
“No. No. No. I said I could do it for 20 Zaxxonites once I saw the buyer!
“Well here is the buyer!”
“He’s a cop!”
“What is the price to sell to a crooked cop?”
“No price. No price. Not possible. Not possible.”
“There must be a price!”
“OK! OK! 20,000 Zaxxonites!”
“That’s impossible!”
“See, I told you! Not possible. Not possible. Now get out. Get out!”
“It’s possible.”
“Huh?”
“I said it is possible.”
“Not possible, not possible.”
“It is possible.”
“Not possible, not possible. Must be in old unmarked bills no larger than 20 Zaxxonollars.”
“That’s impossible!”
“See, I told you! Not possible. Not possible. Now get out. Get out!”
“You never asked for it to be paid in paper money! Why now?”
“Traceable. Traceable!”
“Electronic transfers?”
“Yes, yes. Trace the transfer and I lose everything!”
“Gold, jewels?”
“Yes, yes, Change the molecular structure. Can be identified anywhere. Then lose everything. Everything.”
“If they can change the molecular structure of gold or jewels, can’t they do the same for paper money?”
“Yes. Paper money flat. Able to change the molecular structure back.”
“You can do that?”
“Yes, yes. Must be thin for me to do it.”
“You can roll gold into thin sheets.
“Yes, yes. Must also be non-metallic.”
“We can do it.”
“No. No. I say impossible. You say impossible. Not possible. Not possible.”
“It is possible.”
“Impossible. Impossible for me.”
“Impossible for you? Why?
“Going on vacation. Impossible. Impossible.”
“You are going on a vacation now?”
“Yes, Yes.” A pause, and then “No, No.”
“You are not going on a vacation now?
“Yes. Yes. Few days.”
“Why not go now?”
“Must finish job for At Hilla daHun.”
“You must finish a job for the crime lord, At Hilla daHun?”
“Yes, yes. Rail gun.”
“A rail gun? Whatever for?”
“Discovered wife in flagrante delicto with lover. Want to punish both.
“Punish them?”
“Yes, yes. Put them in capsule and shoot them into space on a trajectory towards the sun. Not hit sun but spiral orbit around sun. Watch lovers look into each other’s eyes as they slowly fall into the sun. Taunt them with a water tube only one can have. See how much they really love each other before they die. See if they willing to sacrifice themselves for the other before they die.
“But all traffic to and from the planet is monitored. It will be discovered and boarded”
“Yes, yes. But able to cloak it for a short time. Not see. Not see. When cloak breaks down, don’t matter. Don’t matter.”
“Won’t the acceleration kill them?”
“No, no. Extra long rail gun. Power usage over longer period. Difficult to detect when in operation.”
“Why don’t you leave now?”
“Kill me! Kill me! He crazy. Crazy. Driven by revenge. Revenge. If can’t kill them in way he wants, will take his revenge out on me. Agreed to do it. Don’t do it, then feels justified in exacting revenge on me. Die either way. At hand of At Hilla daHun or crooked official.”
“I see.”
“So angry, so angry. Blinded to it’s potential. Once used, then I own it. Good for smuggling contraband off planet. Not realize this. Make a lot of money with no investment. Mega Zaxxonites to build. No cost to me.”
“When will you have it done?”
“Four days. Maybe three.”
“How long will it take you to create the seal?”
“Not possible, not possible.”
“Why?”
“Where you get the paper money?”
“Let us worry about that. How long?”
“A day. A day. But will not stay to do it!”
“Agreed. We will get back to you.”
“Not want to do it. Not want. Must have money here first before I do it.”
“I know my friend. I will see you shortly.”
Loy Al tew deBone joined Eston and said, “Come! Let’s get out of here before he changes his mind.”
Retracing their steps and following the instructions given by voices emanating from the poles, they eventually collected their valuables and emerged at the edge of the large clearing.
“You seem troubled, my friend.” observed Loy Al tew deBone.
Eston jumped. He was wondering if The Forger and Loy Al tew deBone had staged the meeting to get 20,000 Zaxxonites out of him. They had sounded convincing but they both had criminal backgrounds. And really, what was one more crime to them?
“Yes, 20,000 Zaxxonites is a huge fortune. More than double what we paid for the jewels and clothing. And I don’t like paying 20,000 for something that is only worth 20. The way I see it, we have three choices. The first is to go back to Zax Central and get a genuine seal. That will delay matters for months and I don’t know if Zaxxon will be able to cope for that long. When I left, he was on the verge of a major nervous breakdown. This may be enough to tip him over the edge.”
“Two, we can go to one of the other forgers and pay him 20 Zaxxonites to make the seal.”
“And three, we can pay the 20,000 Zaxxonites to the “The Forger.”
“Well,” said Loy Al tew deBone I cannot speak to going back to Zax Central. And whether to pay 20,000 Zaxxonites or not is a value decision only you can make.”
“As for going to another forger, I am sure we can get one of the other forgers to do it and probably for considerably less than 20 Zaxxonites, maybe even less than 5 Zaxxonites. The question is, will it convince the Zaxxoness? I have seen her pick out a diamond from a pile of zircons at twenty paces. I don’t know how she did it. Probably something in the shine or refracted light. We could try it, but if we fail, we will not have a second chance.
“I do know this,” Loy Al tew deBone continued, “If we want to purchase the seal from The Forger, that decision will have to be made soon. It will take time to accumulate that amount of paper money in used unmarked bills.”
Eston and Loy Al tew deBone entered the hotel lobby after midnight. Eston was so deep in thought he didn’t notice the smirk on the concierge’s face.
They had rented the whole penthouse of the hotel for their entourage. As the elevator door opened, they heard laughter and giggling. Seconds later they observed that the nobles were in various stages of undress with beautiful women who were similarly undressed. Wine and liquor bottles littered the hallway. Most couples were so absorbed in their lovemaking that they were oblivious to their presence.
Loy Al tew deBone picked up a bottle, “Hmmm. Bonaparte 1801. Expensive. Like outrageously expensive.”
Then he looked at some of the women. “These are not street whores. These are top of the line professionals who will only see someone on appointment and then only on their terms. To make an appointment with them, you must have money and lots of it. Where did they get it?”
He looked at Eston and saw the stricken look on his face.
“You didn’t! You didn’t give the nobles the clothing and jewels?”
Eston didn’t reply. He walked woodenly into his suite and closed the door.
==============================================
The plot thickens.
Anybody want to venture a guess on what happens next?
Re: Newbie Galactic Combat II - Story Thread
Hybrid Mode
