“Hadn’t we better plan carefully,” said Gowan. “I wouldn’t want to be locked down if Ramirez had forgotten to wash his underpants.”
“Yes,” said Ogden. “Careful planning is essential. We can’t break out because somebody forgot to pack bog roll.”
“Bog roll?” asked Ramirez.
“Ass wipe,” explained Gowan.
“Oh. Suddenly everybody has a wisecrack to explode.”
“I want the Sarin sealed before we leave,” said Stiers. “I’m not risking that stuff travelling with us until we’ve made it safe.”
“We’ll seal it in gel pellets. It will be fine,” said Lillishenger.
“It had better be,” said Ramirez. “I don’t want my gonads dropping off.”
“Don’t worry,” said Gowan. “Your underpants will hold them in place – for a while.”
“Look…”
“You could cut them off and store them in sealed containers for protection,” suggested the Professor.
“Look…”
“We could keep them here for you in the freezer,” said Dunfield. “You could collect them before your final mission.”
“Look…”
“It’s no use,” said Gowan. “He’ll never split the set.”
Ramirez sighed and drank some iced tea for which he was developing an addiction, despite or because of the sugar he added. “I doubt I shall remember any of this mission with happy memories,” he said.
By late in the afternoon the following day they had polished a plan of sorts. Dunfield had been sent with Ogden into San Bernardino to get quotes for constructing the shell and frame of the vacuum chamber. The Lexan had been ordered from the manufacturer’s main agents because of the complexity of its curvature. They had almost emptied one bank account just for the deposit. The stuff was new and not easily available. Materials were ordered for the construction of the track which would be fabricated in house.
But they realised they would soon have to top up their bank accounts with more substantial sums. They could print excellent quality counterfeit cash but this could only be accepted in limited quantities by the banks without the IRS being notified and they wanted as little official interference as possible. As Ramirez put it, “We don’t want to raise any flags saying something to look at here!”
Stiers decided, after much debate, the Casino raids would take precedence over stealing the Sarin. After due consideration they decided to hit each of three casinos for about $70,000 apiece. They felt this was not unusually large and the casinos were unlikely to compare notes immediately. However, they needed to be seen and to lose first and decided to sacrifice small amounts – one or two grand at each casino – before raising the stakes and winning.
“Martingaling is one option,” said Stiers, “but I don’t recommend it.”
“What is Martingaling?” asked Gowan.
“It’s purportedly named after a man named Martingale who devised a foolproof way of winning at blackjack,” said the Captain. “Basically you decide how much you want to win that night – say $1,000. You open with a thousand dollar bet and draw till you hit 18. The bank has to hit 17 minimum. If you lose you double your bet and continue to raise it by $1,000 every time you lose. Eventually you’ll draw a winning hand or the bank will bust and pay you. You take your money and walk off richer by a grand. It is certain but dealers and pit bosses watch for Martingaling and will throw you off that table so you have to start again somewhere else. It can be costly in the long term.”
“That’s not fair,” said Gowan.
“And Martingaling isn’t fair to the casino,” said Stiers. “They have lots of ways of making sure you lose. They change dealers, decks and put losers next to you to draw the cards you would have taken. If you start to win they close you down. Our best bet is the high value slots where the casino has little or no control – the payouts are set by the State of Nevada – and which we can manipulate electronically without being seen to do it. Remember, casinos have cameras and they watch everything, even the dealers.”
“I thought this would be simple,” said Ramirez. “With our technology we should own the place. Now you’re telling us they’ll be watching our every move. Damn – it’s worse than shopping in a mall.”
“It’s not that bad,” said Stiers. “We need to fabricate a control device for the slots that can be worn as a piece of jewellery. I would say a bracelet, a ring and a brooch or pendant will be enough. Anything that looks ordinary and contains electronics they can’t detect.”
“That can be fabricated on board,” said Ogden. “The slot machines are primitive and should be easy to manipulate.”
“Everything must appear normal,” said the Captain. “We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves in any way.”
“I think they’ll notice when we cash in our tokens,” said Ramirez.
“Remember the motto of the casinos. You can win.”
“Yeah, but they don’t like it,” said Ramirez.
The remainder of the day was spent investigating whatever could be discovered about the mysterious Porton Down establishment. Fortunately they were able to access schematics and blueprints of the site which had been torn down by their own time. It was agreed Gowan would lead the team to obtain the Sarin while Stiers and Ogden provided backup.
“Backup?” queried Ramirez. “I can’t see Ogden doing too much running and it looks like plenty of that will be required on this mission.”
“We’re your backup and rescue team in case of trouble,” said the Captain.
“And who is going to rescue you guys? I mean, you’re both old and I doubt you could run a hundred metres between you.”
“I’m 38,” said Stiers.
“Yeah, well Ogden is old enough for both of you. Your average age is 49.”
“That is why you and Gowan are the lead team,” said Stiers.
“Sarah is younger and fitter,” said Ramirez.
“She is but she is not officially part of this crew,” said the Captain. “I have no intention of exposing her to any more danger than necessary.”
“But it’s okay for us to risk our reproductive kit.”
“You are paid for that.”
“That reminds me,” said Ramirez. “Where are those paychecks going now?”
“Cut your whining,” said Gowan.
“How come you’re leading this mission? I’m senior.”
“Her hands are more delicate. I trust her to carry the Sarin without problems,” said Stiers.
“They are delicate,” agreed Ramirez. “It’s all that moisturising cream she uses between her legs.”
“There are days you’re as welcome as a gnat at a picnic,” said Gowan.
“Or a snake bite on the ass,” said the Captain.
“Don’t bring that up again,” said Gowan. “I can still taste him on my lips.”
“You got it without begging for it,” said Ramirez. “Think yourself fortunate.”
“Fortunate? I would have sooner given the kiss of life to a dead mackerel.”
“You could use the practice.”
“Next time I see your ass, Ramirez, it will have my foot flying towards it.”
“In similar circumstances I would have applied my lips to your ass.”
“Believe me, the circumstances would have to be a whole pile worse.”
Ogden and the Professor constructed tiny devices to read and operate the slot machines, using old studies as their guide. Ramirez had an onyx ring, Stiers a chunky bracelet, Lillishenger built herself a pendant and Sarah and Hugh – who insisted on taking part for the sheer hell of it – had a necklace with a ruby in a setting. Nothing looked out of place but Ogden warned them, “Find a slot machine at the end of a row, preferably with no adjoining neighbours. We have limited the range of these devices but we don’t want to set off adjacent machines to suddenly pay out.”
“How do they work?” asked Ramirez. “Do they pay out right away?”
“No,” said Lillishenger. �
��The machines are seemingly random but the payout rates are decided by a chip placed inside by the state gaming board. Nobody knows exactly when they should pay out, which works to our advantage. The sensors in here use several spins to establish any pattern then reprogram the chip accordingly. You will go through several hundred dollar tokens before reaching a big payout. As soon as you do, cash in the chips and we’ll meet up.”
“Is it going to be dangerous?” asked Sarah.
“Hey, babe, we’re robbing four casinos of good cash. Why do you think it would be dangerous?” asked Ramirez.
“Couldn’t they chase us?”
“They won’t chase us unless they want to kill us,” said Stiers. “No, these amounts aren’t too large. They’ll likely invite us into the office to comp us in the hope we’ll gamble the money back to the casino.”
“Comp us?” asked Gowan.
“Pay for our room and board,” explained Stiers. “It’s their usual way of finding out who we are – we will have to register at the hotel – and it encourages us to gamble more and in the long term we will lose.”
“So what do we do?”
“We act excited, accept the comp, give out false details Ogden will supply, then skip town right away before the casinos talk to each other.”
“Are we flying there in the Challenger?” asked Gowan.
“No,” said Lillishenger. “We’re driving.”
“We won’t all fit in the Jeep,” said Dunfield.
“We’re not taking the Jeep. I also have a minivan. We’ll go in that. Ramirez and the Captain can check it over tomorrow morning.”
“In many ways I would be more comfortable taking the ship,” said the Captain.
“But wouldn’t it be obvious?” asked Lillishenger.
“Yes. But there is no faster getaway and we may need to leave in a hurry.”
“We would have to park it out of town in the desert and still make our way in by bus.”
“I’m thinking,” said Stiers, “some of us could travel in the minivan and some in the ship. We could meet in the desert and drive the rest of the way. If we run into trouble we would only need to drive as far as the Challenger and – in effect – vanish.”
“There is something in that concept,” declared Ogden. “It is unlikely we would get into any bizarre situation in Las Vegas yet it would be comforting to know the ship was nearby.”
“I think you’re right,” agreed Ramirez. “Even with the best plans things can go wrong. I’d like to think of our own craft sitting within reachable distance.”
“But someone would have to remain with the ship,” said Gowan. “That would be best, surely?”
“We are going to hit four casinos,” said the Captain. “We need to be lucky with three. We must be discreet. One of us could stay behind and maybe even launch a rescue if needed.”
“If we’re using Sarah and Hugh as a team, we could easily spare one person,” said Gowan. “What do you think?”
“I’m kind of making this up as I go along,” confessed Stiers. “But I think safety first is all important. We need a backup plan.”
Ramirez said, “Gowan and me could be another team; you on your own, Captain, Lillishenger on her own and Ogden staying with the ship. It’s less likely to blow away if he’s on board.”
Lillishenger glared at him and Ramirez swallowed uncomfortably.
“I’ll stay behind,” said Stiers. “It makes more sense. You and Gowan can be separate teams.”
“You are the Captain but your idea is not the best,” said Ogden.
“Why not?”
“You are American and relatively local. You would best deal with any situation on the ground. You can count on me to back you up and remove you from trouble.”
“That makes sense to me,” said Gowan. “Ogden is usually pretty calm under fire.”
“So am I,” said Ramirez.
“You are to calm what Hitler was to peace,” she said.
“Who’s Hitler?”
The following morning Ramirez and the Captain worked on the minivan and needed only to replace the top hose to the radiator. After thorough testing they declared it was fit for purpose. Gowan said to the Professor, “The Captain and Ramirez both worked on it so you should only have to worry half the time.”
Lillishenger said to Stiers, “We will have to leave a few hours before you. We’ll have a couple of hundred miles to drive.”
“No need,” said the Captain. “We’ll affix a couple of towing beams and lift you there as far as the outskirts of town. We can all travel in the ship that way. Will your cloaking device reach to shroud the van?”
“How close to the Challenger will it be?”
“Can’t have it closer than three metres. It will interfere with the anti-grav thrusters otherwise.”
“We could travel inside.”
“Not at the speed we’ll be doing. Better just to have the van hanging there. But it won’t be seen?”
“Old people may see it. The device affects the alpha brain and that isn’t too active as you get older.”
“Well, with a bit of luck we’ll be high enough they can’t see us.”
“Hang on to your wig and don’t do a jig,” said Ramirez, coming up. “What are we discussing here?”
“There is no point in driving the van to Las Vegas when we can use anti-grav beams to tow it there,” said Stiers.
“And people say you are just good looks. Of course, they say the same thing about me.”
“I’ve never heard anybody say it,” said Lillishenger. “From what I can see you have a good brain and an average penis. I suggest they both need more exercise.”
“Fat chance in this crew. Sarah is spoken for, you’re too ol…have Ogden, and Gowan is afraid of getting her underparts damp.”
“So I’m too old? Yet I’m having sex more frequently than you.”
“Only with Ogden.”
“Daniel is a considerate lover.”
“Does he bring you flowers?”
“We’re in the desert, Eric Ramirez.”
“Maybe he could pick you a nice rock.”
“Stop your macho swagger and be more human and therefore more likeable,” said the Professor.
“When do we leave?” he asked the Captain.
“As soon as it’s dark. Meanwhile we’ll do pre-flights on the ship. I do not want problems.”
The remainder of the morning was spent thoroughly checking the ship’s systems. The Defender class were well-built ships despite their limited capacities. Lunch was spent chatting and preparing and Stiers made them hot sandwiches. In the afternoon the Captain ordered them to try to rest up with the long night ahead. He took his own break in the ship with the structure doors closed for security. Everybody else retreated to their rooms but there was little sleep. All minds were focussed upon the next task ahead of them – what in fact amounted to larceny.
Ogden and Lillishenger chatted while lying on the large bed. “Are you comfortable with this?” she asked.
“What – stealing? Not exactly, but I see no other choice. We have to save this world and I am afraid it is whatever that takes.”
“Yes, but we aren’t saving the world of the people who live here now. They will all be long dead by the time the aliens arrive.”
“Yes, they will be, but their grandkids and great-grandkids will be alive.”
“We are their grandchildren, aren’t we?”
“Yes.”
“So we really are doing it for us?”
“I suppose we are.”
“We’re stealing to save ourselves.”
“We’re stealing because we have no other choice. We can hardly go out to work. We have to accumulate enough money to see our project built and kept safe for a century.”
“You are finding out it is no fun being out of your own time,” said the Professor.
“I as yet have to enjoy one minute of it,” admitted Ogden before Lillishenger’s glare reminded him of the part which was
enjoyable.
In the room used by Sarah and Dunfield the conversation ran on different lines. She said, “Is this really happening? Are these people for real? Are we honestly going to rob a casino.”
“Dishonestly rob a casino – four of them,” said Dunfield.
“We are going to jail, aren’t we?”
“It’s possible.”
“What story will we tell?”
“I wouldn’t think the truth will do us much good.”
Gowan was restless and alone in her room. She had never smoked but suddenly was aware why people in this age would take it up. The stress was high. Too much could go wrong and there was no guarantee of either their safety or success. She really didn’t want to serve her time in Fleet in a prison more than a century old.
Ramirez turned in his bed and slept the sleep of the just.
They met again before dark and sat down for a light meal and coffee before opening the doors of the workshop. As soon as darkness had fallen the crew of the Challenger brought the ship out to the rear of the building where it was blocked from view of the road and where the chameleon plates and Lillishenger’s cloaking device hid it from sight. Stiers, being a Captain, was looking forward to flying again even for such a short trip.
They were carrying cash which Lillishenger had fabricated earlier in the day from waste paper and cotton rag. The money looked and felt authentic and Ogden had tapped into the Federal Reserve Banking computers to ensure the serial numbers were correct. The new notes were then subjected to a variety of aging techniques, including rolling them in the dirt.
Ramirez grinned. “Not only are we going to cheat the casinos,” he said. “We’re using fake money to buy the chips.”
“Well, we may get it all back if we win enough,” said Gowan.
“Oh.” Ramirez seemed disappointed.
“Don’t fret. You’ll have the fun of playing,” she said.
“Be careful not to damage your sensors,” said Lillishenger. “I have set their power output to match what I could discover about the slot machines. Try not to bang them too hard. They may not work.”
For Sarah and Hugh, by now quite familiar with the inside of the ship, this would be the first time they had flown in it. The same applied to the Professor, who had driven her Jeep back to her workshop after meeting the crew.
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