Outland (World-Lines Book 1)

by Taylor, Dennis

  What the hell? Are they making the gold? Charles wandered around, lost in thought.

  Bluto, meanwhile, was checking out the kitchen. After considering the situation, Charles turned to him and said, “Come on, Bluto. This makes no sense. We’re going to have to talk to Andy. Some squeezing may be involved, after all.”

  Bluto licked his fingers to get the last of the tomato sauce from the piece of pizza, wiped them on his pants, and smiled at the mention of squeezing.

  In the News

  More activity from Yellowstone. USGS spokespersons report that the lava flow from the recent fissures has increased. After two instances of hydrothermal explosions, representatives stress that these are small events and do not provide any indication of future activity. Nevertheless, in consideration of public safety, the park has now been closed. We have reports of a steady exodus of residents from the nearby towns of West Yellowstone, Gardiner, and Cooke City.

  ---

  Al Jazeera has broadcast a video rant from a senior Al Qaeda representative in which he claims that the activity in Yellowstone is a warning from Allah that the West should give up their materialist ways and embrace Islam. He further warns that if the USA doesn’t obey immediately, they will be obliterated. He then calls on all “faithful Muslims” to be prepared for the great battle.

  Ways and Means

  Andy sat back and thought a moment. “So these kids have a warehouse full of junk, stuff that looks like they’ve been on an on-line buying spree. Which means lots of money, and recent money at that.

  “Lem called me again today,” he continued, looking over at Charles. “He’s been talking to a few people he knows in the business—his business, that is.” Andy chuckled at his own joke. “And it seems all of them can remember a couple of instances of kids coming in with large amounts of raw gold and a familiar lame story. Lem has suggested there could be as much as a million dollars’ worth involved, depending on how many places they visited.”

  “We don’t know for sure they’re doing something illegal,” Charles pointed out.

  “True,” Andy replied. “But they are doing something secret. And secrecy is always worth something. We simply need to figure out how much it’s worth to them. And of course whether we threaten to spill their secret or share it with them.” Andy smiled. Even Bluto understood what share meant in this context.

  “Do you think they could actually be making gold?” Charles asked Andy.

  “No, not really. I’m no squint, but I don’t think that’s possible.”

  Andy was actually better educated than he let on. He had gone through a couple of years of university before deciding that there were better ways to make a living.

  He thought for a moment before continuing. “I think a soft touch is still in order. These are kids from the kind of families that the cops listen to when they scream for help. We want to be sure we have some good leverage before moving in. It would be nice to have enough of a nest-egg to be able to separate ourselves from the more high-risk components of our portfolio.”

  Bluto and Charles both nodded. Old-school or not, crime was a dangerous and increasingly young person’s game. And pressure from other gangs on their drug trafficking business was increasing, which had negatively affected profits. Andy did not like negatively affected profits.

  Shopping

  On-line shopping is one of the truly perfect activities, Bill shook his head in amused disbelief. Especially when you don’t have to worry about money.

  He sat in a deck chair in the shade outside the warehouse door, with a laptop in front of him, a small side-table with a beer on it, and a cooler below that with additional supplies.

  It had been a busy morning. Bill had discovered earlier, to no one’s surprise, that survivalists had been thinking about the whole return-to-the-wild thing for a long time. Granted their focus wasn’t quite the same; nevertheless the information on the websites about weapons, first aid, supplies, and living off the land was pretty damned encyclopedic. All you had to do was ignore the occasional conspiracy rant. He was using them as a reference, and was working his way through the list of possible purchases.

  Bill tried to give his imagination free rein. What would Colonel O’Neill need? What would Dr. Jackson need? What weird kind of jams might they find themselves in? What piece of equipment would they wish they had brought? Bill considered himself a connoisseur of ironic plot twists and seemingly insoluble cliffhangers, and he was determined to out-think God on this one.

  ATVs. Dirt bikes? Sure, who wants to hoof it all day? For that matter, ultralights. I wonder if we need to worry about snow? Solar cells…

  And of course, one mustn’t forget the basic necessities of life. Like coffee. A coffeemaker that size needs a comparable supply to do it justice. Bill smiled at this thought.

  He was so wrapped up in his internal dialog that he didn’t notice the two large men standing in the shade a hundred feet or so away, watching him.

  “He seems to be just web surfing. All day,” Charles said.

  “Nice work if you can get it,” Bluto commented.

  They continued the seemingly pointless surveillance for the rest of the afternoon.

  ***

  “Now this is what I’m talking about!” Monica had stopped in front of a shoe display and was examining the featured items.

  Once they had cashed in the gold, Richard had distributed the dividend to the group. Erin and Monica declared a Field Trip, which was their code phrase for a shopping expedition. Monica voiced an urge to visit Nordstrom, so they drove to Kansas City with Intent to Shop.

  Now they were at their destination, determined to go through the entire wad of cash. Monica was in the shoe department, staring at some Jimmy Choos with lust.

  “Not very practical for hiking through Pleistocene forest,” Erin commented. “Or for running from smilodons.”

  “Hah! My running days are over. Some cat comes at me, I’ll blow it away, and I’ll do it in style!” Monica replied with a flourish.

  “Um, yeah, but we may need to make another trip back to the hotel to drop off packages,” Erin said. “My arms are getting sore.”

  “Spoils of war, buttercup. It’s a good pain.

  “Next,” Monica continued, “handbags!” The two made their way to the accessories department, hampered by the bags they already carried.

  Neither noticed a large, well-dressed man who had been staying just at the edge of view for most of their shopping spree.

  ***

  Later, at the hotel room, the girls unwrapped everything. Monica threatened to pile every single purchase on the bed and swim in it, which made Erin collapse in laughter. They spent a few hours trying everything on, even the items they had already tried on at the store. After that, they decided to break for dinner.

  “Wearing my Manolos like Carey Bradshaw. Hello, lover!” Monica said, laughing.

  “You’re strange. Just. Strange.” Erin replied, shaking her head.

  Kind of Scary

  Suzie and her friends were sitting in the rec room at the Union. They’d agreed to get together to talk about their latest assignment in Late Antiquity. However, someone had left the TV on CNN, and the network was playing an almost continuous loop about the Yellowstone activity. In fact, no one in the room was paying much attention to anything but the TV.

  “That is so freaky!” Frankie said. There were nods of agreement around the table.

  “I was talking to one of the geology students,” Suzie said, “and he insisted that this activity isn’t significant enough to be alarming. He said if Yellowstone didn’t act up like this every hundred years or so, it would be a surprise.”

  “Funny, I don’t feel better,” Frankie answered. “That’s still a whole lot of fire and brimstone.”

  “Yeah, well, don’t go there on vacation this summer,” Stephanie said.

  “You get vacations?” Maddie asked, mock-surprised.

  Stephanie made a face. “You know what I mean.”


  “Wouldn’t it be neat if it did erupt, though?” Frankie asked.

  There were stares of disbelief. “Neat?” Suzie asked. “What do you mean?”

  “You know, romantic. Back to medieval life, battling nature, heroes and villains, all that.” Frankie’s tone made it obvious that he was kidding.

  “Better not say that around the geology people. They have no sense of humor where this all is concerned.”

  “Well, look, we’ve had at least three major volcanoes that I can think of in the last fifty years, and we’re still here,” Joy commented.

  “Yes, but Professor Collins is tossing around the word supervolcano, and I for one don’t care for that,” Suzie said.

  “I for one don’t care for that,” Frankie laughed. “You, my dear, are a master of understatement.”

  Suzie bowed to him.

  They all turned to the TV again as the endless loop of repeated reporting again started displaying close-ups of impressive volcanic activity.

  Third Expedition

  The group met as usual at the warehouse, with two rented motor homes. This system had worked so well last time, why mess with it? They loaded up the land yachts, locked up, and drove off. As they left the warehouse complex, a black SUV pulled away from the curb and drove in the same direction.

  ***

  “They didn’t do anything, Andy!” Charles was beyond frustrated at what he felt had been a total waste of his time. Four days that he would never get back, driving for hours, or sitting for hours watching a couple of motor homes where nothing ever happened. And to make things worse, his boss didn’t believe him.

  “So, let’s go over this again, Charles. They drove to the Black Hills area.”

  “Yes.”

  “They rented a couple of spots in a camping ground.”

  “Again, yes.”

  “And other than some evenings around a campfire, they never left their motor homes the entire weekend?”

  “That’s correct. Yes. Then on the third morning, they checked out and came home. Unpacked all that equipment at the warehouse, and returned the rented motor homes. Absolutely, utterly pointless.”

  Bluto didn’t say a word, but he nodded in agreement at every statement.

  “We went back and visited their warehouse operation again earlier this evening,” Charles said, “to see if we could learn anything new. There’s even more stuff in there. They’re starting to look like survivalists to me. Where are they planning to go, though?”

  Andy got a thoughtful look on his face. He started to respond but at that moment, his phone rang. “One second…” Andy said to Charles.

  “Hello. Yes, it is I. No, that’s okay. Uh huh. I see. How much? Thank you. Yes, most appreciated. Good bye.”

  Andrew turned to Charles. “That was our good friend Lem, who advises me that another random kid came into his place of business today with a lame story and dropped off what to Lem’s experienced eye looks like about three pounds of raw gold. Given that Lem thinks they may be distributing their gold across as many as ten offices, that works out to over five hundred thousand dollars, earned through four days in a couple of motor homes.

  “And it would seem, Charles, that they managed to do this right under your nose.”

  “I’m not an idiot, Andy, and I didn’t fall asleep. There’s something more involved.”

  “To be frank, Charles, I am inclined to agree with you. I believe there is more going on here than meets the eye. Remember all that scientific equipment you were saying they loaded and unloaded? And they went to a location that once had a monumental gold rush. And there are these shopping sprees that we have been observing. Nouveau Riche indeed. Yes, more than meets the eye.” Andy thought for a second.

  “I believe I have divined their secret. We will pay a visit to our new partners tomorrow.”

  “Will there be leaning?” Bluto asked.

  Andy smiled. “There may well be, my friend. There may well be.”

  A Visit from the Mob

  Matt and Erin walked into the warehouse, to find everyone else already there.

  “You’re late,” Bill called to Matt.

  “No,” Matt replied, “you’re early.”

  Erin rolled her eyes, gave Matt’s hand a quick squeeze, and went to talk to Monica.

  Matt walked over to where Bill and Richard were poring over some documents. The back of one of the pages indicated that it was the instructions for building the metal sheds that Bill had purchased.

  Bill smiled at Matt. “Richard and I seem to have different opinions about how this is supposed to go together.”

  Richard looked up. “That’s the first thing he’s said that’s correct.” He smiled for a brief moment before returning his gaze to the document.

  Was that a joke? Matt was surprised. He looked at Bill, but he was too absorbed in the problem at hand.

  Matt sighed and looked around the warehouse. The agenda for today included a good bit of organizing, as well as construction of the metal sheds. The buying sprees had resulted in large haphazard piles of goods scattered around the warehouse. It was time to start making use of their purchases, starting with setting up a presence in Outland.

  Monica and Erin walked over to join the group.

  “We ready to get started?” Monica asked.

  Richard and Bill put down the installation instructions. Richard said to Bill, “We’ll have another look at this once we have the area prepped. For now, let’s get the gate opened and get stuff across, okay?”

  Monica headed to the kitchen to grab some leftover pizza, while Richard and Kevin set up the truck-sized gate.

  Richard had rented a bobcat with a shovel attachment and a forklift attachment, and a compact backhoe for trenches. This had raised some eyebrows at the rental company, but the credit card passed muster, and business is business.

  Bill had a shotgun near at hand in case something decided to investigate from the other side, but experience had shown that the sudden appearance of a hole in the air tended to scare off the local wildlife.

  As they turned on the gate, Monica’s voice came from the corner, dripping with annoyance. “Someone’s been eating my porridge.”

  “Huh?”

  “The pizza. There were still three pieces left. I know this because I put them in the fridge myself. They’re gone. Which one of you crumbs ate my snack?”

  Everyone exchanged glances. “Did anyone come in late last night or early this morning?” Richard asked. He waited for a response, but was met with silence.

  “Well, that’s odd,” Richard muttered. “Have we been broken into? Everyone look around please. See if anything’s missing. Other than pizza, I mean.”

  They had just started heading in various directions to look things over, when a voice from the doorway said, “Perhaps I can help you gentlemen, and ladies, with that question.”

  Matt looked over to see three men entering the warehouse. They were each holding handguns and waving them quite nonchalantly.

  “Good afternoon,” continued the man who seemed to be in charge. “My name is Andrew Petrelli, and these are my associates. We’d like to talk to you about some large gold transactions that you have made in the recent past.”

  “You’re cops?”

  “No, of course not. We’re just concerned citizens.” The man smiled, but it never reached his eyes. “Initially my associates conjectured that you might be making gold in the manner of the medieval alchemists, but I see from that—” pointing to the open gate, “—that there is another possibility. Time travel perhaps? Seems like a dangerous pastime, particularly for a group of college kids with no experience in that area.”

  “We were thinking you might need some accident insurance,” the largest one added.

  Mr Petrelli frowned at this interruption. “Please let me take care of the negotiations, Trevor.”

  Trevor said nothing, but his face got very red and he scowled at the back of his boss’ head.

  Matt realized that his f
riends had been in the process of scattering around the warehouse when they were stopped by the goons. This placed the goons at a disadvantage as they now had to look in several directions to keep track of everyone. Matt expected that their next step would be to herd everyone together in one spot, and that would leave the group helpless. Time for a distraction.

  Matt stepped forward, getting as close to Mr. Petrelli as he dared. Slouching and trying for a whiny voice, he said, “This is none of your business. Hit the road, or we call the cops.”

  Petrelli looked at him for a moment in disbelief, then laughed. “You got moxie, kid.”

  He actually said ‘moxie’, Matt thought. Is this guy straight out of a movie?

  “How about you shut up now and I don’t have to hurt you.” Petrelli continued, with a sneer on his face.

  Matt looked out of the corner of his eye. Erin stood between one goon and a pile of camping gear. She was resting her hand casually on a small portable propane canister. Richard had managed to sidle just outside of the other goon’s peripheral vision. And Bill had the shotgun, if he could be given the time to grab it.

  Now or never, Matt thought, and put on his best sneer. “What’re you gonna do, fatso? Sit on me? Or maybe get Trevor there to do it?”

  Petrelli got very red and angry, and Trevor actually snarled. The third goon rolled his eyes.