Singular

by Larry Buenafe

  She smacked Benji on the arm and said, “Why didn’tcha say so in the first place? As soon as Jimmie sees him, every Bright Hander in the world will be lookin’ for your man!”

  “Benji, how do they know about my dad?”

  He looked down, kicked his toe into the dirt, and twisted his hands together. “Well, I kinda told ‘em about your daddy, and, well, you know, I told ‘em about all his discoveries and advancements, and… I reckon he sorta became a legend amongst the nation.”

  “I’d say. I don’t think there’s a bloke or bird in the nation who doesn’t know the name Dr. John Taylor,” said Tarni, her voice hushed and eyes wide.

  “But… but he’s, I guess you’d say he’s an outlaw back home,” I protested.

  “That’s one ‘a the things we like best about ‘im,” Tarni replied. “He stands by his principles, does what’s right no matter the consequences. That carries a lotta weight ‘round here, I reckon.”

  “Wow, they sure know a lot about my dad.”

  “Yeah, I reckon I got a little carried away. Don’t ever tell your daddy, but he’s my hero too. And you, Lukey my boy, my old mate? You’ll be everyone’s hero before all this is over, and that’s a bloody oath. Now, back to important business… Tarni, how about another ‘a those coldies?”

  34

  F ollowing our excursion in the food tunnel, we exited and were greeted by dozens waiting at the tunnel. They smiled and clapped, and there was lots of chatter amongst the small crowd; we walked past them, waving, and headed back to the ramp and our guest apartment, the crowd dancing as they followed. “I guess you better get used to it, mate,” Benji hissed out of the corner of his mouth.

  “What did you tell them about me?”

  “I didn’t tell them anything. I reckon it must have been Wally or Harry, or it could even have been old Stan Olden. Whoever it was, word got around fast, eh?”

  When we reached the apartment, Benji addressed the crowd, speaking in a mix of the aboriginal language and English. I didn’t understand it all, but I did hear him say “Don’t you lot have work to do?”

  Eventually the crowd drifted away, and we entered the apartment, where we found dad and Ms. Houng sitting at the small table drinking coffee. Benji told them of our contact with Tarni Early, and dad said, “Ok, we’ve got to get moving. I’m calling Zoey Perez, let’s see if we can get to the Bright Hand headquarters today.”

  He pulled out the loaned cell phone, then said, “Hey, I was wondering. How are we getting cell reception out here? This is literally the middle of nowhere, and we are dozens of meters underground.”

  Benji’s face crinkled and he clapped his hands. “We built a bloody repeater, it’s up on the top ‘a this hill, disguised as a boulder. You’d never know it was there, mate.”

  Dad stared at Benji. “You were on the busy side before we got together, weren’t you?”

  He crossed his arms and replied, “I reckon you could say that. It wasn’t all me, though, lotsa folks pitched in. Well, alright, it was mostly me. Come on, mate, click the button.”

  Dad shook his head, then pressed send. After a few moments, he said, “Yeah, sorry this is not a social call. We’re ready to come and negotiate. We have another contact with the Bright Hand, and there has been some communication. We are a bit desperate to get our friend back.”

  He listened for a few moments, then said, “Ok, we’ll be there. Thanks, Zoey.”

  Dad stood and said, “Let’s load up. We meet them in Kalgoorlie at noon, so we need to get moving.”

  Benji rubbed his hands together. “If we get on the road quick, we should have enough time to get some good tucker before meetin’ up.”

  Dad looked up at the ceiling. “Don’t tell me. Macca’s.”

  “Well, alright, don’t get all uppity, mate. We got limited choices, ya know.”

  We gathered up our belongings and headed out to the old brown van with the faded orange stripes on the side and hopped in as Benji unplugged it. As he was putting up the cable, Tarni sprinted up to him and, a little out of breath, said, “You weren’t gonna leave me, were ya?”

  “I didn’t think you were serious. You really wanna shoot through with us?”

  “Yeah, I can’t hang around here all my life. I told my mum, not that I need to… I’m an adult, you know.”

  “Well come on then, climb in and let’s roll. Oi, Kirra, when you have the all clear, open the door, eh?”

  The ‘oldie’ with the awesome hair and impressive wrinkles gave him a little salute, and said, “All clear,” then something in the aboriginal language. Benji laughed and smacked the door of the van, and we sped up the ramp and through the outback toward Kalgoorlie.

  We bounced along on our way to town, and dad, Benji, and Ms. Houng spoke about what we could offer to the Bright Hand to get them to give us maximum assistance; as they did, Tarni, who somehow ended up sitting next to dad, stared at him, watching his every move. Dad said, “They’re taking a rather large risk by assisting us. Thus far they’ve simply been an annoyance to the government, or I guess I should say the shadow government, but this would likely make them a more significant target. If they are sufficiently motivated, they could eventually find and wipe out the Bright Hand headquarters, and there isn’t much anyone could do. We’ll need to get them to be quick and subtle; if they get Mard past the coast line, we will probably have lost him. Then our only choice will be to negotiate with the shadow government directly, and they’ll want something more significant. The Bright Hand has four of their soldiers, and, while they might want them back, I doubt that they alone would be enough to get them to release Mard. This is going to be tricky.”

  Although we all were aware, the desperation of the situation was beginning to sink in. “They… they would exchange him for me. No, I know it sounds crazy, but what if we got them to agree to make an exchange somewhere over here, and I just escaped from them. It could work. If I needed to, I could activate control mode, and Ava could get me out. If nothing else works, we should try it.”

  There was lots of head shaking going on as I spoke. Ms. Houng, seeming a little emotional, said, “No, no way. We can’t risk you, Mard wouldn’t want. No way.”

  “Lukey, I doubt that the shadow government would go for that. They wouldn’t believe that we would be willing to exchange you for him. Even if I thought it was a good idea, I don’t see how it would work. Keep thinking, though. We’ll come up with something.”

  The rest of the ride into Kalgoorlie was mostly quiet, aside from the noise of the old van bouncing along. At eleven fifteen Kalgoorlie came into view, and as expected Benji began talking about going to ‘Macca’s’ for some lunch. “Oi, I been waitin’ for this since… well, it’s only been one day, but still…”

  We went through ‘Macca’s’ and got another bag full of burgers and fries and waited in the parking lot. Dad had known we were likely to go back there, so that became the meeting place with the Bright Hand. Right at noon, a huge black truck with a blacked-out camper shell pulled into the parking lot, and out of it stepped… our old friends, Mike and Ms. Perez. They strolled casually over to the van, and Mike stuck his bandaged-up head through the driver-side window opening. “Hi guys, hope everyone’s doing ok. Sweet van, by the way. If you’ll all just come with us, we’ll get this mission under way.”

  Dad said, “Ok, here we go. Stay alert.”

  Mike opened the rear of the huge truck, and we climbed into the camper. There were two female Bright Handers in the camper that I didn’t recognize, and Mike came in after us. The women were both big and muscular, with their hair pulled back tight and military-style clothing on. One appeared maybe Irish, with curly red hair and freckles, and the other was very dark, and seemed African, her hair in corn rows. When we were inside, he said, “Sorry about this, but I have to blindfold all of you. We need to keep our location as secure as we can, I think you can understand that.” He pointed to the one with red hair and said, “This is Margaret, and this is Leena. They’
re here to make sure things go well for you. This is going to take a while, so you might want to take a nap or something. Everyone ok?”

  Dad glanced around at all of us. “I don’t think we expected the blindfolds, but it is understandable. Anyone want out?”

  There was no response, so he said, “Let’s do it.”

  Rather than blindfolds, they used fabric bags much like small pillowcases pulled down over our heads. The fabric was easy to breathe through, and we settled in quietly, sitting with our backs against the outside wall of the truck bed. I turned my head away from where Margaret and Leena were sitting, and as low as I could, said, “Ava, can you create a map as we drive, even if you can’t see out?”

  “Nothing to it. Even with this ostrich-effect, it’s easy-peasy.”

  Ok, I think that means yes…

  “Ok, start now, I’ll let you know when to stop.”

  “That’s a big ten-four.”

  Oh, boy.

  35

  A fter about fifteen minutes of driving in the dark, dad said, “Excuse me, ladies, do you mind if we talk?”

  There was a brief pause, and a voice with what sounded like a Spanish accent said, “That would be alright.”

  Based on their appearance the Spanish accent was a bit unexpected, and of course Benji pounced on that. “Where are you ladies from, then?”

  The one with the Spanish accent, appropriately enough, said, “I’m from Spain. This is Margaret, by the way.”

  “Crikey, I woulda never guessed.”

  “People always assume I’m from Ireland, but there are many in Spain with red hairs like me.”

  “Well how ‘bout you, then, Leena, was it?”

  “London. South side. Ever been?”

  “Nahh, can’t say I have. Love ta go, though. So, what’s it all about then; either of you connected, you know, in a relationship-kinda way?”

  They both chuckled, and Leena said, “So, asking for a date, are you?”

  “Well, if ya want ta put it all blunt-like, I reckon I am.”

  There was a brief pause, and Margaret said, “Listen, we know who you are. The name of Dr. Benji Walker is a little bit famous where we are going. You will probably find lots of girls there who might be interested in a date with you. Us? We have our jobs to do.”

  As Benji was occupying Margaret and Leena, dad leaned as close as he could to me and whispered, so low that he knew only I could hear it: “Lukey, can you get Ava to…”

  Before he could finish, I tapped his foot and said, “Already done.”

  He tapped my foot twice, and hissed, “That’s my boy.”

  Benji kept up a running dialogue with Margaret and Leena, and eventually had everyone laughing. Well, everyone but me, anyway. After about an hour and a half the truck took a turn right, which I knew was east, and we began bouncing along either a dirt road or one riddled with potholes. After thirty minutes of the stomach-churning vibration we came to a sudden stop, and Leena, in her British accent, said, “Alright, we switch vehicles here. Just hang on a moment.”

  It was blazing hot in the back of the black truck, but then the camper shell was opened, a gust of sizzling wind swept in, and several of the others coughed. “Is too hot, need some water,” Ms. Houng complained.

  Mike’s voice came from just outside the truck: “Come on, give them a drink. They’re not prisoners, and where we are right now looks like every other spot in the entire outback.”

  Before taking us out of the truck, a bottle of warm water was passed around, and we were allowed to pull our face bags up high enough to drink. I peeked when I lifted mine up, and probably everyone else did too, but he was right, there was nothing to see. After drinking, we were helped from the truck and put into an older vehicle, and this one seemed to be retrofitted with an electric motor, much like the nation’s old van, as it made virtually no engine sound. We were in the interior of this one; it seemed large, an SUV of some sort, and we were hit by a refreshing blast of cool air.

  “Oh, that’s better,” gasped Ms. Houng. “How much longer? I have to go pee.”

  “I think all of us could use a brief bathroom break,” said dad. “Also, do you mind telling us who’s in here with us?”

  Mike’s voice responded, “It’s just Zoey and me. We have another hour or so, and there’s nowhere to go out here besides behind some bushes. Plus, there are snakes and scorpions out there.”

  “Oh, it’s ok. I can hold,” said Ms. Houng.

  We continued in the quieter and more comfortable vehicle for about an hour and made several turns along the way. Although the interior of the car was cool, the windows were hot to the touch. Eventually we found ourselves leaning back, and could feel the car working harder, then took a sudden quick turn to the left and we were now leaning forward, feeling a bit like falling. Another fast turn and we came to a stop.

  “Ok, let’s get those masks off,” said Ms. Perez, and I felt someone grab the top of mine and snatch it quickly off my head. We were in what appeared to be a parking garage; there was cement everywhere, including the walls. We were led through a short hall and a heavy metallic door, then down another hall. After passing through a second heavy door at the end of the second hall, we gazed out at a cave that looked a lot like that of the nation, but this one was about ten times larger. We stood on a cement platform fifteen meters above the floor of the room, and it was so big that it was difficult to take it all in at first. There were row after row of what appeared to be mobile homes covering much of the floor of the cave, with roadways through the area every few rows, and here and there people in golf carts were speeding by.

  Mike and Ms. Perez stood in front of us, and Mike spoke almost as if he were a tour guide. “Took a long time to get all those modulars up here without drawing lots of attention. They double as labs and living space. You might be wondering, and if you are, the answer is yes, we modeled this off the aboriginal cave you were in. I know, nobody’s supposed to know about it, but we have people all around. They did an amazing thing, and we just copied them and made some improvements. Or I should say the great Dr. Benji Walker did an amazing thing over there. We have a small conventional reactor here, but we could sure use your expertise in setting up a safer method of energy production. As you know, it takes a lot of energy to keep a place like this going.”

  Dad and Benji exchanged eye contact, and dad said, “Perhaps that’s something we can discuss after our friend has been recovered. As you well know, that’s the only reason we are here. Perhaps you could take us to whomever can help with that, and sorry to be blunt, but we can get the tour some other time.”

  As we waited, I noticed that Tarni constantly arranged herself so that she was standing next to dad and continued to practically stare at him. I was wondering if it was making him uncomfortable, but I couldn’t tell if he even noticed.

  There were footsteps behind us, and a commanding voice: “Well, well, well, look who we have here!” Mike and Zoey froze, and the rest of us turned to see a man in a black track suit and impeccably clean white tennis shoes, with two immense men in black military gear flanking him. The man in the track suit had full, longish brown hair parted on the side, dazzling white teeth, and… well, he looked a bit like a movie star. He was average adult height with an athletic build and stylish short beard. His accent seemed American, as he continued: “Mr. Marsh, Ms. Perez, are these our guests of honor?”

  Mike never told us his last name… Mike Marsh… sounds like a character in a movie or something…

  Zoey cleared her throat and said, “Uh, yes, this is Dr. Benji Walker, Dr. Minh Houng, Tarni Early, Dr. John Taylor, and this is Lucas Taylor.”

  He looked directly at me, his smile so wide that his white teeth were distracting, and he smelled strongly of soap and musky cologne, or he did to me anyway. “So, this is the object of all our hopes and dreams, eh? It’s so nice to finally meet all of you, the legendary Dr.’s Houng, Walker, and Taylor, Tarni, and of course Lucas. Ahh, Lucas. What a miracle you are. And
Dr. Taylor, drawing together the disparate resources to make this possible, not to mention the breakthroughs in nanotechnology. Amazing. Dr. Walker, your work with thorium, and the breakthroughs in gathering radio wave energy; it is, or could be, a genuine revolution. I use the phrase ‘could be’ intentionally, and pointedly, as you might guess. Well, we can discuss all of that later. Oh, sorry, I have you all at a disadvantage. I’m William Kane, chief executive and chairman of the Bright Hand. As you already know, our organization is extensive, and growing. Well, let’s find a more comfortable place to continue our discussion.”

  Dad’s eyes were narrow, and he said, “Negotiation.”

  “Discussion, negotiation, not exactly synonyms but close enough. Right this way, please.”

  He led the way back through the heavy door and turned down a hall to the left, again with stark grey cement walls, floor, and ceiling, and tiny but intensely bright LED lights shining down. We came to a door at the end of the short hall, Mr. Kane put his hand on a pad next to the door, and after a few seconds it clicked and swung open. The interior was set up as a spacious, tastefully furnished office, with walls a soft blue and a meeting table to the right with comfortable black leather chairs surrounding it. A desk was set up in the far-left corner of the room, and behind it were six large monitors showing views of the interior of the cavern and what looked like the outside entrance.

  I wonder where they got the money to pay for all this stuff… As we shuffled into the room, Mr. Kane sat at the head of the table and said, “Please, have a seat. I know you have much you would like to discuss, or negotiate, if you prefer.”

  He sat leaning forward with both hands flat on the table. His bodyguards stood behind him, looking totally intimidating. Mike sat to his left and Ms. Perez to his right, and they both looked… I think it was nervous. Dad sat next to Ms. Perez, and of course Tarni was on his other side, then me. Across the table, Benji sat next to Mike and Ms. Houng sat across from me.

  “First, a couple of things: I want very much to assist you, and in the sake of full disclosure, I hope that in return you will agree to assist us. I know about your friend, and we have been doing some things behind the scenes to try to locate him. We’ve managed to intercept some communications that lead us to believe that the submarine carrying him is heading for the San Diego Bay area, which was expected all along. Also, as you may have already surmised, we were able to secure four of the soldiers who attempted to capture you at the Melbourne docks. Of course, according to the US it officially never happened, and if it did, it had nothing to do with them.”