Outland (Revised Edition)

by Dennis E. Taylor

  “Because,” Zeke replied, “if they weren’t panning or whatever they do to get the gold, they won’t have anything to take. We get one chance at this. After that, they’ll take steps, and we’ll never get close to them.”

  “Why don’t we just beat it out of them?”

  “It might come to that, Carl. But let’s not go there right away. You start injuring and killing respectable people, they go straight to the cops. And if a bunch of dead college kids show up, uh, dead, you can bet the cops will turn over the entire goddam town. Lem, or someone else, will break, and it’s not much of a reach from Lem to us. No, we stick to relieving them of some of their profit, and I bet the cops will never hear about it.”

  Zeke paced back and forth for a while, then turned to Carl. “There was no indication of guns in the warehouse?”

  “Nope. We looked at all the equipment. Lots of camping supplies, generators, stuff like that. But it wasn’t anything like a military operation. All over the place, actually. These people look like amateurs, just buying whatever they feel like.”

  “Right.” Zeke stood for a moment, rubbing his chin. “So maybe it’s time you pay another visit to their operation to see if anything’s changed. Meanwhile, I’ll alert Lem that they’ve done another trip. If any of the kids brings in a bag of gold to Lem or any of his contacts, we’ll know they have a fresh supply. Then we move in, take what they have, and maybe extract their secret from them.”

  “And the kids?”

  Zeke shrugged. “I don’t think this is something they want looked into, know what I mean? They’ll just write off our take and go back to whatever it is they’re doing. And if the secret is something we can use, we might just go into competition with them.”

  Their inspection done, Carl and Jimmy sat down at the kitchen table. Carl checked over his original video recording, carefully comparing it with what he saw in the warehouse this time around.

  “There’s some new purchases, and some equipment has moved around, but nothing’s really different.” Carl frowned and turned to Jimmy. “I wonder if this is even their main base of operations. They really just seem to be storing stuff here.”

  “Glmph,” Jimmy said, finishing a piece of pizza. “Maybe they have another warehouse? Or maybe whatever they do is always out in the field.”

  “Shit. Hope not. That means we’d actually have to follow them around. Let’s hope Zeke has more luck with Lem.”

  38. In the News

  MSN Special Report:

  The USGS has cancelled its scheduled news conference, stating that its staff is urgently required to help evaluate the rising threat level at Yellowstone. The park’s employees are undergoing a precautionary evacuation because of the increasing frequency and strength of earthquake swarms.

  We have reports from flybys of small eruptions, with what one geologist describes as “minor splattering.” One effect of these eruptions is a significant increase in the ash content of the clouds being emitted by the volcano. The FAA has consequently doubled the size of the no-fly zone for commercial traffic.

  Around the country, retail and bulk warehouse outlets are running out of stock as panic buying and hoarding spreads. Some retailers have stopped accepting cross-shipment orders, declaring that sales will be limited to what’s in supply at each location.

  And in Deadwood, South Dakota, wildlife expert Nate Sheridan, who examined the purported super-wolf, tells us, “This is the biggest damned wolf I’ve ever seen. It’s definitely not just a bigger version of the local species.”

  Asked where or how the new species might have originated, Sheridan replied, “I haven’t the slightest clue. If I had to guess, I’d say someone back-bred dire wolves from modern stock. But why? And who?”

  39. Something’s Missing

  July 17

  Bill looked up as Matt and Erin walked into the warehouse. “You’re late.”

  “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 the instructions for building the large metal storage sheds. Bill handed his copy of the document to his friend. “Richard and I seem to have different opinions about how this is supposed to go together.”

  “That’s the first thing he’s said that’s correct.” Richard smiled before returning his gaze to the instructions.

  Was that a joke? From Richard? Bill looked at Matt with eyebrows raised, but Matt was concentrating on the instructions as well.

  Bill sighed and looked around the warehouse. The agenda for today required a good deal of organizing, in both warehouse units, before they’d be ready to start moving some things to Deadwood. Once they had a base there, they could simply drive back and forth without having to haul equipment both ways.

  Monica and Erin walked over to join the group. “We ready to start?” Monica asked.

  “Yep.” Richard put down the assembly instructions. “Bill, Monica, and Kevin, you can work in the other unit, since the items in there are mostly your responsibility. Matt, Erin, and I will work in here. The portals will have to go in last so they can be taken out first in Deadwood, and set up in the warehouse there. There’s no point in moving everything twice. We’ll take it all out of the van and directly through the gate into Outland.”

  “I’ve arranged to rent a moving van,” Erin said. “Matt and I will drive ahead to the Deadwood warehouse and set up so we’ll be ready to unload as soon as the van gets there.”

  Richard looked around the group and smiled. “This is sounding a lot like a military operation. Maybe we’re finally getting ahead of this. I’m getting tired of feeling like we’re always just reacting.”

  He sat at the kitchen table, brought out his list, and began working out assignments and schedules. Bill started a pot of coffee, and Monica opened the fridge for a snack.

  “Okay, who’s been eating my pizza?” she asked.

  Bill turned to look at Monica. “Huh?”

  “Pizza. You know, round food with more food on top. There’s two pieces missing. I left half a pizza from yesterday. Meat Lovers.”

  “Well, that’s odd,” Richard muttered. “I remember you reboxing it and threatening everyone with death. It’s not all there?”

  At Monica’s shake of the head, Richard looked around the group. “Anyone want to ’fess up?”

  No one did. Bill stood up and looked around the warehouse. “Have we been broken into? Let’s look around and see if anything’s missing. Other than pizza, that is.”

  Bill, along with the others, spent several minutes checking lists and counting items. One by one, the crew wandered back to the table.

  “Nothing’s obviously missing,” Erin said. “But I think a few items have been moved. Bill has that thing where he lines up everything perfectly—”

  “Obsessive engineer is obsessive,” Monica interjected.

  Bill bowed from the waist. “Thank you, thank you.”

  “… and some items that we wouldn’t have touched since they came in have been messed around with,” Erin finished.

  “So someone broke in, moved random items, ate pizza, and left?” Monica asked. “That doesn’t make sense.”

  “Are we sure we aren’t seeing something that really isn’t there?” Matt said. “We’ve gone from a couple of missing pieces of pizza to a break-in where nothing else gets stolen …”

  Erin shook her head. “No, I’m pretty sure about the stuff that’s been moved. Again, anyone want to come clean on that?” She looked at each of the others in turn. “No? So, no one here moved the inventory, and no one here ate the pizza.”

  Richard sighed and got up. “Okay, fine. I’ll go talk to the people in the office. Maybe they’ll check their cameras for us.”

  Richard was back, and looked shaken. “Two guys. Last night, late. Couldn’t make out their faces or anything, and the angle doesn’t actually allow us to see them breaking in, but it’s har
d to mistake where they were heading. And there’s light from the warehouse once they pull up the door. We’ve definitely got people snooping.”

  “This makes no sense,” Matt said. “We’re about as low-key as you can get.”

  Bill opened his mouth to comment on the innate perversity of the universe, but was interrupted.

  “Uh, guys?”

  Everyone turned to look at Kevin.

  “You remember we use the warehouse address for all our business, right?”

  A shocked silence reigned for several seconds.

  “Oh, shit,” Richard said. “I thought we were being smart by using it instead of any of our home addresses. But it makes sense if someone’s scoping out our operation.”

  “FBI? IRS?” Not that Bill would be surprised, but government interest was always bad.

  “Maybe,” Monica said, “but I’m kind of leaning more toward something in the way of private interests. Maybe someone said something, or someone put two and two together. We have been moving a lot of gold.”

  “In fact,” Matt added, “it’s the only thing we are doing that could possibly attract any attention.”

  “Shit, hell, and more shit,” Richard said. “And we started cashing in this batch today. If it’s something to do with the assay services, they’ll know by now.”

  “Let’s assume I’m right, for now,” Monica said. “The FBI would just get a warrant. The IRS, well, I don’t think they even need that. But the point is, they wouldn’t be sneaking around. So, point one, it’s bad guys.”

  “We don’t know they’re bad—”

  “They broke in, Richard. By definition, they aren’t the Neighborhood Watch.” Monica got up and grabbed a beer and sat back at the table. “They’re not interested in our supplies and equipment, even though they could probably fence all this crap for tens of thousands of dollars. So, point two, they’re after something bigger.”

  “Our gold supply. What else could it be?”

  “Yep. Now, whether they just hope to catch us with a fresh batch, or actually find out where we get it and take over, I don’t know. Hell, maybe both.”

  “They could be on their way here right now,” Kevin said, his voice quavering.

  Richard looked toward the roll-up door, which was open a foot or two to let in a cool breeze. “First thing, close and lock that.” He turned to Monica. “Did you check the other unit? Did they take any of the weapons?”

  “All accounted for. I bet they only know about this unit. We just got the second unit. I bet they didn’t find out about it, or didn’t connect the two, or something.”

  “Good,” Richard said. “You and Matt go get some guns from the other unit. I think we need to be prepared.”

  “I’d just as soon not get into a gunfight,” Bill said. “Is there any way we can outsmart them?”

  Richard stalked over to the rolling door as he replied. “We can’t go to the cops. We can’t ignore them or outwait them. We can’t hire a security firm. We can’t simply move, because they’re probably watching.” Richard closed and locked the rolling door and turned back to face the others. “Got any other suggestions?”

  “I bet we’ve got more guns than them,” Monica said.

  “And I bet they’re more willing to use them,” Erin retorted. “Plus any gunshots will bring the cops, and that’s a whole other level of complication.”

  Kevin put his face in his hands. “Oh God, oh God. This is not what I signed up for.”

  Richard put his hand on Kevin’s shoulder. “None of us did, Kev. Hang in there; we’ll figure something out.” He turned to Bill. “Maybe it’s time for that movie-addled paranoid brain of yours to come up with something. How would MacVicar handle this?”

  Bill gave Richard a disbelieving look. “My God, you’re a dolt.” Then a grin slowly spread across his face. “But you make a good point, despite your lack of a clue. I think perhaps MacGyver would have something to say about the situation …”

  40. Face-Off

  July 18

  Zeke lowered the binoculars. “They’re putting stuff into a moving van. Lots of stuff. Pallets. I think they might be bugging out.” He turned to look at Carl in the driver’s seat, then at Jimmy in the back. “You idiots tipped them off somehow.”

  Jimmy shook his head vigorously. “No way. We didn’t take a thing. And it was tempting, believe me. There was so much shit in that place …”

  Zeke noticed Carl staring silently forward through the windshield, his hands clenched at ten and two on the wheel and a frown on his face. “Carl?”

  Without turning his head, Carl spoke into the air. “You were eating something, Jimmy. What was it? At the warehouse.” Carl turned in his seat as he finished.

  Jimmy’s face turned red as the other two glared at him. In a small voice, he replied, “Pizza?”

  “Well, that’s just fucking great.” Zeke pulled a handgun out and checked it. “We’ve got this one chance. They won’t make the same mistakes again. If they get away, we’ll never find them, or if we do, they’ll be armed to the teeth. Or they’ll have security, who will be armed to the teeth. It’s now or never.”

  Zeke motioned with his head, then climbed out of the SUV. Carl and Jimmy followed him after checking their own weapons. Soon they were approaching the warehouse entrance.

  Two men worked in front of the entrance, loading a van. One, a small geekoid with glasses, was running the forklift. Badly. Zeke felt his lip curl at the obvious lack of skill. The other man, though, would need careful handling. Well over six feet tall, muscular, with no extra padding. The kind who could take you out with one punch. Even Carl wouldn’t be a safe bet against him.

  As the larger man looked up at their approach, Zeke showed his gun. Motioning toward the dark interior, he said, “What say we have a discussion inside? Slowly, in case you have friends in there with bad ideas.”

  The little one looked like he was about to shit his pants. He wouldn’t be a problem. But the big one was too calm. Zeke knew his type. King of the world. Nothing could touch him. Zeke decided he’d welcome the opportunity to teach the prick different.

  “Where’s your friends? I know there’s at least four of you.”

  The big guy glared at him. “They’re not here. You won’t be getting all of us together at the same time.”

  Zeke leaned in close. “I don’t have to, do I? I have you. And I have the geek here, who I bet won’t last five seconds of questioning.” Zeke grinned in triumph at the look of anger on the man’s face. It was a down payment. There’d be more.

  Carl gestured with his gun, and the two kids stepped into the dark interior of the warehouse, closely followed by Zeke, Jimmy, and Carl. Zeke looked around the warehouse. Jimmy had been right—the amount of shit these kids had purchased was incredible. In another situation he’d be salivating over the money to be made fencing this loot. But under the circumstances, it was too small to bother with.

  There were no other people, and no evidence of weapons of any kind. These guys really were amateurs. There had been mention of a couple of chicks doing some of the cashing in, and Zeke was disappointed to see no sign of them. He felt a moment of disquiet, wondering if they might be hiding somewhere, but dismissed it. What were a couple of chicks going to do anyway?

  Jimmy pointed to something toward the back of the warehouse. “What the shit?”

  Zeke’s gaze followed Jimmy’s gesture to an egg-shaped frame, sort of like a large antique mirror, with some cables trailing from the base to some computer equipment. But it wasn’t a mirror, because it showed what looked like part of the inside of a garden shed. Maybe a really realistic picture? Zeke nudged one of his captives, and they moved as a group toward the oval.

  Zeke squinted at the apparition, totally confused. It wasn’t a picture, because as he moved around, he could see different parts of the garden shed interior through the frame! But there was nothing behind the frame but more warehouse floor.

  And inside the phantom shed he could see so
me canvas bags, and several wicked-looking military-style rifles leaning against the wall. Again, Zeke looked past the frame. Nope. Still just warehouse. What in hell was he looking at?

  “Jesus, Zeke, look!” Carl exclaimed, pointing. “Gold. Fucking gold!”

  Zeke concentrated on where Carl was pointing, and indeed one of the bags was partly open, with nuggets of raw gold spilling out.

  “We were going to move that last,” the geekoid said.

  “Yeah, well, that’s not going to go your way,” Zeke said. He motioned toward the items in the shed. “Jimmy, Carl. Get the guns out of—uh, out of whatever that is. Then we’ll have these boys do some hauling for us. And then maybe we’ll have a little Q&A about what this thing is, exactly, and where the gold is coming from.”

  Jimmy and Carl stepped through the frame, looking for all the world like a couple of cats investigating something unknown. They holstered their handguns and began picking up rifles. Zeke couldn’t help himself. He stepped slightly to the side and peered past the frame again. No Carl, no Jimmy. They were only in the room through the frame.

  At that moment, a voice said, “Now!” Zeke looked wildly about, but there was no one else in the room. Neither of his two captives had so much as twitched, and it certainly wasn’t Carl or Jimmy. Then a man and woman stepped out from behind the frame, pointing a couple of the military-style rifles at him. Zeke stared in disbelief. There was no way there had been room for anyone behind the frame. Certainly not for two people. Could they have stepped through the frame from a different room? The two new arrivals moved in swiftly while Zeke was still trying to sort things out, and he found himself with a couple of rifle barrels poking him in the chest.

  Zeke glanced at Jimmy and Carl, who had frozen in position and were staring back through the frame into the warehouse. No, not through the frame, but slightly to the side of it, at something in the shed with them.

  “Zeke, they’ve got the drop on us,” said Carl. He looked at the rifle in his hand.

  “Don’t bother,” said a voice from the shed. Another voice. “They aren’t loaded.”