Welcome to the Galactic Shoppers Network

by Ian Rodgers

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Zane carefully replied. He went into the kitchen under the excuse of grabbing some coffee for his guests but really it was so he could sort his thoughts and calm his nerves.

  Now that he had faces to go with the names, Zane had to say the pair was a mix of stereotypes, at least for government workers.

  Jim, the skeptic, was stoic and well-muscled. He was the voice of reason as well for an obviously excitable partner. He also was nearly nondescript with his short brown hair and brown eyes. If not for his bulk he could be another face in the crowd.

  Frank, on the other hand, was the kind of guy who tried to funny but wasn’t, and was tolerated because he gave results. He gave off a laid back vibe, and combined with Zane’s secret knowledge of Frank’s conspiracy theories he’d overheard the FBI agent was probably seen as eccentric by his co-workers. His ponytail certain helped with the slacker image he had.

  “Sugar, milk or cream?” Zane offered as he passed out mugs of hot coffee.

  “Bit of milk for me, please,” Jim said, taking the mug with a ‘thank you.’

  “Is the sugar in packets or cubes?” Frank inquired.

  “Um, it’s in a bowl,” the homeowner said.

  “Alrighty then,” Frank said with a smile as he looked over the sweetener. He began to scoop a large spoonful into his cup.

  “Lived out here for a while?” Frank asked as he sipped away.

  “Since the summer. I didn’t think I’d like the countryside that much but it has grown on me,” Zane admitted.

  “Really? Since this summer? Then did you see the meteorite?” the ponytailed agent asked excitedly.

  “I did, actually. In fact, I was the one who found it. It landed in the fields out back,” Zane revealed. It was a calculated risk letting these people know, but everyone in Plainsburg knew this fact, so hiding it would only be worse in the long run. And Mike loved to gab so the pair finding out was a foregone conclusion regardless once he picked the agents up.

  “Really?” This was from Jim, giving Zane an annoyed looked for having triggered his partner. Frank, for his part, looked fit to explode with something that might have been joy.

  “Yes, really. The meteorite wasn’t all that big, but when something explodes in your backyard, why would you not investigate?” Zane was put off by Jim’s attitude. He wasn’t sure if the FBI agent was being rude on purpose or if the situation was grinding his gears, but the suited man was making it hard to stay polite. There was something about the man that kept Zane on edge.

  “What was it like?” Frank asked eagerly, leaning in. Zane himself had to lean back because he did not want like his personal space invaded by strangers.

  “The impact was loud, and was what alerted me to the event,” Zane began. Again, not a lie. “Then I left when I saw the glow in the fields, and was not interested in having a wild fire spring up when I had just moved in. Thankfully the area it hit had been fallow for a while and was full of dirt. Now melted and ossified, but still far less flammable.”

  “And the meteorite?”

  “Kind of small, hardly the imposing lump of space rock people usually like to fantasize about,” replied Zane. “I think it was the size of my fist, or thereabouts, but surprisingly smooth. Dark greyish brown in color. I sold it to the University of Colorado for a few thousand dollars.”

  “Was there anything you saw near the site of impact?” Frank asked, trying to lean in some more.

  “No? I mean, burning soil, but other than the piece of space debris I cannot claim there was much else.”

  “Really? No flashing lights, no ethereal glows?”

  “None of that!” Again, the truth. There had been no lights. Just a lump of space debris. A large and metallic lump, but space debris none-the-less.

  “Please pardon my companion. He is something of a fan regarding sci-fi and alien stories,” Jim said politely.

  “Ah, I completely understand.”

  A surprised “You do?” came from the pair with different emotions behind them. Frank was shocked and pleased that someone might possibly be a fellow UFO watcher, while Jim was terrified that Frank’s crazy was contagious.

  “Yeah, I have the desire to know if there’s extraterrestrial life out there as well. What would they be like? How would first contact go? There’s a whole host of questions I’d love to have answered.” Zane gave a smile as he stared out the bay windows up into the starry sky.

  “My grandfather once said that he knew that alien life existed because it would be too boring otherwise. I’m inclined to agree with him.”

  Further conversation was interrupted by a loud honking, and Zane hurried over to the front door. Outside was Mike’s tow truck with the forty year old man in the driver’s seat.

  “Your ride’s here,” Zane called over his shoulder.

  “Excellent! Thank you for your hospitality,” Frank said politely. Zane shook their hands as they left the ranch house.

  After a few minutes and feeling certain the FBI agents had finally left Zane let out a breath of relief. He headed over to the basement door and opened it.

  “They’re gone now, Rob! You can come on up!” he called down into the depths. After a bit the droid whirred up the stairs back into the living room.

  “That was nerve-wracking,” Zane admitted as he slumped onto the couch.

  “I concur. If I possessed a heart I think it would have had an attack.” The droid settled down on the cushion next tow its friend and the two just relaxed in the sense of relief they shared.

  “So, more commercials?”

  “Eh, why not?”

  “There, we saw the place, are you happy now?” Jim demanded. He was forced to share a motel room with his partner and after having a talk with Marie he was not exactly in a forgiving mood.

  “Yes, very. There was a faint trace of energy inside the house. Readings that were very familiar to the one we found near the crater,” Frank crowed as he looked over a program on a laptop.

  “Because he was the person who found it!” Jim shouted, slapping a hand onto his mattress. The action lacked the weighty ‘thump!’ it needed to make it threatening. “Your obsession with this rock is driving me and everyone else crazy!”

  “Oh please! I finally have proof that there was something else besides that meteorite in the crater. After all, the sample from the University we saw lacked the same readings. Well, the same concentration at least.”

  “Your desire to see if there was anything suspicious about this completely innocent series of events caused us to hit a patch of ice and get lodged in a ditch. And it was a rental car! How angry do you think the boss will be about this?!”

  Frank looked up at his partner, annoyance and exasperation dancing in his eyes. “He’ll be fine. There was hardly any damage to the vehicle, and we got what we needed, if only by accident.”

  The agent then waved a cellphone at the other man. However, this particular device was larger and bulkier than a typical model, and an unusual beeping was coming from it as an app scanned the area around it.

  “You should be glad that the homeowner was polite and kind enough to let us in,” Jim said, growing tired of the discussion. His headache agreed.

  “He was surprised and worried when he saw us.”

  “We were wearing suits and then you had to introduce yourself as an FBI agent. Any normal person would be wary of either of those showing up at his door.”

  Frank just shook his head at his companion’s naivety. Sure, the young homeowner had been welcoming, but there was a hint of fear that had nothing to do with strange suited men or government agents. Or rather, the fear was all about them, but it was different than general unease. It carried a sense of guilt. Was he a tax dodger? Minor criminal record? Drugs? Or something else?

  He wasn’t sure, but a gut feeling told him it had to do with the odd energy that saturated the fields in the area, not just at the crater or the ranch house. How curious. It either meant aliens, or Russians.

&nb
sp; One way or another, Frank Denver would uncover the truth!

  Chapter 17

  “…and then he said, ‘that’s not a horse, that’s my wife!’” Zane choked on his drink as Mike finished the punchline.

  “Dang it, I thought we agreed no spew jokes!” Zane grumbled as he wiped his face off with some napkins the older man provided.

  “It was your fault for trying to take a sip when I started telling it. You have no one to blame but yourself,” the mechanic replied with a shake of his head. The coder rolled his eyes.

  Zane was inside Plainsburg’s convenience store after a grocery run. He’d needed a slushy and had met Mike who’d had the same idea. The pair were catching up in the corner, trying not to get the cashier mad at them for loitering.

  “Uh-huh, sure. Still, that was a pretty funny story. I can’t believe Gramps actually did that.”

  “Yeah, there’s a reason no one is allowed to put dresses on the ponies over at Randal’s place anymore.”

  “When you say it like that it sounds weird,” Zane said with a laugh. “So, how’s life treating you? Dealing with the winter wonderland alright?”

  “Yeah, you get used to the ten feet of snow after a while,” Mike said with a laugh. “Looks pretty for a little bit but it gets annoying quickly. Still, can’t complain. My snow plow gets a lot of use and more than a few people need to be dragged out of the ditches they slip and slide into.”

  “Speaking of, what about those two guys from last week?” asked Zane in what he hoped was a nonchalant manner.

  “You mean the feds? Queer fellows. The big one was obviously having none of ponytail’s crap. Still, they paid their bills and said their thanks. If they want to be interested in meteorites, they can be, but at least don’t waste too many taxpayer dollars doing so,” the mechanic replied dismissively.

  “They were an odd pair. Not at all like us,” Zane smirked, nudging the pepper haired man next to him.

  “How about you? Has your sister gotten any better?”

  “No. And I’m just about at the end of my ropes. If Vera still refuses to respond to me and answer our questions about her health, I will drive there myself and perform a medical check-up on my own,” the concerned sibling declared.

  “Gonna learn medicine just for your sister? Aren’t you the best brother ever,” Mike said. He patted Zane on the shoulder and gave him a smile before heading off with a respectful nod.

  “Say ‘hello’ to your father for me if you do go charging off to LA. Been awhile since I saw my buddy.”

  “Of course, Mike. And say hi to your daughter for me. I hope she liked the gift I got her.” Zane laughed as he recalled the plushy he’d made. Or rather, Rob had, weaving it from leftover cloth scraps. He hadn’t been sure if Mike’s daughter would prefer a vampire or a fairy so he just mixed them together.

  “Hasn’t let go of it since! You’ve got a lot of talents. If computers don’t work out, vampire-fairy teddy bears might be the next big thing!” The coder nodded.

  After Mike left there wasn’t much reason for Zane to hang around, so he bought a chocolate bar as an apology to the cashier before heading out.

  “Another set of weird lights?”

  “Yeah, we first saw them as we passed by the Sanchez’ place last month. It was surreal, as if someone was just rising up and falling down quickly.”

  The former city slicker froze, jerking his head over to the conversation he’d accidentally overheard.

  Near the parking lot two teens were climbing out of a beat-up car. It was the nature of their talk that drew Zane’s worry. If he was thinking about it properly, the Sanchez property had been where Rob dealt with the most recent shipment from Gangmoon.

  “Do you think those FBI guys were here for that?”

  “Nah, those suits were just pissing around. They were up near Old Man Pendon’s place.” The teens walked passed Zane into the store while the young man let out a sigh.

  He had to hurry back to the house and warn Rob. First the government, now teenagers. Was there anyone else who’d seen the alien light sources?

  “Then the lights went ‘swoosh!’ and ‘zoom!’ and it was super pretty!” A young girl in pink declared, waving a black teddy bear around. Its pink fairy wings bounced, its sharp teeth glinted.

  “That’s lovely, dear. And did these ‘fairies’ do anything else?”

  “No, they just flew. And they were vampire-fairies!”

  Zane laughed at that. If he didn’t he feared he might break down and cry.

  It had all seemed so simple. Invite Mike and his family over for dinner, have a nice time while Rob hid in the basement, and the coder would be able to calm his nerves after the tension with the FBI agents and the teenagers from the convenience store.

  No such luck. Ellie, Mike’s five year old daughter, was currently regaling the table about how she’d seen lights rise and fall in the sky. At least her imagination was healthy. Sure, she had seen the delivery drones come and go, but her parents merely thought she was playing around.

  At least dinner had been enjoyable before that. All that was left of it were the dirty dishes and contented bellies.

  “Well, Ellie, if you see them again, let me know. I’ve always wanted to meet vampire-fairies,” Zane said with a smile. The young girl nodded rapidly before turning back to her mother and chatting incessantly.

  “She is super adorable,” Zane said to Mike who smiled proudly.

  “Yes she is. We didn’t think we’d ever have a kid of our own. Complications and all that. But, well, here she is. Our little miracle.”

  “Very active imagination. Where on Earth did she come up with vampire-fairies?”

  “I have no idea. I think she liked both, but couldn’t decide which was better so she just combined them.”

  “That’s cute. What’s next, mixing a T-rex and a pony together?” Zane and Mike both chuckled.

  “Oh, you mean dino-pony! He’s super cool and strong and fast and breathes glitter and lasers!” Ellie said.

  “How have you liked the food? I’m not the best cook but I did my best. The meatloaf turned out well in my opinion,” Zane inquired, turning away from the talk of dinosaur-equine hybrids.

  “It was all lovely!” Mike’s wife praised, the mechanic nodding along.

  “Yup. And don’t worry about taste or not. You’re a bachelor, it’s kind of expected for you to suck.”

  “Dear!”

  Mike leaned out of range from his spouses’ playful smack before giving a thumbs up to Zane which was mimicked by Ellie.

  “Tasty!” Such heartfelt praise made Zane grin and he ruffled her hair, much to the five year old’s displeasure.

  “This has been a wonderful evening. I’m glad you invited us over. It’s nice to see you starting to become more involved with Plainsburg,” Mike said truthfully to which Zane heartedly agreed.

  “You know, if this was a movie or a book, then Murphy’s Law would kick in right about now…” Zane trailed off as a ringing sound cut through his words, and he reached for his cellphone with an apologetic smile.

  “Sorry, let me take this real quick.” His guests nodded and he quickly stood up before retreating deeper into the house. Caller ID claimed it was Don, and he picked up with a knot of worry growing in his gut.

  “Zane speaking.”

  “Vera’s in the hospital!”

  “WHAT?!” Zane shouted. He was faintly aware that his voice would reach the guests in the dining room but it didn’t matter at the moment. All of his attention was focused on the phone and the person on the other end.

  “She couldn’t, I mean, she just… it finally wore her down!”

  “Don, calm down and tell me what happened!” Zane commanded. He had never heard his brother-in-law sound so frantic and out of control.

  “Vera collapsed earlier! Her illness… she was resisting, holding back from letting it win, but she couldn’t keep it up any longer. She’s in emergency care right now.”

  “What was sh
e infected with?”

  “Cancer.”

  “And you didn’t tell us she was suffering for months?!’ Zane shouted.

  “She didn’t want you to know! She was going to treatments but didn’t want to worry the rest of the family! Vera begged me to stay quiet on the matter!”

  “You shouldn’t have kept this from us!” cried Zane. The young adult then took a deep breath to try and calm himself.

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He hung up before Don could say anything else. He was furious, his simmering rage clouding his thoughts.

  “Is everything alright?”

  Mike’s voice brought a modicum of clarity back to the coder who returned to the living room.

  “Vera’s in the hospital. It’s cancer,” Zane said shortly.

  “Oh,” the mechanic uttered, unsure of what else he could say.

  “I’m sorry. It’s just… I should have seen this coming. She’s been so sickly recently. I hate to bring the mood down after such a pleasant evening,” Zane apologized.

  “Don’t worry about that, son. Just be there for your family.” Mike patted the young man on the shoulder and his wife gave him reassuring hug. Ellie did so as well, all but tackling his leg to show her own appreciation and concern for Zane and his family.

  “Thank you. It means a lot to hear your support,” Zane said while holding back moisture from his eyes. Not tears though, he was a man! A manly, non-crying man!

  As he escorted the family to the door, Zane made a mental note to take the Star-Helix medical tool regardless of what Rob wanted. There was no way he would not find a cure for his sister!

  “Oh, Zane!” Sally Pendon all but collapsed into her son’s arms with relief when he appeared at their home a few days later. He had done another non-stop drive to LA after clearing it with his boss. Thankfully Zane’s work had been going well and the office was sympathetic to their employee’s plight. Being able to work from anywhere also helped the coder’s case.