They pulled over some lounge chairs in a circle and waited to hear what Frank was so anxious to say. “Look, guys,” he began, “it may be none of my business, but there have been some weird things happening around here. Weird to me, that is, because I’m an old reporter, who has a nosy nose.”
The men listened calmly.
“When you guys took that chick down to the dock yesterday, I was sitting here. I was kind of interested so I kept an eye on you.”
Joe Finley tried to keep it light. “Dirty old men, huh?”
“No Joe. I mean I know you guys and, like I say, it’s none of my business. But the caretaker, Parker, he was following you real sneaky like.”
Art thought to Bernie: How did we miss that?
“Anyway, he was onto you guys for some reason, so I kept watch. I don’t like the guy. After you came back with the girl and then went back to Building B, I was interested enough to hang by the pool. Parker watched for a while, then went to the office. I followed him. He met Shields there. I listened to their conversation.”
“Did they speak about us?” Ben asked.
“Yes. And boy, were they pissed. But also confused. They kept talking about some guy named Bright and how he was Ben’s buddy. Also about a man from the D.A.’s office being with you.”
Joe laughed. “The infamous Mr. Bonser!”
“Yes, that’s what Parker said. Bonser from the D.A.”
Joe explained that it was a long story, but not a problem. He thought that would satisfy Frank.
“Well, I’m glad that’s okay. I thought you guys had some problem with the D.A. or something.”
Ben reassured him that it was part of the swimming pool scheme and not a problem with the authorities.
“Good. But…well, that’s not all. After I left the office ...”
“Did they see you?” Art asked.
“No. Anyway, I went down to the dock.”
“Dock? You know about the dock?” Bernie asked.
“Now I do. I didn’t before, but they were talking about it so I thought I would have a look. They were pissed because no one is supposed to go down there. Then when Parker said you guys were buddies with this Bright fellow, Shields was confused and sort of annoyed. Like he should have known this Bright guy knew you. Anyway, I went to have a look at the dock.”
“And?” Ben asked.
“There was a boat down there. A real nice cruiser. Terra Time.. I guess I shouldn’t have, but I went aboard to have a look and uh...” He paused to gather his thoughts because he wasn’t sure how to explain what had happened to him.
Ben read his thoughts. He was about to recruit his first soldier. The others agreed.
“Frank, how long do we know each other?”
“Since we all moved in here.” Frank wanted to get on with his story. “You guys want to hear the rest?”
Ben smiled and put his and on Frank’s shoulder. “Well friend, to tell the truth, we already know.”
“The guy told you?”
“No, you told us.”
“Me? When?” He was confused.
“Just now.”
“No I didn’t. Are you nuts?”
“No Frank. We want to tell you who you met and what you saw and why. It’s difficult, and it’s the first time we have had to do this, so bear with us. I promise you the most fascinating day of your life.”
“Are you guys okay? I mean...you’re talking weird.”
“We’re more okay than we have ever been in our lives. Please listen and try to believe us. First, let me ask you how old you are.”
“Fifty-eight.”
“How is your health?”
Frank looked at the four men facing him and smiled nervously. “My health? What are you selling? Life insurance?”
“No, Frank. Humor us. How’s your health?”
“Okay, I guess. A little arthritis. An ulcer. Wear and tear. You know…your getting old too.”
“Good.”
“If you guys think that’s good, you are nuts. The aches and pains... nothing good about that.”
“I know. How about your business?”
“What about it?”
“Well, do you like it? How long before you retire?”
“Sure I like it. I’ve been in the radio business all my life, just about. I built that station up from nothing to the fifth biggest in St. Louis.”
“Do you think you’ll keep working at it, or will you retire?”
“I’ll retire. To tell you guys the truth, it’s not as much fun as it was in the old days. Then I was a reporter and D.J. and engineer all in one. It was exciting. Now? Well now it sort of runs itself. I don’t get the chance to get my hands dirty anymore. Maybe that’s the way it should be...” His voice trailed off. It was a sore point with him. He had had a hard time adjusting to growing old, and had really not yet accepted the fact that he was no longer young and energetic. What bothered him the most was the arrogance of the young people. They were always telling him that he wasn’t “with it” and didn’t understand the youth oriented society and today’s marketing techniques. “This is a country that worships the young. You have to cater to them,” they told him. Deep inside he always said “bullshit” to himself, but they really got their way and ran the business. All he did was own it.
The others read his thoughts and knew they had their first recruit.
Ben repeated those thought out loud.
Frank was struck dumb. “How the hell did you do that?”
“Do you really want to know?” Ben asked.
“Yeah, I really want to know. And quick - before I lose my mind.”
Ben laughed. “You won’t lose your mind. I promise. Not only that, but I am about to give you the biggest news story you ever had.”
“And eternity to boot!” Joe Finley added as he reached over and squeezed Frank’s arm.
Ten minutes later Ben and Frank headed toward Building B to see the “health club” while the others returned to Ben’s apartment.
Shields had a hangover. He sat with Wally in his office and sipped black coffee. The secretary banged away on the typewriter in the outer office. He motioned for Parker to close the door because the typing was jangling his nerves.
“You think Tony will get some answers for us, Mr. Shields?”
“I think Tony Stranger is an asshole. But he knows DePalmer, and the banker is Bright’s buddy. I’ll give him till noon.”
“And if nothing comes up?”
“If he has nothing for us, then I’m going to take matters into my own hands and find out what the hell is going on here. I am the manager. I have a right to know.”
“Right. You’re the boss.”
“Yeah, boss. Meanwhile, you snoop around and keep an eye on those old farts. Check back with me later.”
Wally left the office in time to see Ben and Frank walk toward Building B. He had a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was fear of Ben Green. He made believe he didn’t see them and walked in the opposite direction toward Building A. His maintenance office was there. He would lay low for a while; maybe even catch a nap.
Mr. DePalmer excused himself and left Tony Stranger sitting at his desk. He went to the head teller’s desk, out of sight of Stranger, and telephoned Amos Bright.
“Mr. Bright, this is John DePalmer at the bank. I’m fine. How are you? Good. The reason I called is that Mr. Stranger, the salesman I hired for you, is here at my office. He seems to have some information regarding the B building. He says that you are beginning to occupy the building and he wants to know why he wasn’t hired for the sales office.”
“I appreciate your call, Mr. DePalmer, but Mr. Stranger is wrong about Building B. We are far from completing it.”
“That’s what I told him, but he says he knows that it is occupied.”
“How does he know that?”
“He won’t say, Mr. Bright. I know you like to keep things quiet over there, and I have tried to fulfill your every request.”
; “Yes, Mr. DePalmer, I’m very pleased with the way you have handled things.”
“So I thought you would want to, uh, deal with Mr. Stranger, rather than have him nosing around and bothering people over there.”
“You are absolutely right. Have him come by this afternoon to see me. And thank you again, John.”
“Yes sir, Mr. Bright. Good-bye.”
Tony Stranger wasn’t surprised that Mr. Bright wanted to see him. In fact, he was quite pleased and felt sure that he would be making big commissions shortly. Now all he had to do was make up a story to tell Shields and Parker. He wanted some time to think it through so that he could move right into the manager’s job after Building B was sold out.
He drove a few blocks from the bank and pulled over to a pay phone. He called Shields.
“Ralph? It’s Tony. How’s your head this morning?”
“Larger and pounding. What did you find out?”
“Well, my friend at the bank tried to put me off, but I pressed him. He told me they were ahead of schedule on the construction and didn’t want to open the building for sales before the season began. It seems some of the people in Building A have lined up their friends for apartments in the new building, so they are pushing Bright for a date. He’s being nice to them and humoring them along. Understand?”
“Yeah, I understand. But he could have told me when I saw him the other night. I hope he doesn’t blame me for those old farts poking around.”
Tony thought to himself: Thank you, Ralph Shields. You just gave me the ammunition I need to get you fired.
“No Ralph. I’m sure he doesn’t blame you, or Wally. I’ll keep in touch. Let me know if anything happens.”
“Yeah. Thanks for the call. See you.”
Shields hung up, leaned back in his leather armchair, and closed his eyes. He needed a short nap.
As Wally Parker and Ralph Shields napped, the world, their world, was changing radically around them. They would never know what hit them.
CHAPTER FORTY – POSSIBILITY OF FAILURE
Phil Doyle held the Razzmatazz against the current in the channel. He had no charter today and was going to bring the boat over to the yard in Miami to get the throttle adjusted on engine number two. He entered the main channel and was running toward the sea when he caught sight of the Manta III coming out of the canal that led to the Antares complex ahead of him. He cut the engines and turned toward shore so that Jack Fischer would not see him. When he was sure the Manta III was well down the channel, he started up and eased out to follow his friend’s boat. The throttle adjustment would have to wait.
It had been a long night for the Antareans. A probe craft had arrived with material for the cocoons. They worked all night and well into the morning repacking nine soldiers and a leader. Terra Time and Manta III carried the precious cargo of ten cocoons back out to The Stones. There was sadness and frustration on both boats.
Jack tried to cheer the Antareans as he read their thoughts. “You guys haven’t failed. You couldn’t help what happened to the cocoons. And you’re going to get a great army here. Humans can do the job. You’ll see.”
“Thank you, Jack,” All Light answered. “It is not that we are unsure of the humans. It is that we are returning our own to another long rest. We would much prefer for them to be among us.”
“Sure. But now you know about the pollution so when you come back you’ll have the right equipment.”
“To lose just one is tragic.”
“I know and I’m sorry. But at least you found out in time and can protect most of the army.” He said his piece and then kept his mind on running the boat. Their loss upset him, too. He liked the Antareans, but until now he really didn’t think of them as people. They were outsiders from another world. Aliens. Now he knew they felt sadness and loss just like human beings. He knew that must be a universal trait, and it lifted his spirits a bit.
As the Manta III cleared the breakwater and turned south toward The Stones, Hal, looking like a beach boy again, climbed the ladder to the flying bridge. “We have someone following us, Jack.”
Jack turned and looked behind toward the breakwater. The Razzmatazz was back there. “That’s Phil Doyle, my fishing buddy. He’s probably got a charter. You think he’s following?”
“Yes, we do.”
“Let me give him a shout.” Jack turned the bridge over to Hal and slipped down the ladder and went into the cabin. He keyed the mike. “This is KAAL-9911 to Razzmatazz.”
“Hey there, Jack.”
“You following me out today. Phil?”
“I thought I’d have a run near The Stones. Is that where you are heading?”
“Yeah. But the fishing has been lousy over there. I may head south.”
“Judy called me the other night. She was looking for you.”
“Yeah, I know. We spoke after that.”
“Well, I hope I didn’t cause any trouble. She’s a nice lady.”
“No problema.”
“Are you okay, Jack? I mean, is everything all right?”
“A-okay.” There was an uncomfortable pause. Jack keyed back on. “Look, Phil, I haven’t been ignoring your calls. It’s just that this charter is sort of special. They don’t want a crowd around. Dig?”
“I got it, buddy. I just wanted to be sure you were okay.”
“I appreciate it.”
“Roger. I’ll take your word for it about The Stones. I’ll take these folks over to the Stream. See you later.”
“Roger, Phil. Good luck.”
“Thanks. Over and out.”
Jack climbed up to the flying bridge and took the wheel from Hal.
“You sure no one else is on that boat?”
“There is only one human aboard. Why?”
“Nothing, I guess. He made like he had a party on board, that’s all.”
“Do you think he suspects something?”
“He was worried that I was in trouble of some kind. My girlfriend called him looking for me. I think I convinced him otherwise. Maybe he was embarrassed that he was following me, so he made like he had a charter.”
“Do you believe him?”
“Yes.”
“Then we will not worry about it.” Hal left the bridge as Jack turned the bow toward the morning sun, headed southeast for forty minutes and then steered toward The Stones.
Ten cocoons were going back to sleep for a while and the rest down there would be resealed to protect them from the polluted ocean.
Frank Hankinson listened quietly Ben all the way through Ben’s explanation of the processing room and was prepared properly for Amos Bright to remove his face. Then the Antarean and the two humans sat in the half-finished Building B office where five deck chairs from the Terra Time had been placed. Frank was concerned.
“Gathering nine hundred some-odd people is no small task, Ben. Have you formulated a plan?”
“Nothing firm. We’re open to ideas.”
“Well, we are certainly in the land of the old, so we know the bodies are here. The problem is that as people begin to disappear you are going to have the cops poking around. Maybe even FBI.”
Ben was pleased to hear the “we” coming from Frank.
“Your nation is large,” Amos said. “Could you not gather a few dwellers from each city?”
“That would take too long,” Ben answered. “We have to be out of here, according to your schedule, in no more than five weeks. It’s a logistical problem.”
“And,” Frank offered, “we don’t want to kidnap people. Somehow we have to expose the proposition to each one, or at least a couple at a time, so we don’t blow the lid off this thing. Just one negative person could cause a problem.”
“There has to be a simple way to do this,” Ben said.
Frank thought for a moment. “Let me try something. The Amato’s from Boston are good friends. Suppose I set up a little question and answer session with them and see if I can develop the conversation to the point where they admit that
this situation would interest them. I’ll keep it on a fantasy level. Then I’ll hit them with the fact that I’m talking about reality. I make my wife part of it so she will be just as surprised. If I can get them to bitch about the boring life they have now, maybe they will be more open to the proposition.”
Ben nodded. “I think you’re on the right track, Frank, but remember what you said - we can’t afford a failure or the cat is out of the bag.”
Amos listened silently to the two men. Raising the army on Earth was going to be difficult. This was precisely why the rules about interfering with alien societies were so important. The Antareans had thrust a problem upon human beings that they were not prepared for. He knew that by mind suggestion alone they would raise the army, but it was a serious moral issue. The men had used the term kidnapping. He read that thought as the stealing of a human being against its will. These older dwellers had respect for individuals. But he also knew that there were factions in this society that had little respect for individuals - shunning the old, the poor and the injured ones that they called unfortunate. In addition, there were other nations, societies and religions that had no respect for individuals or their freedom. So much of the development on Earth was still primitive and violent. He would have to let the old men work it out by themselves as best they could, leaving the failure to raise the army a possibility. In that case they would return to Antares humiliated. And who knew how the Parmans would react? Would they believe Antarean promises in the future? Would they once again close the Quad Two to outsiders?
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE – WEIRD SEX, A CASTING CALL, AND SPIES
Tony Stranger parked in the far corner of the lot. He didn’t want Wally or Shields spotting his car. He then cut through the brush and construction at the side of Building B and around to the outside door that led to the office. It was locked. The windows were dirty so he could not see if anyone was in the office. Mr. DePalmer had told him to meet Amos Bright here at three o’clock. It was three on the nose.
Beam sensed Tony’s approach. She decided to make him wait a moment while she read his thoughts. As he cast a shadow through the dirty glass, she read his anxiety. Then she probed deeper and found his greed. So, she thought, he is out to get Mr. Shields and Mr. Parker in trouble. Well, Mr. Stranger, we have different plans for you.
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