I’ll be back later and we can all “have some coffee”.
-F’
Tressa showed the note to her companions as they went upstairs to their rooms. They agreed to meet again in a few hours so they could all rest for a bit.
~
Tressa was falling. She was in a dark well and was falling. If she looked up she saw a tiny hole at the top with blue sky above. If she looked down she just saw blackness. The wind in her face told her she was falling, but her body was simply limp. Finally she sensed the bottom of the well coming, and when she looked down she saw Roy and Rex laying there waiting for her. Just as she was about to hit the bottom she heard a banging sound.
She didn’t remember laying down much less falling asleep and was disoriented when the banging started again. Stumbling to the door she opened it while rubbing her eyes.
“Finally!” Mason said. “We’ve been out here for five minutes knocking. Fergus is back and wants us to all get together and no one can find Ant. He never came back after dropping off the wagon. Did he say anything to you?”
Tressa was confused and her mind was full of cobwebs so she asked him to repeat himself. The second time around she caught what he was saying. “Ant is gone? No, he didn’t say anything to me. I’ll go look for him, I guess.”
“There’s no time,” he shot back. “Fergus says we’ve got to go in just a few minutes. Ant will have to catch up later.”
Tressa was unhappy and grumpy as she packed up her belongings and rapped on Mason and Fergus’s door. “Well, well, well, sleeping beauty has awoken,” Fergus stood in the door with a big smile on his face and threw his arms wide open. “Give me a hug, little one. It’s felt like years since I’ve left my small group of travelers.”
Tressa leaned in for a one-sided hug and then slouched into the room and flopped down on one of the beds. “I heard there was a plan. Tell me the plan”, she grumped.
Fergus was undaunted. “I’ve had great success at Perpetual Power headquarters. I think this whole situation will soon be behind us. Nothing but bright skies ahead.
“Here’s your plan. First we all go back quietly to SEW-MUN and slip into our coffee coffin. Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Then we shoot straight back to SEW-NO and quietly return to Top Peake. Zimmer has been quite easy to work with once he realized no one would buy his assertions that you were involved in that nasty business in Alaska. However, his orders releasing us may not have filtered to every guard between here and Top Peake. I think discretion is called for and we have the perfect mode of transportation to be quite discreet.
“By next spring we’ll start out again and simply steer clear of the Colonel and as many of his employees as we possibly can. That should be simple enough since it’s a big world.”
Mason stood up from the chair he occupied as Fergus had laid things out. “Great! We can get home and enjoy the Fall Festival, go to school over the winter and try again next spring. When do we leave?” He walked out of the room to tell Clyde to get his stuff together.
Tressa, however, was less than pleased with the plan and showed it. Sitting up she cocked her head to the side and replied, “So Zimmer gets away with killing two people, trying to blow up half the Board of Directors for Perpetual Power and blowing up one of his own plants – maybe two others for all we know. That’s a great plan, Fergus. Great.”
“Now see here, young lady. I haven’t experienced that tone from you before and I can say I don’t care for it, at all. We are just a few people and Perpetual is a giant, world-wide conglomerate with almost unlimited resources. I think we made out pretty well. What would you have me do?”
“For starters, Colonel Zimmer needs to know that we know. He might think he’s gotten away with something, but I’m not going to just rest in Top Peake and let him possibly hurt or kill some innocent people.”
“I think you’d do well to rein in your emotions and consider what he has offered. If we quietly let this blow over he leaves us alone. Do you want him interfering with things in Top Peake? What if he decided to send some men and harass Yvette or your mother? Neither of those possibilities appeals to me. If he’s really up to no good someone with more authority than us will stop him.”
“Now you don’t even believe that he’s scheming to take over Perpetual Power? Do you remember what happened in Alaska? I saw the two men who blew up the Nome plant. Those same two men were with him in New Omaha and killed some people – at his direction.”
Fergus considered this for a moment then started slowly, “I suppose you’re right. But, I still think that our ability to do anything about his intentions is limited and someone else would be more capable than us. Let’s at least get closer to home and then we can decide if we wish to change our course of action.”
While still unhappy, Tressa agreed to the truce. “Okay, let’s get to New Omaha and see where we stand.” She looked at Fergus intently for a moment as he stood and opened the door to the room. Something Fergus had said about travelling didn’t sound correct, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.
Mason returned with Clyde in tow and the group gathered their belongings to leave. Tressa, finally fully awake, stopped short, “Wait! I completely forgot about Ant. We’ve got to find him before we leave.”
Fergus looked puzzled, “What’s an Ant. I mean, I know what an ant is, but who is this particular Ant?”
Mason answered for Tressa. “Ant is Antonio, and he’s Tressa’s cousin. We went with him to the castle ruins and helped him look for-”.
Tressa cut Mason off before he said more than she wanted him to, “We helped him look for souvenirs. And we saw some neat stuff, but it was mostly just tumbled walls and overgrown rooms.” She fixed Mason with a look so fierce that even Mason understood to stay quiet. “But we need to find him so that he can go with us.”
Fergus looked at his watch. “The Elevator we’re supposed to be on leaves in less than an hour. We really don’t have time to stroll around the city looking for someone you hardly know, and all. He probably isn’t even a relation. I’ve seen every game there is by these crafty locals who want to earn your trust while they steal your wallet. This sounds like a classic.”
Tressa was happy enough that the focus of the conversation had shifted away from their adventure with Ant. Especially the part about what they were looking for. She trusted Fergus, but she had noticed a few peculiarities in him over the past few days. Plus, she didn’t know if Ant wanted them to talk about the Seekers, the energy machine or the search for the parts. Once Ant showed up he could decide whether to fill Fergus in or not.
“Ok,” she said, “Let’s get going then I guess we’ll find out later what the story is when he shows up, or if he shows up.” She went back to her room and quickly jotted him a note while the three others gathered up their belongings.
The four of them made their way to the hotel lobby where Fergus checked them out and took care of the bill. As he led the group out the door Tressa held back and slipped her note to the desk clerk with some money attached to it. “Please give this to a young man looking for our group,” she pleaded. The desk clerk smoothly pocketed the money and gave her a wink thinking she was saying goodbye to her vacation crush.
Outside, they went to a nearby street corner with a sign post indicating it was a trolley stop. Just a few minutes later they were all settled on the trolley and on their way to Space Elevator Waypoint – Munich. As the trolley pulled up to the Elevator building they got out and cautiously looked around. Not seeing any roving teams of security they slipped inside the nearest doorway and found their way back to the custodian’s closet. Clyde worked his magic and soon they were in a comfortable lounge type room waiting for their turn in the Elevator. The Cleaniks had wheeled their coffee container into the next room where it awaited them.
Fergus looked at this watch and said, “Well, it’s time. We’ve got to get moving. The Elevator will be loaded shortly and we want to be safely inside so we don’t draw attention to ourselves.” He patted Ma
son on the shoulder and told him, “Soon, you’ll be back in Top Peake playing sports and talking to all the girls. Let’s get past the winter and we’ll make it to the warm beaches on the Eastern Islands next spring.”
The four of them all filed into the staging room and took their places within the hidden compartment of the coffee crate. As the lid was lowered and secured Tressa was again enveloped in the wonderful aroma of raw coffee. I may just have to try to develop a taste for coffee, she thought. It would be pretty nice to wake up every day and this is what you smell.
The Cleaniks loaded their special crate onto a pushcart and set it in the loading zone with all the other freight. After that, the loaders grabbed their cart and pushed it onto the Elevator before the other shipping items were put aboard. Boxes and pallets were brought in and loaded around them. Soon their small opening to the world was obscured by the remainder of the shipping containers around them.
Tressa thought she heard the doors close and she knew she saw the reflection of the yellow flashing light through their air vent. She felt the now familiar sensation of being heavier for a few minutes and then it lightened just as it had in the past. Now we just need to get out of this box. I hope Fergus will let us stay in New Omaha a few days so I can try to convince him to do something about Colonel Zimmer.
The doors clicked open and the group waited while the other boxes and crates were unloaded. Finally it was their turn. They felt themselves bump over the threshold and turn a few corners. They couldn’t see very well out the vent, but knew they were entering another large dark room. The crate came to a stop and the hidden latch was flipped open. Clyde put a massive hand on the false top and shoved upwards. It slid up easily and they were surprised to be in a totally dark room.
“Welcome to Brazil! I hope you will enjoy your stay, but I’m afraid it won’t be very long.” The lights came on and the fugitives found themselves blinking in a large room surrounded by Perpetual Power security guards and Colonel Zimmer calmly holding a handgun that was pointed lazily in their direction.
Chapter 25
Tressa’s hands were tied tightly behind her back as she bounced and bumped along in the rear of an electric truck. Mason and Clyde were with her in the covered rear of the wagon and Fergus was being held upfront by Colonel Zimmer.
“Clyde, can you get loose?” she whispered.
“No, these ropes must have some kind of nylon woven into them. I can feel it cutting into me when I strain to break loose.” He quietly replied.
“Mason. How about you? Anything?”
“Mine are probably tighter than yours are. My hands are already going numb.” His trembling voice conveyed the pain he felt from his hands.
Tressa knew they were in a tight spot. Colonel Zimmer had made them all climb out of the crate and then lay spread eagle on the floor. One by one they had been trussed up like Christmas geese. They started with Clyde and three men had sat and knelt on him to make sure he didn’t try to get free.
Tressa thought, He could have fought them off, but I could see in his eyes that he was afraid of what might happen to the rest of us.
I have no idea where we’re going or how we got to South America. We were supposed to go to New Omaha, but must have been put into the wrong Elevator. No, that’s not right. How would Zimmer have known to look for us in Brazil if it was a mistake? He must have told Fergus he would forget about us, and then he laid a trap for us half-way around the world where we’d be out of sight. No one would think to look for us here because it’s so far off our planned routes.
Tressa felt like crying, but fought back the desire because she wanted to figure out how to solve the problem of escaping. Both she and her companions in the back were tied securely, Fergus was sandwiched in the cab of the truck and no one had any idea where they were going. Calming herself and slowing her breathing, she started doing the relaxation and stretching exercises she tried to fit in every day. As she started to feel more balanced she realized her ropes were not as tight as she thought when she was fighting against them.
“Try to slow down and breathe deeply. Your ropes may loosen a little,” she murmured to Mason.
She heard Mason take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then he took another and she felt his body lose its rigidity and relax. After a few minutes, he leaned over toward her, “Thanks. That’s helping a lot. I can feel my fingers stinging a little – I guess the circulation is coming back.”
The roads here were bumpy and not well maintained. Every time the little truck would go around a right-hand corner Tressa would slide across the back and bump into Clyde. When it went the other way he would slide toward her and have to put his feet against the side of the truck to keep from crushing her. Tressa started to sweat from the hot, humid air. It felt watery and thick in her lungs, and made her shirt stick to her back.
They pulled onto a smooth roadway for a few minutes and then slowed almost to a complete stop and then they sped up again. “We must have just gone through some sort of checkpoint. Since the truck didn’t have to actually stop, or get checked, it may have been the entrance to the South American Perpetual Power plant,” Tressa suggested.
Tressa was proved right when they came to a complete stop and the rear door was opened. The three captives were pulled out by their feet and stood up inside a large warehouse building with sliding doors on the front. They were in the maintenance area of Perpetual’s Brazilian reactor plant.
Colonel Zimmer came around the rear bumper of the truck escorting Fergus ahead of him. He shoved Fergus up against the other prisoners. Fergus whispered to them, “I’m so sorry about this. We had a deal. I had no idea he had something like this planned…”
Zimmer stood and smiled at the huddled group. He smoothed the front of his uniform and checked the precise alignment of his ribbons. “No, I wouldn’t have expected you to have figured it out Mentor Mumfree. In power plant lingo, you are what we call a ‘dim bulb’. I believe I could have written it all out on a piece of paper for you and you would have still asked me questions.”
Fergus glared at Zimmer. “I may not be as smart as you, but I have my honor. That’s more than you can say.”
“Honor?” asked Zimmer, “Perhaps you’d like to add Dignity and Truth as well? You may have your precious honor Mentor Mumfree. I will be happy to give you that while I retain Power. That’s what it’s really all about anyway. Whoever has Power can buy Honor, or Dignity and he certainly makes the Truth whatever he wants it to be.
“For instance, your little group of bandits here blew up some of my power plants. That’s one truth I will create. A second will be that while they were trying to destroy this one, they got caught in their own trap, and were blown up with it. I may even add a few Board members to the body count. We conveniently have a meeting here tomorrow… just when these misguided youths decided to blow the place up. Quite clever, don’t you think?
Pointing out the doorway toward the blue tornado of power rising from the reactor building in the center of the plant facility he continued, “And who will question my Truth? My guards will be the ones to recover and examine the bodies, and with yet another Perpetual plant gone the world will start to feel the squeeze begin. Rechargeable power cubes will become scarce as I reveal my Truth that we are only able to make so many. They will have to travel farther and pay more for the cubes they need to keep their pathetic, little lives going. Those that choose the Black Market will find the imperfect cubes are drying up as well. Yes, I intend to start destroying all cubes that are not perfect. The only way to get power will be through me. And it will not be cheap.
“Here’s another of my Truths for you to consider. Soon, all the reactors will be destroyed except for three – I’d like to have a little wiggle room in the event of another Incident or something, of course. I’m not that short-sighted. The world will crawl to my door begging for power and I will decide who gets it and who lives in the dark.
Tressa stood frozen as icicles formed up and down her spine. I was
right, she thought. He is going to try and take over the world and rule over everyone. This is madness. Someone’s got to stop him.
“Enough of this,” said Zimmer. “Let’s get you tucked away until tomorrow. We can’t have you running all over Brazil and making a mess of my plans. Again.”
Zimmer had the guards lead the group to a squat, solid looking shed behind the maintenance building. An older guard hustled up to join them and helped push the captives inside. Before the door was closed Zimmer called out, “Mentor Mumfree, please join me as I have other business with you that cannot wait.” Fergus came timidly to the door and was roughly pulled outside by the guards.
The guard slammed the door closed on Mason, Tressa and Clyde then pulled a chain across and secured it with a large padlock. He dusted off a beat up chair and sat on it facing the door. Zimmer said a few words to him and then marched Fergus and the other guards off toward the administration building.
The door had a small square window with wire embedded in it and Tressa watched Zimmer disappear into the other building. “Any ideas? We’ve got to get out of here and stop Zimmer from blowing this place up. He’s going to try and kill some of the board members again, too.”
“He’s planning to kill us, too,” said Mason. “Honestly, I’m more worried about that than the Board members. Let them look after themselves. I just want to get us out of here.”
Clyde looked like he had an idea. “We need to get out of these ropes before we try and get out of this building.”
Tressa would have normally rolled her eyes at Clyde’s grasp of the obvious, but she realized that he was right in one sense, at least. “Ok, let’s take this one step at a time. First, we get loose.”
Working together they scoured the building until they found some old metal framing for a shelving unit. The edges weren’t very sharp, but it was the best they could find in the dark. Clyde started sawing his bonds back and forth on the metal frame as Tressa and Mason tried to hold it steady.
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