Jump Starting the Universe

by John David Buchanan

  “I don’t think it’s learned Carter, I think you have to be born with it,” replied Livingston.

  “I was afraid you might say that.”

  Carter called the crew at Pier 7, “Let’s load up,” he said, “we’re running a little behind schedule. The crew arrived in less than five minutes and by 16:30 IPT everything in the safe had been moved to the tractor trailer and they were pulling out of the parking lot. Carter gave the all clear and lookouts and other crew members except trailing security were sent home. The trailer was taken to a commercial warehouse and unloaded immediately. “Anything interesting in this loot,” asked Carter after the crew had departed.

  “Carter, we now have in our possession the Shumbrans business records, lists of hit victims, lists of targets, their list of business partners, the names and locations of every Shumbran agent in the Prolian System, piles of information on everything the Shumbrans have done or are thinking about doing, and, that large box,” he said, pointing to a sizable chest like box with heavy clasps, “contains approximately 140,000,000 Kagers; the equivalent of their annual payroll and net profit.” Livingston had a wicked look on his face. “They should never have targeted my daughter,” finished Livingston.

  “Now I know why you had me install the Class I – MG security systems,” replied Carter.

  “Did you call the police?” asked Livingston.

  “Yes, I called them as we were loading the last bit of the safe’s contents into the trailer; they should probably be there now.”

  “It’s getting late Carter, you should go home to your family,” said Livingston.

  “Same to you boss. By the way, what you did today was the most astonishing thing I’ve ever seen, and you know I’ve seen a lot - sure could have used that on the Quadrilian Plain operation. This might explain why you have such a fascination with energy, Livingston. If you could ever learn to duplicate that or harness it, it would be worth a fortune, not that you are going to need one,” he finished while glancing at the heavily clasped box.

  “I think we’ll use that for some university scholarships and endowments, maybe a new park, and the biggest pay day you and our crew have ever imagined,” said Livingston.

  “You think the Shumbrans will come after it?” asked Carter.

  “I think not,” replied Livingston, “would you? I sent a message to be delivered tomorrow morning indicating the lists in that safe would be made available to all Prolian System law enforcement agencies and news organizations if there was any attempt at recovery, retribution, or if anyone on the hit lists was threatened or harmed in any way. I promised them in no uncertain terms that if I had to get involved again, next time I wouldn’t pull any punches. Let’s go home.”

  “Yes sir, we arrived in the Siophan District, Pier 13 about 45 minutes ago,” said the officer. “We entered the warehouse without resistance. No, they are here alright, 91 of them just like the caller said. No sir, it was untraceable. No sir, they’re not dead, all but one of them are unconscious. Well, most of them are singed a bit but with Shumbrans it hard to tell the extent of the damage, and about a dozen look like then had to re-coalesce then lost consciousness. I did sir, I asked him what happened and he replied 'nothing happened'. Then, I asked him what happened to the safe and I thought he was going to break his neck turning to see it. The safe, sir? It’s huge. How big? About twenty by thirty on the inside I’d say, and about 10 feet high and it’s made of 18 inch thick Usilite steel. Well, there’s a badge on the side isn’t there sir. The safe itself is worth a small fortune, sir. Its empty sir, and I can tell the Shumbran is quite unhappy about that. No, he said it was empty sir, but that doesn’t tally with his attitude. No sir, the door wasn’t opened, it was cut. I know that sir, but I’m looking at it right now and the entire end of the safe has been cut out including the door and hinges. No sir, I’m not putting you on, and no I have not been to the pub, but I may be headed there soon. No, the edges of the cut are so clean you would have thought it was manufactured like this. I expect the Usilite representative will be on scene shortly. No sir, he didn’t believe it either. He said only a Usilite engineer has the tools to cut one of their safes. No sir, this is not a bloody joke. Yes sir, I’ll be in your office within the hour. Yes, with pictures.”

  “Sargent, I’m going to headquarters to meet with the chief. Interview every Shumbran in here and bring me a complete report. And find out what the Usilite engineer thinks and call me immediately. And take some pictures and send them to me so you can verify this ridiculous story. No, he didn’t believe a word of it, would you?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

  NINETY FIVE AND GONE

  While the museum was being repaired Joules spent most of her free time with Blackie. “We haven’t taken the Nomad out for a spin in forever,” Wayne said to the group at lunch several days after the Shumbran incident, “how about a day trip to see the country side?”

  “That’s a great idea, I’m getting tired of the city,” agreed Mark. “I’d like to see some forests and waterfalls; got any of those around here Joules?”

  “Yeah Joules, what is there to see here?” asked Nita.

  “Well we have nice hills east of town that are covered in deep blue grasses, and roads in the plains out west are lined with wild flowers this time of year; there aren’t any waterfalls near here but there’s Lake Medinfore up in the mountains north of the city.”

  “I’d like to see the lake,” said Blackie.

  “It’s really nice there,” said Joules, “we should pack some food and spend the day at Lake Medinfore Park.”

  “Yeah, we could have a picketric,” said Wayne who quickly dodged a halfhearted jab from Nita as Mark snorted a laugh.

  “Funny, Wayne, really funny,” said Amelia who couldn’t quite pull off an I’m upset look since her face was covered with a broad smile. Blackie told Joules about their picnic in the park near The Phoenix Hotel and how Nita had referred to it as a picketric instead of a picnic.

  “I do need to work at the library tomorrow so how about we go day after tomorrow? That will give us plenty of time to prepare,” offered Joules.

  “Great, is that okay with everyone? Good, we have a plan,” said Mark who was eager to make the trip. “Wayne we need to take our acoustic guitars with us.”

  “Good idea - if we ever see Buster again we can tell him we played a concert at Lake Medinfore Park,” replied Wayne, “we don’t have to tell him the details.”

  “He wouldn’t listen anyway,” offered Blackie.

  “Who is Buster?” asked Joules.

  Mark, Wayne and Blackie spent the next hour telling hilarious stories about Buster.

  “You’re not making this up are you Mark?” asked Nita who had laughed so hard she was holding her side.

  “No, honestly it’s all true,” said Mark, “Buster is a rare bird. I miss him.”

  “How about a swim?” said Nita realizing Mark, Wayne and Blackie were suddenly very quiet.

  “Great idea,” replied Amelia, “let’s go.”

  The entire group went for a long swim during which time they planned their outing.

  “Let’s get some of those little round crackers,” suggested Mark.

  “Those are for soup, Mark, and we’re not taking soup,” responded Blackie.

  “So, I like them, “said Mark, “especially the ones with Italian seasonings, they go great with cheese.”

  “I’m sure all the stores here have those,” said Wayne sarcastically.

  “Have you forgotten the tartar sauce at the Phoenix Hotel Restaurant?” replied Mark. Wayne was speechless.

  “He has a point Wayne,” said Blackie, “for all we know Sly is importing Italian seasonings to the Prolian System; that’s where we are right? I’m going off the diving board,” and he proceeded to do a cannon ball that made such a big wave it swamped the right side of the pool deck.

  After a long swim everyone was ravenous and decided to take a short walk to a restaurant Joules had frequented with her m
other. “It’s only five blocks from the hotel and the food is excellent,” Joules said beaming, “and it’s very reasonable. They had a leisurely meal and finished in the early evening with berry cobbler for dessert - the proper kind with multiple layers of crust, not that one crust on top nonsense. When Joules noticed that Blackie had pulled out the group’s credit card she said, “You won’t need that Blackie, the bill has been paid.”

  “When did you manage that?” asked Blackie thinking he hadn’t seen Joules interacting with the waiter and she hadn’t left the table.

  “I didn’t,” she replied, “Dad arranged a prepayment and asked me to tell all of you how much he appreciates the support you showed me when the Shumbrans attacked us at the museum.” Joules looked at her watch and exclaimed, “Looks like I’m right on schedule. Dad wants to talk this evening before we turn in.” Blackie escorted Joules to her transport, told her to be careful going home, and returned to the restaurant.

  “I need some tea, anyone else want tea?” asked Blackie. Everyone declined so they sat and talked while Blackie finished his tea and then had an argument with the waiter, who insisted he could not pay for the tea, that it had already been paid for.

  “Put yourself in my shoes,” said the waiter, “Mrs. Livingston and her daughter patronize our establishment on a regular basis, they call it 'girls day out'. And occasionally Mr. Livingston will accompany them but it’s rare; he is a very busy man. On the other hand, tonight is the first time I’ve ever had the pleasure of serving you. Given these circumstances, if you were in my shoes, whose desire would you satisfy? A regular customer or someone you have never seen before and don’t know if they will ever return?”

  “I believe that is checkmate,” said Mark.

  “Okay, okay, I get it, I didn’t mean to cause such a fuss,” said Blackie to the waiter.

  “No fuss at all, and I hope you come back soon,” replied the waiter as Mark was explaining the game of chess and checkmate to Nita.

  “Besides getting ready for our outing to the lake, what are we doing tomorrow?” asked Amelia. Without hesitation Blackie said, “I’m going to the library.”

  “Well of course you are,” said Mark quickly, “who could resist all those lovely books?”

  “For your information, Joules is in training most of tomorrow morning,” said Blackie, “and I have some research to do.”

  “Research on what?” asked Wayne who didn’t consider that it might be personal.

  “Maybe its private, guys,” suggested Amelia, “you don’t have to answer that Blackie.”

  “It’s not personal; I just think it might be wise to know a little more about the Shumbrans and who they associate with.”

  “Sounds riveting,” said Mark, “and while you are doing that I will be spending my time on something that’s actually enjoyable.”

  “I wouldn’t mind knowing a little more about the Shumbrans myself,” said Nita, “we could run into them again you know.”

  “By the way Nita, the move you used in the museum to club that Shumbran on the head was pretty wicked,” said Wayne.

  “Wicked as in excellent,” said Mark quickly to clarify Wayne’s slang.

  Nita blushed and said, “Thanks Wayne, you didn’t do too bad yourself.” They walked back to the hotel retelling bits and pieces of the fight at the museum and sharing their individual perceptions of what had happened. While some of the details appeared to be different depending on who described them, they all agreed on one thing – what Joules had done was the most astonishing thing any of them had ever seen.

  When Mark got up the next morning he found a note near the coffee pot. He poured a cup of coffee, selected a fresh pastry from the assortment Blackie had ordered the previous evening, and sat down at a small table overlooking the balcony. Wayne, who wasn’t too far behind, poured a large mug of coffee and joined Mark. Neither one said a word; it was too early. Amelia was up next and greeted them with a pleasant, “Good Morning,” on the way to the kitchen.

  “Morning,” said Mark. Wayne said nothing.

  “You are SO not a morning person,” said Amelia to Wayne as she pulled another chair up to the table and took a sip of her coffee.

  “He’s not unpleasant in the mornings,” said Mark, “just entirely unresponsive until the coffee kicks in. You should see him the morning after a late night gig.” Wayne grunted and tried to appear more friendly.

  Appearances can be deceiving they say, although when questioned, no one ever knows who THEY are. A lot of things get ascribed to THEY; maybe they’re getting too much credit! In fact maybe THEY are not the least bit reliable at all. Then again, maybe we should just give THEY the benefit of the doubt. What goes around comes around THEY say. I’m good with that.

  Wayne finally woke up enough to make a statement of sorts. “So Nita went with Blackie to the library.”

  “She did?” asked Mark.

  “Didn’t you see the note near the coffee machine, Mark?”

  “Yeah, I saw the note.”

  “Well, did you read it?”

  “I noticed Blackie signed the bottom of it and didn’t bother,” said Mark.

  “Well, now you know what it said,” responded Wayne almost pleasantly.

  “She must have been serious about studying the Shumbrans,” replied Mark.

  “She looked serious last night,” Amelia said through a half yawn.

  “So what are we doing?” asked Mark.

  “I need to do a bit of shopping,” said Amelia, “you are welcome to tag along.” Mark looked at Wayne for assistance but got none.

  “Yeah, we’ll tag along,” said Wayne.

  “Good,” said Amelia as she stood up, “I need more coffee.”

  “Yeah, we’ll tag along,” whispered Mark to Wayne, “you useless toad.”

  “It’s early,” said Wayne almost apologetically, “besides, how bad can it be?”

  It turned out to be much better than either of the guys expected. Mark had a surprisingly good time, especially since Amelia didn’t spend all her time in the girly stuff section; in fact she spent a lot of time in the sports and camping gear sections. Wayne seemed relieved that Mark was actually enjoying himself. “You just never know,” he thought. It turns out that Mark was having a similar thought about Wayne at almost the exact same time. Amelia finished with one small bag of purchases and they were off to find Blackie, Nita and Joules at the library. Blackie and Nita were sitting at table large enough for six or eight people. The top was strewn with books.

  “Did you read all these?” asked Mark. The answer was ridiculously obvious to those who actually practiced the art of reading.

  “Yes Mark, all 6,800 pages,” Blackie said sarcastically.

  “We’ve scanned them looking for information,” added Nita, “and it’s been very interesting – Shumbrans are worse creatures than I thought.”

  “Well, they certainly look the part,” offered Wayne.

  “Looks can be deceiving,” replied Blackie.

  “What?” fired Mark immediately.

  “It’s true,” said Blackie, “maybe not with respect to Shumbrans, but not everything that looks bad is bad.”

  “Don’t you hate it when he starts to philosophize?” said Wayne to Mark.

  “Is that what that was, because I would have called it a crock of unmitigated absurdity,” said Mark.

  “That’s because your opinions have been distorted based on your experience with the Shumbrans,” said Nita, “you may find there are exceptions.”

  “In any event we have some interesting things to talk about,” said Blackie, “we know a little bit more about their allegiances, their enemies, and how they operate. What happened at the museum wasn’t typical of the Shumbrans. They normally don’t participate in direct confrontation, they shy away from being directly involved in an incident and they almost always use stooges to do their dirty work.”

  Joules joined the group at her break and let Blackie know she had an hour before the next training
session started. “Anyone want lunch? I saw a sandwich shop two blocks over, I think the name of the place was Kid Brothers,” said Mark.

  “They have nice sandwiches, let’s go there, said Joules, “and they have delicious soups, we could get some in a vac-pak for our trip tomorrow.”

  Blackie didn’t dare look in Mark’s direction as Mark had immediately begun talking to Wayne in a high falsetto voice with a bad French accent, “those are for soup and we’re not taking soup; what do you have for brains monsieur, bilge water.” Wayne was so amused he returned fire with a few of his own French lines. Mark and Wayne worked on their French repertoire all the way to Kid Brothers.

  “Complete juveniles,” thought Blackie, but now and then he joined in the laughs.

  They ordered sandwiches and crowded around the only empty table, a small one with a red and white vinyl checkered cloth. “This sandwich is excellent,” said Wayne.

  “So what’s all this nonsense about bad not always being bad?” said Mark to Blackie just as he was biting into his meat and cheese. Blackie held up his hand to indicate an answer was forthcoming as soon as he could swallow and wipe his mouth.

  “That’s not exactly what I said; what I said was, looks can be deceiving,” he replied.

  “Such as…? replied Mark.

  “Such as the old guy in the hardware store that looks like he lives on the street, but he is a multimillionaire,” said Blackie, who continued, “but the quintessential paradox is the Desredeedese Shades.”

  “The what?,” asked Amelia, who verbalized what everyone with sandwich in their mouths was thinking but couldn’t say without grossing everyone out; except Mark, who didn’t hear Blackie correctly and was thinking, “What is a quintessential pair-of-ducks.”

  “The Desredeedese Shades,” repeated Blackie, “are beings that are judged by their looks but not so much by their reputation.”