The Amazing Adventures of 4¢ Ned (Coinworld: Book Three)

by Benjamin Laskin

  Plus, she was sure pretty. Adam never thought much about girls before, but he thought he might be thinking about this one for a while. Maybe it was her blue eyes. They resembled some of the opals in his gemstone collection, always changing colors.

  Or, maybe it was just because she was older. He didn’t know many older girls, and all the girls his age hung around in groups and giggled. This girl didn’t seem like a giggler. Billy Hornsby had a sister around the same age as this girl, but she didn’t act like this girl. This girl seemed more mature, a word Adam had never even applied to a girl until today. He wondered why that was.

  When they reached the lobby, Adam pointed towards an area lined with slot machines. “My dad’s in there. He’s probably finished the roll of nickels.”

  Mr. Auden put out his hand. “Well, it was nice to meet you Adam. Enjoy your stay. Are you leaving tomorrow?”

  “No, sir. We came for the coin show.”

  “You did?” the girl said with surprise. “Are you a numismatist?”

  Mr. Auden smirked to himself. He knew Fiona was testing the boy, certain that he wouldn’t know the meaning of numismatist.

  “One day,” Adam answered. “My collection is puny, and I haven’t been studying coins for very long.”

  Mr. Auden said, “For what it’s worth young man, I think you needn’t wait to call yourself one. I’m not aware of any laws about it. If you want to be a numismatist, start believing it now. The same goes for anything you want to become in life—a businessman, an astronaut, a doctor, a musician or writer—anything. You have to believe it first, and believing begins with imagining it so, do you understand?”

  Adam beamed. “Yes, sir!”

  “Alrighty then,” the old man said. “Maybe we’ll see you tomorrow?”

  Adam didn’t expect that. He turned his eyes towards the girl. “Are you here for the coin show too?” he asked enthusiastically. How fun it would be to know someone else there besides his father, especially someone closer to his own age.

  Fiona nodded, but not without hesitation. Did she want some little kid latching on to her, following her around like a duckling, and spoiling her time? What if he was one of these motormouths who never stopped blabbering? He didn’t seem the type, but weren’t most nine-year-old boys that way?

  “It’s my first coin show,” Adam said. “My dad promised to take me for my birthday. He’s been to a bunch of them. He says you never know what you might see.”

  “What are you hoping to see?” Fiona asked.

  “What other people don’t see,” he answered.

  “You mean a coin that you know is valuable but others don’t?” Fiona said dubiously. “These people are all experts. I’m sure they know their coins front and back, inside and out.”

  “Do they?” Adam rejoined slyly. “My dad says people only see what they’re ready to see.”

  Fiona tilted her head and squinted at him. “What does that mean?”

  Adam saw his father wave to him from across the casino floor. He waved back.

  “Sorry,” he said, “I have to go. I hope to run into you at the show tomorrow. Thank you for the chip, Mr. Auden.” He turned and hurried to meet his father.

  Fiona watched the boy scamper off. She twirled strands of her long brown hair around her finger and turned questioningly to her uncle.

  “Unusual boy,” he offered. “Shall we go eat?”

  Fiona nodded and they strolled in the direction of The Gold Miners’ Steakhouse, the hotel’s nicest restaurant. “Do you think he knows, Uncle?”

  “About what?”

  “Coinworld.”

  “He knows, princess. He knows.”

  18

  poker faces

  Nicolai Nickel and his main torch-bearer, Dirk Dime, stood perched on an out-of-order slot machine inside Reno’s Gold Mine Casino. The torch on Dirk’s reverse flared like a cigarette lighter, signaling an incoming call. He turned his back to The Six so that the nickel could answer.

  “Speak, Commander, and loud. The noise in this room is deafening. … And the second floor? … Are you sure? … What about outside? … And the roof? … Good. … And The Four? … No, not until I give the order, do you hear me? … What about him? … Of course, Iron Tail. Especially Iron Tail! … Any major movements you report them to me immediately. … Over. Okay, douse it, Dirk.”

  Dirk Dime smothered his flame just as Dominique Double Eagle returned from reconnoitering the casino. She alighted beside them.

  “Where have you been?” Nicolai said, irritated. “I’ve been worried about you.”

  “I like it when you worry about me,” she purred.

  “Yes, well I don’t. Waiting here pounded by this incessant cacophony as I watch these moronic humans waste their hard-earned money on these ridiculous slot machines has depressed the ore out of me.”

  Dominique smiled sympathetically. “I might have some news that could help rectify your nasty mood. I saw the Stryker man at the other end playing the slots.”

  “Whoop-de-doo. How much did the idiot squander on the one-armed bandit? Does he not realize he has a boy to raise?”

  “By my calculations, he won $146.”

  “Well, good for him,” Nicolai said, unimpressed. “His lucky day. Was the boy with him?”

  “He left early on and wandered through the casino. I discovered him later at the blackjack tables, and you’d never guess with whom.”

  “The old man,” Nicolai said.

  Dominique frowned, disappointed that her surprise was a dud. “Someone told you?”

  “No, but that is how these things work. We’re on the cusp of a momentous day. Events are playing out fast. Then again, it is a large show, and considering where each man lives, if they were going to attend one, the Reno show would be the obvious choice.”

  “Then you know about the girl too,” the double eagle almost didn’t bother to mention.

  “Girl? What girl?”

  Dominique smiled, her dud had a little bang after all. “The old man’s niece.” She arched a teasing eyebrow. “His blue-eyed niece.”

  Nicolai straightened, luster returning to his handsome face. “He has a niece? Since when, and why is it this is the first I’ve heard of her?”

  “I wondered the same, so I used my torch to contact the base and made inquiries. She appeared briefly in the garden three times over a six-month period while we were observing the Stryker boy. The old man regularly walks guests through the garden. None of the coins considered her a threat of any kind, just a girl walking with her uncle.”

  “Go on,” he prompted.

  “She made contact with the boy over at the blackjack tables. The boy’s advice won the old man a large sum of money. I was positioned too far away to see well, and couldn’t hear a thing they discussed, but the old man seemed to take a liking to the lad. I followed them out to the lobby for a better look. That’s when I noticed that the girl has blue eyes.”

  “And you didn’t think it worth mentioning right away? A blue-eyed girl with a man that knows of the existence of Coinworld!”

  “Six,” Dominique snapped, “until ten minutes ago I knew no more than you about her!”

  Dirk Dime rolled shrinking back an inch. No way did he want to get between those two.

  Nicolai saw a pyre blaze behind the gold in the double eagle’s eye. No other coin but she would dare to look at him in such a way. The fury, however, quickly died down and was replaced with hurt.

  “You are right, my dear,” Nicolai said consolingly. “My insinuation was undeserved.” He rolled to her and reached to kiss her on the forehead.

  Dominique lowered her eye in a mix of apology and forgiveness. She met his gaze and said, “Unexpected as this turn of events is, is this not one of the signs spoken to you by The Vision Master? And that it should arrive on the threshold of such a pivotal day, would this not be a good omen?”

  Nicolai chewed on Dominique’s words, and grinned. “Dearest, I can always count on you to keep your head w
hen I lose mine. You’re right, this could be excellent news. Put some coins on the girl’s tail. We will know soon enough if she is special.”

  “I already have,” she replied. “That’s what I was doing during those ten minutes.”

  “I already apologized, Domi. No need to rub it in.”

  “I couldn’t resist, darling. Can you blame me?”

  “You know me better than I know myself,” he conceded.

  Dominique smiled and asked, “Have the commanders checked in?”

  “Just before you arrived. The raiding party is much larger than the one The Four put together back in Memphis. It seems they are taking no chances.”

  “As you predicted,” Dominique congratulated. “Has The Four been spotted?”

  “Spotted, but not verified. From a distance it’s difficult to tell, especially when he is heads-up and his value can’t be seen. However, Iron Tail has been confirmed. The old goat would never leave Coin Island unless it was for a major mission. In addition, our scouts have confirmed at least three eagle squadrons and four platoons on the ground.”

  “What about that half dollar I tangled with last time?” Dominique asked, a vengeful curl at the corner of her lips. “The one who flies with The Four?”

  “I didn’t ask, but scouts reported seeing the other one, the ’24 Standing Liberty quarter.”

  “Good.” Dominique felt at her face where Camille Quarter had thwacked her with her shield back in Memphis. “It will be the last operation she ever joins. The both of them,” she added with a sneer.

  “They aren’t the mission,” Nicolai said. “The Four comes first.”

  “Understood, but for their sakes, they’d better stay out of the way.”

  Nicolai nodded. “Permission granted. Now, please whisk us out of this ridiculous place. The infernal racket is giving me a headache.”

  Commanding Officer Harper Half Dollar, Camille Quarter, and Donovan Dime stood on an overturned bucket on the floor inside an abandoned janitor’s closet on the third floor of The Gold Mine Hotel and Casino. The corridor outside was marked for future renovation and blocked off from guests. Donovan Dime extinguished his torch, and Harper turned to address his troops.

  A mop behind him, and Camille Quarter at his side, Harper looked out over $40 worth of change standing lined up in rows before them. The coins included pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, half dollars and silver dollars from 1910 to the present, and had come from bullion bases from around the country.

  “You have all been practicing for months for this day,” The ’53 Franklin half dollar began. “If things come off as planned, your training won’t be necessary, but we are up against a wily foe, so we don’t really know what lies ahead. I just spoke with Chief Iron Tail. He said the others are maneuvering into place and making final preparations.”

  “What about The Six’s forces?” Two Loons asked.

  “From what we have been able to ascertain, overwhelming.”

  Two Loons nodded, stone-faced. “The more the merrier.”

  “They know we’re here, right?” asked a nervous ’63 penny and recent recruit.

  “They know,” Harper answered, “but if we did our job right, they think our forces are as large as theirs.”

  “And The Four?” Leo Lincoln asked.

  “The Four and his team will remain incommunicado. We don’t want to chance that The Six or any of his spies will catch whiff of their location. Now, everyone go to your positions. And remember, do not engage with the enemy. No interdictions. And no attempts to follow them. Do not allow yourselves to be drawn into any skirmish unless you have no choice. If you think you’ve been spotted, pretend otherwise and just go about your business.”

  Camille Quarter said, “The Six isn’t interested in fighting us at this time. His target is The Four. If he can avoid a confrontation, he will. Our sole objective is protecting The Four and rescuing Franny.”

  The troops saluted in unison by flopping flat and bouncing right back up. The clatter of $40 in change smacking the tiled floor echoed down the empty corridor.

  “Dismissed,” Harper said.

  One by one the coins filed out of the closet, squirming beneath the closed door and into the empty hallway. Eagle-back coins took flight and picked up those coins who had been assigned to them. Ground troops rolled along the walls’ baseboards to an unused staircase that would lead them to their predetermined stations. Within minutes the coins had dispersed, and the corridor was as still and quiet as an empty chapel.

  Harper, Camille, and Donovan Dime were the last to leave. Once outside, Camille rolled, gained flight, and circled back for Harper and Donovan.

  She wafted them down the hallway and out a window at the end of the corridor. Hugging the hotel’s exterior, Camille circumnavigated the building and reentered through an open window on the second floor where the coin convention was to be held the following day.

  Skimming below the ceiling, blocked from view by banners welcoming visitors to the Reno Coin Show, Camille and her eagle, Esmeralda, headed to their station on the carpeted floor behind a 25¢ poker machine.

  There, the three joined a Raider assault team made up of two 1938 nickels named Norton and Nathan, and their mission pilots, 1921 Walking Liberty half dollars, Hazel and Henrietta. Norton had trained at the Everglades Bullion Base, and Nathan Nickel had come down from the base on Mount St. Helens. Hazel flew in from the Grand Canyon base, and Henrietta from Death Valley’s.

  “What did we miss?” Harper asked Nathan Nickel.

  “One of The Six’s penny patrols came snooping around,” he answered. “They checked behind the machine, but we hopped up onto a flat crossbar underneath and hid. They peered about giving it a cursory inspection, but it’s dark under there and they didn’t see us. Afterwards, they rolled off to check behind every slot machine lining the wall.”

  “It was to be expected,” Harper said. “We must remain vigilant throughout the night, as The Six will probably send another penny patrol.”

  “Roger that,” Nathan said.

  “How about the others?” Norton asked.

  “They are all manning their stations as we speak. So far so good.”

  Hazel said, “No encounters with the enemy?”

  “Not yet.”

  “And the eagle squadrons outside?” Henrietta asked.

  “We haven’t heard anything,” Camille answered. “They’ve been ordered to keep their distance until the appointed time.”

  Harper glanced at the two nickels. Norton looked a little nervous and fidgety. Harper rolled a playful shoulder into the five-center. “It’s going to be okay, buddy,” he said assuringly. “I know you boys have the toughest part of the operation, but we’ve got your backs, okay?”

  Nathan, a veteran of numerous raids, nodded, an expression of grim determination on his Jefferson face. “Don’t worry about us, Captain. Right, Norton?”

  “No sweat,” Norton said, mustering what confidence and courage he could. It was his first mission, and although he was honored to have been purposefully chosen for the operation, he was terrified at the thought he might let down the team.

  “So now all we can do is wait, huh?” Henrietta said.

  “Yep,” Harper said. “Wait and pray that The Four and his team haven’t run into any problems. They are all on their own this time.”

  19

  bugged

  The Gold Mine Hotel and Casino — The following day

  Adam Stryker cast a look around the busy coin show and spotted the pretty girl with the long brown hair at the far end of the room. He noticed that she was alone and wondered what booth was holding her attention. He tugged on his father’s sleeve and gestured towards the back of the exhibition hall.

  “Dad, I’m going to check out the other side of the room, okay?”

  Monroe Stryker, who was bending over a display of early 19th century gold coins, looked up and glanced towards the rear of the show.

  “What’s down that way?”

/>   Adam shrugged. “I don’t know. But I read a flyer that there are some rare Peace Dollars here. I’ve never seen one.”

  “I’d like to see those myself.”

  “I’ll go find them and come get you.”

  His father traced his son’s sight and saw a pretty girl. He wondered, and then he smiled to himself. My little boy is growing up fast, he thought.

  “Take your time,” Mr. Stryker said. “If I’m not here, I’ll just be a table or two down the way, okay?”

  “I’ll be right back,” Adam said, and strolled quickly off.

  Adam weaved through the crowded convention hall and pulled up behind the girl. He froze.

  Butterflies had invaded his stomach and his face felt hot. Until now he had never experienced self-consciousness. The innocence of youth had always prompted him to say or do whatever he wanted without caring much how another would react. He never meant anyone harm or ill will, so what was there to worry about?

  This feeling was something new, and he didn’t like it one bit. Well, maybe he liked something about it. Like riding a roller coaster, it was scary and thrilling at the same time.

  The girl stood gazing down at a display of coins. His eyes became transfixed on her shiny brown hair. He admired her perfect posture, and how well her blue skirt and white blouse fit her. The blouse was cut wide on top and showed her smooth shoulders.

  Adam swallowed hard and ran forked fingers through the bangs on his forehead in a futile attempt to get them to stay put a little higher up above his brow. He raised a hesitant finger, gathered his courage, and careful not to touch her skin, he tapped the girl gently on the shoulder.

  The girl whipped around. A head taller than Adam, she looked right over him. She lowered her gaze and said, “Hello, munchkin.”

  Adam blushed. Although she called him a munchkin, she said it with a pretty smile and in a friendly way. It wasn’t exactly the greeting he was hoping for, but he felt encouraged.