“They told me you claim you didn’t kill those guards in Long Island. Tell me.” Our faces were inches apart.
“We would never have hurt them. They were our friends. Where all the rest of them looked at us with contempt, they were always nice to us. They understood our plight more than anyone. Someone set us up, and I bet it was that piece of crap, Skip.” His anger faded, and he was moving back to the cot’s edge. If I was ever going to read someone’s truth, at that moment, I would have said he wasn’t lying. But how did the guards end up dead just as the two of them were leaving? Skip was an odd man, but was he capable of a setup like that… and murder?
“Tell me everything you know about the Bhlat,” I said, grabbing a notepad from my back pocket.
Dust flew in the air behind our truck tires as Magnus drove down the side road away from the base. In the daylight, the dome just looked like more rocky terrain, and I was once again amazed at the technology.
“We’re leaving in a couple days, Dean.” Magnus tried to sip from his coffee travel mug, and almost splashed on himself as we hit a bump.
“How much more do you need?” I asked. They’d had an endless train of materials coming to the base over the last month. All of the product was being sent to a warehouse in Santa Fe. From there, Heart’s crew picked it up.
“There were a few items they couldn’t procure, or wouldn’t, so here we are,” he said, grinning widely.
I knew this to mean cigars, Scotch, and a less than palatable Scandinavian beer.
“I wish you were coming with us, bud,” Magnus said. “I can’t believe they’re breaking up the Beatles. You know, we thought about turning them down.” This was the first time he’d told me that.
“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, and they need you two out there. If anyone can kick some ass if needed, it’s you two.”
“Well, I hope there are no asses there that need kicking. I kind of just want to play colonist farmer. Build a cottage on the beach. Maybe start a family.” He looked at me in his periphery.
A family. I knew they were a couple, but the idea of Magnus and Nat sitting on their porch drinking sweet tea while the kids ran around the yard was a strange image, though also one I truly wished for them.
“You’ll be a great dad. That much I know,” was all I could say.
“How about you two lovebirds?” He was fishing for information, and I wondered if it was coming from his own curiosity, or if Nat had given him a mission. They had their suspicions about our new engagement but had been nice enough to only ask indirectly. I wished he would just ask the question straight out.
“Magnus, you’re my best friend, so I’m going to cut to the chase. I asked her to marry me…” I was cut off by him almost driving into the ditch. He’d been staring at me, not the road.
“Really? Who did you ask?” he asked sarcastically. As we swung back to the packed-down dirt road, he looked at me apologetically, but his grin was as wide as I’d ever seen it. “I knew it! Nat owes me ten bucks!”
We laughed and chatted about the future over the next hour on the way to Santa Fe. It was so nice to put all the other stuff aside, and just be friends on a road trip.
We entered the city, and Magnus had me check the nav system for something I hadn’t even thought about, mainly because Mary said it wasn’t necessary: a jewelry store.
We passed by a school just on the border of the city, probably catering to all the deep-dwelling super-suburban families, as well as the rural ones. Some children romped in the playground, but the few that were there seemed subdued, swinging in silence. Teachers had always been an important commodity, but now their task of helping educate these traumatized youths was a huge task. Magnus had brought up children, and I wasn’t sure I could ever go down that alley. With Janine unable to have kids, I’d thought that ship had sailed. Of course, now I knew why. Because she wasn’t human. I thought the world’s birth rate would either take a drastic nose dive over the next year, or people would be happy to be alive, and take pleasure in the fact.
Magnus must have looked at a map before we left, because he seemed to know exactly where he was going without checking the GPS. Soon we arrived at a strip mall on the outskirts of Santa Fe, lined with generic franchises, some of which weren’t open, the windows boarded up.
Other stores were doing business as usual. After the Event, so many business owners were no longer with us that their companies were sometimes handed to family members, who often didn’t want the burden of running a post-Event-world store, which I didn’t blame them for. I could hardly go back to bean-counting after everything we’d been through, so I understood completely. But life did need to go on, normalcy and routine were necessary to rebuild our world, and many businesses did end up running after it was all said and done.
The first stop was a liquor store. The building looked new, but it’d seen better days, like the whole area. A couple down-on-their-luck guys hung out on the sidewalk in front of it. With all the housing and new jobs becoming available, it made me sad to still see what looked like poverty, though I could probably attribute it more to addiction.
“Good thing they gave me a company card. This could get ugly.” Magnus smiled widely as he flung the door open. “Come on,” he called as he walked past the two sitting men.
The liquor store was half empty, but considering logistics were just starting to get back in order, that wasn’t a surprise. A lot of these places were looted in the weeks people arrived back on Earth. Newfound life, and all some of the population could do was steal from each other. I thought about the colony ship leaving and felt a stab of guilt as I wished I could leave Earth behind and just start fresh somewhere else.
“Hello, good sir.” Magnus walked up to the cashier, who looked almost as large as his new customer.
The man grunted. “What can I do for you fine gentlemen?” he asked, eyeballing us suspiciously. I was grateful we’d decided on not wearing our uniforms. Something told me we might be dealing with some more hostility if we had.
“Scotch. I want it all.” Magnus raised his eyebrows as he spoke.
“Sure thing. We got some good stuff left over here.” The man started to walk to the next aisle.
“No. I don’t think you understand what I’m saying. I want it all. The stuff out back.” I had no idea what the hell Magnus was talking about, but he seemed to.
“Who are you?” the burly proprietor asked.
“Let’s just say, the president would be very thankful if you could supply me with what I need,” Magnus said, and the man took a step back.
“Look, I ain’t doing nothing the other stores ain’t,” he said, hands raised in the air as if to feign no responsibility for something.
“Relax. I just heard through the grapevine you had the best selection of 20-year-old Scotch in the area, and a lot of it, I might add. I’m paying, and I don’t even need a great deal on it,” Magnus said, and the man’s tense posture did relax.
“Why didn’t you say so? Drive around back. I’ll get you set up.” The man was now smiling like he’d won the lottery. “Name’s Gus.”
I followed Gus, our new friend, through the staff-only doors, and into the small warehouse space. He slid open a door, revealing a semi-truck trailer full of liquor. Magnus popped through the steel door beside it and whistled when he saw the stacks of hazel liquid he was after.
Twenty minutes later, we were leaving, our truck canopy three-quarters full of various booze bottles. I’d even grabbed a few bottles of some nice Bordeaux for Mary and myself. A few was actually a case. We had no idea how long we would be cooped up in that dome, so I couldn’t be too careful.
“Next stop coming up,” my big friend said, once again grinning like a school kid who’d just pulled a prank.