AEGIS Tales 2, page 14
part #8 of Airship Daedalus Series
I was in a hurry because I was late for my two a.m. meeting with Tandy Hooten at the Dog Club. Cutting through Harold’s was the quickest way to get there.
I dodged Harold’s brother who was hauling a case of scotch up from the basement and slipped out of the back of the club into the grungy, poorly-lit alley that connected to Center Street. The dry heat of the Reno summer night was a sharp contrast to the humidity of Paris or my own hometown of Boston.
But after settling in over the last five weeks, I was coming around to the idea that I might actually prefer the climate of the high desert. If nothing else, my left arm, which still wasn’t at a hundred percent from the combat injury I sustained more than two years previous, hurt less in the heat and dry air.
As I emerged, Tandy was waiting there at the edge of the shadows for me, her eyes darting in all directions as if she expected to be accosted at any moment. She was dressed in a ridiculous looking buckskin dress with garish beading that definitely didn’t reflect her tribe’s history. A fact she had related to me on more than one occasion after her recruitment into my network of eyes and ears in the town.
“You’re late,” Tandy snapped as I approached her.
“Sorry. Car trouble,” I offered in response.
It also happened to be true. Heidi had been tinkering with the used Model A truck that AEGIS purchased in my name at Calavada Motors. And as was often the case, my partner had gotten lost in her work.
“I’ve got something for you,” the young Paiute woman stated.
I also knew that she needed the money to take care of two younger sisters as well as the fact that she only wore her costume because it was expected as part of her floor show routine at the dance hall and entertainment palace across the street.
“Oh,” I tried to reply casually as my heart started to race.
Among the treasure trove of stolen artwork and artifacts that we recovered from the Catacombs in Paris had been a dossier filled with places of interest identified by the occult wing of the Nazis, mostly comprised of ex Silver Star members.
The town and several places surrounding Reno had been mentioned more prominently than any other and Heidi and I had been reassigned to the area to investigate why.
Since time was of the essence, we managed to deadhead on a transport dirigible across the Atlantic before boarding a train that traversed most the United States. And that’s how we found ourselves in what was rapidly becoming the divorce capitol of the country only a little more than a week after the battle in the Paris underground.
Naturally, this also provided the perfect cover for the two of us since I was able to claim that I was here, along with my trustworthy confidant, to establish residency and free myself from a horrible marriage. Heidi and settled into a ranch on the outskirts of town and we immediately started to build a network of informants, like Tandy.
“First of all, please don’t laugh at what I’m about to tell you. I know it will sound crazy, but hear me out,” Tandy began.
There was something in her demeanor that suggested she wasn’t quite sold on what she was about to tell me.
“Of course,” I replied with a smile, trying to encourage her that I was open to any intelligence she might be able to provide me.
“Fishing year is being disrupted again. And we don’t know why.”
“Fishing year,” I asked curiously. That wasn’t a term I was familiar with.
“My people, who you call the Pyramid Lake Paiute, have different seasons that we call years. The fishing season which is happening now, well, the fish aren’t plentiful to begin with and those that we do catch are sickly. The elders are saying that the Water Babies are angry again.”
Now, the Water Babies were something that I was acquainted with.
It referred to a creature from any body of water that could grant fortune or wrath depending on how the water and land were being treated. In one of the few books that I’d managed to scrounge from the basement of the British museum prior to our departure, I knew they were primarily a Washo legend. Although it was entirely possible they were part of the local Paiute culture as well.
“I take it this is not related to the Derby Dam that was removed two years ago,” I asked since I’d seen a reference to that long standing point of contention in the same text.
The young woman shook her head slowly, her braids bouncing about like tree limbs in a light breeze.
“No. Although much as it had been between the time the dam was constructed and taken down, the fishing season at the terminus of the Truckee River is bad again.”
“And the Washo people at Lake Tahoe. Have you talked to them?” I asked, knowing the water at Pyramid Lake originated from Tahoe.
“Our elders have reached out to them. But as of now, they are not talking to us.”
“I will check it out,” I assured the young woman as I slipped her a five dollar bill. Tandy then turned and hurried across the street toward the building with the gayly-lit façade.
✽✽✽
I awoke to sunlight streaming through the curtains in my bedroom and Heidi sitting in a white, rattan chair next to my bedside fiddling with a Tesla stun ray. It kind of looked like she was working on the bell of the weapon although to what end, I wasn’t sure.
“It’s about time that you woke up,” Heidi commented with a smile.
She had been forcing herself to speak only English since we had left Paris in an attempt to cover up her German accent. And when she put her mind to it, she was mostly successful. Now however, was not one of those times.
“What time is it?” I asked even as my eyes were drawn to the mantel clock on the fireplace in my private three-room suite.
“It is half past twelve,” Heidi observed as she raised one blonde eyebrow that matched her short cut bob.
“Twelve thirty,” I automatically corrected my friend and partner. Heidi was still having some issues adjusting to the American idioms.
“I presume you have news for me,” I asked because Heidi was usually tinkering with one item or another in her room by the time I got up. Not sitting patiently at my bedside.
“I do,” Heidi replied. “The Patterson ranch had an entire wing cleared out the day before yesterday. Apparently a party of important guests arrived yesterday. Another guest who has been here for more than a month who goes by the name of Matthew Sanders was moved into that wing.”
I knew the name but had never met the man. He didn’t gamble or seek companionship from any of the reputable—or irreputable—places downtown. In fact, it was that very behavior that had sparked the gossip mill among some of the dancers at the Dog Club. He dressed and spoke well, had purchased a new Ford truck from Calavada with cash, and he also claimed he was a simple academic. Even though the money he was spending clearly suggested that he had sources of income other than those of a mere professor.
“Do we know anything else about him?”
Heidi tilted her head to one side as she often did when trying to recall something.
“I believe that he had a special interest in Lake Tahoe. Something about a formation north of Zephyr Cove.”
“Then why not stay up there?” I shifted upright.
“That I cannot answer,” Heidi replied with a smile. “However, if I wanted to misdirect someone I might not make my residence near the object of my attentions.”
“If that were the case, then I should think he would be extremely tight lipped about his intentions.”
A slightly misshapen grin spread across Heidi’s face that indicated this information had not been freely given. It most likely slipped out in front of someone whom Mr. Sanders did not regard as important.
✽✽✽
We pulled to the side of the road and found a clearing to hide our vehicle. Heidi backed the truck into the space and we covered the front with branches. The sweet smells of redwood trees permeated my nose as Heidi and I stepped out of the truck.
I shouldered my light pack that was populated with a few choice gadgets and tools that Heidi, who always over-prepared for any excursion, had procured from the carpet bag stowed at her feet.
“How far is it to Cave Rock?” I asked my partner as I looked up, trying to gauge the time by the sun’s position.
“Maybe an hour’s hike. Not long.”
✽✽✽
As the two of us made our way through the heavily forested area, I couldn’t help but notice the contrast in the air between here and Reno. The game trail we were following brought us close to the edge of the lake. Add in the elevation, it meant that the temperatures were twenty degrees cooler and much more humid than the arid heat of the Washoe Valley.
Fortunate timing had brought us to the lunchroom at a nearby hotel as Matthew Sanders and some of his well-dressed guests were seated at a table within earshot and we’d overheard part of their discussion.
“So what did you make of the conversation that we observed at the Zephyr Hotel?”
Heidi gave me a little shrug as she moved into an open grove under the redwood canopy. I took a moment to look up and marveled at the sunlight streaming though the branches as I waited for my partner to answer.
“I think it confirmed we are on the right track. Beyond that, I do not know.”
I was inclined to agree. They had been talking about a final shipment as well as the assembly of something. But without context I wasn’t sure what to make of it.
We moved out of the copse and as I made my way around the edge of the largest tree at the edge of the circle, I suddenly felt a sharp pressure on my chest. I stopped for a moment and it passed as quickly as it had come upon me. Just ahead, Heidi held up her right hand, her first clenched.
I instinctively froze and listened.
A dead silence had permeated the air. No longer were there the sounds of critters scurrying through the brush ahead of us or in the trees above. Even the light breeze seemed to have stalled into an eerie vacuum.
Then, from somewhere close, I heard a sound that seemed to be rising from the ground and into the air.
Softly at first and then louder, it was like nothing I had ever heard.
There was a low-pitched hum that caused an involuntary shiver to start at the base of my spine and make its way up my back. By the time it arrived at the middle of my neck the sensation felt as if someone had started to stab a thousand pins just beneath the surface of my skin. Every nerve fired at once as the hair on the back of my skull began to rise.
A concussive thump repeated over and over again with the increments between each pulse rapidly shrinking.
Before I could process it all, an impossibly blinding light flared in front of me. Even in the brightness of the mid-afternoon, my eyes were immediately overwhelmed. All I could see was white as the sound grew even louder. The air started to resonate from the bottoms of my feet and up to my knees as if I were suddenly wading in a stream.
My ears popped and then my eyes started to gradually adjust as a stark white sphere shot straight into the air not forty feet in front of me, rocketing faster before disappearing into a tiny glowing ball that seemed to move straight through the atmosphere.
Heidi turned to me, her piercing blue eyes shooting questions that I had no answers to.
I urged my legs forward into the space past the tree and then stopped again.
Before me was a circular depression in the ground. It was as if something very large, heavy and hot had seared its way into the tall sun-dried grass. And just on the other side of it stood a group of men in dark blue overalls and leather aviator helmets with tinted goggles. They were in the process of loading crated items into what looked to be a converted milk truck.
“Hurry up everyone. The next package will be arriving in five minutes,” declared a man with a wooden Shannon Arch file held in one hand.
He started to turn toward the three remaining crates which would put him in direct eye contact with me.
I melted back into the edge of the tree and slowly made my way around it so as not to catch anyone’s attention.
I turned to Heidi who had stayed behind, feeling felt momentarily dizzy as I silently asked her what our next move was.
Heidi gave me a smile and shifted the well-worn green canvas pack off her shoulders. She unstrapped the main flap and rooted about in the central part of the bag for a moment before pulling out two pairs of goggles.
I quickly reached for the offered eye protection and slipped them first over my head and then onto my eyes as Heidi put hers on so that they dangled from her neck. I still wanted to plan our next move, so I pointed to the opposite end of the grove and stepped in that direction.
Heidi fastened her pack and slung it over her shoulders before joining me at the opposite end of the clearing.
“What do you think?” I asked. “Do we capture them or follow?”
“I think we do not have enough intelligence to take them out now,” Heidi suggested, then paused. “But the truck is also more than a thirty-minute hike from here, which changes the equation.”
“Teslas then,” I replied, determined to try and capture this shipment, whatever it was, as I pulled the weapon from the holster strapped to my thigh.
The decision made, Heidi too loosed her weapon from the cross draw holster just to the left of her breast. We turned back to confront the group when the ground started to vibrate and my ears popped once again.
I instinctively looked up but didn’t see anything save for the sun’s rays peaking through the treetops. I stared across the grove and there was no sign of an orb either. That had me puzzled, so I flipped the dark lenses of my goggles up and still there was no blinding light this time.
I started to move forward across the grove and once again, just as I made it to the large redwood tree, the sensation of dizziness returned and my eyes were flooded from a flare of white. I quickly slapped the goggles down and I could see, although there was still the sharp circle of an afterimage that slightly marred my vision.
There, in the depression was another ball of light.
With my eye protection down, I could tell that it was about five feet in diameter and that two of the men were presumably reaching into it to manhandle a crate from its innards. There were two more men at the rear of the truck shifting what looked to be a black and tan steamer trunk into the back.
Initially, I couldn’t see the fifth man for a moment and then his silhouette revealed that he was seated behind the wheel of the vehicle.
I felt Heidi tap on my shoulder and I turned my head back to her.
“You take the one in the cabin. I’m going to use my new wide beam to try and take out the rest,” my partner whispered.
I nodded my agreement, then flipped up the targeting sight, a series of circles, and took aim with my Tesla at the man who I could now see was staring in a wide mirror on the side of the van.
“Hurry up,” he urged his companions.
I felt a second tap on my shoulder which was the signal, and I fired. Save for a slight vibration in my wrist, there was no other indication that my weapon had discharged. And yet the man at the wheel slumped in his seat.
I quickly turned to cover my friend but it turned out that my help wasn’t necessary. All four men lay in a small pile close to the fallen crate.
Heidi, who had a satisfied look on her face, must have waited until they were all grouped together before firing her weapon.
“Nice shot.”
Heidi gave me a sharp nod. Before either of us could suggest a next action, the hatch on the glowing orb slammed down. The crate that was half out of its door exploded in two with a solid crunch and a shower of splintered wood and hay. Thankfully, the spray of flying metal and glass from the transected contents was directed away from us.
The orb started to shimmer and again the terrible hum began. I took a few steps toward it and a knot started to twist in my stomach nearly causing me to retch.
I darted back from the mysterious vehicle, which ascended at a rapid rate, the pain receding with it.
The transport, having shot into the sky at unearthly speed, grabbed my attention until it was mostly out of sight, at which point my eyes were drawn to the four figures that Heidi had stunned. Each man now looked like a large rock had been dropped on them. Blood leaked from their eyes, ears and the tips of their fingers, as well as pooling around their lower abdomens and feet. There was no doubt in my mind that they were dead, most likely due to their proximity to the orb’s takeoff.
“Ugh,” Heidi commented as she too took in the sight in front of us.
“Agreed,” I replied as my mind started to race.
While part of me wanted to do the right thing and give these men a proper burial, I also had no idea if another one of those orbs was coming soon. And given what had happened to the unconscious men, I also knew that I did not want to be in its proximity if it landed.
“I know it’s not right, but we should tie up the survivor and utilize the truck to take him and his cargo back to Reno. We can pick up our own vehicle on the way and then examine what we’ve found.”
“I understand,” Heidi replied as she paused to make the sign of the cross over each body, while I proceeded to restrain our prisoner before he woke up.
✽✽✽
I made a quick detour to the local AEGIS office, which was in the basement of the Woolworth’s building, to drop our still unconscious prisoner off for questioning. Then I drove our Model A to an out of the way, prearranged rendezvous spot. A clearing near the California border where Heidi was waiting for me with the captured milk truck.
A quick check of the truck’s contents did not tell us much. Three crates as well as the steamer trunk were held in place by clearly pre-fitted borders comprised of two-by-fours that had been nailed into position so that their contents would not shift during transit.
The single remaining open space looked approximately the size of the destroyed crate.
If there were preset slots for their cargo it meant there wasn’t a third shipment and I felt a small pang of guilt in not burying the men in the forest.
