Part 9: Die

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Chris eventually emerged from the ice tunnel. It had been close a time or two and he’d had to use the BloodyMary’s lasers to widen his path. Thank Odin the BloodyMary was atomic powered. He’d have never made it otherwise. He thanked Odin and all the gods daily that he’d been smart enough to buy the power plant from the Aesir. It had been pricey and he’d been sternly warned not to tamper with it or break the seals to try to reverse engineer the thing. Not only would he not succeed but it would explode with enough force take out everything for a quarter mile radius.

That had stunned him. These guys were really serious about clan secrets. Even so, no one else seemed to be able to produce anything like it. He needed it, so he bit the bullet and paid them a great deal of bitcoin.

Good thing too.

He drove his Sno-tank across the sea ice. He fell through the ice a time or two but the BloodyMary was amphibious. He managed to get back up on the ice each time. He eventually made it to the continent. His goal was the Bifrost-Bridge. If he could find a Lightning truck he might be able to pay the driver to take him and the BloodyMary home. No one messed with the Lightning Trucks….not and live. If he could do that he’d be safe.

It was still a long ways to the Bifrost Bridge and he was feeling sick. He no longer sleep well and he had bad dreams. He dreamed of cats.

Alien cats. He needed coffee.

After many weeks of no roads over rough terrain he came upon a mining camp in Patagonia. It was also a TruckStop from the look of the parking lot. It had a Diner and thank Odin there was a Lightning Truck in the lot. It was easy to spot. It was kinda huge. Much, much larger than the BloodyMary. The BloodyMary was bigger than most trucks even though she wasn’t, technically, a truck. The BloodyMary would fit quite easily on one of the LT’s trailer decks.

That was the whole idea.

Mission all but accomplished. All he had to do then was to find that LT Driver. Chris would contract with the LTDriver to take him and the BloodyMary home…and leave the driving to him. He’d sleep for a few days while in transit.

But first he needed COFFEE. He’d been without coffee for much, much too long.

He went inside the diner. Chris wasn’t very subtle. As a matter of fact it was unclear if he even knew what that word meant. Chris believed in the direct approach. He asked the diner cashier to page the LTDriver over the intercom.

She did that.

“Will the Driver of the Lightning truck please come to the diner cashier? There is someone here to see you. Paging the Driver of the Lightning Truck. Please come to the Diner Cashier.” She said over the intercom.

She didn’t have to page him twice. An imposing, almost imperious man was approaching the cashier. He was very large. His face and hands were black as coal. No other part of his skin was visible since he was wearing a heavy western style Duster coat. There was something was odd about his legs. It wasn’t readily apparent exactly what because of that coat. It hung past his knees. He walked with a cane. His pure white viking type beard covered much of his chest. His eyes were piercing.

“I’m the LTDriver” he said.

“I’m sorry to bother you sir.” Said Chris, offering the driver his hand.

They shook hands while Chris Continued “I’m Chris Sommurkorn. I’m the headman of the Vanir. I’d like to talk to you about a business proposition. If you’ve not eaten yet it’s on me.”

“ Glad to make your acquaintance Chris. My name is Austyn Allen of the Aesir. I believe our clans have done business in the past. As a matter of fact I just sat down. I haven’t even ordered yet. I don’t mind if I do. I never turn down free food and I’m always interested in business” Austyn replied.

“That’s great” Chris replied then he spoke to the Cashier. “Could we sit somewhere somewhat private?”

“Yes sir’ she said, sensing a very large tip if she played her cards right. “I’ll have a waitress take you to the overflow dining room. There’s no one in it at the moment. We’re not that busy. We haven’t opened it yet.”

“That would be perfect. Oh…and please bring coffee right away. I haven’t had any coffee for a very long time. I’m about to go crazy.” He grinned.

She smiled back “You poor man. I’ll see what I can do.”

A waitress walked up. “Julie, please take these two gentlemen to the overflow dining room. Snag a coffee pot on the way, there seems to be a caffeine emergency.”

“Yes ma’am” Julie said.

She did that.

She poured them both large cups of coffee and left the pot on the table. She took their orders and departed.

“Ahhh…” Chris had taken a sip of the coffee. “It’s been weeks, months perhaps, since I’ve had coffee. You wouldn’t believe how much I missed it.”

“Oh, I believe I would” replied Austyn “You don’t look very good. Pardon me for asking but was the lack of coffee that bad or is there something else?”

“No, I don’t mind. You’re right. It’s not just the lack of coffee. I’m not feeling too well. I’ve had a pretty bad time of it lately. It’s taken a toll. That’s what I want to talk to you about.” Chris said.

Then Chris told Austyn an abbreviated story of what had happened.

“So that’s it.” He said. “I’ve got something in the cargo bay of my snow-tank that I want kept secret. I want to contract you to take it home. As you’ve noticed I’m somewhat sick. As soon as we get to the Bifrost I’ll switch to tube travel, get home sooner and see a doctor.”

“ There’s a medical clinic here at the mining camp” Austyn said

Chris shook his head at that but didn’t elaborate.

“I can do that” Austyn replied but didn’t press the issue. It was up to Chris whether he wanted to see the doctor now or later. The waitress walked up about then with their seafood and steaks. “But first things first let’s eat.”

They had supper. They got along good and swapped many a tall tale. Austyn had a ThumBrain that looked much like the one Chris had. He wore it the same way Chris did. Austyn’s wasn’t visible under his beard. He saw the one that Chris was wearing and mentioned it.

Chris told Austyn that “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” He said that he’d observed how the Aesir operated and patterned some of his operations after them. Austyn thought it was funny. Finally they finished eating and telling tall tales to each other.

Chris, exceeded the cashiers wildest dreams when he paid the bill and left an enormous tip. The two of them walked outside still yakking.

They loaded the BloodyMary onto the Gretchen’s first trailer without incident. Even though they had been careful they still got a little dirty. That’s the way of things. Get around trucks and get dirty. It’s a natural law.

They headed back inside to clean up.

Part way across the parking lot Austyn was shot in the back and so was Chris.

There was a mothering great battle…and…somehow…Chris found himself laying on his back looking up into the bleeding black face of that old White Bearded Trucker.

“Thank you kindly” he whispered as he handed the trucker his ThumBrain “Her telephone number is inscribed on it’s back. Please tell her I love her.”

To Be Continued
_The Next Episode is _
Part 10: Interlude # 2
The Last episode was
Part 8: Third Eye
the first episode was
Part 1 : Winter Storm

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