36 Soldiers and Thieves (1/2)
The knock on the Pendeltons' front door came just as they'd all assembled for their midday meal.
It was a frugal meal. It was increasingly hard to put one together: the gas for the barbecue grill had finished a while ago, and food was running out. Of course, they'd thought about transporting food from the New World: they had built half a dozen fish traps, and were emptying them at least twice a day. It was late summer in the New World, and they were finding more wild berries, edible roots, and mushrooms than they could eat.
Unfortunately, they still hadn't found a trace of that mysterious mineral called tiger rock that was required to transport goods back home. True, they hadn't done much exploring. They'd been concentrating on building a good, functional base in the New World. They made sure their little settlement was well hidden, and varied their routes on forays for food so that no well-trodden paths became visible.
After their deadly revenge on the renters, none of them were keen to run into other settlers in the New World. They made do with the primitive wood and stone tools they'd made. Sometimes, they had a bit of luck: Gladys had found a couple of turtles, and their shells made good shovels.
And sometimes, one of them would remember a skill they'd acquired when young, and subsequently forgotten. It was Harold that remembered how he'd used to amuse himself when he was a kid by building fish traps out of small branches and twigs and twine. And the girls - Gladys and Susan - dusted off long-forgotten skills and twisted coconut fibers into very serviceable, strong thread. There were plenty of coconut palms around, and there was no shortage of coconuts.
But they hadn't found any tiger rock, and so were unable to transport food back home.
”Looks like our people in the New World will be soon eating better than us,” Dave Ramsey commented when he sat down and got a good look at his plate. It contained two slices of white bread, a few spoonfuls of baked beans, and a cold, raw wiener sausage.
”Stop moaning and tuck in,” Harold Pendelton said sharply. Most of the food had come from the Pendelton larder; the Ramseys' contribution was limited to the tasteless white bread.
Dave Ramsey gave Harold a cross look and was about to deliver a stinging reply when they heard the knock on the front door.
”Well, what do you know,” Susan Ramsey said. She looked at Harold.
”Don't wait for me,” he said, getting up to answer the door. They all literally threw themselves at the food on their plates. We can't last like this much longer, Harold thought as he walked to the door. Another few days, and we'll start to starve. We must mount an expedition, and find tiger rock.
He was about to mindlessly open the door when he had the thought it might be the renters. He bent down to the peephole, and gasped at what he saw.
There was an army officer standing in front of the door. Two soldiers with assault rifles at the ready stood at his back.
Harold hurriedly opened the door, saying:
”At last, at last! I'm so happy to see you. I -”
He broke off. The look on the officer's face clearly indicated he wasn't happy to see Harold. He said:
”Harold Pendelton?”
”Yes, that's me.”
”You live here with your wife, Gladys?”
”That's correct.”
”Are you aware you have an inter-dimensional delivery vehicle in your back yard?”
”A what? Do you mean that glowing cube?”
”Yes, indeed.”
”Of course I'm aware of it. We - ”
”Why haven't you reported it to the proper authorities? Failure to report the location of an inter-dimensional delivery vehicle carries a fine of ten thousand dollars, or a month in jail.”
”What?!”
The officer was silent for a moment, searching Harold's face for signs of dishonesty.
”I take it that you haven't been in town for a while,” he said finally.
”No, we haven't. We did go, oh, about a week ago, but we ran into policemen guarding the entrance to the Sheraton and they told us to return home, and stay put.”
”I see. I'll make sure to give you a copy of the official announcement concerning the present situation. In the meantime, I must request that you give my men unlimited access to your back yard. We have orders to remove all the items possible from the cube. They have been declared government property. Have you taken any yourself?”
”Well, yes,” said Harold. ”We've taken a few. But wait a moment. You said 'they' about the cube. There's more?”
”Plenty more. But never mind that. I see you've also treated yourself to an implant.”
Damn! He'd brushed his hair before sitting down to eat, and the glowing blue dot on the edge of his hairline was showing! Harold said:
”Yes. You see, being cooped up like this for many days is - we felt no harm would be done if we -”
”Never mind,” interrupted the officer. ”You are to remove your implant immediately. Your wife's too, if she has one. I also request you to turn over any items you've recovered from the cube. Failure to do so will be penalized.”
”Of course. I'll attend to it the moment I've finished eating. We've just sat down at the table when you knocked.”
”Go ahead. My men shall begin removing the items from the cube immediately. Please leave the door open.”
”May I ask them to access the back yard through the back gate? I'll open it for them right away. We've having some friends over for lunch.”
The officer frowned. Then he said:
”Fine. I'll issue appropriate instructions so that you can eat undisturbed. If your friends have also given themselves implants, they too must remove them immediately. And I want you to turn over any items you've taken from the cube to my men. I'll return later today to give you copies of the announcement, and to perform an inspection of the premises. I'm sorry to invade your privacy, but I must follow my orders.”
”Of course,” said Harold. ”I'll unlock the back gate right away. There's a walkway along the left side of the house.”
”Thank you.” The officer turned to speak to the two soldiers, and Harold took this opportunity to gently but firmly close the front door, and lock it. He walked across the house to the back door, ignoring questioning looks from everyone at the table. He unlocked the gate to the back yard, and joined them.
”It's the army,” he said, sitting down. ”They've come to take everything from the cube. I'll tell you more, but let me eat first. I'm famished.”
Gladys, Susan, and Dave all waited patiently, watching the food disappear into Harold's mouth with slight envy. He wiped his plate clean with his last piece of bread, popped it into his mouth and said: