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Authors: Harry Harrison
Tags: Science-Fiction
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voice called out close by.
‘What’s going on in here?’
The guard! And he had opened the door. How very nice of him. I moved along the wall, avoiding him easily since he was still shouting in the darkness, then followed the billowing smoke out into the light of day. Blinking at the brightness and at the other guard who was stationed just before me, grabbing me.
‘Just hold it right there. You ain’t going nowhere.’
He could not have been much wronger, I mean grabbing onto a Black Belt like that. I eased him to the ground so he wouldn’t hurt himself when he fell, threw the box into the van, looked around to see that I was totally unobserved, closed the door, started the engine, then drove slowly and carefully away from fun-filled Loona Park.
CHAPTER EIGHT
‘All fixed, everything just fine back there,’ I called out to the guard and he nodded while he pulled the gate open. I drove off in the direction of the city, slowly around a bend – then turned sharply inland on an unpaved road.
My escape had been as carefully planned as the theft. Stealing money is one thing; keeping it is another altogether. In this age of electronic communicationa description of me and the van would be flashed around the planet in microseconds. Every police car would have a printout and every patrolman verbal warning. So how much time did I have? Both guards were unconscious. But they could be revived, could pass on the information, a phone call would be made, warning given. I calculated that this would take at least five minutes. Which was fine sinceI only needed three.
The road wound up through the trees, made a final turn – and ended in the abandoned quarry. My heart was thudding a bit since I had to take one chance in this operation. And it had worked – the rental car was still here, just where I had left it the day before! Of course I had removed some vital parts from the engine, but a determined thief could have towed it away. Thankgoodness that there was only one determined thief around.
I unlocked the car and took out the box of groceries, then carried it to the van. The side of the box swung down revealing the interesting fact that the box was empty. The tops of packets and containers protruding above the box were just the glued-together tops of packets and containers. Very ingenious, if I say so myself. Which I haveto since no one else knows about this operation. Money into box, close box, put in car. Take off work clothes, shiver in the cool breeze as I throw them into the truck. Along with moustache. Pull on sports outfit, actuate timer on thermite charges, lock van, get in car. Simply drive away. I had not been observed so there was no reason at all now why I shouldn’t get away with my little adventure.I stopped at the main road and waited for a clutch of police cars to go roaring by in the direction of Loona Park. My, but they were in a hurry. I turned onto the road and drove slowly and carefully back to Billville.
By this time the van would be burning merrily and melting down to a pool of slag. No clues there. The van was insured bylaw so the owner would be reimbursed. The fire would notspread – not from the heart of the stone quarry – and no one had been injured. It had all worked well, very well.
Back in the office I heaved a sigh of relief, opened a beer and drank deep – then took the bottle of whisky from the bar and poured a stiff shot. I sipped it, wrinkled my nose at the awful flavour, then poured the rest of the drink into the sink. What filthy stuff. I suppose if Ikept trying I would get used to it some day, but it scarcely seemed worth the effort.
By now enough time should surely have elapsed for the press to have reached the scene of the crime. ‘On,’ I called out to my computer, then, ‘print the latest edition of the newspaper.’
The fax hummed silkily and the paper slid into the tray. With a colour pic of the money fountain operating at full blast onthe front page. I read the
‘What’s going on in here?’
The guard! And he had opened the door. How very nice of him. I moved along the wall, avoiding him easily since he was still shouting in the darkness, then followed the billowing smoke out into the light of day. Blinking at the brightness and at the other guard who was stationed just before me, grabbing me.
‘Just hold it right there. You ain’t going nowhere.’
He could not have been much wronger, I mean grabbing onto a Black Belt like that. I eased him to the ground so he wouldn’t hurt himself when he fell, threw the box into the van, looked around to see that I was totally unobserved, closed the door, started the engine, then drove slowly and carefully away from fun-filled Loona Park.
CHAPTER EIGHT
‘All fixed, everything just fine back there,’ I called out to the guard and he nodded while he pulled the gate open. I drove off in the direction of the city, slowly around a bend – then turned sharply inland on an unpaved road.
My escape had been as carefully planned as the theft. Stealing money is one thing; keeping it is another altogether. In this age of electronic communicationa description of me and the van would be flashed around the planet in microseconds. Every police car would have a printout and every patrolman verbal warning. So how much time did I have? Both guards were unconscious. But they could be revived, could pass on the information, a phone call would be made, warning given. I calculated that this would take at least five minutes. Which was fine sinceI only needed three.
The road wound up through the trees, made a final turn – and ended in the abandoned quarry. My heart was thudding a bit since I had to take one chance in this operation. And it had worked – the rental car was still here, just where I had left it the day before! Of course I had removed some vital parts from the engine, but a determined thief could have towed it away. Thankgoodness that there was only one determined thief around.
I unlocked the car and took out the box of groceries, then carried it to the van. The side of the box swung down revealing the interesting fact that the box was empty. The tops of packets and containers protruding above the box were just the glued-together tops of packets and containers. Very ingenious, if I say so myself. Which I haveto since no one else knows about this operation. Money into box, close box, put in car. Take off work clothes, shiver in the cool breeze as I throw them into the truck. Along with moustache. Pull on sports outfit, actuate timer on thermite charges, lock van, get in car. Simply drive away. I had not been observed so there was no reason at all now why I shouldn’t get away with my little adventure.I stopped at the main road and waited for a clutch of police cars to go roaring by in the direction of Loona Park. My, but they were in a hurry. I turned onto the road and drove slowly and carefully back to Billville.
By this time the van would be burning merrily and melting down to a pool of slag. No clues there. The van was insured bylaw so the owner would be reimbursed. The fire would notspread – not from the heart of the stone quarry – and no one had been injured. It had all worked well, very well.
Back in the office I heaved a sigh of relief, opened a beer and drank deep – then took the bottle of whisky from the bar and poured a stiff shot. I sipped it, wrinkled my nose at the awful flavour, then poured the rest of the drink into the sink. What filthy stuff. I suppose if Ikept trying I would get used to it some day, but it scarcely seemed worth the effort.
By now enough time should surely have elapsed for the press to have reached the scene of the crime. ‘On,’ I called out to my computer, then, ‘print the latest edition of the newspaper.’
The fax hummed silkily and the paper slid into the tray. With a colour pic of the money fountain operating at full blast onthe front page. I read the
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