Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Crook Q Part 19

The blog will soon undergo it's change to my real name! Keep that in mind if it will mess with your bookmarks or histories or your pet fish.... though I can't imagine why it would do that last one. Oh, and by the way, tomorrow morning's blog posts will be late. Golf with my dad and brothers!

If he was going to get a hold on the substances he needed, he would need help from other scientists. Ones who had worked with sub-atomic particles for a long time. He would need help.


Nic hated using this monstrosity of a telephone system. It reminded him too much of his communicator on Mars. He switched it on at the appointed time to make his meeting with the United representative.
"Hello, Q. I trust we have made progress?"
Nic sneered, "You, make progress? What a strange concept. I don't know about you, but I have made some progress."
The representative was in a mood. "Oh, I do hope it is more than three percent done. The removal truck is busy for the next few weeks with other cases like yourself."
Nic was enjoying himself. "When you next meet with me it will be far better than three percent, trust me."
"Trust you? Do you take me for an idiot?"
"I try to take people at their best. If that is all you can manage, which is not surprising, I will try to take it, yes."
The representative tired of the game he couldn't win. "I hope you have some matter of business to discuss. I am a busy man, serving a busy government."
"I can't imagine anything more busying than trying to manage Christians and a cowed populace, except maybe playing oneself in chess."
The representative made no response over the humming telephone line. Nic continued, "Anyhow, I have made progress, a substantial amount. But I will need assistance if I am to get any farther with Red Rain. I will need you to send me some help if you want to see more progress."
The representative dared a grin. "Well good, I'd be glad to provide you with some. There are several in your area in need of a job..."
Nic rolled his eyes, invisible to the government official. "I hope you recall that I said no Unionists involved."
The line was silent for several seconds. After a while came a voice that sounded like a chained lion roaring under its breath, "Then what will you take?"
"Simple. I had some assistants on Mars who I believe have the knowledge necessary to finish the job. First, I would like Mister Carnegie..."
The representative answered, "I am afraid no one can find Mister Carnegie at the moment."
Nic was glad now that the old style communicator did not reveal his face. He tried to muster a straight voice, his mustache twitching as he struggled on, "What do you mean?"
The representative had lost his chains, and no longer needed to roar. He growled. "I mean we can't find him. I am afraid his file has gone missing."
Nic knew what "gone missing" meant. The growling voice hummed over the line again, "The old man wouldn't assimilate. He tried to escape, and the guards were forced to apply lethal force to keep him inside."
Nic slumped in his chair. Then, sitting straight, he gripped the arm rests of his chair with all his might, his knuckles going white. He replied in a monotone, "I am sorry to hear that." He added under his breath, "for your sake, you..." and trailed into curses.
The representative couldn't quite restrain his chuckling enough to hide it from the microphone. Nic continued, "In which case, I will have to have two other assistants. Two Christians who were working for me at one point. I am sure you can find their files. I want Doctor Smyrna, and his son, Ephesus."

6 comments:

  1. Nice! I was wondering if that would happen. I can't wait to see what happens here.

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    1. Yes, this turn was somewhat predictable, and I hinted at it a bit, too. Just don't get lulled into a sense of security; I still have some harsh pulls to do on the plot strings!

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  2. You killed Carnegie? What have you done? What'd he ever do to you, eh?

    *sly grin*

    Yes! I was hoping that was coming. About the Smyrna's, that is. I'm wondering how he thinks this is going to work... Very eager to see where you take this!

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    1. I was going to write something else, but as I wrote I was thinking, "Oh yeah, why not delay having him ask for Smyrnas a few paragraphs and use that as the cliffhanger? I can delay it by just adding something about Carnegie. Hmm.... how about he's dead?" I did that as a way of playing up the evil of the United. Your only negative review on Amazon (which I have read twice and is 66% bogus and 34% semi-legit) complains that we just have to accept that the United is bad. If that unfortunate, misguided, reviewer ever gets his hands on my version, he won't be able to say the same thing.

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    2. Hmm, good point. And if you're gonna kill someone, you picked a good guy to kill. Carnegie was expendable, but he wasn't hated (at least, I liked him a little).

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  3. No, no, no, not _again_!!! O.O * runs to read next section *

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