crack - 22. an unexpected visitor

by nick nelson

part 22 of ?

for previous episode, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

bill arrived at his office ten minutes early, as he usually did, with a coffee, and as it was thursday, a jelly donut. as soon as he sat down at his desk the red light on his intercom went on. red signaled an official agency higher than human resources. smith 5023 here. good morning, bill. my name is jared jones, and i am from the office of the special counsel on social functionality. can you spare me a moment or two? of course. thank you. i will be right up the red light went off. bill took a sip of his coffee and a bite of his donut and the door opened. jared jones wore a gray suit and a blue tie. he sat down without being invited. good morning. bill. i hope i find you well. very well, thank you. yourself? i am functioning. let s get down to it. let’s. you are being promoted. bill nodded. to a highly sensitive position. and not one that you can refuse. as you will be privy to very sensitive information. bill took a sip of hi coffee. i am flattered. you should be. we have been observing you for a long time. of course, we observe everybody all the time, or at least try to. can i ask what this sensitive information is? all in good time. of course, what was i thinking? it was a natural reflex. do not worry about it. will i still work from this office.? no, but your new location will only be down the street - and with a much better view of the city and the universe. will i keep my place of residence? we will find you a better one. do you have any objection? no. good. how long should i continue here, with this job? until the end of the month. but take time next tuesday to report to this address for a briefing. jared jones handed a small slip of paper to bill, and stood up. any questions? no. bill stood up and saw jared jones out the door. the first unit of the day, a young woman wearing a green hat with a picture of a growling bear on it, was seated in the small waiting room, sorry to keep you waiting, bill told her. i just got here. i thought i was early. please, come on in. to be continued

crack - 21. little red wagon

by nick nelson

part 21 of ?

for previous episode, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

damn. damn. i just can not lift this thing. oh well. maybe i should just give up - again. if i stick around here someone - iike the police - will surely come along. and ask questions. suddenly a bear emerged from the woods. it ignored william and made straight for the box. it picked the box up and headed back into the woods. i might as well follow it. the bear, with the box o it shoulder, seemed to know where it wanted to go. william followed it down a path he could barely see but the bear seemed to kow well. they came to s learing. there was a house in the clearing. thee were no lights on in the house a pickup truck on blocks sat in the small cleared space beside the house. as william got closer he saw that the windows of the house had bars on them. the bear took the box and smashed one of the windows with it . it kept smashing until the bars gave way. then it dropped the box - dropped rhe box! - and climbed through the window. to willliam it seemed a pretty tight fit, especially considering the broken glass and twisted metal, but somehow the bear got through. then he noticed something else. when the ear dropped the box it landed, not on the ground, but on a little red wagon sitting under the window,. william tugged at the wagon. and tugged hareer. the wagon moved! he could hear the bear stomping around in the house. it sounded like it was picking things up and throwing them. like it was busy. it is worth a try. if the bear comes out and wants the wagon and the box back i can always run. i think.. ' next

crack - 20. the edge

by nick nelson

part 20 of ?

for previous episode, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

the prisoners in their gray uniforms reached the end of the corridor and burst through a door into sunshine. they began shouting happily. and laughing and pounding each other on the back. except for he man who had reached for the credit card and awakened in the windowless room. he was an outsider among these happy laughing comrades. he wondered if he should ask them who they were. they did not seem to be concerned that whoever had imprisoned them would reappear and try to capture them. he wondered if he should try to slip away unnoticed and resume his solitary wanderings. but as his eyes adjusted to the sunlight he saw that they were standing at the edge of a flat plain that stretched to the edge of the universe. the other escapees began addressing each other by name, one of them was quog. another was yobby. yet another was henry dogbone. the alpha leader seemed to be a chap called iskander. all right fellows, iskander shouted, that is enough! let’s get lined up and ready to move out. squads, form! the escapees fell silent and began moving around. the man who had reached for the credit card and awakened in the winndowless room did not know what to do. suddenly he remembered his own name. joe. joe something. iskander’s eye fell on joe, who was standing alone with his mouth hanging open. who the devil are you? iskander demanded. i don’t know, joe confessed. a spy! somebody shouted. a stoolie! another cried. joe started to run. next

crack - 19. fate

by nick nelson

part 19 of ?

for previous episode, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

the lights of the truck were long gone. william walked along. a raindrop fell on his head. then another. and another. then they stopped. well, that is something, anyway. it sure is dark. i hope i do not step in a hole. one foot in front of another. and another. i think i see something. a light? it is not very bright. it is a light. one of the tail lights on the truck. * the truck had crashed and was tipped over on the side of the road, with the driver side closer to the ground, there was no sign of slim. william looked in the cab. slim was in it. he was not moving. wlliiam did not want to touch him or try to see if he were dead or alive. what about the box? the box that might or might not have a million dollars in it? it was still in the back of the truck. it must be fate that i am meant to have it, wiliam thought. with some effort, he tipped it out on to the ground. it landed with a heavy thud. it did not look as if it had been opened, nor had the fall to the ground damaged it or dented it. it must be fate that i am meant to have it, one way or another. next

crack - 18. the pencil

by nick nelson

part 18 of ?

for previous episode, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

ali and balthazar stared at william. it was not every day that a stranger appeared in the 236 club. william looked around. he seemed lost. can i help you, sir? shelly asked william. i - i feel a liitle dizzy. please, have a seat. would you like something to drink? can i just sit here? if you buy something. what have you got? iced coffee, iced tea, sandwiches. i will have an iced coffee. coming right up. william looked down at his hand. he was holding a pencil in it. he must have purchased the pencil after giving sergeant friday the sample of his handwriting by starting the story of the man in the room. why are you holding that pencil? shelly asked when he brought the iced coffee over. um- i am not sure. would you like a piece of paper to wrote on? yes, thank you. you are very helpful. i know this person from somewhere, ali told balthazar. you know everybody from everywhere. * suddenly an alarm off. it filled the room, and also seemed to be ringing in a corridor outside the room. the man who did not know who he was, or here he was, now did not know where he was supposed to go or what he was supposed to o. he looked for a door. he found one. it must be locked, he thought despairingly. but when he pushed it, it opened. no sooner had he stepped outside, than a tidal wave of running bodies swept down on him. he was borne along with them, whither he knew not where. they were all wearing the same gray uniform, with a blue letter “b” stenciled on it, that he now noticed he was wearing himself. ' next

crack - 17. quite a way

by nick nelson

part 17 of ?

for previous episode, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

next stop might be quite a way. what did that mean? william was afraid to ask. quite a way from where? he finally managed to say. quite a way from where we are going. this was a mistake. a big mistake. how could i have been so stupid? this guy is going to kill me. and steal the truck and everything in it. i know. i know what i will do. i will tell him i want to get out. then i will get out and he will just drive away with the trucjk and leave me. if there is a million dolllars in the box, so be it. at least i will still be alive. stop, i want to get out, why for? nature. all right. slim pulled the truck over to the side of the highway and william got out. sure enough, the plan worked like clockwork, and the truck drove off, spinning gravel. well, william thought, so much for that. there probably wasn’t no million dollars in that old box anyway. though i do wonder why it was locked so tight. with a sigh, he headed down the dark road, the lights of the truck were long gone. next

crack - 16. the 236 club

by nick nelson

part 16 of ?

for previous episode, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

ali took the elevator one floor to the 236 club. the 236 club was a small establishment located on the second floor of a largely deserted building a few blocks off the main square. it served the small portion of the population that liked to converse and argue with their fellow citiezns dace to face rather than on their phones or other devices. balthazar was the only customer, seated at one of the four small tables. shelly, who ruled the club with an irron hand, was staring iinto space behind the counter. bathazar was ali’s best friend, and ali was balthazar’s best friend., even though they did not like each other much.. ali sat down across from balthazar, who did not look up from his phone. shelly awoke from his trance,and shouted across the tsix eet from the counter to the table -to ali- the usual? yes, the usual, ali replied. the 236 club had a limited menu - cold tea and cold tea, ham and cheese sandwiches, bacon and cheese sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches. the tea and coffee were the same except that the tea contained a little more water, and the sandwiches were all made from the same ingredients. i had my review yesterdy, ali announced to balthazar. i know. how do you know? you told me two days ago you were having it. i am flattered you remembered. balthazar nodded. are you going to ask me how it went? how did it go? did you engage your enemy and totally destroy him? no, he was not in the mood. he seemed to have something else on his mind. something more interesting than you.? i guess. that must have been humiliating. it was, a little bit. but i am used to it. shelly grought ali’s usual to the table the door opened and william wilson walked in. william looked around. he was a stranger to the place. cm i help you? shelly asked him. next