Chapter 3

There were several more boring meetings the next day, none of which seemed important to me, but Honeybunch carefully recorded everything that went on. You never knew what might turn out to be a significant bit of information. Things were going along at the usual snail's pace as was typical at this sort of convention, then we were called into a special meeting at the end of the day. I was told to stand in a certain place, but I didn't think much about that, since every one of the other bodyguards were told the same thing.

As soon as everybody was in position, the MC (master of ceremonies) picked up a megaphone and shouted, "OK, LET IT LOOSE!" CLANK! A cage of metal bars was dropped around me and a wooden floor was slipped under my feet. The cage was hoisted about 10 feet into the air, and there I was, hanging out to dry, so to speak.

"GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE CAUGHT A SPY! YOU MAY LEAVE NOW! WE WILL QUESTION HIM LATER!"

The rest of the people left the room, and I was left hanging 10 feet above the floor. I was trying to figure out what to do when I was told by Honeybunch, I have reported to The Center what has happened, and they are as mystified as we are. Since nobody has any better suggestion, they want you to break out and cause as much mischief as you can before they pick you up to return you home.

OK, I have an idea. Raise my weight to the maximum after I jump up. I am going to try to break through the wooden floor of this cage. As soon as I break through, please drop my weight back to 30 pounds to relieve the stress when I hit the ground. Once I am on the ground, return my weight to my normal 183 pounds so that I will feel comfortable and coordinated with my body. Be ready to use the flame thrower and machine gun on a moment's notice. I'll also probably be bouncing my weight around, so be ready for that.

Right, just give me the word, and I'll do what you request.

I wasn't worried about breaking through the floor because it was groaning with the stress and strain of my current 183 pounds on it. I squatted and jumped straight up about two feet, all that was possible within the cage. On my way down, Honeybunch adjusted the anti-gravity device to make my apparent weight to be 537 pounds, the maximum possible.

When I dropped back on that wooden floor, I went through it like a sledge hammer through a house of cards. Once I was completely through the floor, Honeybunch pushed my weight down to 32 pounds to keep me from breaking something or causing me to stagger. I stood up, and my weight was brought back to 183 pounds. Well, I was glad to get out of that stupid cage, I was too conspicuous up there.

I was kind of surprised that I still had my weapons with me. No effort had yet been made to relieve me of either of my pistols or my bowie knife. I guess that was just a symptom of their arrogance and over confidence. I trotted to the door that the MC had used when he entered the room and looked through it. I had never been that way, so I figured that it warranted investigation. Yep, it was worth the trip.

I entered a room full of electronic monitoring screens and a lot of other stuff that I did not recognize. I did a slow sweep of the place with my eyes so that Honeybunch could get a full picture of the room before I destroyed it. I got the OK from Honeybunch, so I pointed my right forefinger at the equipment and called for the flame thrower. Actually, "flame thrower" is almost a misnomer, since the fire is not from the usual fuel. No petroleum-based fuel is used, instead it is some sort of plasma jet that burns at about 9,000 degrees Fahrenheit, approximately the temperature of the surface of the Sun. Honeybunch can moderate this so that I don't get burned, but the jet plays hell with anything it touches.

The electronics was quickly reduced to less than ashes, and I was ready to leave. I don't know how it worked, but the heat rose only a few insignificant degrees outside the ball of plasma, so the building was not set on fire, though the walls were scorched a mite.

There was another door which I used as an exit. This door led to a corridor and a set of stairs going down into the Earth. Not knowing what to expect, but sure of finding something worth the trip, I hurried down the stairs to see what I could find.

This level appeared to be an empty barracks. There were rows of bunks and the associated latrines and showers at this level. I didn't investigate the whole thing, but it could have run for miles. I gave up after running around in a half-mile radius loop.

I found several elevators going down, but I moved back to the stairs for fear of being trapped on an elevator by hostile action. The next level down was a warehouse of weapons. I found crate after crate of automatic weapons in the style of the AK-47. They looked to be around .30 caliber, give or take a little, the difference was not significant. I also found a mass of stored ammunition and explosive charges resembling 40 mm mortar rounds. This would be the ideal place to set off a demolition charge. Honeybunch, ask if The Center wants me to blow the place up, if you please.

Yes, go ahead and blow it up. That should set the enemy back a little while in their plans, if nothing else.

OK, have them send me a satchel charge with a timer to control the fuse. I'll set it for three hours. That should give me plenty of time to look around and still escape.

OK, that's done ... Ah, there it is. Go have fun.

I climbed on top of a stack of boxes holding mortar rounds and set the demolition charge. It would not be easy to see from the ground, and might be ignored even if it was seen. Besides, the fuse was booby trapped so that it would trigger if somebody tried to deactivate it without knowing the proper code. I figured that was a sufficient nuisance for this area and left for the surface.

Judging from the lack of stairs going any farther down, the gigantic cellar was "only" two storeys deep, so I had seen all that I needed to see down there. Now was the time to look into some of the other buildings that I had not yet had an opportunity to visit.

I approached one of the buildings that was separated a little from the rest. Its isolation was reason enough to investigate it. As I got close Honeybunch warned me, Wait a minute, Ham. I detect a few parts per million of ammonia gas in the air, well above the ambient level. This may be where our unfriendly neighborhood space-alien lives when he is not haranguing a meeting of foolish humans.

OK, thanks for the warning. I guess you had better establish my protective force field before I try to go inside. I sure as hell don't want to breathe any of that ammonia. I would suffocate in short order.

A good idea, Ham. Give me a few seconds to get the parameters established. I'll let you know when it is safe to try the door.

At Honeybunch's go ahead, I slinked up to the door and tried to open it. It was locked, so I had to take a few seconds to pick the lock before going in. The lock was nothing special, I am sure that it was there mostly to discourage the idly curious. However, when I stepped inside, I was met by an elaborate airlock system. There was a bank of sensors, cameras, and viewing screens arranged on the wall, along with a couple of generic space suits that looked like they were sized to fit the average human male.