“Well, not anywhere we’ve been so far, anyway,” Sushi agreed. “We’ve got plenty of time left, though. Let’s go see what’s down the street. Maybe there’ll be a bar open, and a few local pigeons we can lure into a little game of chance, and ask them to tell us about secret government projects while we take their money.”
“Dream on, dude,” said Do-Wop. “We’ve got about as much chance of that as we do of finding a couple kilos of loose diamonds on the corner…Hey, what’s that noise?”
Sushi stopped and listened. A muffled rhythmic pounding was coming from somewhere in the distance; the timbre of the sound suggested a heavy hammer striking a thick wooden block. He grinned and said, “I don’t know what it is, but I think we just found something worth a closer look. Which way do you think it is?”
“Ahead and to the right,” said Do-Wop. “Let’s go check it out, then.”
They walked along the street between rubble-strewn vacant lots and decaying buildings, the sound gradually becoming louder. “It’s a mechanical sound-maybe a pile driver,” said Sushi.
“Or a really big guy with a sledgehammer,” said Do-Wop, feigning worry. “Don’t wanna mess with him.”
“Hey, he’d better not mess with us,” said Sushi, laughing. “Not only are we the best company in the Legion, I’m the number one man in the local Yakuza family.”
“Oh, yeah, I almost forgot,” said Do-Wop. “In that case, you go first.”
Sushi punched him in the biceps. “Right, tiger. Odds are, we’re going to find some local kids building a clubhouse. The only thing to worry about is them mobbing us for candy and handouts.”
“Yo, man, I grew up in a neighborhood a lot like this,” said Do-Wop, his eyes shifting from side to side. “Had me a vibroblade when I was eight years old, and a zapper before I was shavin’. Any kids around here, you and me could be in real trouble if they mob us.”
“Yeah, but we have two advantages on them, Do-Wop.”
“What’s that, Soosh?”
“First, you’ve learned fifteen years worth of dirty tricks that no kid could possibly know. And second, I’ve got a whole bag full of tricks you haven’t even learned yet.”
Do-Wop nodded. “Hey, that’s cool, man. But there’s still one thing has me worried.”
“OK, I’ll bite. What’s that?”
“What if it ain’t kids?”
Sushi grinned. “In that case, they’re the ones who’d better be worried. Come on, let’s go.” They walked together toward the pounding noise.
Phule and Brandy sat at a poolside table in the Landoor Plaza, enjoying the sun while reviewing the new recruits’ progress. They were by now far enough along in their training to perform most of the company’s regular jobs, and Phule wanted to integrate them into the unit as broadly as possible.
The question was whether to pair some of the new troops with more experienced members of the company, or to leave existing partnerships intact. Brandy argued for keeping things as they were, while Phule favored creative tinkering. By now, the discussion had boiled down to individual cases. Both agreed that certain pairings ought to be considered untouchable: Tusk-anini and Super Gnat were the prime example. But what about Sushi and Do-Wop?
“I put them together because I thought they’d both learn something,” said Phule. “Do-Wop was too impulsive for his own good, or anybody else’s-he’d steal anything that wasn’t nailed down. And Sushi was way too calculating-a classic cold fish. But I’m afraid they’ve learned their lessons too well. If we put one of them with Mahatma, maybe that’ll give them a better sense of ethics.”
“It’d turn Mahatma into a cynic,” said Brandy. “Heaven help us if that happens. Leave ’em alone, I say. They’re perfect together, Captain.”
“Too perfect,” said Phule, shaking his head. “After that escapade the day we left Lorelei…”
“Easy, Captain, here they come,” said Brandy, looking across the pool. “Grinning from ear to ear, too.”
“Trouble, I bet,” said Phule, He turned to look at the two arriving legionnaires. “All right, what have you two been up to?” he said, as they approached the table.
“Doing our job, Captain,” said Sushi. “We’ve been scouting the government park, and guess what we found?”
“From the look of you, I’m not sure I want to know,” said Phule. “But go ahead and report.”
“Aww, Captain, you really oughta trust us more,” said Do-Wop. “We learned our lesson, no foolin’.”
“I don’t think he wants to hear what we found,” said Sushi, nudging Do-Wop. “He’ll find out in a few months, anyway.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. He can always go over and take a look for himself,” said Do-Wop, winking.
“I should have known better,” moaned Phule. He looked the two grinning legionnaires in the eye and said, with all the sincerity he could muster, “I apologize for any aspersions cast on your character, and humbly request your report.”
“Does that mean what I think it does?” said Do-Wop, looking at Sushi. “Are we out of the doghouse?”
“Sounds like it to me,” said Sushi. He came to attention. “Sir, we wish to report our observations in the area we were dispatched to scout. We set out from the hotel entrance at thirteen hundred hours, on a bearing of…”
“OK, you clowns, enough is enough!” Brandy barked. “Now, what did you find?”
“Top don’t want us to have any fun at all,” muttered Do-Wop. “See if I reenlist in this outfit…”
“Keep it up, and you’ll find out what my idea of fun is,” said Brandy, in a menacing tone. “Spill it!”
“Well, if you both insist,” said Sushi, with an offended expression that might have been convincing if he hadn’t then broken into a grin and said. “We found roller coasters.”
“A roller coaster?” said Brandy and Phule, almost in unison.
“Roller coasters,” Sushi corrected. “At least three of ’em, all different designs.”
Phule’s jaw hung open. “Are you sure?”
“Sure as a rigged election,” said Do-Wop.
“Go look for yourself,” said Sushi, shrugging. “If you can think of anything else those babies could be, I’ll be glad to listen, They’re still under construction, but if they aren’t roller coasters, I’ve never seen one. Anyhow, here are the map coordinates, best we could figure them out-we had to look over the fence from the roof of a condemned factory building.”
“Roller coasters,” repeated Brandy. “I don’t get it.”
“I do,” said Phule. “Now I know the government’s plan to turn around the local economy. It should have been obvious! They’re going to build a giant theme park!”
“If it’s so obvious, why the secrecy?” said Brandy, frowning. “You’d think they’d want the whole galaxy to know about it.”
“Yes, you’d think so,” said Phule. “The only answer I can think of is fear that somebody will find out about the idea and steal it. The government here is very suspicious of off-planet influences. They aren’t used to thinking of outsiders as a source of help. Well, we’re going to have to change that.”
“Sure,” said Brandy. “But how?”
“I’ll tell you when I figure it out,” said Phule.
13
Journal #393
The discovery that the government’s secret project was a gigantic theme park answered a number of questions. Now we knew their strategy for bringing in off-world visitors: to make Landoor the amusement park and thrill-ride capital of the galaxy. The idea had its merits; with unmatched beaches, equable climate, and exotic scenery, the planet already had the makings of a tourist mecca. Supplementing these natural assets with the ultimate in technological excitement was a sound strategy, and one suited to the Landooran temperament.
Unfortunately, the government was laboring under several disadvantages. The recent war, combined with exaggerated reports of rebel activities, had made tourists distinctly leery of making the world a vacation destination. An aggressive publicity campaign could undoubtedly have overcome this, but the government had made almost no efforts in this direction. My employer, who well understood the power of positive publicity, found this inexplicable until a chance conversation put things into perspective.
“Wake up, honey-bun.” Mother’s voice came over the comm system, startling Phule. He hadn’t been asleep, but he had been in a deep study about what his most recent intelligence reports meant. “We’ve got a local to see you,” she said.
“Anybody we know?”
“Says his name is Okidata, and claims to know Super-Gnat and Qual,” said Mother. “Just a young kid-I bet he’d like to know Gnat better. Says he’s interested in joining the Legion.”
“Suddenly I’m a recruiting officer, on top of everything else,” muttered Phule, thinking of Laverna. For a moment he considered passing the kid on to someone with more time. On second thought, it might be refreshing to talk to someone outside the usual circle. Perhaps this local kid could give him insight for the company’s mission here. “Send him in,” he said.
Okidata was dressed in what, from Phule’s limited contact with local civilians, seemed to be job interview clothes. He shook hands somewhat nervously and sat down in the seat Phule indicated. “I met some of your soldiers at the beach,” he said. “I told them jobs were scarce around here, and they suggested I think about joining up. I don’t know if they were serious, but jobs aren’t getting any easier to find. So I’m here to find out what the Legion’s about.”