They didn’t smile or speak, their faces slightly bored and their eyes hidden by the helmet visors. Greetings and pleasantries were left up to Hans, an elderly gentleman with the cherubic face in the old-style three-piece suit and necktie.
“I’ve seen malls and such before, but never like this one,” Krysty commented. “This one is in great shape.”
“Built to last, and we believe in taking care of our home,” Hans replied, his eyes twinkling. “I take it you’re new to Freedom, missy?”
“Yes. Yes, sir,” Krysty replied, her natural good manners and breeding shining through when addressed with respect. The gatekeeper was unlike most of his ilk, with no leers at her breasts or comments on how they could “work an exchange” to let Krysty and her friends enter.
“Okay, here’s the spiel, for your education and enlightenment,” the older man said. “Plus, since I’ve memorized all this, might as well pass it on. First some history. Freedom Mall was opened to the public on August 21, 1975, predark calendar. Thousands of people streamed inside to shop in the ninety-three stores that were tenants. Freedom came with 1.4 million square feet of space on a span of seventy-six acres. There were 5,200 parking spaces. In 1989 they expanded upon the design, adding another 350,000 square feet to the mall’s south side and room for an additional eighty stores and a twelve-unit food court. On a good week back then, Freedom saw 250,000 shoppers. During holiday seasons, the number doubled to a half million. Today our numbers are much smaller, but Freedom is more than a mere destinationit’s a ville unto itself with all the offerings of a traditional outdoor city, and then some.”
“You charging a toll to get in?” Ryan asked.
The old man shook his head. “No.”
“That’s a switch,” Dean said.
Hans held up a finger. “However, there are certain rules you have to follow once you’re inside, sir.”
“Such as?”
Hans used the finger to point at Ryan’s weapons. “You can carry one blaster each for protection. I can already see your group believes in traveling well-heeled. That’s fine by me. Only a fool travels outside without ample firepower. However, indoors you lose the extra hardware. Most people go for the pistols, but I’ll leave that up to you. Check the other blasters here. You won’t need any long blasters or Uzis in Freedom. You can pick them up when you go. Check them now, and you’ll get a receipt. There’s a fee of one mall credit per weapon storage. Pay when you leave. If you don’t want to pay, or don’t come back to check on your blasters in thirty days, they become mall property. Stay as long as you want, just don’t forget your hardware. No returns.”
“Give us a second to talk this over.”
Hans nodded, even as Ryan saw him make a gesture with his left hand, an alert signal for the armed guards.
“What do all of you think?” Ryan whispered.
The Armorer didn’t hesitate with his disapproval. “Think I don’t like letting somebody else sit with my blasters.”
“Me, neither,” Jak agreed.
“And they charge you for the privilege. I, for one, have never liked being jabbed in the hand with the rip-off stick.” Doc said.
“Look, this is standard operating procedure,” Alton told them. “Same drill last time I was in here. Even if you leave some of the heavy artillery behind, you people are still better armed than most. Me, I’m going in. I appreciate your company and your help getting here. But it’s getting dark, and if I were you, I’d get inside, too, before night falls and the gateway into Freedom shuts down. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be out here with another pack of stickies wandering around in the dark looking for the ones you chilled.”
Alton nodded a goodbye, and went back over to the small booth where Hans was waiting for him. Since he had only the Colt, he was quickly led through the check-in process into the main entrance, where he vanished from sight.
“What other options do we have?” Krysty said. “Like Alton said, I don’t like the idea being out at night with as many stickies that are reported to be around here. We can do our traveling by day.”