The Ship Finder Read online

  "Do you want to have children someday?" Wilson asked.

  "Yes, but I'd like to make a baby the old-fashioned way," she said, and her eyes glistened.

  "Which brings me to something I've found difficult to bring up," Wilson said. He paused. "I know this is abrupt, but will you marry me?"

  She tilted her head sideways. "I'd like to live with you, but marriage is out of the question until the revolution is done."

  Wilson thought, the war between Sunev and Triod, could rage for years, but Lena and I will live a long time. Wilson kissed her lips. "I love you, Lena," he said. "We can set up an apartment on Earth, away from the Great Leader and his cronies."

  "We can't live here because I'm in the Underground," she said. "I need to be on Sunev in the capital."

  "Okay," Wilson said. "We'll both be there to help, but how will we operate?"

  "I'll talk to my colleagues, and we'll plan how you can work with us. I'm sure they'll welcome you because of your contact with the Great Leader and his people. You might learn of some of their plans, and that would help us. I think our top man, Ramon Black, will want to meet with you."

  Wilson pictured a rendezvous with the rebels in a secret location. "How soon do you think we might meet?"

  "In two or three weeks," Lena said. "Raven will want to hunt for gold on Earth for a couple of weeks."

  "How do you know that Ramon Black will meet with me, if he's so important to the revolution?"

  "I'm sure because I was one of the first clones to join, and I'm a colonel," she said.

  "I can't wait to meet Black."

  "I think you'll like him."

  "If you think so, I'm sure I will. Now, let's go to my apartment," he said. He stood up and pulled her to her feet. "I can phone Mona later to see if she needs anything else."

  "Okay, I'd like to see what a bachelor flat looks like here," she said.

  Despite the couple's decision not to set up a household on Earth, Lena stayed in Wilson's place near the hospital. They would be there until The Ghost Liner returned to Sunev in a few weeks, on May 24.

  About a week after Lena moved in with Wilson, he went back to the hospital with her one day. She sat in the hospital lobby and read a newspaper and some magazines, while Wilson saw a few patients to feel like he was again leading a normal life.

  Afterwards, Lena and Wilson ate lunch in the hospital cafeteria. Then they walked outside to the large rear garden where they had battled cyborgs the first day that he had met her and Raven.

  Wilson and Lena strolled, holding hands as they viewed the flowers, bushes, and trees. The sunshine was brilliant and the skies were California blue with no clouds in sight. It was eighty-five degrees, which felt cooler in the dry climate.

  They found a stone bench in the shade where they sat to wait for Raven and Yarnell who had been in Gold Country, touring areas where big gold strikes had been made more than two centuries prior. Wilson and Lena had planned to travel back to Gold Country with the men. Wilson thought that Raven and Yarnell would likely continue to study historic spots where prospectors had found big nuggets in the 1800's.

  Soon the two alien men walked over to Wilson and Lena. He thought, these two guys enjoy this weather just like Lena and I do. But now they're our enemies. He was uneasy.

  "How are you doing?" Raven asked.

  "Okay," Wilson said, feeling guilty because he was now a rebel, a soldier who would fight against Sunev.

  "We rented an electric Luxor car with autopilot," said Yarnell. "It's got a wet bar, too. Let's have a drink or two when the car's auto-driving."

  "Sounds like a plan," Wilson said. He and Lena got up, and the four walked to the vehicle. Wilson forced a smile and tried to act casual. It'll be a long ride even if there's booze, he thought.

  Yarnell opened the rear door of the black stretch Luxor, which had tinted windows. Wilson and Lena sat in the big back seat, which was upholstered in well-cushioned black leather, while Raven and Yarnell got in the front.

  "Gold Country, Sutter's Mill, California. Scenic route," Raven said to the GPS device.

  "Yes, sir," said the girlish voice of the autopilot computer.

  "Start trip," Raven said, and the car began to move.

  "Trip underway," said the female voice. The car tires crunched gravel as they went over the edge of the hospital's parking lot and onto blacktop. Soon the Luxor hurtled towards Gold Country. The four occupants could have been dead drunk, and the vehicle would have carried them without mishap. No need for a designated driver, Wilson thought.

  "What would you two in the front like to drink?" Lena asked as she opened the bar.

  "Scotch and soda," said Yarnell, who already had a flushed face. He winked and was unsteady even though he was seated. He and Raven had been out to lunch and had drunk a few cocktails.

  "I'd like a beer, any kind," Raven said.

  "And you, Bill?" Lena asked.

  "Red wine," Wilson replied. Lena served the drinks, and then made a screwdriver for herself.

  Raven swiveled his bucket seat towards the rear of the car to face Wilson and Lena, and Yarnell did the same. Raven sipped his beer and said, "In a short time, Yarnell and I will have some fun. I plan to steal a big gold nugget and some smaller ones from the Yreka County Courthouse." He smiled. "It's not too close to where you two lovebirds will be."

  Wilson looked at Lena, and she glanced at Yarnell. Wilson asked, "Weren't you guys supposed to find out where big nuggets had been found on Earth so a Sunevian expedition could locate similar chunks of gold on Triod?"

  "Yep, but we decided to change plans," said Yarnell. "We planned the caper during lunch. This job will get us a lot of gold, fast."

  "It's an airtight plot," slurred Raven. "You two don't have to help us."

  "Will you tell us the plan, or keep us in the dark?" Lena asked.

  "I'll give you an outline," said Raven. He smiled his crooked smile. "We'll go in after midnight and grab the loot. The ship has moved to a new place just outside Earth's dimension near the courthouse. We've alerted the ship's crew to be ready to jump us back aboard with the nuggets at fast rate, which means we'll be gone from the crime scene in a flash."

  "What about us?" asked Lena. "Do we have to leave early?"

  "Don't worry," said Raven. "We'll jump you aboard a day or two after we take the nuggets. You can look around in the gift shops and such, Lena. But to avoid problems with the authorities, you can fill Bill in on how to defeat facial recognition systems the cops may have access to."

  "Okay," said Lena. "It's really simple stuff, Bill. I'll explain later."

  "Why would we worry that we would be tracked?" Wilson asked.

  "Because you can bet your bottom dollar that the police will look at recordings from all their surveillance cameras after we steal the gold," said Yarnell. "And somebody like Lena, whose picture isn't in their data base, will attract attention."

  The four travelers arrived in Gold Country in late afternoon. Raven and Yarnell dropped off Lena and Wilson at The Citadel, an old bed-and-breakfast a few miles from Sutter's Mill. Wilson planned to hire a taxi to go to the 1865 Gold Rush annual carnival the next morning.

  As they stepped out of the big Luxor, Yarnell said, "See you later in the ship. Ta. Ta."

  The Luxor pulled away from the small tourist town, and Wilson felt a wave of relief. "I'm glad they're gone," he said.

  "It's peaceful here," Lena said. "It's far enough from the carnival that there aren't many tourists around."

  "Yeah, there's just our B&B, a bar, and a couple of small restaurants," Wilson said.

  After they found a café and ate, the couple wandered back to the bed-and-breakfast. They drank dark red wine as they sat in a small living room that was full of memorabilia including maps, antique objects, and old pictures of Gold Rush days.

  Wilson spotted an older couple seated nearby. The man had shaggy, white hair, blue eyes that glimmered, and a disposition that welcomed talk. "How do, folks?" he asked.

 
"We're fine," Wilson answered. "My girlfriend, Lena, and I really enjoy quiet evenings like this. And we look forward to visiting the Gold Rush carnival tomorrow."

  "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Lena," the man said. "What's your name, sir? Mine's Alfred, and Emma is my wife."

  "I'm Bill," Wilson said. "How do you do, Emma?"

  Emma was jolly. She had gray hair and appeared to be in her late sixties. "Pleased to meet you," she said, grinning. "You'll like the costumes and the re-enactments at the carnival. We go every year, and it's different each time. We own an apple farm not far from here. Our great grand parents came from Scandinavia and planted orchards."

  "So, you know a lot about the history of this region?" Wilson asked.

  "We do, indeed," she said. Her husband bobbed his chin up and down.

  "We'd like to see some other historic places around here," Wilson said. "Any suggestions?"

  "You could visit the courthouse in Yreka. They have some big pieces of gold worth millions on display in the lobby," Alfred said. "The gold there is so valuable that the county installed an experimental alarm system. Plus, the nuggets are behind armored plastic. I know because my friend, Harvey Jensen, designed the system after a break-in early in the century."

  "Is it worth the trip?" Lena asked.

  The old woman smiled. "You'll get a kick out of those chunks of gold," she said. "You won't believe how large some of them are. It's hard to imagine that there are some pieces of gold that huge, as big as a hefty rock. The men who found them must have been excited. I can imagine their faces when they discovered them."

  "I guess we could see the gold," Wilson said, "but I think we'll wait until after the fair's over."

  After they talked some more, Wilson and Lena said good night to the old couple and climbed the carpeted steps to the second floor to find their room. The hallway floor was made of well-worn pine boards, and in its center the floor dipped a quarter inch because it had been sanded so much over two centuries.

  The floor squeaked as they approached the doorway of their room, and then Wilson unlocked the door with a skeleton key.

  "This place is quaint," Lena said as she sat on the high mattress and dangled her legs over its edge. Her toes didn't touch the floor though she was five feet, seven inches tall. Wilson closed the door.

  "Kiss me," he said. They kissed, and she closed her eyes. Bill threw aside the covers and pushed her onto the sheets. As she pulled him to her, he felt as if they had time traveled to the late 1800's.

  "Take me," she said, and he did.

  Bill woke the next morning at a quarter to eight. He wondered if Raven and Yarnell had burgled the courthouse and taken the gold. After Wilson shaved and showered, Lena got out of bed, took a quick bath, and started to dress.

  "The last call for breakfast is at nine," he reminded her.

  "Okay," she said.

  The two were downstairs by eight-thirty, walking into the thickly carpeted dining room. Green tablecloths covered the tables, and in the center of each was a vase with fresh flowers. There were long green drapes around the windows, and above everything an ornate chandelier hung from the tall ceiling. Big wooden clocks adorned the walls.

  A bright beam of sunlight shone through the window like a spotlight and cast a window-shaped ray on the carpet in front of a large stone fireplace.

  "Where should we sit?" Wilson asked the hostess, a pretty blond.

  "Anywhere you'd like," she said.

  They chose a table by the windows, which stretched around the building's front. The wavy window glass was very clear, even if the scene outside was distorted. The sunshine was bright, and the leaves of the trees and bushes surrounding the bed-and-breakfast were vivid shades of green.

  They ordered breakfast and were soon eating. Wilson picked up a newspaper that was on the table and unfolded it. The headline, "Police Puzzled in Gold Theft," grabbed his attention.

  Lena whispered, "They did it!" She sat down, and Wilson softly read the lead paragraph.

  "YREKA – Thieves stole large gold nuggets worth $7 million early this morning from the county courthouse in Yreka. The burglars disabled gold display alarms, according to police," the article began.

  Wilson thought, Yreka is by the Oregon border near Mt. Shasta. Raven and Yarnell must have driven there while we slept.

  He silently read the rest of the story, which said that the nuggets came from the second Mother Lode in 1851.

  A still frame that came from a split second of video that a security camera had taken showed two men who wore black masks and dark clothes. The men sprayed the camera lens with black paint, according to the article.

  Local people had donated most of the gold for display over the years. The story noted that the loss of pieces of local history saddened residents.

  Wilson handed the paper to Lena, and she eagerly read the article as she gobbled her breakfast.

  "They must have disabled the other security gear with a signal blocker," Lena said. "I'm sure they melted the displays' bulletproof plastic shield with a mixture of aluminum powder and iron oxide that they lit. Soldiers used to melt captured artillery gun barrels and breeches with it in the wars of the last century."

  "What's a signal blocker do?" Wilson asked.

  "It sends out signals in many wavelengths to destroy data that security equipment records or broadcasts."

  "Looks like they got away with no trouble," said Wilson.

  Lena whispered, "That reminds me. We need to take precautions to defeat facial recognition systems that the police might monitor. Let's go upstairs."

  "Okay," Wilson said, and they went to their room.

  Lena opened her purse and removed a contact lens case. "I'll put in a pair of green tinted contact lenses. They'll fool just about all iris recognition systems, and I have an extra pair of soft lenses for you in brown."

  "I never wore contact lenses before," Wilson said.

  "It won't be too hard to do because yours are the soft, flexible kind," she said. "I'll help you."

  Reluctantly, and with difficulty, Wilson put in the dark brown contact lenses. These things are irritating. I don't know how people put up with them, Wilson complained to himself. He blinked to try to get used to them.

  Lena combed her bangs low over her forehead and put on a hat. "You should wear a hat too," she said. "It'll block a surveillance camera's view from above. And here's a plastic bandage to put on your cheek. It'll confuse the computers."

  "Thanks," said Wilson as he unwrapped the small plastic bandage and stuck it on his right cheekbone. Then he grabbed a baseball cap from his overnight bag and put the hat on.

  "Here are a few tissues," said Lena. "If you put them in your mouth under your nose and along the outer edge of your top teeth, they'll change your facial shape enough to further confuse facial recognition systems."

  "Okay," said Wilson as he put the tissues in his pants pocket. "I'll use them if I think we're under surveillance."

  "That's fine," said Lena. "Maybe cameras will take our pictures when we first get there. If we change our appearance after we're there a while, they may lose track of us."

  Wilson called a cab, and they took it to Auburn where the 1865 Gold Rush annual carnival was underway. As the cab drove along, Wilson reviewed a tourist map, and he noticed that many of the historic places in Gold Country are along Highway 49. Perhaps it was named for the 49'ers, people who rushed to California in search of gold, Wilson thought.

  Auburn's original name was North Fork or Wood's Dry Diggings. Like many towns in the West, fire had burned it down several times in the 1800's. After Wilson and Lena arrived in Auburn, they found out why fires were common there. The ground was powdery, and the grass was brown. Even so, green bushes and weeds popped up from the dusty, dry soil.

  The two walked to the outdoor displays, and Wilson was amazed how big some of the mining equipment was. Until then he didn't know that in the 1800's people had built machines as big as "modern" ones.

  "The peopl
e back then lived like we do on Sunev," said Lena.

  "What do you mean?" Wilson asked.

  "Buildings and equipment were heavier, like we build them on our planet, but their machinery was much simpler."

  Next, they went to Coloma, where a rebuilt saw mill called Sutter's Mill stood on the river's edge. It was a two-story framework with no walls about sixty feet long and twenty feet wide. Crude letters in white paint on a board above one of the ramps read, "By chance James Marshall found gold on January 24, 1848, close to Sutter's Mill, which set off a frenzy called the California Gold Rush."

  "Look," said Lena. She pointed to two women who wore big bonnets and long, old-fashioned dresses with tan aprons.

  "I feel like I traveled back in time. Do you, Lena?" Wilson said.

  "It does seem like we've been through a time warp," she said.

  "Too bad we can't time travel," Lena said.

  Wilson glanced aside and spotted a half dozen police mixed into the crowd in different places. "Looks like the cops are on the lookout for somebody," he whispered.

  "Yeah," said Lena as she studied the horde of people around them. A policeman was in the crowd just ahead. "I saw him hold up a snapshot of me," she said quickly under her breath as she turned away from the officer and faced Wilson.

  "Put your tissues in your mouth, Lena," he said. "Does the picture show you with your hat?"

  "Yep," she said. She took it off and slipped it into a nearby trashcan. Then Wilson put his baseball cap on her head.

  He noticed a face painter, a middle aged woman, about fifty yards away. "Why don't you get your face painted? It could change your look and help fool the cameras."

  "Good idea," she said. As they walked to the face painter, Wilson noticed that the police were moving away through the crowd.

  Lena sat in a lawn chair near the painter. The lady said, "So, you'd like your face painted?"

  "Yes," Lena said. "Something simple on my cheekbone. I like that butterfly." Lena pointed to a chart that showed designs.