Episode 4
Zippo decides to pull off the road. One of the order-followers tells him to open the cargo area. Zippo punches a few buttons and the back end of the vehicle opens. He keeps an eye on the rear camera. Once both order-followers are inside, he punches a couple more buttons. A heavy mist is released from four corners of the cargo area. The order-followers drop to the floor, sound asleep.
Ara (shocked): What did you do?
Zippo: Knocked them out with THC mist.
He focuses on sending the service bots to pick up the order-followers and get them out of the vehicle. The bots set them down a bit hard on the ground.
Zippo: Not as gentle as what I was going for. Anyway….
They zoom off, and are pursued by the drones.
Ara: EMP time for the drones?
Zippo: Yep. (hits button, then gets confused look)
Ara: What?
Zippo: It’s not working!
Ara: First your ID, and now this? Whatever he’s paying you, you need a raise for hazard pay.
Zippo (looking at speedometer, which reads 90mph): Damn, those things are fast.
Ara: Didn’t you know that from the readout?
Zippo: I wasn’t planning on having a race. They weren’t EMP resistant. That’s all I was worried about.
The drones are now hovering on each side of the cargo truck, flashing red and blue lights, and barking robotic orders: “Citizen, stop vehicle immediately or lethal force will be used against you.”
Ara: What kind of weapons do they have?
Zippo: Just bullets, I think.
Ara: Hopefully the bulletproofing on this thing isn’t malfunctioning, too!
Zippo punches up readout on the drone specs again.
Zippo: Read that, Ara. Find a weakness. Fast.
Ara: 3rd Generation Darkhawk X Class Drone, Bulletproof, 24hour continuous battery runtime, top speed 200mph, internal AR-15 100 rounds, night vision.
Zippo: I know all that! Find a weakness.
Ara: I’ve got an idea!
Loud clanking noises start ricocheting off the truck.
Zippo: We’re getting shot!
Ara: I’m gonna open the cargo hold.
Zippo: What good is that gonna do?
Ara: You’ll see….
Ara punches buttons and opens the back cargo door. A drone hovers to the back to investigate. Once the drone is inside, Ara activates the service bots’ defense protocols. The other drone is informed of the situation, and goes back to assist inside the cargo area. Ara then takes manual control of one of the bots and draws the drones near the front side of the cargo area, nearest the wall that separates the cabin.
Ara: When I say now, slam the brakes hard.
The drones come to within a foot of the cabin wall, as the bots slowly retreat backwards.
Ara: Now!
Zippo slams the brakes, and both drones, unable to react fast enough to change directions in time, are slammed against the monster truck’s interior wall, and sent bouncing backwards with damaged systems, out the back door.
Ara: Floor it!
Zippo obliges. They speed off to temporary safety. After being on the highway for a while, they go off road again, and end up getting a short night’s rest under the stars. Early the next morning, they make their way to Conejo’s. It’s a modest cabin nestled in the secluded hills.
Ara (unimpressed): We came all this way to see this shack?
Zippo: It’s not a shack. Besides, it helps keep a low profile.
They park and exit as a wiry, cheerful fellow comes out to greet them.
Zippo: Hey Conejo!
Conejo: Hey, amigo! You brought a friend, I see.
Zippo: This is Ara.
Conejo: Ara, a pleasure to meet you. (to Zippo) Let’s go ahead and get business done, then have a cafecito. What do ya say?
Zippo: How can I turn down the best coffee this side of the rockies?
They start walking into the woods behind the house.
Ara: I thought we’re picking up food.
Zippo: We are.
Ara: In the woods?
They come to a small clearing. Conejo sweeps some leaves away with his feet, revealing a flat metal flooring. He hits a button on his phone. The metal flooring slowly moves downward and stops about 20 feet down, inside a small warehouse. The warehouse is stocked with boxes of food, all organized and separated into groupings of different sizes. Some boxes are synthetic, and maintain frozen or refrigerated food.
Conejo (pointing to the largest group of boxes): That’s yours.
Zippo scans the boxes.
Zippo: Looks like it’s a few things short, again.
Conejo: Yeah, a few farmers got raided by the IRS mafia, and a couple of food processors were attacked by an FDA goon squad. And a local naturopathic medicine producer got a visit from the CDC mob. The usual. But you still got 88 percent of your order, so not too bad, all things considered.
Ara: So you don’t make or grow any of this stuff?
Conejo: Nope, I just pick up from local producers and consolidate orders for customers. I take orders from buyers online, then get the goods from local producers and store them for pickup. It’s big business since farmers markets were outlawed by the gang with fancy titles.
Ara: So you’ve basically got an underground farmers market on your property.
Conejo: Uh, something like that. Black market vegetables, who could have ever imagined? (hits button on phone, which triggers two service bots into action) How about that cafecito?
They go back up and sit down for coffee with Conejo.
Ara (looking at the bare walls of the cabin): Nice place….
Conejo (smiling): Yeah, I’m a minimalist. I’ve moved around a lot, so try not to accumulate too much stuff.
Zippo: Conejo, always on the run….
Conejo: Yeah, I’ve lived all over the world. I was a farmhand in Latin America, a cook on a merchant ship, a concierge in Europe.
Ara: Wow!
Conejo: Yeah, lots of variety.
Ara: What was your favorite?
Conejo: Being at sea, I think. (gets inquisitive look on face) Zippo, what do you think of C.A. Salt?
Zippo: What do you mean?
Conejo: I mean, I’ve heard lots of theories. We run in small circles in the so-called black market, right? And I still have contacts at sea, and I hear things from them. It’s weird. I don’t think it’s just one dude. It’s something more. Look at all the stuff you carry for C.A. Salt. It can’t just be one dude.
Zippo: Man, you don’t know all the details of what I run for C.A. Salt.
Conejo: Nope, that’s true. If we examine the contents of everything you trade for C.A. Salt, I bet it would clue us into more of their activities. Their aims.
Zippo: Man, you know I can’t do that.
Conejo (grinning, provoking): Come on, just this one run. Let’s have a look at the manifest.
Zippo: Nope, can’t do it. Sorry, Conejo. I trust you and appreciate you, but I have to honor my contract with whoever C.A. Salt is.
Conejo: What about her? (gestures to Ara)
Zippo: None of your business.
Conejo: Ok, fair enough. (glances at bottle of tequila on counter) Maybe liquid talkie will do the trick?
Zippo (sighs heavily): You’re impossible. Anyway man, we need to…
Conejo: I know, you’re always short on time. Gotta finish that run.
Zippo and Ara take off through the hills again. and drive the rest of the day and night, stopping at midnight to get some rest under a cool, Southern California sky. The next morning, they’re just a couple hours away from entering Los Angeles, where the final trade of this particular smuggling run is to be made. Shortly before they start driving again, Zippo has some concerns about going into the city with the current ID troubles. He sends a message to his contact in L.A.
Ara: You have to put the thing into gear and hit the gas to start moving, ya know.
Zippo: I just messaged my contact in L.A. I’m not so sure about driving into the city with the IDs not working.
Ara (chiding): You’ve had enough high speed getaways for now?
Zippo: Well, it’s exciting and all, but in interest of self-preservation…..(shrugs)
Ara: Yeah, you’ve got a point. So what are you thinking?
Zippo: He can come to us.
Ara: Think he’ll do it?
Zippo: I offered him some crypto, so we’ll see what happens.
Ara: And if he doesn’t do it?
Zippo: I might wait for the ID to get fixed. I already messaged C.A. Salt about it.
Ara: And?
Zippo: He said it’s being worked on.
Ara: So you don’t know how long it might take?
Zippo: Not a clue.
Phone beeps and Zippo checks message. It’s from his L.A contact.
Ara: What’s the verdict?
Zippo: He said he can’t come to us, but could try and fix our ID problem. He’ll need the details to start.
Zippo gives thoughtful look to Ara.
Ara: You probably shouldn’t give him that info.
Zippo: You read my mind.
Sends message that he can’t give up that info, and receives an immediate, negative reply.
Zippo: Then we’ve reached a stalemate. (pauses) I need time to think.
They wait in silence, then are alerted to a message from C.A. Salt.
ID PROBLEMS APPEAR TO BE FIXED
Zippo’s face lights up. He kicks the truck into gear, pounds the accelerator, and they jolt forward.
Ara: Problem solved?
Zippo: So says C.A. Salt. Let’s just hope he’s correct.
Stay tuned for Episode 5!
Thanks for your time and attention!
Just say "NO" to slavery!
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