Phantom Frost

by Alfred Wurr

  “Ahh, what a gorgeous day,” Wilhelm said. “Anything happen while I was gone?”

  “Not really,” I said. “It got a bit hotter. I think.”

  “Does the winter jacket help?”

  “Quite a bit.”

  “Hmph, I never really thought about heavy clothing working in the other direction,” Wilhelm said. “If it gets too hot, go inside and cool down. I cranked up the AC.”

  “Thanks, I’ll do that,” I said. “When do you leave for work tonight?”

  “I don’t,” Wilhelm replied. “I do most of my work from here; just need to dial up the network.”

  “I’m surprised you have any free phone lines, what with Olympus and all,” I said.

  “Olympus?” Lilith said. “Don’t they make cameras?”

  “They do, but Shivurr’s talking about my BBS,” Wilhelm said.

  Lilith made a face. “I don’t understand.”

  “My computer bulletin board system,” Wilhelm said. “People dial up my computer from wherever and post messages, play games, stuff like that.”

  “Why?” Lucy asked, raising her sunglasses. “That seems like a waste of time.”

  “To connect with like-minded people anywhere and everywhere,” Wilhelm said, gesturing to the group. “To not feel alone, especially if those in our vicinity don’t share our interests.”

  “Pretty deep, dude,” Caleb said, towelling off. “I get it, though. It’s like video games.”

  “I’m not sure I follow,” Wilhelm said.

  Lucy made a face. “Video games are signs of a misspent youth.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Caleb said, pointing at her. “What’s wrong with video games? What do you do with your free time that’s so great? Talking on the phone for hours, drinking coffee? Shopping all weekend?”

  “Easy, Caleb,” Brad said.

  “I’m just saying, none of that is any different. Same with watching sports. What’s so great about that? My old man’s always going on about how I’m wasting my life when he sits in that fucking easy chair of his watching that sports shit all day, getting fat.”

  “Sure, everything’s a waste of time, if you’re not interested in it,” Wilhelm said. “I guess that’s what people are really saying, without knowing it.”

  Caleb bobbed his head. “Exactly. But they shouldn’t judge it. Let people do what they want. Don’t get all high and mighty like their shit’s any better.”

  “The key, my man, is balance,” Wilhelm said. “Everything in moderation, even moderation.”

  “Speaking of playing games,” I said, looking at Lucy, “when are you guys heading down to Fremont?”

  “I’m not going,” Lucy said. “I’ve seen it before. I’m not a big gambler. It’s a waste of time,” she finished, looking at Caleb, who rolled his eyes and shook his head, then grinned.

  “I’m going. I want to take some pictures,” Lilith said, holding up her camera, “and Alan and Caleb want to try the slots.”

  “They’re not old enough,” Lucy said. “Only Brad and I are over twenty-one.” Lilith shrugged but said nothing.

  “Just make sure you wait until Olivia gets home,” Wilhelm said. He smiled. “She wants to meet the people wandering around her house.”

  “Absolutely,” Brad said. “We’ll go tonight, after the barbecue. It’ll be better after dark anyway.”

  Wilhelm sat forward in his chair and leaned toward me. “Give me some time when she gets here to prepare her to meet you,” he said in a quiet voice.

  “Good luck with that,” Lilith said, taking a sip of her iced tea. She stood up and looked west over the plain. “That’s a beautiful view. What are those mountains?”

  “That squat one is Turtlehead, and La Madre to the right, behind it,” Wilhelm answered, pointing a finger. “It’s all part of Red Rock Canyon.”

  “Wilhelm, why do helicopters keep flying that way?” Lucy asked, pointing at one as it flew over the desert.

  “Tours. For tourists. They fly there, take you to Hoover Dam, and over the city. People love it. Olivia and I took one once, when we first moved here.”

  Wilhelm looked to the north, narrowed his eyes, and frowned. He walked toward the fence, making a “get down” gesture to me as he passed. The umbrella at my back blocked my view but I huddled closer to it, just in case.

  “Can I help you, Gordon?” Wilhelm said.

  While I couldn’t see the newcomer, I heard a voice reply, “One of your ‘guests’ parked in front of my driveway a few nights ago.”

  “Yeah?” Wilhelm responded. “What makes you think they were my guests?”

  “They were dressed oddly,” said the neighbour. “Always with you, strange comings and goings, at all hours. What is it you do?”

  “This is Las Vegas, man,” Wilhelm said. “Get used to it. Just knock on my door if it happens again. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to my guests.”

  Wilhelm stomped back and threw himself into a chair. “Damn neighbours,” he said, looking around. “Probably trying to get a look at Lucy. I could see him peeking over the fence. The perv.”

  I peered around the umbrella to see if we were still being watched but saw no one.

  “Not friendly with your neighbours?” Brad said, eyebrows raised.

  “We used to be,” Wilhelm said, still looking at the fence. “Then I caught the son of a bitch cutting branches off our trees because they grew a little over onto his side of the fence.” His hair tossed about as a gust of wind nearly blew my umbrella away. I grabbed it before it could be ripped from the ground.

  “It’s just a tree, dude,” Brad said. “What’s the big deal?”

  “No, it isn’t just a tree,” Wilhelm said, giving the younger man a cold stare. “Trees are precious, especially in this climate. They give us shade, tame the wind, keep the soil from eroding, and produce the oxygen that you now breathe.”

  Brad held up his hands in surrender. “Fair enough.”

  “I can see why you’d be angry,” Lilith said, looking around. “This is a really nice house, and beautiful yard. I love your trees.”

  “Must have set you back a fair bit,” Brad said, looking around.

  “That it did,” Wilhelm agreed, nodding.

  “You don’t see many trees like you have here, I bet,” Lilith said. “Have you lived here long?”

  “We moved in about five years ago,” Wilhelm replied, leaning back in his chair and sighing as if setting down a burden. He closed his eyes a moment, then opened them to check his watch. “It’s getting late. Olivia should be home soon. I’ll start getting the burgers ready.”

  Wilhelm fired up the barbecue a short while later and started to grill the first patty as Olivia arrived home. Spotting her in the kitchen through the patio doors, Wilhelm made a down motion with his hands. “Sit tight. Let me talk with her first,” he said as he walked away. He waved a hand to his wife a moment later as I kept a low profile behind the umbrella and watched their reunion.

  Olivia appeared to be in her late twenties or early thirties. She had long mahogany-brown hair, braided and tied back to reveal a narrow, regal face centred on an aquiline nose. Tall for a female warm blood at about five-eight, she looked Wilhelm straight in the eyes as they spoke. Her work clothes, a white shirt and black pants, complemented her lean, athletic figure and flawless complexion.

  Periodically, she’d glance toward the pool as they spoke. Her face twisted, then her eyes widened, then her head cocked like a bird’s and her chin dipped as if trying to hide in her chest as she regarded her husband through one eye.

  Wilhelm put a hand on her elbow, guiding her to the patio door and into the backyard and steering her over to the poolside. Seeing the gathered young people first, she smiled and said hello, welcoming them to her home with all the grace of a queen or princess welcoming guests to her castle.

  “And this is Shivurr,” Wilhelm said, gesturing in my direction.

  “Uh, hi,” I said, holding up a hand.
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  “Oh, Wilhelm, don’t you have enough Halloween costumes already?” Olivia said. “Scott, is that you? Take that off.” Caleb snickered, then winced as Lucy pinched him.

  “They’re Star Wars costumes, Liv,” Wilhelm said. “And, no, this isn’t Scott. This is Shivurr. The guy Scott says needs our help. He’s real, just like I tried to tell you inside.”

  She looked around as if searching for cameras. “What a lot of nonsense,” she said, touching her outstretched hand to my face. “You’re as cold as ice. Wilhelm, what’s going on?”

  “Let’s eat,” Wilhelm said. “Shivurr can tell you his story over burgers.”

  Chapter 11

  Jackpot

  Wilhelm and I played Centipede on his Atari 5200 later that night. At his suggestion, we’d moved to the living room with its larger TV and more comfortable sofa. My new friends from the desert had left a few hours earlier, eager to see the night lights of Las Vegas after an enjoyable barbecue by the poolside. A bit sunburned and having been there before with her parents, Lucy stayed behind. She and Olivia had found a common interest in fashion during dinner, and the two went off to view our hostess’s wardrobe.

  “You want a soda?” Wilhelm asked. His eyes drooped as he regarded me. “I need a coffee. Still need to get some work done.”

  “I could use a cold one,” I said, dodging a spider on the TV.

  “Hot coffee and cold soda, coming up,” Wilhelm said, pulling himself up from the sofa. My guy died as he returned, coffee mug in one hand and soda in the other. I traded him the controller for the can and leaned back.

  “Help me, Shivurr, you’re my only hope,” Lucy said as she walked into the room, wearing large buns of hair on the sides of her head and a white dress. “What do you think?” She stood sideways, held a large Star Wars blaster next to her face, and gave us a smoky stare.

  “Nice, Princess Leia,” Wilhelm said. “Olivia showed you the Star Wars costumes, I see.” He looked at me. “I’ve been building a collection. Luke, of course. A Stormtrooper, Darth Vader, Boba Fett. Yoda. I’ll show you the others later.” He turned as a new figure entered the room. “Well, hello. Who are you?” he asked, as a figure in green-and-red armour appeared behind Lucy, striking a pose.

  “Someone who loves you,” Olivia laughed, lifting Boba Fett’s green-and-red helmet from her head and shaking out her long hair.

  “Classic reference, but wrong bounty hunter,” Wilhelm said, chuckling. He glanced at me. “Return of the Jedi,” he said, nodding.

  “No spoilers.” I hadn’t seen it yet. It had come out only a few months earlier. Even Scott, with the Bodhi Group’s backing, couldn’t get a copy yet. Now that I was living on the run, I had no idea if I ever would, but I still hoped to do so one day.

  “Why so many costumes?” I asked.

  “San Diego Comic Con, and Halloween, mostly, plus some friends have a yearly winter solstice masquerade party,” Wilhelm said, leaning back. Olivia joined him, snuggling up, after putting the helmet onto the coffee table. He wrapped an arm around her and squeezed. “I’ve been thinking about renting them. Maybe opening a shop.”

  “My husband the entrepreneur,” Olivia said. She rested her head on his shoulder, rubbing his arm with one hand and clasping his other hand. Her eyelids closed, and she seemed to fall asleep almost as soon as the words left her mouth.

  Lucy sat in a leather easy chair to my right and watched me play for a few minutes. “I wonder where those guys are,” she said, looking at the clock on the wall over the TV. “They’ve been gone a while.”

  “Probably just having a good time,” Wilhelm said, checking his watch. He gently eased out of Olivia’s grasp, replacing himself with some nearby pillows. “This has been fun, but I need to get some work done in my office. If you want something to drink or eat, you know where the kitchen is.”

  “Thanks, man,” I said, pausing the game.

  “Yes, thank you,” Lucy said. “You’ve both been wonderful. Thank you so much for allowing us to stay here.”

  “Olivia, hon, time for bed,” He reached down and picked her up with a grunt. “Let’s go, Boba Fett.”

  “I think I’ll get out of this getup, too,” Lucy said. “I’m going to bed as soon as they get back.” She sprang from the easy chair and disappeared down the hall.

  I sat back, sipped my drink, closed my eyes, and sighed. It’d be nice to just stay here, surrounded by friends, despite the heat. I shook my head. Somehow, here I sat in Wilhelm’s home. Yesterday he was just a digital friend, someone I knew only through words typed on a screen. I tapped the empty soda can twice and plunked it down on the table. Staying’s not an option, I thought. The Bodhi Group still hunted me, and they weren’t about to stop. Even if they did, the nightmares and visions demanded my attention. They seemed to have stopped since leaving the desert chamber, but that had been less than forty-eight hours ago, so I had no reason to think that they’d stopped for good. If they came back, there’d be no ignoring them. No, when Scott gets here, I need to get moving and figure things out.

  I resumed the game and shot centipedes for a few minutes before a vehicle screeched to a stop in the driveway behind me. Wilhelm, looking puzzled, walked back into the room from deeper in the house as Brad burst through the front door a moment later with Lilith on his heels.

  “We’ve got trouble,” Brad said. “Alan and Caleb are in deep shit.”

  “Casino security guards took them,” Lilith said, her eyes wide as saucers, biting her bottom lip.

  “What?” I said, tossing the game controller onto the sofa and hopping to my feet. “Why?”

  “Caleb played one of those giant slot machines near the front of a casino,” Lilith said, blinking back tears. “He won—a lot. He couldn’t fit it all in his pockets, so Alan and I started helping him. Then security showed up asking for ID, saying he was in big trouble. Caleb got scared and ran and one of the goons grabbed him. He knocked me over trying to get to Caleb, so Alan pushed him, and another guard jumped on him, and they started fighting.” Her hand rose to her face, exploring the start of a bruise under her eye.

  “I missed it all,” Brad said. “I was playing blackjack. Lilith came and got me after they took them to the security offices, but they refused to let us see them, so we rushed back here.”

  “We’ve got to do something,” Lilith said, chewing the inside of her cheek. “Who knows what they’re doing to them?”

  “Why not call the cops?” Wilhelm asked, pursing his lips thoughtfully.

  “If they call the police, and they find Caleb’s marijuana, he’ll be arrested,” she said, collapsing into a nearby easy chair, burying her face in her hands. “Alan might get charged with assault. He was only defending me. It’s not fair.”

  “What’s going on?” Lucy said around a mouthful of toothpaste from the hallway. She now wore loose cotton pants and a T-shirt. “Who’s going to call the police?” Lilith told her. “I don’t know how those two manage to find trouble everywhere they go,” Lucy mumbled. She pointed at her mouth, then held up a finger, before rushing away.

  “Which casino?” Wilhelm said as she left.

  “The Golden Fleece,” Brad said. “I was at the Four Queens. Lilith and the guys were going to walk around and circle back to get me in an hour.”

  “I know of it. I’ve done some work for them. It’s a smaller one, off the main strip, so not as popular or nice,” Wilhelm said. He stroked his goatee. “I’d bet money they’re not going to call the cops. It doesn’t look good. It makes people nervous and distracts them from gambling. Also, the cops don’t like being bothered for trivial things. If the casino calls too often, maybe they take their time showing up when there’s a real problem, when they really need them. Then, there’s the issue that they’d be admitting that underage gambling occurred on their watch.”

  “Then what will they do?” Brad asked as Lucy returned. He wrapped an arm around her waist, and she leaned against him, arms folded.

  “They’ll probably s
care the shit out of them and let them go.”

  “They won’t hurt them, will they?” Lucy said, looking up at Brad.

  “They’d better not,” he replied.

  “I’ll try talking to someone over there,” Wilhelm said. “Let’s take my car, Brad. Anyone else coming?”

  Before the others could answer, the phone rang, and Wilhelm snatched it from the receiver before the first ring died.

  “Hello?” he said, glancing at the rest of us. “Uh, yeah, they’re right here. Are you okay?… Uh-huh.…Uh-huh.…Okay. One sec.” He held the receiver against his chest. “They let them go. They’re calling from a pay phone by the Four Queens.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Wilhelm pulled up to the curb in front of the Four Queens as a stretch limo pulled away. Wilhelm’s Trans Am couldn’t seat everyone, so Lucy and Lilith had stayed behind, promising to fill Olivia in if she woke up before our return. I sat in the back and kept my head down as Brad hopped out—letting in a gust of hot desert air, cigarettes and cotton candy—and scanned the sidewalk for the boys.

  The street boomed with the beeps and bops and bells and whistles of the casinos and the chatter of countless pedestrians. Hawkers handed out pamphlets to passersby under the bright neon and flashing lights, promoting shows, gambling, and quickie weddings. Costumed street performers worked the street for tips, some dressed as Elvis, others scantily clad as showgirls and costumed movie characters.

  I spotted Caleb first. He stood at the edge of a crowd, smiling as tourists wrapped their arms around the slim waists of two young women dressed as showgirls. Alan emerged from the crowd a moment later and spotted Brad waving him over. Alan clapped a hand to Caleb’s shoulder and the teens raced over to the car.

  Caleb ducked into the back seat next to me, and Alan squeezed his larger form in beside him.

  “Hey, dudes,” Caleb said. “Thanks for the pickup.”

  “Nice ride, man,” Alan said. He rubbed against me and recoiled. “Whoa, you’re freezing, dude.”

  Brad slammed the door shut and the car pulled away, merging with the slow-moving bumper-to-bumper traffic.