Gold Rush

by Clay Moore

  He unzipped and showed Melody. She raised an eyebrow. “Brian, there is more to you than meets the eye. I might take a week to know that.”

  Brian reached down and pulled up his shorts and pants together. Then he sat down.

  “After Dinner, I will introduce you to Meghan,” said Melody.

  “Good,” said Brian. “I could use a good sleep,” Brian said that with a smile.

  “Meghan is a good cook. She knows all the ways to prepare hornbeast. Even the pan drippings are saved and prepared, We are going to miss our hunter.”

  “What did he hunt with?”

  “Seyss thirty Caliber.”

  “That is quite a weapon. I believe that Those rifles came over during the crossing.”

  “That is what the hunter said. I told him that he should sell the rifle. Buy a modern one and donate the balance.”

  “Snipers get attached to their weapons.”

  “He was not a sniper.”

  “The Seyss was a sniper rifle during the HindIslam war. The Hindu armed their snipers with Seyss. It was the reason for the departure of people from earth. They wanted peace They thought they would find it out here.”

  “In a way we have.”

  “It takes people like me to maintain the peace.”

  “What happens if you fail…”

  “If I fail, I will be dead, and the consequences will be dire.”

  Melody put a couple of biscuits on each bowl. She ladled on the gravy over the biscuits. Melody brought out the dishes and set one down for Brian and then Todd. She brought out her one bowl and sat down next to Todd.

  Brian let them speak. He listened as the pair of them discussed each man and woman. They also talked about the Children. Just by looking he was able to score this community against the Index.

  After the meal, Brian finally stood up. He stopped and looked at Todd. “If you’d like I can hunt for you. Maybe one a day for while I am here.”

  “Yes,” he said relief in his voice.

  “Then I’ll see how comfortable Meghan’s bed is.”

  He left their house followed by Melody.

  SORROWFUL MEGHAN

  Brian sniffed the air. He could smell the acrid odor of the acid used to process gold ore for centuries. He noticed Melody standing beside him.

  “Can I help you with something?”

  “I want you to be prepared. If you are expecting a woman built as I., you would be wrong. I am a normal woman, but Meghan is not.”

  “I need to go to my car and pick up a suitcase. Consider me warned.”

  He thought as he got to his car and picked up his suitcase that Melody might be preparing him for the worst. He had to do worse things. Brian was, however, been given a mission that intermeshed with a broader mission. He walked to Meghan’s house. He stood at the door and gently knocked on it.

  The woman that opened the door to him was nothing like Melody described. Her eyes were red with crying. She had an ample bosom, and flaming red hair. Perhaps it was the size of Meaghan’s breasts that warranted the warning

  “Melody talked about you putting me up while I am here?” Said Brian as diffidently as he could. He wanted to give no threat.

  She crookedly nodded her head. Then she walked further into her house. As he walked in, he saw a small bed with a carved wooden copy of dad’s hunting rifle. Brian walked into the house. It was very similar to Meghan’s sister’s house. Meghan was sitting on the bed as close to the corner as was possible. She sat with her knee raised and her arms around them.

  “I’ve had a day. May I take a shower?” He was suggesting that she could take a shower with him because he repaired the waterworks

  She crookedly nodded her head again.

  She watched intently as he pulled things out. The collapsible hangars were the best response from her. She clapped as he pulled one out and made it take the form as a hangar. He took off the suit and put each piece on a hanger. Then she watched as he hung the suit component on a wood strut that was holding up the roof.

  He looked at her and noticed the squirrel's nest of red hair. He pulled a woman's brush from his suitcase. He showed it to her.

  “I am pretty good at brushing women’s hair. You want your hair brushed by me?”

  Brian wanted to know where she was in her grief. She nodded to him. Brian walked quickly over to her in nothing but his birthday suit. He walked behind her. He took the brush to her hair.

  “By the way my names is Brian.”

  “I-I know. Melody told me.”

  As he brushed her hair, she would reach behind her and touch him. He allowed the intimate touch. As he continued to brush her hair, He worked the tie on the neckline of her blouse. Her blouse fell into her lap. Brian kept brushing her hair. He cupped her left breast and swirled the left nipple. She suddenly turned around. She manipulated him while she removed the rest of her clothes.

  In her house, Melody heard her sister express her thanks. She cried out: “Oh, Brian!” An hour later her sister in much more strident tones “Oh Brian I love your meat!”

  “That is Meghan?”

  “Yes, Todd. By tomorrow the whole community will know Brian is a damn good lover.”

  “Wait, I think I hear her again.”

  Meghan’s voice took on a furry contralto quality. She stopped speaking real words. The words were those of her passion. She was expressing the heights of what she was feeling. Then she sounded as if she were riding eight rollercoasters at one time. Then the clincher came when Brian spoke: “Hot Damn, Meghan.”

  Meghan’s voice returned more to passionate tones. “Oh, Brian.” The light went out in Megan’s house.”

  The rest of the morning everyone slept soundly, a few husbands found more passion in their own lovemaking. The thought of making love was now thought possible if Brian could do what he claimed.

  Brian woke up in the morning to the sounds of the sondak birds. Their Buzz chirp was officially the background sound of Eridani. The community seemed awfully friendly today. Then he felt the warm arms of Meghan wrapped around his waist. He turned around and wrapped Meghan in his arms. She leaned around to see some of the women passing near their window. Brian was a tall man, and his butt was on the show through the window. She reached round Brian and drew the curtain.

  “What was that for?”

  “I need a shower and so do you.”

  She backed into the shower taking Brian with her. They showered together. When he finished, he put on his golf clothing and went to have a meeting. Megan stayed behind draped on her door looking at Brian.

  When he got to the conclave. Everyone had a smile on their face. He gave them a quizzical look, and that wiped the smile off of the attendants. Brian pulled out his Slate from a satchel. He turned in the slate and showed the picture of his target. “Is this person here?”

  The gathered community members chuckled thinking he was telling a joke. Then they realized he did not know.

  “He’s the idiot making it almost impossible living here.”

  “Do you know his name?”

  “I heard some of the guards call him Harry Witherspoon,” said a man who looked like a farmer. He noticed that the patches near the houses were wet and plowed. There were sign stakes in the truck gardens indicating was vegetables. Then he saw that the major agricultural fields were wet from the irrigation.

  “Harry Witherspoon,” said Brian as he typed that information into his slate. What he got back was the dossier of a mining Engineer who fell in love with gold. He sent that information off to Headquarters.

  All of you guards you are not to kill this man. I want him to run because he will run right to the person who financed this gold rush. You can shoot near him. Just don’t kill him.

  “The next move is his. He will not know about me.”

  “He sure will if he can hear Megan down there.”

  Brian looked around. He saw the smug secret knowledge shared. He looked at Todd who had to intercede.

  “C’mon lets be
professional here. It’s excellent that Meghan seems to be out of the depression she was in. It was great that she shared that with all of us last night.”

  Brian suddenly understood the ribald stares he got from everyone as he walked to the meeting. He got a sheepish look on his face. The community members patted him on the back. A few female members of the community stole a kiss from his lips.

  “Most people run away in fear when they see me, not kiss me.”

  Everyone at the meeting laughed releasing a lot of the tension in the air. Brian put his slate away. He saw the acknowledgment from Headquarters about the name. Brian started to pace in a circle for a moment. Unconsciously The community members formed a circle around where he was walking.

  “I have an unusual job,” Brian began. “I must stop the outflow of unregistered gold from Eridani. To do this, I must kill all gold mining on this planet. I have partially completed that. The last is the mine that is your neighbor. The next thing I have to do is find out who is doing this and end him. To find out who is in charge I must cause this person I showed you to run to his boss. That is why he is not to be killed.

  “Don’t worry he will be killed when I have the information I need. I will do that Personally.”

  Before he could continue, he heard an unusual noise. Approaching the Area in front of the House belonging to Todd and Melody. Brian ran to the top of the crashed grav-car. Brian extended the wireframe stock of his weapon.

  He put three rounds into the front right tire of the All Terrain Vehicle. It stopped at the position. Nobody went for their weapons because Brian had the drop on them all.

  “I am special agent Brian Butler of the Eridani Secret Service.”

  Witherspoon gave a deep guttural laugh. “He’s just one man-boys. A thousand for the one that kills him. He has to have probable cause.”

  Brian drilled the driver with two shots. “I am a special agent I have broad powers and do not need to answer to a court.

  “I raise my offer to ten thousand.”

  That was one of the men’s prices he stood up which made him a better target. Brian shot the miner. The third man ran. Brian shot him, too. He quickly shifted aim to the mining engineer.

  “Run, ape. Run for it.”

  “You are going to be dead In the front or the back it makes no matter to me. Start Running.

  The corpulent man took a few moments to get out of the vehicle. When he got out, Brian sent a few bullets Witherspoon’s way. That got him to move as if the very hounds of hell were chasing him.

  “There are three more weapons for you,” he said pointing to the dead men. “Where is the man who I gave my fighting knife? How do you like it?”

  “I like it very well.”

  “I’ll need it for the next couple of days. I’ll return it nice and unharmed.”

  The Child of the Wind smiled and handed the blade to Brian. Brian put the knife in a sheath on his belt. Brian handed out the new submachine guns. He went through and gave a familiarity course to the Children of the Wind that had not taken it. Brian was glad to see that Meghan was attending it. He used Todd as the instructor. He was able to couch the concepts so that it fits their viewpoint. Meghan's first shot put her on her fanny.

  Brian arrived and lifted her to her feet. He put the weapon's stock against her shoulder. She fired again. She was still standing. Meghan whispered to Brian that he might need to give the treatment to all of the women. Whether she was warning him that the women would want some tactile care from Brian. He could not get

  Todd could hardly keep from smiling. Brian had won the women. By winning the women, he earned the men as well. Meghan came back and gave Brian a kiss full on the mouth. As she walked away, Brian gave her a slap on her fanny. Smiling she walked away.

  Brian then noticed the notch between two of the Saddleback mountains. From what he heard this was the hunter’s trip to get game. He took out the silencer for his small assault weapon. He walked down the mountain. When he had walked far enough into the notch, he saw the Plains of Plenty.

  The cartographers were correct in naming it so. There were herds of Hornbeast and pseudo-horse. He was here to take a Hornbeast. He also notice the tall grasses. You would have to know where a hunter was in order to kill him.

  He found a small adult male Hornbeast. He would Never get big enough to challenge for a herd. Brian pointed his weapon and squeezed the trigger.

  The Hornbeast dropped immediately. Brian walked to the Hornbeast. The great beasts in the thought nothing of him. They kept an eye on him but allowed him to field dress the carcass.

  When he was done he carried the carcass back to the encampment. When Meghan saw that he was leaving the campsite to go into the plains behind them, she took the child’s hand-drawn wagon to help carry it into the camp. She did the same thing only this time she had a submachine gun as well. She crouched on the reverse slope. She also wanted Brian to know that she was ready anytime by not wearing any underwear. She tented her skirt so that he could see she was ready.

  As he came up the path, he walked like a god. He walked with that bravura of a genuinely competent person He dropped the meat in the hand-drawn wagon. Together they pulled the cart into camp.

  Todd came running up. “Do you read minds?”

  “”Huh?”: asked Brian.

  “I was hoping to have a community feast. This will do.” Todd slapped the carcass.

  “We have to complete the dressing to remove the hide. Can we do that here, or are we selling the rawhide.”

  “We can do that here. I have the salts for curing the hide. I can do it,” said Meghan

  “No you are on watch tonight; You need your strength. Can you teach others?”

  “Yes.”

  “Todd, can you organize that?”

  “Done.”

  Meghan noticed how their leader was taking orders from her man. She thought of him as her man, though she knew better. He was a boulder ever rolling. He loved all women equally. She was glad to be his for this brief moment.

  She stopped them at a stone basin. She opened a set of knives and saws. She must have done a lot of this which is why she had such an athletic body in her abdomen. Meaghan picked up a curved knife. With several deft cuts, She practically rolled the meat out of its skin. When the people came who wanted to learn the skinning and tanning trade, she shooed him away. Then she started showing them how to get the hide off. Brian left that scene.

  As he walked, he wondered what it meant. When he walked out of the veldt, he noticed that she was not wearing underwear. The picture was meant only for him. He called the Headquarters officer’s number.

  “Pendit Corporation. Please say a number to connect with.”

  “111 Penda.”

  He heard the other number being reached. “Operator.”

  “Penda.”

  “Duty Officer.”

  “Code name Gold Rush. Have Identified Mine Engineer. Positive Contact Children of Wind. Beginning Eradication of law violators to cause mine engineer to flee. Penda out.”

  Brian did not expect a reply, but his communicator sounded a particular tone that he associated with a call from Headquarters. He put the device to his ear and activated the call.

  “Penda this is One. You are go with your stated plan. Emir is ecstatic over the response from the Children of the Wind. They have contacted him to clear the air. They told them that all of your promises to them have come true. On your order, a drop of four village-in-a-box kits can be air dropped. This is a gift from the Emir.”

  “Wow. That will be n upgrade from the Settlement slat housing.”

  “I agree. When will you begin the second phase?”

  “Tonight. First I am watching the community roast a hornbeast that I brought the community.”

  “You’re doing a fine job. Proceed.”

  For a moment there he was expecting the boss to try and speed him up. He heard the com go click. Brian saw Melody. He walked towards her and called her to him. When she came up to hi
m, she was smiling. Her auburn hair showing some fire in the declining sun. She was wearing an Apron. Her hands were red in completing the butchering of the Hornbeast carcass.

  “Something I can do for you, Brian?”

  “Are there some men who hold themselves aloof from certain aspects of community life?”

  “You mean the sex?” Brian nodded. “Well, there is Carl Rogan. No woman will have him. I guess it is his personal habits.”

  “That’s fishy. Where does Rogan live?”

  “The tent in the last Homestead on Meghan’s row.”

  “He lives alone?”

  “Not his choice. The women do not like him.”

  “That can fester to a breaking point. Could you have some people keep an eye on Meghan?”

  “What do you suspect?”

  “I don’t want to tarnish anyone unnecessarily. Any other males?”

  “I can’t make this one out. Der looked at the girls. They all find him nice. Some have tried to involve him in their plots. He just doesn’t want to play.”

  “Who is it?”

  “Der Wendell lives on Meghan’s Row in the middle. He seems to be shy, especially around Meghan.”

  “Just how stupendous was he, this hunter ?”

  “He was tall. He’d come back carrying the hornbeast across his shoulders like you did. He took his shirt off. I think he was just trying to show off his muscles. Though he has nothing on you.”

  “Why do the women keep trying with Der Wendell. What is the rumor about him?”

  “Columba has said that he was like a snake down there.“

  “What happened to the encounter?’

  “Columba said she was surprised and either shrieked or gasped.”

  “That. The male ego is very fragile. When you are large, it is hard to find friends who understand. You stay away from women because their words hurt the hardest. My stepfather took me hunting Hornbeast. We took a piss together, and I realized that there were other males of differing sizes. He also showed me respectful loving. And he explained that he was not as big as a baby. He told me how to relax the woman and stimulate her. I’ll see about Der. Thank you.” He went to where they were cooking the meat.

  Brian in his mind turns the page on the mission.