Rick Carter's First Big Adventure (Pete's Barbecue Book 1) (44 page)

     One of the strangest things he had to deal with at first was the fact that he remembered it all. Every detail of it was just as vivid as if it had happened yesterday, which, it had.  But, in addition to that, he could remember new things as well.  When reality snapped back, compensation had to be made for some of the things that had occurred.  Because of this he could remember both growing up with Roger and Mel and not having them around at all.   That duality of things was going to take some getting used to.  Pete had tried to explain it to him.   Although the problem that had created the two of them in the first place could not be altered, their continuing existence could.  The fact that he had two memories of them seemed to suggest that maybe Mel’s theory was wrong.  They were gone, both of them.  Rick didn’t know what this meant for those who had been involved with Mel and Roger over the years.  But, by dent of reason that had to mean that Mel/Roger was stillborn somewhere, maybe as a whole person.  Maybe he was still around, just different now and living somewhere completely oblivious to his prior life.  If that were the case then maybe Rick would go hunting for him one day.  Or maybe he would just leave well enough alone.  He had all these questions and concerns floating around in his head.  But, he couldn’t talk to anyone about it, except Rufus.  The Managers had strictly forbidden him to say anything.  During his debriefing, immediately after the event, he was given his instructions for his return to normal life.  He couldn’t talk to anyone about it, anyone non-Company that is.  No one else knew, except those who participated.  Pete knew, Tormodis and Margaret knew, Mel and Roger…well.    There just seemed to be something missing without Mel and Roger.  He missed them.  Sure, their very existence was tearing apart all of reality, but who doesn’t have an off day ever now and then?  Even though he hadn’t seen either one of them for many years and they had only been together a short time, he felt like that old kinship had been rekindled.  It was a shame they had to both be whipped out of existence.

      It had taken Rick a while to recover from the reality rebound.  It was his first time experiencing it.  It was something that would take a while for anyone to get used to.  When reality snaps back into place around you and reorients itself into a normal flow, it throws off your A game for a while.  Hence the fact that he wanted to sleep all the time.  But, the Managers had told him that the best thing to do was get back on his feet and push ahead.  And they had him back to work, sitting in a cab, watching movies.

       He fidgeted absentmindedly with the new XLT fastened to his right wrist.  Getting used to wearing it all the time was something else he was to adjusting to.  Apparently he had lost his old one when Mel and Roger disappeared. He couldn’t remember what he had done with it.  And In his back pocket, tucked away in his wallet was a brand new company holo-card.  He was a full-timer now.  But, the Managers seemed unsure what else to do with him.  They told him just to go back to the old job and wait.  They would be in touch.  So far, he hadn’t heard a peep, and he hadn’t picked up any special fares. At least the cab was a good cover job, something to keep him out in the world and available for work at the same time.  Rufus agreed.  He found himself listening to Rufus more and more.  He had no idea what the Managers were going to do.

       He shifted in his seat a little to take the weight off of his sore butt.   As he was relaxing and debating between Taco Bell and Wendy’s, the light on his radio blinked and he heard the dispatcher on the other end.  “580?”

         Rick was a bit surprised, but he picked up the microphone and keyed it. “580, send it.”

       “Pickup at Holster and Vine to Willwood.  You want it?”  The voice said over the static.

      “Sure, got nothing else to do.”  He responded.  Finally, he thought, something to do.  The movie wasn’t all that exciting.  He set the laptop over in the passenger seat and started the car.  This Crown Victoria was slightly different from his old one.  The engine sounded much louder and growled.  It had a lot of power.  He hit the gas and nearly exploded out of the parking lot. 

      Holster and Vine wasn’t that far.  And, if he remembered correctly Willwood was near a Taco Bell, so that argument was finally settled.  He’d grab his fare, drop them off then hit the drive through.  Maybe even get Rufus a Challupa all of his own.  Game plan, he thought.

    He pulled up to the lone figure standing on the street corner at Holster and Vine.  It was a businessman, dressed in an expensive long overcoat.  He was standing in a puddle of water from the recent rain shower.  He opened the back door and got in.  Rick stayed put while he asked him the address on Willwood.  2783, he said.  Rick started that way.  The man sat silently in the back seat, so Rick employed his usual customer relations by trying to strike up a conversation.   “So, some night, huh?”

     The man was looking at the scenery pass by in passenger’s window.  “Yeah.”  He mumbled.

     “Tired, huh?  Long day?”  He kept at it.  It had always been Rick’s belief that cab drivers should be a lot like bartenders.  They had to have an open ear if they wanted to succeed and make any money.  Of course he didn’t need money anymore.  But, it was hard to break old habits.  And, he just liked talking to people.

     “Yeah, hard.  I need a vacation.”  The man said, even his voice was tired.

    “You and me both, bub,” Rick said, almost laughing.  “I’d like to head south.  Maybe South America.  I always wanted to go to Rio.”  He said, realizing that now he probably could.  He had the technology to go there instantly. 

     The man seemed confused at first.  For several seconds, he didn’t say anything.  “I’m sorry, what?”

    “I said I’d like to go to South America, Brazil, maybe Rio,”  Rick repeated. 

    Again the man remained silent for a few seconds as though he was trying to understand something very confusing.  “What’s  South America?”

    Rick almost laughed again.  “What do you mean?  South America….the continent, where Peru, Brazil, all the others are.”

    The man leaned forward, “Are you trying to tell a joke?  Peru and Brazil are in Africa.  Rio de Janeiro is in Spain.”

      Rick’s expression changed from amusement to grave concern. “No, they’re in South America.” He said slowly.

     The man almost seemed angry, “Look, I travel all the time.  I just came back from Spain.  There’s no such thing as South America.  You need to go back to school, friend.”

     Rick thought for a moment and then he hit the brakes on the car, squealing the brakes as the tires slid on the wet pavement.  He sat for a moment before he turned to look at his passenger. “Oh, for the love of everything holy!”  He yelled.  There was no one in the dark to hear him but the confused businessman and a cockroach that had gone sliding across the dashboard when he hit the brakes.  “Here we go again.”

EPILOGUE

Foreshadowing

     The light in the old warehouse wasn’t very good.  The few lights that still worked were dim and not very effective.  More light came in from the sun outside through the broken dirty windows then was coming from the high ceiling.  Water dripped from leaks in different places and from unseen sources.  There were puddles of dirty water on the concrete floor.  But, there was little else.  There were no boxes in this warehouse or old machines or anything else for that matter.  It was entirely empty, except for the two lone figures standing facing each other near the center of the floor.  The deep shadows obscured their features.  They were both dressed in dark clothing, with long dark overcoats and they stood looking at one another with their hands in their pockets.

     “Well,” The thinner one spoke in a distinctly female voice, “That didn’t go like we planned.”

     The other figure made no movement. “It simply didn’t conclude the way we wanted.  But, it was close, very close.”

     “We shall have to do better for plan B.”  The female said.

     “I think that can be arranged.  Have they decided what to do with Rick yet?”  The male replied.

     “No decisions have been made yet.”  She answered.

     “But, he is still in play I take it?”  He asked.

     “Yes, just as you wanted.  Although I don’t see what good it will do.”  She responded.

      “You will see when the time comes.  He’s integral to our plan.  Have faith.  He has no idea who he is yet, and I want to keep it that way as long as I can.  I don’t need him finding out too much just yet.  In the meanwhile move ahead with what we discussed.  Find phase one and get him here so we can begin to plan our next series of moves.”

     She nodded approvingly at him.  “And what if he doesn’t want to help us?”

     The man laughed softly.  “Oh, he’ll help us.  I’ll provide him with the incentive to want to help.”

     The woman nodded again and then turned to walk away.

                                       
Si Yu’us Ma’ase

                                                               Buen biahe

                                    To be continued…