Free Tom Swift and His Dyna-4 Capsule by Victor Appleton II Page B

told me everything. See, I already knew he’d had some problems with the police. People like Gar have strong minds and principles and tend to be controversial . They don’t cookie-cut down into the social pie. I thought it was exciting, that kind of past life. But like I said, I was over-medicated. Or under-medicated.
    "Anyway. While he was working there, at Belknap, a place I don’t recommend, a man came and talked to him. I never saw him, but Gar calls him a man, and I have to believe, don’t I? He calls the man Eck. He’s kind of a swindler and maybe—this is just my speculation—kind of a murderer."
    Bud smiled wryly. "Another one of those controversials ."
    "So that made them kindred spirits, you know? Gar told me a lot about the whole deal on the way here, Beeb."
    "Rose Reb, I just remembered another reason why we broke up," said " Beeb ."
    "It’s all sad and crazy, and now I know Gar never loved me, never meant anything he said. I was just taken in, like a little fly. Or like washing—you take in washing, don’t you?
    "I was just bait—Little Miss Bait to get Bud Barclay away from Shopton and—and his, his protector —so Gar could knock you out and take you, as Eck wanted."
    "The kidnapping bit is getting more than a little old," Bud commented.
    "And he always rescues you!" It came out as a sudden snarl, instantly dissipated. "Gar took you. He injected you with something—I dunno—you were mostly out during the trip, but now and then you could mumble and we could feed you. The trip—cross-country in the van. This is Wyoming, here. It snows here—that’s why this place is covered over."
    "I was wondering. How long did the trip take?"
    "Oh, a few days. I didn’t keep track. I was in kind of a state—a snit . He had lied and manipulated me, but still, you know, I had wanted some structure in my life. He hadn’t yet told me it was over between us."
    "Jetz! Reb, just tell me what this place is! What does this Eck guy want?"
    "Give me time to be myself, Beeb," she replied. "Gar got talky on the way. I think he told me more than he shoulda, especially at night. His goatee—well, forget his goatee. He said something about a will, some kind of inheritance that Mr. Eck wants to get. Money—always. But—something about how Tom and his invention can speed up a timelock—"
    "I get it," Bud exclaimed, nonetheless quietly. "The time-transformer. I’m a hostage to get Tom’s cooperation."
    "Does everything always come back to Tom Swift? " asked Reb coldly. "But yeah, it’s true. Money and time. The idea is to keep you here for as long as it takes."
    "And just where—and what —is Here?"
    "Oh, it’s ridiculous. This Eck is some kind of fanatic or hobbyist or something." She paused to think. "He has a time obsession. Gar says this, this place , is all just like the little town where Eck was, a little boy, where he lived with his parents. Or maybe—was it—where he wished he had lived? See? Bringing it all back."
    Calm again, Bud smiled at the situation. "It wasn’t so long ago that I met another guy who lived in a cave and wanted to save the future ! I happen to like the present—mm, maybe not so much at this moment."
    Rose Reb continued. "This isn’t just a hobby. It’s more than Mommy and Daddy. Gar says the guy, Eck, is kind of a promoter—isn’t that what they’re called? Crooks? He sold investors on the idea that this could be some kind of giant shopping mall, with people also living here full time. Sort of a colony for psychotic nostalgists. Maybe survivalists, too, since you can’t see the real sky. He got the money, had the place built, then went under. Bankrupt."
    "There are other places like this. I’ve read about them—underground shopping cities."
    "All secret, kept quiet, that thing about gettin’ in on the ground floor. Gar says the main investor owns all the property. I think it’s a sheep ranch. Something like that. But he died."
    "Natural causes, I hope."
    "Yeah, well, hope .