Free Mercury Revolts by Robert Kroese Page B

-85.06
     
    “What’s LAT mean?” asked Konrath.
    “What’s LON mean?” asked Scalzi.
    “Is there anything else in the crate?” asked Nisroc.
    Izbazel looked. In fact, there was something else in the
crate: a manila envelope. Izbazel opened the envelope and pulled out a thick
sheet of folded paper. He unfolded it. It appeared to be some sort of
schematic. On the lower left corner was printed:
     
    VANDEN HEUVEL BLDG—FLOOR 35
     
    “Looks like some kind of map,” said Konrath.
    “For the Vanden Heuvel Building, wherever that is,” said
Scalzi.
    “Anything else in the envelope?” asked Nisroc.
    Izbazel looked inside the envelope, finding a sheet of paper
on which was typed:
     
    BLUE
PRINTS ARE FOR DIVERSION ONLY.
    LEAVE IN
GRAND RAPIDS, MI
WHERE POLICE CAN FIND.
     
    DETONATE
BOMB AT SPECIFIED
COORDINATES ONLY .
     
    PRESS
RED BUTTON TO ARM.
    BOMB WILL DETONATE 30
MINUTES AFTER ARMING.
    DESTROY
AFTER READING.
     
     “Is there anything else in the envelope?” asked
Nisroc. “Something blue?”
    Izbazel looked in the envelope. “Nope,” he said. “Just the note and this map thingy.”
    “What’s that?” Scalzi asked, pointing at a red X in the
center of the map.
    Izbazel shrugged. “Treasure?” he offered.
    “Maybe that’s where we’re supposed to set off the bomb,”
suggested Nisroc.
    “That’s it!” exclaimed Izbazel. “We’re supposed to bring the
bomb to the thirty-fifth floor of the Vanden Heuvel Building, in Grand Rapids.
The X is where we’re supposed to detonate it. Good thinking, Nisroc!”
    Nisroc smiled. It was nice to be recognized for good
thinking. It didn’t happen to Nisroc very often. But something still bothered
him. “What about the blue prints?” he asked. “Why aren’t they in the envelope?”
    “What difference does it make?” asked Izbazel. “It says
right here the blue prints are a diversion. From what I know about diversions,
we’re better off without them.”
    “But it says to leave them in Grand Rapids where the police
can find them.”
    “I think it means the bomb,” offered Scalzi. “We’re supposed
to leave the bomb where the police can find it.”
    “That doesn’t make any sense,” said Konrath. “Why would he
want the police to find the bomb?”
    “Beats me,” said Izbazel. “Why did he ask me to shoot him in
the knee?”
    None of them knew the answer to that one.
    “We’ll just leave the bomb at the spot marked with the X,”
said Izbazel. “If the police find it, it’s none of our business.”
    They all agreed this was a sound plan.
    “What does ‘destroy after reading’ mean?” asked Nisroc.
    “I think it means the numbers on the bomb,” said Izbazel.
    “What do the numbers mean?”
    “Beats me,” said Izbazel. “But we read them, so I guess we’d
better destroy them.”
    “How?” said Nisroc. “That’s permanent marker. He should have
put some nail polish remover in the envelope.”
    There was general agreement that it would have been a good
idea for Zion Johnson to provide them with nail polish remover if he was
serious about them destroying the indecipherable markings on the bomb.
Fortunately, Nisroc came up with yet another brilliant idea: wiping down a
nuclear bomb with gasoline. It took a fair amount to completely obliterate the
markings, but they knew that Zion Johnson would want them to be thorough.
    Once the bomb was completely clean and drenched with highly
flammable liquid, they put it back in the stolen army vehicle and got back on
the road, headed for Grand Rapids, Michigan. Things were going well for Chaos
Faction for a change.

 
    Chapter Nine                          
    San Francisco; August 2016
     
    Suzy regained consciousness on a
couch that she gradually realized was inside the apartment of the strange man
who had demanded to sample her margarine. The place was a mess, littered with
newspapers, magazines and fast food containers. A few feet from the couch sat a
small balding