ENCOUNTER by Hep Aldridge (bill gates books recommendations .txt) 📕

“Yes.”

“And the power source you speak of lies outside the Citadel?”

“Yes, it is beyond my reach, I am afraid.”

Doc said, “We got a good look at your city while the cloak was down. It was magnificent and much larger than I had thought. The material—it looked like the buildings were made of polished metal.”

“It is a material we manufacture using the energy. It is very strong and long-lasting. Most of the buildings you saw were constructed thousands of years ago.”

“That is amazing,” Joe said. “They look brand new. Does the cloak protect them?”

“Yes, now it does. But the cloak hasn’t always been there. It was created to protect us from natural seismic activity, rockslides, and attacks. It also makes the city invisible from the air and space.

“Attacks?” O’Reilly asked.

“There is so much you do not know about your world and its inhabitants. I will answer what I can, but it would take many of your years to begin to fill your educational void.”

Dumbstruck by this answer, my mind returned to more immediate issues.

“We need to get back outside, do something about the bodies, and police the area,” I said. “We can’t leave them there.”

“No need,” Jeannie replied. “It has been taken care of.”

“What do you mean?” I responded.

“The Watcher you saved has seen to it. There is no indication that the conflict occurred. It is as it was before.”

There she goes with those enigmatic explanations again. She gives us an answer but few if any details in explanation. When it came to Jeannie, it seemed best to accept her response and leave it at that. Some things just needed to go unexplained.

“Well, if that’s taken care of, then I guess we need to call Fitz and Uncle Harold and let them know our problem has been taken care of and we are proceeding as planned. O’Reilly, you want to do the honors again?”

“Will do, Colt. You want me to call them both?”

“Yes, when we get back to the campsite, no rush.”

“Roger that,” she said.

“Jeannie,” I said, “may we use your bathing facilities again? I’m sure we could all use the refreshing break.”

“Of course, you may; I will make the arrangements, and we can resume our conversations tomorrow if that is acceptable?”

“That would be fine. It will give us some time to re-group our thoughts.”

“Then, I will see you in the morning after your meal,” she said. “Oh, and would you please bring the crystal with you? We need to discuss its disposition.” With that, she was gone. I looked at Doc, who was looking at me with a surprised expression.

“Did you mention the crystal?” I asked.

“No, did you?” he responded.

Reggie laughed and said, “Guys, she can read our thoughts, remember? And I’m sure the crystal has crossed both your minds at some point or another while we’ve been here.”

I looked at Doc rather sheepishly and said, “I’ve got to remember that. It’s almost gotten me in trouble a couple of times.”

“How so?” Doc asked.

“Never mind,” I said, “just suffice to say, I caught myself in time… I think.”

That got a chuckle from everyone, and I may even have blushed slightly.

As things were wrapping up, I had a chance to corner Joe, whom I had noticed had been spending a lot of time with Eduardo.

“How’s the kid doing?” I asked in a lowered voice.

“How do you think he’s doing after being thrown into this mess?” he said rather unhappily.

“I know; I feel bad about it, but what choice did we have?” I asked.

“Sorry, Colt, that came out a little harsher than it should have. You’re right; we really didn’t have a choice, but I think he’s holding up pretty well. He held up his end of things down there during the gunfight. He’s a tough kid; growing up on the streets alone, he’s seen a lot. So, I think he’ll be okay, but maybe you should talk to him some. I think it would help.”

“Can do,” I said, “I’ll find a time a little later and talk with him. Thanks for taking care of him, Joe; I’m pretty sure you’ve got a friend for life.”

“Hell, Colt, I think we all have a friend for life, a good friend.”

Things started winding down as we took some bread and cheese and a couple of pitchers of the beverage we had been drinking back to our campsite.

On our return from the bathhouse, feeling much refreshed and clean, we kicked back at the base of the platform and shared our after-dinner refreshments, trying to relax in the twilight. Talk, of course, turned to the day’s events, and I commended Reggie and O’Reilly on their stellar marksmanship. Reggie commented that she was glad she saw the sunlight glint off the sniper’s scope, or she would have missed the shooter’s location until it was too late.

“So, you aimed for a fifty-cent-sized piece of glass from what, a hundred and fifty yards or so?”

“Yeah,” she replied, “it was enough. I think he was repositioning to take a shot at one of you guys down below.”

“Damn, girl, that’s some nice shooting,” Joe said, his voice conveying a level of awe and respect.

Reggie blushed slightly and said, “Hey, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.”

I said, “And O’Reilly took out our runner trying to get away.” I raised my goblet and said, “Damn glad we have you ladies on our team,” and saluted them with my drink. The others did the same.

Joe laughed and said, “And Doc, your thespian moment played beautifully. For a minute, I even believed you might have been out of ammo.”

“Oh, Joseph, my dear friend, my delivery didn’t hold a candle to your momentous death scene. I was convinced you had expired until you set the Claymores off and Dimitri’s “Alamo Surprise” got delivered.”

We were all laughing as O’Reilly said, “I think we can say both your performances were explosive.”

And so that’s how our day ended, with the Citadel protected, our friend in recovery, and laughter