Criminals -- Fiction; DiGriz, James Bolivar (Fictitious character) -- Fiction; Police -- Fiction; Science fiction; Short stories
It was almost dark by this time, however I knew that the shipping
department would be busy most of the night. The engine caught on the
first revolution and I pulled out of the parking rank and backed
slowly up to the platform. There was a relatively quiet area where the
shipping dock met the receiving dock, I stopped the trailer as close
to the dividing line as I could. I didn't open the rear door until all
the workmen were faced in a different direction. Even the stupidest of
them would have been interested in why a truck was unloading the firm's
own boxes. As I piled them up on the platform I threw a tarp over them,
it only took a few minutes. Only when the truck gates were closed and
locked did I pull off the tarp and sit down on the boxes for a smoke.
It wasn't a long wait. Before the cigarette was finished a robot from
the shipping department passed close enough for me to call him.
"Over there. The M-19 that was loading these burned out a brake-band,
you better see that they're taken care of."
His eyes glowed with the light of duty. Some of these higher M types
take their job very seriously. I had to step back quickly as the fork
lifts and M-trucks appeared out of the doors behind me. There was a
scurry of loading and sorting and my haul vanished down the platform.
I lighted another cigarette and watched for a while as the boxes were
coded and stamped and loaded on the outgoing trucks and local belts.
All that was left for me now was the disposing of the truck on some
side street and changing personalities.
* * * * *
As I was getting into the truck I realized for the first time that
something was wrong. I, of course, had been keeping an eye on the
gate--but not watching it closely enough. Trucks had been going in
and out. Now the realization hit me like a hammer blow over the solar
plexus. They were the same trucks going both ways. A large, red
cross-country job was just pulling out. I heard the echo of its exhaust
roar down the street--then die away to an idling grumble. When it
roared up again it didn't go away, instead the truck came in through
the second gate. There were police cars waiting outside that wall.
Waiting for me.
For the first time in my career I felt the sharp fear of the hunted
man. This was the first time I had ever had the police on my trail when
I wasn't expecting them. The money was lost, that much was certain, but
I was no longer concerned with that. It was me they were after now.
Think first, then act. I was safe enough for the moment. They were, of
course, moving in on me, going slowly as they had no idea of where I
was in the giant loading yard. How had they found me? _That_ was
the important point. The local police were used to an almost crimeless
world, they couldn't have found my trail this quick. In fact, I hadn't
left a trail, whoever had set the trap here had done it with logic and
reason.
Unbidden the words jumped into my mind.
_The Special Corps._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account