The bar where this scene takes place is at the posted
coordinates. The cache is not.
"...\\\.\\.."
I nearly knocked my drink off the back of the bar in surprise.
My head was so deep into my sudoku puzzle that I hadn't noticed
that a man in a trench coat and fedora had slid onto the stool next
to mine.
Collecting my thoughts, I finally managed to stammer out a
"S-s-sorry?"
The man in the trench coat said nothing, as he stabbed his olive
with a tiny plastic cocktail sword.
Blowing a smoke ring, he spoke again. "...\\\.\\.."
I was stupefied, but I covered my piece and released the safety,
just in case. Eyeing him shiftily, I replied, "That's amazing ...
how do you speak in dots and slashes?"
"Hmmm ... perhaps you aren't the man I'm looking for."
"I suppose I'm not."
"But you still may be a person of interest to me. The dog barks
at midnight."
"And the goose flies at dawn."
"The knight flosses daily."
"The knight flosses daily with antimony."
We both exhaled as the tension high-tailed it outta there. I
flicked the safety back into place. Another smoke ring drifted over
the bar.
Tossing back the last of his martini, he spoke first, in a
hushed whisper. "Can we talk here?"
"Absolutely, I've already secured this area. Kilmo here has been
tending bar here since the War. He's got all the attributes you'd
ever want in a bartender: a tight lip and a short memory."
"Excellent. I'm Hen3ry, and you are?"
"Gary, Gary O'Cash. That is a very intriguing name you
have."
"Well, I've always been somewhat of an individualist."
"How do you pronounce it?"
"'Hen3ry'. The '3' is silent, you see?"
"Indeed. So, did you bring the goods?"
His brow furled. "No. I was being followed by these two young
ladies in a white SUV with a green frog head stuck on the antenna.
I spotted them racing around a corner as I left the drop point.
They had just picked a hitchhiker that had come stumbling out of
the woods ... this really tall and very wet guy wearing just his
underwear and a big floppy top-hat with Goofy ears. Oddly enough,
they were all carrying odd little handheld electronic gadgets. Made
me nervous."
"I'd have been suspicious, too."
"Yup. So I had to lose them and ditch the goods. I stashed the
car in a downtown parking garage and hailed a cab. I barked out
directions at the cabbie and had him jet over to an out-of-the-way
drop point in our network, at the end of the road. I told him to
just let the meter run while I hid the key."
"And you're sure they weren't following you?"
"Positive. Fortunately, I had an extra copy of the key with me.
But as I was on my way here, I noticed I'd picked up a new tail:
some dude on a motorcycle with his golden retriever ... and he was
carrying one of those same handheld gadgets!"
"Whoa, how do you get a golden retriever to ride on the back of
a motorcycle?"
"Very carefully."
"So, how did you manage to lose him?"
He crushed out his cigarette butt, and he spoke as he lit
another. "Easy. I jumped out of the cab as we went through a
covered bridge, then I took the shortcut through the pass over the
three mountains. I dropped the other key in the network drop box
nearby, and took the secret tunnel that comes out near a baseball
field in Margate."
"What the heck is a Margate, anyway?"
"I've heard it's a cross between an accountant and a fish. And
it craves the taste of human flesh."
"Sounds ominous."
"Quite."
He blew another smoke ring, took a long drag off of his
cigarette, and stood up. "Sorry to have to leave you like this, but
you're own your own from now on. Your mission is to find one of the
copies of the key (either one will do), unlock the location, and
retrieve our secret plans for world domination."
"But how will I be able to find the keys?"
"Simple. You can find one of them here and the other one here. The lockbox is in the usual place."
"You mean--"
"--Yes, on the concrete antenna mast used to broadcast secret
instructions to agents in this area. Sheesh, weren't you paying
attention at the Academy?"
He nodded to Kilmo. "Thanks, friend. Keep the change," he said,
laying a yuppie food stamp down on the bar and turning to the
door.
"Wait! Don't run off yet! How did you manage to insert
hyperlinks into your speech?"
But he was gone.
