A Small Gray Dot

There was a dresser with no mirror and a tall wooden cabinet or wardrobe. The dresser top was bare but with a sense of relief, I spotted a key ring on an oddly shaped table across from the bed. There was also a metallic, rectangular object lying beside the keys. It bore a slight resemblance to a pencil case but I didn’t think that’s what it was.

I picked it up and studied it. A little shorter than a six-inch ruler, it was about a quarter inch thick and two inches wide. There was a depression on either end. I turned it over. There were three lines inscribed in what I took to be writing because it was the same as was in the records we’d gone through on the doctor’s computer before he activated the translator. I held it up to Duncan.

“Have you ever seen this before?”

He took it, turning it over. Then he frowned and shook his head. “Nope. Never.” He handed it back.

I hesitated then stuck it in my back pocket. Dr. Bennett would appreciate getting his hands on more of the Binqua technology. I picked up the keyring, checked to make sure one of the keys had the Chevy logo, and we headed to the garage. I switched on the light. No need for stealth at the moment. I picked up the gas container. It held five gallons and was full. The rags would work. I swept my eyes around. The only other things needed were glass bottles. I didn’t see any.

“What do you have in mind, Tenn?” asked Duncan.

I had a question of my own before I answered his. “Do they ever lock the gate down at Semptor?”

“Well, no. There’s never been any reason to. They’ve got cameras all over the place and some of the people… the aliens… living down there are always on patrol.”

The patrol and the cameras indicated there’d been trouble in the past. Apparently, in spite of the difficulties in getting around Blue Heaven, some folk were willing to give it a shot in order to, say, pick up some goodies from the company warehouses without paying.

The cameras would be a problem but I nodded. “Okay. We’re going in there and we need some added firepower.” I smiled. “How good are you guys at throwing?”

“Um, pretty good, I guess,” said Duncan eyeballing me.

 “Have you ever heard of a Molotov cocktail?”

He stared at me. Then getting it, he nodded. Percy and Lem looked puzzled until he explained.

“There’s only one problem,” he said. We’re gonna need bottles and I don’t see any in here.

“Yes, I know. Okay, let’s do some searching. And Lem and Percy – only glass will do, or crockery. No plastic.”

They went back inside while I checked the cans. The one for trash was empty but I quickly found two pink glass bottles and a bunch of plastic water bottles in the recycling can. I guess Bedlow was into saving the environment – for the Binqua.

I pulled out the glass bottles. Two were probably enough but more would be better. I hoped the guys could find more, but I’d make do if they didn’t. I tore the rags into strips, stuffed one into each bottle and poured in the gas, making sure not to fill them all the way up. I was twisting the caps down tightly when they came back out.

Duncan was grinning. “Nothing in the kitchen but look what Percy found.”

Percy stepped from the door with an armful of what looked like twelve-ounce beer bottles followed by Lem bearing a few more. Between them, there were ten.

I lifted an eyebrow. “Where’d you get those?”

Percy grinned. “From th’ cabinet in th’ bedroom. They’ve got some kinda liquid in them. I opened one an’ took a sniff.” He wrinkled his nose and shook his head. “They look like beer bottles but whatever’s in them ain’t beer.” He set them down on the garage floor.

I held one up. It resembled the two from the recycle bin, and didn’t look very thick. They should break easily. I removed the screw-down cap and brought the bottle to my nose. It smelled like a cross between ammonia and manure. I grimaced. Some type of alien drink, I supposed.

Wondering if it would burn, I asked, “Anybody got a light?”

Lem had matches, Percy and Duncan had lighters. I poured a small amount from one of the bottles onto the floor, and held a match to it. The match fizzled.

“Dump them out. I don’t know what that is but it’s not flammable.”

They began pouring the liquid out into the trash can and handing me the bottles. Duncan helped insert the rag wicks and I quickly filled each one about three quarters full. We tightened down the lids, then wiped down the outsides thoroughly. In about fifteen minutes, we had them ready. It would be enough.

Duncan handed me a lighter and we piled into the car.

“Okay,” I said, as I cranked it up. “Let’s do this.”

Chapter Thirty-four

IT WAS HARD TO SEE BUT I DIDN’T WANT TO advertise, so I drove with the lights out.

It didn’t take long to reach Semptor Labs, and as before, the stinging in my eyes increased that close to the company, though it currently wasn’t as irritating as it was on the day I’d gotten lost.