Book 4: Chapter 16: Still Trying
Bob
July 2334
Nirvana River System
I found myself surreptitiously reaching for my face again and consciously brought my arm back down. I had disguised myself once more, this time using a random passerby as my model. To avoid a “twins” issue, I’d tweaked the appearance a little. If I ran into my model, he might think he’d discovered a long-lost brother, but nothing more.
After much soul searching, I’d reluctantly left Bender tied up in the tree. No Quinlan was going to climb that high, not even with a gun pointed to their head. Wildlife tended to be small and not overly curious if something didn’t smell like food. Bender was probably okay, but I was still terrified that something might happen and I’d have no way of ever finding him.
But I had to make a clean break from Bob running around with Bender on his back to random guy going on a trip. And the best way to do that was to never allow anyone to see anything that would link us.
So Enoki Funguy, social gadfly and otter-about-town, was going to book a cruise on a local luxury vessel. Or, more factually, I was going to try to work my way across seven segments disguised as Random Guy. But, and this was the good part, I would have luggage.
I glanced up at the sign over my destination: Happy Al’s Storage and Trunks. Well, that’s not quite what it said, but metaphorically it wasn’t far off. Quinlans didn’t go in for Samsonite luggage, but they did have occasional need for rigid boxes of the locking variety. Some of the items on display very much resembled old-fashioned steamer trunks, except without the metal strapping. That would have cost more than I was worth. But wood and leather could do a pretty good job, if worked properly.
Happy Al—who, it turned out, went by the name of Steve—greeted me effusively as I walked in the door. I guessed that business had been slow and Steve was bored to the point of suicide. That could work for me.