They were a couple of blocks away, walking back to their cruiser. There was hardly anyone else on the sidewalk. The shadows of the buildings were long, and daylight was fading as the sun slowly headed toward the horizon. Genghis had a slight spring in his step, and excitedly said, “Man, oh man! Did you see how fast I ran?”
“Yes, I did. Quite impressive. I would have kept up, but I’m . . . ah, I’m still not used to these human legs.” Jeff looked down at himself. “You know they’re a little thicker than what I’m used to.”
“I mean, Geez O’ Cow!” Genghis said, still very excited. “I don’t know what got into me. It was so exhilarating and felt so right. Boy! Codas canines could never have run like that, not with their inherent hip dysplasia.”
“No, I don’t think they could have.”
Genghis started to trot a little faster and looked back at Trent. “C’mon, c’mon! I’ll race you back to the cruiser.”
Chapter Seventeen
That night, they found a parking lot, parked the Thunderbird and retired to the lower decks of the cruiser. The parking lot they chose belonged to a very large renovated warehouse overlooking the Horseshoe River. It was the largest structure in the historic district and took up almost four blocks. Built in 1923, it was a warehouse for all imports and exports that were being transported by merchant ship. What made this location ideal for a shipping warehouse was the Horseshoe River. And it was just that, shaped like a horseshoe. Each end was connected to the bay. Ships would enter the mouth of the bay, then travel up the wide river and dock parallel to the warehouse. Docked bow to stern, the warehouse could accommodate two ships at one time. They would have their cargo offloaded, then the ships would continue traveling up river for about five miles and reenter the bay, then from there, out to sea.
In the mid 1960's, the warehouse was closed due to the fact that more and more freight was being transported over land by rail or truck. Then, by the late 1980's, the warehouse was renovated and converted into The Riverside Mall. Boasting to be the largest mall within thirty miles, it had twenty-five retail shops, a movie theater, and two three-star restaurants.
Genghis got up at seven the next morning. Below decks, he exited his cabin and went into the science lab. He checked the condition of the cruiser, the life support system, the power plant, the propulsion systems, and finally the replicated generation field that surrounded the vehicle. Everything was operating normally. He then checked to see if they received any communications from headquarters. There were none.
He headed for the stairs. At the top, he activated a small wall unit. It scanned the outside of the cruiser and determined that there was no one in the parking lot. He continued on, pushed the back cushion down, and entered the back seat of the Thunderbird.
The cruiser was parked as far from the mall as possible. The windows were rolled up and the canvas top was on. He hopped into the front seat and unhooked the top, then sent it folding up and back into the trunk. He rolled down the windows and surveyed the area. He noticed that there were about fifteen cars in the parking lot close to the mall. He could see employees inside getting the stores ready for the day. A cool breeze was coming off the river and Genghis could smell the salt of sea water. It was then that he saw Trent, walking into the parking lot from the opposite end, heading for the Thunderbird. He was carrying something.
When he got close enough to hear, Genghis called to him. “Hey! I thought you were still asleep in your cabin.”
Trent reached the cruiser. “No, I got up a couple of hours ago.” He placed his bundle on the back seat, opened the door, and sat behind the wheel.
“What do you have there?” Genghis said, looking into the back seat.
“Well,” he turned and grabbed one of the bags, “I decided to get up and do a little reconnoitering of the area.”
“You did? What happened? How did it go?”
“It went very well. There were many people out and about. Going to work, opening up shops.”
“Did you talk to any?”
“Yes, they were very polite.”
Trent told Genghis how he got up and ready. He put on his black linen suit with a light blue shirt and dark blue thin paisley tie. He slipped on his trench coat to conceal his weapons, then exited the Thunderbird. He locked it up, crossed the parking lot, and started walking toward Eighth Street. As he walked the sidewalk, he made it a habit to make eye contact with as many humans as he could. And to his surprise many greeted him warmly. Trent was gaining more confidence in himself. He realized that he and Genghis did fit in well with the human race, and with the correct mannerisms, they most likely wouldn’t attract the undue attention that they first thought they might.
He crossed over Eighth and made his way to Fifth Avenue and found Dave’s Coffee Pot. He opened the door, heard a ring. Looked up and saw a small silver bell attached to the door frame. He opened and closed the door several times, watching how the door would hit the small bell alerting the shop owner that a customer had entered. He smiled to himself thinking of the simplicity of the device. He swung the door a couple of more times listening to the tiny rings and then finally closed the door. Turning, he saw that the five customers and three clerks in the coffee shop were all staring at him. He nervously, said good morning, and got in line.
When he reached the counter he found the young girl with the silver wire on
