Page 52 - Extraterrestrials, Foreign and Domestic

Anteroom

“Hey, slow down!” Alice was on her feet. “We’re all adults. We
should be able to figure this out. Now, seriously, does anyone
know of a reason why we should have been abducted in the
middle of the day, rendered unconscious, and incarcerated
together?”
They looked at each other, except for Ann, who looked at her
hands. They were clean.
“No? Then I propose that we spend some more time poking
around and giving it some thought. Let’s meet again in twenty
minutes.”
The impromptu meeting broke up. Wilton remained where he
was, yawning and readjusting the cushions behind his head. Alice
went into her chamber and tore apart the bed, looking for
mattress tags and other commercial identification. C. Q. found the
sharpest implement in his possession, a card key, and began slicing
at the intersection of two walls. Ann wandered about, looking at
the ceiling, hands folded in prayer.
The scheduled meeting came to order. Wilton demonstrated
increased sobriety by reducing his angle of slouch. The others sat
down in attitudes of barely-constrained excitement.
“Since this was my idea, I might as well lead off,” said Alice.
“My years of employment at Buckshot have taught me a thing or
two about terrorism and extortion. I mean, a big conglomerate like
ours has to keep its people informed about the risks they face
doing business in a hostile world. And it is my conclusion that we
have been drugged and kidnapped by an extremist group simply
for the ransom. The randomness of our selection serves to
highlight the terroristic aspect of it: anyone can be snatched off
the street from their homes or jobs; therefore nobody is safe. I
would guess that once the police have had time to process the
missing person reports for all of us, the gang will then publicize
their actions and demand either release of their comrades from jail
or a large sum of money. What they would do to us if their terms
were not met is something I’d rather not think about.”
C. Q. shook his head vehemently.
“No, no, that’s too simple. No criminals would be able to create
an environment like this. This is all state-of-the-art technology and
beyond. Why bother, even if they somehow had the means? We

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