Page 60 - Tales Apocalyptic and Dystopian

High Tex and the Orbies

“Thank you, Mr. Nye,” he said. “And,” the slightest pause, “thank
you, Mr. Tex.”
Then the room was quiet, all sound fading with footsteps passing
down the hall and out into the open area Ottley now recognized as a
blast pad at the end of a runway. He turned to the window opposite
Tex’s desk and saw two figures, one tall and one short, walking
steadily toward a stark white supersonic shuttle steaming on the
tarmac. Tex made no indication that Ottley should speak, and he did
not. After the passengers had boarded the craft and the whine of
powerful engines began to increase rapidly, Tex finally spoke.
“Cover your ears, close your eyes and face away from the
window.”
Ottley did so, protecting himself against the worst of the takeoff’s
sound and fury. He opened his eyes and looked at High Tex. The
Provisioner had collapsed into his chair, looking, if possible, even
older and more haggard.
“It’s over.”
“Yes, it is,” said Ottley tentatively.
“I will be packing up and leaving. You will go with me.”
“What? This is your establishment, High Tex. Won’t you be doing
business again with the Orbies?”
“No. They won’t get anything from me again. They’re on their
own. So am I. What they paid is a stake that will get me up into the
mountains, to find a decent place to die. I haven’t been on the road
in a long time. I need a partner. You will go with me.”
Ottley was used to traveling alone. But High Tex was a legend, a
name to conjure with. And his new supply of exotic off-world goods
would command prices beyond imagining. And the mountains: with a
new UV cloak he would be content to stay there indefinitely.
“Do you know how to get there?”
“I have maps, a compass. The goods we’ll offer are compact and
lightweight, drugs once sold in bulk for a pittance. The Orbies
manufacture them from waste products. Their efficacy can be
demonstrated easily—they’re not snake oil.”
Ottley ignored the implied rebuke. “I can sell the good stuff as well
as the bad.”
“Then we’ll leave as soon as I destroy the radio.”

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