the adventures of yeti - 11. al sees his chance

by bofa xesjum

part eleven of ?

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al shrader, the man in the red hat, had become widely suspected as being an informer, as someone to avoid. he had been told this to his face by bud brown, who had recruited him as an informer to begin with. bud had been almost apologetic, and had given him the word more in sorrow than in anger. “i am just passing the word to you, brother,” bud had told him as they sat sipping coffee from styrofoam cups in a deserted fish and chips shop at three in the morning. “it looks like you been a little too keen. maybe you should just take a break, say for a few months.” al had been crushed, but thought he had kept from showing it too obviously. “and then what?” he asked bud. “after a few months?” “hard to say, man,” bud answered. “people have long memories.” “but suppose - suppose i see a real good chance at some good information,” al asked. “what do i do then?” “i am not telling you what to do, brother. use your own judgment, that is all i got to say. i am just passing on the message.” al had no reply to that, and bud changed the subject to football. after they went through the motions of talking about the upcoming season, bud took his leave and left al to his thoughts. with bud gone, al’s thoughts took a very unpleasant turn. might the bureau - or whoever bud was working for he had never come right out and sad who - decide to eliminate him? him, al shrader, who had been nothing for so long, and who had only recently come to enjoy the pleasant feeling of being somebody? what a fool he had been! being nobody wasn’t so great but it was better than being dead. should he get the next bus out of town? he knew the bus to port city, where an old pal of his might take him in for a few days, left at the crack of dawn - in about five hours. al decided to go over to dave’s card room, which was not that far from the bus station. he would kill some time there, and if he got lucky, make a little extra money for his trip. if he was really lucky, he might see some bum who owed him money, and collect. yeah, right. well, he could dream, couldn’t he? after the bad luck he had just got, he deserved a break/ so it was that al was seated at the two table at dave’s when clorinda and carlo had come in with george. al had noticed the two young people right away as real class, though not necessarily as royalty. but when he saw george talking to gonzalvo, a character definitely known and on the list, and saw george introduce the two youngsters to gonzalvo, he was on full alert. and then the girl actually left with gonzalvo! something was going on! this was his chance! his chance to prove himself to bud and bud’s bosses! 12. the doctor

the adventures of yeti - 10. the man in the red hat

by bofa xesjum

part ten of ?

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carlo watched the man in the red hat. he was seated at the two table, the middle table, and he did not look up at george when george passed behind him on his way to the three table. the man in the red hat’s name was al shrader, and, as gonzalvo had explained to carlo and clorinda, he was widely known as an informant for the security authorities. in fact he was so widely known that carlo had heard of him, though as far as he knew he had never actually seen him before. until al shrader became the man in the red hat he was just an ordinary guy, leading an ordinary life. like so many humans, on arcturus and throughout the galaxy , he had always wanted to be anybody but himself. al hated everything about himself, starting with his name. why could he not have a name like dirk bennett or martin calvoisier? or even something like jerry hastings or ray black? or even a comical name like bisciuit boy mcjoggins? but al shrader? then one night, he got his chance. he left dave’s one night, having busted out a little later than usual, and a guy named bud brown was hanging outside, looking up and down the dark street as if he was wondering where to go. bud brown, like al, was a regular at dave’s and at the handle, another, slightly larger card room a block away, but they had never had much to say to each other. now bud turned and looked at al as if he were some kind of strange specimen he was noticing for the first time, and asked him, “headed for the handle?” “no,” al answered, “i’m busted. i’m going home.” “i tell you what,” bud said. “i got a proposition for you.” “a proposition? you mean a bet on something?” “ha, ha, no, not a bet. come on , i’ll buy you a cup of coffee, and i will tell you all about it.” thus it was that al became an informer for what bud simply described as “the people”. unlike most of bud’s recruits, who had to be cajoled or conned into working with him, al was an eager convert. for the first time in his life, he felt he was doing something. not necessarily something “worthwhile”, but something. at first he flourished in his new role. he did not sleep much, frequented places other than card rooms and casinos and betting parlors - like bars, all night diners, even libraries and park benches - and provided bud - who remained his only contact with “the people” - with a steady stream of information that bud professed to be happy with. the problem was, he was a little too eager, and became widely suspected as someone to avoid. 11. al sees his chance

the adventures of yeti - 9. the conspirators

by bofa xesjum

part nine of ?

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clorinda had thought george was somebody she could use, but when george introduced her to gonzalvo, she thought, here is somebody i can really use. “my man gonzalvo here is not just a bum or a cab driver,” george told clorinda and carlo, “he is a revolutionary.” better and better, thought clorinda. she gave gonzalvo a big smile. “i have always wanted to meet a real revolutionary.” gonzalvo did not blink. “george tells me you are a princess.” clorinda laughed. “that’s right. have you ever wanted to meet a real princess?” “i never thought about it much. why do you want to meet a real revolutionary? do you want to be one yourself?” the conversation was interrupted by the bellow of dave the floorman - “g z for the three game!” g z was gonzalvo. “pass!” gonzalvo shouted back. “we got a seat in the three game,” dave shouted. “omaha hi lo six and twelve! anybody want omaha hi lo six and twelve!” george jumped up. “i’ll take it!” he glanced down at gonzalvo and clorinda. “i’ll - uh - leave you kids to it.” but gonzalvo and clorinda hardly noticed him as he left. they had already made up their minds that they could use each other. clorinda leaned across the seat george had vacated. “you were saying?’ she asked gonzalvo, “i asked if you wanted to be a revolutionary yourself, ” gonzalvo asked in a lower voice than they had all been speaking in. “i might.” gonzalvo nodded. “then maybe we should go someplace else to continue this conversation.” “how mysterious.” “no, i’m serious,” gonzalvo replied in an even lower voice. “don’t be obvious about it, but look at the fellow in the red hat on the two table - the one in the middle.” “what about him?” “he is an agent of the 5th bureau - the agency that -“ clorinda and carlo both laughed. “we know all about the 5th bureau,” clorinda said. “well, you know that there is such a thing,” gonzalvo replied mildly. “which may be all anybody knows. and he is surely not the only one here. and dave himself - that’s the owner, the big guy over there, he has to stay in the good graces of everybody. so, humor me - let’s go somewhere a little more private.” “all right,” clorinda agreed. “but i wanted to play,” carlo protested. “then stay here,” clorinda told him. what about george?” carlo asked. “george can find his way home by himself.” clorinda stood up. she looked at gonzalvo. “let’s go.” gonzalvo got up too. “you are next up,” he told carlo. “but i waited more than an hour when i was next up.” carlo hesitated. “i think i’ll stay.” “suit yourself.” carlo watched clorinda and gonzalvo as they walked out the door. then he turned his gaze on the man in the red hat. 10. the man in the red hat

the adventures of yeti - 8. the savior

by bofa xesjum

part eight of ?

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when yeti arrived on arcturus in the hold of the slave ship, the rebels were closing in on the capital of the empire of atlantis. the empire was about to fall - not to one group of rebels, but to several, who were closing in on it from all sides. the only question was whether one group of rebels would quickly seize control, or whether one or more groups would form a ruling coalition, or whether there would be a protracted or endless civil war. what was needed was a leader - a figure - man, woman, or child - who would come forth and capture the imagination of the people and that they would rally around. gonzalvo, a cab driver who dreamed of ruling an empire, had pondered long and hard on these matters. he realized he could not never present himself as the savior. he was big and awkward and had no charm or easy flow of words. therefore, he had to find a savior that he could be a counselor to, if not the actual puppet master of. he never shared these dreams with anyone. he was a “card-carrying member” (no one actually carried a card) of the true freedom party, one of the many revolutionary parties in the capital, and attended their meetings, performed his allotted tasks, handed out their leaflets, and accepted their criticisms. gonzalvo never slept much. when he was not driving his cab or engaged in his true freedom party activities, he liked to lift weights at the gym, and to play poker. he was pretty good at the weights, not so good at the poker. one early morning before dawn, gonzalvo was waiting behind the rail of a small poker parlor a couple of blocks from the imperial palace. the place had only three tables and all were filled. gonzalvo was first up but nobody had moved in over an hour. he was just about ready to give up and go home to his lonely room, when he heard a voice beside him. “you still running around loose? i would have thought the ugly police would have got you by now.” gonzalvo turned. it took him a couple of seconds to place the speaker. it was a young man who had been a driver for the same cab company as gonzalvo but whom he had not seen for about a year. “remember me?” the young man smiled. “george. from peerless cab.” “yeah, i remember you.” gonzalvo remembered him very well. he struck up a friendship of sorts with the young man, hoping to convert him to the good cause and perhaps even groom him as the savior, as he had good looks if nothing else. but george had turned out to be just a punk and a pretty boy, only interested in girls and high powered vehilces. “been waiting here long?” george asked gonzalvo “quite a while, “ gonzalvo told him. "i was just about getting ready to quit.” “huh. so not much chance of four people getting in, hey? three, if you quit.” “three people?” gonzalvo looked around. besides gonzalvo and george, the players, and dave, the proprietor-floorman, the only other persons in sight were another young man and a young girl, who might have been teenagers, hanging in the shadows beside the candy and soft drink machines. the boy was short and muscular and mean looking, the girl was one of the most beautiful gonzalvo had ever seen in his long life. “my proteges”, george smirked. “proteges! i hope you are not putting that poor girl to work.” “ha, ha! no, man, no, anything but, ha, ha. you do me wrong, brother. “ george glanced back at the boy and girl and lowered his voice. “put her to work? she’s a princess, man, a princess from the castle. and the kid is a prince.” “you don’t say so.” “i do say so.” “and what are they doing here? seeing how the real people live?” george shrugged. “i guess. although it is hard to know exactly what they are thinking. especially the girl. want me to introduce them to you?” “why not?” so it came about that gonzalvo met clorinda. 9. the conspirators

the adventures of yeti - 7. the castle

by bofa xesjum

part seven of ?

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like all revolutionaries, clorinda grew up in a castle. the castle of the emperor zoah viii, of the empire of atlantis, on artcurus like all empires, the empire of atlantis was riven with strife and insurrection. clorinda was the daughter of mindel, the number ten wife of zoah vii. the emperor was old, and very much under the sway of his long time number one and two wives, and paid little attention to the lower ranking wives and their children. the lower ranking wives and their children had little to occupy their time, except scheming against each other, worrying that the castle might be stormed by rebels or invaders, and worrying that the emperor might decide on a purge of his offspring. in this atmosphere, clorinda grew up, as so many had before her, in castles and empires throughout the universes. clorinda’s best friend was a boy named carlo, the second son of the seventh wife. he was a nasty little boy, small but strong for his age, and not well liked and somewhat feared by the other children. clorinda did not really like him much herself, but he was useful to her and protected her from the constant annoying attentions of the other boys. the other girls were all jealous of clorinda’s unearthly beauty. a constant topic of conversation among the wives, some of the children, and their servants, was the marrying off of the growing girls to various small kings, princes, and even some wealthy entrepreneurs of the empire. but with the increasing chaos within the empire, these marriages were becoming less numerous. with the increased danger that the castle would be overrun by rebels, some of the girls longed to be sent off in marriage, no matter where. others were terrified by the prospect of leaving the castle, which was portrayed to them as the last refuge against the coming apoalypse. clorinda was considered the most likely girl to be used thus as a pawn in the endless game, but she kept her own oounsel, and expressed neither hope nor fear at the prospect. carlo and clorinda became friendly with george, one of the younger imperial chauffeurs. this fellow did not know his place, and treated the two royal offspring with an easy familiarity which they reciprocated. carlo was fascinated by the mighty roaring limousines that george and the other chauffeurs commanded. clorinda, though she had been careful never to reveal it to anyone, not even carlo or her mother, hated life in the castle and secretly resolved to escape it any way she could. she saw george as a means of escape. 8. the savior

watcher

the adventures of yeti - 6. clorinda

by bofa xesjum

part six of ?

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what kind of universe is this, yeti thinks, where a creature can be put in a box against its will and taken it knows not where? the truck rolls on and on. a little light filters through the crack between the top of the box and its sides and through the air holes. suddenly there is a tremendous crash! the truck has crashed into something - another vehicle, or a wall, or a building, or something. the box yeti is confined in breaks apart. yeti, bruised but able to push aside the pieces of the box. crawls out. many of the other boxes are broken, but not so much that any of the inhabitants can get out of them. he hears shouts from the front of the truck - probably the driver arguing with someone. arms and legs stick out from some of the other boxes. yeti grabs at the nearest box, tries to break it enough to free the occupant. but he can not. save yourself, brother, a voice cries, the driver will be back in a minute. yeti keeps struggling with the box, finally rips off enough of it that the arms and legs in it pop out and fall on the floor of the truck. the arms and legs belong to a beautiful young girl, the most beautiful yeti has ever seen. the girl grabs yeti by his arm and pulls him toward the rear door of the truck. yeti sees the door is bent enough from the side that there is a space they can squeeze through. the girl goes first, so quickly yeti wonders if she was really there, or was just a dream. save yourself, brother, voices call behind him. there is no time to lose. he squeezes through the door, lands on his face on a wet street . it is dark, pitch dark, and raining. there is no sign of the girl. he hears shouting from the front of the truck, but does not stop to listen, and without looking back, begins to run. he runs, and runs. the streets are empty, though he passes buildings - taverns? - with lights burning and shouts and singing and voices coming from them. a couple of times he crashes into things. picking himself up each time, he thinks he hears laughter, but when he looks, he sees no one. finally he can run no more. he collapses in a heap against the side of a building. he sees a light across the street, from what must be a basement or maybe a basement cafe, though no sound comes from it. he falls asleep. * when he awakes he finds himself on a cot in a little room lit by an oil lamp. he has never actually seen an oil lamp before and stares at it. he realizes there are two other people in the room. one of them is the girl he rescued from the broken box in the truck. the other is a man with a drooping black mustache, who is built like the strong man in the circus. the man looks down on yeti and laughs. “so this is your hero, eh, clorinda?” “yes, gonzalvo, this is indeed my hero, “ the girl replies. 7. the castle

the adventures of yeti - 5. sex slave

by bofa xesjum

part five of ?

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the ship escaped orbit and entered hyperspace. when it entered its flight path to arcturus, the boxes were opened so that the slaves could be fed. what the fuck! what kind of sex slaves are these? look at these ugly fuckers ! look at this one! (pointing at yeti) hey, if they are consigned as sex slaves, that’s what they are. come on, guys, you want some chow? some hot mush? and a little booze maybe to wash it down? these can’t be sex slaves! somebody fucked up. people fuck up every day. nobody is blaming you, so relax. line up, guys, get those kinks out of your bones and get the best hot mush in hyperspace. i personally supervised it myself. thank you, yeti tells the boss - or whatever he is - spooning up the mush. but he’s right, another slave asks, how are we going to be sex slaves? who is going to pay to fuck the likes of us? you never know. they will put some wigs and lipsticks on you. just take it as it comes. eat up and don’t worry about it. * when they get to arcturus, yeti and the other slaves are unloaded and left on the docks. there is nobody there to pick them up. another fuckup somewhere. after a while the slaves begin to drift off. only yeti is left. finally a bus arrives, with “madame t’s house of pleasure” painted on it. the driver, who looks like another brother of the bus driver back on earth who took yeti to the brown house, and the landlord of the brown house., asks where the sex slaves are. yeti explains the situation as best he can. to yeti’s surprise, the bus driver - this new bus driver, thinks it is all a big joke. when he finishes laughing, he asks yeti, what about you? got any plans. not really. yeti is too tired, and bewildered by the night’s and day’s events, to explain about wanting to go to paris or san francisco and hang with gertrude stein or bukowski. we can use a flunky, the bus driver says, can you make beds? wash dishes and glasses? i can try, yeti answers, i can only try to do my best. now that’s a good attitude. i like that attitude. you don’t see it that much anywhere. all right, hop in. where should i sit? anywhere you like. lean back and enjoy the ride. yeti spends the rest of life in madame t’s house of pleasure, registered by madame and the bus driver, whose name is bert, as a “sex slave”, but mostly makes beds and washes dishes, floors, and other things. some of the rooms have copies of gideon bibles and a few other books, such as the memoirs of chateaubriand, and the poems of ossian. that was one of yeti’s possible fates. but there were, and are, others. 6. clorinda

the adventures of yeti - 4. on the dock

by bofa xesjum

part four of ?

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what kind of universe is this, yeti thinks, where a creature can be put in a box against its will and taken it knows not where? the truck rolls on and on. a little light filters through the crack between the top of the box and its sides and through the air holes. the rain has stopped and the sun has come up. yeti is hungry. the truck rolls on and on, shifts to a smoother surface, picks up speed. yeti hears singing. the truck driver, or somebody in the cab with him, is singing. the light gets dim. they have been driving all day. sometimes there is singing, sometimes not. yeti can not make out the words, if any, to the songs. the singer may just be making sounds. yeti can relate, often does the same himself. but does not feel like singing, or making sounds, now. finally the truck stops. a lot of noise and shouting. * hey, shithead! hey, dickwad! what have you got there? slaves. i know that, asshole, what kind of slaves, and how many? pyramid slaves, for arcturus. how many? twenty-nine. dock thirteen. they’re waiting on you. thanks, cocksucker. next! next! i’ve been working in the railroad, all the livelong day… damn, can’t you shut up when we’re here on the dock. i’m trying to concentrate. working on the railroad… did he say thirteen? or thirty? three thousand and thirty. i don’t know, i wasn’t listening, that’s your job. i think he said thirty. that sounds good, go for it. thirty-two, thirty-one…where’s thirty? right over there. what have you cocksuckers got there? slaves. we know that. how long were you on the road? nine , ten hours. you feed them? no, man that’s not our job, we just deliver them. all right, put them over there. thirty boxes, right? no, twenty-nine. fuck. that’s close enough. * thirty sex slaves for atlantis. give me thirty sex slaves for atlantis! right over there. but there’s only twenty-nine. close enough. they been fed? no, they just got here. fuck! we're running late. they can get fed on board. hoist them up! careful there, you mugs! this is valuable merchandise! yeti hears a knocking on his box, and on some of the other boxes. don’t worry, girls and boys, you’ll get some chow when you get on board. all right! they will treat you right! just a little longer now! avast there! hoist them up, hoist them up! careful there, careful! these are valuable merchandise - sex slaves! yeti feels box lifted into air. sex slaves? 5. sex slave