Lucifer's Hammer - Larry Niven [190]
A voice came from a parked truck. "No Hamner."
"Sorry," the guard said. "We don't want you blocking the road, so we'd be obliged if you'd move that car to where we can't see it. And don't come back."
If you tell your dreams, they won't come true. Tim started to turn away. But—
But you don't go off to die without even trying. He saw Eileen and Rosa Wagoner staring out at him from the car. Their faces said it all. They knew.
Other roads in? Nuts. The car was almost out of gas, and suppose they found one? These people knew the country. If there was a good way in, they had it covered.
Walk? Senator Jellison's ranch ended at a great white monolith the size of an apartment building, and maybe they could get that far—and get shot—
And anyway, Tim thought, if I'm good for anything, it's talking. No use at all creeping around in the bushes … He turned back to the barricade. The guard looked disappointed. His rifle wasn't quite pointed at Tim. "Your car works fine, and you're not hurt," the man said. "I'd leave it at that—"
"Chescu," Tim shouted. "Mark Chescu!"
"That's Czescu," one of the men answered. "Hello, Mr. Hamner."
"You were going to let me leave? Without even talking to me?"
Mark shrugged. "I'm not really in charge here."
"Fucking-A you're not," one of the big men said.
"But … Mark, can we talk?" Tim demanded. "I have an idea—" He thought fast. There was something Wagoner had said. He built apartments. But …
"We can talk," Mark told him. "It won't do a lot of good." He handed his rifle to one of the others and came around the barrier. "What's to talk about?"
Tim led him to the Blazer. "Brad, you said you built apartments. Contractor or architect?"
"Both."
"I thought so," Tim said. He spoke quickly, words in a rush. "So you know concrete. And construction work. You could build a dam!"
Wagoner frowned. "I suppose—"
"See!" Tim was triumphant. "Dams." He pointed to the Auto Club map. "See, there are powerhouses, dams, all along the road up from here, all the way up into the Sierra, and those dams will be gone, but some of the little powerhouses will still be there, and I know enough about electricity to get them running if somebody can build the dam. You have here a complete electrical contracting team. That ought to be worth something." Tim was lying through his teeth, but he didn't think any of these people would know enough about electricity to trip him in an exam.
And he did know the theory, even if he was a bit hazy about the practical aspects of polyphase alternators.
Mark looked thoughtful.
"Goddammit," Tim shouted. "I gave Jellison fifty thousand dollars back when that was real money! You can at least tell him I'm here!"
"Yeah. Let me think about it," Mark said. The story made sense. And Tim Hamner had been a friend of Harvey Randall's. If Hamner had gone off without recognizing him Mark could have forgotten that, but not now. Harv would find out, and Harv might not like it. And fifty big ones. Mark hadn't spent much time with the Senator, but Jellison had this old-fashioned air and he might think that was important. And besides, that bit about dams and powerhouses—it added up. Mark would have let them in. Only he couldn't. The Christophers wouldn't let him. But they still listened to Jellison.
Mark eyed the other man in the car. A big man. "Army?" he asked.
"Marine Corps," Wagoner said.
"Can you shoot?"
"All Marines are riflemen first. Yes."
"Okay. I'll give it a try." Mark went back to the roadblock. "This guy seems to be an old friend of the Senator's," Mark said. "I'll go tell him."
The big guard looked thoughtful. Tim held his breath. "He can wait," the man said finally. He raised his voice. "Pull off to the side. And stay in the car."
"Right." Tim got into the Blazer. They jockeyed it until it was almost in the ditch. "If somebody comes here in a fighting mood, we don't want to get hit by stray bullets," he said. He watched