The Cricket Lines were now flowing back to the Van. They were looking down (literally) and needing rest. A few were on crutches; several had bandaged heads and some were being carried on stretchers. The Cricket Man stood watch making sure that No Cricket was Left Behind.
Outside, The Boys were sitting on the porch drinking their morning coffee. The Chirping from the barn had fallen off to a low tweet at sunrise. Today the Crickets were pulling out. They had completed their mission of taking a simple 3 digit guess and turning it into a Full Blown Cattle Breeding Operation. Billy was staring at his laptop and sipping his coffee at the same time.
The looked up as Richard came up the Drive on his Moped. Cricket Man came out of the barn and greeted Richard in front of the porch. “We are about to leave” he announced. “The Tool is complete. What you create with it is in your hands”. “William, you have my contact trail. Call me if you have any problem. Feel free to suggest additional features as you proceed.” He turned to Richard and said “Son, thank you for keeping the Enemy focused on You. I wish I could pay you but officially you don’t exist.”
The Last to load were the Ninja Crickets. They looked like weary soldiers marching home. The leader handed The Cricket Man an envelope as he passed by then followed his troops into the van. The Cricket Man handed the envelope to Richard and headed for the van. He stopped half way, turned and said “You Know This is Only a Tool, Right? I can’t guarantee that you will ever Breed the Golden Calf”, With that he turned toward the van, walked a few steps and turned again, “The secret is finding Where the Cows Come From.” Then he got in and fired up the Van.
The dust stretched for about a mile when Sully got up and started walking to the barn.
“What do you make of that Cricket Man?” Jake asked Billy.
“He sure likes to blow things up and then put them back together” said Billy.
“Not only that but he can sure pile on the Bull ___, Have you seen the inside of the Barn?” Said Sully.
“He gave me a card for a Bull ___ Vacuum service. Says here it’s a division of Rothchild’s Septic Sucking Service. Cricket Man said they sponsored one of the Crickets favorite TV Shows”. (If you get that reference you are welcome to come by the ranch and find your Bull).
Richard had been reading the pages from the envelope and growing agitated. He was mumbling to himself about the Men in Black. He pulled a torch lighter out of his space pack and ignited the papers. They went up in a flash and there were no ashes to be found. He mounted his moped and closed his helmet space visor. The electric starter wined and was followed by a low rumble. “You know it’s just a Jumps System, don’t you? I can figure it out way more easily than this.” That said and Richard was off down the Road. An intermittent dark shadow appeared on the hillside above the road looked to be following the dust line.
“Richard is one strange dude” said Sully, “I know he is smart in math and stuff. He should go back to the City where he belongs”
Jake was pressing keys on Billy’s laptop. He lifted his finger and said “Hey Billy, Come and look at this Bull. He’s been making a Green Calf 7 out of the last 10 Draws.”
The screen fades as the zoom lens draws away from the porch, then away from the screen inside the dark van.
That’s All She Wrote
Or is it?