The Billings Man

By Kim Ravensmith

Henry Sarti, field engineer for Ram Magna, is perplexed by some unusual damage he finds on the magna lines south of Bridger, Montana, and he calls his old friend, Captain Bruce McDill of the RAM Magna Police Service to help him investigate. Together with two experienced Indian scouts, they camp near the magna line and in the middle of the night are witness to the crash of an unusual rail car. As the driver of that car escapes from the wreck and flees, one of Bruce's faithful wolf dogs pursues him, and before Bruce can call him back, the dog is shot, and the fugitive escapes.

A massive investigation commences, and the search for the mysterious driver leads to an abandoned bakery, where Bruce and Henry are kidnapped by henchman in the employ of the eccentric genius responsible for the wreck, who is a native of nearby Billings, Montana. The railway men are uncertain why they have been snatched,and they are taken north by secret train, where they manage to escape their captors.

Henry is sent back to the main RAM campus in Denver, where he will be safe, and Bruce is sent to Joplin, Missouri to hide out until the Magna Police Service and the FIB can find the Billings Man. Bruce is reluctant to leave his partner Britta, and fears that waiting in Missouri for the kidnapper to be captured will be tedious, but he finds himself teamed up with twin brothers who are officers of the Magna force, and together they set out to capture fugitives wanted by the local authorities.

As Bruce and the twins go about their business, they are unaware that agents of the Billings Man are looking for Bruce, and he is discovered when his picture is published in the media as he and his fellow officers are rescuing a person trapped in a collapsed building. When Bruce finally returns to Billings, he is again snatched as is Henry, who has gone back to work inspecting rail lines for damage. A chase ensues, and leads to the port of Duluth, where the Billings Man and his supporters manage to set off in a waiting ship to implement a plan to recover precious metals from a Great lakes Shipwreck. Bruce and Henry are finally informed that they have been taken so that they may be trustworthy and reliable witnesses to the events that are about to take place. They both settle in to take part in the adventure, knowing that Captain Britta Bayer and the Magna Police are not far behind them.The mission is accomplished, but the Billings Man is loath to accept imprisonment for his deeds, and takes a final step towards ensuring that his name will live in infamy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kim Ravensmith
• Release date: Jun 15, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476462660

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The Billings Man

A Magnetic Railway Book

By Kim Ravensmith

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2012 by Raven Smith

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Chapter 1

On a dark night, near the end of winter, a solitary figure stood motionless next to a support pylon for the RAM Magna railway system on the Billings spur, southeast of Bridger, Montana. Henry Sarti, field engineer for RAM Magna, stood shivering, watching the horizon, waiting for something to happen. The rails were silent at this time of night on the north bound spans which ran northwest from Lovell, Wyoming, curving gently toward the north before rejoining the southbound spans outside of Bridger. The south bound spans ran southwest from Bridger, down through Belfry before swinging eastward and meeting the northbound spans outside of Garland, Wyoming.

Henry stood shivering, gazing off into the darkness expectantly, hoping that it would happen before he became too frozen and had to return to his room in a railway maintenance platform a quarter mile to the south. This was his third night on watch along the line, and each night he had been out for a longer period of time, eager to solve a mystery that had been plaguing him since he arrived to perform a maintenance review of the north bound spans.

His initial review had been shocking. He had discovered that the newly replaced knuckle nuts that attached the support pylons to the rails had been severely compromised on the outer rail, and that the rail itself showed a peculiar defect running parallel along one side for several hundred feet. The damage was baffling, as no accident had been reported along the Billings spur to account for it. What was also baffling was that only the outer rail of the six north bound rails showed any damage.

Upon discovering the damage late on the first day, he had immediately contacted the Denver Center to restrict traffic on the outer rail of the north bound span and to request that an evaluation team be sent to inspect the entire span all the way to Billings. He had also sent photos of the damage to the RAM maintenance facility in North Platte, Nebraska. While the evaluation team was being assembled, the north bound spans had been shut down and Henry had continued his review. He had not yet found another damaged section, but on the first night he had experienced the strange phenomena that had caused him to leave the warm confines of the platform room to see what was happening along the railway.

* * *

That first night he was lying in bed watching the Magna channel on the wall screen with the audio turned off and reading a magna technical manual. When he had reluctantly accepted the job of Field Engineer for the Magna system two years before, he had no idea that it would hold such an interest for him, but as time went on he had immersed himself in the technology and found that he was mesmerized by the operational details of the system and that he simply could not get enough of it. Technical manuals like the one he was reading and instructional classes were readily available at the Denver Center campus where he bunked, and he spent much of his time reading and attending classes to further educate himself on systems operation.

As he was lying in his warm and cozy platform room studying a cargo barge schematic, he heard, off in the distance, a kind of screeching or scraping noise, followed by a loud bang. Leaping up, he hurriedly pulled his boots on, grabbed his coat and ran out to see what could be making such an unearthly noise. For half an hour he had wandered along the rail bed and had seen nothing. Finally acknowledging that he had found nothing and was wandering around in his pajamas, he had returned to the platform.

On the second night, he had dressed warmly after dinner and went further down the line, until he was somewhat exhausted, having spent a considerable amount of time walking this same route in the daylight while he was performing his inspection. Upon returning to his room, he donned his pajamas and quickly fell off to sleep, only to be awakened at around 11:00 PM by the same awful noise, which lasted less than a minute. Rather than donning his clothes and running out to check the rail, he decided to hike farther up the line the next night and to stay longer to see if he could identify the source of the disturbance.

So here he was on the third night, at an ungodly hour, shivering and listening, hoping that he would again hear the noise and that he would be able to detect its source. He had been standing at this particular vantage point for nearly an hour, since it was slightly elevated and gave a good view of the rails as they descended into a valley far ahead. He was unwilling to go any further north, due to the time and distance required to return to his platform room.

Standing there in the cold, he tried to keep his feet moving to warm himself, but it was a losing battle and soon it started to snow. The snow came down very lightly at first, soft flakes whipped around by a slight wind, and then began to fall more heavily, obscuring the view and collecting on the ground. The snow swirled around him and Henry knew it was time to go. He sighed and turned back towards the south, hiking dejectedly back along the rail bed with only the soft blue glow of the magnetized rails above him to guide his way.

As he trod along the gravel rail bed, he recalled all of the time he had spent walking along this very rail line with the Blue Dragon Team, back when he was a spanner tech. He missed those days and he missed his team members, especially his good friend Egor, who was now somewhere in South America, investigating crimes on the Elliptical line, an elite railway system for transporting well-to-do passengers. He missed his friends Bruce and Britta too. Maybe Bruce could help him solve this mystery, he thought. Perhaps he would give him a call.

* * *

On the morning after Henry’s lonely walk back to the platform, Captain Bruce McDill of the RAM Magna police force was, as usual, sitting at his desk in his office in the North Platte Yard. He was busy reading the details of the area changes that RAM Magna was putting into effect. According to the memo he held in his hand, there would no longer be a North West Central area or a Mid West Central area. The RAM Magna system in the United States would now be divided into four sections: Northwest, Northeast, Southwest and Southeast. Bruce was glad to see it because it was much less confusing than the previous method of division and his Mid West Central duties often took him into North West Central, which was not his assigned area.

Next to his desk, lying on the floor, was his regular companion, the wolf-dog Fritz, and across the room on a bench next to the window another wolf-dog, Max, was sitting and looking out the window at the activities going on outside in the yard. Since their experience with Bruce in Africa, the dogs had sought him out wherever he was, where once they had clung to Bruce’s girlfriend Britta, who had rescued them when they were running wild in the yard. Britta took no offence to the dogs’ change in preference because she had a pack of Gray Dobermans to contend with along with all of the other dogs she had rescued and was training in the Magna Police Canine Facility located in an old maintenance barn in the yard.

Despite himself, Bruce felt a slight sense of abandonment, because Britta was again away at a conference, this time in Florida which was a lot warmer than Nebraska at this time of the year. With Max and Fritz to accompany him, he was constantly reminded of her, though he did not mind dwelling on her and their relationship, because it made him feel composed in the sometimes frantic world he now worked in.

Once he had finished with the Magna system memos, Bruce turned to examining the overnight crime reports for the new Northwest area. There were, of course, more reports now to be examined, but they were always interesting and entertaining and Bruce was constantly amazed at the mischief perpetrated by common, law-abiding citizens once they boarded a magna train. One would think that people who were bound for some exotic locale to get away from their humdrum lives would wait until they arrived before they cut loose, but apparently some of them couldn’t wait and it didn’t help that beer was available in the dining car. More than once a passenger magna had to stop at an unscheduled location so that a contingent of Magna policemen could board the train and restore order in one car or another.

As he was reading, the wall screen suddenly lit up and a tone sounded indicating an incoming transmission. Bruce turned toward the screen and there before him was Henry Sarti, sitting in the common room of the Ash Street maintenance platform on the Billings Spur.

Henry, Bruce said, How are you? Bruce was surprised to see that his old friend was sporting a beard, and he looked somewhat disheveled.

I’m doing fine, Bruce Henry replied. He would probably have replied in the same manner if he was tied to a post with savages setting fire to bundles of twigs at his feet. Henry was unfailingly polite.

Where are you? Bruce asked.

I am at the Ash Street maintenance platform. Henry said. Billings spur.

Oh. Bruce said. Back in their spanner days, the Billings spur was their least favorite work location, one they avoided if possible. Then it had seemed to be the place where they were most likely to experience complications.

I have a mystery happening up here that I cannot figure out. Henry continued. Can you come up here?

Sure. Bruce said. Do you want me to open a case?

Yes, I think so. Henry said. I have a crew arriving today to inspect the line all the way up to Billings. This one is not going away any time soon.

OK. Bruce replied. I’ll be there by lunchtime.

Thank you, Bruce. Henry said, and the screen went blank.

Bruce’s curiosity was piqued, and he was glad to have something to do. He turned back to his desk and entered a request for a case number on the Magna Police site, indicating that he was headed to Montana for an investigation and that he would be taking a dog-handler with him. Then he called the kennel on his satellite phone.

Canine. the voice on the other end said.

Raj. Bruce said Is Ving there?

Yes sir, Patrolman Raj Pradash replied. Hold on. After a few moments, Patrolman Ving Sutton came on the line.

Hello. Ving said.

Ving Bruce replied. I have to go up to Montana and I need someone to handle Fritz and Max. I may need them for the investigation.

Yes sir. Ving replied. I’ll come right over.

You better stop off and get some overnight clothes. Bruce said. We may be up there for a few days.

Yes sir. Ving said. I’ll be right over.

See you then. Bruce said.

Ving had recovered well from being kidnapped and drugged by the Kenyan Jomo Dinga who was currently serving a life sentence in the Nebraska State Prison in Tecumseh. He and his girlfriend Angel had taken over the daily operations of the Canine facility and it was thriving. Britta was in overall charge, but she seemed to spend most of her time angling for increased funding and coordinating canine operations throughout the Magna system. In fact, Bruce was not yet aware of it but Britta was finding that her assignments were becoming tedious, and the new area alignment would provide her an opportunity that she had been hoping for.

Bruce returned his satellite phone to his pocket and left the office to fetch some extra clothing from his quarters on the top floor of the Magna building. Like Britta, he did not often return to the condo in the city when his partner was out of town, preferring to stay on site and immerse himself in the goings-on in his area. In the last year, in fact they had not spent much time in the city at all and Bruce was wondering if they shouldn’t give up their condo and live together in the Magna building.

When he returned to his office, Ving was already there leashing up the dogs, who resisted a little just for show, though they sensed that they were going on an adventure and were excited at the prospect.

There you go, Maxie. Ving said as he finished attaching the collar and leash. Ving had once been quite skittish around the dogs, but with experience had learned to control them and no longer exhibited any fear in their presence. Working for the Canine unit allowed him to spend more time with his fiancée, Angel Rivera, who had been promoted to Captain in the Magna Police Force. This promotion was necessary because she now had to train local dog handlers from locations throughout the system, and she needed to have the weight of authority behind her when she provided the instruction.

I need to find us a train. Bruce said, sitting at his terminal and examining the traffic logs headed to Montana out of the North Platte Yard.

Are we going all the way to Billings? Ving asked.

Not quite. Bruce said. We’re meeting an engineer at a platform just north of Lovell. I think it’s on the Montana side of the line but I’m not sure.

Suddenly Bruce jumped up. We have to hurry. he said. There is an Eval team leaving for our destination from the Red Eye platform in 15 minutes.

Bruce grabbed his bag and Ving’s while Ving gathered the dogs and they went out the back door through Britta’s office and down the stairs into the yard. Ten minutes later they were climbing the stairs up to the Red Eye platform.

On the platform, Bruce was surprised to see a crowd of workers loading luggage and equipment onto the Bit train that sat waiting. Alvin Redebac, supervisor of the North Platte Yard operations saw Bruce and made his way over to him through the crowd, a bundle of papers in his hand.

Have you seen the pictures? Alvin asked, handing him the printouts.

What pictures? Bruce said. I don’t even know what’s going on up there.

The pictures in question had been taken by Henry and transmitted back to Denver Central and they had immediately forwarded them on to the North Platte yard. They clearly showed the damage that Henry had discovered in his review of the north bound spans.

Those are the new knuckles. Bruce said incredulously as he examined photos showing knuckle nuts warped and cracked. Seeing the pictures of the strange defect along the rail he said What is that?

We’re not sure, Alvin replied, but we are certain that we can’t run a train on that rail. I have my A and B teams already on the way up there with some new rails and the Eval team will be on this train. I had to order a Dancing Crane out of Southwest that was on its way to a construction site in South America. I don’t even know if we need it yet, but I want to have it available if we do.

A Dancing Crane was a highly sophisticated crane used to lift heavy loads along the rail line and was so called because it automatically compensated for any movement, i:e: dancing of the load. They were expensive pieces of equipment that were primarily used for new line construction but were available for use if there was an accident or some kind of extensive damage.

Bruce could see that Alvin was flustered, but he knew that as Yardmaster he would take the appropriate action to remedy any difficult situation along the line in the Northwest area.

I’m sending Foster Key up there to manage the work. Alvin continued. See him if you need anything.

Alvin patted Bruce on the back and then turned and waded back into the crowd of workers, leaving the photos with Bruce. Just then the alarm sounded announcing the imminent departure of the train, and Bruce stepped aboard, where Ving and the dogs were already settled in and prepared for departure.

Chapter 2

The train headed west out of the North Platte Yard, eventually turning northwest toward Oshkosh and Scottsbluff. It was a crew train consisting of several suite cars designed to provide workers with overnight accommodations, and cargo barges had been attached carrying the supplies required for making repairs. Bruce had not had time to reserve an overnight room for he and Ving and they sat together in the common car with many workers who had been pulled away from their regular duties and assigned to assist in the effort.

Bruce sat with Ving and the dogs, showing Ving the pictures supplied by Alvin Redebac.

Are those the new knuckle nuts? Ving asked.

Yes they are. Bruce replied. They’ve been in place for less than a year. I’ve never seen this kind of damage before.

What do you think caused it? Ving said.

I have no idea. said Bruce. "It’s pretty obvious