The Tall Man

By R. Richard

The tall man works his way over the soft, sandy, desert soil. He uses alien provided devices something like very short skis. The ski like devices are coated with some sort of very low friction compound. The stuff should last long enough to get him to the base and not too much longer. It's the best that his alien employers can do on short notice. While the little skis allow him to slide over the soft sand, they still require considerable effort from the tall man. However, the tall man's physical conditioning is up to the demands of the job.
The tall man carries devices in his backpack that are entirely capable of nullifying normal surveillance devices and might allow the tall man to move undetected into and within the military base. The risk is that the base is protected by alien devices which can detect the tall man, despite his own anti-surveillance gear. If the terrorists find him early, he's dead or worse.
The tall man is near exhaustion when he finally reaches the terrorist base. He rests briefly in the shadow of a small fold in the sea of sand which surrounds the base. There's no sign that he has been detected. Then again, if those inside have detected him, perhaps they will just wait for the tall man to enter their trap, rather than risk his escape back into the desert.
There are four guards inside the fence, one at each corner of the rectangular enclosure. There's, per the tall man’s map, an entrance/exit gate on the far side of the compound. There will normally be two guards inside a cement block guard shack, at the entrance/exit gate. They'll have TV cameras which view the whole of the enclosure. If the cameras are advanced alien devices, the tall man will be discovered and die. That is, he'll just die if he's lucky.
There's a light! A small red light. Perhaps it's a security device? The tall man detects a sweetish, stale odor. A wolfish grin briefly crosses his face. A guard is enjoying a little marijuana, or kif as it's called locally. From the intensity of the stench, it's very strong stuff. In fact, it'll prove deathly strong to the user.
The tall man carefully retrieves several thin pieces of pipe from within his night suit. Assembled, they form a very serviceable blow gun. The tall man squirms silently across the desert sand. The guard hears only a whisper of air, then the tiny dart with its alien poison bites into his cheek. The guard slumps forward, but doesn't collapse. Apparently, his rifle has wedged into the sand and it's holding him up! It's incredibly good luck for the tall man.
The next step is for the tall man to get inside the compound. The process is simple, just very risky. The aliens have provided the tall man with a small anti-gravity device. The little item will work just once and only for a very short time. If the base has a full alien security system, it'll detect the maximum overload death throes of the alien device. However, if he's able to fly over the fence and isn't detected, the tall man will have increased his chances of survival to perhaps even odds.
The tall man triggers the anti-gravity device and it lifts him over the outer fence and deposits him in the shadows near the main building. The way-too-small device gives up with the tall man still some half dozen feet above the ground. However, the tall man rolls on landing and survives uninjured.
There's no point in waiting to see if he's been discovered. There's no way out of the compound for the tall man, while the men inside the base are still alive. From here on, The tall man will either succeed or die!
The tall man is almost invisible in his night suit, in the darkness. He pulls metal steps from his backpack. The steps have some sort of super adhesive on the base of each step. Once the cover is pulled off, he has a few seconds to place the step against some sort of surface to which the adhesive will bond.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R. Richard
• Release date: Nov 9, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463988923

R. Richard

I'm the co-author, with Sunset Thomas, of Anatomy of An Adult Film.I have 48 novels and over 299 short stories currently published.I spent my early years in the part of Los Angeles known as the South Central. I was known as Whi' Boy, which was sufficient to identify me in that place. I'm a skilled Kung Fu player, using a system that I learned from a Korean I knew only as 'Pak.' It would be easier to tell you the places that Pak wasn't wanted by the police, rather than the places where he was wanted by the police. Pak's Kung Fu system, augmented by some bits and pieces from some Chinese practitioners is quick and effective, or I wouldn't be alive today.My early education was mostly obtained by stealing books from the public library (I always returned them and the Librarian even began to provide me with reading lists.) I did go to high schools, but I never really learned anything there. I eventually graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles, UCLA, with a degree in mathematics.I work as a Systems Analyst and also make a part of my living as a professional gambler (legal in Nevada.) I write science fiction and erotica. My published novels are:Anatomy of An Adult Film (With Sunset Thomas)1. Second Chance: God Killer2. Second Chance: Sky Pirate3. Second Chance: Scroll Seeker4. Second Chance: King of The Islands5. Second Chance: King of Zaya6. Second Chance: Duke of Averon7. Second Chance: King of Golomon8. Second Chance: King Of The Sky9. Second Chance: Warlord of Ifrequeh10. Second Chance: King of Ariby11. Second Chance: King of Mesodania12. Second Chance: King of Avuls13. Second Chance: King of Kemet14. Second Chance: King of Zorran15. Second Chance: King of Two Worlds16. Second Chance: King of Averon17. Second Chance: King's Duties18. Second Chance: King of The New WorldAdventurer: Simulation ProblemAdventurer: Pannar ProblemA Programmer's GambitAmateur StripperBeach MurdersBondage HouseCorporate Sex SlavesFriday NightGo Naked In The SoftwareGrasshopper WinterInvoluntary NudeLayoffNot A HeroPirates of The KeysSummer of SexThe LakeThe Last Moon DanceThe Nude Adventures of Plain JaneThe Secret Life of Wanda WilsonTails of the Pussycat LoungeTo Keep A JobTopless RestaurantToy WhoresVix: The MarineWayward BoyShort Stories:A Christmas Visit

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The Tall Man

By R. Richard ©

Published by R. Richard at Smashwords

Copyright 2019 R. Richard

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The Tall Man

By R. Richard © 2019

Alien Ethic

Old Bruno rouses from another fitful sleep. His failing old senses have managed to detect an intruder. Despite his pain and weariness, Bruno has to protect the home. It’s his duty. Thus, Bruno clumsily lurches to his feet and, by habit, sounds the alarm. Then, since there’s no one else to help him, Bruno goes alone, to defend his home.

A tall man stands in the living room, just inside the main entry door, and calmly faces the attacking Bruno. He raises a gun-like weapon in response to Bruno’s snarling advance. A beam of light and sonics plays over brave Bruno and the dog pitches, unconscious, to the ground in front of the tall man.

The tall man then uses some sort of communication device and signals to his companions, who wait a little distance away, that he’s inside the house and he’ll do the usual inspection before they enter to do their part.

The tall man then moves about the inside of the lower floor of the house with care. The phone has been disabled by the aliens and the medical alert has been taken over by the alien technology so that there’s no way to signal for help from inside the house.

Because it sits well back on a big lot, the house is too isolated for likely interference by the neighbors. However, the tall man very carefully conducts a normal, thorough pre-intrusion inspection.

At last the tall man is back on the front porch. Invisible to the eye, in the shadows, he very carefully scans the area just outside the front porch. He looks all around, with his view aided by night vision goggles. He finds nothing of interest and again signals to the aliens, who wait outside, that he’ll now check the upstairs.

The house smells of old age and sickness. The odors are more sad than unpleasant. However, the odor of the alien, who’s the point of the exercise, was clear to the tall man during his first inspection.

The tall man then re-enters the house and moves across the living room floor carefully, but his weight on the old floor gives ample signal of his progress. Since stealth isn’t an option, he moves with speed. He moves to a staircase and climbs quickly but carefully. The tall man finds himself at one end of a hallway. He moves down the hallway, pausing outside a second floor room. He uses yet another alien device to scan the room from outside the closed door. The room is a bedroom containing the alien he seeks, judging by the odor. The tall man marks the door for his alien crew. However the alien’s bedroom isn’t the bedroom he seeks at this time. The next bedroom is empty and the next. The remaining master bedroom at the end of the hall is clearly the one he seeks.

The door is slightly ajar. A thorough check with more of the alien gadgets reveals no obvious traps. Of course, there’s a bed in the room and on the bed lies Maddy. The old woman waits, with a heavy antique revolver.

The big man shakes his head in wonder. A 95-year-old woman waits for the unknown with only her late husband’s weapon. Her sanity might be in question, her courage is not.

The tall man carefully adjusts the strength of the beam on the gun-like weapon he carries. He then goes to a crawl and moves to the bedroom door. From the regular breathing he hears, Maddy has fallen asleep or fainted from her pain and is no longer a threat to him. However, he’s not hired to take chances. He very carefully thrusts his gun-like weapon through the slight opening of the door and bathes