Gamble's Bluff

By Joel Goldschmidt

Billionaire entrepreneur Bryce Gamble is always looking for what’s next in his life, and he has decided that space exploration is what’s next, even if a few narrow-minded politicians try to stand in his way.

Gamble and best friend Angelina Canton will need all their cunning to elude the government and find a safe haven where they can set up shop to construct and launch a rocket into outer space. Battling through adversity, they manage to succeed, sending a two-man ship to the Moon. But upon their arrival, they quickly discover more than they had bargained for. A hidden entrance leads them inside the Moon’s surface where they find a remarkable new world waiting for them. Gamble finds himself in a moral struggle as he considers sharing his newfound information and a physical struggle to cope with the situation he unknowingly stumbled upon.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jul 3, 2018
• ISBN: 9781387789276

Book preview

Gamble's Bluff

Gamble's Bluff

By: Joel Goldschmidt

Copyright ©2018 by Joel Goldcschmidt

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

First Printing: 2018

ISBN: 978-1-387-78927-6

Chapter 1

Bryce could see his breath hover for a moment in the freezing air before it vanished.  It was a very short walk from the hotel lobby to the waiting town car, but it was long enough to feel the chill cut through his bones.  He hastened his pace and dove into the backseat of the car while simultaneously handing the bellboy holding the door open a twenty-dollar bill.  The door closed behind him and he immediately felt the warmth of the cars heater begin to defrost his face.

He did not enjoy the cold and coming to Washington D.C. in February was something he wished he could avoid.  A recent cold snap had pulled the high temps for the day down into the low teens, with negative temperatures at night.  Bryce would have postponed or cancelled the trip if it was possible.

On the empty seat next to him was a copy of this morning’s New York Times opened to a page with a full-page op-ed titled, Does the Government Really Own Outer Space?

He picked up the newspaper to take a closer look.  He still preferred the physical newspaper to the app installed on his iPad.  There was something about the touch and smell of the newspaper that appealed to him.

The piece was written by a staffer of the Times named Paul Wolfe.  Bryce had never heard of him. Reluctantly, he pulled his iPad out and typed Paul Wolfe into Google.  He opened the first result, sending him to a NY Times bio page for the writer. According to his bio, he was only 25 years old, young for a writer at the Times, fresh out of the University of Southern California with a double major in Poly-Sci and Journalism.  No shock there.  Two years at an independent, exclusively online publication, followed by another two years as a staff writer for the Baltimore Sun before getting his current job for the Times.  Bryce put the iPad away, picked the paper back up and started reading.

On November 3rd of last year, the House of Representatives passed a bill that, in essence, declared outer space the private property of the United States government.  Perhaps that is a bit too simplistic of a synopsis, but that is what I, and many others including Sir Richard Branson, Elon Musk and Bryce Gamble concluded.  What they are saying is that absolutely no one in a non-sanctioned space or aircraft is allowed into the atmosphere.  To be fair, the bill is not without some merit.

Last summer, tragedy struck the country when Oliver deYoung’s SpaceCorp’s inaugural rocket launch went haywire and came crashing down into the small town of Tonopah, Nevada, north of Las Vegas.  The SpaceCorp rocket lost control shortly after their takeoff in the Nevada desert and plummeted into the heart of Tonopah, killing 87 people and destroying numerous homes and businesses.  Shortly after this tragedy, the House of Representatives created and pushed through HR 5253.

Their claim is two-fold.  First, if a private citizen, like Oliver deYoung, can launch a rocket that destroys a city on accident, then terrorist could do the same thing on purpose.  Their second reason is that this is for the public’s safety and that John Q. Public shouldn’t be allowed to shoot off a rocket that will fail and crash just like SpaceCorp’s did.  I get that…to a certain extent.  In the case of Branson, Musk and Gamble, they have A) a desire and passion for exploring space, B) unbelievable intelligence as well as teams of genius engineers, designers, etc. to help build their product and C) billions and billions of dollars.  If you are keeping score at home, that means they have the means, intelligence and time to do it, and do it well.  They aren’t some do-it-yourselfer that is trying to put something together from parts they got off Amazon.  They have everything going for them that NASA does, so why not let them?  None of those men strike me as someone who would use space for evil or hoard Earth-shattering information they uncover.  It is their money, their time, their resources, making it their headaches, their liability, their problems.

The problem with SpaceCorp was that they cut corners at every step along the way.  DeYoung has been notoriously frugal throughout his numerous ventures along the way and SpaceCorp was no exception.  When the bolts they had used throughout the rocket could not stand up to the temperature changes after liftoff, the rocket immediately began to disintegrate, losing any chance it had of staying airborne and Tonopah was the unfortunate result.  Now, instead of passing a bill that takes the opportunity away from an entrepreneur, why not create a government organization dedicated to inspect of any rockets planning on leaving Earth’s atmosphere?

Unfortunately, the House of Representatives did not feel that any more government agencies were necessary and passed the bill.  This has left people like Branson and Musk wondering if it is worth imprisonment to continue and both have suspended their respective space programs.  Bryce Gamble is the last man standing in the private space sector before the bill goes to the Senate for a vote and then moving on to be signed into law by the President.

Space should be for everyone.  The government of any country does not own outer space, the Moon, Mars or anything else outside their border.  Imagine if King Charles had decreed that no man could explore the seas unless the journey was sanctioned by him, leaving Magellan without the freedom to explore the world. That wouldn’t make any sense, right?  Same thing here."

Bryce put the paper down.  Sometimes it was all too much.  Being compared to Magellan, being put in the same sentence as Branson and Musk, his success, everything.  Whenever he had moments like this, he wished he were just a normal 33 year old with a wife, kinds, dog and mortgage instead of a billionaire going to a Congressional hearing as an expert fighting for the right to explore the universe.

He picked the paper back up and skimmed through the rest, picking out phrases like: Hasn’t been an actual human being on the Moon since 1972, the potential could be, literally, out of this world and creating jobs, increasing interest in science amongst a generation with lightning quick attention spans and learning more about the mysteries of the universe is an absolute home run.

The article concluded with: Today, there is a hearing at the Senate to discuss this bill.  Bryce Gamble will be there to testify and I will be listening to every single word he has to say.  Hopefully he can reason with the politicians who created the bill and have it removed from our memories.  But if he can’t do it with his words, I’m hoping he goes into space anyway and the next time he comes to Washington, it is to reveal something he and his team have discovered while boldly going where no private citizen has gone before.

We are here, Mr. Gamble, the driver of the down car announced.

Thanks. Bryce saw the Senate’s office building through the window of the car.  In front of the building were a slew of reporters and cameramen awaiting his arrival.  He took a deep breath, braced himself for the freezing cold and onslaught of questions, and opened the door.

After spending a few minutes giving bland, unelaborated answers to the dozen or so reporters, Bryce made his way into the Senate building.  An intern was waiting for him and promptly escorted him to a small room down the hall where he would wait until it was his turn to testify.

He spent the next 45 minutes nervously pacing around the room, sipping a water bottle and watching the preliminary statements being made off the CSPAN feed.  He went over his speech in his head several times and prepared answers to questions he thought he might be asked.  Finally, the intern who walked him to the room knocked on the door and informed him that the committee was ready for him.

After a short walk down the hallway, a pair of security guards opened the double doors into the room the hearing was taking place.  Bryce walked through to hear the clicking of cameras echoing throughout the huge, auditorium style room.  He started walking toward the front of the room and caught the eye of his lawyer waiting for him at the witness table.  He was only there if things got out of hand and Bryce needed someone to step in and insert themselves into the conversation.  His instructions were to support Bryce unless it was clear that another person’s voice needed to be heard.

They sat down in their seats and the noise in the room died down as one of the Senators banged his gavel after which Bryce was sworn in.

The chairman of the committee was a four-term Republican Senator from Virginia by the name of Geoff Carmichael.  He was a puppet if Bryce ever saw one.  Not surprisingly, he was in the top 3 of all public officials to receive money from the insurance, airlines and air transport industries.

Mr. Gamble, Senator Carmichael started.  You were called here to give expert testimony to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs in regards to bill HR 5253, or the ‘Safety in Space’ bill.  I am told you wish to make an opening statement.

Bryce cleared his throat.  Yes, Senator Carmichael and thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak to you all today.  He took a sip of water while cameramen shifted positions to get a better angle of him.

When I first heard of the bill, I honestly thought it was a joke.  I had to make sure I wasn’t accidently on ‘The Onion.’  Then, I read the proposed bill front to back and I was reassured.  Reassured because I believed there was no way a bill this absurd could pass all three branches of the government.  Then, day-by-day, it picked up steam and support.  I began to worry.  It passed the House far too easily.  No one seemed to share my outrage toward the bill when it passed.  There was still hope that the fine members of the Senate, he paused and glanced up at the panel of Senators, "would never let this nonsense go through.  But I’ve been reading quotes and interviews from you and your fellow Senators and it sure doesn’t look good from my point of view.

"I am here to try to convince you, to plead with you to undo the mistake of the House of Representative and strike this bill down now.  Don’t approve it.  Don’t send it to the President for final approval.  You can end this now.  You do not own the universe.  Let me say that again.  You.  Do.  Not.  Own.  The.  Universe.  This is a country that operates within the borders on Earth.  The government does not have infinite jurisdiction over an area simply because in is uninhabited.  Where will it stop?  The Moon? Mars?  Pluto?  Some yet to be discovered planet?  No one knows, because the bill was so vague, it never laid any of that out.  We wanted to be able to explore space, but our elected officials said ‘no’ like a parent’s response to their child wanting ice cream for dinner.  No debate, no other opinions.  Just a bill that was created and pushed through the House in lightening quick speed.  I will give you credit for one thing, though.  The government finally came together and passed something with equal bi-partisan support.  Democrats and Republicans working together equally to pass this asinine bill.  Perhaps you all can use this as a model for how to work together productively, only for more important things like immigration, health care, the economy, gun control or any of the other issues this country could improve upon.

"What is the downside to allowing someone like myself, or others who have the same line of thinking as me, to go for it?  Guess what a mission of this magnitude will do?  Create an enormous amount of jobs to help build, maintain and operate our vessel.  We will need to spend a fortune on materials and equipment, so we will be stimulating the economy in a number of ways.  And from your prospective, we will be taxed on it all!  From where I am sitting, the pros far outweigh the cons.

Look, regulations must be in place for this, just like everything else in this great country of ours.  No one wants another SpaceCorp or the tragedy that came with it.  Regulate the industry, not eliminate it.  No one is looking for a hand out or free rocket to outer space.  All we want is the freedom to explore.  There are countless mysteries to the universe that I, and many others, want to seek out.  I can’t speak for anyone else, but I definitely have the means, time and desire to explore space and I want to know why you forbid it.

Bryce sat back in his seat after he finished his short speech.  It wasn’t elaborate, but it was straight to the point and that was his style.  No sense in using ten words when five will do.  He awaited the answers to the questions he had posed and the questions that he will need to answer.

Senator Carmichael straightened up in his seat.  Thank you for your statement, Mr. Gamble.  Allow me to touch on some of the questions and issues you mentioned in your speech.  Since you oversimplified what the bill does, allow me to oversimplify my response.  We do not think of you and your colleagues as spoiled children.  We merely think that space exploration, as you put it, should only be in the hands of a country’s government.  There is simply too much at risk to let anyone, including you, do whatever they want up there.  There are shuttles, stations and satellites that serve media, businesses and military purposes.  Loss of human life is a real possibility by a multitude of factors as we have seen in the past.  Conflicting air space concerns.  But most of all, we are here at the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee instead of the Science and Technical Committee because SpaceCorp unintentionally showed terrorists an effective way to launch an attach on American soil.  I don’t know about you, but we want to prevent another 9/11.  There are plenty of reasons for this bill, Mr. Gamble.

But what about non-terrorists?  You have a no-fly list to keep terrorists off our planes, but still let non-terrorists on.  Why not treat this industry the same way?  What if the founding fathers felt that way about exploring North America?  What if Lewis and Clark or any other explorers were never allowed to leave the east coast because the government said they couldn’t?  I bet the Native Americans would have like that bill.  Just a few centuries late, I suppose.

There was an uncomfortable silence after that last statement with a few snickers and giggles from behind Bryce in the audience.  He kept a straight face and never lost eye contact with the Senator.

Senator Carmichael cleared his throat. We are not here to talk about the past, Mr. Gamble.

Well that’s convenient.  To quote a much smarter person than myself, ‘those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.’  When did the spirit of exploration get snuffed out by politicians?

Apples and oranges, Mr. Gamble.  That was hundreds of years ago and the exploration you refer to was on the very continent that they started on.  We are now talking about a colossal task of exploring outer space.  Lives are at state.  I’m only thinking of the well-being of man-kind.

You don’t think crossing the country on covered wagons hundreds of years ago was a colossal task?  That lives weren’t at risk?  If you honestly think that, then there are a slew of history books that I’d love to recommend you.

There were more giggles than before and Senator Carmichael looked noticeably uncomfortable.  To the right of Senator Carmichael was another Republican Senator from Wisconsin by the name of Travis Marleau. Marleau was, essentially, a clone of Carmichael, only 20 years younger.  He was the youngest member of the Senate and had clung to Carmichael ever since his election two years ago.  He voted in line with the Senate majority leader one hundred percent of the time.  Where Carmichael went, Marleau was sure to follow.

Marleau leaned forward in his set and cleared his throat.  Thank you, again, Mr. Gamble for taking the time out of your busy schedule to come here and help clear the air over the controversies that have emerged from this bill.  When I voted in favor of this bill, I thought it was pretty straightforward.  Air space needs to be controlled by the government in order to keep terrorist or other dangerous aircrafts away from our amazing country.  Our jobs as elected officials are to act as we see fit to make the country a great and safe place for our citizens.  And that is exactly what we are doing.  There are no ulterior motives to try to keep specific citizens down or anything like that.

He leaned back, apparently finished. 

I’m sorry, Bryce said.  Was there a question in there or shall I just use your time for myself? And, without waiting for Marleau’s response, he proceeded.  Actually, there is a question I’d like to ask.  One thing was not clear from the bill that I’ve been curious about.  Does America own all of outer space, or do other countries control the air above their borders?

Well, you see, each country will, within reason, be in charge of who or what takes off from inside their own country.  We can’t impose our laws on other countries, but, like everything else, countries can’t just do whatever they want without potential consequences from others.

Bryce chortled under his breath and smiled, Did you even listen to your last statement?  You just described this exact bill.  This Congress just did whatever they wanted without consequence.  It was created and passed the House at an absurd speed because the longer people actually thought about it, the less support you would receive.

In your opinion.

Yes, that is mine and many others opinion on this subject.  So, does this mean that if a country launches a rocket into space, it could be an act of war?

Yes, it could mean that if their intentions are interpreted that way.

Thank you for that clarification, Bryce said.  It was the answers Bryce had been expecting, but it shouldn’t affect his long-term plans too much.  There were still ways around that.  I noticed that you do not have the support of the UN or any international committees on this.  In fact, several other countries have spoken out against the proposed bill.  Doesn’t that worry you that there is not international support on a bill that, in theory, would affect every country in the world, not just this one?

"Again, Mr. Gamble, our job as elected officials is to make this country the best it can be and keep its citizens safe.  We hope the rest of the world will come around to this way of thinking, but we cannot wait for them to get on board to make positive change in this country.  We need to be the leaders in this realm, not followers."

Say I do it anyways, Bryce started.  Say my team and I build a rocket ship and launch it.  What would the government’s actions be?  Imprisonment?  Fine?  Will you shoot my rocket down?

I cannot go into specific details about our countries defense procedures, but all of those potential punishments you mentioned could be levied depending on the severity of the offense you or someone else committed.

Thank you, Bryce responded.

The Senators looked to their side to the Senator on the far end who looked like he wanted to speak.  Bryce recognized him as Senator Craig from Ohio, the lone Democrat on the panel to voice his support for the bill.  He adjusted himself in his seat to sit up as high as his elderly body would allow.  He was in his seventh term and many wondered if he would make it to the end of it.  He hunched over the desk in front of him and cleared his throat repeatedly until he was satisfied with the airflow.

Mr. Gamble, he said very slowly.  Perhaps I am just a crotchety, old man, he paused for laughter that did not come, then proceeded as if it had, "but in my day, space travel was left to the government.  This was never meant for citizens to take into their own hands.  The enormity of what that entails could only be made possible by the government with the resources they have.  How could going into outer space be beneficial to you in any way?"

Well, Senator, Bryce said after patiently waiting for the Senator’s rambling question to present itself.  "I consider myself to be a curious person.  I always want to know how things work, why things are the way they are.  I like to challenge myself as well.  As my mother always said, ‘if it were easy, everyone could do it.’  This seemed to be a perfect combination of curiosity and exciting challenges.  I have already accomplished a great deal in my life, but want to see and do more.  What’s wrong with that?  And, besides, it’s not like NASA has been very active in launching any rockets.  Most things being sent out into space are done by the private companies."

Nothing is wrong with ambition, young man, but this thing you want to do is very dangerous.  What if your rocket explodes and crashes into a crowd bigger than that poor town in Nevada?  200 miles south and that rocket would have landed on the Las Vegas strip, killing thousands instead of dozens.  I do not feel we should risk something like that in the hands of an amateur.

Well, I wasn’t planning on launching a poorly made rocket from downtown Manhattan, Bryce said.  Are you familiar with my background, Senator Craig?

Some, yes, he responded.

And is any aspect of my background cause for concern?

Well, no.

Has any aspect of my life made you think I would fail at this, or assemble a team that is unprepared or unintelligent?  That I would, pardon my French, half-ass it?  Endanger my life, my teams lives or anyone else’s life?

No, the Senator said after a long pause.

Then why prevent me?

"Because it is the law, Mr. Gamble.  Or will be the law."

It’s only the law if you made it the law! Bryce exploded.  You can stop it right now!  Today!

I’m sorry, Senator Craig said in his slow drawl.  I agree with my fellow Senators on this one.  Space travel, rockets, all that should not be left in the hands of the citizens.

Bryce smacked his palm against his forehead as the moderator announced that Senator Craig’s time was up.  And on it went.  More Senators defended the bill while Bryce tried in vain to reason with them.  He had never done it before, but Bryce got the distinct impression that this was very similar to bashing his own head against a wall.

The only saving grace was the Senator from Illinois.  Kim Stringer was a second term Senator and one of the two members of the panel to not vote in favor of the bill.  She wasn’t quite as outspoken against the bill as her counterparts Carmichael and Marleau were for it, but her support was welcome in the unfriendly territory that was the Senate.  Bryce’s favorite question she posed was the simplest question that no one had bothered to ask.

If this bill does not get passed and you are free to do as you please, what would you do?

To be honest, Senator, I don’t know for sure.  I’m simply here to fight for the chance to figure that out and then act on it.  I’ve thought about sending unmanned ships to explore areas of space that we know little about, land on Mars or the Moon or launch satellites to help out with numerous technological products down here on Earth.  I don’t have any plans that I would call definitive, just ideas.

All in all, the hearing went on for two hours and accomplished nothing.  The bill would most likely go forward and pass the Senate followed by Presidential approval and Bryce would have to go to Plan B or beyond if he was going to make his space exploration dreams come true.

As he sank into the back seat of the town car, he wondered if his appearance here was a mistake.  He had put himself firmly on the government’s radar with his testimony.  He had expected that, but initially had thought that the pros outweighed the cons.  Now he wasn’t so sure.  He felt his cause was just, but also didn’t want his plans to be altered because of more government interference.

He’d sit back for a few days or weeks and see what kind of fallout would happen because of his appearance.  Then, if it wasn’t too bad, continue with his plans.  A few pompous Senators were not going to stop him.

Chapter 2

More than a week had passed since the Senate hearing and, as expected, nothing had changed.  Everyone had gone through the motions like it was part of the script.  The Senators flexed their legislative muscle, Bryce put up the best debate he could and a few writers and television pundits used their power of free speech to either defend or rage against the bill.  It even got a short piece about it on The Daily Show.  But, nothing came of it; the bill was approved by the Senate 59-41, then quickly signed into law by the President, officially making it a crime for Bryce to launch anything from inside America’s borders.

Bryce was back in his home in California, staring at a stack of articles from various sources sent by his assistant.  Some were actual printed newspapers, some printed off the web.  He read every one of them.  About 90% of the media’s opinions were on his side, which gave him a bit of comfort that he wasn’t crazy.

He had contemplated his options ever since his idea for space travel officially progressed from an idea he liked to talk about to something he actually started to take steps toward accomplishing.  Since the hearing, his first route went from long shot to not an option.  Obviously, launching from anywhere inside the US would have been the easiest path, but Bryce had given up on that dream.  He could never get launch approval and skirting the law and doing it anyways on American soil did not stack up well on his risk versus reward scale.

The next logical step to take was to find a different country more sympathetic to his dream or could use a generous deposit to those countries’ GDP.

He immediately ruled out the strong allies of the US who would support America’s laws entirely.  Goodbye to the UK, Israel and Canada.

Despite his current irritation with the US, it was not his intention to start a third World War just for the hell of it.  So, goodbye to enemies and rival superpowers China, Russia, North Korea and basically anyone in the Middle East.

While not a criminal in America yet, a country with a non-extradition treaty with the US or at least a history of not deporting Americans would be a plus and could pay off in the long run.

That left a very short list of countries to choose from and Bryce contacted them all.  Discreetly.

Holed up in his secluded home near Lake Tahoe, Bryce used every contact he had at his disposal and made call after call until he was on the phone with a high ranking official from his short list of countries; Ecuador, Iceland, Nicaragua, and Morocco.  He spoke to them all, pitching his vision while learning what kinds of assistance they could offer him.  Money was discussed with the high level officials while some low level government employees hinted at a bribe for themselves in order to get in contact with the higher ups.

Each country had its flaws.  Morocco asked for an ungodly amount of donations and wouldn’t confirm that this amount would be the end of it.  Nicaragua’s resources were minimal and distance from America was not ideal.  Ecuador seemed to have their own misgivings about being associated with this project and they just didn’t feel like a match to Bryce who always trusted his gut.  Iceland was the closest to a match, but unfortunately was home to a very large, very active volcano.

After three and a half days on the phone, Bryce was exhausted but felt he had all the information he would get over the phone.  He would take a break the next few days digesting all the information he compiled and create a new plan of attack.

* * * * *

Bryce lifted his mountain bike off its hooks in his garage and hopped on.  One of the main reasons he bought his home in the mountains was to get away from the chaos that comes from a big city.  The closest thing to a big city was Lake Tahoe and that was twenty miles away.  It was his dream home, huge interior with amazing views and without a neighbor for miles.  He never fashioned himself as fancy, preferring to live in relative modesty, at least compared to most of the other billionaires in the world.  He lived alone, but always had enough space for friends and family wanting to spend some time with him.

The biggest change to his life since the hearings was an increase in security.  While his home was always protected by state of the art security, his lawyers, insurance company and friends had insisted on increasing his protection from outside threats following his increased recognition in the world.  As a result, there were two security guards standing watch outside his front door and greeted him as he exited the garage.

Going for a ride, Mr. Gamble? the lead security guard, Grayson asked.  Give Barnes a minute to change into something more suitable for a ride.

That’s really not necessary, Bryce said.  He was not accustomed to people cramping his style, especially around his home.  I’m just going for a quick ride, nothing to concern yourself with.

I’m sorry, Mr. Gamble, Grayson continued while the other agent dashed into the house to change out of his suit.  We are not to leave you alone outside of your house.  That is what you are paying us for.

Bryce nodded and walked his bike out into the driveway to wait for Barnes.  In record time, Barnes emerged from the garage in a perfectly acceptable outfit for a bike ride through the mountains and grabbed Bryce’s spare bike off its hooks.

Ready? Bryce asked him.  Hope you’ve done this before.  This isn’t an expert trail, but it is no beginners course either.

Not to worry sir, Barnes answered.  I used to ride the mountains in Colorado with my brothers.

Bryce shrugged and pushed off, pedaling away from his home and down the nearest trail.  He zipped past trees, boulders, wildlife and creeks.  He felt his worries, stresses and concerns dissipating the further into the woods he peddled.  His mind cleared as he climbed a hill and momentum took over at the apex and he started his descent down the other side of the hill.  He would occasionally took a look back behind him and saw Barnes keeping up with him every single time.

Bryce lost track of how far he had gone until he reached a clearing directly above Lake Tahoe.  It was a breathtaking site but a sight he hadn’t planned on seeing today.

Well, he panted out loud.  I guess I’ll be taking another 20 mile ride back home.

Barnes skidded to a stop next to Bryce at the overlook, but he did not look nearly as tired as Bryce felt.

Quite a view, Mr. Gamble, he said, taking a drink from his water bottle.  I can see why you enjoy this trail.  Are we heading back?

"Yeah.  Not too shabby, Barnes.  You certainly have done this before.

He turned around and started back in the opposite direction cursing the fact that his return was more uphill than downhill and his already-tired legs were yelling in protest.  But he kept those thoughts to himself since Barnes didn’t seem to have the same problem.  Still, he kept moving ahead and further along the trail as fast as he could manage.  About halfway through