The one way ticket – Tales of the Courier
The night is deep. The road races ahead and disappears into the horizon. 1courier keeps the pedal to the metal. The goal is to make up for lost time. Also, he could only speculate at how much time was actually lost. However, not much can be done for it now. Now, he is finally on his way. The m-com link flashes. HQ is sending an update. This should be good, he thinks, and then ignores the link. The road races on.
The One Way Ticket
It was several hours ago, when he took this offer from the queue. Although he is trying not to think about the lost time, it will inevitably be the reason HQ sanctions him. At this point, he would scrap the whole thing, except…
Faraway delivery isn’t a big deal. Under ordinary circumstances. In fact, even when circumstances get sideways, faraway delivery, still works. Especially, when the courier is good at adapting to delays. Especially mitigating unforeseen delays to avoid excessive loss of time. He looks into the rear view mirror, and checks the robot. It’s still there. Quiet and still.
The m-com link flashes again, and 1courier ignores it, again. Besides, the road was talking at the moment. And 1courier is listening intently. The horizon has darkened considerably over the last fifty miles. He is heading straight into a brewing storm. As if to accent the thought, small rain droplets begin to appear on the windshield. He can only hope the drop-off is before this brewing mess.
Tales of the Courier
A brewing mess indeed, and one he shouldn’t be anywhere near. In fact, he would already be on his way back, if not for HQ. And the robot. His current delivery was mapped out and the cargo set. The call for the extra pick-up, was a special favor for HQ. He was already headed in the direction of the second delivery. The robot delivery. 1courier checks the rear view again. The robot was still there. Quiet and still.
The problem was the pickup. The robot would not get in the ride. Even the technicians were surprised. Apparently no robot had ever reacted that way before. This was more than a red flag for 1courier. It was a red flag banner parade, as far as he was concerned. He tried to scrap the delivery right then and there, but they adjusted some programming, or something, and finally the robot got on board, so to speak.
1courier checks the side view, and floors the accelerator pedal. They quickly pass the slower traffic, and are that much closer to the drop-off. The rain is falling now. The drop-off will be in three miles. He can’t wait to get this done. Therefore he checks the rear view again. The robot is gone.
The One Way Ticket
He slams down the brake pedal, and the ride locks. Then it hydroplanes into a spin. Now they are sliding sideways down the highway. The ride is still moving very fast, as it spins. But all he can focus on, is where the hell did the robot go? He’s trying to search the rear view mirror, as the chaos outside the ride, intensifies.
As the sliding vehicle reaches the shoulder, it spins back the other way. At that same moment, the robot reappears in the rear view mirror. 1courier feels an odd sense of satisfied curiosity, as the ride slides into several highway signs, and one guardrail, before coming to a stop. The m-com link flashes again and this time 1courier snatches it up and looks at it. They have arrived at their destination.
The robot immediately exits the vehicle. 1courier unbuckles and exits the ride. There is a waiting transport truck on the shoulder of the highway. The cargo doors open, and the robot boards the truck. As the truck pulls away the m-com link flashes. There is delivery confirmation. 1courier grins, and walks back to the ride. However he’s not going anywhere. The fuel gauge is flashing empty.
to be continued
The one way ticket
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