Sunday, July 5th, 2009
Issue: 133   Editor: MikaMania


The Adventures of the Coyote Bandit: Chapter 2 MuneLight
The Adventures of the Coyote Bandit
Chapter 2) The Test



The fire in front of me was crackling. The warmth of the fire, and the sight of it dancing wildly in front of me soothed my entire body. Jeremy came back with two cups of tea, and sat down in the chair across from me, looking me over.

"I imagine today has been a very rough day for you hasn't it?" He asked.

"Well, yes a little bit." I answered. "How did you know I was having a rough day?"

"Heard a call over the radio saying that Risidders son was getting himself into trouble. I didn't know it was because James was dead though." I caught a brief look of sadness in his eye. It disappeared very quickly. He then continued. "I'm sure you have nearly 100 questions, but right now we need to finish your father's request. There's a bedroom upstairs, that's where you'll be sleeping. In the top drawer are instructions for you once you get here."

"Instructions? More of them. How long ago did my dad set all of this stuff up?"

"Well, with the recent wars we've been having. Your dad knew that he only had a matter of time. He wrote all of us instructions on what to do with you once that time was up. We're carrying out his will. Not just because he wanted us to, but also because we do care about your well-being."

Upon this note I quickly hurried upstairs and grabbed a manila envelope. I opened it up and read over the scribbles that my dad called handwriting. My eyes widened to 10 times their normal size. I read it over and over, not believing what it said. I ran back downstairs and handed the folder to Jeremy.

"Are you sure we need to do this?" I questioned him.

"You just don't understand. When an order like this is given. You don't question it. You just do it.

Your dad has his reasons." He replied. "Now get in the car, I'm sure the cops are there staking out for you, so we have to do this really quick."

I nodded, and quickly ran out the door with the envelope in hand. We got in his car and headed back towards my house. Looking out the window as we parked cars and old beat up houses. I slowly began to drift off into a snooze. I didn't try to fight it, as I was very tired. I layed my head on the window and drifted away into a world of dreams.
__________

There were 4 of them standing outside of the building, but I didn't know who these people were. I couldn't move. I opened my mouth, but I couldn't speak. My heart was pounding, my limbs were numb. What is this? What's happening. I tried to listen to what they were saying, but I couldn't hear anything either. They all got into a small car and drove away. I followed the car, it drove very slowly. They stopped in between two alleys and waited. I watched 1 of them light a cigarette, while the man in the passenger seat, and in the rear passenger seat reached under the floor boards to grab something. I couldn't see what it was they picked up. It looked like they were waiting for something. I looked out across to the otherside of the alley, and I saw three people away from the car. I looked closer and realized that was me!

I then heard the driver say, "Remember, the boys innocent. Leave him be."

The man in the passenger seat replied with "Yes boss."

They rolled down their windows. Two gun barrels stuck out pointed straight at me. I looked closer and realized that the two people standing next to me were my parents. I tried to scream out at the last minute, but I was too late. I heard a loud bang and then...
__________

"Zach, wake up!" Jeremy shook me with his right arm while continuing to drive. "Do you know how much sleep talkers annoy me?"

"I'm sorry," I stated nervously. "I was dreaming about them, their were four of them."

"Well, you have some combat stress from watching your parents die. It happens, unfortunately, killing people gets easier the more you do it."

I looked over at him and he turned away from me. I could easily tell that he's done it many times, and it didn't seem that he was proud to admit it.

"So here's what we're going to do. Your house is just around the corner. We're going to park the car 1 block east of your house. Once we do that we're going to walk to the woods, and come in behind your house. Since more than likely the cops will be staking the front side of your house. Once we get their, you have a cellar door in your back yard to the west side of your backdoor. We'll unlock that door with your keys." He paused momentarily. "You did bring the keys of your dads that unlocks the attic right?"

"Yes, they're in my pocket." I responded quickly.

"Good, those same keys open the cellar door." He continued. "We'll open the cellar door and go down into the basement. Once we get down their it should be easy to see what we have to do. Your dad was a master at Explosives. All we have to do is light the fuse, and then every single bit of evidence that would lead to our arrests will be destroyed."

"Our arrests?" I asked.

"Yes, our arrests. Your dad was the head of our organization. He has so much information saved in different spots of the house that would lead the police to arrest every Risidder that is still alive. Which is why we need to destroy it. We're going to park the car on Elm Street. Which is precisely a 3 minute walk from the back door of the house. Your dad has measured out the fuses on the C4 to make it exactly a 3 minute fuse. So, the moment we get in our car. The explosives will detonate. The cops will be distracted and will pay no attention to us pulling a U-turn and driving off in the other direction."

"What happens if he sees us walking towards the house, or away from the house."

"Son, didn't you listen to what I said earlier. We're going to sneak into the woods and come out exactly right behind your house. As long as we follow the trail that your dad staked out, we'll have no problems." The car came to a stop. "We're here. When you get out of the car, hop over that fence right there, and stay on the dirt path, that will lead you exactly to the back cellar of your house. I'll be following behind you looking around for anything suspicious. Any questions?"

I shook my head and slowly got out of the car.

He grabbed me by my shoulders. When I turned and looked at him, he said. "Familie und sieg." He then got out of the car and hopped over the fence. I hopped the fence behind him, and then ran to get in front of him like he wished.I counted the seconds in my head to see if it was exactly a three minute walk. I spotted my house at the 164 second mark. When I got to the foot of the cellar door, I said aloud "180."

"Did you not believe me?" Jeremy said behind me. "Unlock the door, we can't be standing around. Idleness is our number 1 enemy."

I fumbled through the keys in my pocket until I found the attic door key. I opened the door and the first thing I saw was a string. Jeremy reached into his pocket and pulled out a match. He lit the fuse and turned around and started walking away. He put the match out and then put it into his pocket. I shut the cellar door and then hurried quickly to get back in front of him. We walked through the woods, I again counting to myself. We hopped over the fence on Elm Street, and as I sat down in the car as I heard a loud explosion, followed by a large fireball into the air. Jeremy started the car, he pulled his U-turn, and we drove away out of site. I turned around and looked out the rear window for at least 5 minutes making sure nobody was coming after us.

When I was sure we had gotten away, I turned to Jeremy questioned, "Familie und sieg?"

"Yes," He responded. "The two most important things for a Risidders member. Family and Victory. Your dad didn't speak very much English when he got here. Since he moved here from Germany when he was younger. He informed us that the most important things were each other, and defeating our enemies. Thus our chant of Familie und sieg. Since he didn't know how to say it in English. We repeat the chant in German to honor him. We say it before every mission, we say it when we propose a toast, it is our creed. Let's go home and get some sleep now. It's almost 2 in the morning. I'll answer any questions you have when you get up in the morning."

__________

I woke up the next morning to the sun gazing through my curtains. My mind was racing with questions that I wanted to ask Jeremy. I walked into the living room and their was 2 other men sitting their. Jeremy was not among them. The two men stood up upon my arrival into the room. I looked at them cluelessly, until they sat back down. Jeremy walked in with breakfast cooked, biscuits and gravy with sausage links. He pointed towards an empty seat, and I agreeingly sat down and began eating. There was no conversation during this time. Just four people eating breakfast. I found it very strange that he never mentioned the fact that their would be more people here than himself. Once the breakfast was finished, the conversations began.

"Zach, let me introduce you to my partners. The man sitting to your left is Thomas, and the man sitting to your right is Kalvin. With your dad included, the four of us where the originating members of Risidder 19 years ago. Since that time, our organization has spread to 9 states across America. When your father arrived in America. He had high dreams of becoming wealthy, but he had no idea what it would take to actually succeed at his dream. When he was down on his luck, he turned to crime as the answer. Resorting to acts as much as beating up blind men on the streets and taking what little money they had. Your father was a filthy scum. I met your father one day, in an alley. He offered me an offer I couldn't refuse. He had managed to find blueprints of a bank on the Westside of the city. He had all the plans on robbing the bank, with the acception of the proper amount of people. He informed me that if I could bring a car that I could be the getaway driver, and I'd receive a quarter of what we stole. I agreed to this offer as I too was down on my luck, and needing a turnaround. Three days later I ran into Kalvin. He was sitting on the street corner freezing, his wife had just kicked him out of the house, he was an uncontrolling alcoholic aspiring to be a doctor. He told me that he had fought in World War I and he'd be highly greatful if I could spare just a bit of change to a war Veteran. I grabbed him off the street and took him to meet your father. Your father was intrigued by this mans Marksmanship, and offered him a position on our team as a Weapons Expert. Kalvin here was in charge of keeping the weapons, obtaining the proper ammunition, and teaching the new members of the organization how to fire them properly. I'm sure you'll be seeing him a lot for weapons training. Lastly, was Thomas. He ran for state senate twice, getting turned down both times. We saw him scamming people in the streets one day. Watching him use his words to allow the people to fork over the cash. We knew he would be a huge asset to our team, and with your father's Explosive Expertise, we had finally formed our team. We robbed the bank, on a thursday morning, which happened to be the least populated time for that particular bank. Which was perfect for us. The cops however arrived very quickly. Your dad thinking quickly grabbed a hostage and allowed us to escape. The hostage was a very fiery woman. And your dad fell for her quite easily. She was a very smart person, and she became the brains behind all of our operations. Oh and yes, Zach. This woman was your mother.
That is how the Risidders became. We watched people closely for months before we offered them a spot in our organization. Here we our, 19 years later, proudly saying that we have one of the most powerful organizations in America. We're offering you, as James' son, to be apart of what your father started. What do you say, Zach? Familie und sieg?"

The three men were staring at me, eager for my answer. I ran through all the scenarios in my head. Every question that I could have possibly asked was just answered. The reason for my parents joining were so clear now. I thought about my current situation. If I say no to this offer, I would turn out like my dad, alone, broke, miserable. I have no other options. I stared back at each man individually, before looking up into the eyes of Jeremy.

"Familie und sieg."

A crisp smile formed on all of their faces. I smiled back but only briefly. Jeremy slapped 3 manila envelopes on the table. Kalvin and Thomas both reached out and grabbed one. Jeremy glared and me, telling me telepathically to grab the third.

"Time to test your worth, Zach. Just because your the son of James doesn't mean you get to carry a silver spoon in your mouth. There's work to do. This is the Detriot National Bank. The vault is estimated by our informants to have at least 2.5 million dollars at a minimum in it. So, naturally, we want this money. The payments will be as follows: 15% to the four of us, 30% will go to our distillery in New York. They're running low on funds due to the prohibition movement and we need to keep them afloat. The other 10% will go to our spies in the Lystar Clan. There are 3 security cameras in the bank. There is one behind the tellers window. There is one looking into the bank from outside the door, and the third camera is inside the vault itself. Codenames for this operation are the usual."

There was a brief pause and then Kalvin turned and looked at me. "We don't ever call each other by our names while we're in the operation. If someone was to here our names then our cover would be blown. We each have a nickname, that we use during the Operation. Mine is Ammo."

Very creative I thought to myself, let's give the Weapons Expert the nickname of Ammo. Wow, that will be so hard to crack.

Thomas looked over at me, "I'm Vulcan, and Jeremy is Wheels. What's your codename going to be?"

"I don't know," I replied.

"What is something that you like? Something that inspires your imagination?"

I thought deeply to myself. I remembered the time that my dad and I went camping. I was constantly awaken by the coyotes howling at the moon. I thought it would be so cool to catch one and keep it as a pet, but my dad told me otherwise.

"Coyote."

"Ok, you're coyote." Jeremy nodded and then continued. "So, codenames are as usual. The vault consists of a triple alloy metal. Steel between two slates of Iron. So we're going to need a very powerful explosive out of you Zach."

I looked up. "Wait me? I don't know how to make explosives."

"There's 10 pages of information in your envelope, 7 of those pages are directions your dad wrote on how to make the best explosives. He was an expert on it. So, follow his advice and you'll be fine. We're counting on you. Continuing on, the parking lot from the bank can be easily blocked from escape. So what we're going to have to do is park in a location precisely 4 blocks from the bank, and then we'll walk there. We'll all take diffent routes as to oppose any suspicion away from ourselves. When we make our escape we'll split up and take the same routes back to the car, that way we're less likely to all get caught. We'll meet up at the car and drive to our safehouse where we will have our mission debrief. Any question?"

"When?" Kalvin asked.

"We'll rob the bank first thing on Monday morning. 6 days should be plenty of time for you right Zach."

I looked up from my Bomb making tutorials. "Yes, plenty of time."

"Ok then, if there are no more questions. Let's have a blast."

"Familie und sieg." The three of them said aloud. After which they all looked at me with a grimace.

Upon noticing the fact that I was the only one who didn't say it. I looked back up from my tutorials.

"Oh yes, sorry, uhm, Familie und sieg!"

The three of them looked at each other and then dismissed themselves.

I returned to my room. I read the tutorial 5 times before I decided to make my own test bombs. Jeremy supplied me with the materials I would need, and took me to Kalvin firing range. He said I could practice on the range where no one would notice. I mixed together the chemicals in the exact step that my father's tutorial said to do. I tied a long string to make the fuse. I lit the fuse and watched it burn slowly towards my bomb. I ran behind the blast fence that I had made out of Sheet metal and peeped my head over the top to watch. The fuse got to the last bits of string and then hit my bomb. My bomb caught ablaze. Building a flame maybe 4 inches tall. The plastic binding around the outside of it burned to the ground, and the fire slowly went out. I tried this mixture 4 times with the same result. Not understanding what I did wrong, I went back to the drawing board.

I read through my dad's tutorial a few more times and found my mistake. I can't just light the bomb on fire and expect it to explode. I have to have a detonator, or a spark that will start the chemical reaction. I flipped through the pages to find a way to make a detonator but didn't find much on it.

"Any luck?" Kalvin snuck up behind me.

"Well, I have the proper mixture of chemicals, but I need to make a spark. Dad's tutorial doesn't say anything on making one."

"Hm, that's weird. Your dad always had a fine tune to notice small details. It's hard to believe he left that out. Well here, we'll just have to do some trial and error."

We went into a small shed, where he had loads and loads of equipment.

"What you're going to need to do, is make a blast cap within the Plastic binding you have. You'll then have a detonator tied to a wire which will be a safe distance away from your body. The detonator will send an electric pulse to the blast cap which will cause a small spark. The spark will start a chemical reaction with the chemicals in the bomb, thus starting the explosion." He looked down at me and smiled. "Your dad taught me how to make bombs. Blowing shit up was fun."

We found a piece of copper that we were going to use as our blast cap. We then tied a piece of telephone wire around the copper material and onto the opening of a lighter. After I mixed the chemicals together and attached the copper blast cap to the middle of my plastic binding, we rolled out 20 feet of blast cable, and prepared for the explosion. I flicked the lighter three times. On the third flick the C4 exploded. It wasn't a very impressive explosion. It left a devit about 4 inches deep into the ground.

"We need a better detonator," Kalvin said. "Something that will actually transmit an electrical signal, rather than a spark."

Back to the drawing board we went. We found a broken telephone.

"Perfect," Kalvin said. "We could set up this telephone to where when we press a button, it will cause the telephone to ring inside the C4, and cause an explosion. What we need to do though, is remember what materials this thing is made out of that way we can make more later."

I nodded, and we set up the next mixture of chemicals. My heart was pounding, my hands were sweating. I was very excited with this batch. We tied the receiving end of the phone to the center of the C4, before applying the outer shelling. We rolled out 20 feet of wire, and attached it to the transmitting end of the phone. We had applied a button onto the top of the detonator, along with a battery wrapped around the wire, and when pressed would touch the wire of the battery to the wire that goes to the receiver. Our fingers were crossed on the fact that this would cause enough of an electrical signal to cause the C4 to explode. Kalvin handed me the detonator, and my heart was in my throat. I counted to myself 1...2...3...pressing the button at the end of the count. I felt a vibration on the ground, and a rush of wind knock me on my back. I looked up and saw a huge fireball. At least 15 feet into the air. Kalvin picked me up to my feet.

"We nailed it that time, Zach!" He said excitedly. "That vault isn't going to stand a chance against your bombs now. Make a couple of more to make sure we get a similar result. I'd hate to test just one good bomb and this one be a fluke."

We tested 10 more bombs in that day. All of which resulted in the same massive explosion. I was very happy with myself. It took me 4 days of studying and failures. But, I have finally mastered the art of bomb making. Tomorrow, I would rest, and on Monday it was showtime.