Part 2 of 2
Read the full text, as well as the show notes, at http://flashpulp.com
Tonight, Mulligan Smith, private investigator, meets Mr. Charles Barger.
The Skinner Co. Network
FP224 - Mulligan Smith in The Master of the Wild Kingdom, Part 2 of 2
[music] Welcome to Flashpulp, episode 224. This evening we present Mulligan Smith and the master of the Wild Kingdom, Part 2 of 2. This week's episodes are brought to you by Nutty Vites. Wake up, go to work. Work. Come home. Eat dinner. Rot your brain out. Go to bed. Lather, rinse, repeat. Are you tired of an old home drum life? Tired of things that just weigh you down and depress you? Wouldn't you rather just focus on things that are awesome? Tune into Nutty Vites. Find out what's awesome. Nutty Vites, nimlas.org/blog. [music] Flashpulp is an experiment in broadcasting fresh pulp stories in the modern age. 3 to 10 minutes of fiction, brought to you Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings. Tonight, Mulligan Smith, private investigator, meets Mr. Charles Barger. Mulligan Smith and the master of the Wild Kingdom, Part 2 of 2. Written by J.R.D. Skinner on Opoponax, Art and Narration by Opoponax, and Audio produced by Jessica Mann. [music] The bottomless nature of the Elder Smith's contacts had never ceased to amaze his son. The old man had assured him at length of the skill of the bush pilot, who'd introduced herself as Molly. It was not her abilities, however, that troubled the detective. It was his father's insinuation about finding a nice girl and settling down. The aviator hardly seen the type, however. Dual buns had always put Mulligan in mind of Princess Leia, or raver kids. But the woman wore them strikingly, and the only image she conjured was that of a feudal warrior princess prepared for battle. The rough, weathered flight came after a seven-hour drive, and Smith was grinding at his chewing gum as the wings dipped below the shadows of the pines that flanked their wet-languing strip. Once the plane had puttered to an engineless coast, he exhaled. "Handy bit of work," he said. Molly smiled, and ushered him onto his pontoon. As he finished inflating his dinghy, he considered briefly that he might be taking on something worse than usual, but, as Mulligan pushed off, he wore a smirk. After the pilot had tossed his bags into the boat's bottom, she'd retrieved a fishing rod to pass the weight. Then, for a while, his only focus was rowing, and the glowing cigarette she'd hand rolled as he'd prepared for departure. The satellite maps he'd inspected before leaving had shown him a largely circular island, but the grainy resolution they provided for such a rural location made it impossible to identify the green-gray blobs that made up the eyes interior. For a time, he could navigate only by compass, in the light of his cell phone, which was as extensive a use as he was able to make of the electronic device as there was no signal to be had. An hour into his journey, the heavy clouds burst, and Smith began to curse endlessly between his clenched teeth. His arms were aching, and he was beginning to think he might have gotten off track when a ring of stadium lights suddenly engaged 300 yards away. Digging for a second wind, Mulligan pumped hard and was breathing raggedly when he finally dragged his rubber raft ashore. As he'd done dozens of times earlier in the day, he considered why Olivia Barger might be working so hard to allow herself plausible deniability. Was the island a sex-slave harem? Some sort of drug operation? He knew he was getting closer, but still didn't have the data to decide. The massive lights made it easy enough to stroll through the wooded strip that marched along the shore, but he soon encountered a high metal fence, beyond which was little early. Smith guessed he might be able to climb the barrier, but in going over the top, he'd be easily spotted by anyone watching from beyond. On the far side of the illuminated circle lurked a sprawling house. Though Mulligan could smell drifting smoke from a fire, the tall rows of windows stood dark and empty. He was shielding his eyes against the overhead glare and considering his options, when he noticed a large heap at the midpoint between himself and the cottage. At first he thought the mass inert, but soon he realized it was breathing. He followed the bars to a better vantage point, which allowed him to make out just what the lump was. A rhinoceros, wheezing rhythmically as it drew in air. The door at the opposite end of the field opened, and five men exited. Four were dressed in black suits, and each held a shotgun. Smith wondered briefly if such a thing would be required, as any one of them looked built to wrestle the rhino to the ground using only his bare hands. Mulligan recognized the fifth as Mr. Charles Barger, despite the circle of green paint he'd spread over his face, and the red X he'd emblazoned across his chest. The wing of bodyguards leveled their weapons in the general direction of the animal, but it was obvious to Smith, from the behemoth's lack of reaction to the new arrivals, that there was likely enough sedative in the brute's bloodstream to kill a small family. Although the pictures of Barger had always portrayed a solid head of silver hanging atop a pearly white smile, Mulligan realized then that he had never seen the man in anything but full business attire. Years of monomaniacal desk work had left his arms little more than straw spokes, projecting from a sunken ribcage, giving the detective the impression of a large melon, perched perilously on a straw. Under the unyielding fluorescence, Smith could make out the goosebumps which covered Barger's milky white body, and the shake in the rich man's arms as he extracted the machete from the sheath at his side. As his protection maintained a respectful distance, Charles approached the gasping giant. His first swings against the slumber brought only a trickle of blood, but he found better purchase at the animal's throat. The butchering was a messy one, filled with panting, cussing, and unpredictable gouts of gore being carried away on the backswing. It was another 30 minutes before the beast finally fell silent. Sweating, its supposed conqueror lay the end of his blade into the chaos of exposed fat and flesh like Merlin placing the sword in stone, but the implement immediately sagged to the left, falling free from its resting place. Barger, who had turned back to his accompaniment, seemed to catch a look of question on the face of one of his bald-pated retinue. "This was the last of the western black rhinos," screamed the adrenaline-flushed Charles. "I just ended a species here! Do you understand the power in that?" "No, boss," said the muscle. "Of course you don't," replied Barger. His face took on a lunatic grin, and Smith was left wondering if the same high-powered mixologist who'd pacified the sacrifice had also provided some chemical courage to the billionaire. The silver-haired bobblehead cackled. As he finally approached his ride home, Mulligan found that Molly had replaced her rod with a rifle. "It took a long time," she said. "Nice to see you were worried," he replied. Their flight home was silent. At noon the following day, Smith was threading between mall pedestrians on his way to a bank kiosk. As he passed an electronic store's television display, he noted that the 24-hour news networks were still running an endless loop of Barger's feeble opening assault on the rhinos skull, followed by a close-up of the businessman's sneering-painted face. The only satisfaction Mulligan found in it, however, was that, for once, his paycheck wouldn't bounce. Flashpulp is presented by Flashpulp.com, and is released under the Canadian Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial 2.5 license. Text and audio commentaries can be sent to skitter@skitter.fm, or the voicemail line at 206-338-2792. But be aware that they may appear in a future flashcast. We'd also like to thank the Free Sound Project, found at freesound.org. For a full listing of effects used during the show, as well as credits for the users who provided them, please check this episode's notes at flashpulp.com. And thanks to you for listening. If you enjoyed the show, please tell your friends. [Music]