Episode 24: Planning the Getaway
It was while he was flying with Brett-James on the second day that Joe said, "How about Mexico? Could I make the get to Mexico?"
The physicist looked at him questioningly. "Get?" he said.
Joe Prantera said impatiently, "The getaway. After I give it to this Howard Temple-Tracy guy, I gotta go on the run, don't I?"
"I see." Brett-James cleared his throat. "Mexico is no longer a separate nation, Mr. Prantera. All North America has been united into one unit. Today, there are only eight nations in the world."
"Where's the nearest?"
"South America."
"That's a helluva long way to go on a get."
"We hadn't thought of the matter being handled in that manner."
Joe eyed him in scorn. "Oh, you didn't, huh? What happens after I give it to this guy? I just sit around and wait for the cops to put the arm on me?"
Brett-James grimaced in amusement. "Mr. Prantera, this will probably be difficult for you to comprehend, but there are no police in this era."
Joe gaped at him. "No police! What happens if you gotta throw some guy in stir?"
"If I understand your idiom correctly, you mean prison. There are no prisons in this era, Mr. Prantera."
Joe stared. "No cops, no jails. What stops anybody? What stops anybody from just going into some bank, like, and collecting up all the bread?"
Brett-James cleared his throat. "Mr. Prantera, there are no banks."
"No banks! You gotta have banks!"
"And no money to put in them. We found it a rather antiquated method of distribution well over a century ago."
Joe had given up. Now he merely stared.
Brett-James said reasonably, "We found we were devoting as much time to financial matters in all their endless ramifications�including bank robberies�as we were to productive efforts. So we turned to more efficient methods of distribution."
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