Big Fish

Big Fish Plot Summary

Introduction

The Mexican night air hung thick with tension as Altmeyer crouched behind the stone wall, watching the hotel's darkened windows. What had started as a simple arms deal—delivering counterfeit Browning pistols to Japanese buyers—had spiraled into something far deadlier. The bomb in the knapsack beside him wasn't meant for them; it was meant to erase all evidence of their existence. Someone had tried very hard to kill him, his partner Rachel, and their unlikely companion Bucky Carmichael, a Hollywood agent who'd stumbled into their world of gunrunning and international intrigue. Now, as sirens wailed in the distance and the smell of cordite mixed with ocean salt, Altmeyer realized they weren't dealing with ordinary business competitors. The uranium-laden smoke detectors, the sophisticated network spanning from Los Angeles to Tokyo to Brussels, the cold efficiency of the assassination attempt—all pointed to something far more sinister than a simple arms transaction. They had unwittingly become pawns in a game where the stakes weren't money or territory, but the power to hold entire cities hostage. The question was no longer whether they could collect their payment, but whether they could survive long enough to stop what they'd helped set in motion.

Chapter 1: The Counterfeit Exchange: A Deal with Ashita

The meeting took place in Victoria's stately Empress Hotel, where Japanese businessmen mingled with tourists beneath towering wooden beams and antique chandeliers. Altmeyer had spent months perfecting his masterpiece—counterfeit Browning pistols so authentic that even experts couldn't tell the difference. His contact, Mr. Nagata, spoke for three silent companions with obviously false names: Bridges, Walker, and Bone. The transaction seemed routine enough: one thousand counterfeit pistols at eighteen hundred dollars each, delivery to Japan within thirty days. Rachel watched the proceedings with her usual sharp attention to detail, noting how the Japanese men's eyes lit up when Altmeyer demonstrated the weapon's quality. The gun felt perfect in their hands—the right weight, the proper balance, even the correct markings. What they didn't know was that these weren't stolen originals but meticulously crafted reproductions, manufactured in a small gun factory where Altmeyer had corrupted the night shift supervisor with desperately needed cash. The deal represented the culmination of Altmeyer's career in arms smuggling. After years of dodging bullets in Afghanistan and navigating the treacherous world of international weapons sales, this was supposed to be their retirement fund. Two million dollars for a shipment of untraceable firearms that would satisfy the buyers' needs without depleting any government arsenal or attracting unwanted attention. But as they shook hands in the hotel's conservatory, surrounded by exotic plants and filtered sunlight, none of them realized they were sealing a pact that would drag them into something far more dangerous than simple gunrunning. The Ashita Corporation had plans that went far beyond small arms, and Altmeyer's reputation for discretion and reliability had made him an unwitting accomplice in a scheme that could reshape the balance of terror itself.

Chapter 2: Betrayal in Ensenada: Hunters Become Hunted

The cotton bales waited on the Ensenada pier like sleeping giants, their burlap wrapping concealing both legitimate cargo and Altmeyer's carefully packed weapons. The plan was elegant in its simplicity: hide the guns inside twenty bales of compressed cotton, ship them as agricultural exports to Japan, then collect payment upon delivery. Bucky Carmichael, despite his complaints about the physical labor, had proven surprisingly useful in the operation, his Hollywood connections providing perfect cover for their "business trip" to Mexico. The first sign of trouble came at the hotel. Rachel was in the bathroom when Altmeyer heard footsteps on the roof—deliberate, careful movements that spoke of professional intent. The man who came through their window carried more than burglary tools; he had enough explosives to level the entire building. In the darkness, Altmeyer realized this wasn't random violence but calculated assassination. Someone wanted them dead badly enough to risk exposure in a public place. The fight was brutal and efficient. The assassin was skilled, armed with a combat knife and trained in close-quarters combat, but he'd made the mistake of underestimating both Altmeyer's experience and Rachel's quick thinking. Her improvised assault on the ceiling had disrupted the killer's timing, giving Altmeyer the opening he needed. When it was over, a Viking-looking blonde lay dead in the hotel garden, and they had their first glimpse of how far their enemies would go. The discovery of the bomb's timer showed the cold calculation behind the attack. They weren't meant to die immediately—their deaths were scheduled for later, when the ship would be safely at sea and any investigation would focus on the wrong location. As they disposed of the body in a borrowed boat, watching the flames of the killer's funeral pyre disappear into the Pacific darkness, Altmeyer knew their simple retirement plan had just become a fight for survival.

Chapter 3: Uncovering the Nuclear Plot: Smoke Detectors and Uranium

Back in Los Angeles, the pieces began falling into a terrifying pattern. The electronics store on Westwood Boulevard looked innocent enough—just another outlet selling cables, thermostats, and security devices to contractors and businesses. But when they broke in after hours, the absence of what they didn't find spoke volumes. The Ashita corporation's catalog listed dozens of products, yet the store's shelves held everything except the one item that mattered: battery-powered smoke detectors available "only in the United Kingdom." Bucky's sharp eyes spotted the first one mounted on the office ceiling, an ivory-colored disk with an innocuous red light that seemed to watch them like a mechanical eye. When Altmeyer pried it open, the warning etched into the metal casing made their blood run cold: "Contains radioactive material." This wasn't just any smoke detector—it was a delivery system for weapons-grade uranium, designed to be shipped in bulk without raising suspicions from customs officials or radiation monitors. The shipping records told the rest of the story. Two thousand units ordered from Japan, with delivery scheduled over the next year. Each detector contained enough radioactive material to contribute to something far more sinister than fire safety. Rachel's calculation was swift and chilling: multiply the uranium content by two thousand units, and you had enough fissionable material for multiple nuclear devices. The smoke detectors weren't products—they were components in a terrorist weapons program. But the most disturbing discovery came from the office files: a sheet of paper bearing their home address, proof that their involvement hadn't been coincidental. The Ashita Corporation had specifically chosen Altmeyer for this operation, knowing his reputation for moving sensitive cargo without questions. They'd made him an unwitting accomplice in nuclear smuggling, then tried to eliminate him when the job was done. Now the question wasn't whether they could collect their payment, but whether they could stop the weapons from reaching their final destinations.

Chapter 4: From Tokyo to Brussels: Following the Trail

Tokyo's neon-bright streets felt like a maze of electronic surveillance as they tracked the cotton shipment to Yokohama harbor. The Japanese operation was larger and more sophisticated than they'd imagined—not just a simple receiving point, but a complex network involving multiple corporations and shell companies. Leonard Stahl, Arthur Paston's business manager, had uncovered disturbing patterns in Ashita's expansion: stores opening near universities across multiple countries, all positioned to distribute some mystery product to educated consumers. The confrontation in the Yokohama warehouse erupted with shocking violence. Five men died in the space of thirty seconds as Altmeyer's small-caliber automatic spat death across the concrete floor. But the discovery that followed was even more chilling: the cotton bales they'd packed with guns remained untouched, while three other bales had been stripped open and emptied. The Geiger counter among the dead men's equipment confirmed their worst fears—Ashita had been using their smuggling operation as cover for something far more dangerous. The flight to Brussels became a desperate race against time, carrying only the evidence they'd salvaged from the warehouse carnage. Paul Mazarin, Altmeyer's old contact in the European arms trade, initially offered sanctuary in a Belgian farmhouse that quickly became a trap. The predawn attack came with military precision: five men in coveralls moving through the darkness like a special forces unit. Only their captured automatic rifles and advance preparation saved them from the same fate as the Tokyo team. The interrogation of the survivors revealed the scope of the conspiracy. This wasn't just about weapons sales—it was about creating a new market in nuclear terrorism, with private corporations manufacturing and distributing atomic weapons to the highest bidders. The trail led inevitably to London, where the final components waited in a laboratory disguised as a university annex. Each step of their journey had been orchestrated by enemies who seemed to anticipate their every move, forcing them deeper into a web of international conspiracy that stretched from the Hollywood hills to the academic spires of London University.

Chapter 5: The London Inferno: Destroying the Laboratory

The narrow streets of Bloomsbury concealed London's academic heart, where centuries of learning had created a labyrinth of colleges, institutes, and research facilities. The Physical Sciences Annex looked perfectly legitimate—just another converted townhouse serving the overflow from London University's expanding programs. But the basement laboratory told a different story, filled with precision-crafted metal shells designed to house the world's most terrible weapons. The bomb casings lay in neat rows like silver fish, their aerodynamic shapes speaking of careful engineering and deadly purpose. Some were small enough for suitcase delivery, others designed for missile deployment. The electronics workshop buzzed with the tools of nuclear weaponry: voltmeters, soldering equipment, and control circuits that could trigger atomic fire. Arthur Paston, the legendary film director who'd joined their desperate mission, stared at the devices with the horrified fascination of an artist recognizing another's dark masterpiece. The three scientists they encountered fleeing the burning building wore radiation suits and carried themselves with the desperate urgency of men who knew they were handling death itself. Dr. Bernard Felitan's team had been assembling their nuclear inventory when Altmeyer's arson interrupted their work, sending them fleeing into the London night with radioactive particles still clinging to their protective gear. The smoke detectors screaming throughout the neighborhood provided perfect cover for what came next. The executions were swift and merciless, carried out in the chaos of fire trucks and emergency vehicles while two thousand Ashita smoke alarms shrieked their electronic warning into the darkness. Each scientist died knowing that his work had been discovered, his conspiracy exposed, his nuclear dreams reduced to ash and flame. As they melted back into the crowd of spectators, Altmeyer and his companions had struck the first decisive blow against the nuclear smuggling network, but they knew the victory was only temporary.

Chapter 6: Final Reckoning: Confronting Dr. Felitan

Santa Barbara's medical complex gleamed with the antiseptic prosperity of modern healthcare, its glass facade concealing the consultation rooms where Dr. Felitan had built his legitimate fortune. The Twenty-First Century Medical Group specialized in women's health, providing a perfect cover for a man whose real interest lay in the deadliest applications of nuclear physics. Rachel's reconnaissance mission through the clinic's gynecological maze had mapped the route to Felitan's private office, where the final confrontation would unfold. The confrontation lasted less than thirty seconds. Dr. Bernard Felitan, tanned and confident behind his executive desk, recognized Altmeyer's name immediately—a reaction that confirmed his role as the mastermind behind the nuclear conspiracy. His hands trembled as he faced the silenced automatic, understanding that his careful network of scientists, corporations, and shell companies had finally been traced back to its source. The Prince Andrei Hotel matchbook on his desk provided the final link, proof that he'd been recruiting arms dealers at San Francisco's annual smugglers' convention. The two bullets that killed Felitan also ended the immediate threat of nuclear terrorism, but the implications stretched far beyond one man's death. The Ashita Corporation's global network had been designed to manufacture and distribute atomic weapons to private buyers, creating a marketplace where terrorist groups and rogue nations could purchase nuclear capability without the diplomatic complications of dealing with established nuclear powers. Felitan's death had severed the head of the conspiracy, but the infrastructure remained largely intact. The cleanup required careful orchestration. Arthur Paston's wealth and Hollywood connections provided cover for their activities, while Leonard Stahl negotiated to purchase the Ashita Corporation's assets, ensuring that the nuclear technology would never reach its intended market. The official investigation would find nothing more than industrial espionage and patent theft, the radioactive materials quietly disposed of through proper government channels. In the shadowy world of international arms dealing, some victories could never be acknowledged publicly.

Chapter 7: Return to the Koi Pond: A New Beginning

The Los Angeles sunshine felt different now, carrying warmth instead of the harsh glare of hunted men constantly watching for threats. Altmeyer lay beside the koi pond in their Laurel Canyon garden, watching the bright fish rise to the surface for breadcrumbs while Rachel's goats grazed peacefully nearby. The domestic tranquility seemed almost surreal after the violence of recent weeks, but the medical report in Rachel's hands promised an anchor to normal life that neither of them had dared to hope for. The television news treated their London operation as a terrorist incident, crediting unnamed authorities with preventing a nuclear catastrophe while the real heroes remained invisible. The British government's official statement mentioned weapons-grade uranium and murdered scientists, but the full scope of the conspiracy would remain classified indefinitely. For Altmeyer and Rachel, anonymity was the greatest reward—the chance to disappear from the world of international arms dealing and build something lasting together. Arthur Paston's purchase of the Ashita Corporation had netted them more than money; it had given them the satisfaction of dismantling a network that could have changed the balance of global terror. The company's legitimate electronics business would continue under new management, but its nuclear ambitions had died with Dr. Felitan in his Santa Barbara office. Bucky Carmichael returned to Hollywood with stories he could never tell, his experience with real violence tempering his appetite for the artificial dangers of the entertainment industry. The koi pond reflected the afternoon sky like a mirror, its surface broken only by the gentle movements of fish that had survived because someone cared enough to maintain their small world. As Altmeyer closed his eyes and felt the sun on his face, he understood that some fights were worth winning not for money or glory, but for the simple right to watch fish swim in clean water while the woman you love tells you you're going to be a father. In a world where nuclear weapons could be ordered like smoke detectors, such moments of peace had become the most precious contraband of all.

Summary

The transformation of Altmeyer from professional arms dealer to unlikely savior of civilization reveals how ordinary greed can accidentally intersect with extraordinary evil. What began as a routine retirement scheme—selling counterfeit weapons to Japanese buyers—evolved into a desperate race to prevent nuclear terrorism on a global scale. The Ashita Corporation's plot to commercialize atomic weapons represented capitalism's darkest potential: the reduction of humanity's ultimate nightmare to just another profitable commodity, complete with retail outlets and customer service. The victory came at a personal cost that extended far beyond the violent deaths in Tokyo warehouses and London laboratories. Arthur Paston, the legendary filmmaker, found his golden years shadowed by the memory of executing scientists in burning streets. Bucky Carmichael discovered that real violence lacks the clean resolution of movie adventures, leaving survivors haunted rather than heroic. Yet their success in dismantling the nuclear network proved that individual conscience, when backed by decisive action, could still triumph over institutional evil. As Altmeyer contemplated fatherhood beside his peaceful koi pond, the silence of prevented catastrophe became more precious than any profit from his former profession—a reminder that some stories end not with explosions, but with the quiet courage to choose life over destruction.

About Author

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Daniel Wallace

Wallace navigates the intricacies of Southern life through narratives that blend mythic and folkloric elements with humor and seriousness. By challenging conventional storytelling, his works offer readers a refreshing take on familiar themes such as community and rebirth. His novel "Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions" not only captivated readers with its tall-tale narrative style but also gained popular recognition through its adaptation into a film by Tim Burton. This distinct narrative approach underscores his ability to merge the fantastical with the everyday, crafting stories that resonate deeply.\n\nEmphasizing nonlinear storytelling, Wallace employs unique structures to delve into profound themes of life and death, often with a comedic touch. His book "Ray in Reverse," for instance, intriguingly presents a life story in reverse, inviting readers to reconsider their understanding of narrative flow. This approach mirrors his Southern background, where local traditions and broader human experiences intersect. Meanwhile, his children's book, "Elynora," published in Italy with illustrations, further showcases his versatility as a writer, balancing both fictional and illustrative talents.\n\nReaders gain from Wallace’s exploration of myth and reality, benefiting from narratives that are not only entertaining but also thought-provoking. His works are taught in educational settings, highlighting their literary significance and impact. Furthermore, Wallace’s achievements, including the Sir Walter Raleigh Prize for "Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician," reinforce his status as a distinguished author. With his continued contribution to the literary world, particularly in teaching creative writing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Wallace’s bio reflects a commitment to fostering both creativity and critical thinking.

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