City of Broken Lights Read online

  “Chancellor.”

  “Where is my daughter?”

  The figure laughed at the demand, a strange combination of the sound of human mirth with a face that had no features or expression.

  “Alive at the moment.”

  “What are your demands? Why would you kidnap someone and not make demands?”

  Exasperation was evident in the figure’s sigh. “The first contact was only to let you know we had taken Katrina into custody.”

  “Custody?” Saundra exclaimed in disgust. “Why use such deceitful terms? Why hide behind clever spin? Just call it what it is, you kidnapped my daughter!”

  This time the face laughed long and hard. “Oh, Chancellor, I am forced to admit, I admire your sense of outrage, the, oh, how shall I say it, the irony of a professional liar. That is what you are Chancellor, a professional liar.”

  Saundra struggled to regain control of her emotions, frightened at how easily the kidnapper had pulled her tightly controlled strings. With clenched teeth, Saundra forced herself to play the role of the Iron Chancellor. “I want my daughter back.”

  “Of course you do,” the kidnapper answered in a friendly manner. “I never for a second implied that you didn’t.”

  “Tell me what you want so we can end this.”

  The figure on the monitor shifted, leaning back slightly as if reclining in a chair. The voice deepened in an ominous tone. "Well, first, let's talk about what you did after I told you not to."

  “Excuse me?”

  "You involved the cops. Why did you think we waited to contact you a second time?" The figure paused, giving Saundra a chance to consider the ominous nature of the kidnapper's words.

  “You wanted to see what I would do,” she finally managed.

  "Yes! Good for you, Chancellor!" the face exclaimed. The face seemed to lunge at the monitor, causing Saundra to gasp and pull away. Even the distortion effect couldn't hide the blind rage of the kidnapper. "You not only brought in the cops, but you also went and got your ex-boyfriend, one of the best in the Alliance police force, one Inspector Thomas Sullivan, ex-Space Marine!"

  Saundra gave up putting on a calm, controlled façade. “What would you expect a mother to do? I have money, power, but only one daughter!”

  "You call yourself a mother," the face mocked. "The Iron Chancellor. What a joke. I know your little secret."

  “So what if the public finds out I have a daughter.”

  "Oh, I don't think an illegitimate daughter on this planet would destroy your political career, Chancellor. But given recent events, I do think the news that your so-called daughter is a clone would be something you would desperately want to keep secret."

  Unable to restrain her frustration, Saundra pummeled her desk with both fists, while screeching at the monitor.

  “What do you want?”

  The face laughed at the Chancellor’s frustration.

  “It’s not any fun is it, Chancellor?”

  “How can you even ask that? No parent would find this fun or amusing or whatever!” Saundra felt her eyes welling up with tears of rage and fear. “What do you want?”

  “For you to feel the powerlessness of those you rule over, the very citizens who elected you that you have ignored.”

  “That doesn’t answer my question,” Saundra raged at the monitor.

  “You asked what I wanted,” the face replied calmly. “But to be fair, I didn’t really answer your question, now did I?’

  Sobbing, Saundra leaned closer to the monitor. Her face inches from the screen, she whispered, “what do you want from me?”

  “I want you to rise up to the challenge, something you have done time after time in your political career.”

  Saundra didn’t dare respond. She stared in silence at the face on the monitor, her breathing rapid and shallow.

  “The greedy owners of the mines and processing plants cheat the workers with unfair wages, unsafe working conditions, and lousy benefits.”

  “The workers have labor unions. Take those demands up with the union bosses,” Saundra whispered.

  “The unions are as corrupt and worthless as the owners. The leaders care only about themselves and their perks. No, you are going to have to handle this, Chancellor.”

  Desperate, Saundra nodded as if considering the kidnapper's request.

  “This practice of importing robots to replace workers will stop,” the voice insisted.

  “Not too difficult,” Saundra replied. “That’s just a matter of a tariff or two, raising the cost of importing robots to the point it is cost prohibitive.”

  "That would be a good start," the voice replied. "I'd even call it a good show of faith on your part. So, let's do this. You write an executive order imposing that tariff by the end of business tomorrow, and I'll let you talk to Katrina."

  “What else do you want?”

  “You will seize control of every mine, well, extraction process, processing plant, anything related to the processing of the natural resources of this planet from the greedy pigs who own them. You will then transfer ownership of those same properties to the workers.”

  Horrified, Saundra was barely able to grasp her response, "That's what you want?"

  Surprised, the face tilted to the right as if confused by Saundra’s response. “Oh, my. You seem to think this is about just me and you.” Saundra watched as the face shook slowly left and right. “My dear Chancellor, this is about the workers of Athens II. All of them, not just the miners and production operators.”

  “But you can’t just take people’s property,” Saundra protested. “The owners pay the workers, workers who took those jobs eagerly when those facilities opened up. The owners assumed all the financial risk, they organized everything, it’s not as simple as you want to make it sound.”

  “It is exactly that simple,” the face screamed back.

  "You, you haven't thought this through," Saundra protested. "If the mine closes, the miners lose their jobs, but the owner loses everything."

  "The miners go down in that hole every day, risking their lives, and for what?" the face snarled. "For nothing more than a few credits? The owners get rich, and the workers suffer."

  Frustrated by the face's demands, Saundra leapt to her feet and shouted at her monitor. "You're asking too much!"

  “Then you must love the political contributions of the owners more than you love your so-called daughter! You have five days from this hour to meet my demands!”

  The link ended and the monitor went blank.

  Shaking from adrenaline, Saundra put both hands on her desktop and began weeping uncontrollably.

  “Chancellor?”

  “XR, send for Sullivan. He needs to see this.” Saundra looked at the speaker where XR’s voice emanated. “Let me guess, you were unable to get a fix?”

  I POCKETED MY COMM, stood up, and grabbed my holster off the back of the chair where I’d hung it. Father Nathan watched me with concern. “What’s up?”

  “We’ve been summoned,” I snapped.

  “The Chancellor, I take it,” my friend guessed, ignoring my verbal abuse. Sarah emerged from her room, pulling on her coat. I slipped a light jacket on to cover my weapon.

  “We need to hurry,” Sarah told Father Nathan, motioning for him to get ready to leave.

  “I’ll stay here,” he announced, surprising me.

  “The kidnappers made their demands known,” I growled at him. “This is my daughter here!”

  “And you can handle that aspect of things without me,” Father Nathan answered with his infuriating calm. "I want to talk to a couple of locals about these so-called ‘do-gooders’ we've heard about, especially since Katrina seems to be one of them."

  I didn’t have the energy to argue with the priest. I especially didn’t want to argue about the digital Bible, complete with Anglican Book of Common Prayer, Sarah had found to Father Nathan’s delight.

  “Be careful,” was all I had to say.

  Sarah climbed in on the
passenger side and shut her door as I powered up the power plant. As I pulled the car out onto the road, Sarah pulled off her boots and shoved them under her seat. She then promptly started fiddling with the controls to the hovercar's windows, opening the passenger side window.

  “Just what do you think you’re doing?”

  She smiled her cutest smile at me. Just to irritate me I'm sure and stuck both of her bare feet out the window. "I'm relaxing. You'd never let me do this on Beta Prime.”

  “Who says I’m going to let you do it now? It’s against the law.”

  “Sully,” Sarah answered sweetly, smiling at me, “you are the law. Please let me have a little fun.”

  There was no arguing with Sarah sometimes. I wasn't in the mood anyhow. What's more, Sarah had a point. Any cop who pulled us over would run the car's plates or my ID and learn who I was. One call from the Chancellor and any problem would vanish.

  Then there is always my face.

  I turned on to the on-ramp for the main causeway and accelerated. Sarah was grinning from ear-to-ear as the wind blew her hair about her face. Her childlike innocence at moments like these were blessings, so I just let it go.

  There was enough to think about. Avoiding drudging up past bad emotional experiences was a habit of mine. I was good at it and with reason. Saundra was one of those bad experiences from my past, just one of many with women. Then there was the matter of having a daughter I didn’t know about.

  An illegal clone no less.

  Saundra had done me wrong. Her I could deal with easily enough. I'd take her money when the job was done and not look back. I had built a life of sorts on Beta Prime. I had genuine friends.

  And there was Sarah to think of. She was more than just my partner. I was responsible for her and that responsibility gave me purpose. A purpose that gave me the clarity I'd not had for years.

  But a daughter? Who was a clone no less? I couldn't begin to wrap my head around the entire idea. Making matters more confusing was Sarah's unusual reaction. Not towards Saundra, that I understood. Sarah was protective of me, just like I was of her. The disrespectful attitude towards Saundra was immature on Sarah's part, but typical for her.

  I didn’t know what to think about the edgy attitude Sarah displayed about Katrina. I guess I’d just assumed Sarah would feel a kindred spirit of sorts towards Katrina, a fellow clone.

  It was too much to sort out, so I decided not to try. It's not like Katrina needed me as a father. I hadn't asked Saundra, but I was pretty sure Katrina had been birthed from her tank full grown like Sarah. Given the timeframe involved, Katrina would be significantly more mature than Sarah.

  Yeah, I told myself. Katrina doesn’t need a dad.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  I don’t Know.”

  Grimacing at the sound of Jennifer whining, Markeson dropped the two suitcases she had packed and turned around to see the cyborg clutching the railing with both hands.

  “Come on, Jennifer. You had no problem hurrying around the apartment. What’s the matter now?”

  “Easy for you to say, Chief Markeson,” Jennifer sniffed, referring to her master by his formal title. “You’ve been in the universe before. I’ve only lived in our apartment.”

  “Oh, I see,” Markeson grumbled loudly. “It’s our apartment, not mine.” Wilting at the sound of his words, Jennifer gave the appearance of being even more unsteady and fragile, making Markeson regret his verbal outburst.

  "Look," he huffed, impatient with Jennifer and wanting to leave for the resort. "Just make it to my car, and I'll help you get strapped in. Then you can go to sleep, or power down, whatever it is you call it and relax while I drive to the spaceport."

  “I don’t want to be a bother,” Jennifer answered, suddenly standing up straight, her shoulders thrust back. “If you think this is too much for me, then why don’t you call Cassandra?”

  Markeson could hear the contempt for Cassandra in Jennifer’s voice. His AI really did not like Cassandra. He looked at the stunning blonde standing before him, pouting. She was better in bed than Cassandra, and that was saying something. Even better, Jennifer placed no demands on him in that regard, seeking only to please him.

  "Jennifer, forgive me. I just want to get to the resort, and we need to catch our flight. It’s easy for me to forget you’ve only had a physical form for two days.”

  Jennifer smiled appreciatively at his words, something the beautiful Cassandra seldom did. Markeson decided to be patient with Jennifer. Not only was the new version proving to be interesting, but he could also now mix business with pleasure at will. In fact, as Jennifer improved in her social skills and ability to leave the apartment, there were quite a few ways she could prove to be useful.

  The one thing Markeson knew with certainty about his AI was that Jennifer was loyal to a fault, to him and nobody else.

  “Stay right there,” he commanded gently. With practiced ease, Markeson stored the two suitcases in his prized Hovertron and strolled back towards Jennifer. Offering Jennifer his hand, Markeson bowed slightly. The AI took his hand, and with short, unsteady steps moved closer to her master. He smiled and slipped his arm around Jennifer’s waist.

  “My sense of balance is off because of the unfamiliar experience of so much open space around me,” Jennifer explained in her soft voice. “I have to admit,” she whispered, “not being inside my home,” Jennifer paused, catching her verbal error, “excuse me, your home, is a bit disconcerting. I’ve never been conscious anywhere else.”

  “That’s right,” Markeson said. “You’d never been booted up before.” He smiled at Jennifer and opened the passenger door for her, still holding her hand so she could balance while getting in the car. He hurried around to his side of the car and got in, commencing the start-up process.

  “Do you need help with the restraint, Jennifer?”

  “No, I will be fine now. I like the sense of confinement the vehicle’s passenger compartment provides.”

  “Good, I’m glad,” Markeson answered truthfully. “I was worried you might have a physical reaction and make a mess in my Hovertron.”

  “I can’t vomit like a human if that is what you were worried about.”

  Ignoring Jennifer’s snide comment and eager to depart, Markeson ordered the vehicle’s AI to back out of the parking spot. Jennifer’s reaction delighted Markeson. Everything was new to her and watching her take in even the simplest things was fascinating to him.

  “Your Hovertron has an AI?”

  Laughing at the hint of jealousy in Jennifer’s voice, Markeson answered her question. "Yes, the vehicle comes with a low-level AI to handle simple tasks like backing out or parking.”

  Jennifer sniffed once and leaned back into the comfort of her seat. “So long as that is all it does.”

  “Oh, it does a lot more than that,” Markeson teased, “but nothing that you should be concerned about.”

  I DIDN'T WAIT FOR ANY formalities. Time was of the essence, so I ignored the protests of the security staff and the Chancellor's gatekeeper as I barged into the executive office. Saundra looked exhausted, her usually immaculate hairdo needed serious attention from a professional. Her makeup needed to be removed and applied anew. It was apparent Saundra had gone back and forth emotionally, crying uncontrollably one minute and in a violent rage the next. She stood up from the couch in the corner and smiled at me.

  "It's okay," she said in a commanding voice, silencing the protests of her staff. "I summoned the Inspector. I should have informed you to allow him to have direct access."

  I could feel Sarah glaring triumphantly at the male security staff who had attempted to put their hands on her only to experience the embarrassment of her vanishing in front of their eyes and reappearing just a few feet away.

  The door shut without a sound as the staff departed. It was then I noticed Ambassador Marshall’s presence. He stood in the corner of the room, next to the planetary emblem, staring at me, his expression one of malice. The instant I registe
red his presence, the Ambassador’s body language changed, his demeanor pleasant and supportive.

  Saundra stared at Sarah for a moment as if considering making a comment. She thought better of it and turned her full attention to me.

  “Thank you for coming so quickly, Thomas.”

  “I’m here to find Katrina,” I replied with my usual bluntness. “It’s what you’re paying me for.”

  “Well, there hasn’t been much progress made, if I may say so,” the Ambassador said with equal bluntness, unable to maintain his façade.

  I ignored the man. His type never had anything positive to say in my experience.

  “Do you want to watch the video?”

  “Yes.”

  “The person was just ghastly,” Saundra announced. “It was even more horrible the second time XR played it for me.”

  I waved for silence and ignored both Saundra and the Ambassador. As I sat down in the Chancellor's seat, I could see the amused expression on Sarah's face as she watched from the couch. Evidently one doesn't just sit down in the Chancellor's chair without being given permission.

  I spoke to the AI as I made myself comfortable.

  “XR, please play the entire exchange for me.”

  “Chancellor?”

  “Go ahead XR. Do whatever Inspector Sullivan requests, you have my permission to comply.”

  I recorded the entire exchange with my cybernetic eye, ignoring Saundra and the Ambassador. Sarah would be watching the pair, using all of her senses to glean everything she could.

  When the recording finished, I didn’t say a word. Whoever did this was going to die.

  VICK HEARD THE BELL tone ring, announcing a visitor had entered the church facility through the main entrance. He put down the donated clothes he’d been sorting and hurried out to the lobby. Vick stopped short at the sight of the tall man in all black clothes, neatly groomed hair, and a cleric’s collar.

  "Father Nathan, I have been hoping you'd come by," Vick said in greeting. "I told Pastor David about you, and he wants to meet you."