City of Broken Lights Page 13

  Taken aback by my gruff, blunt command, the woman nodded and wordlessly scanned the link number on my comm.

  “Let’s go, Sarah. Katrina is in more danger now than when these two clowns had her.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The Chancelor sat her comm down and leaned back in the chair of her office. Sully and his crew would arrive within the hour. Ambassador Marshall's arrival would be in a matter of minutes. One final time Saundra reviewed her options and came to the same conclusion.

  XR-281 sensed the Chancellor desired to talk, to provide the A.I. with instructions.

  “Yes, Chancellor?”

  "In a few minutes, Ambassador Marshall will arrive. He and I will have a conversation of a very sensitive and private nature."

  “You would prefer I not record the conversation,” the AI replied.

  “Yes.”

  “Very well, Chancellor.”

  Saundra rose from the chair and walked over to the view screen that served as a window and examined the outdoor display projected on the view screen. Earlier in the day, the image had been a cityscape. The current image was a scenic view of the lakes in the most exclusive, private resort on Athens II.

  At the sound of the door opening and closing, Saundra steeled her nerves for what had to be done before Sully arrived.

  “Chancellor? You requested my presence.”

  “Marshall, you and I have been friends for a long time. Close personal allies in a challenging profession. We have helped one another advance in our careers.” Saundra turned to face the Ambassador. “I need you to handle a particularly difficult task.”

  Ambassador Marshall smiled, drew himself to his full height, and bowed slightly. “It is my pleasure to serve you, Chancellor.”

  Saundra rewarded the man with a smile, amused at how easy he was to manipulate.

  I WALKED INTO THE CHANCELLOR’S office. Saundra sat behind her desk, slumped forward in the chair. In the corner, near the view screen with an image of some resort displayed stood Ambassador Marshall looking as sour and unhappy as usual. Sarah filed in behind me and moved in her usual stealthy manner to the corner diagonally opposite of Marshall and proceeded to make herself difficult to notice.

  “Why did you summon us,” I demanded.

  “Blunt as always aren’t you, Thomas?”

  I sarcastically pointed out the fact the bodies of two victims were likely those of the men I believed were Katrina’s original kidnappers and if they weren’t, they’d at least served as her guards.

  Saundra turned pale and looked at me with an odd expression. I could see the mental gears turning as the politician in her factored in the latest update. The woman irritated me, so I felt no need to be polite, to avoid insulting her intelligence.

  “Katrina has escaped in case you’re wondering.”

  Saundra’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “My daughter killed her captors?”

  “That’s not what I said,” I informed her, staring at the Ambassador whose face was turning red in anger. I stared him down as I explained further. “It is my belief Katrina escaped. Somebody far more dangerous than the two victims is after her now."

  Marshall felt the need to weigh in and remind me I wasn’t in charge. “What makes you believe this?”

  “The fact the men were tortured. Their bodies were found in a building known to be used by different criminal elements and had fingerprints from the two victims and Katrina.”

  A distressed look spread across the Ambassador's face. "Why would anyone torture these men?"

  I laughed at the man's naivete. "Let's see, they let a valuable property escape. That's a good enough reason for most criminal types. They could have hidden Katrina away in hopes of getting a deal for themselves. Lots of reasons. Whoever killed them needed to find out what happened. So, they broke a few bones before executing them."

  “This changes things,” Saundra mumbled. “I apologize for wasting your time, Sully. Please, go and find our daughter.”

  I didn’t need to be told twice.

  “YOU SURE?”

  “Yeah, it’s her.”

  Broken Nose nodded, pleased they had stumbled upon their quarry. He grinned at his partner. “We’re the best, you know? But I’ll never turn down a little good luck.”

  Pulling away from the curb, Broken Nose eased the hovercar into a tight u-turn before straightening out and slowly pulling up alongside the pretty young woman walking down the sidewalk.

  “How do you want to handle this?”

  Broken Nose thought for a moment before answering his partner. "Let's not spook her. You get out here. I'll pass her and find a parking spot a couple of blocks ahead. You follow her. When she's on the block I'm parked on, we'll close in on her then."

  “I like that,” the taller thug replied. “She can’t run down an alley that way.”

  Without drawing any attention, Broken Nose eased the hovercar to a stop as if letting a friend out. The pair waved at each other as the hovercar carefully backed out into the lane and sped up a bit and traveled down the block.

  With both hands in his pockets, the tail began to follow the young woman, smiling and whistling softly as if he didn't have a care in the world. It didn't take a lot to make him happy. In his mind, he was counting the hefty bonus he and his partner would receive for cleaning up a mess and recovering the lost property.

  “SAUNDRA, THIS DEVELOPMENT has changed things.”

  “No, it doesn’t. Marshall, I can’t make the deal.”

  “But, Katrina is your daughter. She’s somewhere in the city, trying to make her way to safety!”

  Irritated at the man’s insistent questioning of her decision, Saundra took a commanding tone when she next spoke.

  “You are well aware Katrina is a clone. I can have her replaced at any time. I cannot lose the power I have obtained, the backing required to pursue my goals. If that means my daughter, an illegal clone if you recall, must be sacrificed, then so be it.”

  “Then why did you bring that horrid man and his rude assistant here?”

  “I’m not as heartless as you think,” Saundra said, softening her tone. “I love Katrina. But, she’s a clone. She can be recreated. I wanted Sully to find her. But the circumstances have changed.” The Chancellor lowered her voice and continued. “The demands of the kidnappers cannot be met. I have talked to the parties that would be affected. They refused to even give the appearance of going along to buy Sully time.”

  Sadness spread across the Ambassador’s face. “Katrina deserves better. Give this Sullivan some more time.”

  "You've gone soft," Saundra chided. She watched the man who was her right hand as he seemed to wilt before her eyes. The fool had become attached to Katrina. It was to be expected she told herself, the danger of using her bed to control the Ambassador. The man apparently had developed the idea the three of them could one day be a family of sorts. Saundra shook her head in disgust at the thought.

  “Saundra, please, a few hours,” Marshall pleaded.

  “Very well, four hours,” Saundra replied. “Use that time to run down your contacts. If you’re right, make contact and offer the deal we discussed earlier. You may double the amount offered. After four hours, make contact. If you can get Katrina back, fine. If Sully can find her, that’s fine as well. Otherwise, we move forward in the manner we discussed earlier.”

  “I REALLY DON’T LIKE her,” Jennifer repeated.

  Irritated, Markeson turned and glared at his cyborg lover. Jennifer sat on the bed, her shoulders bare and her hair down, stray wisps resting on her shoulders while the rest ran down her back. Clutched across her chest was the bedsheet.

  “So noted,” Markeson barked. “Do not bring Cassandra up again!”

  “Use her for a honeytrap,” Jennifer suggested, ignoring her master’s order.

  “Not that again.”

  “Why not?” Jennifer let the sheet fall as she stood up from the bed and hurried over to the chair Markeson sat in. Her fingers dug into hi
s bare shoulders and began to rub, sending waves of pleasure rippling down his back. "You hate the Governor, and the man is causing problems with cash flow. His interference in our two, excuse me, Master, your two latest deals cost you ten percent in the negotiation process."

  Markeson closed his eyes and leaned back into his chair, allowing Jennifer to run her fingers through his hair while she massaged his scalp.

  “The man needs to be taught a lesson.”

  “Let Cassandra be the means by which we teach the man his place,” Jennifer cooed in her master’s ear.

  "And just how will we do this? Cassandra is not a common streetwalker."

  “She’s a gold digger,” Jennifer snapped, digging her fingers in to remind Markeson how she felt about her rival. “Introduce them to each other. No,” Jennifer paused, a smile spreading across her face. “Let me introduce them. I’ll drop a few pointed hints to that skank about how rich the Governor is. I’ll give her the idea he’s looking for a full-time mistress to play sugar daddy to. You can let it drop to the Governor you’ve moved on to me as your latest conquest. Let the old pervert know how good Cassandra is in bed. Nature will take care of the rest after they’ve been introduced.”

  Markeson couldn’t stay angry with Jennifer. She learned quickly and was now better in bed than her rival. The fact he could be selfish with Jennifer was an added bonus. She would never nag him in the bedroom about his performance. Besides, Rankin needed to go or relearn his place in the scheme of things on Beta Prime.

  “Let’s see if you’re up to it, Jennifer. As soon as we get back, let’s plan how to make introductions.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  She’s dead! Do you understand me, she’s dead! Just as soon as we get the word, I’m killing her myself! The little witch is going to beg for death before I’m done with her!”

  His partner chuckled, not caring in the slightest that his laughter was only serving to make matters worse. Broken Nose gently ran his fingers over the bandages on his oft-injured body part.

  “It’s not funny, Bert!”

  "Then don't get any body part you value near her mouth again," Bert advised, chuckling.

  “Whatever, if she bites you I doubt you’ll be laughing about it.”

  “Hey, you’re just mad because you had to get shots,” Bert chided, grinning at his partner. “You know what the Doc said. ‘A dog bite is a mighty bad bite, but a human bite is much worse.’”

  Broken Nose turned his back on his friend and left the room. He slowly walked down the hall of the empty flat, letting his boots strike the floor with more force than necessary. Each booming step announcing his impending arrival in the small room at the end of the hall. Standing in the open doorway, the goon stood and glared at his prisoner, bound and gagged, lying helplessly on a cot.

  Katrina lay still, glaring back at the man whose nose she'd violently damaged. Blood from her nose and mouth had oozed down her face, leaving a dark, dried stain on her face and the filthy mattress she lay on. Bruises covered her face, arms, and legs. Random dried specks of blood covered the thin blue material of her dress, itself torn in random spots. Her hair was splayed wildly about her face and the thin, dirty pillow her head rested on. Gone were the comfortable walking shoes that had matched the dress. Bare feet rested just shy of the end of the cot, tied together with an industrial tie, cutting into the red, swollen flesh just above her ankles. Behind Katrina's back, her elbows had been pulled tightly together, straining her shoulders and creating constant pain that would not allow her to sleep or think calmly. Like her ankles, Katrina's wrists had been bound with a tie that cut into the flesh.

  “Bite me again, and it will be lights out for you little girl,” Broken Nose threatened. “Nothing but darkness after that, so keep your chompers to yourself.”

  His threat delivered, Broken Nose left the way he came, one heavy step after another, each loud boom announcing his departure.

  Katrina closed her eyes, thankful she was gagged so the sounds of her sobbing couldn’t be heard. She’d cried till she had no more tears. Fear kept her awake despite the crushing desire to slip away into sleep if for no other reason than to not feel the pain of her wounds, her bound limbs. More than anything else, Katrina wanted to forget her mother had not sent help to find her.

  FATHER NATHAN’S EYES opened. He pinched the bridge of his nose before raising himself on his elbows. The voices and footsteps that had awakened him from his catnap grew closer and stopped outside the door of the room. Rising quickly the priest moved toward the exterior wall of the room and waited for the door to open. His muscles tensed at the sound of the electronic lock opening.

  Sarah stepped through the door and pulled up short, wrinkling her nose in distaste. “Sully, we can afford a better place. Just walking through the door makes me feel disgusting.”

  Stepping through the door, Sully nudged his partner out of the way and closed the door behind him. “Sarah, we need to be close to the area where Katrina was last seen.”

  "I'll find a less sketchy place," Sarah volunteered. "Because I'm not staying here another night."

  “Good afternoon,” Father Nathan replied, relaxing at the sight and sound of the bickering between his two friends.

  Sarah smiled at her priest and sat down cautiously in the rickety chair next to the circular table near the door.

  Sully flopped down on the nearest bed, twisting in the air to land on his back in the process. “How did your meeting go?”

  Crossing over to the table where Sarah sat, Father Nathan pulled out the other battered chair and moved it in front of the door. Sitting down with his back to the door, the priest ran his hand through his hair and let out a long sigh.

  “At first, I thought the meeting was fine,” he admitted. “It’s impressive the ministry Pastor David has built. I think there’s a lot of good work being done and to be honest, Sully, it speaks well of Katrina that she volunteers there.”

  Sully put his hands behind his head, lacing his fingers together while staring at the stains on the ceiling. He grunted and spoke. “But something is bothering you.”

  "I don't know how to explain it," the priest answered. "It's been eating at me for the last hour or so. I tried to take a nap, and I couldn't drift off."

  “Of course, you couldn’t, Father Nathan,” Sarah quipped. “Nobody can take a nap in this place and just drift off to sleep during the day.”

  Sully lifted his head a few centimeters off the rumpled comforter and glared at Sarah for a second before resting his head on the pillow again. “Any idea why? Is it a gut feeling or something specific?”

  Father Nathan paused in thought for a moment before answering. “I have to say a gut feeling. Vick is a rough customer and pretty gruff, but I don’t sense spiritual deception within him. Vick’s found redemption through his faith. I believe his need to serve is genuine and heartfelt.”

  “That just leaves this Pastor David then,” Sully commented.

  "And that's the problem," Father Nathan replied. "His ministry is good. Not only is much-needed help provided to the poor and others who are struggling in the area, but he's built a solid congregation of believers. Katrina is hardly the only volunteer who works significant hours."

  Silence filled the room as the trio contemplated their own thoughts. Ten minutes passed before Sully spoke.

  “Do we need to check the other volunteers, Father? Think you could get a list of their names from this Vick?”

  “It wouldn’t hurt, I suppose,” the priest replied. “I’ll go pay Vick a visit tomorrow morning and see if I can extract such a list from him.”

  "I'm hungry, and I'm not eating in this room," Sarah announced. "We should head out and maybe eat at a bar or tavern. We might see if anyone saw Katrina walking around."

  Sully sat up abruptly. “Might as well. We can’t check on the volunteer angle until Father Nathan gets the list from Vick. If Katrina escaped, she might have been spotted.”

  Happy to be leaving the decrepit room
, Sarah hopped to her feet and opened the door. An impish grin on her face, Sarah laughed as she spoke. “Where are we going? To see your girlfriend, Sully?”

  “No,” was the gruff reply. “First stop is to visit with a bartender I met a few days ago.”

  AMBASSADOR MARSHALL stared at the man standing before his desk, incredulous it had come to this. The Chancellor had lost her way over the years. Despite his best efforts to prevent it, Saundra had forgotten she'd been elected to serve the people of Athens II. Power, and the thought of ever more power had changed the woman he loved and desired so deeply. It saddened him to know his best had not been good enough.

  The dark side of wielding power had been too strong a clarion call for Saundra.

  "I need you to contact someone for me."

  The man stood in silence, staring back at the Ambassador. He didn’t break eye contact as he spoke.

  “What is this message?”

  “I need to meet with him.”

  “Why would he want to meet with you,” the man asked cautiously. “I would think things are going quite well for him at the moment.”

  “Because things are not what he thinks. I have a proposal that will allow both parties involved to get what they need.”

  “If I understand you correctly, you’re telling me you want to negotiate?”

  “I want to talk. To explain certain facts in evidence and to offer an alternative solution. One that allows each party involved to get something they need.”

  “Delivering your message won’t hurt I suppose,” the man told the Ambassador. “But it changes nothing. The same deadline exists.”

  Marshall stood, smiled his politician’s smile, and offered his hand. The man did not extend his hand in return, turning instead on his heel and leaving the Ambassador’s exquisitely appointed office.