Half Light

by Matt Doyle

  “Oh?” Hollister replies. He drops his chin into his hands and watches me with an interested look on his face. “Why is that?”

  “Think about it. You could probably bring the entire US military into play to tackle her if you wanted. But why do that when you can assert the same control over her as you have here? She may not be as compliant as Casille is, but if you can negotiate terms where you can place people there to guide her actions and deal with issues, you’ll be able to expand the reach of the system. Even if it turns out to be a temporary arrangement, that has to be less messy than all-out war. It would also leave you with people on the inside if you ever did have to bring the relationship to an end.”

  “We will take that under consideration,” Hollister says, a slight smile on his lips.

  I sigh. Here we go. “Okay, look. I’ve told you what you needed to know, I helped with Angel, and I’ve given you political advice. Can we please get to the point of why I’m here?”

  Hollister nods. “You were brought to New Hopeland because we needed to test a new variable. You see, while this is not technically a military operation, the ex-military personnel do still act as though it is, at least while on a job. You were someone from outside the system, but who has a moral viewpoint that, at its core, is compatible with our goals. So, yes, we made sure you got here, and have sent you the occasional case to make sure you stay here. We needed to understand if someone such as yourself could become part of the system.

  “Joe Farrah was a sad loss. For all his faults, he was truly a good man. He was also our eyes and ears on the streets when the monitoring systems failed to find what we needed. While we could pick up the slack ourselves, it seems more logical to replace him. The King’s Guard speak highly of you, and the work you have done for each of us has been impressive. As such, we have deemed it prudent to simply speed up our own processes and offer you his place on both the King’s Guard and the Council.”

  “What would it entail?”

  “In basic terms,” Casille replies, “we will feed you jobs. When we need something checked, or a specific job carried out, it will fall to you.”

  “There wouldn’t be any real change for you.” Hollister adds. “In terms of your current work practices, everything would remain the same. You’d still be a PI, but one with ties to the system.”

  “I see. Mind if I make a few demands?”

  “Please do,” Jonah says. “We thought you might.”

  “Let’s start small. I want the mortgage on my apartment paid off, and the annual fees covered each year I’m working for you. Fuel for my car would be nice too. I intend to work as a regular PI on top of dealing with your cases, but I want easier access to information and equipment when needed.”

  “The apartment, fees, and fuel are fine. And we wholly expect you to continue your general work. Your reputation in that field makes you so suitable to replace Joe. As well as the money you get from independent cases, you will also get a flat rate wage from us. It won’t make you rich, but it will be liveable on its own. The only proviso is that the cases we send you must take priority. We can negotiate on a case-by-case basis, however. As to information, we expect you to continue to follow legal protocol, but we will expedite what we can. In terms of equipment, we will certainly help, but do not overdo it with your requests.”

  “Sounds reasonable. I also need to know what I can and can’t tell my partner, Lori.”

  “Ah yes, Eddie Redwood’s sister. We’re making good use of the tools he created, actually. As to what you can tell her, I am afraid the answer is nothing. None of those within the system are permitted to tell their partners about what we do, and you will not be an exception. If you are simply worried that dating a member of the King’s Guard will place her in danger, then I can certainly guarantee her safety. You can take that as payment for her brother’s work.”

  “You’re honestly telling me none of you go home, sit down with your partners, and say, hey, guess what we orchestrated today?”

  “It’s tough but necessary,” Jonah replies, and I can hear the sadness in his voice.

  I rub my eyes. “Okay. Okay, I get it. No telling Lori, but I’ll take everything else.”

  “Good,” Hollister says, offering me a handshake. “Glad to have you on board.”

  I rise from my seat and shake his—and the others’–hands. “What about the dealers? The Elites know about Casille, but do they know about any of this?”

  “No,” Casille replies. “The Elites are technically King’s Guard now insofar as they know who plays the Four Kings. None of them dug as deep as you did though.”

  “In fairness,” Devin adds, “we gave Caz here reason to dig. We didn’t give the Dealers any extra hints to get them curious.”

  “I assume they were in on the plan to stop Angel though?”

  “Ya got that one right, darlin’. You personally were never in danger from the Sweepers either. Us towards the end, but never the Sweepers. Charlie made sure of that.”

  “Okay. Hey, if I’m part of the Council, I’m not gonna have to attend regular meetings and work on city policy, am I?”

  Hollister smiles. “The occasional meeting will be a necessity, I am afraid. In terms of decision making, you will be the same as Joe was. And the same as Devin, Donal, Ethan, and Hanson for that matter. We may sometimes ask for your opinion, but the ultimate responsibility for the project belongs to those of us in political positions.”

  “Good,” I reply and nod to Bert.

  Jonah says, “Seven, nine, thirty-one, D.”

  Bert stands up and, seeing me, clambers up my arm and onto my shoulder with a happy, “Caw.”

  “Oh,” I say, “one more thing. This has all left me tired. I want two weeks off. Think you can survive without me for that long?”

  Devin laughs again and says, “I think we’ll manage.”

  “Good.” I turn and walk out of the room. Glancing down, I notice the tie Devin grabbed for me has a deer embroidered on it.

  Wealth and long life, eh? I wonder if he knew that when he picked it.

  *

  Somewhere in the back seat of the car, Bert trips up and lets out a flustered rattling of his beak. I glance in the rear-view mirror and watch him scramble back onto the seat. Meanwhile, in the front passenger seat, Lori turns her head to read a road sign and asks, “How far to the border now?”

  “Not far.” I smile and shake my head. “You’re far too excited about this.”

  “I can’t help it; I want to see where you grew up. Plus, I’m proud of you for reconnecting with your mom. It’s silly, I know, but I can’t wait to meet her.”

  “Yeah, well, enjoy the awkwardness. Still, with everything that happened, my savings are all intact. If things get really bad, I’ll get us a hotel. Or I can feed her to Ink; that works too.”

  Lori gives me a playful punch in the arm and then says, “You’re sure there’s nothing in here listening in?”

  “Yeah. I triple checked everything before we set out. Even Bert.”

  “Caw.”

  “See? He agrees.”

  Lori laughs. “Good, because I wanted to talk to you about what happened. That mouth communicator looked pretty painful.”

  “It wasn’t too bad. I expect they’ll become commonplace if the Council takes my advice and negotiates with Angel. As far as I know, it’s not a model we have in New Hopeland.”

  “The earpiece was normal at least. The thing is, you letting me listen in at all confuses me.”

  Uh-oh. You know where this is heading. “Why’s that?”

  “I can overlook the danger it put me in. If someone had found it, then I could have destroyed the earpiece before anyone could trace it. For you though? If they’d checked in your mouth and found it, you were absolutely risking your own life there. Considering the position you were already in, that just seems…I dunno. It was way more risky than normal for you.”
<
br />   “Come on, how likely were they to check my mouth?”

  “Seriously, Cassie, why risk yourself like that?”

  My chest tightens. I steel myself and say, “Because…I believe you should be honest with the people you love.”

  I blink. I swear the clock on the dashboard is broken. No way was that one second; it was an hour, at least.

  “I love you, too, Cassie.”

  “Caw,” Bert protests.

  Lori giggles and turns to face him, replying, “We love you, too, Bert.”

  “Caw,” he says, and sits down again.

  I snort out a short laugh and hope it’s enough to stop Lori noticing the tear running down my embarrassingly blushing cheek. “Hey, once we get to Vancouver, do you want to find somewhere to stop for coffee? I don’t know about you, but I could do with the wake-me-up kick.”

  “Sounds great. Keeps you driving safely, and it’s a good excuse for you to stall seeing your mom, right?”

  “Am I really that obvious?”

  “Afraid so.”

  “Diu.”

  The Cassie Tam Files Key Events Timeline

  2033

  Angel Tanner is “born” in California, built by Jonah Burrell as an AI prototype.

  2046

  Casille di Franco is born in California. His parents are the professional criminal Arthur di Franco and his wife Isabelle.

  2049

  Angel Tanner, now chronologically sixteen, starts asserting herself in the California criminal underworld

  2050

  Gaining a reputation for scary behaviour, as well as the ability to avoid identification and capture by the police, Angel Tanner effectively takes over the California crime scene.

  2053

  Rebecca Hanson is sent undercover in California in an attempt to investigate and take down Angel Tanner. The plan was facilitated by an entrepreneur named Dean Hollister. Her investigation meant manipulating Isabelle di Franco into a romantic relationship in order to infiltrate the organisation. Though initially successful, the plan falls apart when Rebeca is found out and ends up killing Isabelle. Arthur di Franco soon tracks her down and is made aware of Angel Tanner being an AI. He agrees to help, blaming Angel for Isabelle’s death.

  2055

  Cassie Tam is born in Vancouver. Both parents are also Vancouver born, but her mother is of Canadian heritage and her father has roots in Pok Liu, Hong Kong, with his great-grandfather being an immigrant.

  Arthur di Franco is murdered by Angel Tanner and the crime is pinned on Pauline Welch (later Mary Warner), who is sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Casille di Franco, then nine, disappears.

  New Hopeland is founded, based on a concept by Dean Hollister. It is pushed heavily as the tech-focused city of the future. The original intent had been for Arthur di Franco to play a role in running the city once he had helped bring down Angel Tanner, but his death caused a shift in plans. His original role of the Four Kings of Utah was instead temporarily allocated as a role for the government agency in charge of the city.

  Enforcement for the Four Kings of Utah falls to the King’s Guard, a group of mercenaries who are assigned to dealing with issues that can’t be resolved by public-facing means. The original three guards are ex-colleagues from the US military and consist of:

  Ethan Cobalt, who works closely with the criminal underworld. He is cold in the way he deals with things, and approaches his job as just that, taking cases without concern.

  Devin Carmichael, who assumes the role of a legalised assassin. He originally quit the military after an operation left him questioning why he did what he did. As such, the role allows him some autonomy in what cases he takes.

  Joe Farrah, who became a gun shop owner and acted as an on-the-streets informant. He was previously in intelligence for the military group, and holds himself responsible for the operation that caused the group to originally split.

  Dean Hollister, now in situ, starts work on the Tech Shifter concept.

  2056

  Lori Redwood is born in New Hopeland.

  2060

  Though not a new concept, VR business picks up in New Hopeland. Within a year, the two levels of VR Junkie are fully established.

  Rebecca Hanson is brought into New Hopeland. She is fast-tracked through the ranks and soon holds the second highest position in the department, acting as high-end PD link for the King’s Guard.

  2065

  Now nineteen, Casille di Franco releases a novel titled Four Steps to Power. He then emerges in New Hopeland under the name Allen Fuerza and, masquerading as a low-end criminal, assumes the role of the Four Kings of Utah that was intended for his father.

  Pauline Welch is released from prison and returns to Angel Tanner in California.

  Jonah Burrell is brought to New Hopeland and begins work on perfecting his AI tech concepts.

  2070

  Tourism declines in New Hopeland, as more cities start to adopt a similar aesthetic in terms of tech.

  2072

  Familiar Enterprises Ltd is officially formed by Jonah Burrell and work begins on the Familiar Project.

  Cassie Tam, now nineteen, joins the police academy with the intention of following her father into the police force. She is ousted without passing, due to being unwilling to accept the corrupt end of enforcement, and her father helps her set up as PI.

  2073

  Cassie investigates a case the local police ruled as an accidental death. She discovers the perpetrator was a senior official in the local government and had used their sway to get away with murder. Though her father warns her off, Cassie continues to investigate and finds conclusive proof, leading to the official being arrested. The police release him on bail, and he breaks into Cassie’s home. Cassie’s father dies protecting his family, leading to Cassie and her mother becoming estranged.

  Dean Hollister publicly announces the commencement of work on Tech Shifter gear. He also brings Donal O’Brien into the city and places him in the New Hopeland police force, under the agreement that Donal will eventually take the gear on board.

  Ethan Cobalt is caught on camera after the death of a man named Johnny. This becomes the first case of a member of the King’s Guard being shown in the news.

  2074

  After months of awkwardness, Cassie leaves Vancouver to start a new life in New Hopeland, cutting contact with her mother. She became aware of the city through online ads that were fed to her by the New Hopeland officials who had seen her work as a PI as a potential boon for the city. She sets up as a PI and buys an apartment, but is left with a large mortgage.

  2075

  Tech Shifter gear is made available to the public. The TS Murder Files are opened within one month, following a string of murders perpetrated by early adopters of the gear. These are government employed criminals, whose purpose is to create a sense of fear around the gear, making it not only more useful to the police, but more appealing to the military. Tougher protocols on who can and cannot use the gear is added to appease the public, though this was always the intent.

  The tourism trade in New Hopeland is now officially dead, but the city maintains its strength in attracting businesses.

  Tapper Gloves are invented and, shortly after, are licensed by the Four Kings of Utah.

  2076

  Carl Sanders changes his name to Gary Locke. He wishes to cut most ties to his father, believing his military contracts to be part of a larger issue, but keeps his old name for business purposes, hoping to use this to leverage information. He forms the conspiracy blog The Roots of Eden are Rotten, which expands to become a protest movement.

  2077

  Cassie Tam starts dating Charlotte Goldman, a licensed drug dealer, albeit one with a decent moral code.

  The New Hopeland PD creates the Tech Shifter division, and Donal O’Brien is promoted to the position of Marshal for the unit.

  Lori Redwood, sister of The R
oots of Eden are Rotten member Eddie Redwood, undergoes the Tech Shift procedure, and acquires Ink.

  2078

  Cassie Tam and Charlotte Goldman split up. The relationship was a happy one, but they drifted apart over time.

  Though unnamed at the time LVs—Light Vampires—first appear in California.

  2079

  Cassie Tam investigates the disappearance of Jonah Burrell’s daughter. When she finds her, he pays her with Bert, a Familiar unit in the form of a gargoyle. Bert is unusual in that his programming is a hybrid of the common Family and Protector class units.

  Vancouver-born William Deveraux, aged twenty-five, joins the New Hopeland PD. He immediately clashes with Cassie Tam, but the two work through the issues.

  2080

  Flesh and blood animals now account for only one-third of pets in New Hopeland, with Family class Familiar Units being more popular.