by DRK
"So where do you and Jane go these days?" Osmo wanted to know. "Every time I come looking for you, to see if you guys want to come with us, I can't find you. So I go to check with Jane to see where you are, but she is also out. It's been like that almost all week."
Albert grinned. "Ah, missed me, did you?" He opened the door, inviting Osmo into his room.
Osmo shrugged. "Maybe a little, although it's hard to miss you too much, since Sheila usually finds something fun to do. You're not mad because we left you guys by yourselves at the beach on Sunday, are you?"
"You are who you are. How can I be mad? If you don't do stuff like that, you aren't Osmo."
"Hmm. I don't know if I like that. Sheila and her uncle make me see there is a serious side to life. Something my dad tried to tell me all those years I partied and got into trouble. But now that I am more mature-"
"Ha ha ha, Osmo's not growing up, is he?" teased Albert.
"Well, I am fighting it. So what have you guys been up to lately?”
"I think I am suffering the same thing as you," Albert sighed. "I am glad to hear you are growing up, too. Jane and I have been helping out where we can with some of the poorer citizens of Sparkle when we can. Did you notice how so many of the people here look unhappy? We did. Jane is volunteering at a clinic at the hospital right now. She did some volunteer work long ago on Earth. Leave it to Jane to work in a clinic while on vacation. And now I, too, am becoming like that. I am glad you are becoming serious as well. You can see how troubled these people in Sparkle City are these days because of the oppression."
"What are you talking about? Life might be a little hard for them, but I think 'oppression' is the wrong word. Oppression is what a malevolent government or a dictator does."
"I know. Coffee? Juice?"
Osmo took an apple juice. "Thanks. But Al, you think these people are being oppressed? By whom? How are they being oppressed?"
"I am telling you, my friend, it is happening. I have seen too much already. Some people just disappear. Why? Because they disagree with Gov. Bright, or make him nervous or upset. I know you and Sheila enjoy each other's company- I don't want to cause a rift between you, but I am just telling you the facts. Heck, I also remember who is footing our bills, too, Osmo-"
"Oh, that's crazy," scoffed Osmo. "Like I said, I know life is hard for the citizens here. Of course it is. This is a new settlement, hardly more than a decade old. And I know sometimes the governor is strict. What can he do? Law and order need to be maintained, after all. It's a tough environment. It requires a tough leader making tough decisions. Like in the Old West. Or maybe Jamestown even."
"I know, I know. But yet, it seems like the governor need not be so hard on these people. He seems to go overboard at times. A little more of the law, and less order. Do you know what happens to the people who disappear?"
"What?"
"They are stuck in the mines. Made miners. Don't you think that's a little harsh merely for disagreeing with Gov. Bright? Some, if they are lucky, only end up being forced labor on the farms."
Osmo dismissed his claims out of hand. "Oh, Albert, don't be so naive. Don't believe everything you hear in town. Of course some people are mad at the governor, maybe because of something that he did, that he had to do, to one of their relatives for being some kind of offender or something. Be reasonable, though. Naturally, those relatives left behind will be mad, and will stick up for their criminal family members. What is the result? They can't accept the fact that the black sheep of the family is a bad egg, so they don't blame the bad family member; instead they need to believe it is the governor who is bad. I assure you, he is a good, a wise man. I've met him. I have had dinner with him. I think he is a great man."
"Wow, you sure are buying that propaganda put out by Gov. Bright's public relations department all over town about what a great guy this Xavier Bright is. And I am sure Sheila helps you see how fantastic he is, too."
"Hey, hey, leave her out of our discussion. That's her uncle; you expect her to badmouth him, after he was the one to look out for her when her mom was killed?" He held out his glass for a refill. "She's a good one, too. She guided me into slowing down on my boozing, you know."
"Yeah, well, maybe you're right about Sheila." Albert filled more juice in his companion's glass.
Osmo said, "She's coming over to take me to the Tourist Trap again tonight. I came by to see if you and Jane want to join us. But I guess not, since Jane is out playing Mother Theresa, and you'll be stag."
"No, I'm still interested. I can use a night of fun."
"Me, too. Let's keep it fun. Don't discuss politics about her uncle while we're out, okay?"
"Okay," Albert agreed.
A half hour later, when Sheila showed up, Osmo and Albert piled into her truck, chatting about their night ahead. As she peeled out, Albert caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure in the alleyway beside the Hope Hotel. "Is that guy over there watching us?"
Osmo replied, "If I didn't know better, I'd swear he's watching ME. It looked like he'd been following me all day long. I don't know who he is. He doesn't look like someone I would want to know, either. He looks like one of those down-and-out citizens I hear so much about these days, I don't get it, why should he be following me? Must be a coincidence, unless he wants my autograph."
Albert protested. "Osmo, this might be a serious matter."
Sheila gave her thoughts on the matter. "If he is following, he'll never be able to catch up to us in this truck! Hang on!"
"Waa-hooo!" Osmo whooped as Sheila stomped on the accelerator and shot down the highway.
Meanwhile, back at the hotel, the watcher came out of the shadows. He took out a security department issue cell phone and reported, "He just left with the governor's niece. As they left the place, I overheard their plans to visit the Tourist Trap."
The Invitation