“We’re working on it Father, besides, I might not agree with everything Captain Kalapana does but I do think he was right to endorse the parole decree. We’re not going to solve our drug problem on this planet by locking up drug addicts in The Penitentiary when probation and house arrest are just as effective. The Penitentiary should be reserved for violent offenders, like the gang members selling the drugs, not the poor saps who get addicted because they trying to cope with their miserable lives. Believe me, father, we are working hard to solve the problem. And besides, the parole decree has been a good thing because we can help some of these Immorals turn their lives around by training them as supplementary field agents and office workers…as I understand it; we even have one working in our morgue. Believe me, we need all the help we can get, and giving someone a job and a second chance at life is a good thing, especially if these Immorals we turned into agents can help us break a case.”
Jack’s father gave him a serious look and said, “Well, you better hope that you come up with some sort of break-through in your case soon. Because if the High Senate decides that your boss, Kalapana, is not effective…well they might just fire you along with him. Believe me; I know how politics works on this planet. Now don’t get me wrong son, your mother and I…and the entire family for that matter…are just so proud of you for your decision to serve your society in the way that you did. But sometimes, I just wished you would have stayed in The Military instead of joining this spook game…the CIA is often a great way to kill one’s career. I’ve seen a number of great men get their lives ruined because they had faith in the wrong leader…and I just pray that you are not one of them.”
Jack swallowed the lump in his throat and felt his stomach tying itself in a knot. He glanced over his father’s shoulder and saw a monitor on the restaurant wall flashing the words, NEWS BRIEF.
Jack found himself paying close attention to the news caster as she said, “A representative of an online magazine that once called itself The Evil, has called a press conference today, and we now take you to that event that is happening outside of the Capital building.”
Jack nodded at his father and said, “Dad…check it out.”
Jack and his father looked on with interest as a tall, human male with a gray beard, stood in front of a podium and addressed a crowd of reporters. The tall man looked tired as he said, “We were once active members of an organization that operated a well-known, often criticized, and controversial online publication. We were devoted to addressing our government’s problems with corruption and how its support of pseudo-capitalism is destroying our citizens’ hopes for economic freedom and social justice.”
“Frickin’ wackjobs…” Jack thought as he shook his head.
The tall man said, “Due to the tragic suicide of one of our chief editors, Jacob Colombe, we have decided to discontinue our participation in his organization. We wish to respect the desires, of the Ailanian people, who believe that a government, who may very well be on the road to fascism, cannot be combated, with fanaticism and paranoid belief in things that may not be true. While we do wish to let our fellow Ailanians know that our government is not perfect, we do not wish to condone or encourage any behavior by our former editor. His actions must be condemned, and his radical beliefs must be put into context…Jacob believed in many things that cannot be proven.”
“Like his claim that the government has some kind of facility that turns people into slaves and zombies…no one in their right mind is gonna believe that crap…” Jack thought as he exhaled his discontent while the tall man said, “Thus, to counter the rumors and misinformation he has helped to create…we have decided to discontinue our publication. From now on, we will encourage our fellow activists to follow only peaceful means to change what we believe is wrong with our world. We do not condone the spreading of rumors about how the Ailanian government wishes to become a totalitarian regime through mind control methods. We want to be truthful and honest while we help to bring about change.”
Jack’s father set down his glass. He sighed and said, “Well, would ya look at that…at least some people on this world have some common sense.”
Jack felt a bit of relief wash over him as well, “yeah…hopefully these all these murders, and gang violence we’ve been seeing lately will stop, and things will start becoming peaceful and quiet again.”
Location: The Malamai Apartment Building…Downtown Polynea.
Ailanian Standard Time: 1330 Hours.
Donny Sparks was sitting in front of his living room monitor eating a MEAL READY TO DIGEST, when the banging on the front door began.
“Damn it!” He said as he put down his box of food and got out of his chair. The banging made his head hurt as it continued to get louder and louder.
“Hold your horses! I’m coming already!” Donny shouted as the banging on his front door got louder and louder. He opened the door and felt his heart beginning to pound with fear as he noticed a very large man, with long brown hair standing in his doorway.
Jhett Jonez took pleasure in seeing Donny’s worried face as he said, “Hi there. Remember that deal you made with my boss? You were supposed to hang onto something for him for a rainy day.”
Donny’s eyes were red and glazed over as he said, “Uh…sure. Marco made me a great deal; did ya come to buy some Cutz? I don’t have a lot left…but I know some other guys I sold to, they might be holding.”
Jhett frowned and shook his head. “You weren’t supposed to sell it, Donny. You were supposed to hold onto it, store it…and keep it safe for us till we returned for it. Things aren’t going as originally planned and we really need that stuff back.”
Donny grinned and said, “Naw…that wasn’t the deal I remembered.”
Jhett flinched and felt his heart racing when he realized Donny was pointing a gun at his face. His guts swelled with anger as he looked down the barrel of Donny’s gun and saw how the man’s yellow teeth were smiling at him.
“Ah shit,” Jhett said as he looked Donny right in the eyes. “This is turning out to be the Ailanian vacation from hell.”
Donny snickered as he said, “I had gambling debts to pay…I sold your shit because I needed money! If rich men like Marco can afford all those fancy cars and get to live in a big, fancy house…then they ain’t paying the rest of us, who ain’t got shit, enough to live honestly…and that’s why this shit happens.”
Jhett licked his lips and said, “So, this is about jealousy and the need to bring someone, who is better off than you, down to your level?”
Donny smiled and said, “The government forgot to tax Marco and all his rich friends. They forgot to send me my welfare checks…so I felt that I had the right to take what was owed to me. Now, please kindly step away from my door before I shoot you in the head.”
Jhett smiled and looked down Donny’s hallway. He glanced through a window as he said, “I see you are enjoying some overly processed food over there? Did you know those MEALS READY TO DIGEST are chemically engineered food, which has been processed from a genetically modified soybean plant?”
“Yeah, so what?”
Jhett smiled as he looked past Donny and peered through the window as he said, “Well, did you know that soybean plant is subsidized by the government to the point that The Hydroplantation owners can actually sell it for less than they paid to produce it? Think about it man, these pseudo-capitalists are profiting from making food that is actually very bad for your health.”
“Who cares?”
“You should care, Donny…those government-subsidized Hydroplantation products are one of the reasons why the economy on this planet is in recession. And you’re standing there, talking about how the government should redistribute wealth while you are eating something that causes the wealth on Ailana to be so concentrated in so few hands…”
“Can it, man!” Donny shouted, “I don’t give a shit about what you think about m
y freaking dinner! I don’t give a rat’s ass about where my food comes from! Now get the hell out of my doorway!”
“Donny…you are one of those people, who just happen to be a part of the problem,” Jhett’s smile got even wider as he saw Bloke’s enormous fist crashing through the window, distracting Donny for a second.
Jhett grabbed the gun from Donny’s hand.
“What the hell?!” Donny shouted as he turned towards Jhett and saw a large blade ejecting out of the big man’s fist.
Donny panicked as he saw how close the blade was to his face, “what’s sticking out of your arm? What the hell are you people?”
“We’re part of the solution!” Jhett said as he sunk his fist-blade into Donny’s neck. Blood poured onto the floor as he gagged and fell to his knees. Donny looked up just in time to see Jhett’s boot smash into his head.
Location: Cellblock Four…Hana Paloi Federal Building…Downtown Polynea.
Ailanian Standard Time: 1600 Hours.
“So, you’re the new guy,” Audrey said as she walked into Tavin’s cell. “Moke has told me you are really good at anything that involves computers.”
Tavin couldn’t believe the image that had just filled his field of vision. The young woman, who had just walked into the room with a small stack of ReadyFiles was not only beautiful, she was actually speaking to him.
Tavin swept his shaggy hair from his eyes as he decided to smile and play it cool as he said, “I’ve been known to work some magic with these, and other kinds of…electronic, devices.”
Audrey smiled naïvely as she sorted through the ReadyFiles. Tavin swallowed the lump in his throat, realizing that his innuendo had gone right over her head as she smiled and said, “Well, that is good, because I have some security camera footage I need you to access for me. We’ve had quite a few murders in Polynea that I need to find some evidence for, and if you have time, I have a challenge for you.”
“Oh, I love a challenge.”
“Good,” she said as she gave him the sleek, gray ReadyFile. “This is a medical file that we obtained on a Military Officer, who we will be working with soon. Do you think you could hack into it and break the locks on the access codes? There is some top secret stuff in here that I really want to have a look at.”
Tavin tried to stop his hands from shaking as he smiled and said, “I have all the time in the world, and I’m not going anywhere. I’m sure I could have a look at this stuff and see what I can do. Hacking access codes isn’t rocket science, I’m sure I can help you out.”
“That’s great,” Audrey said in an attempt to sound supportive. “You’re a lifesaver, Tavin. We’re swamped with work here and any help we can get is appreciated.”
“And believe me,” Tavin said as he tried to sound flirty. “Any time you come up here to give me work is appreciated.”
“You are just so cute,” Audrey said with a fake smile. “And by the way…the Captain is wondering about your search for a missing account that the High Senator might have stuffed some embezzled money into…how is tracking down that money going?”
“Oh, that project…that one is a doozey. I might need some more time…and some more processing power, which means that you might have to bump up my security clearance.”
She stared at him for a few moments before she said, “I’ll see what I can do…have a good one Tavin.”
“Oh how I hate to see you go,” Tavin sighed as Audrey walked out of his room. “But how I love to watch you leave.”
CHAPTER 5
Location: The Hana Paloi District Courthouse…Polynea…Ailana
Ailanian Standard Time: 1630 Hours.
“Order is this court!” The Judge shouted as he banged his gavel and gave the young, Hokupi man who was standing in front of his bench a stern look. The Judge narrowed his eyes as he said, “Mr. Matsumoto…do you have anything to say for yourself before I pass sentence?”
Kenny Matsumoto felt the Makani buzz wearing off his brain as he suddenly realized that he could be in deep trouble. He looked over his right shoulder and saw his lawyer, sitting at the defendant’s table, looking as if this had been a big waste of her time. He then looked over his left shoulder and saw how the prosecutor was looking at her watch, confident that this would all be over soon.
He couldn’t help but smile as he realized how both women looked sexy in their black, pleated pantsuits. Kenny’s hands began to shake as he felt inspired to say something that had been on his mind for months.
“Your Honor,” Kenny said and then cleared his throat, which appeared to make the Judge even more irritated with him. “I am going to rest on my laurels here…as well as my butt cheeks…and quite frankly…I would like to see you kiss them both…”
The judge’s eyes blazed with anger as he said, “you sir, are this close to being in contempt!”
“Contempt of what, your Honor?” Kenny said with the most serious tone he could muster. “Are you saying I have contempt for this society that has been designed to keep me down? Sir, I went out and started a legitimate business…I did what I did, to feed my family.”
The Judge said sternly, “Mr. Matsumoto, need I remind you that your business sold T-shirts of questionable taste and complete disrespect for our Moral Codes?”
“Sir, these T-Shirts were about to sell very well, and make me a million dollars because they spoke the truth, they displayed a sentiment that every Ailanian is thinking…”
“Sir, your T-Shirts had the words, ‘Moralism Sucks!’ written in very large letters…do you think that myself, our prosecutor, or even someone as liberal minded as your lawyer would buy such a disrespectful item and expect the rest of our citizens, who disagree with it, to not be offended?”
“Sir…if I may expound on what my T-Shirt said and why it was so important to say it…ya see here is the deal, you people in the government…we know you killed the economy on purpose because a good economy means freedom for people like me. People like you, don’t want people like me to be free…you want us under your thumbs and on our knees begging for your assistance and mercy. But ya know, what…even when the economy gets as shitty as it has lately, you still can’t keep young, brilliant people like me down. Instead of standing in your unemployment lines, waiting for you to give us something, we go out and create our own jobs…and that pisses you off more than anything…so that’s why I am here. My T-shirts struck a chord, sir…”
The Judge banged his gavel and cut Kenny off in midsentence as he said, “Mr. Matsumoto, this has nothing to do with your civil rights, this is about how you have defaulted on your business loans and housing payments that the bank loaned you…thus causing this planet’s economic recession to get worse.”
“What the hell is that all about?”
The Judge sat back in his chair and said, “We have no time for that today, Mr. Matsumoto…this court has found you guilty and I have decided that your parental rights to your child will be revoked. I am also going to honor your wife’s request for asylum in our government program for unwed mothers.”
Kenny’s eyes became wide with fright as he shouted, “You can’t take them away from me! That program is a prison that those poor women cannot escape from! I’ll never see my wife and kid again!”
“That is the point, Mr. Matsumoto. The government has determined you to be unfit as a father and a husband, and thus, it is now the duty of the government to take care of them. Unless you can prove to this court that you can provide for your family by showing us a legitimate bank account with at least thirty five thousand dollars in it, we will have to make our decision final and permanent.”
“YOU CAN’T DO THIS!” Kenny shouted.
“GUARDS!” The Judge stood up and shouted, “Get this man out of my courtroom! You should be thankful Mr. Matsumoto, if I had my way; I’d be locking you up in The Penitentiary and throwing away the electronic key!”
Bef
ore he even knew what was happening to him, Kenny felt the tremendous pressure of two strong biceps under his arms and fists digging into his armpits. Moments later, Kenny found himself out on the front steps of the courthouse, looking at the magnificent, blue Ailanian sky through the tears in his eyes.
Location: The Hana Muli Kona Apartment complex…Downtown Polynea…Ailana
Ailanian Standard Time: 0230 Hours.
“Remember, there is a reason why you are doing this…it is all part of the plan. A plan your boss can’t know about,” The voice said through the man in black’s cranial com. “If our plan is going to work, then some people need to die, so I hope you are prepared to work some overtime.”
“Been working all my life…why should that change now?”
The voice over the com said, “Please get back in touch with me real soon, the list of targets I have for you is growing fast.” The voice stopped much to his delight. Even though he loved doing his job, he hated having to communicate with those who gave him his orders.
“Ah, to be free of this life…” He thought to himself. “But for now…it’s back to work.”
The man in black had tracked his target down and was ready to kill again. But first, there was the matter of waiting for a potential witness, to the murder he was about to commit, to get out of bed and leave the area. The man in black hid himself in the shadows of the hallway. He was waiting patiently, for Ted Bobson to wake up, and leave for his job on the night shift. His cyborg ears could hear what was happening inside the apartment where this potential witness lived. Suddenly, he heard Ted being jolted from a drunken sleep.
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