Freedom Incorporated

by Peter Tylee

  “I figured as much,” Dan said bitterly. He remembered their conversation in Australia – nobody in their right mind would say such things for Echelon to hear. “If you’re dicking with me and this isn’t his phone, I’ll hunt you down and peel you like an orange.”

  She paled. “That’s it, I swear.”

  Dan stuffed the paper into his coat. “Now, where’s his office?”

  “Upstairs.”

  “Let’s go.” Dan stood, indicating with his knife that she should follow. “If you make any sudden moves I’ll skewer you, understood?”

  She nodded, fear stinging her eyes. “Yes.”

  “No portals either. I want to walk.” He nudged her into motion and followed her through the bowels of the building. She took one wrong turn, explaining that she’d never walked that way before. Dan wasn’t making things easier by insisting they skirt the security cameras, which were watching from blackened bubbles in the ceiling. But after a quick prompt with the knife, she regained her sense of direction and led him directly to Esteban’s door.

  Dan listened for signs of life before carefully opening it, ready for anything. Esteban’s office was more elegant than Michele’s. He’d opted for expensive, leather-upholstered couches and he’d obviously petitioned hard to get a stunning array of art hung on his walls.

  Dan spent 20 minutes exploring every nook and cranny in the office while Michele watched from the couch. He regarded her suspiciously while he worked, wondering what he should do with her. Part of him wanted to kill her for her involvement, no matter how limited it had been. Another part was sickened by the thought. I can’t do it.He couldn’t fool himself into believing her death was justified, he wasn’t delusional. She was supremely irritating and possessed below average intelligence, but she hadn’t broken the law or done anything to warrant death. At one point he was seeking an excuse to justify slaying her, but deep down he knew there would be no possible redemption for his soul if he did something despicable like that.

  The search turned up nothing useful and he felt as if he’d wasted his time. He straightened his aching back and groaned, “Michele…”

  She raised her head to look at him.

  “I’m not going to kill you.” He could see the relief in her posture. “But if you’re still here tomorrow I’ll assume you’re suicidal but too cowardly to kill yourself and I’ll relieve you of the burden.” He pierced her with a threatening stare. “You work for bad people here, I suggest you withdraw the millions you’ve hoarded and nick off. Fair enough?”

  She nodded. What else could she do?

  “Good.” He slipped from the room without further comment, leaving Michele to ponder just how close he’d come to gutting her.

  *

  “What’s so important?”

  “Cookie found something you’re going to be interested in.”

  A solidified lump of chewing gum stuck to the side of the videophone had Dan thoroughly transfixed. He was only paying for an audio signal, the bandwidth required for videophone calls made them more expensive than they were worth.

  “All right, I’m coming back.”

  “Did you find what you were looking for?”

  “No.” Dan fumed in frustration. “Not yet.”

  *

  Dan coughed the tickle from his lungs.

  A trickle of sweat was sliding down his back and he wondered why the Australian terminals didn’t adhere to the worldwide air-conditioning standard. He’d barely adjusted to the morning chill in America when he’d portaled back to Australia and begun sweltering inside his thick coat.

  At least it wasn’t busy anymore. A few stragglers and night workers scuttled past but there were no more queues. Dan obediently let Chuck scan his weapons. The weapon list before and after international travel had to match or customs began asking pertinent questions, and Dan knew his identity wouldn’t hold up to scrutiny.

  “That’s three bottles of scotch now Mr Kennedy.”

  Dan mocked a salute. “Yes sir.”

  *

  Saturday, September 18, 2066

  08:42Baltimore, USA

  Esteban felt groggy; it hadn’t been a restful night. I have to get more sleep.He was beginning to look forward to the end of the business with Dan so he could finally get some decent rest. Falling asleep after the incident with Jen had been difficult. Junior was yet to rise, which wasn’t surprising considering his nasty wound. She’d certainly done some damage, which was part of the reason Esteban found her so appealing.

  Adrian was in his usual seat, rereading an article in Fortune magazine he’d only had the opportunity to skim before. “You look awful.”

  Esteban grimaced. “Thanks for the heads-up.”

  “Did you get anysleep?” He adjusted his glasses and rested the magazine on his lap. He was experienced enough to realise he’d get nothing else read while Esteban was in the room.

  “Not much, no.” He was hungry and the only food within striking distance was a stale box of croissants in the bar fridge. Better than nothing.

  “Oh God, you’re not actually going to eat those are you?” A sour expression crossed Adrian’s face. “You know how old they are, don’t you?”

  Esteban shrugged. “They look okay.” He tore away a mouldy corner and tossed it in the bin. Moisture had made the pastry soggy due to the exorbitant amount of time the croissants had spent in the fridge, but Esteban was too hungry to worry about that. It was food, and food was good.

  Junior ambled into the room, a fresh bandage wrapped around his neck. The way he walked clearly illustrated his discomfort; he moved stiffly, a cross between Gumby and Frankenstein. If he twisted his head even slightly, the torsional strain on his wound made him dizzy with pain. Junior hated pain. The others could tell.

  “What the fuck are you looking at?”

  Esteban hid a smirk behind a chunk of croissant and spoke around his mouthful, sending a spray of milky yellow saliva over the bar. “Nothin’ man, how’re you doin’?”

  “Don’t even think about asking.” A black scowl crossed his face like a thundercloud. “It hurts like hell.”

  “You’ll get over it.” Esteban swallowed, which Adrian was pleased to note, and continued, “Dan’s on his way, I’m sure of it. He’ll probably find me today.”

  “And then we get to kill the bitch?” Junior was furious with her and delighted in visions of her torture. He’d fantasised about nothing else while the doctors had stitched the gaping hole in his neck. The promise of the sadistic pleasure to come was the only thought keeping him from creeping into Jen’s room and mutilating her now.

  “No,” Esteban said, earning himself a frown of disapproval. “I’ve changed my mind. I want to keep her.”

  “What?”

  “That’s a bad idea,” Adrian warned. “She’ll only cause problems.”

  “Not for long,” Esteban assured them. “And until then, I’ll take responsibility for whatever she does.”

  “So I have to punch you for last night?” Junior growled angrily.

  Esteban wasn’t amused. “You can try, if you feel game.” It was a mock challenge and nobody expected anything to come of it, but nor did Junior appreciate Esteban’s insinuations.

  “Do you mean you want her as a prostitute?” Adrian asked, trying to clarify Esteban’s intentions.

  He nodded and gnawed off another chunk of the soggy croissant. “Yeah.”

  “What about Claire?” Junior asked. “Are you going to keep two? Do I detect a ménage à troisin the air?”

  Esteban cast him another warning glance. “No. I’ll take care of my loose ends.”

  “Oh man, what a waste,” Junior moaned, correctly interpreting what Esteban meant. “I’ll take her if you don’t want her.”

  “No.” Esteban was adamant. “Nobody gets her, she’s mine. If you so much as squeeze her breasts I’ll make sure you permanently lose your sex drive, okay?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “It’s time I retired Claire.”

  Junior sat
, careful not to move his head. He’d lapsed into sullen silence.

  “And Jennifer’s going to take her place?” Adrian asked dolefully.

  “Yep.” Esteban was still chewing and another fleck of food made the journey from his masticating mouth to the bar. “But she likes to be called ‘Jen’.”

  “Well, whatever she wants you to call her, she doesn’t strike me as the sort of person who’ll sit idly by while you use her as a pincushion.” Adrian nudged his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. “I think we should stick to the original plan: wait for Dan, let him watch, we all get some fun.” Esteban wasn’t the only one attracted to Jen. But Adrian had secretly been attracted to her on a deeper level than the others. He didn’t want to see her raped, disfigured and killed. He couldn’t understand the change in himself and he was too lazy to analyse it, but given his way, he’d set Jen free. How his security slotted into that daydream he had no idea. But he didn’t want to see any more women murdered. He’d seen enough bloodshed to fill two lifetimes. Getting Esteban to wait for Dan was the only way he could save Claire from immediate termination. But that put Jen in peril. How long she’d live would depend on how good Dan was at tracking. It was a pickle of a situation and he hadn’t properly thought his way through it. And Adrian simply wasn’t a fast enough thinker to hatch a solution on the spot.

  Esteban’s temper was starting to flare. “How many times do I have to say it before it gets through?”

  “Okay, okay.” Adrian held up his hands submissively. “Just thought you might like another opinion.”

  “Well I’ve heard it.” Esteban stuffed the last croissant into his mouth and left the room. He didn’t notice the look Adrian and Junior shared. It knelled of a time when they might have to turn against their protector. Not now. Not anytime soon. Definitely not until they were thoroughly established in the Guild, but at some point, they might have to bite back.

  Esteban meandered toward Claire’s room. She looked almost peaceful, lying on her bed. She was still wearing her white halter and he ogled her breasts, paying particular attention to her tense nipples, which he could see through the thin material. Good girl.He felt nothing akin to affection for her. She was his slave, and he treated her accordingly. Blood rushed to his groin when he thought of his new slave. She’ll be good… she just doesn’t know it yet. He pensively pursed his lips. I just need to break her.He acknowledged that Adrian and Junior had a point, but he wasn’t accustomed to listening to their advice and he never let logic interrupt his fantasies.

  Then his attention snapped back to the present, to Claire’s room. She wasn’t the one he wanted, not anymore. Okay, let’s get this over with.It wasn’t something he would enjoy; it was a chore. He couldn’t have loose ends – Guild rules.

  Still, it is a pity… she was good while she lasted.

  She woke when he inserted the needle into her calf and flinched as he pumped the toxin into her system. It acted slowly compared with the Raven’s nanotoxin, but it was just as deadly. As far as Esteban was concerned, the main deficiency with the Raven’s formula was the mess, so he used a toxin that wouldn’t rot Claire’s flesh to a pile of puss.

  “What’s that?” she asked woozily.

  “Something to help you sleep,” he replied, his voice silky. A minuscule part of him vibrated in tune with humanity and he didn’t want to sound gruff as she died.

  But for all her faults, Claire wasn’t stupid. She understood the true meaning behind his innocent-sounding words. “You’re finally releasing me?”

  She had the most unusual smile on her lips, though Esteban couldn’t fathom the meaning behind it. It put him on edge. “Yes.”

  “No kiss goodbye?” Her eyes danced with mirth. “No ‘thanks for your services’?”

  Esteban scowled. She’s delusional. The drugs are acting faster than I thought.He attributed it to her poor physical constitution.

  “You know… there’s something I’ve wanted… to say to you… for a long time.” Claire was struggling to breathe, gasping and she snatched air with an exaggerated snapping of her mouth.

  “What’s that?” He couldn’t think of anything else to say.

  “You’re a… moron.” She chocked on a laugh before convulsing once and lying limp.

  Esteban stood back, not enjoying being alone with a victim’s ghost. He consoled himself with the thought that she would’ve died long ago if he’d sent her to prison – a cesspool of disease and gang rape. Inmates could expect to live for mere months. Governments around the world had slashed their penal budgets and penal clinics were the first things to suffer. Often inmates had to share medication, which meant prisons tended to brew super-strains of the world’s deadliest viruses and bacteria. Half an antibiotic course only weakened the microbes and upon recovering from the shock, they returned stronger than before. The World Health Organisation had been lobbying governments to address the problem for decades, but it was already too late. The diseases had spread to the wider community and modern treatment methodology had aggressively evolved to cope with the influx of medication-resistant strains. Some social scientists pointed accusing fingers at Xantex for charging extortionary prices for their drugs. Others blamed governments for ignoring the plethora of warnings.

  He checked to see whether Claire had lapsed into a coma, but she wasn’t drawing breath. She was better off here anyway.It seemed a strange justification when looking at her corpse, but in Esteban’s mind, he was within his rights for taking her life. He’d extended it, so it was his to extinguish.

  Now, for Dan…He’d launched a program to monitor Dan’s progress through the portals and, the last time he’d checked, Dan was still in Australia. Slow Dan, slow. I’d expected better from you.Esteban intended to be ready when he finally arrived. And then you’ll see who the master is.

  *

  Saturday, September 18, 2066

  22:43Sydney, Australia

  “What’s so important?”

  Cookie stood and granted him access to the screen. “Take a look for yourself.”

  Dan crouched and wearily began reading the records Cookie had left open. Fatigue was gnawing at his patience and the pressure of finding Jen wasn’t easing with the passage of time. He didn’t want to read the entire record; he wanted a summary. But he played the game anyway.

  His attitude changed somewhere in the second paragraph and by the fourth his attention was inextricably bound to the television set. No.Disbelief flooded his mind. It soaked him like petrol so that when he sparked with anger a moment later he exploded into an inferno of rage. He spoke through clenched teeth. “And all this time I thought it was random.”

  “You didn’t have reason to believe it went this deep. None of us did.” Simon was standing by, feeling uneasy. He wasn’t sure how his friend would react, whether he’d start smashing government property or collapse on the spot. Nor was he sure how to act himself. Sorrow? Anger? Pity?He was wondering how best to offer comfort, but comfort was impossible for a man who’d just discovered someone had paid a million Credits to have his wife murdered.

  Dan’s eyes glazed, focussing on a point a million miles away, on something only he could see.

  Samantha and Cookie were leaning on each other in the far corner, intensely uncomfortable.

  Now what?Dan mercilessly chewed his lower lip, ignoring the sting and taste of blood that followed. Does it change anything?Sometimes he hated the truth. Yes.Things would’ve been easier if he’d never known, but sheltering from the cruelty in the world wouldn’t give him peace. No, he was glad that he knew. He was glad to see the face that had orchestrated his misery from the shadows.

  “So Esteban was just following orders.” Simon didn’t know what else to say.

  Dan nodded. “It looks like that.” He stabbed Cookie with a pleading look. “Are you sure this is valid?”

  “I dunno man. Someone could’ve forged it, but I couldn’t imagine why. UniForce believed their network was impenetrable, so why plant misleading information
in their own database? Those records were restricted, not everyone in the company had access to them.”

  The ex-bounty-hunter nodded at the logic. “I can see why.” There was enough damning evidence in those few records to send powerful people to gaol.

  “What’re you going to do?” Simon asked nervously.

  Dan muffled a snort of amusement. “I’ve been asking myself that question.” Everyone felt wretched during the long pause that followed. But Dan shattered the deafening lapse in conversation by saying, “One thing at a time. Jen’s probably not interested in why they killed Katherine.”

  The record that had sparked his despondency was a contract between UniForce and PortaNet. The ‘total transportation solution’ company had requested Dan’s termination, but UniForce had declined. It was bad for business to assassinate cops. UniForce had a delicate relationship with law enforcement communities, why upset the balance for a few million Credits? They had an industry to protect. No, the police were strictly off limits. UniForce lined the pockets of several police commissioners to keep the baying cops away. If they assassinated a detective, nothing would stop the police from tearing UniForce asunder. So a spokesperson for PortaNet had met with a dedicated team of ‘solutions experts’ from UniForce, Esteban included. It’d been a productive meeting, apparently. Another record in the database provided a full transcript of the discussion, which boiled Dan’s blood.

  PortaNet had a problem. Dan was pursuing a case that had the potential to embarrass the company and they wanted his energies diverted. By that time, Dan had a well-earned reputation for dogged pursuit of suspects, regardless of their political protection. Together, UniForce and PortaNet had concocted a scheme to kill Dan’s wife, thereby distracting him. The contract was signed. Money was transferred. And the deed was done. Esteban had personally volunteered for the project and he’d delighted in slaughtering Dan’s wife. So, with the target brutally murdered and Dan declared psychologically unfit for duty, PortaNet transferred the remainder of the fee and was forever in wedlock with the seedier side of big business. The records didn’t depict precisely why PortaNet was so nervous, it was UniForce’s policy not to ask.