Assassination Anxiety (The McKenzie Files)

by Barry K. Nelson

The small kitchen with bright blue walls looked inviting with the black countertop stacked with disposable plates and covered pans. Colin caught himself wanting to lift the covers to see what goodies lay within. He nipped that urge and eyed the young black woman standing in front of the stove, wearing the requisite barbecue uniform of shorts and tee-shirt with flip-flop sandals. Her thick black hair, tied in a ponytail, hung down past her shoulders. With gray oven mitts on her hands, she leaned down and pulled a large covered silver pan out of the oven. When she turned to place the pan on the counter, she saw Colin. Her eyes widened, and her mouth gaped open, then formed a smile. Colin recognized her face. This was his cousin, Rose.

  “Oh my God. Colin. You came!” Rose exclaimed.

  “I told you I’d be here,” Colin replied with a smile. Here goes. Time to see if she’ll take me as the real Colin in person.

  Rose hurried over to greet Colin with a tight hug. “I haven’t seen you in the flesh for such a long time. You’re almost like a stranger.”

  Funny you should say that, he thought.

  Rose gave Colin a second hug, then stepped back. “How have you been? What have you been up to?”

  “Nothing much since I last emailed you. Just keeping myself busy trying to win the war.”

  “You just missed Linda. She stepped out to use the bathroom.” Rose went over to the doorway. “Linda!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “Cousin Colin is here! Come see Cousin Colin!”

  “So, how have you been doing?” Colin asked.

  “I’ve been doing okay. Still going to school, working part-time. And I’m still with the company. Things are a bit quiet with them right now, after that trouble on Maseklos Prime.”

  Colin was confused. “What company?”

  “The same company that we’re both in. You know. The one that we never talk about in front of Mama and Daddy.”

  “Oh yeah. That one,” said Colin. Still confused, but winking to go along with her. He was getting a very uneasy feeling.

  A young black woman in pink shorts, shirt, and white sneakers charged into the kitchen. Her black hair was cut shorter than the shoulder length that Colin had seen from her past emailed photos, but he still knew her face. This was his Cousin Linda.

  “Colin!” she shouted in a high-pitched voice, rushing to him with both arms extended. Colin felt the tight pressure of Linda’s arms around his body as he gave her a hug and felt relieved when she released him.

  “So, look at you! How long has it been since I’ve seen you?” Linda asked. “I’m so glad you could make it. The whole family doesn’t often get together like this.”

  “I told you I’d be here. Not even the war could keep me away.”

  Linda placed her hand on Colin’s shoulder. “So, what have you been up to? I don’t get to see you like I used to. I see more of Eddie than I see of you.”

  “Eddie?” In Colin’s mind there was only one Eddie that he could recall. But that person was dead. “Which Eddie? I know so many.”

  “Eddie Driscoll, silly,” Linda admonished, smiling.

  Colin tried to hide his shock over hearing that name. “Oh yeah. That Eddie. When did you see him last?”

  “About two weeks ago at the Moonlight Bar. I was disappointed that you weren’t with him. You two used to be like two peas in a pod.”

  Impossible. Thought Colin. Driscoll is dead.

  “There was supposed to be a meeting with our new section leader, Keith Berry, that night,” Linda continued. “But he never showed up.”

  Keith Berry. Another name coming back to haunt me.

  The smile faded from Rose’s face. She shook her head. “I was shocked when Driscoll told us the news that Berry was found dead in some apartment on the planet Trillion. What a loss.”

  “You’re only saying that because you were sweet on him,” Linda teased.

  The queasy, nervous feeling in Colin’s stomach got worse. Rose and Linda are members of Vendetta? Wouldn’t they be surprised if they found out that I killed Keith Berry?

  “Still no word as to when Vendetta is going to replace him,” Rose said. “Then again, grunts on the street are the last ones to hear anything.”

  “Keep it down,” warned Linda. “We don’t want the wrong people to hear us.”

  “Oh, no, we don’t want that,” Colin said, feigning agreement. Vendetta? What a bombshell! This was the last thing he’d expected. “So, how’s the cooking coming along?” he asked, desperate to change the subject. He couldn’t handle hearing any more news that would finish off his dream of enjoying a happy family – even if that family wasn’t really his. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  Rose pointed to the pans on the counter. “You can take these outside for me.” She handed him her mittens. “Watch it – they’re still hot. Tell Mama that the baked beans are almost done, and ask her if Daddy got somebody to ice down the drinks in the cooler.”

  “No problem,” said Colin. He put on the mittens, and Linda held the door open for him as he carried one of the hot pans out to the tables. He came back and got two more pans, taking them outside. Then he spent the next half hour taking small sips from a cup of beer and trying to mingle with the many people who were gathering in the yard. He listened to a lot of small talk but didn’t have the stomach to engage in much conversation himself. The thought of his two cousins, Rose and Linda, working for Vendetta still weighed heavily on his mind. Now he felt apprehensive about these people he’d come to consider his relatives. He looked about at the many smiling and laughing faces of the men and women gathered in the yard and wondered to himself, which ones were members of Vendetta – and what should he do about it. If he had not been captured and reprogrammed, he would have continued serving the organization and would have continued with his own treacherous activities to bring down the Protectorate, the government he now served with loyal dedication. But was it really dedication, or was it just forced programming? Why had the original Colin McKenzie and his cousins joined Vendetta in the first place?

  And then there was the mystery of Eddie Driscoll. For months, Colin lived with the assumption that Driscoll was dead, killed back on the planet Meridan in that firefight to save the downed Brelac ship. Now a report from Linda said otherwise. Driscoll is dead, thought Colin. This doesn’t make any sense. Then his mind produced a theory. Driscoll was a Reploid like himself. Reploids were basically clones. Could there be more than one copy of Eddie Driscoll?

  During the next hour, Colin put away his concerns about Vendetta and Eddie Driscoll. At Aunt Nelly’s insistence, he loaded his plate with a little bit of everything and then sat down at one of the crowded picnic tables to devour the hearty home-cooked meal – the best food he could ever remember eating. And the supply of beer was unending. Colin was not able to finish the first cup that he had before another was placed in front of him. Between the food and conversation, Colin felt that he was fitting in with these people. This was one of the few moments of his Reploid when he actually had a great time.

  Colin finished his first plate and was going to get a second helping. He rose up and headed for the table where all the pans of food were sitting. Aunt Nelly walked toward him. “Colin, dear. Would you do me a favor and run into the house to find more plastic forks? We’re running low.”

  “No problem.” He placed his plate back on the table and went into the kitchen, finding Linda bringing out a small covered pan from the refrigerator.

  “This is it,” she announced, placing the pan on the counter. “The last of the potato salad.”

  “Aunt Nelly sent me here to get some more forks,” he said.

  “I know where they are.” She opened a drawer, brought out a small white box, and handed it to him. “The last box. Tell everybody this is going to have to last.”

  “I’ll keep using my old one for a while,” Colin replied.

  “So, you never did tell me what you’ve been up to lately. It’s been a while since you’ve sent me an email.”

  Colin shrugged his
shoulders, unsure of what to tell Linda – most of all wanting to avoid mentioning his new job with the CID. “Been busy lately. They did have me working in that same job in the supply room for a while, but now I might have a chance to go back into the field.”

  “Okay. And what about the company?”

  Vendetta, thought Colin. “I haven’t done much with them lately. I haven’t had any contacts from them in a while.”

  Linda nodded. There was a grim look on her face. “I see. I can understand that, considering the fact that your contact, Keith Berry, is dead.”

  “That was news to me,” said Colin, playing innocent.

  Linda nodded again. “Yeah. It was news to me too. And you know what else was news to me? The fact that I saw your name on a list of people slated for liquidation.”

  “Liquidation?”

  “A hit list,” explained Linda. “Your name was on a list of people targeted for elimination. And then your contact and our section leader, Keith Berry, comes up dead on Trillion. That’s where the military had you stationed for a while. Funny how that all turned out, don’t you think?”

  “Things happen,” replied Colin, still trying to sound innocent.

  “Yeah. Things happen. And I’m still wondering what kind of things have been happening with you lately. I kept the list from Rose because I didn’t want her to get upset. But if you’re involved with something really heavy, then I’d like to know if it’s going to pose a danger to her and Mama and Daddy, or me. Understand?”

  Colin stared back into Linda’s cheerless eyes, unsure of what to say. “I’m not going to let anything happen to any of you.”

  Linda paused, then said, “Is that a promise you can keep? Between the war, Vendetta, and the Protectorate military, we’re all playing a very dangerous game. One wrong move, and we can all end up like Keith.”

  Can’t argue with that. Especially since I killed the guy after he tried to kill me.

  The door to the kitchen opened, and Aunt Nelly entered. “Colin, your girlfriend is outside. She’s looking for you.”

  “My girlfriend?” Colin echoed, confused.

  “The tall woman with the long black hair. She looks sort of buff.”

  Colin returned an innocent laugh. There was only one woman who would fit that description. “Oh, her. I didn’t expect her to show up.”

  Colin looked back at Linda. There was a sly grin on her face. “Your girlfriend? You never mentioned a girlfriend before. You’ll have to introduce me.”

  Colin handed the box of plastic forks to Nelly, then he followed them outside. In the yard, he saw Diane standing near the grill, talking to Uncle Ned. The bright red dress she wore made her stand out, and her matching red stiletto heels gave a boost to her six-foot-two-inch stature.

  Diane turned to see Colin, Nelly, and Linda approaching. There was a plastic cup of beer in her hand. She pointed it toward Colin. “Well, look who’s here. We were just talking about you,” she said with a broad smile on her face.

  “What are you doing here?” asked Colin.

  “We were invited. Don’t you remember?” said Diane. She then took a sip of beer from her cup.

  “We?”

  “Yeah. Kelly came with me. He’s over at the tables.”

  Colin looked over to the picnic tables. Kelly was seated with his back turned, in between two young girls. His bright pink shirt made him stand out far more than his blue shorts and flip-flop sandals. Kelly was eating a spare rib from the plate of food sitting in front of him. He turned to see Colin and waved.

  “Don’t worry. The kid’s not drinking,” Diane joked, taking another sip from her cup.

  Linda nudged Colin’s shoulder. “So, are you going to introduce us to your girlfriend, or what?”

  “Well ... uh ... I ... well, sure. Of course.” Feeling awkward, Colin forged ahead. “This is Diane Christy.”

  “Captain Diane Christy,” she corrected. “Fighter pilot.”

  “On vacation,” Colin quickly added. “You can tell us all about your stellar career later. This is my Aunt Nelly and my cousin, Linda. And,” he added as Rose approached, “this is my cousin, Rose.”

  All three of Colin’s relatives shook Diane’s hand and expressed their pleasure that she could attend the reunion.

  “Colin never mentioned that he had a girlfriend,” Rose said. “How long have you two been together?”

  “A few months,” Colin answered, feeling no guilt over telling Rose a half truth.

  “Your mother would be so proud of you if she were here,” Nelly said. “Finally settling down with a girlfriend. Perhaps we can hear wedding bells in the future.”

  “Wedding bells,” Diane quipped, smiling. “Imagine that, Sarge.” She gave Colin a sly wink.

  Colin smiled back but didn’t answer.

  Nelly pointed toward Kelly. “Who is that young man sitting over there?”

  “Kelly Lytton,” Colin explained. “He’s a friend of ours.” Colin cleared his throat and smiled. “Do you mind if I steal Diane away for a moment?”

  The ladies giggled knowingly. “Sure thing,” Nelly said. “You can go off alone for a minute or two, but then I’m going to want to hear more about her.”

  Colin nodded and grinned, taking Diane gently by the arm as he escorted her away where they could talk without being overhead. “What are you two doing here? I thought you and Kelly were supposed to try and find this Corby that we’re looking for.”

  Diane took another sip of beer. “We started to. Then we thought it would be a bad idea. What if we were to run into those freaks? You want Kelly and me to go up against them by ourselves?”

  “Alright. Good point,” replied Colin. “Maybe it’s better that we get our asses kicked as a team.”

  “Nice family that you’ve got here, Sarge,” Diane complimented. “At first, I thought that this reunion was a stupid idea. Then I decided to come out of curiosity. Kelly was whining about being left alone, so I dragged him here with me. I have to admit that I like these people. They’re friendly. And I like getting out and socializing.”

  “Nice to hear that. But did you have to tell people that you were my girlfriend?”

  “I couldn’t have told them we were married. They would have been pissed about not being invited to the wedding.”

  Colin held his breath before asking his next question. “Did you happen tell anyone that you were with the CID?”

  “No. Why?”

  Colin sighed with relief. “Good. Let’s hope Kelly didn’t shoot his mouth off about it either. It could cause a problem. We need to get him aside and warn him to keep quiet about it.”

  “Why? What’s going on?”

  “I’ll explain later.” Colin glanced around, then added, “I think we should leave.”

  “Leave? What the hell are you talking about? We just got here.”

  Kelly rose from his table and walked over to join them. He was still holding onto a half-eaten spare rib. “Nice family you’ve got here. You aunt and uncle are great cooks. This is my first barbeque.”

  “When we get back to Maseklos Prime, I’ll cook you a banquet,” Colin told Kelly. “Did you tell anyone that you’re working for the CID?”

  “No.” Kelly gave him a quizzical look.

  Colin sighed again. “Good. Another bullet dodged. Let’s keep the CID job to ourselves for now.”

  “Why? What’s the problem?” asked Diane. She gazed into Colin’s eyes.

  For a moment, Colin considered confessing that his two cousins, Rose and Linda, were members of Vendetta. But then he would have to face the unavoidable fact of having to reveal his own involvement. It would raise too many dark questions about the real Colin McKenzie’s past, and he had only half the answers. He didn’t need any more complications in his life right now, so this little bombshell would have to stay a secret from Diane and Kelly for the time being. He shook his head. “No problem. I just think we should keep our work with the CID to ourselves and avoid too many questions. We’re here to
have a good time. Nothing else.”

  Colin turned and started to walk toward the picnic tables when Diane stepped in front of him. She thrust her hand against his chest and looked deep into his eyes. “Is it just me, or is there something you’re not telling us?”

  Colin hesitated, searching for a quick and easy answer. “Yeah. There’s cake.”

  Colin looked over to Kelly. He stopped gnawing on his sparerib bone to stare back at Colin. “There better be,” was his blunt reply.

  “Cake,” Diane spat, removing her hand from Colin’s chest. He could still see a hint of suspicion in her eyes. Finally she nodded. “I can always go for cake.”

  “The next shuttle for Maseklos Prime doesn’t leave for another two hours,” Colin told them. “Let’s just enjoy our stay here a bit longer. Then we’ll leave and get back to work on our investigation.”

  As Colin escorted Diane and Kelly back to the picnic tables, intent on spending their remaining time here enjoying the company of these friendly humans, he couldn’t help but wonder how deeply Rose and Linda’s involvement with Vendetta went. And his. Which of them had committed the worst crimes, and which would have to be dealt with first?

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  Chapter 11

  Colin sat near the window aboard the half-empty subway car, peering out at the dimly lit tunnel. Diane, now dressed in blue jeans and sneakers, sat next to him, her Griffin-90 laser pistol holstered at her side. The moment that their shuttle arrived on Maseklos Prime, she had insisted on returning to her apartment to change out of her fashionable red dress and high heels. Even Kelly wanted to return to his barracks back at the base to exchange his flip flops for the surety of his black sneakers.

  Now that the McKenzie Family reunion on Narcos was over, he and Diane and Kelly could resume their search for the mysterious person known as Corby, and try to find out what their connection might be to this ominous plan Lieutenant Garbo had mentioned just before she was killed. They paid a visit to the three Corbys on the list who lived in Navarone. There was no answer at Corporal Andrew Corby’s apartment. They went to the apartment of Captain Daniel Corby, but discovered that he was also out. A neighbor informed Colin that Captain Corby had been away on duty for the past two months. They managed to meet with the next Corby on the list, Lieutenant James Corby, a young pilot fresh out of flight academy and home on leave. He knew nothing about Lieutenant Mertz, so Colin considered this a dead end.