Mindguard

by Andrei Cherascu

  “Then you are also aware that Soixtet’s is incredibly virulent. If he has been hiding there for two years, he should have long contacted the disease. In fact, he should be dead by now.”

  “Well, he’s not.”

  “Even if he somehow miraculously survived, no sane man goes into hiding in a colony of people who suffer from the most violent disease known to man. It’s insane, why would he do that?”

  “He probably knew I was coming.”

  Horatio couldn’t tell if the man was making fun of him. He didn’t say anything so the other man spoke first.

  “Guess he thought we wouldn’t go looking for him there.”

  “Are you one hundred percent positive that it’s him?”

  “It’s your equipment, Mr. Miller.”

  Now Horatio knew that Louis was provoking him. The DNA trackers built by Mylonas were said to be the most powerful in the world. They were able to identify specific genetic markers on a three-thousand mile radius, which was unsurpassed. Even the Enforcement Unit used Mylonas trackers. The devices were, in fact, illegal to purchase without explicit consent from the Council of Presidents. Anyone caught using them without such consent could face prosecution for espionage. Of course, Horatio had ways of making sure that nobody could connect Louis to him. And Louis had ways of making sure nobody would catch him using the trackers.

  “All right, how do we proceed?”

  “Well, I’m not going in there, not like this. I’ll need funds for a Guillermo.”

  “Approved. You will get it as soon as possible. Can you even get a Guillermo on Thissaia?”

  A Guillermo Suit was specifically designed for protection against extremely virulent diseases like Soixtet’s. Its build offered high functionality with considerable protection but it was also very expensive and difficult to procure, especially if you were trying to be subtle.

  “Are you kidding? They barely have electricity on this backwards planet. I’ll need to get to Leikkon at the very least.”

  “Time?”

  “In total, somewhere around seventy-two hours, if I leave in two hours.”

  Horatio wasn’t thrilled. Nevertheless, he was a patient man and if he had waited for two years he could wait for three more days. He also understood that it was an extremely delicate situation and he was grateful that Louis didn’t just flat out refuse to set foot on that Soixtet’s pest hole. Even with the suit there was still significant danger, especially when your intention was to kill somebody. But Louis was the best and he charged accordingly.

  “All right, check back with me before you head out to the island.”

  “Yeah…”

  Horatio could see that the man was hesitating. He was surprised. Was this actual reluctance from the most cold-blooded hitman he had ever employed?

  “Anything else?”

  “Yeah,” the man said bluntly. “I’ve got no problem carrying out this mission or taking your credits. It’s just …”

  “What?”

  “I mean, the man is isolated on an island with no way of communicating with the outside. He is stuck there with about a thousand people suffering from the nastiest disease in human history. He’ll be dead soon anyway, right? He’s not invincible.“

  “He survived for two years.”

  “Yeah, somehow. But how much more do you think he can survive without contacting the disease, realistically? Why go through all the trouble of paying me a ton of credits to do something that nature will easily take care of, if left to its own devices?”

  “No,” Horatio said. His voice left no room for contradiction. “No, I won’t leave this up to fate. I want to know that I was the hand that held the whip. Not fate and not his god. Me!”

  “All right,” said Louis, aware that the discussion ended there. “Talk to you in three days then. I’m out.”

  As soon as he said that his image disappeared. Horatio once again found himself in a dull, empty room. He felt a sense of complete serenity. In three days, Nikolaos Apostolos will be dead. Meanwhile, Sophie will carry out her mission and humanity will finally be safe.

  Chapter 14

  You cannot pretend that something exists merely because you have given it a name.

  Kinsey Ayers, A Brief History of the Mind

  “Good luck, my darling! Because of you, the world will never be the same.”

  Her father’s prophetic words were followed by a secretive smile. “I know, Dad,” she said, smiling back.

  She tried to act confident but she was terrified. She didn’t want to let her father see her fear. He had chosen her because she was the only person in the world he could truly trust. She was so grateful to share the joy of her father’s amazing discovery, to be part of this incredible adventure. He had wanted to go himself, but there was no way. After Nikolaos’ disappearance, and with his own increased involvement in the political sphere, Horatio could have never headed out on this expedition without drawing great attention. The mission had to remain a secret until the world was ready to know, and she was the only person who could carry it out.

  Sophie had tears in her eyes as she tried to find the strength to say goodbye. He embraced her and kissed her forehead. “I will think about you every second, wondering where you are… if you are well…”

  “No need to worry, Dad,” she said, with newfound confidence. His concern fueled her desire to make him proud. “I can do this!”

  As Sophie and the team were getting ready to embark on the mission, only minutes away from departure, her thoughts wandered back to the conversation with her father and everything that had followed after that.

  From the Miller estate she had instantly been transported to the Ayers-Ross office. After meeting the team and attending the briefing, she spent the next two weeks preparing for the trip. They accommodated her in one of the apartments the agency was renting in the high-rise.

  Throughout those fourteen days, she communicated extensively with her team members and spent her time preparing for the mission, by reading up as much as she could on the planets through which they were going to pass. For safety reasons, she was not allowed to leave the building, so she made good use of all the amenities, including the well equipped gym, the large swimming pool and the very spacious deck area, which had been turned into a garden.

  It was on the thirty-seventh floor and it offered a wonderful view of Essa Ronas, especially at sunset, when the colors of the sky combined with the pastel of vibrant lights created one of the most beautiful urban vistas she had seen in her many years of traveling. One evening, while contemplating the dramatic skyline, she was startled by Alex Lea, who had quietly appeared behind her.

  “Sorry to scare you,” he said.

  “Not at all. I mean, it’s ok.”

  He smiled. “I figured you might be bored. I mean, you’re alone most of the time with nowhere to go outside the building.”

  “I use the time to prepare for the mission, it keeps me busy more than I thought.”

  “Well… ok. Still, I thought you might like some company. For dinner perhaps.”

  “I… yes… uh, yes certainly.”

  Sophie had taken dinner alone in her room every evening. She was caught off guard by the young mindguard’s invitation. From the start, she sensed that he was more than a little attracted to her, but she didn’t expect him to ask her out and risk angering Ross.

  She studied him for a brief moment. He was handsome, with a boyish charm, very attractive in a more conventional way than, say, Sheldon Ayers. Again, she found her thoughts turning to Sheldon. But Alex was sweet where Sheldon was, at best, polite. He was warm and communicative while Sheldon was cold and distant. And he had seemed genuinely preoccupied with her safety and well-being while Sheldon was mostly preoccupied with his own thoughts. She didn’t know why she was so intrigued by Sheldon Ayers, but her thoughts always seemed to find their way back to this mysterious man. However, she accepted Alex’s invitation.

  The young mindguard was closer to her age. He was swee
t and he would certainly prove a more suitable companion than Sheldon. She wasn’t yet sure if she wanted to sleep with him, but dinner and some conversation couldn’t hurt. He took her to one of the select restaurants, the ‘Saint Marie’, on the thirty-second floor. It had a cozy, rustic theme and a variety of dishes of game, one of the two restaurants in the building that served meat.

  The whole evening was wonderful and she very much enjoyed Alex’s company. He was easy-going, funny and very laid-back. Most of all he was modest, which was certainly not a quality that Sheldon possessed. Though the older mindguard was never overtly arrogant, there was something about his silence that suggested he felt above communicating with everyone else, except for Ross and Mensah. In the presence of Alex, Sophie felt more at ease.

  During her stay on Essa Ronas, she received visits from other members of Ayers-Ross, but they were all part of her team and their visits were work-related. The only one who never came to see her was Sheldon.

  In theory, they should have the closest relationship, since he was responsible with guarding her mind. But in reality, she felt the least comfortable around him. Unfortunately, the man to whom she felt close was not going to accompany her. Sophie considered asking Ross to switch Mensah with Alex, but ultimately she decided against it. She probably wouldn’t be doing Alex any favor and there must have been a good reason why Ross chose Mensah. She trusted his judgment. Her personal feelings aside, they had to do what was right for the mission.

  She went on several dinner dates with Alex and with each one, their bond grew stronger. On the night before departure, the young mindguard did something unexpected. They were having dinner in her private quarters and she was telling him about a trip she had taken with her father in the mountains of Saagenland, on a small planet called Gasthaus. She was in the midst of describing how a snowstorm had caught them off guard and left them stranded near the Himmelshafen peak, when she noticed that Alex wasn’t paying attention. He seemed distracted. Like a quick-tempered teenager who wasn’t receiving the desired attention, she was just about to throw a fit, when he suddenly took something out of his jacket pocket.

  “I want you to hold on to this,” he said, taking the palm of her right hand and placing in it a small wooden object.

  “What is it?”

  Confused, she had spoken before even looking at it. She felt silly. “I mean, why?” she mumbled. She looked at the object in her hand and saw a tiny sculpture of an ugly elephant. Clearly, it was the work of a clumsy sculptor.

  “I sculpt,” he said, looking down at his hands.

  “What?”

  “Yeah, it’s a… it’s a thing of mine. I’ve been doing it since I was a teenager. I taught myself how to sculpt and I still do it sometimes, you know, to help me think.”

  “I… I don’t know what to say. Thank you Alex, it’s wonderful.”

  He burst out laughing. “You’re sweet,” he said. “No it’s not, it’s ugly as hell, I know that. But it’s the first thing I ever sculpted. I was fourteen. I grew kind of fond of it so I’ve been sort of carrying it around with me ever since, like a good luck charm, you know. To keep me safe. I want you to have it now. I want to make sure it keeps you safe.” He smiled and she was speechless.

  “Thank you,” she eventually managed to pronounce, with great effort. It was as if she was forced to condense thousands of words into just that short, simple expression of gratitude. Alex made a gesture of the hand that said ‘it’s no big deal’, but she knew then, that she was going to sleep with him. She did, and it was every bit as wonderful as she expected. He proved as gentle and thoughtful in bed as his personality promised, and she felt she was starting to really care about him.

  “I don’t know where you’re going or what you plan to do when you get there, but I hope you’ll find a way to stay safe. When you get back, I’d like to see you again.”

  Those had been his last words to her before she left. He pulled her aside in the departure chamber so he could say goodbye in private. Sophie noticed that Maclaine Ross was looking at them from the corner of his eye, but he said nothing. She felt like kissing Alex, holding him tight so that she may gain strength from his kindness, but she didn’t dare be so straightforward in front of Ross. He smiled and said goodbye, leaving her invigorated and in a good mood. It did not last for long.

  ●

  They left Anderra through the personal transporter at Ayers-Ross. From the moment they set foot on Lusia, Sophie started feeling strange. It was as though a huge weight had been placed on her shoulders. The Ayers-Ross facility on Lusia looked deserted. The furnishings were scarce and dusty and the air was stale. It was more of a storage room than an office.

  “We use it for missions such as this,” Ross clarified, sensing her confusion. “We’ve been to desert regions before, not very often in Djago, though. On every border planet, we rent an office as a sort of safe house. You never know in our line of work.”

  Sophie didn’t answer. She was getting more anxious by the minute.

  “All right, Francois and myself will go talk to our people, get us a vehicle,” Ross said. “Everyone else make yourselves comfortable. It’s gonna be a bumpy ride.” He gave the vocal command that switched the windows from opaque to transparent. Sophie immediately recognized the reason why she was feeling uneasy.

  Compared to the beautiful vista of their office on Anderra, Lusia offered a most desolate view. They were in a building located somewhere in a forest. As far as she could tell, the property was surrounded by trees, a dark woodland that seemed endless and threatening. The sky was covered with coal grey clouds and it was snowing.

  Sophie got closer to the windows and absently stared outside while Ross and Francois left the room. She could see that they were on the first floor of some sort of villa. From the condition of the visible walls, she figured the building must look deserted from the outside. Just two minutes after the bodyguards left the room, she heard the sound of a roaring engine and saw the garage doors open to reveal a large land vehicle that quickly left the enclosure and disappeared on a snowy road between the trees.

  Sophie remained in place, contemplating the cheerless view, as the others had found places to sit down. Jason Elden and Ray Manner seemed to be consulting a map, visible only to their retinal insertions. They were talking among themselves and gesticulating. Though she had no reason to expect this to happen, Sophie kept hoping that Sheldon, her mind’s guardian, would talk to her and comfort her, or at least that he would acknowledge how terrified she was. Instead, he just quietly sat on a chair in the corner of the room and pulled out a leather-bound book to read. She felt like she wanted to cry with fear and loneliness, when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.

  “You are distressed, Sofia.” Isabel’s voice was soothing and understanding.

  “No, just… fired up,” she lied.

  The mindguard smiled. “It is a dangerous mission, trepidation is understandable. Also, Lusia can be a bit off-putting, just like the state of this building. We rarely use it because we have had very few missions in or around the Djago Desert.”

  “Does the whole building belong to Ayers-Ross?” Sophie asked.

  “Yes, Mac bought the land and had the building renovated. It used to be the home of a government official who was temporarily stationed here. Mac liked the fact that it was isolated. When he is on a mission, he wants to be away from people.”

  “And Sheldon?”

  Isabel smiled. In her smile, Sophie could sense a hidden meaning.

  “Sheldahn doesn’t much care about the setting.”

  “He seems absent most of the time.”

  Isabel shook her head. “He is very much present. Perhaps more so than anyone you have ever met.”

  Sophie looked at Sheldon and inexplicably expected to find him staring at her, but he was absorbed in his book.

  “You do not need to be suspicious of Sheldahn,” Isabel said. “He is a good man.”

  “He comes off as distant,” Sophie said, g
lad that she had somebody to open up to. “More than anyone I’ve ever met before. I mean, my father is also not very communicative, but compared to Sheldon he wears his heart on his sleeve.”

  “Sheldahn is not distant. He seems that way because he is always thinking.”

  “Well so are we, so is my dad. My father is one of the most successful businessmen in the world, I would imagine he spends a lot of time thinking.”

  Sophie realized how childish she had sounded, but Isabel gave her a very affectionate, motherly smile.

  “His mind is singular entity. It is not so much a matter of intelligence, you have misunderstood my words. It is the way in which his brain functions. Not only the volume of information he can manage, but the manner in which he processes that information. It’s hard to explain to somebody without knowledge of thoughtprotection. Even for a mindguard, his approach is unique.”

  “Unique in what way?”

  “For example, he has a distinctive method of achieving the Weixman Cube.”

  “The what?”

  Isabel paused for a moment, perhaps thinking of the best way to explain these mindguarding concepts to an outsider.

  “A Weixman Cube,” she explained, “is the state of absolute protection, when the client’s mind is completely sheltered within the defensive walls of the mindguard’s own, which then becomes impenetrable. The concept was developed by Samuel Weixman, the world’s first mindguard. He was the man who established the methods and principles we use to this day. The Weixman Cube is basically the state of symbiosis between two minds, the protector and the protected. Most competent mindguards learn to master it. Some of the really good ones have even perfected their very own version.”

  “Have you?” Sophie asked. Isabel nodded appreciatively, acknowledging the compliment. “Yes, I have. But, even when a mindguard develops a personal approach to achieving the Cube, it is usually just a slight variation of the original parameters created by Samuel Weixman. Sheldahn, instead, has created his own unique method, completely independent of the conventional parameters. That is an extraordinary achievement.”