by Aline Riva
Three weeks later:
The grand building renamed Freedom City Hall had survived the fall of the old world and stood looking proud as if it towered the new roads and the tall buildings. Inside the former finance centre that had housed many offices and companies, the second floor was now so much more than a former conference room – now, it was the place where the city rulers met to discuss plans, and ten floors above it, the very best apartments had been furnished and made into living accommodation for the premier, his wife and the Vice Premier. As looked around the conference room, he felt a little hot and bothered, perspiring under the white leathers of his uniform as he thought on the weight of the responsibility of leadership. He had welcomed it in the beginning, but now, five years on, he was weary of the sheer effort of fighting for what was right – these days it was more about keeping the people happy, at least, the majority.... As he glanced around at the other city officials he suddenly realised someone was missing:
Actually,more than one person was missing – his own wife had stayed up in the department because he had told Steph today was all about housing and there would be no need of a Culture Minister to attend. He had only given her the job to make her feel useful – he had no clue when Freedom would consider itself as having a culture again, right now the former London was a recovering partly rebuilt city and the process to completely rebuild would take years...
He looked around the table at those who were assembled:
General Benjamin Temple, Chief of Security, a tall, heavy man with grey streaks in his dark hair, beside him was Clay Tate, a tired looking man despite his athletic build, who looked like he worked far longer than he should into the night, and probably did as he ran over and over the plans for he rebuilding, then there was the slim, pale woman with short dark hair who wore a business suit that looked out of place next to the casual clothing of Tate and the uniform of Temple – she was Hazel Preston, a former accountant who now ran the finance department, and next to her was Harvey Spear, he was around thirty five and somewhere between casual with his lack of tie and smart with his black suit, he had been a former businessman with a great deal of legal knowledge and for that reason, had became chief of the law department. At the end of the table sat a young man with fair hair and pale blue eyes, his clothing was faded and casual and as he toyed with a pen it was clear he had n real interest in being here when he was I charge of crops and farming, but Dominic Lane turned up for every meeting, because he felt obliged to do so...
Josh looked to the empty seat on the other side of the table.
“Where is Vice Premier Payton?” he asked.
The others looked at each other blankly, then Hazel spoke up:
“She sent a message to say she has a pressing family matter to attend to.” she replied, “But she added that if the cyborg issue is discussed her vote is already cast in favour of compassion.”
Josh gave a sigh and ran his fingers through his hair, wishing he could take off and skip meetings like Sylvia Payton did. After his encounter with Joy he felt uncomfortable at the thought of the cyborg problem – but with rising paranoia and mistrust regarding the use of android technology, the people had already made it clear cyborgs were not welcome or wanted in Freedom. Josh had considered their plight – he had seen the protests when the banning of maintenance had come about, and thought it unfair – but as leader, with pressure to please the people, he felt he had no choice, when the majority of the circle of eight who ruled alongside him had voted in favour of the ban... Being reminded by Temple and also Spear that his role as leader would be out voted if he took an opposing stance, had also done more than enough to sway his choice. He lived at the top of this building, where he and Steph enjoyed luxury. After all he had been through in the conflicts, he was damned if he was about to lose all he had gained, he had been through too much to suffer a second time around...
“We don't have time for the cyborg issue,” he replied, “The choices have already been made and I don't think the opinion of the minority should hold back our current agenda...” then he looked to Clay Tate, “About the plans for the rebuilding of the south side of Freedom...” he paused, seeing a look of alarm on Tate's face as he looked down at the table and then back at him.
Josh felt his anger rising as his face flushed.
“Where are the papers, Tate?”
“Not here, sir,” was all he replied.
Josh swore under his breath and got up from his seat.
“Late again? I'll take a walk over to the architect's office. Really,” he added as tension rose in his voice, “I don't mind wasting time strolling across this half built city to fetch papers that should have been ready this morning, I'm only the fucking Premier, right?”
Tate looked down at the table.
“Sorry sir,” he said.
“It's not his fault, Josh,” Spear pointed out, “And that was rather un diplomatic of you.”
“I'll get the paperwork,” was all he said, and then Josh left the meeting.
Many floors above, Vice Premier Sylvia Payton stood by the wide window, pausing to admire the view of the recovering city from high above. In her red dress and matching high heeled shoes, with her honey coloured hair tumbling to her shoulders, at a glance it would have been easy to mistake her for a much younger woman, but then as she turned from the window and smiled, it was clear the ice cool blonde with the elegant poise was much older. She was actually fifty seven, but easily looked ten years younger. She cast her bright blue gaze towards the younger man who sat at her desk on the other side of the room, he was wearing the white leathers of the city guard and carried the rank of Captain, his eyes were the same shade as hers but his hair was dark and as he smiled back at her, warmth filled his gaze as he sat there, his legs crossed at the ankles and his boots up on the table.
“Thanks for pulling me out of duty for a few hours,” he said to her, “I do get bored down there, I must have one of the worst jobs going – I sit around all day checking numbers of outgoing city dwellers.”
“Josh likes to keep the place secure. He prefers it if they don't leave,”she reminded him as she walked over the polished floor, stood behind his chair and placed her hands on his shoulders, “And that job is safe. It's far safer than having you on city border watch like some of them are. I'm the one who got you that safe position, because I care, Captain Kaden Silk!”
Kade looked up at the woman who stood over him and flashed her a smile.
“Thanks mum,” he replied warmly, “I don't know where I'd be without you!”
She took her hands off his shoulders and stood beside the desk as she arched a defined brow.
“Probably dead!” she reminded him sharply, “And I'll be damned if I'll let that happen to my only son!”
“I'm glad you look out for me,” Kade replied, “And I'm thinking pretty soon I want a way out of this – can you get me into the circle?”
“Not right now unless someone quits,” she replied, “You'll just have to wait it out. I haven't even mentioned our connection.”
He laughed as he uncrossed his legs and swung them from the desk.
“So if I'm seen leaving here...”
She rolled her eyes.
“Yes, I know what people would think...powerful older woman and handsome young captain...”
Her son got up, paused to smooth the creases from his white uniform, and then looked thoughtfully towards the door that led out of the apartment.
“I wouldn't blame them for thinking it.. they don't know you have a son but most know I have a reputation with the ladies.”
“I'm well aware of that, Kade,” his mother replied, “Try not to get yourself into trouble for it!”
His gaze was still lingering on the door that led outside – where across the corridor, another door led to apartment of the Premier and his wife...
“Steph's a very attractive lady,” he remarked, “Shame he leaves her on her own all the time...she must get bored...”
“Don't
you even think about it!”his mother warned him as she walked over to the door and opened it, “Now go back to work, I can't keep you up here doing nothing all morning.”
As he stepped through the doorway a sudden idea came to mind and he turned back to her.
“What about up here?”he asked, “I heard the guy who guards the corridor to the elite apartments wants a transfer. Maybe I could take that job? I'd be just down the corridor...and it's very comfortable up here!”
She gave a sigh.
“I'll see what I can do,” she promise wearily.
He kissed her cheek.
“See you later mum,” he said, and then he left the apartment.
His mother watched as he walked away, deciding it would be wise to get that transfer arranged as soon as possible – the times of conflict had been a nightmare as she had worried for her only son and now, in times of peace, she wanted to keep him close, because this world was still an uncertain place and after the old world had been destroyed, she at least had the comfort of knowing she was a mother who still had her son – and it was going to stay that way...
Steph had been alone all morning after Josh had gone out early to collect the paperwork. She knew he wouldn't have bothered to come back and look in on her, so she had spent the morning alone, as usual, and these days she felt the pain of that loneliness deeper than ever:
His work ate up his whole life. He was rarely home and when he was, conversation over dinner was brief and he would fall into bed and night and fall asleep quickly. Gone were the days when he would embrace her tightly, half afraid to let go of her in case it had all been a dream and she really was dead as he had first feared when the UNA had struck so long ago. Back then, after they had been reunited, he had looked at her like he wanted to hold on to her forever, afraid to let her out of his grasp – but so much had changed since he had become premier. Josh had worked hard at first, making changes, overseeing the rebuilding of the city and promising the people a great new era. Now it was all sliding into a routine of building work and more work and passing laws and planning ahead and all the plans he made seemed tailored to keeping the people of the city happy – even if some of those laws were far from fair.
She and Josh were divided on the cyborg issue. She had made it plain to him that she thought banning the maintenance of cyborgs was plain evil, and Josh had, at first, considered finding a way to talk the other members of the circle around – but with anti cyborg protests countering the pro cyborg movement protests of the day before, he had soon known he was out numbered and quickly climbed down from that choice.
And Steph saw it as another reason to resent him – in the early days, when cybernetics had been controversial and new, he had promised to help General Lynch and those like him, ensuring society would understand the use of the android technology they had copied and cannibalised to prolong human life.
All of that was gone now. Josh had become just another politician, willing to do anything to keep his job – anything but what was right...
Steph had been lying on her back, on her bed looking up a ceiling that had a large crack that had been painted over – none of these rooms were perfect, but this was surely paradise compared to those still waiting for the building work to complete, who lived in ruins and tunnels and windowless shells where structures stood awaiting repair. The heart of the city was rebuilt and that rebuild was expanding outwards now – but it was far from finished. She found it appalling that some residents had even taken to the tunnels to escape the city ironically named Freedom because Josh and his ruling partners had made leaving so difficult with the armed patrols and the locked gates and the difficulty gaining passes to leave the city limits – all for the safety of the people...
She got up, smoothing the creases from her thin, lilac dress, slipped on shoes and then wondered how long Josh would be tied up with the meeting – it seemed a lonely day beckoned, and so she walked through the bedroom, down the hallway and over to the front door, deciding she would take a walk down to the conference room to see if she could offer any advice as Cultural Minister – Josh had only given her the role to keep her happy, she felt sure of it – but that role was hers, and she wanted to make use of it.
She paused by the mirror in the hallway, running her fingers through her dark hair, deciding she definitely looked presentable enough to enter the meeting. Then she opened the door and stepped outside and stopped abruptly. The man who was dressed in the white leathers of the City Guard uniform also stopped, he had been heading for the elevator but paused, turning to her and giving her a dazzling smile as she looked at the handsome stranger in surprise. He was looking at her too, his gaze wandered up and down her body taking in the way her dress clung to her curves until he finally met her gaze again.
“Who are you?”Steph asked.
“Hopefully your new security guard, pretty soon,” he replied, “The name's Captain Kaden Silk. Kade to my friends. And it's a pleasure to meet you, Stephanie...it's not every day I meet our Culture minister...”
He held out his hand, she took it and as he shook hands with her, Steph couldn't take her eyes off him. He was stunning, she couldn't deny it – even though secretly since cybernetics had come about along with the trouble and the controversy, if she was honest about it, she had felt secretly drawn to the sight of men who were half machine - especially one in particular:
She reserved thoughts of General Lynch for long relaxing hours in the bath alone...her crush on Lynch had started long before she had realised it, back on that terrible day in the tower when he had told her to hide, protecting her – and then been in that devastating explosion...she had cradled him in her arms , as he lay there maimed and burned, willing him to live...to see him recovered and rebuilt, flesh and steel, was enough to make her envy the fact that he was deeply in love with Elise...The thought of Felix Lynch taking her in his arms made her legs go weak...
So to see Kade looking so handsome and so un-cyborg was, in her eyes, a shame this man was not a mix of flesh and steel. But her attraction to him was instant. As he let go of her hand she felt a secret disappointment at the loss of his touch and smiled warmly at him.
“Maybe we'll meet again soon,” he added, “When I get the transfer. And I'm easy to remember. The name's Captain Silk,” he winked as she giggled, “Like my boxers...” he murmured, and she heard that and caught her breath as a flush of heat filled her face, then his back was turned and he was gone, heading off to the elevator.
Steph watched him leave, and suddenly the day didn't feel quite so lonely any more...she was still warm from the flush to her face as she stood there, smiling, thinking on how different life would be if Captain Silk was around more often...it certainly wouldn't be boring...
Josh had just walked out of the building and was headed to his destination, his mind set on all the matters regarding that paperwork – mainly, why the plans had not been sent over on time as he had ordered. But at least the walk outside was a welcome break from the pressure and the confines of that meeting room...
Then he heard her call his name and he stopped, she hurried to meet him, looking clean and in a way, kind of pretty – it always surprised him when he ran into Joy how different she looked now. Every time he thought of her he recalled her bloody from battle and he guessed he always would...Her missing eye had been replaced with a very good cybernetic copy, looking at her now anyone who had never met her before would not have known she had lost a human eye in battle years before.
“I need to talk to you,” she said urgently.
Josh had caught the look in her eyes, and he recalled how he had met with her three months before and made a promise that made him inwardly groan at the recollection:
Joy had been there from the start, in the days when cybernetics had sprung up as new branch of medical treatment. Her involvement in the cause had been down to General Lynch, and the fact that she had fought to ensure he was the first of many to have cybernetic repair surgery – but it had all collapsed three ye
ars later when cybernetics had been outlawed due to the fear of the replication of hostile androids or, even worse, the rising of a part android army... It had been easy to shut down the illegal and unqualified practitioners and then to make cybernetic fluid, the life blood of a cyborg, a banned substance. Joy had fought hard alongside others who had campaigned for the cyborg right to live – but humanity lived in fear of repeating mistakes, and so the cyborgs had been left to die. Most had perished, but some had gone on the run, resorting to stealing the fluid where they could still find it – making victims into criminals, that was what Joy had called it...
And she had asked him to please consider urging the other members of the governing leadership to over turn the law and at least make sure existing cyborgs had access to the replacement fluids they required. At the time, he had promised to put in a good word, but that had been before he had been reminded that his position in government and his control over the City Guard could be at stake if he were seen to be sympathising with a cause that had potential to cause panic...
They had said, there would be serious repercussions. He could lose everything, including his nice home and his comfortable life. Comfort had been something he prized since peace time had arrived. It was security, the need for all he once feared lost, then found again...If he was honest about it, he knew he could put himself through no more...
“I'm waiting,”Joy said, fixing him with a determined gaze, “Are you going to talk to them, Josh? When are you going to -”
“I'm not.”
He looked away, feeling her accusing glare burning through him like lasers.
Joy stared at him.
“Hello, this is Josh I'm talking to, right? Are you sure you're still Josh, because that man would never have backed down?”