Teleport This

by Christopher M. Daniels

“I did not speak English,” said Jon. “It’s just your brain hearing English. That’s how the implant works, it tricks your brain into seeing and hearing things a bit differently than they really are. You’re hearing English and if you watch my mouth you’d swear it was forming English words, but it’s not. You can even put your hands on my mouth and it would feel as though it’s moving in accordance with the word coming out, but it’s all the implant controlling a very small part of your brain making you see and hear everything in English. It’s like watching one of your movies with computer generated dinosaurs in it and the implant is like the guys in the special effects department tricking your brain into seeing a T-Rex.”

  “So when I was checking-in downstairs,” said Simon, “I wasn’t speaking English with the clerk’s implant translating for him, I was actually speaking an alien language and my implant made everything seem like English to me, even what I was saying?”

  “Now you’ve got it,” said Jon. “If it didn’t work like that then everything would look like the American version of a Chinese martial arts movie with the voice and lips out of sync.”

  “Amazing,” said Lyn. “TV off.”

  “Now I want you two to go back to that lounge where you overheard those two guys talking and see if either returns. I’m going to do some snooping.” Jon took out his device and placed it on the table. “Full access mode, please.”

  A screen and control panel appeared in front of Jon. They weren’t substantial, meaning that they weren’t made out of solid matter, but three-dimensional projections similar to the hotel TV.

  “Show me the layout of the entire station.” His device complied. “Give me another screen with a correlated list of hotels, residences, businesses, etc. Add a third screen with names and ID photos. Pull up the images you have of our two suspects.” More screens appeared. “Do you think you can recognize these two if you see them again?”

  “Of course,” said Lyn.

  “Then off you go,” said Jon. “And make sure they don’t get into any trouble.”

  “I will,” replied Ellie2.

  “And nurse those drinks, we’re working tonight.”

  Lyn and Simon left the room and proceeded to ground level.

  “Let’s take the long way,” said Lyn. “I want to get a better feel for this place, in case we need to duck in somewhere.”

  “Great idea,” said Simon. “I want to check out some of these stores and get a feel for this universe in general. The level of technology is staggering.”

  “Okay, but just a few stops,” agreed Lyn and they proceeded along until Lyn noticed a clothing store. “Let’s stop in here for a second. I want to see what super high-tech clothes shopping is like.”

  They entered the store and immediately noticed that like its earthly counterparts, it had various garments laid out on tables or on hangers. The first difference they saw was that the displays didn’t use mannequins, instead they employed three-dimensional projections.

  “I don’t see any mirrors,” began Lyn, “and there aren’t any different sizes or colors. No dressing rooms either.” Lyn picked up a hat from a table. Immediately a full size 3D projection of Lyn appeared in front of her wearing the hat. She put down the hat and took a short jacket off a nearby rack. The projection changed and her image was now wearing the jacket. After a few seconds, the color of the jacket changed and after that, the hat was added.

  “Look at this,” said Simon as he indicated a small pad in the display. It had buttons labeled Purchase and Next. He put his finger on the Next button and the image of Lyn was now wearing a different jacket.

  “I could get used to this,” said Lyn. “Did someone say we had an unlimited credit card?”

  “We’ll come back later, if there’s time,” said Simon. “We’re supposed to be looking for Gilbert.”

  “He might be inside one of these hats, we should look.”

  “Come on. Let’s go.”

  “Hold this for a second,” Lyn said handing Simon a short skirt.

  “Very funny,” said Simon as an image of him in the skirt appeared.

  “You could pull that off, you’ve got the legs for it.”

  “Now isn’t that just what every man wants to hear.”

  They left the store and continued on their way, but they didn’t get very far before Simon stopped. “We’ve got to go in here,” he said charging into a nearby store. Lyn followed, shaking her head. Bound to happen, she thought as they entered an electronic gadget shop.

  “Look at this,” said Simon. “They have a whole section for implants. And over there’s a weapons counter.” Simon began going up and down each aisle like a kid in a candy shop.

  Lyn tagged along for a few minutes and then said, “I know what you’re looking for.”

  “I’m not looking for anything in particular,” said Simon.

  “Really?” said Lyn. “You’re not trying to find a real laser sword or ray gun?”

  “Not especially, but if they got one, I might be interested. You didn’t see one, did you?”

  “What about Gilbert? I thought you didn’t want to waste any time?”

  “Gilbert would want me to buy a lightsaber. Actually, he would want me to buy two. He would consider this time well spent.”

  “Come on, let’s get to the lounge.”

  Lyn and Simon arrived at the lounge and occupied seats at the bar that afforded them a complete view of the establishment.

  “I believe that’s our boy sitting in the same booth as the other day,” said Lyn. “I don’t recognize his friend.”

  “Confirmed,” reported Ellie2. “I don’t have any record of his associate either.”

  “This must be his regular place of business,” said Lyn as she moved closer to Simon. “We need to be careful here. If this is his regular spot, he’s probably paying someone off to use it. Information about people like us watching him usually brings a bonus so we need to ignore them and act like a couple out for a few drinks while Ellie2 does her thing.”

  They ordered their drinks, but it was only a few minutes later that their quarry stood up to leave.

  “Should we follow them?” asked Simon.

  “We should, but we just got our drinks and we’ll be giving away the game if we get up and leave now. Especially if anyone notices that we did the same thing the other day. Ellie2, how far can you follow them after they leave here?”

  “I’ve tapped into the station’s surveillance grid so I can monitor them while they’re on the street. Private businesses have their own systems so following them once they’re off the street will depend on where they go. They’ve just split up and our regular picked up a traveling companion, but he’s following along about ten feet back.

  “That would be his bodyguard. Keep an eye on all of them while we finish our drinks and pay the tab.”

  “I don’t think we should split up.” said Simon. “Which one do we go after?”

  “We follow the guy we know is associated with Jon’s sister. The other one could be unrelated business.”

  “Right,” said Simon. “You’re real good at this. I can see why you decided to do it full-time.”

  “I’ve got a knack for this type of thing,” said Lyn, “and a somewhat lenient conscience. You can’t have one without the other if you want to be successful in this business. It’s the folks that have the knack and an extremely lenient conscience that get into trouble.”

  “Like our friend Jon,” said Simon.

  “Like our friend Jon,” agreed Lyn, “but I think his conscience has been trying to catch up to him for a while now and it’s finally moved from a jog to a sprint.”

  “Lucky for us,” said Simon

  “You got that right,” said Lyn.

  They left the bar and began following Ellie2’s directions which led them to Dahana’s residential area where most of its permanent inhabitants live. This area was separate from the rest of the station with only a handful of avenues having access to it, some of which were gated and
required identity verification to enter or exit. It was into one of these that their quarry entered.

  “Ellie2, can you get us into there?” Lyn asked.

  “Sorry, guys, no can do. It’s on a closed system with no access to the rest of the station.”

  “What about our other mark?” asked Lyn.

  “I was able to follow him to one of the highest priced hotels in the most expensive part of the station.”

  “So he’s the money,” said Lyn. “Our boy here was probably hired by him and this could all be connected after all. Let’s get back to the hotel and see what Jon’s come up with.”

  Simon and Lyn returned to the hotel suite to find a bewildered Jon, sipping a glass containing a green liquid.

  “I hope you two had better luck than I did,” said Jon. “I went through thousands of names and places, none of which seem to tie in with any of this business.” He stared at Lyn for a second, “Is that a new hat?”

  “Is that Trapezian wine?” asked Simon.

  “Yes,” said Jon. “I felt in need of some inspiration. The bottle and glasses are over there.” Jon pointing vaguely to his right.

  “Well buck up, old son,” began Lyn, “we didn’t do too badly. Nothing concrete, but enough to follow up on.”

  “Best news I’ve heard all night,” said Jon.

  “Looks like the man that hired the pirate is a resident here and has a habit of transacting his business in that lounge,” said Lyn. “He was there again and we followed him to his residential block, but it was part of a gated area and we couldn’t get in.”

  “I ran into similar difficulties trying to get information about that area,” said Jon. “Can’t be done from the outside. We’d need to hack that system from the inside.”

  “I think his money man is here,” said Lyn. “The two were in conference and just finishing up when we arrived. Ellie2, did you pick up anything interesting before they left?”

  “Just that someone named PJ left to fetch a special package and should be back within the next 24 hours.”

  “And you think this guy is paying for whatever it is being brought here?” asked Jon.

  “He’s living like a king while he’s here. He must be paying for some type of service. He’s certainly not working for our resident,” said Lyn.

  Ellie2 began displaying images of the two men from the lounge as they were being discussed.

  “Hang on,” said Jon. “I’ve seen him before. He was at the palace when I arrived to visit Alicia.”

  “What do you mean? Was he just hanging around or did he work there or what?” asked Lyn.

  “He was in uniform, but not part of the guard. He caught my eye because he didn’t have any insignia or markings. At the time I thought he was some type of adviser and got a bit worried, but he stayed behind at the palace and didn’t follow along with the rest of Alicia’s guard.”

  “But now he’s turned up here, talking to the guy that organized the raid on your sister’s ship because of what she has in with her cargo. How does that fit in?” asked Lyn.

  “There can be only one reason this guy’s here,” said Jon, “and it’s because Alicia’s father sent him. Maybe our resident is scamming him for Alicia’s reward money, but the king’s no fool, he’d want evidence that this guy either has Alicia or can get her.”

  “Maybe he’s just covering all the bases and he’s got this guy here on the lookout for her,” commented Simon.

  “I’m sure he’s got hundreds of people like this guy on his payroll. All that stuff is coordinated by his subordinates. Something else is going on here that requires a personal touch,” said Jon.

  “Should we try to grab one of these two?” asked Lyn.

  “I think we’d need more than we have at the moment to accomplish that,” said Jon.

  “Next best thing then?” asked Lyn.

  “Yes. I think it’s time we went to the beach,” said Jon.

  A few hours later found Lyn, Simon and Jon driving up the coast heading towards Santa Barbara with Ellie2 acting as their GPS system. Lyn took this opportunity to call her client, Jenny Wilson.

  “No, Mrs. Wilson, I haven’t located him as of yet, but I am getting closer.”

  “Do you think he is in Puerto Rico, at that observatory? Do you believe his partner Simon is telling the truth?”

  “I’ve been working very closely with Simon and we both believe that Gilbert has gotten tangled up in some type of elaborate scientific espionage scheme.”

  “So it has nothing to do with pornography?”

  “No, it doesn’t.”

  “You’re absolutely sure?”

  “Positive.”

  “I see.”

  “You seem disappointed.”

  “It’s just that I was hoping that he was beginning to take an interest in something other than science,” said Mrs. Wilson. “You know, develop some type of hobby.”

  “Like porn?” asked Lyn.

  “Or poker,” said Mrs. Wilson. “Even James Bond plays poker now instead of Baccarat. At least those are things that regular people can relate to. Instead, you’re telling me that he’s just caught up in some type of scientist’s version of hide and seek. It is disappointing.”

  “Would you feel better if I told you he was lured away by a girl?”

  “Really? You think he was interested in a girl?”

  “There’s definitely a girl involved, but I can’t say that Gilbert is involved with her.”

  “It’s enough to know that he was interested. Let me know if you find out anything else.” They talked for a few minutes more before Lyn ended the call.

  The next morning Lyn, Simon and Jon traveled out to the beach house. It was a very secure affair, walled off from the general public. They had put together a rough plan the night before while they ate at their hotel’s Mexican restaurant. The plan was somewhat sketchy this morning since Lyn took the opportunity to introduce Jon to tequila. They started with Sunrises, moved to Margaritas, quickly progressed to Shooters and then the inevitable salt and lime shots. The coast wasn’t the only thing foggy this morning as they drove along.

  “Does everyone remember what they’re supposed to do?” asked Lyn.

  “I’m supposed to be Alicia’s agent and you’re my assistant,” said Jon indicating Lyn. “We go in under some pretense that she’s violating another contract by being on their show and grab her.”

  “I wait outside with the motor running,” said Simon. “Then we hightail it back home and try to figure out just what the hell is going on.”

  “Did all this make more sense last night?” asked Jon.

  “Do you have a better idea?” asked Lyn.

  “We go in with guns blazing,” said Jon, “stun the lot of them, I put Alicia over my shoulder and we’re in the car and on our way in fifteen minutes.”

  Lyn thought about it and said, “We’ll save that for plan B.”

  Lyn and Jon left the car and approached the gates. Security guards appeared from inside the small gate house.

  “Can we help you?” one asked.

  “Yes, I’m Alicia Burdast’s agent…” Jon said as he began his prepared speech. The security guard stopped him mid-sentence.

  “Yes, sir, you’re on our list. Mr. Fredrickson has been expecting you.” He spoke into his headset and then continued on, “Please follow me up to the house.”

  Jon and Lyn exchanged what was becoming their usual what-do-you-make-of-that look as they were led into a separate part of the house, separate from the 24 hour party and always on cameras. They entered a large office with a single person standing behind a desk.

  “I’m Fredrickson,” he said, “but please call me George. Can I call you Jon? Great. Alicia didn’t give us a last name. I’m one of the producers of the show and I’ve been looking forward to meeting someone that represents our Alicia.”

  “Hello, George,” said Jon. “This is my assistant, Miss. Smith. Alicia mentioned that I was her agent?”

  “No, not as such
. She did say that she was traveling with an extremely dull individual, her words, not mine, and that sooner or later he would show up. I assumed it was going to be her agent or husband or psychiatrist, something like that. She gave us your name and we put it on the guest list. Can’t seem to get her out of character long enough to talk shop, but she did sign all the release forms and we’re paying her a standard wage, though we’re not quite sure who to make the checks out to and she doesn’t seem to know her social security number.”

  “I’m sorry, George, but we have a problem here. You see, Alicia is under contract with another firm and can’t be on your show.”

  “She didn’t mention anything about it to us.”

  “Oh, I’m sure she neglected to mention it and you’re not at fault, but now that you have knowledge of the situation, you are liable and can be sued if you continue to have her on the show. Can I please speak with her in private? I’m sure we can straighten all this out without the need for lawyers and lawsuits.”

  “Please wait here and I’ll have her brought in,” said a visibly disturbed George as he left the room.

  “I don’t believe it,” said a surprised Jon. “That actually worked.”

  “We should start using tequila in all our strategy sessions,” said Lyn.

  It was a few short minutes later that a pouting Alicia entered the room.

  “I knew you’d show up and ruin the party,” she said as soon as she spied Jon.

  “We both know that I enjoy a party as much as you do,” said Jon.

  “Really?” said Alicia. “We’ll be putting that to the test in a few minutes.”

  “What does that mean?” asked Jon.

  “Just that the party is about to get very interesting.”

  Lyn heard Ellie2’s voice in her ear, “Lyn, prepare for trouble, we’ve got incoming.”

  Lyn looked out the window and saw a shuttle landing inside the beach house gate. She spun Jon around and pointed.

  “Alicia, what did you do?” he asked.

  “Oh, I just used the microwave broadcasting equipment they have here to piggyback a signal off the ICC probes and relay it to some friends.”

  “You what?” asked Jon.

  “You should have looked into my schooling a bit instead of assuming I was as dumb as my sister,” said Alicia.