by Scott Rhine
The art director offered to multiply the bid by a factor of ten if Stu told a few sample stories.
Stu winced. “I can’t share anything like that until the UN vote. You can use the image if you donate the proceeds to the LA women’s shelter.”
“The flat fee, plus 5 percent of the profits,” the manager agreed.
Both men thumbprinted a document that lawyers brought to them near the end of the visit.
The manager said, “If you want a safari, our studio has several parks that can accommodate you—on the house.”
“No. San Diego is one of the few places with both pandas and black rhinos. I need the pandas for a presentation.”
****
Onesemo, two specialists from corporate security, and the press cloud accompanied Stu to San Diego. The zoo requested that he schedule his visit closer to evening when the crowds were thinner. They provided him with complimentary passes to several other sites and dining establishments in the area. For lunch at a seafood restaurant, he had crab for the first time in his life. Onesemo had to show him how to crack it open. Stu was still wary until the Samoan said, “Come on. This is just like eating bugs.”
Stu enjoyed the sample platter. As he chewed on a scallop, he asked, “Why are these all round?”
“Because it’s just the brains,” replied Onesemo.
Stu spit the seafood into a napkin with a sound like a whale clearing its blowhole. All the guards laughed. Stu accepted his ribbing with a good nature, even though the incident had been posted online before the dessert mints arrived. In the lobby, he gave his mint to a family with a vocal child who shouted, “But I’m hungry now!”
The topic of children percolated in Stu’s brain while the cars were being brought around. When he had a moment alone with Mo, Stu said, “Not all children of talents have talents themselves. Each of your children would only have a one in four chance of being a multi.”
Onesemo shook his head. “Still too great a risk. Any talented child can rack up millions in bills and endanger the mother.”
Shrugging, Stu said, “If you take me up on my offer, we have free medical in Sanctuary and the best experts in the business.”
“I made a promise to serve my country. I have another year left in my enlistment.”
“You’ll feel different the next time your moral code gets in the way of their immediate need,” Stu predicted.
“Something you’re not telling me?”
“That waiter over there has been staring at me rather than bussing tables. He’s an Active. If I had to guess, he has energy sensing.”
“I don’t recognize him as US intel. Has to be foreign. Shit,” Onesemo said. “Why is he looking at your crotch?”
“By now he knows I have the memory chip from Sanctuary in my front pocket.”
“What? Are you nuts? Why did you bring that? You were supposed to keep all the confidential stuff in the armored case in the car.” Onesemo looked around as if he expected men on ropes to swing through the bay window.
“I need to drop breadcrumbs during my trip to keep everyone interested.”
“Paint a target on your back, you mean?”
“I’m only in danger from meta-organizations run by money and power rather than laws. Are you saying that safeguards for liberty and expression in this country tend to be discarded when they’re inconvenient?”
Onesemo, who had been raised in temperatures several degrees warmer than San Diego, was now sweating.
When they returned to the vehicle, they found a circle melted out of the rear window and the diplomatic case missing. Onesemo said, “We’ll stay here while they radio for a replacement car. What did the thieves get?”
“Just some dirty laundry and a signed Nemo print … for a friend.”
****
At the zoo gift shop, Stu bought numerous stuffed animals with his stock-dividend account. When he pocketed the receipts, Onesemo raised an eyebrow. Stu explained, “Every dime of this money has to be accounted for because I’m doing this as part of my ambassador duties, and it’s part of Zeiss’ stock-trust terms. Everything has to be completely transparent. Expenses are summarized in the annual reports.”
“Why?”
“Z would only accept the votes with those terms. He worried that too much money would corrupt him. He wanted the company to reflect the ideals in the UN space charter.”
The guard wrinkled his brow. “Doesn’t sound like the criminal I learned about, the guy who stole the alien artifact.”
“Sometimes there’s a higher law.”
“Now you sound like those freaks who blow up bulldozers to save trees.”
Stu said, “They have a point. People can’t breathe money.” He wandered around the looping path. “I like this better than being stuck in traffic.”
“Doesn’t everyone?”
Smiling, Stu handed out a panda doll to each child he encountered. He had a crowd of admirers by the time he reached the panda enclosure. After a few moments of relaxation and observation, he tacked a photo to the fact board on the guardrail. “I came today to talk to you about another race of pandas—pandas as they were meant to be.” The crowd formed a semicircle around him. “When we found them, they were Stone Age savages. Our test as a crew was to lift them up to the Bronze Age. However, Magi require that the hand of the uplifter cannot be seen. To change their society, we needed one of them who would listen to us and spread our ideas. For us, this agent was Shuulagar.” He passed out photos to the crowd.
“His favorite concept from Earth was the ‘duty of the strong.’ This code enabled him to spread written language and philosophy throughout his world.” It also helped him to find love with Pear Blossom. “Once the UN votes to accept Sanctuary as a nation, we will release years of documents on the Panda civilization to all scientists who endorse the UN space charter.”
“Can you give us a preview?” a reporter begged.
“Shuulagar died bringing this message to his people,” Stu said loudly. “It is the obligation of the strong to defend the weak, and the responsibility of the educated to teach those who have not heard. Kidnapping, rape, forced labor, and stealing at spear point are wrong. To participate in this abuse, or allow it to happen without dissent, crushes the spirit of the species and condemns your people to a downward cycle. Only by raising the quality of all life can we lift up our society. Only by aiding others can we be worthy of receiving such help.”
A woman in front asked, “What religion is this?”
“None. These are principles from the UN charter and every civilization with written laws in our history—the codes of Bushido, chivalry, military code of conduct, and the oath of the Rescue Corps. Most recently, it is the way of Tic Tic Lahzay.”
He answered a few more questions, deflecting all queries about current world politics. A child in front of him raised her hand and asked, “Do animals have souls?”
Stu leaned down to the girl’s level. “I’m not a theologian, but I know they have desires, joy, and pain. I’m not saying they’re the same as humans. However, the entire planet feels more than we give it credit for. We need to listen more if we’re going to survive. If the planet acted more like us, the human experiment would have been wiped out long ago.”
“How do you like the zoo?” asked an employee in uniform.
“Informative.” Stu shook his head in sadness. “I can’t believe the black rhinoceros is extinct. Hunting it was illegal, but the poachers caught were never prosecuted. Those entrusted with conservation concealed the decline. I cried when I found out how and why they died.” He cleared his throat to cover a slight waver in his voice. “I think more of Earth’s diversity needs to be captured in arks like Sanctuary before we lose other species forever.”
Onesemo held up a finger for one more reporter question.
A man in the back asked, “Is this the greatest problem you see facing mankind?”
“The pain of the rhino’s extinction was nothing compared to what I feel when I see wh
at you are all doing to each other. Lincoln once said, ‘A house divided cannot stand.’ What men are doing to women every day is unconscionable.”
The guards closed ranks around Stu and escorted him to the nearby lounge in a black SUV. Stu turned to Onesemo in the back seat. “How did the message sound?”
The Samoan shook his head. “You’re pissing off a lot of people—governments and religions.”
“Good.”
“What do you mean?” asked Onesemo.
“I told you already. Those of us on Sanctuary passed our test. This is Earth’s.”
Chapter 18 – Sting
Inside the Ballbusters surveillance van, Laura settled on large glasses and a simple hair braid to make her look younger and more innocent. Evangeline stopped by briefly to loan her a studded, leather belt as an accessory to “send Stu a subliminal message.”
Sif did voice-overs in the club, and Nemesis fine-tuned hidden cameras. Artemis was missing, presumed shopping. As security coordinator, Freya assigned Laura to keep track of the target’s location. She monitored a collection of several live feeds from Stu’s stalker bots. Her mother sat beside her, reading a technical manual for an ion propulsion system. Kaguya was dressed in her pajama kimono, but that hadn’t raised any eyebrows among the troupe of actors.
When Stu mentioned that everything purchased with the conscience shares had to be documented, Laura made a mental note to check that out later. Right now she was too busy tracking Stu’s movements for the Ballbusters team. He’s cute and good with kids. Laura fed the zoo press conference to the main screen to enlarge the photos of Labyrinth. The images seemed familiar to her, like something from a playroom wall.
As Stu finished his impassioned plea, Artemis stood in the van doorway and said, “Nobody is that noble.” She wore an odd ensemble: a tight T-shirt, a sheriff’s vest, miniskirt, and leather chaps.
Beside Laura, Kaguya replied, “I can tell by his body language that he believes every word. He reminds me of Conrad, Laura’s father—hardly surprising, since Conrad is his commanding officer. I predict that if no one assassinates Ambassador Llewellyn, he’ll be the leader of the new Sanctuary colony in ten years.”
Artemis fanned herself. “Oh, my God. That voice. It’s you! You’re her!”
Laura sighed and handed her mother a permanent marker for autographs. When Mom signed her T-shirt, Artemis squealed in delight. “I’m never taking this shirt off!”
I hate fangirls. “The rest of us are trying to work here.”
Kaguya flourished under the attention, but Laura struggled to block out the chatter, even wearing an earpiece. The net celebrity hovered around the perimeter to ask questions about the glory days. “I watched you in that Purple Rockets video a hundred times.”
Her mother related an interesting story about the band’s drummer and a rollercoaster. “I won the bet, but they banned me from the park.”
Freya called Artemis to the front seat.
Unable to concentrate on her own duties, Laura took advantage of her mother’s period of lucidity. She spoke in Japanese so she wouldn’t be airing the family laundry in public. “When were you going to tell me about the 2-percent stock block?”
Kaguya glanced down. “I made a deal with your grandfather. He gave me half the proceeds for the first decade. Then, he wanted more.”
Laura blinked. “That must have been over a billion dollars.”
“Plus my music royalties, Mori stock options, and patents.”
“What did you do with all that money?” Laura had checked her mother’s bank account, and it was practically empty.
“Prepared for the day I knew Conrad would return.” Kaguya hummed along with the tune playing in the club outside the open van door.
And we’re off to crazy again. Laura checked her automated web monitors. Internet interest had surged when Stu’s latest speech was linked to earlier panda feeds. With the governments watching his every move, he was number three for viewership in this time slot. The opportunity for ad revenue was staggering.
Recognizing a landmark, she switched to aerial view. “Target is on the move. ETA four minutes.”
“Our drones are warmed up and running test patterns,” Nemesis reported over the radio.
Sif called in from the stairwell inside the club. “Actors powdered.”
From the front seat of the van, Freya said, “Guards are ready in case our guest reacts a little too strongly.”
I wouldn’t mind seeing Stewart beat up a potential rapist to rescue a damsel. In fact, I’d like to be that damsel.
“Any word on who robbed their vehicle?” asked Hans over the radio.
Nemesis replied, “Someone zapped it with an EMP—military grade. Should we scrub the mission? The responsible party may come back to finish the job.”
Hans said, “Negative, but stay on alert. Watch for people who don’t belong here, and be ready to warn the target’s team. If someone makes another move against Stu, our ratings will be off the charts.”
Laura continued to monitor Stu’s stalker feeds. She didn’t want to screw up on her first day. We have to lure Stu in.
Artemis closed the van door and sat down to watch the show unfold on the wall screen.
When his entourage entered the lounge, Stu said, “Uh … guys, this place is for twenty-one and above.”
Onesemo shrugged. “They let service men in at any age.”
Stu pointed to a woman in the curve-hugging catsuit with headband ears. “That cheetah looks … chilly.”
“More than she wears at her other job. Most of these girls are strippers moonlighting … or should I say daylighting?”
Stu walked out to the bench in front of the restaurant. “If my mother or future wife watches this feed, I don’t want them to be disappointed in me. The rest of you can enjoy.”
“What are you going to eat?”
“Space rations.”
Onesemo scratched his head. “Paste from a tube instead of eating barbeque while watching smoking-hot women?”
“I had one adventurous meal today. I think that’s enough.”
“Your call.” Onesemo turned to the other two guards. “Stay out here with him. I’ll run in and grab sandwiches to go.”
Artemis ripped off her headphones and tossed them on the console. “He’s not going into the bar on moral grounds! Is this guy for real?”
“I warned you,” Laura said.
Hans said, “Keep the cameras on him while we shuffle the gag. Maybe we’ll have the actor meet the drunk girl outside and haul her toward our van.”
Pop music blared from the club, and a large computer screen beside the front door flashed abstract patterns to match the beat. While the TV crew had been debating, Kaguya had wandered over to the pretty, strobing screen. She was still dressed in her knee-length kimono, and her head moved in time to the music. She stood on the other side of the entrance from Stu, blocked from his sight by a thin, decorative evergreen.
Laura panicked. “Mom? Oh my God. We have to pull her away. She’ll fall into a compute trance. It’s almost an epileptic thing.”
Nemesis shouted, “Boom mike,” which was radio code for anything unexpected that might spoil the illusion of the gag for the target.
Before anyone could respond, three construction workers left the club. The shortest one bragged, “That fox was really a fox.”
The second worker complained, “Shorty, this was one of your worst ideas ever. All this place did was remind me I haven’t had sex since that bitch Sheila kicked me out.” He elbowed the third worker. “Manny, what did you say to that waitress that she sent the bouncer over?”
“I told her she could have a big tip if she took the rest of it too.” Manny grabbed his own crotch, and the other two laughed.
“Let it ride,” ordered Hans over the radio.
“Lookie what we have here.” Manny sidled up to the unmoving woman. “Hey, bonita, you want a real man?”
When Kaguya ignored him, the other workers l
aughed.
Manny shouted, “What’s your problem, honey? You think you’re too good for me?”
Inside the van, Laura tugged at the back door, but Artemis blocked her path. “She’s completely safe. Have faith. Every woman on this crew has volunteered for bait duty. You wanted in. This is how we live.”
Clenching her fist, Laura prepared to punch this woman in the solar plexus in order to run to her mother’s rescue. Freya leapt out of the front seat to intervene. Laura could take them both if she had to, but she paused when Sheila’s ex said, “Hold off. I think she’s a ’tard or something.”
Manny ignored his buddy and pinched Kaguya’s butt. “She feels normal.” The frozen woman didn’t react, but Manny’s breathing changed. “She’s not wearing any underwear.” He slid a hand under her kimono and stroked her behind.
Sheila’s ex said, “She’s high or something.”
With a predatory leer, Manny said, “She likes it. Let’s take her behind the building.”
“This isn’t right, Man,” Shorty said. “I have a cousin who’s slow. We should call her family or something.”
“Sure. We will … afterwards.”
Laura roared in rage. Artemis stepped aside. Freya tried to hold Laura back, but she elbowed the blonde huntress in the eye.
As she tore open the doors, she heard Stu’s voice in her earpiece. “Listen to your pal. Call the lady’s family.”
Laura sprinted across the parking lot. She could still hear everything in her ear and see the conflict in the distance.
“None of your business, pal.” Manny grabbed Kaguya’s arm to lead her away.
Shiela’s ex said, “Just move along, mister. There’s three of us and one of you. Finders keepers.” He pulled a hammer out of his tool belt and gripped it like a set of brass knuckles.
Abruptly, Laura was jerked backward and down. Artemis held her by the belt. “Stay down, or you’ll interrupt the ass kicking.”
Laura obeyed, watching the fight through angry tears.
“You have no excuse to behave this way.” Stu’s voice was strained. “The rest of you can leave. I’ll call an ambulance if this animal needs one when we’re through.”