by R J Johnson
“Why not?”
Roxanne snorted. “He belongs to some colony located in the Martian outback called Shangri-La. He comes here to evangelize to my customers and hand out pins and literature for their church. He’s usually harmless enough and the girls know enough to leave him alone since they can’t make any money. Most everyone ignores him.”
“If he’s the only common link then that’s as good as any place to start.” Meade said over the line. “When does he come usually in?”
“Whenever he feels like it.” Roxanne answered. “There’s no real schedule. I can check the visitor log and see if he’s in tonight.”
Emeline began looking around the room, examining the groups of men and women carousing and having fun at the casino.
Roxanne’s voice came back over the comm, “He’s here all right. Should be on the floor somewhere. Tall, pale, sort of stringy blonde hair. Usually wears all white.”
She looked at the crowd of miners, runabouts and other citizens from the Coalition on the floor gambling their hard-earned credits away. But she didn’t see anyone who resembled Tate’s description.
Then, she spotted him, sitting along on the other side of the casino. He was watching the crowd with a blank look on his face that Emeline found unsettling.
Then, he turned his head and locked eyes with her. She quickly looked down and whispered into the commlink.
“I found him,” she said quietly. “East side of the casino near the kitchen. He’s tucked into a service corridor.”
“That’s him,” Roxanne confirmed.
“I’m going to talk to him,” she said, threading her way through the carousing gamblers to get to Tate before he left.
“Wait,” Meade said over the wireless. “We don’t know anything about him.”
“That’s why I’m going in for a closer look,” she replied, moving through the crowd quickly. She moved toward Tate, the man staring at her as she approached.
“You’re certainly a sight,” Emeline began in what she hoped was her most seductive tone. “I thought your suit was sexy and had to come over and compliment you on it.”
“I see you,” he replied, staring back at her.
She didn’t know what to say and decided to go with what always worked with men: a flirty giggle.
Tate motioned for her to sit down next to him and she quickly complied.
“I’ve never seen you before,” the man’s voice was thin, reedy almost, but still hinting at the man’s masculinity behind it. “But it is my genuine pleasure to see you now.”
“I’m new. Came over from the Homeworld on the last transport. Roxanne was kind enough to stake me ‘til I got on my feet.”
“That’s kind of her.” His watery blue eyes regarded her for a moment, taking in her appearance. “You seem well-fed for a Homeworlder.”
“I was one of the privileged, until I wasn’t,” she replied, trying to sound flippant. “I was on track to marry this Coalition officer who would have taken care of my every need for the rest of my life.”
“What happened?” Kelso asked, his watery blue eyes still looking her up and down.
“I wasn’t cut out to be a Coalition housewife. Do you know the kind of parties and functions someone like that has to attend every week?” She rolled her eyes and mockingly put a finger gun to her head. “I’d rather kill myself. It’d be far more humane.”
“Are they coming after you?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she replied. “I don’t care really. He has his life now with a proper Coalition wife. I have my life here now on Mars. The past isn’t something I try to think about.”
“Then tell me,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “What do you think about the future?”
She angled her head. “Is this your way of inviting me up to your room? Because I have to say, it’s a pretty good line.”
“That’s not what I do,” he said with a slight smirk.
“We don’t have to do anything…” she reached back. “I like interesting people. You look interesting.”
“Is that all life is for you miss…?” he let the question hang in the air. She extended her hand.
“Prim. Miss Prim.”
“It’s nice to meet you Miss Prim,” he said, taking her hand. “They haven’t told you about me yet, did they?”
“They told me you like talking about your church,” she said. Her eyes became sad, “There was a time when I believed in things like that.”
“Faith never leaves us Miss Prim,” his voice was warm and smooth like honey. “I can show you how our faith protects us if you’re interested.”
She glanced around, trying to look anxious. “I would, but I have to actually work for a living, you know?”
“Three hundred and fifty credits I believe is the going rate?” he asked. He extended his armbar and transferred the sum to her. “It’s done. Think nothing of it.”
“Money doesn’t mean much to you I guess,” she said, spotting the balance on his armbar.
“I’m richer in more ways than money,” he said, looking modest. “And of course, the church provides a certain allowance for my proselytizing.”
“Then we should go somewhere quiet,” she said. This felt like a good way to find out what was happening to Roxanne’s people. “Do you have a room here?”
“Indeed,” he replied. “The good people at Shangri-La provide me with everything I could ever want or need. Something they would do for you as well.”
“Sounds promising,” she said. “Let’s go downstairs.”
He got up from the chair and took her arm. She looked up at the security cameras hoping Meade and Roxanne were watching everything. It was up to them now to stop whatever happened next.
That was the problem with being bait. You never knew what you might catch.
Chapter Eleven
Hook
Meade and Roxanne watched Emeline seduce Tate from the security suits located far above the casino floor.
“She’s good,” Roxanne observed as the pair entered the hotel suite hallway, moving toward Kelso’s room.
“Better than good. But it seems to me that the only thing we’ve proven so far is that you’re running a house of ill repute out of your casino.” Meade shook a finger at her. “The Coalition could have your head for such an offense.”
She snorted in laughter, “Sure, they’ll bust me. Soon as they pull themselves away from the tables and the men and women they spend so much money on every night.”
Meade chuckled glancing back at the monitor. Emeline and Tate had reached the door to his room. The pair entered and closed the door behind them.
A light flashed on the console in front of Roxanne who looked down, puzzled. “Odd.”
“What’s the problem?” he asked, still watching the door on the security feed. He was about to contact Em to see if she was all right but looked up when Roxanne cried out in panic.
“I’ve lost contact with Emeline,” she said looking up at him with a worried expression on her face. “Her armbar’s connection to the server has been disabled. That’s not supposed to happen.”
He leaned down and checked the map on the screen. “The hotel rooms don’t lead anywhere right?”
“No,” she said shaking her head. “The rooms are under the casino. There was nowhere to go but underground if we wanted to expand.”
“Well, they didn’t tunnel out of here,” he said, looking at the screen. “Exits are covered by the cameras, so, must be that she turned it off for some reason.”
He withdrew the FN-97 from his holster and checked the magazine. “I better get down there and get a closer look at whatever shenanigans are going on.”
Roxanne cocked her head, “Emeline can take care of herself.”
“You’re not wrong,” Meade said. “But, there’s something about this case that has me more on edge than usual.”
“Follow your instincts then,” she replied. “I’ll keep watch from up here.”
“Thanks,” h
e said.
Roxanne watched him go calling out after him. “I don’t mind if you have to rough Tate up a bit but try to keep the blood to a minimum. It’s expensive to clean out of the rugs.”
He ignored Roxanne’s warning as he moved to the elevators that would take him to Tate’s room. Emeline hadn’t been inside long, so he was still holding onto the hope that her armbar had malfunctioned.
After a few minutes, he reached the hotel room, and placed his ear to the door. He couldn’t hear anything, but he wasn’t sure if that was because of the thick wood or if it was because Emeline had already knocked Tate out.
Neither one would surprise him.
Meade opened an app on his armbar, hacking the electronic lock on the door. A few minutes later, he was rewarded with the sound of a loud click, as the door opened for him. He pushed it gingerly, sneaking into the suite.
No one was there.
His eyes went wide, and he began desperately searching through hotel suite in earnest. He pushed open the door to the bathroom, no one was there. The bedroom and living area were also completely empty. The only that looked out of place was the two large, dark circles burned into the white carpet.
He activated his armbar, “Roxanne, they’re not here.”
“That’s not possible,” Roxanne’s voice returned over the wireless. “Where could they go?”
He stared at the two concentric circles burned into the carpet, feeling panic rush through him.
This mystery was beginning to piss him off.
Chapter Twelve
Line
Meade watched Roxanne’s security personnel swarm all over Tate’s room, looking for any clue that might explain how two people managed to disappear into thin air. But besides two circles burned into the pristine white carpet, investigators failed to find anything.
One thing was clear: the mysterious Kelso Tate did not appear to have spent much time in his room. The bed was made, the complimentary toiletries untouched. The maids said they stopped making up the room a few weeks ago after it became clear Tate rarely used the room.
However, according to surveillance Roxanne pulled of Tate’s room, the albino had been spotted regularly entering and exiting the room. If he wasn’t sleeping there, what was he doing?
It was another mystery piled on top of Emeline’s disappearance - something he was having a hard time dealing with. It was as if a piece of him had gone missing, a disconcerting feeling that he was trying to ignore. Meade knew he wouldn’t be able to help her if he was too distracted.
Roxanne finished her conversation with the head of security and walked back over to Meade, shaking her head.
“Security says Tate is nowhere to be found on the premises,” she said. “My people have swept the building top to bottom three times. Wherever they went, they’re not here.”
“What’s the tracking device say?” he asked, still staring at the two concentric circles.
She shook her head. “Nothing. No pings, or any data sent since the disappearance. It’s as if she dropped off the face of the planet.”
“There’s got to be an explanation for this,” Meade said, almost to himself. “There’s no secret passageway or door installed here?”
“Nothing,” Roxanne replied. “There’s no other way for him to leave other than the door. Which we would have seen.”
“Well he figured out a way,” he replied hotly. Meade stopped himself when he realized what he sounded like. “I’m sorry. It’s not your fault. I appreciate your help, I do.”
Roxanne clucked her tongue sympathetically, “I understand.”
She stepped forward and touched his arm. “Meade, my people, they are the best. But they so far they cannot find a trace of whatever might have created this sorcery.”
He looked back at her, skeptical.
“Magic? Is that what you think happened here tonight?”
“Until you can come up with a better reason?” Roxanne said, waving her hand at the empty hotel suite. “Sorcery is my explanation.”
Meade turned back to the scene, reexamining everything in the room. What was he missing?
He approached the two concentric circles and stood in the middle of one. He then moved to the one on the right and looked down once again. The one on the right was smaller than the one on the left.
“I’ve got the beginnings of a crazy idea,” he said, standing over the circle on the right side.
“Isn’t that your specialty?” she asked.
“Stay with me on this.” Meade turned to face her, “What if they were teleported out of here?”
She laughed. “I think sorcery is more likely.”
“Roxy, I’ve thought a lot of things were impossible lately only to be proven stupidly wrong,” he said shaking his head. “I’ve seen some truly advanced stuff come out of the Coalition science office and I’ve been hearing rumors about some kind of superweapons.”
“There’s no way teleportation would be allowed under the Last War Accords,” Roxanne shook her head. “The Treaty of ‘44 included a ban on anything that could be weaponized.”
“The Coalition and Consortium may have signed that,” he said, rubbing his chin. “But if I’ve learned anything over the last few years, it’s that there are plenty of third-party actors with lotsa money who believe they know how to rule the world a lot better than the chuckleheads in charge.”
“So, how does kidnapping men and women from my casino figure in our mysterious antagonist’s scheme?” Roxanne asked, confused. “Seems to me, if someone had technology to teleport people wherever they want, they’d use it for something other than taking my people.”
“I’m betting the disappearances are only the tip of the iceberg,” Meade said, putting the pieces together. “This is what Palmetto was talking about. He mistook me and the MiMs for whoever this new heavy hitter is.”
Roxanne pursed her lips, “So how do we find where they went? Emeline’s armbar must be turned off. We haven’t been able to ping it anywhere.”
“Or…” Meade began, a faraway look in his eye. “Or maybe our scanning field was too narrow.”
He opened his armbar and began typing on the keyboard. “We didn’t figure on her being anywhere else but New Plymouth. But, if I’m right and she’s been teleported…”
“Then she could be anywhere,” Roxanne finished his thought with a grin.
“Exactly,” he said, still typing. “All I have to do is widen out the search area.”
He worked for a few minutes and his face fell. “Ahh dammit.”
“What is it?” she asked.
“The MiMs installed their own intranet so we can ping each other. Helps keep the Coalition off our back,” he said with a wry grin. “Unfortunately, we’ve only got it set up in New Plymouth, which limits my scanning area.”
“So at least we know she’s not anywhere local,” Roxanne replied.
“I’d need access to one of the Coalition satellites to get a look at the whole planet,” he said.
Roxanne snapped her fingers. One of her ever-present attendants stepped forward and she leaned over to whisper in his ear. He withdrew a chip from his armbar, and held it out to Meade.
“As it happens, I have access to Coalition satellites,” she said, looking delighted she could help. “A Coalition officer fell in love with the wrong woman and he gave us access to the satellites in return for keeping his wife from learning about his affairs and the child it generated.”
Meade grinned and took the chip from the attendant standing next to him and inserted it into his armbar. “Roxy, remind me to never get on your bad side.”
A 3D projection of Mars popped up over his forearm as the program began searching for Emeline’s IP across the planet.
“Now all we have to do is hope she’s on Mars, cause if she’s not, I’m outta ideas,” he said.
After a few torturous moments, a bright yellow dot began flashing on and off in the middle of the Martian Outback and he exhaled in relief. Roxanne stared at
the flashing icon in wonder.
“That’s outside the Lid,” she said. “That must be where Shangri-La is located.”
“Looks like I need to rustle up some backup then,” he said, standing. “Hopefully I’ll be able to reach Emeline before anything bad happens.”
Roxanne watched him walk to the door, calling after him.
“Meade. Be careful out there.”
He kept moving, not looking back at his friend.
“That’s not really my specialty.”
Chapter Thirteen
Sinker
Emeline woke with a sour taste in her mouth. Kelso Tate was standing over her, staring at her, as his long stringy curls dangled over his blank face. She struggled and found that she had been restrained on a medical table.
“Is she awake?” the voice called out from across the room.
She tried to move her head to see who was speaking but found that was strapped down too.
“Yes,” Tate answered in a flat tone. He stared at her, as if examining a fascinating foreign specimen.
“Origins of the subject?”
“Lady Luck Casino,” Kelso said, still staring down at Emeline’s face.
“You should vary your routine. You’ll draw attention if you keep bringing me people from the same location.”
“Very well,” Tate moved out of Emeline’s field of view and she struggled against the straps holding her down.
“Subject 9554,” the dry female voice sounded almost bored over the speaker. “The purpose of today’s experiment is to define the teleportation device’s ability to reassemble atoms in case of an accident.”
She began struggling against the straps and the speaker clicked on again. “Subject 9554, please do not move. The more you move, the higher the chances for a catastrophic failure.”
Emeline whimpered and froze in place. A bright light appeared, shining down on her left arm. She began to cry out as the light grew in intensity. There was a high-pitched whine as the machine began powering up.