Edge World

by Michael Guinn

  “Look at that beautiful bird Tamara!” Kristina said, pointing to a multi-colored bird watching them from a vine-incrusted tree.

  “It is gorgeous,” Tamara replied. “I don’t think I have ever seen one of those before.”

  “It is even cool this morning. That is unusual in the jungle. I do hope we can find Charlie this morning. I am sure Mom is worried about us by now.”

  “Yah. If we don’t fine Charlie and bring him home we are going to be in all kinds of trouble with Mom. If we find Charlie maybe she will not be too hard on us.”

  “Hah, you are dreaming kid. We are in so much shit that we will probably be grounded until we are eighteen.”

  The girl’s friendly argument suddenly stopped as half a dozen young men and women stepped out of the jungle to effectively surround them.

  “What is this,” Tamara asked George as he sidled away from the girls into the jungle.

  A weak “I’m sorry” … is all that George murmured.

  “Come along girls,” a slightly older woman said to Tamara and Kristina.

  After a brief look at each other, the two followed meekly along behind the apparent leader. No one made an attempt check them for weapons, either because they doubted that two teen-age girls would be armed, or just because they had no instructions to do so. Tamara and Kristina both carried their stunners but agreed not to display them at the time. It was a short walk to a vast clearing that held buildings all over the clearing but also on several levels of the trees. They were stopped at the edge of the clearing while a runner ran off. Several men and women walked over to look at the two strangers. One of the older men had been staring at Tamara and Kristina ever since they had been brought into the clearing. Now he raised his hand and stepped forward aggressively towards Tamara.

  “Wait a minute, that is Weldon’s girls. You harm a hair on their heads and he will skin you and use the skin for target practice.”

  “You know they will have to be killed just like that other one from the City so why not have some fun now,” said the tribesman.

  Another younger man agreed with the proposal.

  Both girls stood still, perhaps shaking a little as they were being discussed. They knew that they didn’t dare try to use their stunners. As soon as they pulled them into sight they would be killed instantly. Tamara knew that Kristina was thinking the same thing she is: it is during times of stress that they seem to communicate mentally the best.

  Several of the tribe were arguing about what to do with the girls, but most seem to be afraid of this Weldon and didn’t want to anger him. Finally they decide to just keep the girls under tight guard. It was getting late and there was no way the two girls could find their way in the jungle at night. They were marched to a small hut off to the side of the main village. A young girl brought them blankets and water but no food. Two of the men accompanied the girl but after they shut the door, one remained, sitting on a chair outside the door.

  Tamara and Kristina hug each other, visibly shaking right now.

  “What are we going to do, Tamara,” Kristina whispered into Tamara’s ear? “They are right, we can’t run away in the dark. We would get lost in two minutes.”

  Tamara has always been the one to solve their problems, but she didn’t really know what to do now except she was very tired and hungry.

  “Right now I am going to drink all of that water and then go to sleep. Hopefully we will think of something in the morning.”

  There were no beds or cots in the hut. The girls shared the water, curl up in a blanket and lie down close to each other for warmth and comfort. Many hours later they woke stiff and sore, and very hungry but their first move was to escape.

  “You lie down near the door and start crying that I am dead. loudly, but not so loud that anyone other than the guard can hear you,” Tamara told Kristina. “I will lie in the corner looking dead. As he comes in, use your stunner on him. Make sure you don’t get me or you will be carrying me through the jungle over your shoulder.”

  “Yeah, and I could just leave you here sister,” she said, laughing quietly.”

  “If he doesn’t clear the doorway at first, fall to the floor and I will shoot him when he comes to look at you. Of course I won’t shoot you, you are just too heavy to carry.”

  “Right. I don’t weigh any more than you do. Let’s get this started before the whole village wakes up.”

  One of Vera’s lieutenants arrived back in the village just after dawn.

  “I am afraid I have very bad news, Boss,” he said. Not only did those idiots let the Captain escape, when they caught up to her they were scared off by a patrol aircar. Didn’t even stop to put a couple of spears in her.”

  “Damn it, I really wanted that bitch dead. At least we can kill her two brats if she doesn’t cooperate. What is the rest of the bad news?”

  “The comm systems are working the way they should, No more static.”

  “WHAT! That was a major part of plan,” Vera was incensed that everything was falling apart on her. Cutting out the ability for the law enforcement agencies to communicate was very important. We are going to have to modify things. Stay close while I use our comm system and find out what’s going on.

  “You know who this is, so no names,” Vera says when her comm was answered. Vera was a little surprised that he was in the office at daybreak. “I just found out that the civilian and law enforcement comms are back in service. You told me it would last for a month.”

  “It was all the fault of that damn storm. The technicians weren’t able to fly out and relieve the two we had killed at the Center. That team tried to fly back to the mainland and were lost at sea. One of your people placed a bomb on the OSI patrol aircar that brought two officers to the Center. Those OSI patrol aircars are beefed up until a mere storm won’t stop them. Fortunately for them the timing of the bomb was off and didn’t explode until after they had gone into the Center. That killed that part of the plan. A team of communication technicians were taken out to the Center by OSI officers and are quickly repairing communications. A number of staff from the Satellite Communication Company have been detained by Atlanta City Militia.”

  “Have any of them talked?” Vera asked.

  “Not so far and they all know what will happen to them if they do talk.”

  “Well, this puts us back. We are going to have to do something that will take their attention away from us. In the mean time we have harvested all of the plants that we can take this year. Now to get it off planet.”

  “Good luck with that. We now have a Federal Agent here and he has taken over all local law enforcement on the planet. I think we should cool things until he leaves.”

  “A Federal Agent! That is all we need. Anyway, we can’t stop now with Erickson’s proposal being considered by the Council. I do agree that we shouldn’t try and send out the plants we have collected. I don’t think they will be damaged by being put in storage for a few months. We need a distraction to keep the Feds happy and out of our business. If we can get him tied up with trying to solve caravan attacks, we can just keep everything out of sight till Erickson’s proposal is accepted. In fact, additional attacks will bolster his position. What I think…anyway, I will handle it. Just keep everyone muddled but quiet and it will work out. With Captain Santos’ brats, it will be easier on us. She will do anything to save her kids. That Bitch is far too smart for us but now we have a lever on her. Keep your end up.”

  *****

  Sgt. Easly was the pilot of their patrol aircar with Officer James to observe. Normally it would be the other way around but Sargent Easly did not trust Officer James at the controls, James being a brand-new recruit with no field experience at all. Granted, the chances of them spotting anything worthwhile were slim. They had spotted two very small groups of jungle tribesmen, both with animals they had killed and were packing home to their villages. They had landed and Sgt. Easly spoke with the group and then left. Sgt. Easly figured that didn’t count as far as headquarters�
�� order to prohibit traffic out of the jungle.

  “There is another group of tribesmen just outside the edge of where the jungle starts getting thick. Should we check them out?” Officer James asked.

  “What are they doing?”

  “It looks like they are all in in circle, still on their horses, looking at something on the ground,” Officer James said.

  “Probably some animal they killed. We won’t land but just give them a buzz to let them know we are keeping an eye on them.”

  As the patrol aircar approached, however, all of the horsemen took out for the jungle. Horses could be ridden in the outer fringes of the jungle and even some ways into the jungle where the vegetation wasn’t too think, but most tribes kept their horse on the edge of the prairies to be used for hunting and transportation. Once the dust settled the Officers could see that it was a person sitting on the ground, who pitched over to lie flat out as the patrol aircar made a landing approach.

  After landing, Sgt. Easly and Officer James approached the person on the ground.

  “That looks like a woman, and not one from the villages either,” Sgt. Easly exclaimed!

  “I don’t recognize her, do you Sgt. Easly?

  “I certainly do, that is Captain Santos. She is still breathing but I hate to move her. She could have broken bones or who knows what. James, get on the comm now that it is working and get us an air ambulance as soon as possible. Don’t tell them who it is.”

  By the time the air ambulance arrived Amanda was sitting up, drinking large amounts of water. She was almost too weak to sit up but the ground was too cold to lay upon. Sgt. Easly had wrapped several emergency blankets around her as best he could. She was unable to talk and she seemed ready to pass out again several times. Finally the air ambulance arrived and they quickly got her into the vehicle where they strapped her down and put an oxygen mask over her face as well as attached various wires and tubes to her. They then left without ever recognizing or speaking to the two OSI officers.

  “Are we going to continue our patrol now, Sgt. Easly?” Officer James asked.

  “Of course we aren’t. We need to get this info to headquarters as soon as possible and you know that those SOBs taking her to the hospital won’t. They don’t even know who she is; more fault that they didn’t ask.

  “Should we use the comm to let headquarters know,” Officer James asked?

  “That is the one thing that we don’t do, youngster. If we broadcast it, who knows who will be listening in. It might be important to keep our finding Captain Santos quiet. In any case that is the sort of decision we let higher officers decide. We will be back in a short while, and that is enough.

  *****

  Tamara lay in the corner far away from the door, curled up, try to look as dead as possible, with her stunner in her right hand tucked under her body. Kristina lay as close to the door as she could and yet not block the door from opening. She started moaning and, to Tamara’s thinking screeching, first softly but gradually rising in volume. After several minutes the guard opened the door a crack and asked who was making all that noise. Kristina continued to moan even louder while Tamara remained motionless. Finally, the guard opened the door and stepped partially into the room.

  “What are you bitches doing at this time of day,” He asked, you should be asleep.”

  Tamara didn’t think that he was far enough into the room and she kept thinking, just one more foot.

  The guard knew he was not to go into the room without someone else to back him up, but it was not even dawn plus he was sleepy, so he took another step into the room where he could see both Tamara in the corner and Kristina on the floor making loud moaning sounds, and occasional sobs. He started to bend over Kristina when Tamara shot him with her stunner.

  “That did it,” said Tamara, check him for any useful items and then we are out of here.”

  The girls quickly search him but the only thing useful was his stunner, which they didn’t need but took anyway. The village was very quiet with only a couple of women starting fires under their cooking pots. The girls still pussy-footed around several huts before reaching the fringe of the jungle.

  “Do you know which direction we should go?” Kristina asked.

  “I don’t know but for now any direction away from here works. As soon as the sun comes up, which should be pretty soon, we can use the sun to show us the way out of here.

  So Tamara picked a trail that didn’t seem to have been used much, figuring that as the best choice, and set off.

  *****

  Investigator Townsead was temporarily watching the phones at Comm Center till the regular officer arrived when she got a comm from Yagoslav of the City Militia. She asked him how to direct his call, but apparently Tracy was the one he wanted to talk to.

  “Are you alone.” he asked?

  “No, of course not. I am working the comms in Center until Officer Oslo gets into the office. “Why do you ask?”

  “I need to talk to you. And not where someone can overhear us.”

  “Officer Oslo is scheduled to be here in about a quarter hour. I can get some free time after that. Where would you like to meet; how about our usual coffee/santee shop?”

  “No, too many officers use that for their breaks,” Yagoslav said. “Let’s meet in the Atlanta Hotel coffee/santee shop. That should be private enough.

  “Can’t you give me a hint about what is going on?” Townsend pleaded?

  “Not over the comm circuits. Too much danger of being heard.”

  “Ok. I will meet you there in an hour unless something else comes up. If so, I will let you know.”

  “Really try to make it. It’s very important.”

  “I will do my best.”

  Tracy mulled Yuri’s words until Sgt. Oslo arrived to take over

  one of the comm banks, but could not come to any conclusion as to the secrecy Yuri required. But Yuri was her friend as well as being a fellow law enforcement officer.

  The Atlanta Hotel was very up scale and its coffee/santee shop was no exception. Tracy thought they were going to ask her to leave before she showed them her badge. After that they were over solicitous. She quickly found Yuri in one of the very back booths and hurried to him, aware that it had been much more than an hour but just as she was leaving, headquarters she found out that Captain Santos had been found alive and was in or currently on the way the Atlanta City Hospital. This caused confusion and a lot of joy and it was all she could do to slip out when she did.

  “Hello Yuri, sorry I am so late. They found Captain Santos and she is alive and in the hospital right now.”

  “Really. That is great news. Even the officers at the City Militia think a lot of her. Where did they find her?”

  “From what I heard one of our patrol aircars that was more or less keeping the jungle tribes in the jungle and not out raiding caravans found her on the edge of the jungle with a lot of tribesmen with her. Some think she would have been killed if the officers had not arrived when they did. Now what is this big secret you have to tell me?”

  “Don’t mock me Tracy,” Yuri said grimly. “This is important. I think some of the top officers of the City Militia may be involved in this conspiracy, whatever it is.”

  “In what way are they involved and which officers are included?”

  “I don’t know which officers. That is part of the problem. I don’t know who to trust so I am afraid to ask too many people for fear I am talking to one of the conspirators.

  “Well, what makes you think any of the officers are involved, Yuri?

  “You do know that we have been interviewing the employees of the Satellite Control Company, don’t you?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “We are trying to find who is behind all of this; the murders, disabling the satellite comm system, and the bombings. But the interviews have produced nothing. The case has been given to the ineptest officers we have, so it is no surprise we aren’t getting anywhere. The top three officers of the C
ompany haven’t even been interviewed by anyone. They were sent home and the case officers were told that they were not involved in the conspiracy and were not to be bothered or interviewed.

  “I see what you are worried about Yuri,” Tracy said. “How high do you think this goes?”

  “I just don’t know. The announcement came from one of the Sergeants but whether it was his idea or one of the Lieutenants, I just don’t know. I talked with one of the senior sergeants, or rather tried to, but he brushed me off, saying it wasn’t his or my case. I was hoping you had some ideas,” Yuri said.

  “Maybe I do. Word came down earlier today that Professor Smithe, who has been in an out of headquarters lately – and that may be in part that he is romancing Captain Santos – is really a Federal Agent here to clean up the planet.”

  “A Federal Agent! Holy cow! I have heard of them but never expected to see one in real life. Is he taking over law enforcement for the whole planet?”

  “I don’t know. Really, I have no idea for sure why he is here, but I am sure he will become involved in dealing with this conspiracy, or whatever it may be.”

  “Knowing that there is a Federal Agent here relieves me of some of my worry. Can you somehow let him know about this problem of possible dirty officers in the City Militia?”

  “Doubt I will get the chance to see him but I will talk to Lt. Baker and I am sure he will have a chance to talk to the Agent.”

  “Alright, Yuri, is that all you have for me,” Stacy said in a soft, beguiling voice?”

  “You little mink, you think you know me that well.”

  “And…

  “Yes, Tracy, I would like to come over tonight, duties permitted. “

  “Word is that no one is to try and see Captain Santos at the hospital except the Lieutenants until further notice so I probably will get off early myself.

  “Anybody saying why?”

  “Beats me. Just gives me a chance to leave work early.”