Quiet War: A science fiction thriller by Frank Kennedy
Author:Frank Kennedy [Kennedy, Frank]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-05-11T00:00:00+00:00
19
THE CALL CAME EARLY: Security conference promptly at H8 in Amity Central Administration. âEveryone will be present,â Dorrit told him. âIncluding the President.â
That was all the café Trevor needed to power him through his morning routine. President Kieran Haas wouldnât attend unless the stakes extended far beyond elevated K3 in two pads of Motif.
âGot any theories, bruv?â
Bleary-eyed Connor remained in bed, wiping hair from his face. He hit the sack an hour before Trevor received the ding on his wrist plate.
Trevor spit mouthwash into the sink.
âI donât theorize about Presidents. They play by different rules.â
Connor squeezed a pillow against his chest.
âYou sure rant about them. Especially the last one.â
Trevor threw on his jacket and slipped his pom inside.
âShe was a criminal, C. Got what she deserved.â
âDidnât the inquest clear her name?â
Connor loved to challenge his older brother on the subject of Collectorate Presidents, few of whom Trevor respected. Absolute power transformed people into animals, a topic on which he had no time to debate this morning.
âThe Board of Inquiry was stacked with her sycophants. Look, C, I need to leave. How did your shift go? See or hear anything odd?â
Connor talked through an extended yawn.
âActually, bruv. Yeah.â
âLike?â
âStudents. Maynor students.â
âGo on.â
âI was inspecting the ABLs outside the Halifax receiving platform. It was downshift, so thereâs usually nobody about. Even the drone loaders were quiet. Thatâs when I saw five students. At least, I assume they were. Younger than me.â
âThey wouldnât be authorized for that location.â
Connor moistened his lips.
âNope.â
âDid they see you?â
âHard to miss the guy in the orange jumpsuit. I donât think they cared. At first, they passed around a digipipe. Conversation got heated. I didnât hear enough to make sense of it, but two went after each other with closed fists.â
May be worth a follow-up.
âWould you be able to ID them from glyphs?â Connor gave a thumbs-up. âGood. See you after work. Get some sleep.â
Connor hurled a pillow at Trevor.
âSend my best to the President.â
Trevor shot back with a sly grin.
âYour name will never come up. Guaranteed.â
Connor feigned ignorance, flailing his arms.
âWhat? The cake accident happened seven years ago. Sheâs forgot about me, bruv.â
Trevor wished.
âThat woman carries vendettas. Later, C.â
Connor lost his residency qualification for Harmony one month after a brief kerfuffle at the Stallion-Labroque wedding reception. Trevor suspected but never proved Haas â then a Congresswoman â instigated the order as retribution for public embarrassment.
Connor was right, of course. The most powerful woman in the galaxy didnât care squat about anyone with an L3 pay stamp. Trevor presumed her vindictiveness went deeper. She and Grandfather Max butted heads often. Haas fought legislation to help Chancellor refugees establish small colonies on member worlds. Not the only politician with anti-Chancellor bias, but she often wore hers like a badge of honor.
All the more reason Trevor intended to keep his head down.
He met Dorrit at Mogandi Station and was surprised to see Hoshi tag along. Since when did Second Deputies attend a Presidential-level emergency confab?
âItâs irregular,â the Chief admitted, âbut Central requested both investigating officers.
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