Surface Tension by Gerald M Kilby

Author:Gerald M Kilby [Kilby, Gerald M]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Outer Planet Media
Published: 2019-06-05T22:00:00+00:00

13

Vance Baptiste

Vance Baptiste gave a long, satisfied sigh as he relaxed in his oversized jacuzzi, letting the water jets work their magic, massaging his ample body. To his annoyance, he noticed that his fingernails still had a noticeable layer of dirt, which had accumulated after his short visit to the planet’s surface to meet with Chief Becker and that troublesome Major Sorelli from Jezero. He sighed again, this time with a hint of resignation, and went to work cleaning them. He found that even the briefest of visits to the surface always resulted in him needing a thorough and comprehensive decontamination routine.

Fortunately, the meeting had been short, and he had wasted no time in returning to his private orbital, preferring the comfortable one-G environment and the clear, pure air to the filth and poverty of the planet’s surface. How anyone chose to live there was beyond his understanding.

Back when he agreed to undertake the job of Director of Advocacy for Montecristo Industries—a contract with such ludicrous remuneration and side benefits that he simply couldn't turn it down—he did so on the proviso that he would not have to spend any more time on Mars than was humanly possible. So far, this had worked out reasonably well; mostly he ran all operations from the comfort of his luxury space station, where he could enjoy all the pleasures of opulent living without the need to physically expose himself to the squalor of the masses.

Montecristo needed him because they had a problem. For all their power and influence on Mars, the one prize that had eluded them was control of the governing council. Yet they were close, very close. They had spent well, buying off those who could be influenced by money, funding those who were sympathetic to their mercantile ambitions, and eliminating roadblocks where needed. But one sector stood in their way, a sector where no amount of corporate spend had any impact on its citizens—and without them, Montecristo Industries would always be one district short of complete and absolute control of the governing council of Mars.

To break this deadlock and inject some fresh thinking into the problem, they sought out the talents of one Vance Baptiste, a man who had achieved startling results for the Valdivian Corporation on Ceres, not to mention several others on Earth. His job was to do what the entire board of Montecristo had so far failed to do, and that was to subjugate the citizens of the maintenance sector to their dominion. And, as good fortune would have it, the worst dust storm ever encountered on Mars had just kicked off, leading to Montecristo—and by extension, Baptiste—having primary control over all shipments of vital spare parts, the one thing that everybody wanted. It was better than money, it was power. And Baptiste relished every moment when he could wield this power. That was, until the fly that was Major Mia Sorelli had decided to embed itself firmly in the ointment of his ambition.

His ruminations were disturbed by an incoming comms alert flashing on his ocular implant.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.