The Baby Auction by Peter Taylor-Gooby

Author:Peter Taylor-Gooby
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction;science fiction;young adult;dystopian;fantasy;political;literary
Publisher: The Conrad Press
Published: 2016-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

28

Dain remained seated at the desk, looking out at the night sky dark above the city. The towers stood out clearly against it, gleaming in their own light, but he couldn’t make out the residence blocks or the forest beyond.

There was one thing he hadn’t said to her, one argument he hadn’t used:

‘Anna, I love you. I want to protect you and you must let me help you.’

He had kept faith with the One Law.

An image from the Broken Lands filled his mind, his father standing in a village street, dressed in the white robe, his hands held up, barring the way against a troop of men mounted on black horses. Flames rolled up behind them, the fire glinting on their helmets. His mother was dragging him away, pulling at his hand, shouting something he couldn’t quite hear. Then there had been the child, trapped against a building on the other side of the road.

He was certain he had done what was right. His love burned inside him, locked away, in the same place that the memories were. His duty to the One Law, the law must govern. One day Anna would understand.

His communicator buzzed.

‘Captain Lucas?’

A sharp male voice he didn’t recognise.

‘Yes.’

‘Report to the President’s office, top floor. Forthwith.’

He took the high speed security lift, tapped his passcode into the panel and walked along the richly carpeted floor to the presidential suite. He’d only been here two or three times before, always with superiors, most memorably after the convictions in the market cartel case, when he’d been told that he would be awarded the Star of the City. It seemed a long time ago.

The assistant took him straight through into President Wells’ personal office. The President sat at her desk reading from a thick paper file with the Enforcer’s crest embossed on the cover. She was dressed formally as always. She continued reading for a few minutes.

Dain stood stiffly at attention. Behind her on the shelves were the usual leather-bound law books, and a framed picture of a much younger man, dressed as a lawyer, smiling confidently at the camera. He had the same ash-blond hair as the president, cut severely short. The next photograph showed him wearing a graduation gown, the president next to him, her hand on his shoulder and a smile on her face. Dain saw there were no photographs of a partner anywhere.

President Wells closed the file, looked up and gave him a formal smile.

‘Captain Lucas.’

Rebecca Wells was silent for some moments. She spoke with precision:

‘I wanted to see you briefly to make certain you understood the gravity of the auction case. It is a matter of deep concern to our leading citizens. My office has been in communication with the Justice Division. The city will press charges for a serious breach of the One Law.’

She paused.

‘Madam President, I understand it was a political protest, at most temporary disruption of trading. The auction achieved record sales.’

She raised her eyebrows. He fell silent.

‘I hadn’t finished, Captain Lucas. You may not understand the situation fully.

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