drop down three feet to a small garden behind the house. Using alleys
and back gardens, he made his way to the edge of the wilderness. Then,
having sent a second message to Cassidy, he sat and waited. Cassidy
-would want to talk to the forensics woman.
\ No newline at end of file
+would want to talk to the forensics woman.
+
+==== Cassidy: Second-in-Command of the Syndicate ====
+
+The woman was awake when Cassidy got there, shivering and sobbing.
+Alfie sat a little away from her, smoking a happy joint. Cassidy got
+the information from the woman. Harlan was alive although might die
+overnight. He glared at Alfie as he slit the girl's throat.
+
+"Yer not doin' so good, Alfie. Two tries and you miss both times."
+
+Alfie got to his feet. "I didn't miss him. I shot him." He motioned at
+the bloody corpse. "You heard what she said. He's expected to die
+tonight."
+
+"Yeah. I heard what she said." said Cassidy. "He's alive." He leaned
+forward and grabbed Alfie's lapels. "I want you to rectify that
+condition."
+
+He turned and started back toward the city, talking over his shoulder.
+"You hear me, Alfie? Last chance. Make him dead by midnight."
+
+==== Mellie: Detective ====
+
+The door announced another visitor. Mellie checked the viewer.
+Santorini! He never came here. She pulled the door open and yanked him
+inside.
+
+"What are you doing here?" she demanded. Then she noticed how pale his
+face was and the sadness in his eyes. "What happened?"
+
+"It's Harlan. He's been shot."
+
+"Is he alive?"
+
+"For the moment." The Boss looked around the condo, not really seeing
+it, just trying to avoid Mellie's gaze. "The surgeons don't expect him
+to live through the night." He dropped his eyes then to look at her as
+she backed away, hand over her mouth. "Get your coat. You'll want to
+be with him."
+
+She grabbed a jacket and attached her bag to the sticker on her skirt,
+picked up her gun, and ran out the door, locking it with a word.
+
+Santorini had brought a skimmer, a small air-borne vehicle that could
+skim over the roofs. They arrived at the Emerald Palace in five
+minutes, leaving Mellie a bit nauseous and white-knuckled. They got to
+Harlan's room only to find that he had been taken back to surgery..
+The bleeding had started again.
+
+They waited. Mellie's tired mind wandered, conjuring scenes from the
+time she was chasing Harlan to love scenes. She slipped into a doze,
+then woke when the Boss shook her.
+
+The surgeon was coming down the hall. His face was serious, she felt,
+but not stony hard.
+
+The surgeon looked at her and then with raised eyebrows he turned his
+gaze to the Boss.
+
+"She's one of us." Said Santorini.
+
+The surgeon nodded. "He's still alive and somewhat stable now.
+Survival is going to be up to him. It all depends on how tough he is
+and how much he wants to live. Right now he's hanging by a thread."
+
+Hours passed as she sat by his bedside. Santorini had disappeared when
+an aide came to whisper in his ear. She held Harlan's hand and talked
+to him, telling him things she had never told anyone. Her mind was
+still wandering and she talked about playing with colored glass beads
+when she was a little girl and how she loved the way the sunlight made
+the colors zing. She jumped to a party at college where she had
+literally had to fight to get away from a couple of guys who wanted to
+'play' with her.
+
+Crying, she revealed her deepest feelings when her mother had died and
+her anger at her father who retreated into a fog of drugs to bury his
+pain. She had been eleven. Then he died and she had been alone except
+for a scruffy old cat who bit her. She spoke of hiding the fact that
+her parents were dead from the school. Getting up every morning, she'd
+feed the cat and go to school. At night she did her homework and
+studied. Sometimes she watched the vid-tube, but mostly she read.
+
+Eventually the school found out when she wasn't able to pay the bills.
+She'd been hustled off to a foster home. There were lots of those
+these days with all the orphans from the war. She told Harlan about
+the kids she'd lived with then and how she couldn't stop crying
+because she had lost the old cat.
+
+Her voice became hoarse, but she felt that her words were keeping him
+alive. So she talked and recited poetry, told him stories, and sang to
+him softly. Fatigue finally won out against determination and she
+slept with her head on the bed, next to his hand.
+
+==== Harlan: Thief ====
+
+He drifted up and down. Sometimes he felt pain, but most of the time
+he just rode on a sea in the darkness and listened to the voice. Each
+time he started getting too far away, the voice would draw him back.
+He heard the words but didn't understand much of what it said. Then
+came songs and that was wonderful, too. Eventually the voice stopped.
+He lay on his back, waiting for the voice, but it didn't come back. He
+decided to go find it.
+
+The first sensation he had was the feel of breathing on his left hand.
+He moved the hand toward the breaths and felt soft hair and a head.
+Opening his eyes, he saw Mellie, asleep. Gently, he stroked her hair.
+She smiled and opened her eyes.
+
+Then she jerked up in the chair and yelled "Surgeon!! He's awake!"
+
+There was a lot of activity then. They pushed Mellie out of the way
+and worked over him, taking blood and scans and checking vital signs.
+He just lay quietly. The pain was back and he really wanted to go back
+to sleep, but they were all talking at him. Finally, a tall woman
+shooed the others back and stood beside him.
+
+"Are you in pain?" she asked.
+
+"Yes" he mumbled, eyes closed.
+
+A nurse stepped forward with a syringe, but the tall woman raised her
+hand and stopped him. "Do you want something for pain? Or would you
+rather stay awake for a while and talk to Mellie?"
+
+His eyes opened. "Mellie." he said, voice stronger.
+
+Then she was there and holding his hand. His eyes closed, but he lay
+listening to her voice as she told him what had happened and drifted
+again on the sea, but this time there was light all around.
+
+==== Alfie: Thief, Assassin ====
+
+Alfie looked out from the window of a house across the street from the
+Emerald Palace. There was a small door in the wall of the Palace, put
+there primarily for the convenience of the cleaning crew. He saw men
+and women come out occasionally with robocleaners to utilize a plug-in
+on the electrical box on the street. The box was for the neighborhood.
+The plug-in was illegal. He smiled. Even the Resistance were thieves.
+
+Late in the night, there was no more activity. He slipped out of the
+house, leaving three bodies behind him. Crossing to the little door,
+he found it locked. Having the most up-to-date equipment, he simply
+inserted his uni-key and the door opened. Alfie stepped into the
+Emerald Palace with a knife in his hand.
+
+==== Alfie: Continued ====
+
+The hallway was empty and poorly lighted. No one was supposed to use
+this area at night except in emergencies. Alfie moved along, a
+darkness among other shadows. There were occasional doors. He tried
+all of them. Only one was unlocked. A janitor's closet. A set of deep
+green scrubs hung in the back and a robocleaner took up the front
+portion. Alfie pulled the cleaner out and put on the scrubs. They were
+a little large but not bad. A pair of earphones were in the pocket and
+he stuck them in his ears.
+
+He pushed the cleaner ahead of him to the brightly lighted
+intersection ahead. No one was in sight, but he hadn't gone more than
+a hundred meters before a pair of nurses came rushing toward him.
+Every muscle tensed up, but Alfie's expression of boredom didn't
+change. He had turned the earphones on when he saw the nurses and the
+sound was audible for several meters around him. The nurses ran past
+him without a glance.
+
+A schematic of the Palace showed in his vision as he navigated the
+corridors, and he eventually found the clinic. He didn't know which
+room was Harlan's until he saw the guards outside. "Crap!" He thought.
+"These people are totally paranoid."
+
+He walked right past the guards who were holding a conversation, but
+eyeing everyone in sight. Including Alfie. As he was turning onto the
+next corridor, Alfie heard the guards demand identification. Glancing
+back, he saw the person standing there was Santorini. They wanted id
+from the Boss himself?
+
+He wandered along corridors thinking, until he realized that he was
+coming around to Harlan's room again. A person in dark blue scrubs was
+walking toward him. She had on a badge with her picture and name. He
+stepped aside so that she could pass. So now all he had to do was find
+someone who looked like him and grabbed their scrubs and badge.
+
+It took over an hour, but he finally came to a stairwell and found
+three guys playing craps. He hunkered down in between them, looking at
+their badges and faces.
+
+"Hey. Can I play?" he asked in a whiny voice.
+
+"Got any money?" one of the three replied.
+
+"Yeah. Just cashed my paycheck."
+
+"Okay." said another.
+
+As he sat down, Alfie pulled his knife. Only one of them gave him any
+trouble. And that was just for a few seconds. Then the stairwell was
+quiet again.
+
+Dressed in the dark blue scrubs with the badge, he walked up to the
+guards in front of Harlan's room.
+
+"I need to check his heart. I got a consult." he said to them.
+
+The two men looked at each other. "We didn't hear about no consult."
+
+"Yeah. They just sent it." He held up a fax.
+
+"Let's see your id."
+
+Alfie obligingly handed them the badge.
+
+"Okay." They passed him through.
+
+Alfie opened the door to the room and discovered that the famous thief
+wasn't alone. A pretty young woman sat in a chair next to the bed. She
+looked up sharply.
+
+"Who are you?" she asked.
+
+"Cardiologist Miller." he replied. "I'm here to do a consult."
+
+She glanced at the door and then back at him. "Okay." she said.
+
+He approached the bed, looking down at Harlan. He'd talked to the kid
+a few times. He even liked him a bit. But business was business.
+
+Distant shouts could be heard outside the room. Getting closer.
+
+Alfie pulled out his knife, glancing at the door. When he turned back,
+Harlan was looking at him. "Alfie? What the..." Alfie brought the
+knife down in a sweeping motion.
+
+And then the girl was all over him. She came over the bed like a big
+catlizard, landing on his chest and throwing the two of them to the
+floor. She had a gun in her hand which was pointed unwaveringly at his
+nose.
+
+Alfie dropped the knife and raised his hands carefully. "I give up."
+he whined.
+
+The guards burst into the room, jarring the girl. Alfie had half a
+second to run, but his attempt was thwarted. He looked down at the
+hand clasped around his wrist and then followed the arm up to Harlan's
+stony eyes. He raised his hands again. Harlan had a trickle of blood
+running down his neck.
+
+==== Harlan: Thief ====
+
+The next few days were spent either walking in the halls or sleeping.
+His doctor told him he needed the sleep as much as the exercise to
+heal. Santorini came by after interviewing Alfie Gallagher. They got
+very little from the would-be assassin. All he knew was that Cassidy
+told him to get rid of Harlan. He couldn't even confirm that the
+orders came from the head of the Syndicate, Chas Hawkins. Cassidy
+talked to him alone each time. No witnesses to what he said. It was a
+dead end unless they could get their hands on Cassidy.
+
+But Cassidy lived in the big house and rarely left. When he did, he
+was surrounded with his bodyguards. If they tried to grab him while he
+was out, they were likely to take heavy casualties. It wasn't worth it
+at this point.
+
+Santorini was still enthusiastic about Harlan's idea for the Obsidian
+Stronghold, as they'd renamed Hideout 12. They were working on the
+place, having set security in place. But not too much security. A good
+spy could get through and see that they were lining the rooms and
+corridors with shelves and specially designed holders for weapons and
+ammunition. The obvious conclusion would be that the Resistance was
+moving out of its antique armory into a new one.
+
+The security detail had scared off one spy already. The Resistance had
+a large supply of weapons. If the Syndicate could get their hands on
+them, they'd be able to take over Crater City. Indeed, they'd be able
+to take over most of Agalder, including the desert gangs.
+
+Santorini intended to dangle this priceless plum in front of the
+Syndicate until they went for it. Destroying the Syndicate would cut
+the crime rate in Crater City in half - at least. And it would make
+the revolution, when it came, that much easier.
+
+==== Harlan: Thief ====
+
+The surgeon released Harlan to Santorini's care after a week of hall
+walking. He objected loudly until Santorini told him to shut up and do
+what he was told. Then Harlan grumbled but softly where no one could
+hear. When Mellie came to visit him, he complained until she left
+early. The Boss finally yelled louder than a drill sergeant,
+explaining the facts of life to a recruit with a restricted IQ and
+Harlan snapped out of his funk.
+
+He went to see Alfie.
+
+When Alfie saw Harlan walk in his cell, he talked so fast they
+couldn't understand him. But it didn't matter. He'd already given them
+everything he could think of.
+
+Harlan was sitting on a stool, staring at Alfie when the Boss walked
+in.
+
+Harlan asked "What are you going to do with him?"
+
+Santorini considered. "He's killed or been responsible for the deaths
+of several people. He almost killed you. We can kill him which is the
+easiest thing to do. Or we can send him somewhere unpleasant. It's up
+to you."
+
+Harlan's head turned quickly. "Me? You expect me to decide his fate?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+Alfie had stopped talking and was watching the two Resistance fighters
+intently. His eyes were like those of a hound dog, pleading.
+
+Harlan sat very still for several minutes, his face set in stone.
+Sweat was running down Alfie's face. Finally Harlan shrugged. "Send
+him to Alaton." he said and left. Alfie's face turned white while
+Santorini lips spread in a wicked grin.
+
+It was another week before the surgeon would allow Harlan to go back
+to work on light duty only. Specifically desk duty. The thief was on
+the street in five minutes. He found a quiet place to sleep and rested
+until dark. Then he headed for the big house and Cassidy. Alfie knew
+next to nothing. But Cassidy would have answers. And screw Santorini's
+orders.
+
+The big house was an old mansion, sprawling across several hilly
+acres. It followed the contours of the hills, which meant that there
+were probably a lot of stairs inside. Harlan had a general idea of the
+layout of the house. While he had no idea where he would find Cassidy,
+the roof contours might show him something.
+
+The motion detectors and security cams never quite covered the whole
+area. There were always places that the cams would miss. He slid from
+one of these to the next, mostly on the ground. He didn't think the
+Syndicate was quite as sophisticated as the Empire had been and
+doubted he'd be disturbing any pressure detectors.
+
+He reached the house without setting off any alarms that he could
+hear. He jumped to the roof and moved quietly to the living areas.
+These were in a relatively flat part of the property. From there, he
+began to survey the rest of the house from above. He knew there were
+at least twenty bedrooms, some bigger for the important people, some
+very big to accommodate ten or more bodyguards. Walking as softly as
+he could, he traversed the roof and found what he was looking for.
+Partitions tended to show up on the roof, partitions between rooms. He
+found the twenty plus bedroom area.
+
+Once oriented, he moved swiftly to a window looking out over the lawn.
+The alarm setup was simple and he bypassed it easily.
+
+Once in the house, he moved from the living areas to the bedrooms.
+Cassidy, as second-in command. would have his own private room. From
+the curvature of the roof, he had figured out where the rooms for the
+goons were and where the very private rooms for the bosses were. He
+crept along a carpeted hall that meandered around curves, past closed
+doors.
+
+Voices behind him warned him of the approach of two people. Cassidy
+and a woman. They were leaning into each other, laughing. Harlan
+watched them go by and slid out from behind one of the doors to follow
+silently.
+
+The couple entered a room near the end of the corridor. Harlan entered
+right behind them. The two were so involved with each other, that they
+didn't notice him. An open closet beckoned and he moved inside.
+
+The couple began making noises and comments indicating imminent sex.
+Harlan grimaced, stepping out of the closet with a gun in his hand.
+
+She noticed him first and opened her mouth to scream.
+
+He snarled "Please don't do that. I'll have to stop you."
+
+The woman thought better of the screaming and sat down on the bed.
+
+Cassidy was moving toward a desk. Harlan, being younger, slimmer, and
+a lot more in shape, cut him off and smacked him on the back of his
+head with his hand.
+
+Cassidy grabbed his head, whirling to glare at the thief. "What the
+fuck do you think you're doing? You think I don't know you? You think
+there's any chance of your walking out of this house alive? Well,
+there isn't. You're dead. You just don't know it yet."
+
+Harlan rolled his eyes. "Are you finished?"
+
+When Cassidy opened his mouth to talk, Harlan shoved the barrel of the
+gun in between his teeth. Actually, he knocked a couple of them loose.
+
+Cassidy froze. A trickle of blood leaked from between his lips.
+
+Harlan shoved him back into a chair and saw the first trace of fear in
+the man's eyes.
+
+He loomed over Cassidy, pushing his advantage. But he had the woman in
+his peripheral vision. She had stripped down to her underwear and her
+shapely breasts were bare. Now she had risen from the bed and was
+turning toward the door. Harlan took one step back, grabbed her long
+green hair, and yanked her back. She fell onto the floor with a
+shriek.
+
+"Quiet, dear." said Harlan. "I don't want to hurt you. But if it's
+necessary, I will."
+
+His conversational tone of voice made the threat even more
+frightening. The woman crawled up on the bed and lay down.
+
+As Harlan's attention refocused on Cassidy, he realized that the man
+was reaching for something on the wall by the chair. He grabbed
+Cassidy's wrist and pulled it back.
+
+Then he grasped the loose material of Cassidy's silken shirt and
+yanked him up to eye level. "Who killed Sam Tavis?" came out as a
+whisper. When Cassidy made no response, Harlan twisted the shirt so
+hard that it started to put pressure on the Syndicate leader's throat.
+
+"Who killed Sam Tavis?" A little louder.
+
+"I don't know." Cassidy tried to push at Harlan, but the thief batted
+his hands away with the gun. "Honest. All I know is that there was a
+contract out on him. I heard that from a runner."
+
+Harlan stared into Cassidy's eyes for a full minute. Then he dropped
+him and grabbed the green haired vixen again. She was again headed for
+the door. He pulled the sheets back from the bed, shoved her in, and
+then tucked the sheets in under the mattress so tightly that she
+couldn't move.
+
+Turning casually, he fired a shot that penetrated the wall next to
+Cassidy's hand. Cassidy jumped back, holding his hand. Harlan checked
+the wall and saw the tiny switch in the three dimensional art.
+
+"So why did you send Alfie to kill me?" he asked softly, his eyes as
+cold as space.
\ No newline at end of file
projects / universe.git / blobdiff