“Hello, Conrad. What brings you here today?”
Conrad Stodt, head of security for Earth Defense Intelligence, smiled tiredly as he shook William McDonald’s hand. “We need to talk, my friend,” he said simply.
Nodding, William led the way into the house. As he followed, Conrad watched the play in his host’s arms as he maneuvered the wheelchair around obstacles.
“When are you going to get a real chair?”
William smiled. “This one is real,” he replied. “Besides, it’s good exercise. Care to arm wrestle?”
Conrad returned the smile, then grew sober. “How long has it been?”
William frowned. “Since I lost the use of my legs? Two years next month.”
Conrad shook his head. “Such a shame,” he said. “After everything you went through during the Unification Wars, to lose it all in the final battle.”
“Not all,” William said. “Just the ability to walk. I do still have everything else. Health, wealth, friends.” He grinned suddenly. “And I still have you.”
“Indeed you do, my friend.”
“But you’re not here as a friend today,” William observed. “You only bring up the war for one reason. Something’s gone wrong.”
“Very wrong,” Conrad agreed. “Something we can’t seem to figure out.” He paused, seeming almost hesitant to say the next words. “William, we need her.”
* * *
“Welcome to Generosity Station, Miss Worth.”
“Thank you.” Mary Worth smiled as she collected her papers, well aware that the clerk manning the ticket counter would barely notice it. Not with his eyes glued to the generous display of cleavage offered by the lowered zipper of her jumpsuit. Mary tugged the zipper upward, cutting off the man’s view and gaining his full attention.
“My quarters?”
“Um, sorry.” At least he had the decency to blush. “You’re on level three. The lift is just down that corridor. Turn left when you exit the lift to reach your quarters.”
“Thank you.” Still smiling, Mary turned away, walking casually toward the lift, well aware of the eyes watching her. Not that the attention surprised her. As both a stranger and an attractive woman, she would have been more than a little concerned if someone hadn’t paid some attention to her.
The lift, thankfully, was empty, allowing her a bit of quiet time on the ride to her level. In the corridor outside the lift, a technician fussed with a wall panel.
“Damn Malorian junk,” he groused.
Curious, Mary paused and glanced at the panel in question. “Actually,” she said, “that is of Earth manufacture. Southern France, from the looks of it.”
“So you’re an expert?”
“Actually,” Mary replied, “yes. Try bypassing the secondary input buffer. They cause most of the problems with that model.” Disregarding the tech’s surprised stare, Mary continued down the corridor.
Her quarters were, as expected, sparse nearly to the point of being barren. Not surprising, considering the fact that it was being paid for by the young United Earth government, and everyone knew EarthGov was broke. Ignoring her surroundings, Mary located the envelope left for her on a table by the door, opening it and withdrawing a flexscreen.
“Hello, Mary,” came Conrad’s voice when she thumbed the screen to life, his face appearing on the shiny surface. “I’m sorry to have to involve you in this, but we seem to be out of options. It is my hope that you can gather information we were unable to acquire.”
“Here it comes,” Mary muttered. Conrad only asked for her when nothing else worked. This would be her third mission for EDI, and if the first two were any indication, this one would be no picnic.
“As you know,” Conrad’s voice continued, “the Malorians first contacted us shortly after the United Earth Government took power just over a year and a half ago. At the time, they told us they’d been watching us for centuries, waiting until we were ready to meet them. They gave us advanced technology, including the flexi you’re holding right now. And, of course, the station you’re standing in, which was named Generosity as a show of gratitude. The technology we received improved life on earth in many ways. But not, to be honest, in all ways.
“Since the implementation of the Malorian technology, there has been a growing movement speaking against Malorians and their technology. They point out, and rightly so, that, while this new technology has improved the quality of life, it has also put hundreds of thousands of people out of work by making their jobs unnecessary. Earth’s economy has been sorely strained by the sudden explosion of unemployment. This has been the basis of the anti-Malorian movement”.
“So far, the movement has been a peaceful one, but that seems about to change. Ironically, the little intelligence we’ve been able to gather indicates a plan to use Malorian weapons to attack alien and government facilities in an attempt to sway public and official opinion against our friends from space. Unfortunately, we have been unable to determine whether or not they actually have the weapons, nor do we know where they’re coming from. This is where you come in”.
“The leaders of the movement are very careful to hide their true identities, and so far, we have only been able to verify one. He is Edward Stillman.” At these words, a man’s image appeared on the screen. “Mr. Stillman and his wife Laura have lived on Generosity since nearly the day it became operational under EarthGov control. This makes Stillman our best candidate for the one who will get the weapons onto Earth. Your job is to locate Stillman, determine what, if any, part he plays in this plan, and take appropriate action. Arrest is preferable, but you are under no circumstances to allow illegal Malorian weapons to be transported to Earth. Take any action you deem necessary.”
“And anything I do,” Mary murmured, “has already been removed from the records.” Shaking her head, Mary thumbed a tab on the flexi, then dropped it into the trash can. Seconds later, the flexi’s self-destruct activated, melting it into an unrecognizable glob of plastic and metal. “Oh well, time to get started.”
Placing her suitcase on the bed, Mary quickly emptied it of it’s contents. Then, using a small tool removed from her bracelet, she removed the bottom panel, revealing a small storage compartment. Even the station’s Malorian scanners had been unable to detect the hidden compartment, keeping its contents secure. For a moment, Mary examined those contents. Then, shrugging, she snapped the panel closed without removing anything.
“Maybe later,” she told herself. “After I find this Stillman character.”
First, though, there were more important matters to consider. It had been, after all, a fairly long flight to the station. A shower, she decided, then sleep. Tomorrow, she’d start her search.
Entering the bathroom, she discovered a sonic shower. Not surprising, considering the expense of producing or transporting water for the station. Shrugging, she kicked off her soft boots, unzipping and shrugging out of her jumpsuit. Stepping into the shower, she adjusted the controls, then stood patiently as she waited for the sonic vibrations to cleanse her.
Mentally, she reviewed the few facts she’d been given. She’d been aware of anti-Malorian sentiment since shortly after the aliens had first arrived on Earth, but had never considered it to be more than a fringe movement. She had also been aware of the growing unemployment crisis, though EarthGov did its best to keep the situation under wraps, with few and sparse news reports on the problem. Somehow, she thought, someone had managed to combine the two issues, creating a new, potentially violent, brew. And it was up to her to keep it from exploding.
Lost in thought, she barely noticed when the sound of the sonics began cycling upward in pitch. Suddenly, a bright flash of light filled the shower cubicle. When the light faded, it revealed Mary, lying unconscious on the floor.
How cliché, Mary thought, waking up to darkness. Seated in a rough wooden chair, she gingerly tested the steel that held her wrists bound behind her back. A wad of cloth filled her mouth, and she could feel the stickiness of the tape that held the gag in place. Her legs had been left unbound, but, given the darkness, she saw no point in trying to explore her new prison. Instead, she sat quietly, awaiting the inevitable visit by her captor.
After several minutes, a light flashed on, illuminating the room. Glancing around, Mary saw her suitcase in a corner, the boots and jumpsuit she’d been wearing dumped beside it. Mary nodded. Obviously, her captors wanted no trace of her to remain. The opening of a door behind her curtailed her examination of the rest of the room, which appeared empty anyway.
“Hello” Mary instantly placed the voice, realizing that she’d been under observation since her arrival. The man who stepped from behind her verified her suspicions.
“Thanks, by the way,” he said, smiling. “I did as you suggested, and bypassing that buffer did the trick. Maybe they’ll let you live long enough to help me with a couple other problems I’ve been having.”
“I doubt that.” With this, a second man stepped from behind Mary to examine her. Edward Stillman seemed very pleased with himself as his eyes roamed over Mary’s naked, bound body.
“You will, of course, die,” he said casually, glancing at Mary’s papers, which he held in one hand. “First, however, you’ll answer some questions that your presence has brought up.”
Stillman waved the papers he held. “False, of course. And not very well done, at that. You would think that whoever made these for you would at least make some attempt to put your information into the system. My sources within EarthGov, however, can find no information about Mary Worth.”
Stillman frowned. “Actually,” he continued, “they can’t find any information about you at all. Your DNA isn’t on file anywhere. You have no fingerprints to match, and your description and dental records don’t match anything on file. It’s as if you don’t exist, at least, not officially. All of which makes me wonder just who you are and why you’re here.”
Reaching down, Stillman softly stroked one of Mary’s breasts. “We will find out, you know,” he said softly. “Thanks to the Malorians, we have devices that can cause unendurable pain without doing any actual damage. We also have a device that can cause unendurable pleasure. One or the other will break you. It’s only a matter of time.” Stillman gave her nipple a harsh pinch, then stepped away.
“I will leave you to contemplate what’s in store for you,” he said. “On my return, your gag will be removed, and you will be given the chance to tell us what we want to know.” He smiled coldly. “When you refuse, the fun will begin.” With a gesture to the other man, Stillman stepped away.
When the door closed, the lights snapped off, plunging the room into darkness. Well aware that infrared cameras might be watching her, Mary sat silently, only the tension of her arm muscles belying the seemingly relaxed pose of her body. Slowly, the tension increased, her eyes showing strain. Suddenly, there was a small snapping sound. Relaxing her arms, Mary brought her hands in front of her, revealing the broken chain of her cuffs. Reaching up, she ripped the tape from over her mouth, then carefully removed the cloth.
Rising, she slowly made her way toward the corner where her suitcase had been placed. Left behind on the chair’s seat lay a single link from the cuff chain, elongated and snapped. Obviously, her captors hadn’t taken her strength into account.
Locating her belongings, Mary slipped into her jumpsuit and boots, then took up the suitcase and felt her way along the walls until she reached the door, which opened immediately to her touch.
“Amateurs,” she thought scornfully. “Leaving my legs free and the door unlocked. These people must be pretty sure of themselves.” She smiled coldly. “Well,” she whispered to herself, “maybe I can change that for them.” Slipping into the corridor, Mary glided silently away.
“William? Are you home?”
Conrad glanced around the room. William’s wheelchair sat near the back of the room, but William himself was nowhere to be seen. Concerned, Conrad rapidly searched the house, finding no trace of its owner. Only one room escaped his scrutiny, the door refusing to open. Baffled, Conrad returned to the front room to consider the options.
Had William gone somewhere? Conrad shook his head slowly. Not without his chair. Besides, William’s room showed no sign of any clothing missing.
Out with friends? Again, Conrad shook his head. Despite his remarks on Conrad’s earlier visit, William was a recluse. As far as he knew, he was the only friend William claimed to have.
Abduction? Conrad had seen no signs of struggle anywhere in the house, but a team of professionals would leave no trace of their visit. Given the total lack of any evidence, Conrad had to assume that his friend had been taken against his will. But by who?
And why?
11.06.12
story continues in William & Mary 2
o0o