by Dale Mayer
The tube disappeared and Levi, his arm wrapped around her, led her forward into a large room with a clerk standing at the ready. “Good morning. Dani Summerland,” Levi said. “Levi Blackburn and Milo Blackburn reporting in as requested.”
The clerk frowned. “Only your presence was requested. Not your brother.” He glanced up, saw Dani, and his frown deepened. “Not your girlfriend.”
Dani straightened in outrage. Levi squeezed her shoulders. “My wife and brother are here because everyone living in my house was requested to attend.”
“Wife?” Now the clerk’s frown deepened. He clicked madly away on his weird tablet computer. Dani couldn’t help but be fascinated as the lights flashed and pages shifted in a wildly erratic pattern she suspected was anything but erratic. She’d always loved computers. She hoped that she’d learn how these worked soon.
“Why do I have no record of that? I should have been notified.” His voice rose slightly.
Control freak much? She eased out a shaky breath, trying to appear natural. As if showing up in a futuristic Council to answer for something she had nothing to do with was completely normal. She’d wanted to bring Charmin with her for comfort, but both brothers had shot that idea down instantly.
Charmin hadn’t liked it much either.
Even now she wanted to go back and hug him. He was her only link to her old life.
The clerk finally looked up and studied her. Whatever he saw made his lips curl. “Don’t tell me, she’s from the outer areas. From a fringe group.”
Cutting words bubbled up on Dani’s tongue, but she bit them back. She had no idea what the outer areas meant, but she didn’t deserve to be treated as a lesser person because of it.
Levi nodded comfortably. “She is.”
The clerk rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’ll put her down.”
Levi nodded his thanks politely and led Dani into a huge chamber room where the ceiling appeared so high up she couldn’t see the top. “Wait here. I shouldn’t be long.”
She reacted instinctively, reaching out to grab his hand. “Are you sure you can’t sit here beside me?”
He leaned over and dropped a kiss on her forehead. “You’ll be fine.” He looked up and nodded his head at someone. “Here’s my lawyer. John Driscoll.”
Dani turned as the stranger approached. He wore a uniquely tailored suit in glowing blue patterns. The styles might not have changed a lot, but the colors of today sure had. She smiled a polite greeting and shook his hand, charmed at the old style greeting.
“Levi. Are you ready?”
Levi nodded. “I was just settling Dani here where she’d be comfortable.”
John smiled at her, and damn if one of his teeth didn’t wink out at her the same color as his suit. Wow. Tooth jewelry. Her gaze widened and her breath caught in the back of her throat. It was all she could do to not say something. Instead, she turned to look around her to see the room filling up. Several people took seats. She decided the best thing was to do the same. She watched one man sit down on a black pole that instantly widened to accommodate his butt.
Taking a deep breath, she promptly sat down on the closest pole, her breath whooshing out when it opened successfully into a seat to support her butt. Thank heavens. She smiled up at the brothers. “Go on, I’ll be fine.”
Milo gave her a weird finger salute she guesstimated meant something similar to ‘right on’ and turned and walked forward. He’d certainly dressed up for the occasion, wearing a black and white striped skin suit. She shuddered at the jailbird look. It didn’t matter how long she lived here, she was never going to wear a skin suit like that.
As if understanding her thoughts, Levi bent over and whispered, “You’d look better in that than he does.” He kissed her cheek, winked at her, and walked away.
The lawyer, thankfully not sporting painted-on skin pants, waited a few steps ahead for Levi to catch up. Heads bent deep in discussion, they strode out of the room.
And left her alone.
*
Leaving Dani in the waiting room was one of the hardest things Levi had ever done. She knew no one, nothing about the world she found herself in or the pitfalls that awaited her every time she opened her mouth to speak. But he had no choice. He quickened his pace to catch up to Milo strolling on ahead. His brother’s flagrant disregard for the rules had put them in this situation. Only Levi had compounded the situation by using his friend’s healing pod to help heal the damage done to Dani and Charmin from time travelling.
He could only hope that his friend’s attempt to destroy the pod Levi had used to heal Dani would make today’s Council visit more of a maintenance check up than an actual investigation. He’d had John meet them here just in case, but he hadn’t had time to brief him.
The legal fees that his company paid to keep John’s law firm available for times like this was exorbitant. As they were checked at the door and led into a smaller chamber, Levi spotted his old friend Stephen Cavendish on the Council dais. Relief swelled inside. This might have started as a witch hunt, but it wasn’t going to end up that way. Stephen, young and only a junior council member, was on Levi’s side when it came to Government meddling. And played the game well.
He smiled at his friend, relaxing even more when Stephen winked at him. This would be just fine.
Stephen opened the discussion. “I hear congratulations are in order, Levi?”
Levi beamed. “They are indeed.”
Milo bobbed at his side, his headset in. He rarely spoke at these meetings. Probably just as well. What came out usually didn’t bode well for Levi.
In a genial let’s-get-this-over-with-so-I-can-get-back-to-my-honeymoon tone of voice, Levi asked, “What is the problem that you needed to disturb me during my time of celebration?” He kept his face curious but amiable – at least he hoped it was. One sign of fear and these vultures would pounce.
“It’s your friend Johan Strand. He’s wanted by the Council. When his request to appear was ignored, a team was sent to retrieve him. Unfortunately, he’d set up some kind of self-detonation on several of his equipment centers. Suspicious behavior at best,” said one of the senior Council members. “As your residence is known to be associated with him, we requested everyone there to appear here for questioning.”
That’s not quite the way Levi understood events to have gone down, but it wouldn’t be the first time that the Council had twisted things to suit them. “First, Johan is an acquaintance, not a friend,” Levi said in a what-has-this-got-to-do-with-me voice. “Second, I don’t know anything about his equipment. Nor do I know where he is, if that is what you are looking to me for answers about.” He stood tall and straight. “And my wife knows even less.”
The Council stared at him. Even Stephen. Then again, he’d always been good at playing the Council game.
Levi waited patiently. Ever since Milo had gotten them in hot water a year ago, whenever there was a question the Council wanted answered or information they needed to collect, he and Milo were dragged down to appear in person. As if they couldn’t lie or cheat their way through these sessions in person like they might be able to through a HoloKomp. He suspected that the Council ran illegal scans on every person that entered these rooms. Hence the reason for keeping Dani out. She might not pass the scans.
He needed the Council to find nothing wrong for a few more months. Then he could start asking them to back off before he involved the lawyers at a more in depth level. As it were, today was one step from harassment. And John had brought that up more than once. But Levi needed to keep a low profile while Dani settled in. No one could take a closer look at her right now.
He couldn’t imagine the shock of what she’d been put through. He didn’t think he’d have handled it half as well as she had if he’d been in the same situation. In fact, he knew he wouldn’t. He looked around, seeing Milo and his lawyer…his extended family only a call away. He’d lose everything familiar and dear.
Just like Dani had.
&nb
sp; For the first time, he had a little insight to all that she’d lost.
And how little he could do to make up for it. He’d done his best to protect her, but he could never replace everything.
“Levi?” John nudged him. With a startled look at his old friend, he realized the Council was talking.
“We need to know any information,” the elder Councilman, Carlson, said in a tone that demanded obedience. “Any names or locations that you may have heard Johan mention to try and track him down.”
Levi frowned while he stopped to consider the request. “In truth, I’m not sure I ever heard him mention anyone or any place in particular. He was notorious for his parties, and serious talk didn’t happen then, nor were there any party goers who wanted to talk.”
“And yet, he mentioned the two of you going out for coffee after your last appearance here.”
Levi’s eyebrows shot up at the reminder. However, he answered smoothly, “He did invite me, but the coffee never happened. He wanted to go and see his lawyers instead so he asked for a rain check.”
That at least was the truth. He suspected they already knew what he’d done that day. A drone would have noted his and Johan’s actions at the time and submitted a report on both men filed away for future reference. The Council muttered between them for a long moment.
“Your answers have been recorded. Should you have any further information to offer regarding the issue, please contact the office.”
A different Council member spoke. “We notice that Milo has not added anything to the conversation.”
Levi shrugged. “He has nothing to say. He had nothing to do with Johan.”
“Not one of the regular party goers?” Eyebrows shot sky high and amused twitters rippled through the Council members.
Milo was an anomaly to them. He lived in his own world and wouldn’t have attended one of Johan’s parties if his life depended on it. His parties were always private with his other geek friends. Levi highly suspected they played more computer games than sex games when they were together. His whole group was more active sexually in VR than in real life. But that might also be his age or his perspective on other people. Milo was light years ahead of others. While they were looking into a coffee cup and wondering at the pretty pattern the cream made as it was poured, Milo had already analyzed the composition, calories, health detriments, and health benefits for everyone in the damn room as well as who could tolerate that level of fat and who should be running in the opposite direction.
No one was like his brother.
Councilman Carlson said, “And the other occupant in your residence?”
“My wife, Dani?” Levi hated the way Carlson spoke about Dani. “You know her name is Dani. She isn’t an occupant.”
“Is she here?” The speaker ignored his comment, choosing instead to stare at him in a cold manner.
“She is waiting in the outer chamber.” Levi curled his upper lip. “I speak on her behalf. All documents have been filed as per protocol.”
After a moment where the men clicked away on their comps to verify his statement, the men nodded. Stephen smiled at him.
Levi’s breath whooshed out. So they’d skated by safely again.
But for how much longer?
He pushed Milo ahead of him as they walked out. Now to collect Dani and get her home, safe and sound.
As he walked back into the anteroom, he realized she was no longer sitting where he’d left her.
In fact, there was no sign of her. “Shit.”
Chapter 2
Dani sat in silence, watching in wonderment as the kaleidoscope of people walked by. Just like in her time, there was a mix of races and ethnic groups. Skin appeared to come in a few more colors, like a light mauve, teal, and copper shades. She didn’t know if those were medical enhancements, cosmetic changes, or something genetic. The copper-toned skins were beautiful, but the purple and pink ones were fascinating. Hair was another anomaly. It appeared as if anything went here. Colors from glittery black to Milo’s wild green appeared on men in business clothing similar to what Levi’s lawyer wore.
The artist and female in her was fascinated and a little jealous of the women here. Every color from the rainbow was represented – plus some she swore she’d never seen before. The skirts appeared to shift and almost wrap around the women’s legs as if it was some kind of intelligent material. And maybe it was. The fashions were unlike anything she’d seen before. It wasn’t like old styles coming back around again. Instead, this time frame had made huge leaps in terms of fashion sense. She glanced down at her own interesting clothing, realizing she did fit in, but likely with a younger group than those she saw here.
Another thing that caught her eyes was the lack of purses or bags or even briefcases. How could that be? Everyone had to carry something.
Odd.
How did they carry laptops, tablets, or whatever the modern version was? Where did women put their makeup?
As she pondered life in this century, a beautiful businesswoman sat down beside her. Dani started. Dressed with severely coiffed hair in an almost purple-black one-piece skin suit, very little was left to the imagination. Dani stared. The woman’s eyes were a deep emerald green. And her smile was nothing like anyone she’d seen before.
“Hi, Dani.”
Dani shrank back. Her tentative smile dropped away in shock. How did this woman know her?
“I’m Lina Stewart. John is my boss,” the woman said reassuringly. “Our law firm represents Levi and Milo,” she added.
Relief caused some of the tension to slip away. “Oh, they’ve all gone into that room.” Dani motioned behind her.
The woman nodded. “That’s normal.” She paused, studying Dani’s face intently. “But there’s nothing normal about you, is there?
Dani’s gaze widened, her stomach sinking. “Pardon?”
“Oh come on, that innocent lost girl look might work on Levi, but I know better.” She settled more comfortably, but her sharp gaze never left Dani. Studying, probing, as if trying to figure out something. “You managed to marry one of the most eligible bachelors around. It’s not like I can do anything about that.” Her smile turned glacial. “At least not right now.”
Dani just stared. She waited for the woman to say more. If she wasn’t careful, this was a conversation guaranteed to get her into trouble. Like what the hell? Was this woman jealous? Her last comment had sounded almost threatening. Too bad women hadn’t changed with the time. There’d been ambitious cats in her century, too.
When the other woman didn’t speak again, Dani plastered a cool confident smile on her face and said, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”
The other woman snorted and sat back, an irritated edge to her features. “Right. Fine. Be that way if you want.” She looked around at the crowd. “Hopefully the men will be done soon and we can leave.”
Dani murmured something but even she didn’t know what it was. She was still struggling with her reaction. Relief and worry had taken over her bloodstream and a headache like she’d never had before was building quickly. Too quickly. Where was a healing pod when she needed one?
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Just a bit of a headache is all.”
That brought the other woman’s head around, her sharp gaze locking on Dani’s face. “Why the devil would you allow one of those? Levi really fell for this back-to-natural stuff, huh? Never thought he’d be such a dupe.” Lina snickered and stood up. “Later.”
And she walked away.
And what was that about all natural? Had people managed to do away with headaches completely here? But in a non-natural way? How confusing. More questions to ask Levi.
Dani was left mulling over her words, her gaze on the woman’s retreating back, when Lina just…disappeared. No cube surrounded her, nothing. She was there one moment then gone the next.
Dani stared at the spot Lina had disappeared from to see a series of circles on the floor. She couldn’t help
thinking of the Star Trek movies from her day and the transporter system. Was that possible here? Or was the system even more advanced?
There were other circles on the floor, with people stepping in and out just as suddenly as they arrived and left. She hadn’t noticed them before, but people were arriving and leaving on that odd circle system. But where were they going to and coming from?
And how did they not crash into each other in transit?
She got shivers just thinking about it. What kind of a world had she found herself in? Her headache grew. She wished Levi was done. All she wanted was to be back home safe in the healing pod with Charmin.
And damned if her wrist didn’t start to flash weird colors right then. Flustered, she dropped her arms into her lap and slapped her right hand over the lights. But they flashed brightly between her fingers. She had no idea what any of it meant. Neither had she seen anyone else’s wrist start a light show.
Even as she thought that, it seemed as if everyone suddenly noticed her. Plain Jane Dani was getting way too much attention than was good for her. She tried to hide the bright lights against her belly but nothing seemed to do the job.
She searched behind her, desperately hoping for Levi or Milo to show up.
There was no sign of either of them.
Suddenly her arm was grabbed and she was jerked up and out of her chair and pushed toward one of those weird circles.
Lina Stewart. “You’re coming with me,” the older woman snapped as she pushed Dani forward. Dani stumbled and would have fallen but for Lina’s grasp on her arm. “What are you doing?”
“Shut up.”
Dani pulled back and managed to get free of Lina. Lina snorted, gave her a short shove, and…the room disappeared.
Oh no. Dani could hardly swallow. Her throat convulsed, and it was all she could do to keep the food in her stomach. She didn’t know what had happened, but it hurt like hell.
“Jesus, what is wrong with you?” The disgust in Lina’s voice had the effect of pushing the nausea up a notch, sending Dani almost to her knees.
