Ill Wind

by Tal Turing

She waved Brad a hello but said nothing as she walked up to the side of Donnie's chair. She focused her eyes on him but her AI could see more than a couple inebriated heads pop up to inspect the new female in the room. Edwyrd looked up, long enough to see her and then back to his cards. He seemed impatient and probably was as sober as a judge.

  The effect of Brad's outburst was taken as a tell and several players folded. Then, almost as an afterthought, Ed threw down his cards and rose up. He walked around to Brad and delivered a punch in the arm that made the tipsy Brad laugh harder.

  But Ed smiled back at him, a pleasant expression that seemed so rare on the so-serious youngest Harilla sibling. The scene reminded her of how they were years ago, back in school, before the darkness of corporate life possessed them all, her as well.

  Donnie looked up at her and she leaned down, apologizing for being called away from dinner.

  "I need to see you Cyn" he whispered back, his lips a bit too close to her ear as he said it. Cyn, prepared for the moment, smiled sweetly.

  "Let's go catch up." she replied, "We can sit out by the pool." Cyn suggested, intentionally wanting to steer him toward a private but not secluded location. "Besides, Brad is a shark, just get out while you can." She laughed intending to give him another excuse to leave with her.

  In response, Donnie grasped onto her wrist and continued to play, his face determined. Cyn had forgotten how competitive Donnie could be, especially with the Harillas and they with him.

  Donnie played on, his hand holding Cynnamon's wrist as if she were a balloon on a string. Brad won the next couple hands and Cyn could feel the tension grow within Donnie's arm. She immediately doubted that a discussion would yield any useful information at all, worse he would be miffed if he felt she were working him. She was considering that she should find an excuse to leave when Patron made the decision for her, she received his communication through her AI:

  Cyn, there is a villager named Pol Gentes in the lobby, he is leaving through the main entrance. Intercept him. He's hugely popular around the villages, he may know something about this Humantis business. Find out. Forget Cabb for now.

  "Patron wants me to fetch him a drink. Can you believe him? Be right back," Cyn whispered to Donnie with feigned annoyance. Then she twisted her wrist easily out of his grasp, spun around, and headed out of the room, her AI ramping back up to full sensitivity.

  She noticed that Donnie didn't turn to watch where she was going, but some of the other players and spectators did. She heard some of the whispered comments from the table; many of them were drunken, rude comments and others were just rude. She suddenly realized that the AI not only could change how she experienced the world but it might change how she thought of the people in it. It was creepy enough to have a stranger stare at her when she could see it, far worse to see them doing it as she moved away.

  She hadn't noticed him before, but now she recognized Steve Harilla moving in the same direction, his avatar revealing him even when he was physically behind others. When he finally moved into line behind her, she saw a drink in hand, his classic deadpan expression giving her no clue as to his intentions. What was he doing?

  Her opinion of Steve had never been high; she had thought of him as hard working and a little strange, but his comments at the executive meeting had really irked her. She was not naive, fully realizing that Transom would use her as it saw fit with little regard for her own feelings. That's how it had always been, but at least in Techview that use had not been gratuitous or even malicious.

  But Steve had basically implied that all she had to do was fuck Donnie and all the mysteries would be revealed. That was amazingly stupid. Even if Donnie knew something, he wouldn't consciously give it up, his pride and his competitive spirit would never allow that. It was almost as if Steve wanted to see her placed at a disadvantage. Thank the storms for that Techview executive! She had a new appreciation for the First City, her city.

  She moved gracefully across the lobby floor and was dismayed to see that Steve was still following her. Did he want to talk? It was no matter, she needed to catch Mr. Gentes, the name was familiar but she was not sure why. But when she saw him, it came back to her.

  Patron

  Patron squeezed into a seat in a darkened security room. He managed to activate the main thread surveillance but was unsure how to track through the building. The door opened and Ed entered. Patron looked up, waiting for some explanation.

  "Barrett is busy with some issue. I said I could come up." Ed said as he slid into a chair two seats down and worked a control. "Where are we going?"

  "Can you find that asset, Cynnamon? Or else just track to the lobby." Patron instructed, his voice low as if concerned someone might hear them.

  “That name is coming up a lot, Patron,” Ed muttered. “See, I can just select her from the directory, the face readers will determine where she has been and where she is," Ed explained even as he watched the screen fast-forward through her movements that evening. "Lobby, dinner, in the hallway, in an executive meeting room for a while?" Ed looked over at Patron who nodded his head and Ed continued: "Back into the hallways, at the card game and back out, into the lobby and now we are real time," Ed announced. "Looks like she knows where she's going," Ed mused as he tracked and zoomed. Cyn was in a purposeful stride across the lobby floor. They tracked her as she walked toward the Transom House main entrance and toward two men. Another man was far behind her, but following.

  "Who's that?" Patron asked upon seeing the fourth person.

  “My brother,” Ed muttered.

  Patron and Edwyrd watched Cyn speak with the older man, her expressions becoming animated. After a while she lifted one thin arm just so the older man could take it and escort her back into the building.

  "Is it really that fucking easy?" Ed huffed as they watched. "Don't tell me they are going to a private room?"

  Patron did not respond to that. He had his own question: "What the hell is Steve doing down there? First he crashed my executive meeting and now he's tailing my operative like he is her body guard. I told him to back off. He had better not fuck this up."

  "They are going into the gardens," Ed warned. "we can't track too well through there. Want me to tell her to turn around?"

  "No,” Patron shook his head, eyes glued to the screen. “Old Pol is a farmer at heart, he'll love those gardens. I wonder if that was her idea or his; maybe she is just breaking some ice."

  "It looks like the ice is melted already, Patron." Ed said simply as he tried to find an angle which gave them a view of the couple's location within the gardens.

  "How much do you want to bet that she will take him through the gardens and then bring him straight to one of our interview areas?" Patron asked, relaxed and content to wait.

  "She should be doing that now; there is no telling what they are discussing."

  "You are too suspicious Edwyrd." Patron sighed. "And since your older brother is on his own errands and the other one is drunk, maybe we should talk about Cynnamon C334."

  "Great, what the hell is she doing here? Why is everything that has to do with her somehow strange and non-standard." Ed began.

  “Are you complaining about how she is being treated? I didn't realize you two were so close?”

  “We aren't. But by treating her different, you are making her special, singling her out, drawing attention. That is why her name keeps coming up. I think you intentionally have left her unassigned and that messes up security not to mention improper use of property we do not own. Barrett warned you about that...”

  “Answer my question. Of course I vaguely remember her, but I know she was in corporate training at the same time as you and Brad. So, are you two friends? Were you friends?”

  “No and no. I was furious when you somehow decided to send her to Techview and not us, not me.”

  “Fine,” Patron leaned back in his chair. "As I recall we wanted to train her as a hospie. Pretty obvious right? Pretty girl, well spoken, has all her teeth, so i
t made sense. While farming and security services may be our bread and butter down here, in Techview it's all about human services: hotels, casinos, medicine bars, massage. So they know how to train a hospie there; if you want to have a good one, than send them to Techview. We have done quite a few like that. They get training and then we bring some back or maybe sell some to the other Joyas.”

  His son glared at him but Patron was unperturbed.

  "You could have explained that years ago. You know that whole thing miffed me" Ed huffed even as he tried to get a glimpse into the gardens.

  "Sure and you would have told everyone she was going to whore school. Right? And it wouldn't have bugged you the way it did, even though it made no sense for you to go to Techview, at least not then. Since then you have been busting your ass learning this company like no one else, even Steve, just to stick it in my face." Patron looked at him with amused eyes.

  "Maybe." Ed said. "Still."

  “Maybe you have trust issues. Still.”

  And as Patron scrutinized the new Deputy of Transom Security, he wondered if his reactions were genuine. Still, he needed to assume they were and continue this talk.

  "But I digress. Cyn began training as a hospie but her handlers didn't think she was suited for it. A good hospie can play their parts to perfection, they are emotional chameleons. Your friend, Cynnamon, isn't bad but you can see the cracks when she gets pressured. If you had been in the meeting this evening you would know what I mean.”

  “We haven't spoken in ten years, Patron, stop provoking me. Fine, so she couldn't make it as a hospie, what happened then?”

  “Well, they bounced her out of the hospie program within the year and made plans to send her back to us.”

  “And?”

  “Well, they offered to buy her out. And we took the offer, I mean what were we going to do with her? And then the bastards moved her to Ops.”

  "They are at the fountain." Ed gestured to a monitor. Then he turned to Patron. “So why is she here? We all know it must be your idea, but why?”

  “As I have already said, we have always sent hospies to Techview. No one disputes the value-add of a Techview trained hospie, at least for client facing positions. But, as we are seeking to expand and grow, I had to consider the value of Techview training in other fields. Techview Operations has grown extremely powerful under their current director and perhaps we can learn something from whatever the hell they are doing. That is why she is here. No, I didn't request her specifically, perhaps it amused Mother to send us one of our own. Irrelevant. I need to see how good these Techview ops are, so I have intentionally put her through the ringer and made things as difficult as possible. That is why I messed up her security, why I left her unassigned and why I let hospitality and even security do what they wanted with her.”

  “But what is she actually doing for you.? Was it your grand plan for her to stroll around Transom Gardens entertaining your old friends?”

  Patron smiled in amusement.

  "So you remembered that Pol and I were once friends. That is true, and we are still friends but we don't trust each other which is why Cyn is with him rather than me. So let's see if she knows what the hell she is doing.” Patron's eyes darted to a monitor. "There, it looks like their garden walk is over. Pol seems to be in great spirits and they are stopping for a coffee; a place where we have full video and audio surveillance, am I right?"

  "Yes." Ed said with a hiss as he tracked the audio and Cyn's voice came over the speaker, Ed flipped a switch and sent it to his AI and then to Patron's as well; the room went silent. Another flip of his finger activated the door's privacy lock.

  As he listened, Patron became more and more concerned.

  “What the hell did he just say!” demanded Patron out loud. “Open this feed to the rest of the executives, I want them to hear this. And don't you dare include your brother!”

  Cyn

  It came back to her. His name, Pol Gente, was familiar but upon seeing his face and hearing his voice, she remembered who he was and when she had met him.

  “I was in your class! When I was a little girl, in Imais, I still remember you teaching us pre-Maltiempo history,” she beamed, approaching him. But even as she relived memories of his teaching, her AI picked up a quick whisper between the two men. She made out the words 'Transom' and 'bastards'.

  He looked at her, his face analytical, as if checking the weather, before it melted and transitioned into a friendly, warm smile.

  “Ah, the fringe benefit of teaching so many village girls. Once in a while, they remember their old teacher and walk over to say hello.” He took her hand and squeezed it even as he appraised her.

  She knew what he was thinking, village girl at corporate event, either she had married into the corporate world or she was their slave. She put him out of his misery.

  “After village school, I was fortunate enough to be accepted into Transom's Sponsorship program, I completed some training and then I moved to Techview. I have been there ever since and I am so happy to return and find someone that I actually remember. I have been meaning to see the Transom Gardens but haven't had the time. Would you like to see them with me? We could catch up...”

  “If none of these young officers have the brains to escort you through the gardens, then I don't feel bad for them at all. Shall we?”

  Cyn offered her arm and they returned into the mansion and made their way to the back porch and through the garden gates. Even villagers were thrilled to see the amazingly beautiful and elegant trees, plants and flowers which grew within, things that could never survive outside the Domes.

  “I have never forgotten your class, Mr. Gente,” Cynnamon confided as they walked one of the garden paths.

  “Ah, can I really be so fortunate to be remembered so vividly after so many years?”

  “It's true!” Cyn insisted, “I was so shy those days. I can't remember for the life of my why, but I never raised my hand in class, I never spoke with the other children and I never answered questions. Perhaps I feared saying the wrong thing.

  But you, you were persistent with me and I needed that. You insisted I speak up and eventually I learned to actually enjoy it, phrasing my responses, explaining my thought process. Years later, it really helped me in the corporate world.”

  “It would have helped you in any world,” he scolded. “Still, I am pleased although I can't take all the credit...”

  It was then that it happened. The pair had been walking on a minor path, where the large leaves of many trees and bushes pushed out into the walk way. As they pushed by a large, violet, leaf, they could suddenly see what lied ahead.

  The path ended up ahead at the life-sized statue of a man, standing within a small garden of flowers, lights illuminating his copper skin. Suddenly they could hear the sound of running water.

  Near the status, a real man was pacing, speaking with great animation into his AI, perhaps choosing the secluded location for privacy.

  Cynnamon froze, her face blanching even as Pol kept walking, turning only to find out why she had stopped.

  “Are you all right?” he asked, confused.

  She spun around quickly as if someone had tapped her on the shoulder. But there was no one behind her.

  “I'm sorry, could we go back now?” she pleaded.

  Flashback

  It was the day before her graduation but it was also a festival evening, some called it 'Asset Halloween' and Cyn laughed out loud as she slowed from full run to a satisfied trot. Some of the other assets had purchased leaper shoes but Cyn didn't see incurring that expense, besides she was naturally athletic and a good sprinter as she had just demonstrated by quickly evading a group of officers dressed as demons.

  She closed her eyes and enjoyed the cool air against her skin as she walked quickly through the garden paths.

  Impromptu, Cyn switched into a skip. She had already decided she would only attend a few parties that evening, then she would return to her quarters to be alone with he
r own thoughts and reflections, to quietly celebrate the amazing news that she would train in Techview.

  Unfortunately, many of her classmates seemed unhappy at her opportunity, calling her a sell-out, a traitor and worse. As if she had any choice and like they wouldn't all jump at the chance to leave this backward city behind. Donnie had understood though and they had parted on good terms. Who knows, perhaps he would end up there one day and they would pick up where they left off?

  She moved boldly onto the main path, ready for a challenge. If she were caught so close to the house she was absolutely sure a good sprint would get her safely inside where the 'demons' were not allowed. In the back of her mind, Cyn knew that it was a night of mischief and that she should not depend that the young costumed officers would all follow the rules.

  It was then that she heard laughter and her name coming from up ahead. Curious, but cautious, she followed a minor path which ended in a small clearing among the trees. Up ahead was a metallic statue of Hendryk Transom, the founder of Transom Industries. His copper body leaned on a similarly colored walking stick, sticking out of a garden of flowers and grasses. But he was not alone, something was with him.

  As she approached she spied someone dressed up as a demon clown, they were trying to remove Hendryk's stick. The tall clown was giggling strangely and she thought to say something, to warn it about the consequences of vandalizing the image of the revered man; but to do so might trigger a chase. She decided to watch a few moments further.

  It was then the clown turned toward her, his face decorated with an exaggerated smile against white skin and a bright red nose. The copper stick had broken off and was now in it's hand. Cyn braced herself to run but the thing relaxed upon seeing her.

  The clown smiled at her and the stolen walking stick disappeared only to be appear again, pushed between its legs from the other side, a grotesque simulation of an erection.

  “Very funny,” she laughed.

  The clown raised its painted eyebrows and beckoned to her, slouching a bit, trying to look less intimidating.