Family Law

by Mackey Chandler

  "Ah..." Lee looked around at the hotel like she was seeing it in a whole new light.

  "And people travel on business away from home. They like to cut up where they think nobody they know will see. So they get drunk and do things they wouldn't do at home. The hotel has to balance safety, against guests who want to take strangers to their rooms and people who come back to their rooms drunk or high on stuff, or both, not exactly showing good judgment."

  "What about the police? Don't they make trouble for the hotel?"

  "Lee, the city is just like the hotel. They try to contain the trouble to a reasonable level, but not kill business. It's impossible to eliminate it. Sex with somebody not your wife, or another single person is not illegal most places, just paying for it is and that can be mighty tough to prove. You reach a point cracking down where you irritate your average citizen enough to get a back lash. People want things run tight enough there is an appearance of order on the street, but not so tight they can't do what they want in private. Besides, vice is an organized business and they corrupt the police to look the other way with money in any big city. It's not a question of are they corrupt but how corrupt?"

  "Thank you for explaining. Some of the movies I saw make more sense now."

  "There are movies that are pretty blunt and crude about this world. I doubt your folks ever wanted to show them to you, not porn, but what they would call adult themes. I'll talk to Gordon and see if he thinks some would benefit you."

  "OK, I'm starved. I'm ordering some breakfast sent up. Do you want anything Mark?"

  Chapter 28

  The second time Lee got up the sun was bright out on the terrace and she found Gordon planning what to go see. Richard sat back sipping coffee noncommittal. There was enough left over breakfast still warm on the table, that she just browsed on that and listened.

  The redwood trees seemed like something she wanted to see and she very much wanted to see some of the preserved area of local desert and Joshua trees near the hotel. None of the other possibilities they were discussing seemed that interesting. When they bogged down she jumped in.

  "We're right on the edge of Los Angeles. How about taking us for a ride through the city and let me see what this urban Earth society really looks like?"

  "Some areas of the city are too dangerous," Richard objected. "Ground level traffic is so slow it would take all day to drive through LA from North to South. You really want to waste a whole day seeing what an Earth city looks like?"

  "Yeah, I would, but as a compromise how about if we just get a local driver who knows where we shouldn't go. Your company would have one wouldn't they? I was looking at a map on com. There's an airport right in the middle of the city. How about if we drive to it in the morning and then take a plane or helicopter from there, to see these big trees you are talking about?"

  Gordon and Richard looked at each other. "We can go out and see the Mohave Desert this afternoon," Gordon suggested. "A little later in the day actually," Richard agreed. "It's supposed to be really hot today and we can go to a section of the park highly recommended to me when the sun is lower. It should be beautiful at sunset."

  "Works for me," Lee agreed quickly. "There are some shops downstairs. How about somebody giving me an escort and I'll buy a nice hat for the sun."

  * * *

  Lee found a bright white hat, with an enormous brim that seemed perfect. Diana got its twin at her urging, Lee's treat. Another small shop had a chain in the window that caught her eye. The workmanship of it intrigued her. The clerk informed her that the style was called Byzantine and it came graduated like the one in the window, or straight like one he pointed out in the case. He seemed momentarily surprised when she slapped down her card and indicated she'd like the one in the window. His eyes flicked to Diana momentarily and right back to her.

  "That's Platinum and Twenty-Two Karat Gold," he informed her.

  "That's nice, I don't really care about the material," she explained. "It's just pretty."

  He brought a big box with a velvet bust in it to hold the necklace and papers.

  "I'd like to just wear it," Lee explained. "We're traveling and I don't want a big box like this. Would you have something like a little bag to hold it when it's in my duffel?" That produced a suede drawstring bag with the jeweler's name embossed in gold on the side, but he insisted she keep the receipt and certificate, pointing out the workmanship was guaranteed.

  It was fun using her card again. She got her thumb on the taste pad right this time and it swiped with no trouble. She looked around and Diana was leaning back in the corner where two display cases met behind her, an elbow on each case.

  "Did you see anything you'd like?" Lee asked innocently. Diana shook her head no, smiling and followed her out of the store, treasuring the look on the salesman's face.

  The tiny store next door had music and videos, as well as players and spex. She started to go through an arch into the back of the store, but was stopped by a panicky clerk, who informed her that was an adult restricted area. She was so taken aback she didn't know what to say.

  "What are you looking for?" he asked pleasantly. "I know a lot about music and cinema both and would be happy to make recommendations."

  "What do you have about organized crime and the darker side of society?" she inquired.

  Just like at the jewelry store his eyes flicked to Diana and back, but he regarded her seriously and gave it some thought. "Do you like classic films, Missy?" he asked smiling. They were surprisingly cheap as a download and she didn't need something else to lug around, so she just had them loaded to her com.

  "Have you seen these films?" She asked Diana, back out in the lobby.

  "I've seen "The Sting", Diana acknowledged. "I've heard of "The Godfather" but I never watched it. If you run them on the big screen in our rooms I wouldn't mind seeing "The Sting" again. It was pretty good."

  After they watched it Lee shook her head and looked at Diana. "Being crooked is a lot of work." Diana looked oddly at her. "Sometimes being honest is an effort too," she said.

  Lee thought she was through, but after a bit Diana spoke again. "Lee honey, when you asked if I saw anything I wanted in the jewelry store today, did you mean to treat me just like the hat?"

  "Well, yeah. Why shouldn't I? You're good company and I appreciate your work. I like you. It seemed like a nice thing to do. Did I offend you somehow?" she asked, concerned.

  Diana drew a deep breath and shook her head no. She smiled and patted Lees arm. "You mean well, but you need to talk to somebody about what is appropriate for gifts. I think you are a great kid, but this is another of those social things. There wasn't a thing in that store, that wasn't way too much money for me to accept as a casual gift. If I'd let you buy me a piece of jewelry worth months of my wages, Richard would be entirely correct to fire me and all the other guards would regard me as taking advantage of you. You need to know this stuff because if you are overly generous you will have people take advantage of you."

  "But the hat is OK?"

  "The hat is fine Sweetie, thank you."

  * * *

  The thing that struck Lee about the desert was the colors. She'd expected it to be empty and drab, but instead there was so much detail and bright color, it was beautiful. She took a lot of stills and sweeping video with her camera at a couple pull offs. The number of hawks was astonishing too. One section of road they drove had literally one hawk on each utility pole along the highway.

  "Whatever do they eat?" she wondered.

  "Smaller birds, rodents and snakes," Jesus explained. "Most come out at night."

  "It's hard to believe there are enough to feed them."

  "Pull over," Jesus told the driver. "I want to show her something."

  The sun was getting low on the horizon and cast shadows across the sand. "See all the lines and squiggles in the dirt?" Jesus asked her.

  "Yes, what does that? The wind?"

  "No, the wind would make parallel lines if there was less bru
sh, but these go every which way and cross each other."

  "What are they then?"

  "Snake tracks."

  Lee looked at them, considering how many snakes there had to be to draw line after line until the new overwrote the old. Then looked at the size of the desert stretched to the horizon in every direction. That was a lot of snakes.

  "We're going to walk out there?" she asked.

  "Yes, but carefully," Jesus agreed.

  The trail was a short one, well marked and not too steep anywhere. There were little plaques explaining the plants and geology along the way. It was way too brief and they returned to the car in dusk, with the sky a dark cobalt blue. On the way back she was horrified when they ran over a couple of the snakes slithering out on the hot road, in the cooling evening. They made a solid thump-thump under the wheels.

  "Don't worry," Jesus explained. "The hawks and other birds like buzzards won't waste the ones we ran over. They'll clean the road up before the sun is very high in the morning."

  Back at their hotel they had a late supper and went to bed early. The hike, though short, made her appreciate both the meal and her bed.

  Chapter 29

  The Sun wasn't up yet when Gordon sent Diana in to wake Lee. She showered and dressed simply, in Jeans and T-shirt with comfortable tennis shoes. She had spex but took her com anyway, because it had a much better camera for the redwoods. It was too dressy for the other stuff but she wore her new necklace just because she liked it. She considered her big hat and decided she didn't want to deal with it in the car and put on a simple baseball cap she'd owned forever.

  Gordon insisted they would get food on the road. Lee's stomach was growling, but she didn't complain. She didn't figure Gordon would fast very long from her experience.

  Jesus went ahead to the car carrying some things. Diana and she rode the elevator down alone. It had stopped with other people on it, but Diana made her wait until they had one empty.

  Lee felt like pointing out they might still have somebody come aboard below them, but they didn't.

  The lobby was quiet this early but a young man in jeans and denim jacket hurried past them to catch the elevator before the doors closed. Lee heard a soft >thump< and turned to Diana to see what made the odd sound. Diana was sprawled loosely across the floor a few steps back.

  Lee froze in place, shocked at the scene and mouth hanging open. Then she was yanked backwards hard by her neck chain. She stumbled back off balance and crashed into the chest of the fellow in denim. He was an experienced chain snatcher, but her chain had thick links and sturdy construction outside his experience. It hurt where the chain dug into her neck and it raked the front of her neck as he tried to pull it over her head and just jammed under her chin.

  "Help!" She yelled, twisting, trying to face her attacker. "Jesus! Help me!"

  "Stupid Bible Thumper - Jesus isn't going to help you," her attacker laughed in her ear. He was struggling to get the chain and hold onto his sap at the same time.

  Lee turned half way toward him and used what her mother had taught her. She clasped her hands together and used all the strength of both arms to smash her elbow up into the man's nose. Warm blood sprayed down her arm and across her ear and cheek. The fellow let go and bounced off the wall behind him. She was turned fully to meet him on the bounce. He took one step forward and she met him half way. She kicked his knee with the bottom of her foot, leaning into it with all her weight. It made a very satisfactory crunch.

  He fell forward knocking her to the side in passing and landed with his arms thrown up to break his fall. Lee almost went down herself, scrambling a few skipping steps to catch her balance. The robber struggled to get up but the knee failed and took him back down to his hands and knees.

  Lee had a good six step run back to him and used that to build momentum. Her right foot caught him solidly in the face as he saw the motion and turned to look. If his head were a football she'd have lofted it forty yards easily for a field goal. Unfortunately it was attached at the neck, but it was a good effort. Pain radiated up her leg from the abused foot and her motion carried her past the man, so she sprawled on the slick marble floor.

  When Jesus came in all three of them were down. All the blood alarmed him, since he didn't know none of it was hers. She tried to sit up, but Jesus put a hand on her chest and firmly pushed her back flat.

  "Wait until I look you over. Where does it hurt?" He asked with the most serious expression she had seen on him.

  "My foot," she gasped. "I felt it crunch."

  "Your foot?" Jesus asked, looking confused. The right side of her face and arm were all spotted with blood.

  "I kicked the sonofabitch."

  "Now, now. You've been watching too much video. That isn't ladylike," he reproved her. But he moved down all the same and examined her foot. "Yikes, I'll say you did a number on it. It's changing color and swelling already. I'm going to loosen the laces, but don't pull it off. You may need to walk on it."

  "I'm OK, check Diana. He knocked her out."

  "You are the client. If I didn't tend you first Diana would be all over me. There," he said, after untying the laces and pulling them loose all the way down to the toes. "You can sit up if you want. But if you feel dizzy, lay down before you fall down. Now I'll check Diana."

  Jesus touching her seemed to rouse Diana and she rolled on her side and threw up all over the floor. Jesus held her shoulders until she was done and felt her neck and head carefully. "You have one hell of a goose egg rising here," he informed her. "No sign of a depression so maybe no fracture."

  "Lee?" Diana croaked and spit out saliva and vomit after. Then if that wasn't indignantly enough, she got hiccups. The robber woke up and started moaning in pain.

  "She'll be OK. Screwed her foot up trying to punt the perp's head into Nevada."

  "Gotta use your heel," Diana assured him solemnly, blinking and still dazed.

  "I guess her momma didn't teach her that," Jesus allowed. "Still, she took down an armed male of about 80 kilos and he's crying over there with a leg bent to hell the wrong way and it looks like she busted his cheek bones pretty bad."

  "Shit, I'm supposed to be guarding her," Diana said in disgust.

  "That's not the problem," Jesus reminded her. "This is Earth."

  "Oh crap, tell the cops I did him," Diana begged.

  "I'd take the rap myself dear, but the idiot boy decided to rob her where there have to be at least six security cameras, recording it in stereo from every angle."

  "Shit."

  "Indeed."

  * * *

  The EMS arrived before the police. They had the mugger trainee lashed on a board, immobilizing his neck and after a quick look and verbal consult let Lee and Diana sit where they were, while they worked on him.

  When the uniformed police came in the door Diana looked at Lee and told her. "Don't talk to anybody. Just ask for a lawyer. I don't care if it takes a week, or a year. Gordon and we will work at getting you loose, but you have to help us."

  "Huh?" Lee asked confused. "He attacked me! I mean Us. What are you talking about?"

  "No time to explain. They are going to arrest you, probably me too. Just keep your mouth shut," Diana told her firmly. "You can tell them who you are and ask for a lawyer. That's it."

  "That's pretty much what Gordon told me once."

  "Smart guy. Listen to him," Jesus just made a confirming "uh hmm," noise.

  * * *

  The cop who spoke had stripes on his sleeve. That meant he had rank, even if she couldn't remember what to call it.

  "OK, what's going on here?" he asked them sternly. When nobody answered he pointed to Jesus. "What gives guy?"

  "I was outside and didn't see anything," Jesus answered truthfully.

  "Huh," the cops said. He didn't look convinced. "You," he pointed at Diana. "How did," he hesitated and inspected Jesus' condition quickly, "three people get injured?"

  "I have no idea. I woke up with a headache after it was all ove
r. Anything else you'll have to ask Blackwater corporate counsel, because I am not authorized to speak for the company."

  "Shit, you're mercenaries?" the cop asked looking at Jesus again cautiously, since he was whole and upright he might be a threat.

  "We are employees of Blackwater Executive Security." Jesus corrected him. "We do not offer military services," he assured him.

  He left Lee for last after the adults. "What's going on kid? How'd you get hurt?"

  "My lawyer is Stanley McPherson of Moore, Harper, Goldberg and McPherson. I have their contact information memorized if you wish it. I'd like him to speak for me. I am injured as is my employee," she nodded at Diana. "We need medical treatment and I'd appreciate if you'd contact my father."

  Jesus and Diana looked relieved. The cop looked disgusted and not friendly anymore.

  "Nobody your age knows to lawyer up 'cept they been in deep shit before," he sneered.

  Lee didn't dignify it with a response. Where was Gordon? They must have been concerned when they delayed and sent Jesus. Then she remembered they had little radios. Maybe it was better not to have a half ton of angry father here at the moment. The cop had his hand locked on his pistol – the real one not the Taser – ever since he found out Jesus and Diana were Blackwater. Her mom had told her several times never to scare a man with a gun.

  * * *

  Lee had thought the spaceport was grimy and depressing. That was because she hadn't seen the police station. The ride downtown was in a minibus, much worse than the one to the airport. It smelled of vomit and urine and cheap harsh antiseptic. She'd have rather not touched the seat, but with her hands cuffed behind her that wasn't an option.

  Her foot still hurt and the police had dismissed the EMS crew because she and Diana were both conscious and not bleeding. Her objection that Diana had been knocked unconscious and needed examined almost got her Tasered. Jesus was not only arrested and riding with them, but had leg manacles and a chain on too. He laughed at her surprise and said he took it as a compliment. Lee couldn't figure out why he was along at all.