by Pruden,D. M.
“I’ve had lots of experience with these guys.”
For the rest of the night, during breaks between our desperate coupling, I prompted him for more details. I couldn’t pry anything more from him on the topic.
I decided it best to leave it alone. I was alive and finally going to Mars. Life looked pretty good and I wanted, for once, to savour the moment without worrying about why.
Chapter 47
My tattered old travel poster no longer hung in my bathroom, but on the wall of my reception room. I don’t really comprehend why I kept it. Everything it advertised about Olympia had been exaggerated to the point of caricature. But it still made me smile when I came to work every morning.
Some of its claims were true. Olympia was a real, floating city over Mars though hardly a city of the clouds. In reality, it was an orbiting habitat and the largest settlement. Instead of the poster’s promise of greening countryside split by blue rivers filling azure lakes, the rusty landscape below still appeared the same as it had for the past few billion years.
Except for the clouds. Sometimes blankets and pillows of clouds of every shape and texture from the terraforming effort obscured the red surface beneath Olympia. When that happened, I would spend as many hours as possible staring at them. At those times, I believed the promises of the poster were the closest to being fulfilled.
Felix Altius honoured my contract and paid me in full, every credit promised by Charlie. Though my deal with Dunn obviously was never mentioned, the corporation did reward me with a handsome finders’ fee for the recovery of the virus. In a pique of greed, I tried to push for a royalty agreement for my ‘invention’ of the anti-virus, but after Rego’s smarmy lawyer reminded me of their prior competing patent on the process, I dropped the whole subject. I earned enough to buy my citizenship, apartment and establish my medical practice. Cinderella lived in the palace, and couldn’t be happier.
Almost a year to the day after Victorem deposited us here, I returned home to find that someone had broken into my apartment and set a candlelit table for two. Mouth watering aromas drifted from the kitchen, making my stomach grumble. I threw my things on the floor and rushed to embrace Dylan Hodgson for the first time in months.
“You’re back early. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
“I wanted to surprise you.” He handed me my favourite drink and led me by the hand into the sitting room.
“Dinner will be ready in half an hour. It would have been finished when you got here, but I needed to do some shopping. Honestly, Mel...”
“I’m not the domestic type, like some people.” I took his hand and laid my head on his chest. I’d never felt more content than in that moment.
“I missed you. I worry about you when you’re off doing spy stuff.”
He kissed me on the top of my head.
“You might be glad of my job when you learn what I discovered.”
He took both of my hands in his and gazed straight into my eyes. Perspiration shone on his forehead and he struggled to push the words out. My heart pounded in my throat.
Oh God, no, please don’t ruin everything. Please don’t propose.
“Mel, I found someone who knows what happened to Carlos.”
I stared at him stupidly. “What?”
“The guy is here on Mars. In fact, he’s been here for some time, hiding in one of the surface work settlements.”
“Why is he hiding?”
“There are lots of people interested in seeing him dead.”
“Hmph. He sound’s like one of my old pals.”
He didn’t crack a smile at my joke.
“Okay, spill it all, Hodgson. Who the hell is he?”
He didn’t answer right away but seemed to weigh a decision. Finally, he swallowed hard and blurted it out.
“Charlie Wong.”
“Fuck me. No.”
He nodded and moved back like he expected me to slap him.
“And you think that son-of-a-bitch knew about Carlos all these years?”
“My source tells me he has reliable intel. I don’t know how long he’s known.”
“This is verified? It isn’t another bullshit story of his?”
“It checked out, at least, the parts I could verify. That’s where I’ve been for the last few weeks.”
There was a sadness in Hodgson’s eyes. Like the look of a little boy who found out his dog is going to die.
“Why are you telling me this, Dylan? You could pretend you didn’t know anything. I was quite content to go on without knowing what happened to Carlos.”
“For the moment you are. But, eventually, knowing that he hadn’t died would eat at you and...” He looked at the floor.
“You didn’t want Carlos to come between us?”
He gave me a sad smile. “If you love someone, let them go.”
I hugged him tight. “You’ve been reading too many inspirational posters in the spy’s lounge.”
We both laughed at that, happy to break the tension.
“It’s your call, Mel. If you want to meet with him, I can arrange it. If you don’t, we can leave him to his fate.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s being hunted by Felix Altius. He was part of Dunn’s inner circle and the corporation is doing some house cleaning. He’s been on the planet, posing as a medical technician and living pretty meanly. Conditions are not very nice down there.”
I sighed. Did every world need to be built on the backs of others? Guilt tugged at my conscience until I recalled many of them were there by choice and didn’t want to be found or rescued. I remembered surviving like that.
“He'll want something for the information,” I said.
“He needs funds for a new ID, a new DNA profile, travel documents; the works.”
“And he thinks I’ll pay handsomely for something he may or may not possess?”
“I could find him and shake him down for the info and then tell Altius where he is.”
“No, I’ll meet with him.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I am. Set it up. I want to see the look on his face when he’s forced to admit everything to me.”
I wanted to tell Dylan Hodgson he had nothing to fear from my learning what happened to Carlos. I let go of him a long time ago. Yes, the shock of hearing that he faked his death and vanished was tough to get over, but Carlos, for whatever the reason, chose to leave me. No way I would pursue this to rekindle an old flame between us. I had put that fire out with my tears long ago.
Someone went to a lot of trouble to help Carlos go away. They faked a DNA profile and substituted another body for his. The idea that a crook like Charlie would know about him and now try to extort me with it bugged me.
I would meet with Charlie and make him squirm. I would give him a deal. I would arrange for everything; the ID, the DNA, the travel docs. He would receive all he asked for, but with a caveat. If his information proved to be bullshit, I would inform Felix Altius who would be happy to hunt him down like a scared rabbit. My biggest question remained; what would I do with the information about Carlos?
Chapter 48
Three grave-faced men sat, one on each side of the triangular table. Records of this meeting would not be kept. The men themselves did not officially exist. Their true names were not supposed to be known though Primus was aware of the identities of his companions. He suspected they likewise knew as much about Talus Varr. Their mutual distrust ensured complete honesty, as previous attempts at deception proved fatal for more than one of their predecessors.
The room they occupied was unusually dark for late afternoon. The magnificent view of the red canyons of Mars below was blocked out by the drawn shades. The two others stared at Primus as he studied his copy of the document.
Finished, he looked up from the page. His appearance belying his fifty-eight Terran years, he sat ramrod straight and his muscular build filled out his crisply pressed bronze coloured tunic of the Martian military
council.
“It would seem the mission you two were so reluctant to sanction turned out to be a success.”
“Except for the complications around the woman, I would agree with you.” Secundus, at forty-eight, was the youngest. Shorter than the others by a head, he possessed the stocky build of a career-long soldier, though he never served a day in the military. He was, by profession, a scientist and head of Mars’ science council.
“They are inconveniences at the most. She is a valuable asset in her own right, according to her file.” Primus would need to argue convincingly.
“She is unconventional and volatile, to say the least. There are key questions about her that make me uneasy,” said the oldest man, Tertius. He alone of the three showed all of his eighty-four years. A career in public service weighed heavily on his thin, fragile frame.
“Yes, her history of independent and, I might say, antisocial behaviour could be a complication, but I do not believe it diminishes her value as an asset,” replied Primus.
Secundus said, “Naturally if you insist on this course of action, she will require management.”
“Yes, she will, especially if we are going to realize her full potential. We have an agent in place who has assumed that role.”
“She will rebel against such controls. She must not suspect or the entire operation will be in jeopardy.” As always, Tertius delivered a worried appearance with his warning.
“Yes, I agree with Tertius. We cannot risk initiating this if there is any significant chance of failure. It would be better to terminate the woman than begin this and fail,” said Secundus.
“It will not fail. I have the utmost faith in our agent. As you gentlemen know, we will not accomplish our goals overnight. It will take some time to prepare the woman for her role, and the sooner we begin, the sooner we will be ready for what we know is coming. She is the most likely candidate to emerge in five years. If we reject her now because of a few, minor personality flaws, we must consider the possibility we will never find the right person in time.”
The others sat in silence as they contemplated Primus’ arguments. He looked from one of his colleagues to the next while he gave them the time they required. The decision must be unanimous.
“Very well. I vote in favour of proceeding with the plan as presented,” said Secundus.
Two men now observed Tertius and waited patiently for him to decide. They would wait for hours if necessary.
“I too am favourable, with one condition.”
A frown creased the brow of Primus, but it was the only sign of annoyance he would permit himself within the Triumvirate. “What is your caveat?”
“If a more suitable candidate can be found before the first critical juncture, then the woman will be terminated and replaced.”
Secundus responded without hesitation. “That is acceptable.”
Now two sets of eyes regarded Primus as he weighed the proposed modification to their plan. He had hoped to avoid such a complication. Tertius’ caveat placed significant risk to his personal stakes. His partners in the Triumvirate were ignorant of his machinations; he paid good money to ensure so. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling they had found out more about the woman than he wished them to know. He would revisit his network and purge some of his agents as a future precaution. He would also put new measures in place to guarantee any search for an alternate candidate ended in failure.
“Of course. The condition is acceptable,” he responded. “I will instruct our agent to begin the operation.” He had, in fact, already done so.
Secundus rose from the table and went to the credenza along the wall. He returned with three glasses filled with amber liquor.
“A toast to our future success.”
“Yes, a toast to the conquest,” said Tertius, visibly relaxed with the crucial vote concluded.
The worried expression returned to Tertius. “I still have concerns over the fate of our friend. We must surely now allow him back into our good graces?”
Primus suppressed a sigh. He’d wondered when the subject of Regis Mundi would again be raised. He was surprised it took Tertius this long to resurrect the running debate about his old friend.
“Don’t you think Mundi has outlived his usefulness, Tertius?” asked Primus.
“Regis Mundi is the reason we have reached this stage. Without his aid, the Terrans would now have the Ares virus and we would be facing their invading armies.” Tertius took any criticism of his friend to heart.
“Do not forget it was because of him that was ever a concern. He was merely fortunate matters resolved themselves in his apparent favour,” said Primus, more firmly than he intended.
“Gentlemen, please! Your bickering is not helping me enjoy this fine whisky,” said Secundus. “Primus, I understand your dislike for the man. He’s done little to endear himself to us in the last number of years, I’ll agree. But you must admit he redeemed himself and gave us, not only the virus but now the means to use it to its fullest potential.”
Primus regarded both of his companions as they stood firm in their support of the one man he, as Talus Varr, hated more than any other. Tertius would ever be loyal to his oldest friend. Secundus would change his opinion once Mundi again failed. This was not a battle he would win here. He needed to allow Mundi enough rope to finally hang himself.
“I’m sure you are correct. My apologies for my critical comments. Of course, Regis Mundi must be given every opportunity to demonstrate his worthiness of reinstatement.” He lifted his glass to support his insincere words.
Varr raised the blinds and admired the panoramic vista of Mars beneath them. The setting sun painted long ochre shadows across the canyon walls far below, where modern rivers would one day again flow. His comrades were right about one thing. Mundi had given them a key element in realizing the future of the Martian people. He was eager to begin the next phase of the operation to transform the dream into reality.
Do you want to read more?
If you liked this book, I am humbly gratified. If you liked this book enough to want to read more of my work, I am thrilled. Fortunately, there is a way for this to happen. I want to offer you a free ebook containing a short story about one of Mel’s early life exploits on Terra along with a collection of my short stories, not available anywhere else.
Claim your free ebook by going to
http://prudenauthor.com
Did you like this book?
Why not share the good news? Go to http://amzn.to/2cNS6FN and add your review on Amazon and you are done. The link will take you to the book page. At the top, under the title, you can click and add your review.
If you want to leave a copy of your review on Goodreads, here is the link. http://bit.ly/2cFi0hz
I appreciate your support. Reviews are extremely important for marketing in the competitive ebook marketplace. Reviews give social proof to potential customers and make them more inclined to take a chance on a new author such as myself.
Acknowledgements
Just as it takes a village to raise a child, writing a book requires a community of supporters. This work would not have been possible without the support, encouragement and critical eye of my wife, Colleen. I also want to give a special thanks to Pat and Paul Brown and Alex Avrio who all suffered through the beta reading of my work and offered helpful insights in how to make it better. To all my supportive family and friends on Facebook, your encouragement helped me along when I thought this project would never end. Finally, to all my readers, my most humble thanks. I hope this book was worth the time you made to read it.
About the Author
D.M.(Doug) Pruden is a professional geophysicist who worked for 35 years in the petroleum industry. For most of his life he has been plagued with stories banging around inside his head that demanded to be let out into the world. He currently spends his time as an empty nester in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his long suffering wife of 34 years, Colleen. When he isn’t writing science fiction stories, he likes to
spend his time playing with his granddaughters and working on improving his golf handicap. He will also do geophysical work when requested.
Go to www.prudenauthor.com and sign up to the email list. You will receive a free, never before published ebook about Mel Destin’s early life on Terra as well as a collection of short stories. List members will receive early publication notice of upcoming books, blog posts and other goodies from time to time.
