Justice Keepers Saga - Books 7-9

Chapter 5-2

“I will never understand your fascination with the view.”

That outburst came from a portly man in similar attire, a handsome fellow with a graying beard that stood in sharp contrast to his dark brown skin. Reno Taleri held a glass of wine in one hand. “There"s nothing of value down there, my friend.”

“As you say.”

“You disagree?”

Schooling his face to avoid betraying even a hint of emotion, Slade paused briefly to phrase his response. “I have often found,” he began, “ that those things we consider to be of little value are often those things we need most.”

Mr. Taleri lifted his glass to peer into it before taking a sip. “Your philosophy never ceases to entertain,” he said. “But the slums are not a place you want to visit. No man in his right mind ever would.”

“Perhaps not.”

“But?”

Slade gestured with his hand toward the floating island in the distance and then to another one off to his right. “Look at this opulence, Renos,” he said. “Imagine the energy expenditure to keep these miniature cities afloat. And for what purpose? To remind those below that we are superior?”

A smile on the other man"s face deepened faint wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. “You have a keen mind, Adan,” he said. “But it is not so much a reminder as it is a fact of nature; we are here because we are superior.”

areAdan Tirasso: the name Slade had presented upon arriving here nearly six months ago. To the people of this community, he was beneficiary of a small fortune left to him by a dead uncle who had once owned a shipping company. Such things were easily arranged when you had telepaths in key positions.

So far as anyone on this planet knew. “Adan” was still the face of that company, though he had little to do with its day to day operations. He was here to make contacts with the right people in the Systems Parliament.

Turning away from the railing, Slade leaned against it with arms folded and smiled down at his feet. “Perhaps you are right, my friend,” he said. “But imagine the shock and terror if one of these islands were to fall.”

“There are secondary and tertiary anti-gravity systems in place to prevent anything like that from ever happening.”

“As you say.”

Renos Taleri lifted the wine glass to his lips and downed its contents in one long gulp. A moment later, he grunted as he let his arm drop. “I think perhaps that you are too used to life on some backwater world.”

Once again, Slade gestured to his surroundings, to the small metal tables spread out across this concrete patio, each one shielded from the sun by an umbrella. To the looming pine trees beyond that swayed in the wind. A cobblestone path ran between two of them to a park where children played. “Such opulence is not without its risks.”

Before Renos could respond, a young, bare-chested man in a thin white skirt came toward them. This boy was quite the specimen if you were the sort who preferred men: tall and lean with an impressive physique, tanned skin and the face of an Adonis. Slade had always preferred women, but he could recognize beauty when it was right in front of him. The boy carried a glass of wine on a tray, a replacement for the one that Renos had just finished. “Here you are, sir.”

Renos took the glass without a second thought, setting it down on the empty table beside him. “You worry too much, Adan.”

When the waiter turned to go, Renos stepped forward and slapped the boy hard on his a*s. A slight flinch was the lad"s only response. “Don"t be so coy,” Renos chided. “I tip quite well.”

“Yes, sir.”

There were rules against customers treating the staff in this way, but it was unlikely the young man would complain. He needed the job too badly. In all likelihood, he lived down on the surface, and days spent attending to the needs of lascivious old men were far better than some of the other employment options this world had to offer. “Go on,” Renos said. “I no longer find you amusing.”

The boy left without another word.

Renos lifted his glass, closed his eyes and drank half of it. “A poor vintage,” he said to himself. “But honestly, Adan, there is only one topic that concerns me. These Leyrians you speak of…”

“My cargo ships have detected them on the edges of our space,” Slade said. “They are a danger.”

“You exaggerate.”

With eyes closed, Slade turned his face up to the warm afternoon sun. “I wish that were so,” he murmured. “But since you and everyone else in the Systems Parliament are so tepid on the issue, I"ve done a little research.”

He retrieved a Pocket Computer from his jacket, a small square-shaped device that he opened like a book. Tapping a few commands into the keypad and making a few quick gestures on the screen, he brought up the holographic imaging processors. “This speech was broadcast over the SlipGate network,” Slade lied.

A transparent image filled the air before them, camera footage of a man who stood behind a lectern. One glance was all it took to see that he was a politician.

Short for a man, and compact as well, Jeral Dusep wore a high-collared blue coat and kept his black hair slicked back. “There are reports,” he said. “Of Ragnosian ships making incursions into our territory.”

“What?” Renos spluttered.

The holographic Dusep leaned over the lectern and fixed his gaze upon members of his audience. “A move of obvious aggression,” he said. “And how does Council respond? With platitudes about peace.”

There were cheers from the crowd.

Renos Taleri stood with his chin clasped in one hand, tapping his cheek with one finger. His expression was one of cold dread. “They think we"re attacking them?” he said. “Why would they think such a thing.”

“Leyrians have an absolutist moral philosophy,” Slade explained. “Our way of life conflicts with theirs, and so they must impose order upon us for the common good. They would see our relief efforts on Rathala as imperialist expansion.”

“And what is it they think they"re doing when they decide to invade another world? I cannot believe they would risk a war!”

“Oh, but they will.”

Renos faced the railing, gripping the metal bar in both hands and peering at the city below. “You will forgive me if I"m skeptical, Adan,” he said. “Many of the stories you"ve told about the other side of the galaxy strain credulity. Mind readers and soldiers who can deflect incoming fire with a thought.”

“I assure you they"re all true.”

“Nevertheless,” Renos insisted. “The Defense Sub-Committee will have to view this footage. I trust you can make it available to me.”

“Of course, my friend. Whatever you wish.”

Five minutes later, Slade was alone by the railing and watching as his “new friend” shuffled off to an elevator that would take him down to the island"s interior. No doubt he planned to speak to other Members of Parliament about the threat of Leyrian aggression. And of course, none of them knew that the president had already commissioned several ships to enter Leyrian Space. Everything was proceeding according to plan.

Well…Almost everything.

If Renos didn"t believe the stories about Justice Keepers, then Slade would be all too happy to disabuse him of his naivete.

On the lower-most level of the island, an arch-shaped hallway of sleek gray walls led to a metal door that was shut tight. Lightbulbs in the ceiling illuminated flecks of dust that swirled about in the stale air.

Two men in blue uniforms stood on either side of the door, each staring grimly into the distance. Guards: they all seemed to have the same demeanour, always projecting the same brand of forced stoicism.

Slade stepped into the hallway.

In black pants and a matching t-shirt, his face concealed under a ski-mask, he must have looked menacing. “Good afternoon, gentlemen,” he said in a cold voice. “I"m afraid I"m going to have to ask you to step aside.”

The guard on his left looked up to smile in a way that emphasized his double chin. “That"s real cute,” he said. “And since you clearly already know this area is off limits, I don"t have to waste time with a warning.”

He drew his pistol.

Slade broke into a sprint, raising one hand to craft a Bending that refracted the light in front of him. The two men were only streaks of blue in a whirlpool of gray, but he saw the bullets coming at him.

Each bullet curved in a tight turn that sent it hurtling into the wall on his right. The duroplastic cracked with every impact, and Slade heard gasps from the two guards. They had not been trained for this.

He let the Bending drop.

Slade jumped and flew through the air with his knees bent, closing the distance in a matter of seconds. He kicked out and drove his foot into the first guard"s chest, flattening the man against the door.

The sound of ribs breaking was not so different from that of twigs being snapped in half. A breathless guard slumped downward until his butt hit the floor, head lolling as he passed out.

Slade landed.

He spun to face the other guard who was already lifting his weapon in both hands, pointing the barrel of a g*n right in Slade"s face. Instinct kicked in.

Leaning to his left like a reed in the wind, Slade brought his right hand up to nudge the pistol aside. The weapon went off, releasing a bullet that hit the corridor wall. But that moment of confusion gave Slade his opening.

He rose and delivered a sharp jab to the face, one that made blood leak from the other man"s nose. The stunned guard lost his balance, collapsing against the wall as he tried to get his weapon up.

Slade jumped.

He spun in midair, one foot lashing out for a hook-kick that came around to strike the other man"s cheek. Bones shattered as the guard"s head was wrenched to the side, and then it was over.

The guard"s corpse dropped to its knees, then fell flat on its face, dead on the carpet. A moment to grieve for the fallen was in order. These two were hardly what Slade would call brave, but they had done their duty.

The first guard with the broken ribs was sitting with his back to the door, his legs stretched out on the carpet. His wheezing was a dreadful thing to hear. “What…are…you? What…”

Pressing his lips together, Slade closed his eyes and bowed his head to the man. “I am your death,” he said simply. “But if it means anything, I bear you no ill will. You just had the bad luck of being in my way.”

He dropped to a crouch and retrieved one of the fallen pistols. A handsome weapon to be sure. It fired magnetically propelled rounds, though it lacked some of the advanced features he"d seen on Leyrian firearms. Still, it would do. He rose with a soft sigh. There were days when he hated his lot in life.

A bullet to the forehead splattered the first guard"s brains against the heavy metal door. That alone would make quite the impression, but he had to make sure these people realized the Leyrian threat.

Security cameras would have captured his impressive display. Any moment now, a team of officers would be coming down here to kill him. He had to be careful.

Placing a small explosive charge against the door, Slade backed away until he was halfway down the corridor. He retrieved his pocket computer, flipped it open, and typed in a sequence that would activate the bomb.

The door exploded inward in a flash of fire that consumed the first guard"s body, chunks of metal falling to the ground. When the smoke cleared away Slade found not the first of three anti-gravity generators that kept this island afloat but rather a huge, hulking robot of blue metal.

It was very much like one of the battle drones he had seen on Leyria but thinner and sleeker with the barrels of machine guns protruding over the backs of its hands. “All intruders are ordered to halt,” the robot said.

It raised one arm to point the g*n at Slade.

He reacted by shielding himself with one hand, creating a Bending that made the air seem to ripple like heat rising off black pavement. Bullets came at him, looped up toward the ceiling and then flew back at the drone that had loosed them.

The robot staggered as its own gunfire began pummeling its metal body. Reacting to this new threat, it ceased fire, and that gave Slade his opening. His skin was burning from the use of his power, but he gloried in it.

He charged through the corridor.

Leaping with a growl, he thrust one arm out and fired bullet after bullet. Each one hit the drone"s camera-like head, the fourth ripping it clear off its mountings. The robot fell backward, limbs flailing.

Slade flipped through the air.

He uncurled to land atop the fallen robot"s chest, his battered opponent squirming like a worm that had been caught under someone"s boot. With a chuckle, he fired one last round into the robot"s chest, destroying its central processor.

Smoke in the now open doorway cleared to expose a large room where a sphere-shaped object was mounted atop a thick metal pillar. A ring of bright blue LEDs around the sphere"s equator gave off an eerie glow.

The anti-gravity generator.

Reaching into his pocket, Slade retrieved a small charge with a bit of adhesive on the back. He flung it with casual disregard and watched it stick to the side of the sphere. This one would emit a small electromagnetic pulse.

Once again, he stepped back and triggered the charge.

There was a bright flash of light, sparks shooting upward, and the LEDs around the sphere went dark. The entire island trembled before the other two anti-gravity generators were able to compensate.

Turning his face up to the ceiling, Slade closed his eyes and took a deep, soothing breath. “Nothing like a job well done,” he whispered. “Perhaps you will take the Leyrian threat a little more seriously now, Renos.”

He turned to go.

A squad of men in gray uniforms with heavy black vests came around the corner of the nearest intersection, each one with eyes shielded behind the visor of his helmet. “Get down!” the leader shouted. “On the floor! Now!”

With a thought, Slade put up a Time Bubble. His skin was ablaze, but that meant nothing to him; he welcomed the pain. If this body failed him, the Inzari would provide another. Gods smiled upon their faithful servants.

On the other side of the bubble"s shimmering surface, two blurry men stood side by side in the corridor, each one pointing the muzzle of an assault rifle at him. Any moment now, they would let loose. He would have to move first.

Slade raised his arm, aiming his pistol at the first man. He fired once, adjusted his aim and fired again. Two bullets appeared just outside the bubble, each one spiraling as it inched its way toward its target.

He let the bubble drop.

The first pair of men staggered as bullets ripped through their throats with a spray of blood. Both sank to their knees and then collapsed on the floor, blood pooling around their bodies.

Behind them, the next two men stood in stunned confusion, unsure of what had just happened. An instant of confusion. That was all he needed.

Slade ran at them.

He jumped and turned his body in midair, hurtling toward them like a log rolling down a hillside. When he collided with the first two, they stumbled backward into the men behind them, and soon they were all falling to the floor.

Slade got up, lifting his pistol in both hands. He aimed for the first man and fired. And then the next…The next.

This was more fun than I would have expected.

This was more fun than I would have expected.