UNIVERSAL TURBULENT

LVI - INDEPENDENT EARTH

Suddenly, as if to confirm her suspicions, the ceiling screen flashed on. Sophie blinked, squinted into the light, and saw a school of fish circle above her head. She saw the bottom of a boat and bubbles as someone entered the water.

The driver kicked his way downward. It was Leshi Quinn, or rather a digital Leshi Quinn, who had no need of a mask, tanks, or fins. His beautifully cut business suit was impervious to the water.

"Why, Miss Doug Douglas! What a pleasant surprise. Fancy meeting you down here. How's the water? No offense but you were due for a bath. Wow... nice pair of t**s you have there! I would have liked to grab them, except that I'm somewhere else".

Water poured down over the top of Sophie's head as the executive appeared to hover above. She blinked and wiped her face. The water was up to her knees by then, and continuing to rise. "Screw you".

"Ah", Quinn replied. "If only you could! But let's stick to business - your business, or what used to be your business".

The video walls came to sudden life, and a mix of lethal life forms seemed to circle the cell. Sophie recognized some as sharks, and knew the rest were extraterrestrial.

She forced herself to concentrate. Something new was in the offing - a deal of some sort. Sophie wanted to be strong, wanted to say no, but felt the water clutch her waist. Was it colder, or did it just seem that way? Her neck hurt from looking upward. "If you have something to say... then say it".

The business man smiled and nodded. "Good, very good. Here's the deal. I place you in charge of Doug Douglas Enterprises, it becomes a sub, and you take a percentage. It's the best offer you're going to get. What do you say?"

The floor screen came to life, brightly colored coral appeared, and a sea snake skimmed the bottom of her feet. The water was up to her armpit by then.

Sophie was frightened, very frightened, which made the offer tempting. So tempting that she might have accepted, if it hadn't been for the arrogance in Quinn's eyes, and the leer on his face. The word seemed to launch itself. "No".

Quinn morphed into a Surillian barbed tail, showed double rows of serrated teeth, and zigzagged away. The executive's words were muffled by the surrounding water. It slapped Sophie's face, and she was forced to swim.

"So long, b***h", the barbed tail seemed to say. "I'll see you in hell".

Sophie swam in circles, hit her head on the ceiling, and heard herself scream.

* * *

The sit room was relatively quiet compared to the way it had been during Luton's attack. There was a burp of radio traffic as a long range patrol reported from the desert, the buzz of routine conversation, and the whisper of air passing through overhead ducts.

Marco watched with skepticism as Fo took Doug Douglas' disk, dropped it into a slot, and triggered the holo.

There were thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of people being held by the new regime. Why risk his troops for this one? Because her uncle was a billionaire? No, not now, not ever.

From the moment the video stabilized, it was obvious that it had been captured surreptitiously. There was the strange ceiling eye view, for one thing, not to mention the fact that the audio sounded hollow and was peppered with static. Antisurveillance static that had been processed, filtered, and recorded.

Still, the holo was serviceable enough, and Marco watched with reluctant interest at the threesome played footage taken at the gravel pit known as IQA-14.

Sophie was nothing like the spoiled society girl that he had expected. She was smart, brave, and undeniably attractive. She turned into the shot, looked directly into the lens, and pointed to Marco's left. "How about you, Citizen? You are wearing blue. What do the blues expect of you?"

There were more words, followed by chaos, but it was Sophie Doug Douglas' eyes that captured and held the officer's attention. Eyes that sent a chill down his spine.

Where the holo ended, another began. There were gaps that the surveillance team had been unable to cover, but the basics were clear. Marco watched from the vantage point of a steadily circling fly cam as they placed a hood over Sophie's head, forced the executive into the back of an unmarked car, and took her away.

Doug Douglas handled the narration. "My company had been around for a long time and, like any successful organism, owes its longevity to a number of survival strategies. A number of protective processes kicked in the moment that Zuon Inc. seized control of the company.

"In spite of the fact that most of the revenues seemed to disappear, they were actually siphoned away, and delivered to secret subsidiaries, front companies, and numbered accounts.

"Some of these funds go straight to suppliers, some are channeled to employees, and the rest surport Radio Free Earth, the resistance, and military operations such as your own.

"Quinn person knows that the money has been diverted and wants it for himself. That is why he took my niece".

The words were delivered calmly, almost matter of factly, but Marco sensed the other man's anguish. More than that, he discovered that in spite of the fact that he had never met the woman in question, he shared the other man's concern. The officer watched as a van, with a barely seen figure sitting in back, was admitted to a heavily guarded building.

"So, where are they holding her? It's a long walk to Los Angeles".

Doug Douglas wasn't fooled. The words had an edge, but his eyes told a different story. He took the plunge.

"Fortunately, for reasons I'm not sure of, Zuon Inc. moved my niece to Africa. She's being held just north of Johannesburg. A hop, skip, and a jump from where we stand".