The Ripple in Space-Time: Free City Book 1 (The Free City Series) (4 page)

8. Beyond the city limits
It was miserably early on a
dreadful morning.

Ryo frowned disapprovingly as he
stared out of the city transport while it plodded through the overcast
metropolis.

He certainly didn
’
t want a sidekick, especially someone so young and inexperienced in the
complexities of investigative work, but he was beginning to feel a growing
affinity for Lev Fesai that he didn
’
t completely understand.

The man had just lost his mother,
Ryo reflected, but there seemed to be more to the developing camaraderie than
mere pity. They
’
d worked surprisingly well together the other night at
Club
Glut
.

Lev seemed to be Ryo
’
s exact opposite. He apparently had no difficulty understanding the
obscure intricacies of advanced Physics with its many axioms and absolutes. But
he was also surprisingly dedicated to the unrestrained and nonconformist
lifestyle of the Enlightenment Crusade.

Ryo had always strived to be
moderate in his views and deeds, a quality that had served him well for nearly
35 years as an Investigator. His restrained centrism no doubt trailed back to
his long dead Taoist ancestors.

Perhaps he just enjoyed the young
man
’
s company in a paternal way. Ryo cringed at the sudden
insight; it made him feel especially old.

He sighed ruefully; apparently his
subconscious was hinting that he should end his decades long dithering and get
on with cultivating a descendant.

The transport jittered to a stop
at the ever-busy Breton Street. Ryo followed the dreary hourly workers out of
the hulking vehicle and on to the blustery thoroughfare.

He apathetically studied the
unfamiliar district. Hopefully he
’
d be able to locate his new
cohort
’
s residence in the confusing Old World layout that pervaded
this side of the city.

After a protracted search that
involved walking up and down the block several times, Ryo selected the ornate
townhouse that he believed was most likely to be Lev’s residence. He ascended
the broad stairway and studied the wide front porch.

A burly gray tabby cat watched him
suspiciously through the glass of the prodigious front window. It might well
have been the animal that Jana Fesai had worried about in her final message to
her son, Ryo noted.

He knocked tentatively on the huge
white door. The cat sprang away in alarm at the commotion.

The door opened.

“
Oh, Ryo. Come on in,
”
Lev mumbled lethargically.

The big cat warily watched the
visitor from the far end of the entryway.

“
I just got up,
”
the younger man squinted out at
the gloomy weather,
“
Do you want anything to eat or drink?
”

“
Well, what do you have?
”

“
Ah, I think we have some leftover bagels and somebody
’
s just made coffee.
”

“
Coffee?
”
Ryo could not believe his luck,
“
Where on earth did you get coffee?
”

“
It
’
s not illegal is it?
”
Lev shuddered.

Ryo laughed, “No, it’s just so
rare now. I haven’t had any since the Warlord Syndicate jacked up the duties on
coffee beans and the Free City authorities retaliated by piling on exorbitant
tariffs. I can
’
t afford 250 Units for a cup of the precious stuff.
”

“
Well, we
’
ve have plenty,
”
Lev led him into the well-appointed kitchen,
“
just don
’
t ask how we got it.
”

A rotund dark-haired woman wrapped
loosely in a colorful blanket and nothing else smiled at Ryo from the cluttered
dining table.

“
This is Cyndi, she
’
s one of my roommates. Cyn, this
is Ryo Trop; he and I are going over to Dublin today.
”

Cyndi extended her hand in
greeting, causing the blanket to cascade off of her bare right shoulder.
“
Are you the cop?
”

Ryo shook her hand and studied the
now exposed woman,
“
Not a cop; Investigator Second Class for the Free City
Inquisitor's Office.
”

“
OH.
”

Lev filled three white porcelain
mugs with wafting black liquid, “Sugar?”

Ryo chuckled, “Sure, as long as
it’s not xylitol.”

Both Lev and Cyndi stared at him
in confusion.

“
Yeah, sugar would be fine.
”

• • •

The two men bounced along in the
transport towards the City Limits Check Point.

“
Cyndi seems nice. Are you two an item?
”

“
Well;
”
Lev vacillated,
“
we do sleep together occasionally. But the Enlightenment Crusade is all
about experimentation so I also pretty much bed down with everyone else in the
house too.
”

“
How very modern of you.
”

The transport groaned to a stop at
the heavily barricaded Check Point. Dozens of weapons-toting Free City
Militiaman watched vigilantly over the border crossing for unauthorized
intruders from beyond.

Ryo and Lev joined the small group
seeking to leave the civilized enclave.

A surly EurAfrican border guard
summoned them through the gate, “Your names?
”

“
Ryo Trop and Lev Fesai.
”

“
What is the nature of your activities in the Supreme
Imperial Fiefdom of EurAfrica?
”
he growled at the two men.

Ryo rolled his eyes at the
pretentious sentry,
“
Free City Inquisitor's Case Number 2445-11057.
”

“
Trop and Fesai,
”
the border guard sneered at his
interface screen,
“
you are free to enter EurAfrica.
”

They strolled past the Check
Point.

Lev looked back at the dour
sentinel,
“
I thought that you had to bribe the Fiefdom officials to
get though the gate.
”

“
The job has its privileges,
”
Ryo smiled.

They filed past a long snaking
line of destitute refugees undoubtedly all far too optimistic about their
chances of entering Free City. Lev briefly studied two mucky teenage girls in
the middle of the throng before offering them the remnants of a stale bagel
that he had retrieved from his coat pocket.

“
We need to get some ground transportation,
”
Ryo craned his neck.
“
Hopefully we can find something,
there aren
’
t any trains or street transports on this side of the
border.
”

He scowled at the dreadful
conditions of the shantytown.
“
Years ago, I was able to hire a
vehicle for a day or two but apparently most people never returned the jalopies
when the lease was up. We may end up having to buy something for the trip.
”

They dodged past dozens of street
vendors selling contraband and worthless doodads.

“
Ah, here we go,
”
Ryo grinned.

A garishly outfitted mud lot
loudly proclaimed
Mwizi
’
s Motor Vehicles
.

Ryo strolled past the entryway
befouled with dozens of glittery mismatched flags. Lev cautiously followed.

The men tentatively examined
several beat-up clunkers. Ryo beckoned to the lot attendant slumped
apathetically in front of a tiny interface display. The man eventually
approached the two potential customers.

“
What do you guys want today?
”

Ryo smiled superficially,
“
Do you rent vehicles for the day?
”

“
You
’
re kidding, right?
”
The salesman shook his head sarcastically,
“
Outright sales only.
”

“
Alright then,
”
Ryo
’
s eyes narrowed in annoyance,
“
we
’
d like to buy a
three or four seat cruiser.
”

The attendant surveyed the dozen
or so vehicles strewn around the lot.
“
What level of Antipersonnel
Protection are we talking about here?
”

Ryo rubbed his forehead in dismay;
long ago personal transportation in the domain of the Warlords had reverted
from the cozy mass friendliness of public transit back to the antisocial safety
of traveling alone wrapped in a hulking cocoon of energy-wasting steel.

“
It
’
s been awhile since I
’
ve done this, remind me of the Protection options,
”
Ryo was certain that final price that he would end up paying was
quickly climbing in the salesman
’
s mind.

A sardonic grin stretched across
the man
’
s face,
“
Well, you
’
ve got your Level One Protection which will stop rocks and small weapon
’
s fire. But Level One would only be effective in your nicer
neighborhoods of Free City if they still allowed personal transports in that
prissy little fairyland.”

Ryo impatiently cut the man off.
“We’re not going to keep the heap for more than a day. What do you recommend
for a quick trip to Dublin?”

“Dublin’s a rough place, I’d go
with Level Eight Protection. That will stop all common weapon’s fire and most
types of explosives. If you were traveling at night, I’d insist on Level Ten.”

“Naturally.”

Forty-five minutes later, Ryo
navigated a hulking rustbucket off the lot and down the pothole-pocked road
toward Dublin.

• • •

Twenty minutes into the trip Lev
was jolted out of an uneasy catnap by an outburst of weapon
’
s fire. The unseen assailants caused no damage to the heavily fortified
conveyance; Ryo didn
’
t even bother to take his eyes off of the road during the
halfhearted ambush.

The young man stared in lingering
panic out the window of the creaky vehicle.

“
Tell me about your mother,
”
Ryo asked idly.

Lev contemplated the old
Investigator for several seconds as he drew his attention back to the tedious
road trip.
“
My mother,
”
his shoulders slumped,
“
was my best friend for most of my life.
”

“
Did you have a dad?
”

“
No;
”
he shook his head,
“
mom was too busy to go through all of that; I was the result of random
insemination at the fertility clinic.
”

Lev tilted his head in curiosity,
“
What about you?
”

“
Cloned.
”

“
I would have never guessed.
”

Ryo chuckled,
“
Not all clones are janitors and day laborers. Some of us managed to
struggle our way up to Investigator Second Class.
”

“
Did you...,
”
Lev paused to consider the
propriety of his question,
“
did you have anyone to raise
you?
”

“
I was supposed to,
”
Ryo sighed.
“
I
’
m a clone of my father who was a rural bribe collector for
the Fiefdom of EurAfrica.
”
The old Investigator winced,
“
When I was about four years old, he was killed by the side of the road
by some highwayman.
”