that universal ‘believe me, you don’t want to go there’ look.
“Maybe later, then. But at some point we’ll need to put all our cards on the table.”
“Hey, look,” said Alicia as she pointed at some hotel art hanging on the wall. “I found this screen with a picture on it. How do I get it to project into the room?”
This is going to be a long trip, Jon thought to himself.
Agent Tomas materialized on Alicia’s home world and was met by the king’s assistant, Jamal. Agent Tomas had sent word ahead and was expected. He had already downloaded and reviewed all the security videos for the period in question. None of them showed Jon’s arrival or departure.
“What do you think?” he had asked the ICC computer before leaving.
“Nice bit of work, nothing in the video points directly to tampering. If they’ve been doctored, it was done by a professional.”
“Strange that there aren’t any records of Jon’s arrival,” he said to Jamal.
“We’re still looking into that. We suspect he came by ship since there are dozens arriving every day, both tourist and freight.” Tomas thought that was a dead end. Jon had a history here and probably got help from the inside. Tomas kept his opinion to himself, he strongly doubted that they were actually checking on anything. He requested either to speak with the sovereign or be taken to what was left of the teleport room so he could begin his investigation. He was in luck, both were together.
“I should caution you,” said Jamal as they walked along the corridor. “The king is in a foul mood, you see he’s had a dream that foretells ominous tidings.”
“You’re kidding, right?” said Tomas.
“Not at all. The king’s dreams are considered to be warnings of things to come.”
“Exactly what did the king dream?”
“He dreamt that he was sleeping,” began Jamal.
“He dreamed he was asleep? Come on, even I have better dreams than that and I’m considered dull and boring.”
“He dreamt that he was sleeping,” continued Jamal, “in a large expanse with wild animals roaming the plains.”
“Better, still not anything to be that proud of.”
“Four great beasts broke from the herd and circled his bed four times. Then the greatest of the four beasts trampled down the other three and climbed into the bed, pulling on the sheets and exposing the king’s toes.”
“That’s it?”
“Yup.”
“The one that got in the bed, was it all weird? Did it have breasts or a penis?”
“I imagine it was anatomically correct for its species and gender.”
“I’m mean human parts. You know, did it have the top part of a woman or the bottom part of a guy or some combination thereof.”
“No. It was just a regular animal.”
“Come on! That’s nothing to get all excited about.”
“You don’t understand. You see, the king has weird sex dreams all the time. In fact, he’s under contract with a major movie company that uses his dreams as the basis for most of their hyper-porn features. He’s a very creative man, a true artist. That’s why his non-sex dreams are such a big deal.”
“And people are actually trying to interpret this dream?”
“Oh yes, the king has a staff of psychologists and mystics analyzing it at this very moment.”
“Psychologists and mystics?
“The king likes to cover all his bases.”
Tomas and Jamal arrived at the teleport station as the king was giving final instructions to the palace team investigating his daughter’s disappearance.
“I want to know exactly where they went,” he was saying. “And let me be clear, if you do not find the location of my daughter your next job will put you in direct contact with raw sewerage. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Sire.”
“Just to be extra clear, by ‘next job’ I mean hung upside down and dipped into. Believe me, you don’t want that on your résumé.” The king noticed Agent Tomas. He turned and said, “Who the hell are you and why do I
“Maybe later, then. But at some point we’ll need to put all our cards on the table.”
“Hey, look,” said Alicia as she pointed at some hotel art hanging on the wall. “I found this screen with a picture on it. How do I get it to project into the room?”
This is going to be a long trip, Jon thought to himself.
Agent Tomas materialized on Alicia’s home world and was met by the king’s assistant, Jamal. Agent Tomas had sent word ahead and was expected. He had already downloaded and reviewed all the security videos for the period in question. None of them showed Jon’s arrival or departure.
“What do you think?” he had asked the ICC computer before leaving.
“Nice bit of work, nothing in the video points directly to tampering. If they’ve been doctored, it was done by a professional.”
“Strange that there aren’t any records of Jon’s arrival,” he said to Jamal.
“We’re still looking into that. We suspect he came by ship since there are dozens arriving every day, both tourist and freight.” Tomas thought that was a dead end. Jon had a history here and probably got help from the inside. Tomas kept his opinion to himself, he strongly doubted that they were actually checking on anything. He requested either to speak with the sovereign or be taken to what was left of the teleport room so he could begin his investigation. He was in luck, both were together.
“I should caution you,” said Jamal as they walked along the corridor. “The king is in a foul mood, you see he’s had a dream that foretells ominous tidings.”
“You’re kidding, right?” said Tomas.
“Not at all. The king’s dreams are considered to be warnings of things to come.”
“Exactly what did the king dream?”
“He dreamt that he was sleeping,” began Jamal.
“He dreamed he was asleep? Come on, even I have better dreams than that and I’m considered dull and boring.”
“He dreamt that he was sleeping,” continued Jamal, “in a large expanse with wild animals roaming the plains.”
“Better, still not anything to be that proud of.”
“Four great beasts broke from the herd and circled his bed four times. Then the greatest of the four beasts trampled down the other three and climbed into the bed, pulling on the sheets and exposing the king’s toes.”
“That’s it?”
“Yup.”
“The one that got in the bed, was it all weird? Did it have breasts or a penis?”
“I imagine it was anatomically correct for its species and gender.”
“I’m mean human parts. You know, did it have the top part of a woman or the bottom part of a guy or some combination thereof.”
“No. It was just a regular animal.”
“Come on! That’s nothing to get all excited about.”
“You don’t understand. You see, the king has weird sex dreams all the time. In fact, he’s under contract with a major movie company that uses his dreams as the basis for most of their hyper-porn features. He’s a very creative man, a true artist. That’s why his non-sex dreams are such a big deal.”
“And people are actually trying to interpret this dream?”
“Oh yes, the king has a staff of psychologists and mystics analyzing it at this very moment.”
“Psychologists and mystics?
“The king likes to cover all his bases.”
Tomas and Jamal arrived at the teleport station as the king was giving final instructions to the palace team investigating his daughter’s disappearance.
“I want to know exactly where they went,” he was saying. “And let me be clear, if you do not find the location of my daughter your next job will put you in direct contact with raw sewerage. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Sire.”
“Just to be extra clear, by ‘next job’ I mean hung upside down and dipped into. Believe me, you don’t want that on your résumé.” The king noticed Agent Tomas. He turned and said, “Who the hell are you and why do I
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