Regan's Reach 4: Avarice (40 page)

"Yes Tihan, and if you recognize it as
such, we have succeeded." Mysteriously Ham actually sounded pleased.

"You know we have plenty of tube cars
Ham, I can understand someone building one as a hobby but really?"

Marin laughed. "Tihan, this tube car
has a special purpose and you my friend have a special role; Ham, isn't it time
we took Tihan into our confidence?"

"Not yet Marin, Tihan's role is so
important if he accidentally let slip something it would spoil everything and
I'd have to dispatch him. I think you're aiming to live a little longer, aren't
you Tihan."

"Oh yes, of course," he laughed
nervously, "so, what is my role?"

Ham looked at him disdainfully.
"Tihan, I'll tell you tomorrow, I really don't want to dispatch you."

Marin laughed uproariously and resumed
polishing the surface of the car proudly. Everything was ready now; all they
needed to do was the final test of the displacer.
Regan will be pleased,
he thought, and smiled broadly.

* * *

Reubus Orbital

The council of Reubus was in session. Five
android Mind clones gathered around the small circular table, their demeanor
for once serious and concerned. A lot, perhaps everything, was at stake and
they would leave nothing to chance. After several days gathering intelligence
from throughout the system they were clear on only two things. First, they had
confirmed a Regan Mind was indeed active with Sindali of Dahlia Orbital. As a
pair they wielded considerable influence among the system populace, holding the
respect of both humanoids and Minds alike. Second, it seemed their lobbying was
indeed for new system wide business restrictions, moves that would be
catastrophic for Reubus's ambitions and had wider implications for galactic
expansion.

"What do we think of her prospects for
success?"

"She might not have the numbers; we
have made enemies yes, but we have plenty of friends and many more who owe us
something; we have room to move."

"We must be careful not to convince
ourselves everything is all right when it is not; better to be safe than
sorry."

"So what are the voting numbers; do we
have them in our favor or not?"

"At the moment the numbers are
slightly in favor of change; not good for us, but we have only just begun to
lobby and pressure."

"We don't have much time, less than a
period in fact, and there is a lot of ground to make up."

"And what if our other fears prove
correct, that she is coming here in person, we know that could push the balance
in her favor. She already has the other Minds behind her, being here most
certainly will convince the populace."

"So if she doesn't arrive, we have a
chance of lobbying and pressuring for a win, or at least postponement. But if
she is really here we fear we are lost?"

"That's about it, so what are we to
do?"

"We need to talk to her before anyone
else."

"We could talk to her now; her digital
persona is already in the system."

"No; we need to talk to her, in
person."

A thought, the seed of an idea flashed
through the group and they all nodded in unison.

"We need to get to her first with an
invitation, soon after they exit the portal; I'm sure she will agree."

"Then we need a probe waiting at the portal
to ensure ours is the first message she receives."

"It shall be done."

"And we need to make suitable preparations
at the venue."

"Yes, of course, and there is no time
for delay, are we all agreed?"

It was a pointless exercise they being of
one Mind anyway; nevertheless all dutifully raised their hands and felt the better
for it.

The course was set.

* * *

Fifino Orbital

Regan materialized without fanfare with the
sleeping couple unaware of her arrival. For a moment she enjoyed the sight of their
comfortable embrace before it sparked an inexplicable personal ache which prompted
her to move. Leaning forward she whispered over the bed.

"Aaron, Moriah, It's me, Regan."

Moriah was first to respond, one eye flicking
eerily open as if she hadn't been asleep at all. She squeezed Aaron's arm and
he too jerked awake.

"Aaron, it's time to engage our plan.
Have you said anything to Leith?"

He sat up quickly, instantly awake, and
made himself comfortable against the back wall. "Only what we agreed Regan,
I implied that seeing Ruben was important, even a bottom line, and Leith agreed
as long as I sign."

Moriah shook her head doubtfully. "But
I think he's going to renege Regan, I could tell, I think he will renege and
hold Ruben to make Aaron work for him, I'm so sorry."

"He is a bad man Moriah, you can be
sure of that, but don't worry, we'll have you out of here by then."

"So what is the timing Regan?"
Aaron asked.

"Tomorrow night everything will be
ready. Speak to Leith today, and tell him you will sign, but you definitely want
Ruben with you from then on in these quarters."

"Okay, I'll do it; please god may this
work out for all of us."

She smiled encouragingly. "Don't
worry, Ham is the conductor of this orchestra, everything will work - almost
certainly."

Aaron laughed at the reference, knowing Ham
only too well. He also knew that all he needed to do was succeed in his part
and Ham would get them out.

"Sleep well," Regan slowly
dissolved before them, "until tomorrow . . ."

* * *

Leith stood over Aaron as Moriah hustled
Ruben from the room, the boy so tightly in her grasp nothing could now have prised
him from her. The reunion had seen tears and joy, with the slap of Leith’s face
by Moriah the only blot on proceedings and Aaron had been quick to step in, redirecting
Leith to the business at hand. As Leith rubbed furiously at his cheek Aaron took
his time studying the documents on screen, legal points far too detailed to
take in at a glance and anyway beyond his area of expertise. Still, he
pretended expertise and scrolled through them taking his time. The truth was he
had no idea what he would be signing.

"Is this legal, signing without a
lawyer to advise me?" Aaron asked.

"Oh, didn't I tell you Aaron, I am a
lawyer of Fifino, and I am your advisor."

"Surely you could hardly be considered
independent?"

"True, but in this case clearly I am
acting in your best interests as Moriah's cousin, and in any case I don't
benefit from you signing these contracts in any way. Your signature simply
begins a process that secures your patent rights and allocates future rights
for the portals use."

"To whom?" Aaron sat with his
stylus poised.

"Aaron - it is unimportant to whom,
that role is merely one of station master, you will be rich beyond your wildest
dreams with your percentage. Just sign and think of it as being for
Ruben."

Leith’s look as he said Ruben’s name
radiated threat and malice and Aaron was about to comment when he thought
better of it.
Trust Regan, none of this will come to pass.

He deftly added his signature to the digital
record and stood without a word. Leith wasn't interested, swiftly scooping up
the tablet and sliding it into a satchel he held ready.

"You won't regret this Aaron, trust
me, you've done the right thing. Now, go and enjoy your little family, have
fun, the compound is yours to enjoy."

Aaron stalked from the room radiating just
the right amount of tension, already looking forward to the night and the
excitement he was sure it would bring.

* * *

"So finally I get a role in this
mission and it's as the hostess." Leah was grateful but embarrassed at the
same time. Somehow greeting the displaced family seemed just a sop to her
boredom.

Ham unhelpfully encouraged her. "Leah,
think of it not as a hostess role, more of a catcher. We're not completely sure
of our control of the displacement in the tube car, it's not like we're in the
saucer. They will arrive one by one and they may well stumble; we don't want
anyone to get hurt."

"And what will you and Marin be doing
while they're popping out of the ether to me?"

"Marin will be driving manually and I
will be controlling the pop; you see, we will all be engaged."

It was a losing battle and Leah turned her
attention to the other practical matter. "How will you get the car in the
tube?"

"That is where Tihan comes in; he
doesn't know all the details but he has a shunt coming to pick it up in an
hour. We transport it to the line and rest it in a siding until tonight, and
then he will cause a line stoppage at just the right time for the pickup.
That's why we need Marin to manually drive it; Tihan must be kept completely in
the dark."

"I still don't get it, why can't you
just do everything, like drive as well?"

"Oh, did I say drive? I meant
pedal." Ham smiled wickedly.

Leah peeked through the door and sure
enough in the front of the car a seat with pedals and chain could be seen, they
would obviously connect the car to a centre rail, presumably what the vehicle rides
on in the tube. She laughed with delight. "Oh man and I get to watch, I
hope he doesn't have to pedal far?"

"About a kilometer to get into
position but then we can get out and transfer to a different car to get back; this
car will then self destruct." He patted it affectionately. "A sad
loss but it can't be helped if we're going to cover our tracks."

"Wow." She really was impressed.
"This is going to be so exciting - so what's Regan's role in all this?"

"She'll be jumping backward and
forward, to be on the inside confirming they're ready and then jumping to us so
I can work the displacer. We can't communicate any other way because of the
compound screening." He paused then, waiting for praise with his arms
spread wide, a pose she recognized as his 'hurrah' position. She smiled
knowingly and instead laughed. "You know Ham; this is about as kiwi as you
can get for a plan and all the way over here on the other side of the galaxy,
what a laugh."

"Kiwi?" he sounded disappointed.

"Yeah, the old number eight wire
approach to fixing anything, you've obviously caught more from Regan than you
imagine."

At that moment Regan and Marin walked
through from the neighboring room and again Leah could sense things weren't
normal. Marin seemed to be pressing close to Regan but there was something
about Regan's posture that said,
not now.

Babe
, she
thought,
we need to talk - and as soon as possible.

* * *

The small automaton, a specialist courier
unit, shuffled out of the Leith compound entrance and onto the main concourse,
just another one of many going about their work. Hesitating only a second it then
turned away from its scheduled path and accelerated in the opposite direction,
a route that would take it toward a certain industrial complex, not for another
pickup, but for a drop off. The satchel secured in its belly would be delivered
to the right person but not its intended recipient who resided on another Orbital.
If a humble machine could smile, this one certainly would have, eagerly
anticipating the pleasure of this special person. It had a name, this
automaton, given to it by its father in honor of an old dead friend; the machine
was named Piglet.

Twenty seven minutes later the unit arrived
at its destination and buzzed through the factory doors before shuttling across
to the goal. Regan looked down with an anxious smile, a look that quickly
transformed into a beam when the satchel and tablet was revealed. As she lifted
them from their enclosure, unconsciously she also reached down and patted the
small machine. It hummed with pleasure.

* * *

Night on any Orbital is an entirely
artificial concept with the Orbital Mind controlling everything, light,
temperatures and even seasons. In the evening lights begin to dim in all
concourses although they still maintain a reasonable level for passage and with
the ability to monitor all spaces at all times any Orbital Mind could lift the
levels at will should the need arise. No one was in any doubt that their Mind
followed every activity on the Orbital and crime therefore proved virtually
nonexistent as a result. No one seemed to mind that their every action was
followed and everything was known. Privacy was protected by their Mind and
since the advent of Reganism most had forged good relationships with these
caregivers. In addition, such was the efficiency of the Minds everything
continually 'worked'. Well, usually, but not tonight.