Chains of Freedom (15 page)

"No thanks," David turned to the bed to lie down, but Whitey was lying in the big middle of it.

"Do you mind?" he asked sarcastically.

"Well, actually, I do, but . . ." Whitey got up. David lay down. "You know, David, someday I'll be staying and you'll be going."

"In your wet dreams," RJ said, not without a smile. "Good night, Whitey."

"Ah, but Mom, it's early yet," Whitey whined, then ducked out the door. "Good night, my love!" He waved flamboyantly, and was gone.

RJ sighed and started to unwrap the chain. It had been a long damn day.

"David, I'm really sorry about the Pronuses."

"I feel very, very lucky. Another second, and I would have eaten the damn things. Next time you're going to carry poison around, you might at least tell me." David was still sore. He wasn't really mad at RJ, it was just this damn headache. "I think Whitey is serious about you," he said in the best bantering tone he could muster.

"The only thing Whitey Baldor is interested in is getting a piece of ass," she said, although she knew it wasn't quite true.

"If all wanted was piece of ass, wouldn't hang round." This piece of wisdom from Mickey, whom RJ had believed to be asleep.

"What's that supposed to mean?" RJ asked indignantly.

"I think what he means is that if all the man wanted was a piece of ass, he could get that anywhere. Believe me, it's easy. If that's all he wanted, why on earth would he continuously hit on the only woman in all of Alsterase who actually has the word 'no' in her vocabulary?"

"Because I'm a challenge, I guess," RJ snorted and dismissed the subject. She finished undressing and went to bed. After several moments of trying to achieve a comfortable position, she decided it was impossible and gave up. She looked at the ceiling. Then she looked at David.
Wonder where you were
.
Idiot!
You know where he was
.
Off with some slut making the beast with two backs.
An angry scowl crossed her face, and she resumed looking at the ceiling.
I don't care.
I could have anyone I wanted.
She started counting cracks in the ceiling.
I wonder if she was good-looking . . . Well of course she was, David's too shallow to even look at a woman for any other reason.
She frowned.
I wonder if she was any good?
She looked at David again. He couldn't sleep either; he was frowning. RJ smiled and looked back at the ceiling.
I'm guessing that means no. Good.
I would be amazing, because, after all, I'm good at everything . . . Provided of course that I didn't crush my lover during orgasm.
Damn, now look what I've done . . . I'm depressed and horny.

She sighed and looked over to see that David was asleep. She had half a mind to wake him up.
That's right, you bastard, sleep. God knows you get laid plenty. Hell, I don't even think you realize that I'm a girl most of the time. All the guys I used to shower with in the service . . . they used to get boners in spite of all the saltpeter the Reliance put in everything.

David rolled over—so he wasn't asleep. What was more, from the look on his face, the headache was getting worse.
Good! I don't care if I am being illogical and petty. When you're as old as I am and you still haven't gotten laid, you're allowed to be illogical and petty.

She tried not to think about David with other women, because for some reason the thought was very distressing to her. Of course, the more she tried not to think about it, the more she did. And the more she thought about it, the madder she got.

Just then, David was unwise enough to speak to her.

"RJ?"

It took her several seconds to suppress the urge to scream interesting things at him, like,
You miserable whoremongering, womanizing little piece of shit!

"Ugh." That was the only sound RJ could make when she was biting her tongue.

"Are you awake?" he asked.

"Ugh," RJ said again.

"Is that a yes or a no?" David asked with a laugh.

"That's a maybe," RJ said, trying to keep the angry tone from her voice.

"What's RJ stand for?" he asked.

RJ muttered a few choice curses.

"Ah, come on, RJ."

"Let it lie, David. Even if I told you, it wouldn't mean a damn thing to you. It doesn't mean anything. It doesn't stand for anything. My name is RJ. It's just something to call me instead of 'hey you!' Who cares what it means or what it stands for? Your questions will be the death of us all."

It had been a long and tiring drive across half of the country. The truck had suffered multiple breakdowns, and they'd been stopped several times by the Reliance cops. Sometimes they could bluff their way out. But when they couldn't, there was always RJ's special way of dealing with people who became annoying.

Now, it was just him and RJ. Getting ready to face God-only-knew what, armed only with blasters and a cock-and-bull story. David didn't really understand why they were here or why what they were doing was important. RJ said do this, do that, she explained what to do and how to act, but what she had never explained was
why
.

"I don't know. It doesn't seem right waiting for them . . . tricking them like this," David said.

"Right shmight," RJ said, checking to make sure her uniform was straight. "You wanted to do something that everyone would notice, and this can't go unnoticed, David. After today, they're going to know we mean business. Don't get squeamish on me." She straightened her uniform yet again.

"I don't know why you're bothering so much with looking just right when you refuse to take that damned chain off," David said, then added in an exasperated tone. "Reliance cops don't wear chains around their waists."

"I'm not a cop. I'm a freedom fighter," RJ said with mock fervor, hands on hips, chin up staring into the distance.

"It's not funny, RJ," David said in disgust.

"Chill out, will you? I only have to look like a cop for a few minutes. It just so happens that I'm not worried about my disguise. I just want to look my very best when I assassinate a governor. I've never done that before, you know."

"You're sick, RJ. I swear, sometimes I think you're really as warped as you make out to be." He gave RJ a contemptuous look.

She just grinned."What can I say, David?" She shrugged and the grin left her face. "I am what the Reliance made me, and I love my work."

Jack Bristol was the governor in charge of military affairs for the area that was known by the Reliance as Zone 2-A. As such, he lived and traveled in luxury with an armed escort.

Four first-class soldiers armed with swords and riding motorbikes surrounded his armor-plated limo. He shared the limo with four laser-carrying Elites. And the driver, who was a second-class soldier, was carrying a projectile weapon. Because of this—and because Jack Bristol had never seen real combat in his life—the governor felt as safe as if he were in his mother's womb.

Jack was the first to see the barricade. "What the hell is that?" He didn't like to be delayed. As governor, he hardly ever was.

"It appears to be a barricade, sir," the driver informed him helpfully.

"I can see that, you fool," the Governor blasted. "What's it doing there?"

"I don't know, Your Worship," the driver replied, and stopped himself from saying.
No doubt it's there to annoy asshole bureaucrats in armor-plated limos
. He smiled at his thoughts and said over his shoulder, "No reports have come in over the radio, sir."

The entourage came to a halt. The only alternative would have been to turn around and go back the other way. That would have served no purpose. There was no reason for them to think that they were in any danger because there wasn't anything particularly strange about surprise road-blocks in the middle of Reliance territory.

The woman—obviously the commanding officer—walked purposefully over to the lead motorcycle.

"See what's going on," Jack ordered one of the Elites. The man got out, making sure that the door was closed securely behind him. He walked over to the woman, they spoke, and he returned to the limo.

"Well?" Jack demanded.

"There was a threat made that someone would try to assassinate your person on the stretch of road ahead," the Elite said. "They are checking the road for mines or ambush parties. It should only take them a few minutes."

"This is ridiculous! How could any rebel know our travel route?" the governor asked hotly.

"It was on the viewscreen that you would be arriving at Greenside base to do an inspection. This is the only route to Greenside Base . . ."

"Stupid PR people. They really don't understand the importance of security." Jack pulled a face. "Why didn't they contact us by radio?"

"They said that their equipment is acting up."

"Oh, that's par, isn't it? The viewscreen work, but our radios don't." Jack pulled a face. "All this talk of rebels makes me tired. Tell them to move. We can take care of any trouble we come up against."

"Sir, the threat came from RJ," the Elite warned.

"So? She scares me no more than any other rebel. Tell them to move their stupid barricade. I'm in a hurry. I've wasted enough time already," Jack ordered.

The Elite nodded and got out of the limo again.

As the Elite reached RJ, David joined her.

"The Governor says to move the barricade," the Elite informed them.

"Sorry," RJ said, and added on a final note. "My orders came down from Jago. We were told to keep this road blocked till they've made their sweep. I'm keeping it blocked."

"Between you and me, Jack Bristol is a real prick, " the Elite informed her. "If you don't move that barricade, your butt's going to be in a sling."

"If I move it, and the Governor gets killed, I can put my head between my legs and kiss my ass goodbye," RJ said hotly."You know Jago's policy. If it fucks up, kill it . . . I'll take my chances with Bristol any day."

"It will only be a few more minutes," David said calmly."Surely, it's worth a few minutes of time to make sure that he arrives at Greenside Base in one piece."

The man looked at David and smiled. "I know that, and you know that. But the governor is in his armor plated limo, his god is in his heaven, and you would be hard-pressed to prove to him that he is anything but perfectly safe. Truth is, I doubt Ole Ironguts Bristol has ever seen open combat."

RJ and David both laughed.

"If you could just see fit to let us through . . ."

"Sorry," RJ said flatly.

The Elite mumbled a curse and returned to the limo.

"Well?" Jack demanded when the Elite returned.

"They refuse to move the barricade," he reported. "They are under orders from Jago."

"I can see I'm going to have to handle this myself. Oh, why must Jessy surround me with idiots?" Jack got out of the limo, ignoring the Elite's protests, and marched up to RJ.

"I want this barricade moved immediately!"

"Sorry, sir," RJ said.

The governor stopped just inches from RJ. "Do you have any idea what kind of trouble you're going to be in . . ."

"I don't think you are aware of just how dangerous these rebels can be." RJ posed purposefully. "Why, they could even pose as Reliance police officers and set up a barricade to stop impatient governors."

The look on Jack Bristol's face told her that he was only too aware of the laser pressed against his stomach.

"Keep your hand away from your gun, and I might,
might
being the operative word, let you keep your mid-section."

"This is an outrage," the Governor sputtered in an angry whisper.

"I'm a rebel. Outrages are my specialty."

She nodded at David. He moved into position, pulled the pin on the gas canister and lobbed it into the open door of the limo. Then he ran and kicked the door closed to keep the gas in.

One of the first-class soldiers pulled a projectile weapon he shouldn't have had, and RJ blasted him. A second went after David with his sword, and she bored him through the head. The other two fell before they even knew what was happening.

Governor Bristol stood there in stunned silence.

RJ smiled, removed his laser, tucked it into the folds of her chain, and put her own sidearm away.

"What is all this?" Bristol was scared. This bitch meant business.

"This is rebellion, Governor," RJ announced.

She looked at David. "Get it."

David nodded and went to the stolen police car. He emerged with a silver briefcase. The governor knew what they wanted now, and he shook with the magnitude of their crime.