ROMULUS (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 1) (8 page)

"I can see how that might have upset you but it's not as frightening as it sounds. Yes, we have expanded mental capabilities, some more than others. However, you will learn that we put great store in individual privacy, not that we have anything to hide from each other or from you.

"In certain situations, such as an emergency, we have the right to
touch
or read your mind but only to the extent to provide help. Otherwise, it is required that you give the other person your permission. We are bound by a code of honesty and I am sure you will come to trust us eventually."

"
Trust you
? I not only do not
trust
you, Chief Romulus, I don't even believe in you. This could be some sort of group hallucination. And if not, if what you've told us is real, then that's even worse. I mean, who do you think you are anyway? Snatching people out of their world, rearranging their whole lives to fit yours and aren't we lucky that we're here! I have responsibilities and a job that I love out there. Besides, the whole premise of our being in the center of the Earth is ludicrous. Everyone knows the inner core of our planet is a ball of fire.

"And what about the rest of you? Sitting there nodding and smiling like this man has the right to do what he's done!" Aster was picking up momentum. She would have continued venting her anger and frustration except when she looked at the rest of the group, they turned their eyes away from her.

Betty walked over to Aster and took her hand. "Aster, dear, you must face certain facts. There is no question we would have all been dead at the hands of those pirates. That's usually the way it ends. We've been offered a very rare opportunity to begin our lives all over again, in a new and unusual way. Try to look on the positive side of this, for your own sake."

"How do you know we would have been dead? Maybe they would have let us go like they promised." Aster didn't even believe that herself but she wasn't ready to give in.

"I'm afraid Betty is correct. Miss Mackenzie," Romulus answered before Betty could. "Explosives had been planted in the bulkhead of the ship. Upon reading the thoughts of the two men, we learned of their intention to kill you and detonate the explosives by remote control once they removed themselves and their cargo. I would be most happy to show you the proof in the wreckage before it is recycled if that would help convince you."

Aster knew they were right. It was just so hard to accept that she could never go home. She met the chief administrator's gaze and allowed it to touch her for an instant. "No, thank you. That won't be necessary." Lowering her eyes, she returned to her seat.

She could not decide what disturbed her more—the situation she found herself in or the fact that the man from her dreams had dared come to life and talk to her as if he were real. Somehow she was sure she could rationalize this whole thing if she could only get away from him and his tempting mouth that had almost kissed her so many times, but never quite— No, that was the dream again.

"In answer to your other questions," Romulus continued, "I am certain you will find as much satisfaction with your employment here as you once enjoyed in Outerworld. With regard to the inner core, we created our own protective shield, along with our environment, as you will witness when you leave here. As was our intention, Outerworld scientists cannot detect anything extraordinary."

Nick then spoke up. "Sir, I'm Nick Valentino. To tell you the truth, and, uh, Aster, I'm sorry you don't agree with me but I can't help being kind of excited about all this. I didn't have all that much back there that I'd miss anyway. I would like to know though, hasn't anyone ever gone back before? You know, like escaped?"

"Actually, Nick, Outerworlders who have acquired knowledge of our civilization have no interest in returning to their world. I believe you will feel the same way soon." He pressed an icon on the panel and murmured a few words.

A heavy-set man entered the room, carrying a small stack of notebooks. Aster noted that he wore the same shade of uniform as the rest of her group. She suspected that the color of one's clothing might correlate to position or rank and wondered what her dark blue might mean. Allowing herself a glimpse at the administrator, she decided the deep forest-green jersey he wore indicated a high level of management. Regardless of its meaning, it did do wonderful things for his hazel eyes. What a ridiculous thing to be thinking of!

Romulus took the bundle from the man. "Tha—" The word froze in the air as the man pointed a small black box directly at the chief's forehead.

"Don't y'all even think about touchin' that alarm, you snotty sumbitch," the man growled in a thick Southern accent. "Git up and stand over by the door, and don' try nothin' cute."

Romulus maintained a semblance of control as he speculated about what was happening. Imperceptibly, he nodded toward the monitor concealed in the far wall, hoping that the runner, Karl, was unaware of its existence. Something was very wrong with the normally mild-mannered man. His eyes were wide, his pupils dilated, as he stole glimpses of the others in the room. But his hand was steady on the paralyzer, his thumb poised precariously over its firing button.

"Karl, what's the problem? What do you want?" Rom's voice remained quietly concerned as he obeyed Karl's command.

Karl blinked, hesitating for a fraction of a second during which the glazed look in his eyes almost cleared. Then it returned. "What do ah want? Ah want to git out of this damned place. Back to the good ol' U. S. of A. Ah'm sick and tired of bein' treated lahk a slave. Sick and tired of you and all the other sumbitches 'round heah lookin' down on me. Ah want to go back to the greatest country in the world, mah world, where ah can come and go as ah please, where ah get to vote for the assholes who run the damn country, where a man can smoke a pack of cigarettes and drink a quart of bourbon whenever he hankers fer it!" He was shouting now as he turned toward the group of new arrivals.

"Fifteen yeahs ah bin heah. Fifteen goddamned yeahs without a cigarette or a real drink. For our own good they told us. Hah! Well, no more. Ah know the way out and y'all are comin' with me, befo' they brainwash you lahk they did all mah friends. Git up, all of you, line up behind the chief heah. He's the magic ticket that'll git us home."

So, no one had any interest in returning, Aster thought as she cautiously stood up. She and the others moved behind Romulus, hoping the demented man did not turn his anger on them. The box in his hand had to be a weapon of some sort, considering the respect it elicited from the chief administrator. Why did he look so calm? Why was he just standing there, letting the man rant on?

Her answer came the next moment when the conference room door slid open. Five black-uniformed men and women surged in. A flash of light streaked from one of them to the man named Karl. Again his eyes seemed to focus for an instant before they closed and he collapsed to the floor. The invasion force picked Karl up and exited.

Romulus blocked the doorway. "Please remain here for a few minutes," he ordered tersely, then quickly followed his people. The entire episode was over in less than two minutes.

Nick rushed to the opening but not fast enough. He slammed his fist against the metal closure. Hurriedly, he passed his hand around the smooth edges but the door remained closed. "Damn! I know I saw it open this way. Hell! Something's not right here. We should have run while we had the chance."

"And get a taste of that light?" Johnny answered sarcastically.

"What do you think?"

"Why would..."

"What if..."

Everyone spoke at once and Aster held her palms over her ears and took a deep breath. She could not stand another minute of this chaos. "Stop it! This isn't getting us anywhere. Besides, I'm sure we're being watched. I saw the administrator nod at a spot somewhere behind me before he responded to Karl's command. Then a security team instantly turned up to eliminate the threat. Who knows what the truth is? The only thing we do know is the pretty Garden-of-Eden picture Chief Romulus painted must also have the proverbial serpent in it."

"But, Aster," Sheila interrupted. "You can't simply discount everything because of the ravings of an obviously disturbed man."

Betty put her arm around her husband's ample waist. "Johnny's alive. That's good enough for me."

"So am I," Cherry added softly.

Aster looked from one worried face to another. "It seems you've outnumbered me again but the jury's still out as far as I'm concerned. Our alien host swears to a code of honesty but I'm positive we didn't hear the whole truth about this place."

* * *

"Holy stars, Rom. I just heard about it." Tarla jumped up from behind her desk and followed him into his office. "What could have possessed Karl to do that?"

"The only thing that's been verified so far is that he was acting under a post mind-link suggestion. He has no idea where the thoughts came from. The paralyzer appeared in his mail cart and triggered his actions. The fact that he was so easily stopped indicates that his puppeteer was either unaware the meeting was being monitored or didn't care if Karl was caught. It's possible the plan was thrown together too hastily."

"Oh, my. The governorship... You just got the announcement of your nomination. Could there be a connection?"

"I guess that's a possibility but it doesn't make much sense. I'm the only candidate residing in Innerworld and personally involved with the Outerworlders here. I have the backing of Governor Elissa and she's fairly certain two-thirds of the Tribunal have already decided in my favor.

"No, the only thing Karl's actions accomplished was to let the new arrivals know there are some restrictions on their activities. New arrivals usually discern their full status within a few weeks anyway but, by that time, they don't find the restrictions too objectionable. They simply have to learn to avoid those Innerworlders who would rather not associate with them. Orientation is difficult enough without introducing every negative aspect of our society."

"Had you finished your lecture?"

"Pretty much." Rom decided not to mention the odd effect that one Terran female had on him.

"Will regular procedures be followed now?"

"Not immediately. For tonight the new arrivals will reside in the dormitory upstairs. We've called in a tracker to follow Karl's movements over the last twenty-four hours and see if we can get any more clues about who was behind this. If the tracker doesn't come up with anything, we'll let the arrivals settle in tomorrow. We'll keep close tabs on them for a while, in case our criminal is serious about helping them get back to Outerworld.

"By the way, if anything comes in from OMC, find me immediately."

"Problem?"

"I sincerely hope not."

Chapter 4

Victor stared at the screen on the wall opposite his cot for several seconds after it went blank. It had to be a hoax of some kind, that much was certain. The group of people from the ship seemed to have been taken in by what they had heard but Victor was smarter than that.

The man in charge, Romulus, was damned good, with his magic light show and arrogant speech. His people, whoever or whatever they really were, had rescued all of them from the grave. Okay, he could buy that much but what was the purpose of that fiasco at the end?

The small room Victor had awakened in revealed no clues as to his whereabouts. It had no windows or clock, only a cot, sink and toilet. The screen had lit up when Chief Romulus's 3-D show started, so he had watched.

But what if this was not a hoax? Doubt filled his mind for the first time since he'd awakened. He shuddered as he thought of being trapped in the type of society the chief had described. Being a dishonest person among a population of sheep that lived by a code of honesty had a certain appeal. But the fact that they could read minds, as they apparently had already done to him, and could see events long after they had happened put an end to his optimism. The truth was that it would be pure hell and that crazy man, Karl, obviously felt the same way.

First he had to get out of this jail. But Victor was confident that Lady Luck would help him find a way. Escaping Innerworld, however, sounded a bit more difficult. Karl had said he needed Romulus to do it. That was the first piece of information Victor had filed away. But before he departed, he would pay a visit to the silver-haired bitch. She would undoubtedly be very grateful to the man who helped her get back home.