The Trilisk AI
Chapter 1
Chapter 1
“What do you need me to find?”
The man glanced around the dingy office before answering Cilreth’s question. No doubt he was not impressed. Who would be? The office was small, with modest furnishings and little or no decor. Cilreth didn’t even like being there herself.
She knew his name was Leonard. He had alerted her to his visit, but he had been short on details. He’d asked to talk in person. More and more, it seemed like the kinds of jobs Cilreth got involved in had clients who wanted to talk incarnate to avoid the government snoopers. It was the only reason Cilreth even had an office.
Admit it, old girl. You like it that way.
“I’m looking for someone. I have a lot of solid data on her, but she’s since gone missing, and she wants to stay missing,” he said. Leonard sat before her on a ceramic chair. He looked athletic, though a bit past his prime, with short, gray hair and brown eyes. His skin was clear and clean-shaven. His nose was slightly bent.
He looks like a hardass. Ex-military, Cilreth thought. She decided she liked him. “Runaway?”
“Yeah. A Space Force officer’s brat daughter. She’s been to the frontier for sure. Most likely she’s still there.”
“What’s her overall temperament? Is she prone to violence? Involved with drugs?”
“She’s intelligent and stable. Used to be, anyway,” he said. “But she fell in with a mean crowd. Smugglers. The assignment I’m offering requires moving around a lot, which of course is included in the pay offer.”
Cilreth nodded.
“Then what happens when we find her? Is it going to get ugly? What are we supposed to do with the guys she’s shacked...the people she’s working with?”
Leonard hesitated.
“Nothing personal, see? I need to understand what’s expected before I sign the dotted line.”
“If she’s gotten in over her head, we’re there to give her a quick out. If the smugglers get in the way, I’m going to put them down. I’ve got a man for it. It won’t be just you and me.”
“And if she doesn’t want to come home?”
“If she’s not under any kind of mind control, and wants to stay, then she stays. If she really thinks everything is great, being hunted by the Space Force and hiding out on the frontier, then we leave her alone. I’ll be disappointed, but if she wants to stay, then we’re done.”
Sounds like he has a personal stake in this. Maybe he’s getting paid a lot more to bring her back.
“She’s wanted by the Space Force? Her father must be a high-ranking officer.”
“No, actually it has to do with the smugglers. They’re wanted by the Space Force. If we can extricate her from that mess, too, then all the better.”
Leonard opened his mouth to continue, but hesitated again.
I don’t like it when he does that.
“Please just tell me everything,” Cilreth prompted. “It’s going to help me do this job, if I take it.”
He nodded. “I understated it. Those smugglers are really wanted by the Space Force. They met with an unprecedented level of success, and they have some heavy duty alien tech in their possession.”
Cilreth looked the client in the eyes. “How did you hear about me?”
“You did some work for the family of a friend of mine, Lieutenant Commander Barnes. Joseph Kane Barnes.”
“Okay. Assuming you check out, I can find her for you,” Cilreth said. “If you can accept I’m not signing on for kidnapping, then we’re good.”
Cilreth’s left hand jumped a bit on the table.
“You use twitch,” he noted.
“Yes. It enhances my performance. As for the down side, what do I have to look forward to? A long retirement in a tropical paradise? Let me tell you something: it’s better to burn out than to fade away.”
She referred to an inevitable cost of long term twitch usage: about ten years off the human lifespan. She was forty now, and she could expect another fifty years on the twitch. Leonard appeared to accept her attitude.
“I’ll send you what I’ve got right now. It’s a lot to sift through.”
“The more the better,” Cilreth said, standing. She had finally remembered to stand. The clients didn’t like it when she just sat there and waited for them to leave.
The client walked out. At the same time, Cilreth’s link saw the data package he’d sent her. His footsteps echoed down the worn hall.
Cilreth prepared a mental workspace for the target: Telisa Relachik. Something familiar about that name. She reviewed the ID on the payment information.
“Oh,” she said to herself.
The man glanced around the dingy office before answering Cilreth’s question. No doubt he was not impressed. Who would be? The office was small, with modest furnishings and little or no decor. Cilreth didn’t even like being there herself.
She knew his name was Leonard. He had alerted her to his visit, but he had been short on details. He’d asked to talk in person. More and more, it seemed like the kinds of jobs Cilreth got involved in had clients who wanted to talk incarnate to avoid the government snoopers. It was the only reason Cilreth even had an office.
Admit it, old girl. You like it that way.
“I’m looking for someone. I have a lot of solid data on her, but she’s since gone missing, and she wants to stay missing,” he said. Leonard sat before her on a ceramic chair. He looked athletic, though a bit past his prime, with short, gray hair and brown eyes. His skin was clear and clean-shaven. His nose was slightly bent.
He looks like a hardass. Ex-military, Cilreth thought. She decided she liked him. “Runaway?”
“Yeah. A Space Force officer’s brat daughter. She’s been to the frontier for sure. Most likely she’s still there.”
“What’s her overall temperament? Is she prone to violence? Involved with drugs?”
“She’s intelligent and stable. Used to be, anyway,” he said. “But she fell in with a mean crowd. Smugglers. The assignment I’m offering requires moving around a lot, which of course is included in the pay offer.”
Cilreth nodded.
“Then what happens when we find her? Is it going to get ugly? What are we supposed to do with the guys she’s shacked...the people she’s working with?”
Leonard hesitated.
“Nothing personal, see? I need to understand what’s expected before I sign the dotted line.”
“If she’s gotten in over her head, we’re there to give her a quick out. If the smugglers get in the way, I’m going to put them down. I’ve got a man for it. It won’t be just you and me.”
“And if she doesn’t want to come home?”
“If she’s not under any kind of mind control, and wants to stay, then she stays. If she really thinks everything is great, being hunted by the Space Force and hiding out on the frontier, then we leave her alone. I’ll be disappointed, but if she wants to stay, then we’re done.”
Sounds like he has a personal stake in this. Maybe he’s getting paid a lot more to bring her back.
“She’s wanted by the Space Force? Her father must be a high-ranking officer.”
“No, actually it has to do with the smugglers. They’re wanted by the Space Force. If we can extricate her from that mess, too, then all the better.”
Leonard opened his mouth to continue, but hesitated again.
I don’t like it when he does that.
“Please just tell me everything,” Cilreth prompted. “It’s going to help me do this job, if I take it.”
He nodded. “I understated it. Those smugglers are really wanted by the Space Force. They met with an unprecedented level of success, and they have some heavy duty alien tech in their possession.”
Cilreth looked the client in the eyes. “How did you hear about me?”
“You did some work for the family of a friend of mine, Lieutenant Commander Barnes. Joseph Kane Barnes.”
“Okay. Assuming you check out, I can find her for you,” Cilreth said. “If you can accept I’m not signing on for kidnapping, then we’re good.”
Cilreth’s left hand jumped a bit on the table.
“You use twitch,” he noted.
“Yes. It enhances my performance. As for the down side, what do I have to look forward to? A long retirement in a tropical paradise? Let me tell you something: it’s better to burn out than to fade away.”
She referred to an inevitable cost of long term twitch usage: about ten years off the human lifespan. She was forty now, and she could expect another fifty years on the twitch. Leonard appeared to accept her attitude.
“I’ll send you what I’ve got right now. It’s a lot to sift through.”
“The more the better,” Cilreth said, standing. She had finally remembered to stand. The clients didn’t like it when she just sat there and waited for them to leave.
The client walked out. At the same time, Cilreth’s link saw the data package he’d sent her. His footsteps echoed down the worn hall.
Cilreth prepared a mental workspace for the target: Telisa Relachik. Something familiar about that name. She reviewed the ID on the payment information.
“Oh,” she said to herself.