Read Online Stasis: A Will Vullerman Anthology by J. Tobias Buller - Free Book Online

blinked on. Brownbarr gestured toward the seats, and Will sat down. Hard and uncomfortable. He guessed that the Director liked to keep people alert.
    "Vullerman," Brownbarr began, sitting down in his own chair, "I know it's your first day of vacation, but I'd like you to hear me out." He paused.
    Will used the silence to interject his own opinion. "Unless it's signed by the Supreme President himself, I'm not going on a mission."
    "I haven't said a word about a mission, Vullerman," Brownbarr snapped. "Keep silent unless spoken to, or I'll send you on another Sahara assignment...after your vacation ."
    Will bit his tongue. It hurt, but at least it kept him from talking.
    Brownbarr glared at Will for a few moments, and then sighed. "You're practically bursting, Vullerman. Let it out or you'll pop."
    "You're sending me on a mission, aren't you?" There. It was out. A challenge for Brownbarr to say yes or no.
    "Sort of."
    Will tried not to make a face. "Then why did you have me come in here?"
    "If you would stop arguing, I'd tell you. No interruptions, all right?" Brownbarr gave Will the notorious I-dare-you-to-contradict-me-and-then-I'll-fire-you look.
    "Yes, sir."
    Brownbarr sat back in his chair. "I've never told you, Vullerman, but I had relatives in America when the war happened. I had thought they were all gone, but when the American catacombs were emptied of their stasis patients, I discovered that my adopted sister and her family had survived.” Brownbarr rubbed his chin and stared past Will's head. “I was ten years younger than her when the war happened, barely out of my teens. Now look at me. Late fifties and my sister doesn't have a single grey hair.” He sighed. “I'm still getting used to being the older brother, after all these years of thinking that my sister was dead.”
    Will raised an eyebrow. Brownbarr had family? Interesting. And Will had, indirectly, helped Brownbarr's family return to him. Maybe that's why Brownbarr had always looked out for Will. If it wasn't for the Director's intervention when Will had been kidnapped by the AAA, Will might be six feet under by now.
    "My sister called me this morning and asked for a favor," Brownbarr continued. "Someone's been harassing them with phone calls."
    Will tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair. Phone calls? That was what this "private meeting" was about?
    "Every evening, at seven o'clock, someone calls them.” Brownbarr leaned forward on his desk. “It's happened for six nights in a row."
    Brownbarr stopped, giving Will a dirty look. "What is it this time, Vullerman?"
    Will grimaced. "Sir, if you need to get a guy to stop someone from bothering your sister's family, why are you talking to me?" Was it too much to ask to let him go and enjoy his paycheck for once? He respected Brownbarr, but surely someone else could handle this problem.
    Brownbarr sighed. "Vullerman, you know as well as I that my personal life is not to interfere with my work. I'm not allowed to order an ASP operative to protect my family. So I'm asking you to do me a favor while you're on vacation. If you could stay at my sister's house, just for a little while, I'd be thankful. They're worried about this call."
    "Why would they be worried about a phone call? It's probably some bored teenager pulling pranks on the new Americans."
    "It's not just a simple call, Vullerman. The caller is making threats. Death threats. Most of the time I'd just chalk it up to empty hate-speech, but there's something deeper here. There's a connection to similar threats that have been happening further east."
    "Sir—"
    “ Listen to me , Vullerman.” Brownbarr narrowed his eyes, his jaw tight. “This is my family we're talking about, my own sister. I lost her decades ago, and I'm not about to lose her again, do you understand? And you're the only one I trust to keep them safe. Like you, the local police think that it's a prank. But my gut tells me that there's something wrong here. I heard the call. There's