Read Online Marlowe and the Spacewoman by Ian M. Dudley - Free Book Online
Authors: Ian M. Dudley
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He’s bound to interfere. He’ll want you to fail. But that’s not an option.”
“Brother, have I ever failed you before?”
“Yes, many times. But in this particular instance, it’s your hide too. You have an incentive to succeed. Coochie, let him go.”
The sofa cushions relaxed and Marlowe was able to get up. Artie and Gwen materialized out of nowhere and each latched onto an arm.
“OK, Marlowe, I’ll update your status on the CityNet. You’ll have almost as much authority as Obedere now, and in some specific situations, more. He’s bound to resent that, which is the primary reason I’m giving you this power. Anyone gives you trouble, tell them to check on the net.
“Artie, Gwen, please be kind enough to take him back to his car. Gently. Oh, and Marlowe, before you go, one last thing I need to mention. An added complication, as it were.”
Gwen and Artie crossed over the threshold of the office door and spun Marlowe around so he could face his brother for this final revelation. The Governor paused for a moment, trying to sound repentant while clearly struggling not to burst into laughter.
“Dad isn’t dead, he’s alive, he’s escaped from the City Municipal Hospital for the Criminally Deranged, and when I secretly committed him to that hospital after the coup, I led him to believe you arranged for the commitment. So watch your back.”
The door sliced shut, cutting Marlowe off from his brother. Gwen and Artie dragged him, backwards and jaw gaping, all the way back to the street. They derived so much mirth from the Governor’s final revelation and its effect on Marlowe that they didn’t even bother to beat him up before releasing him. Well, not much, anyway.
CHAPTER 5
NEVER TRUST OLD FRIENDS OR SPACEWOMEN
Marlowe picked himself up from the foot of the City Hall steps where his escorts had tossed him and hailed his Studebaker, which was still circling around the block in quest of parking. The car rumbled to a stop in the middle of the street, triggering a hail of horn blasts. Marlowe dashed across the lanes and jumped into the already open driver’s side door.
“House, pipe in my favorite music.”
“I never deactivated the encryption.”
“You heard everything in my brother’s office?”
“Yes.”
“OK, then map me out the most efficient route to the following destinations: the three reconstitution shops Tray’s most likely to be at, the Ministry of Policing, and the crash site.”
“I’ve already taken the liberty of downloading them to the car.”
“Car, let’s go. Where’s our first stop, House?”
“Ministry of Policing.”
“Nuts. Why is it always the bad news first?”
“Are you really expecting any good news today?”
“I live in hope.”
A tone of playful mischief entered House’s voice. “Don’t you want to ask me about the surprise?”
“No. I know what you’ll say if I ask. You’ll just bait me with vague hints and a refusal to spoil the surprise.” Marlowe was in no mood to play this game with House.
“Yes, I suppose telling you outright would spoil it. But I could give you a tiny hint if you’d like.”
“No, I’d rather be surprised,” said Marlowe, who felt exactly the opposite.
“By the way, I’ve finished the analysis of the mushrooms. They contain psilocybin, the primary ingredient in the psychotomimetic drug known as Trippin’ Tabs. If Gomer consumed any of them last night, I have no doubt he had very interesting dreams indeed.”
“Lucky him. He goes on a trip, I get murdered. Just goes to show how unfair life can be.”
The Studebaker whizzed along, racing northeast towards the outskirts of the city. As the distance between the car and the heart of the City grew, the lanes dropped off, one by one, the buildings became squatter and grayer, and the number of Bucky Brews, a chain of ubiquitous coffee shops saturating the City, thinned out dramatically.
“Brother, have I ever failed you before?”
“Yes, many times. But in this particular instance, it’s your hide too. You have an incentive to succeed. Coochie, let him go.”
The sofa cushions relaxed and Marlowe was able to get up. Artie and Gwen materialized out of nowhere and each latched onto an arm.
“OK, Marlowe, I’ll update your status on the CityNet. You’ll have almost as much authority as Obedere now, and in some specific situations, more. He’s bound to resent that, which is the primary reason I’m giving you this power. Anyone gives you trouble, tell them to check on the net.
“Artie, Gwen, please be kind enough to take him back to his car. Gently. Oh, and Marlowe, before you go, one last thing I need to mention. An added complication, as it were.”
Gwen and Artie crossed over the threshold of the office door and spun Marlowe around so he could face his brother for this final revelation. The Governor paused for a moment, trying to sound repentant while clearly struggling not to burst into laughter.
“Dad isn’t dead, he’s alive, he’s escaped from the City Municipal Hospital for the Criminally Deranged, and when I secretly committed him to that hospital after the coup, I led him to believe you arranged for the commitment. So watch your back.”
The door sliced shut, cutting Marlowe off from his brother. Gwen and Artie dragged him, backwards and jaw gaping, all the way back to the street. They derived so much mirth from the Governor’s final revelation and its effect on Marlowe that they didn’t even bother to beat him up before releasing him. Well, not much, anyway.
CHAPTER 5
NEVER TRUST OLD FRIENDS OR SPACEWOMEN
Marlowe picked himself up from the foot of the City Hall steps where his escorts had tossed him and hailed his Studebaker, which was still circling around the block in quest of parking. The car rumbled to a stop in the middle of the street, triggering a hail of horn blasts. Marlowe dashed across the lanes and jumped into the already open driver’s side door.
“House, pipe in my favorite music.”
“I never deactivated the encryption.”
“You heard everything in my brother’s office?”
“Yes.”
“OK, then map me out the most efficient route to the following destinations: the three reconstitution shops Tray’s most likely to be at, the Ministry of Policing, and the crash site.”
“I’ve already taken the liberty of downloading them to the car.”
“Car, let’s go. Where’s our first stop, House?”
“Ministry of Policing.”
“Nuts. Why is it always the bad news first?”
“Are you really expecting any good news today?”
“I live in hope.”
A tone of playful mischief entered House’s voice. “Don’t you want to ask me about the surprise?”
“No. I know what you’ll say if I ask. You’ll just bait me with vague hints and a refusal to spoil the surprise.” Marlowe was in no mood to play this game with House.
“Yes, I suppose telling you outright would spoil it. But I could give you a tiny hint if you’d like.”
“No, I’d rather be surprised,” said Marlowe, who felt exactly the opposite.
“By the way, I’ve finished the analysis of the mushrooms. They contain psilocybin, the primary ingredient in the psychotomimetic drug known as Trippin’ Tabs. If Gomer consumed any of them last night, I have no doubt he had very interesting dreams indeed.”
“Lucky him. He goes on a trip, I get murdered. Just goes to show how unfair life can be.”
The Studebaker whizzed along, racing northeast towards the outskirts of the city. As the distance between the car and the heart of the City grew, the lanes dropped off, one by one, the buildings became squatter and grayer, and the number of Bucky Brews, a chain of ubiquitous coffee shops saturating the City, thinned out dramatically.
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