Read Online The Midnight Stand (The Elysia Saga Book 1) by Louis A. Affortunato - Free Book Online
Authors: Louis A. Affortunato
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continued to stare at himself in the mirror,
his mind racing with thoughts when the clock chimed the half hour mark. It was
10:30 and time was running out. He knew he had to make a choice: honor his
grandfather or save his own life.
He was alone in this with no one to turn to for
guidance. His only company being the tick-tock of the clock’s second hand
as it inched closer to his fate.
Chapter 9
“Where’s my son!” Daniel Trager hollered as he stomped
through the doors of the precinct. Ancil saw him from where he was sitting in
his cell. Daniel was coming down the hall almost in a run before he was stopped
by a police officer.
The officer wanted to know who he was and what
he wanted. Ancil could hear Daniel explain that he received a call from the
police about what happened to his son and father-in-law. The officer had his
hand up, trying to calm Daniel down. He brought him over to the main desk to
explain the situation.
Ancil sat in the cell along with everyone else
from the meeting with the exception of Harley who, due to his age, was not
taken into custody. He was waiting in Sheriff Bailey’s office, eating a
chocolate chip ice cream sandwich. Ancil had been worried something might have
happened to him, but to the policemen’s credit, they took good care of him as
he waited for his father, and to Harley’s credit, he wasn’t scared at all.
Someone called in their meeting to the county
sheriff. Ancil didn’t know who it was for sure, but he had an idea. He had been
trying for months to spread the word at his parish. He pulled a few people
aside and spoke with them in private, two of whom were Earl and Allen.
Not everyone shared his opinion though. One
parishioner, David Kendrick, got right up in Ancil’s face and accused him of
being a Godless anarchist and rabble rouser. David was a local board member who
helped push Proposition 18 through the county legislature. Prop 18 called for
the expansion to the eminent domain law allowing corporations or private
organizations to claim a piece of land if they could prove it was of public
interest and for the good of the community. Kendrick was its main proponent.
David Kendrick was also a paid spokesman for the
biotech firm CyberTronix. The firm was the largest developer of artificial
intelligent robotics in the country and had large government contracts. It was
rumored that one of the contracts they held was from the Pentagon for the
development of a cellular chemical nano-bot virus that could be programed to
only attack a certain population at any given time. It would revolutionize
strategic attacks by the military. Specific sections of a population or area can
now be targeted, even down to a square foot. Wars could be fought without even
having to put troops on the ground.
Ancil had his run-ins with Kendrick in the past
and was no stranger to the inside of a holding cell either. He’d been arrested
while protesting outside of CyberTronix on numerous occasions. The protests
were over the closure of the metal works plant. CyberTronix had bought it out,
fired the workers, and made all the manufacturing automated. Ancil knew seven
of the men who were fired. They tried to take it up with the courts and block
the move by putting an injunction on CyberTronix, but the case went nowhere.
The judge threw it out without even hearing the arguments.
With all the history between the two, Ancil
didn’t put it past Kendrick to make a call to his good friend Sheriff Bailey
and have the meeting ransacked. Kendrick was good at calling in favors,
especially when the firm he represented paid for most of them.
Ancil looked up and saw the officer approach the
cell. He had a set of keys in his hand and a hard look on his face. He was a
tall man, about 6’4’’, and had a crop top and handlebar mustache. He looked
like he came from a long line of officers. Most were born into it. It was their
legacy, something they had little choice in. The only thing that made them cops
was
his mind racing with thoughts when the clock chimed the half hour mark. It was
10:30 and time was running out. He knew he had to make a choice: honor his
grandfather or save his own life.
He was alone in this with no one to turn to for
guidance. His only company being the tick-tock of the clock’s second hand
as it inched closer to his fate.
Chapter 9
“Where’s my son!” Daniel Trager hollered as he stomped
through the doors of the precinct. Ancil saw him from where he was sitting in
his cell. Daniel was coming down the hall almost in a run before he was stopped
by a police officer.
The officer wanted to know who he was and what
he wanted. Ancil could hear Daniel explain that he received a call from the
police about what happened to his son and father-in-law. The officer had his
hand up, trying to calm Daniel down. He brought him over to the main desk to
explain the situation.
Ancil sat in the cell along with everyone else
from the meeting with the exception of Harley who, due to his age, was not
taken into custody. He was waiting in Sheriff Bailey’s office, eating a
chocolate chip ice cream sandwich. Ancil had been worried something might have
happened to him, but to the policemen’s credit, they took good care of him as
he waited for his father, and to Harley’s credit, he wasn’t scared at all.
Someone called in their meeting to the county
sheriff. Ancil didn’t know who it was for sure, but he had an idea. He had been
trying for months to spread the word at his parish. He pulled a few people
aside and spoke with them in private, two of whom were Earl and Allen.
Not everyone shared his opinion though. One
parishioner, David Kendrick, got right up in Ancil’s face and accused him of
being a Godless anarchist and rabble rouser. David was a local board member who
helped push Proposition 18 through the county legislature. Prop 18 called for
the expansion to the eminent domain law allowing corporations or private
organizations to claim a piece of land if they could prove it was of public
interest and for the good of the community. Kendrick was its main proponent.
David Kendrick was also a paid spokesman for the
biotech firm CyberTronix. The firm was the largest developer of artificial
intelligent robotics in the country and had large government contracts. It was
rumored that one of the contracts they held was from the Pentagon for the
development of a cellular chemical nano-bot virus that could be programed to
only attack a certain population at any given time. It would revolutionize
strategic attacks by the military. Specific sections of a population or area can
now be targeted, even down to a square foot. Wars could be fought without even
having to put troops on the ground.
Ancil had his run-ins with Kendrick in the past
and was no stranger to the inside of a holding cell either. He’d been arrested
while protesting outside of CyberTronix on numerous occasions. The protests
were over the closure of the metal works plant. CyberTronix had bought it out,
fired the workers, and made all the manufacturing automated. Ancil knew seven
of the men who were fired. They tried to take it up with the courts and block
the move by putting an injunction on CyberTronix, but the case went nowhere.
The judge threw it out without even hearing the arguments.
With all the history between the two, Ancil
didn’t put it past Kendrick to make a call to his good friend Sheriff Bailey
and have the meeting ransacked. Kendrick was good at calling in favors,
especially when the firm he represented paid for most of them.
Ancil looked up and saw the officer approach the
cell. He had a set of keys in his hand and a hard look on his face. He was a
tall man, about 6’4’’, and had a crop top and handlebar mustache. He looked
like he came from a long line of officers. Most were born into it. It was their
legacy, something they had little choice in. The only thing that made them cops
was
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