03 Solar Flare - Spark Series Read Free Page A

beautiful creature.
    He sighed and penned a short, pointed note.
The doctor would pay what he’d promised, or his unwitting subjects
would begin to disappear. It wasn’t just about the money; it was
about saving face.
    Doctors annoyed him, and this one wasn’t
important, other than as a source of income. Due to the dangerous
nature of his drug, he’d been denied permission to attempt human
trials, so he’d sent it out on the streets disguised as a
recreational drug. Occasionally, he slipped it to targeted
individuals, people who matched the genetic profile he’d found to
be receptive to its effects. He had delusions of grandeur, that
one. He thought that history would vindicate him as a man who’d
given human evolution its next great boost. He was a fool.
    Vio snorted as he sealed his message to the
good doctor. It mentioned no names, no specifics, but was pointed
enough that the doctor would understand the threat. Vio was
confident that he would get his money.

     

CHAPTER 2
     
    Brandy headed into the police station first
thing the next morning. In spite of the stimulating, hot loqki in
her mug, she was feeling worn and surly. It had not been a pleasant
night. It had also been an instruction not to take medication from
strangers at parties. Who knew what was really in that little
packet? She was tempted to have sharp words with Vio Srie. But
really, she hadn’t been raised in a nunnery. She knew better.
    She was not going to attend any more of his
parties, however. They had a contract now. She no longer needed to
make nice. He could play his stinking games with someone who’d
appreciate them.
    She didn’t miss the irony that she was
walking into a police building, but she had no evidence to accuse
him with; just her word that something was fishy with the vintner.
Without proof, there was nothing the cops could actually do. He
wouldn’t be the first businessman to toy with illegal narcotics.
Besides, she couldn’t be sure that the dreams weren’t just an
unpleasant side effect of a perfectly legitimate painkiller. Too
bad she’d consumed the evidence.
    As part of a project to spruce up the public
buildings, the new mayor had ordered the old sandstone building
freshly scrubbed and sealed. Trees and flowers had been planted
around the parking lot, and the cracked pavement fixed. The inside
had been given a makeover, too. A fresh cream paint spruced up the
walls and a decorator had come in and added artwork and plants to
the foyer. It made an odd contrast to the handcuffed delinquents
who sat on the benches, waiting to be processed.
    There was a line of plaques and awards on the
wall. She noticed Azor’s name on several of them and grimaced. Of
course. Do-gooder. He was the tightest of the tight, and she ought
to know—he visited Blue at The Spark whenever her brother in law
was in town with her sister and kids. She saw far more of him than
she liked, and the man was rarely out of uniform. Maybe they gave
awards out for that, too.
    Brandy asked to see Azor and was waved on
back. He was seated at his desk in his usual black-green uniform,
his eyes trained on his computer screen. Everything was tidy and
neatly lined up, his pen and notepad set just so. He didn’t even
look up when she took the seat at the unoccupied desk in front of
him. “Good morning, Brandy. Mind getting me a cup of hot tea while
I finish this?”
    She studied him with displeasure. Mornings
weren’t the highlight of her day, and this day had started with
having to deal with him. Besides, she’d had a late night.
    Although he must have had the same, he looked
as collected as ever. His green hair was tied firmly back in his
queue, and the mutilated ear, complete with crystal stud, was back
in evidence. His face was marked by an old knife wound across his
brow and just below his eye.
    She absently wondered why some people got
away with looking good scarred. Her injuries had never done a thing
for her love life, and she had scars, too. She’d