A Chronetic Memory (The Chronography Records Book 1) Read Free Page A

that she was doing something remotely useful.
    She shrugged. She had wanted a career; this was just a job. Then she chided herself. At least it was a job. And this afternoon held something more interesting, possibly even significant, if her schedule didn’t change while she was at lunch with Kat. By the time she had saved the backups, and returned Object 103192 to its shelf in Case 103, she had begun to feel better. She left the lab humming a cheerful fiddle tune that had hit the top of the charts just the month before.

3
Manipulation
    HUNTER’S OFFICE. 1200, Monday, June 5, 2215.
    The connexion icon on the viewwall buzzed. The tall, impeccably-dressed man turned abruptly and waved his hand at the icon, which expanded to become a hologram of the caller.
    “Right on time, Ms. Lowe,” he commended her.
    “Hunter.” She acknowledged him with a look of resignation. Her posture was proper and professional. He could read her expression easily: Make this a business transaction. Let it be over quickly.
    After months of these meetings, her initial fiery defiance had succumbed to fear, and the fear had turned to surrender. She had seen the futility of resistance, and her acquiescence made it easier to control her, but he missed the terror he had inspired in their early meetings.
    Sometimes, he toyed with the idea of exposing her husband’s real background to the world despite the payments she had made so regularly. It would destroy her family, he knew. Lowe would be imprisoned, the company he had built from the ground up would fail, and their finances would crumble. He thought of the children, still in elementary school. They idolized their father. He scowled. He hated their smug trust. He wanted to see them suffer as he had suffered, living in a shabby studio apartment in the worst part of town. He wanted to see them cry. He wanted the man to watch his family be reduced to abject poverty, knowing he was powerless to help. The more he thought about it, the more difficult it was to restrain himself. It would be so easy to leak the news.
    He decided she would have to pay more.
    “The funds have been transferred, Hunter. I trust the group’s discretion will continue.”
    The group. He would have to get the increase approved. He chafed at the delay, but knew he had no real choice.
    “As always, Ms. Lowe.” He waved his hand again and the image vanished. A few more gestures opened a banking icon and confirmed the transfer: 400 million global credits. The corner of his mouth turned up slightly, just short of a smirk. The money was coming in, from hundreds of highly-placed sources, and a good portion of it was his.
    Soon he would be one of the richest people in the world.

4
Agitation
    BATELLI’S DELI, West Seattle, WA. 1205, Monday, June 5, 2215.
    Kat had already ordered for both of them when Dani got to the sandwich shop. “You have your choice between beef with provolone or turkey and Swiss,” she offered. “They’ll be here in a few minutes.”
    The restaurant had an old-fashioned feel to it. The owners had decorated the deli to match a two-hundred-year-old photograph. Walking through its doors was like walking back in time. Dani watched as waiters took orders by hand and brought meals to the table. “I’ll take the turkey,” she decided, “although the beef sounds good too. How much do I owe you?”
    “Don’t worry about it. You can buy next time.”
    They settled into the antique chairs that made no adjustments to their body temperature or shape. The unyielding plastic felt strange on her back, but surprisingly comfortable.
    “So the game was bad?” Dani prompted her friend, wanting to talk about something that didn’t involve settings and scans. Most of the interns ate in the cafeteria at lunchtime to gossip and gripe, but she depended on these forays into the outside world for her sanity.
    “Oh, you wouldn’t believe it. None of these kids has ever telecompeted before this year. Including Jored, of course.