Canvas Skies (Reliance on Citizens Makes Us Great!) Read Free

sometime
soon. That, and my father, but not right now.
    “You following me?” The corners of her lips
teased upward. “If I didn't know any better, sir, I'd assume you
were interested in me.”
    I reached over and wrapped my arm around her
waist, pulling her close. “You'd better assume that.”
    Keira's brilliant green eyes sparkled as she
tilted her head back, flexed her fingers through my hair and gently
pulled me forward. Her full red lips parted ever so slightly and
deepened the kiss. It obliterated all remnants of my stress. After
a few moments, we parted.
    “After you, m'lady.” I gestured to the
backseat.
    “'My lady?' What's the occasion? An
anniversary of some kind?” Keira's eyebrows arched as I settled
onto the black leather seat beside her. Eberhardt started the
engine and pulled away from the curb.
    “You could say that.” I pulled my hand out
of my pocket and dropped the pendant so it dangled on its chain
between us. “A year ago today I gave you this.”
    On that same day I'd told her that her
brother, Scott, and I had founded the Resistance.
    “I think that calls for dessert at the very
least, and I know of a place with the best tiramisu.”
    Keira smiled and turned away from me. After
I fastened the clasp, she removed the wig. Her long wavy black hair
tumbled down and brushed against the back of my hand. It sent a
pleasant shiver down my spine.
    Eberhardt slowed to a stop as we approached
The Coffee Shoppe. Despite the late hour, it looked like we may
have to wait for a table. One hand was already on the door latch
when I felt a slight pressure on my arm. I turned. Keira gripped my
forearm and looked past me, out the tinted window. I followed her
gaze. Dammit, there was another one.
    After the Ramsey Corps incident last year,
large bounties had been placed on all three Maddock siblings. We
weren't seeing them as often anymore. Whoever had set the bounties
seemed to be giving up. Still it was best to take precautions. The
contact number couldn't be traced, not even by Raquelle, so we
really had no idea who wanted them. It could have been a renegade
group of doctors set on continuing genetic experimentation or a
group of high ranking Gov officials determined not to lose valuable
assets. It was even possible that Elaine Ramsey had returned and
formed an alliance with Celia Beckett. Both had connections and
both had good reasons for revenge.
    Whoever it was, they'd made a mistake. At
350,000 gats per head, they'd set the bounty too high. Keira
assured me that no professional Freelancer would touch it for fear
of losing their own head after the job was complete, and amateurs
were of little concern.
    We'd done what we could. Raquelle, a genius
at all things techno, had scoured the System and located and
destroyed all of the digital images she could find of Keira, Scott
and April. The image on this poster looked like it been sketched
first and then run through a data processor program. The bright
green eyes were really the only similarity, but their shape was
wrong.
    Keira opened her purse and removed a silver
clip with an intricately woven design. By simply pinning up her
naturally black hair, she looked absolutely nothing like that of
the young woman with wavy blond hair in the full color wanted
poster.
    After a short wait, the hostess led us to a
small table near the front of the cafe. I ordered coffee and
tiramisu for two.
    “Coffee? I'll be up all night!” Keira
said.
    Coffee was yet another privilege reserved
for the Elite. As such, Keira had never developed a tolerance for
the bitter drink, and she was absolutely right. She would be up all
night.
    I winked at her and ran my fingers gently
down her arm. “That won't be a problem, will it? I'm sure we can
find something to do.”
    She grinned. “Are you off tomorrow?”
    “I am, and I took the liberty of canceling
your training session with Eberhardt and the Raiders.”
    “Shit! Wait here.” Keira suddenly pushed
back her chair and walked out