Sons of Abraham: J-17's Trial Read Free Page A

eyes shot open as a long list spewed onto the illuminated touch-screen. He read each one, in turn, his lips moving slightly as he did. Some of the laws seemed reasonable enough, such as the capital being a no-fly zone. With older style cities, such as this, the owners often didn’t care for newer technology buzzing past the windows every second of the day. Some of the other new laws, however, were concerning. He had just reached the section on Cybers when the transport came to a stop in front of the capital building.
    “Listen,” the guard said, leaning forward in his seat. “Don’t worry about most of it. I will warn you about the new marriage laws, though.”
    “New marriage laws?” Nathan stammered, scrolling down the screen with his finger. “What about them?”
    The guard turned around, checking to see if the driver and other guard were listening. Confident that he would not be heard, he turned back to the agent and leaned as far as the seat would allow for him.
    “It isn’t right,” the guard whispered. “Just so you’re warned.”
    Agent Calloway was about to inquire what the man meant when the guard suddenly sprang from the cream cushioned bench and opened the half-door to the topless vehicle. The two investigators followed suit, each stepping through the opening and down to the bricked road below. The flooring to the entrance of the capital building was nothing like Nathan had remembered. The simple clay tiles had been replaced with some sort of reddened glass, almost allowing one to see all the way to the pavement below. The mid-day sun glared off the tiles, reflecting a red shadow upon the walls and door. The door itself was doublewide, light wood frame with the same red glass in the center. A crest was etched into the glass, a mountain with a sun rising behind it.
    Before Nathan could take in all the changes, the doors swung open. Two men, each taking one door, pushed them all the way open, resting their backs against them as they turned to face forward. Unlike the boring attire of the platform guards, the capital guardsmen wore dark red armor, hints of black mixed in with marbled swirls. Their hair was black, slicked backward over their necks and trimmed just shy of where their armor began. Muscles were molded into the armor, giving them a menacing appearance. Each had a firearm holstered at the waist, bright silver in color. The tips of the silver barrels protruded through holes in the holsters, extending another seven inches down the guard’s leg. Agent Calloway didn’t need to inspect the weapons to know what they were. The firearms fired a fragmenting bullet, illegal on Earth and several other planets as well. The bullets would break apart upon impact, scattering through the target's insides. The length of the barrel was due to the length of each bullet needing time to release from the chamber. They were powerful and accurate but seldom left a living target.
    The investigators entered the open doorway, taking in the view from the entranceway. The access way raised as high as the top of the building, one red-glassed skylight tinting the entire room in a dark red. One blossoming tree stood in the center of the room, the white pedals turned red as blood through the filtered light. Water ran at the base of the tree through a channel of tiles, which ran to the walls on each side before disappearing from view. Something about the red made Nathan uncomfortable, bloodlust almost pouring throughout the entire entrance. This was not the same bright and sterile view the streets had offered from the outside. This was a means to intimidate one’s guest into cooperation.
    The trip to Lord Elsmere’s dwelling was long, requiring the use of the spiraling tiled stairway in the center of the domed building. The investigators traveled relentlessly, taking a moment to glance down each hall as they passed every landing. Finally, upon reaching the sixth floor, the two took the turn. There were four directions from