Red Shift: The Odds (Censored version)

  Chapter 28

  The evening was blurring into oblivion. It seemed as the world expanded, it contracted. Heat became cold. The rhythm of his heart pulsed to the beat of the universe, and it was good. But then, the world went dark, Tyrol could no longer feel, he was numb, paralysed. The feeling of another entity was crushing his ascent to greater knowledge. Every turn was obscured, roadblocks. Xan. Then he felt a hot rush through his body, before the darkness closed in.

  The next morning Tyrol awoke with a new sense of urgency. He could not remember the events of the previous evening, but could feel Xan drawing his energy. Xan had been lying to him, he knew it. He was being used as a pawn, but today would be the day this pawn crossed the chessboard.

  He went through his usual morning routine. The workout was a little slower than usual, he forgot how much Datura took out of him, especially when he hadn’t taken it for so long. The programme ran through at three-quarter pace, and his diagnostic read-out afterwards showed his overall body performance had increased by one-quarter of a percent this week, after taking into consideration the short term effect of the Datura.

  Tyrol was pleased. He would soon have the strength and form greater than his father. Although his father had been gone for over five years, his legacy lived on, and Tyrol in its shadow. He looked in the mirror and took a cocktail of pills designed to enhance his physical and mental performance. They had been specifically constructed by some of his own biological engineers to tweak the faults in his DNA, but was now taking hold and transforming him.

  The side effect was his emotions. They were scattered at best, but he could live with it, and anyone who couldn’t could just bugger off. He pondered that thought for a moment, and wondered whether he had completely lost touch with humanity. He decided he hadn’t, he just didn’t really care. It wasn’t his job to care, compassion wasn’t a prerequisite to rule.

  It was time for him to see Xan and move their plan into the next phase. There was no more time to piss about, it was time for action. Xan had been holding something back, and Tyrol would find it soon enough, but he must tread cautiously. Xan was still a powerful leader and must be treated with respect. A move for power at the wrong time would undo all that he had been working on.

  He went to his chair in the study and started the holo comm. Xan appeared immediately. “Good morning, Tyrol.”

  “Xan.”

  “I trust you had a pleasant evening.”

  “Indeed. We have a few matters we need to cover. I have some ideas on accelerating the plans, and securing the Biotronics tech. I will be at your office this morning.”

  “Very good, Tyrol. I will be here.” Xan cut his comm.

  Tyrol left the house, but didn’t take his car, instead choosing to be driven, he had some business to attend. When he walked through the front doors, the brightness of the sun caught him off guard. The moment between walking out and his lenses tinting, disoriented him, making him pause. He put it down to the events of the previous evening.

  Once they were out of the property, he raised the privacy screen and slumped in his seat. He was expecting to hear from Jack at any time, but needed to secure services for the trade. There was no doubt Jack and his crew knew he’d tried to take them out a few times, but would they attempt retribution? Tyrol assumed so, it’s what he would do, so he needed muscle.

  Tapping his comm, he contacted an old trader he hadn’t dealt with for a while. “Drake, it’s Tyrol. I need some assets.”

  “Tyrol, long time. What can I do for you?”

  “I have a meeting with some, shall we say, hostile people. I don’t want to use my regular team.”

  “So are you just trying to intimidate, or do you want people with skills?”

  “Both. I need four, and able to use class 4 impulse pistols.”

  “So, ex-military then. I’ve got just the crew for you.”

  “Good, it will be some time in the next forty-eight hours, keep them on standby. Usual rate plus fifty percent.”

  “Agreed.”

  Tyrol cut his comm and slumped even further in his seat. There were still too many variables, he had to control this situation. He decided to run through the variables and write them off one at a time. Before he had gotten far, he was at the building. Time seemed to have escaped him, or was he just deep in thought?

  Entering Xan’s office, he saw two people at the desk adjacent to the outdoor room. It was bright outside so he couldn’t make out who it was from this far away. As he neared the desk, Xan stopped talking to the man and they both stood.

  “Tyrol, good morning. I would like you to meet someone.” Xan turned to the man standing beside Tyrol. “This is Peiter Solice. I do not believe you have met.”

  Tyrol felt his skin start to burn, it took every ounce of his strength not to grab Peiter’s head and tear it off. Instead he smiled, turned, and shook his hand.

  “A pleasure to meet you Tyrol, Xan has told me much about you, all to be admired.” Tyrol gave a half nod. “We have actually dealt in the past, but it was no big trade, I’m sure you’ve never heard of me.”

  “Oh, I’ve heard of you Mr Solice.” Tyrol locked eyes with him and didn’t move.

  “Really?” replied Peiter. “And what have you heard?”

  “Well, you know what they say about idle chatter, better to ignore it.”

  “And do you, Tyrol?” Their eyes were still locked.

  “Only the parts that don’t interest me.”

  Xan broke the conversation that he could see escalating. “Tyrol, Mr Solice is being very helpful with our enquiries on current issues. I’m sure he can brief you on his knowledge to date, but unfortunately he is already late for another appointment.”

  Peiter broke his stare. “Yes, Xan, thank you for reminding me. Good day my friend.” He bowed slightly to Xan. “A pleasure meeting you Tyrol,” he smiled, and got a half nod back from Tyrol.

  Xan walked Peiter to the lift, talking in a low voice. Tyrol was furious. Xan knew Tyrol was trying to find Solice for interrogation, and played as though he didn’t know him. All along they appeared to be friends. What was Xan doing, and what had he agreed with Solice. He was going to find out, one way or another.

  Xan started walking back to Tyrol, who was still standing. He could see Tyrol was angry and tried to quell the situation. “Tyrol, before you start, you must understand who Peiter Solice is.”

  “He’s the person who has been messing with me. I told you about him, and you didn’t admit to knowing him.”

  “Peiter is a long-time friend of the Ordained. He has provided us with a lot of intelligence over the years. You need to learn that in business there are no enemies, only people who haven’t learnt to work with us.”

  “Forget that Xan, I’m getting tired of your charades.” His voice raising almost to a shout.

  “Stop right there!” Xan shouted at him. “You will show some respect, boy, before you make a mistake you can’t recover from!”

  “And you will treat me as a partner and stop taking me from behind.”

  “I’ve had enough of this conversation. Leave now.”

  “No, I will not. I have been watching the Ordained for years. I see the weakness, the pointless relationships with people not worthy to be associated. People like you need to step aside and let the visionaries take charge.” He was now shouting, spit coming from his mouth through his anger.

  “Your dissention is intolerable, Tyrol. I will be discussing this with the others. For now consider yourself excommunicated until we see fit to reconsider you.”

  Xan was now standing behind his desk, hands bracing on the top. Xan stared at him with fury, Tyrol knew there was now no turning back. Xan would not stand in his way, no one would. He looked down at the floor, and then in one fluid motion leapt over the desk and thrust a punch into Xan’s throat, knocking him to the floor.

  Tyrol’s momentum carried him over the desk, where he dr
opped to the floor beside Xan on his knees. Xan was clasping his throat when Tyrol dragged him to a sitting position, wrapping his forearm around Xan’s neck and locking it with his other arm. His squeeze slowly tightened as he whispered into Xan’s ear.

  “You have underestimated me, my friend. I will not be double crossed, or disrespected, now or ever. I am not waiting for a group of old farts to tell me when I can move, talk or take a dump.”

  Xan was grasping for air, his arms flailing with decreasing force. He was losing consciousness, but just before he did, Tyrol released him. Xan slumped to the floor, barely moving. Tyrol reached into his pocket and pulled the small flask he had acquired the night before.

  “I can’t kill you, of course. That would mean I would be arrested, and no doubt executed. It is a shame, however, that you have taken Datura today. Did you know that the wrong dosage will cause tachycardia and mydriasis. Of course this in itself may not kill you. You will most certainly have amnesia if you survive a large dose, handy for me right now.”

  He dragged Xan into his chair, he slumped slightly onto his desk. Tyrol sat him upright and held his arm across his chest, forcing the potion into his mouth and holding it shut.

  “The problem is, this particular potion also has minute amounts of Taipoxin, from the Taipan in case you didn’t know. I’ve built up an immunity over the years, but it does give the Datura an extra kick for those that take it once in a while.”

  He forced the remainder of the liquid down and Xan swallowed it. His eyes were already dilated as much as they could, and he had some bubbles forming at the edges of his mouth. He wouldn’t last long now.

  “Well, you have a few seconds left. I’m leaving now. You know Xan, if you want to experiment with drugs, you really should be careful who you get them from. There are bad people out there.”

  Tyrol took a cigar from the box on Xan’s desk, whiffed the aroma and pocketed it before turning and leaving. As he stood in the lift awaiting the arrival of the ground floor, he decided he must end this phase of his journey, there was much more awaiting.

  The doors opened and he walked out into the foyer. Walking past the reception, he paused and turned to the guard. “Xan asked that his afternoon appointments be cleared. He’s taking some time to relax.”

  “Very good, sir. Good day.”

  The drive back to the property seemed to take an eternity. During that time, Tyrol decided he would leave Australia for a few years. He had property over many parts of the world, and once he had the Biotronics technology, he would need to forge new alliances away from the prying eyes of the Feds and Alphas in his community. It may look suspicious so soon after Xan’s death, but so be it, they would have no proof it was him.

  Next on his list would be Loach. He needed to ensure this kid’s loyalty to him. He was the key to developing the tech, and ensuring Tyrol could make the most of the development and trading. He didn’t think it would be hard, this kid was a street hacker, one weekend experiencing the smell, touch and feel of opulence and desire would be enough. He arranged for the meeting.

  That afternoon, Tyrol had Loach brought to the property. As Tyrol entered the parlour, he could see the wiry looking scruff was already at the bar. There was a tumbler and bottle of thirty year single malt in front of him. Tyrol was surprised; he took him as more of a beer man. The tribal tattoos over his neck and forearms were quite ghastly, but Tyrol took it as an attempt to be more fearsome than he actually was. It didn’t work.

  “Thank you for coming, Loach.”

  “It’s a pleasure to be here, Tyrol. Nice place, very nice.”

  “I’m glad you approve.” He gave a slight nod. “Thank you for your work with the bio-tracer and acquiring the Sats. It was most helpful.”

  “Glad to be of service.” Loach raised his glass before downing the contents.

  Tyrol placed a brown bag in front of Loach. Loach opened it and tipped the contents onto the bar. Opals spilled out in front of him. They were red and orange in colour, at least half a dozen carats. This was more than Loach had earned in the last three years.

  “What is this?” he asked.

  “Think of it as an act of good faith.”

  “For what?”

  “For your continued loyalty. I want you on my team Loach. You have exceptional skills, and I need you to lead my team on Biotronics development.”

  “What team, what development?”

  “Well, we are in the final stages of acquiring the decoder you had originally been a part of developing. And with my considerable resources at hand, we will be able to develop hardware and software to allow you to create Biotronics systems for my traders.”

  “Didn’t Ping and those other arseholes have the gear?”

  “Yes, but I have a little leverage coming my way very soon. Believe me Loach, if I say it will be done, it will be.”

  “Cool. Call me interested.”

  “Good. Stay the weekend as my house guest. I have a few things to tend to, and in the meantime you can sample all of the pleasures your new life may bring.”

  Tyrol tapped a device and a servant entered the parlour. “Please bring in a few of our female friends. I believe my guest here could use some R and R.”

  “Very good, sir.”

  Tyrol looked toward Loach and gave a slight nod. Loach raised his glass again in a salute to Tyrol. “You’re a generous man, Tyrol.”

  “Indeed. Enjoy your afternoon Loach. I will send a tailor down later on to find you something a little more suitable.”

  “You don’t like denim?”

  “Nobody likes denim, Loach.” Tyrol placed his hand on his shoulder, and then left the room.

  As he walked out of the room, he couldn’t help but smile. Everything was coming together nicely. Aside from the unfortunate, but necessary, events of this morning, the last few years of Tyrol’s efforts were paying dividends. He had hated pretending to be a minnow, shadowing his developments, disguising his identity while making achievements within the Alpha community.

  But, it was all necessary. He was an honoured Alpha from a strong lineage. Many people looked on his family as royalty in Australia, so his activities were watched closely by many. It was not acceptable for a younger member of the community to rise to prominence before their time. There were protocols, ethics and standards among the elite that were not to be tampered with.

  Forget that, he thought. No one was going to tell Tyrol how to live his life, certainly not those weaker than him. And they are all weaker.

  He retired to his study to contact Drake. He had a thought on the way upstairs, and had another task he needed to complete to ensure the meeting was all it was supposed to be. He would now be able to tie up all of his loose ends at once.

  “Drake.”

  “Good afternoon, Tyrol. Time for your engagement?”

  “I have another one in mind, first. Think of it as a test for your men.”

  “C’mon, Tyrol. You know I have the goods.”

  “OK, think of it as double payment then.”

  “That’s more like it. What do you want?”

  “There is a little town called Fitzroy Falls. I need you to deliver the operator, his name is Jay. He must be alive, at all costs.”

  “Got it. Say, who is this guy?”

  “Nobody you would know. Contact me when you have him.”

  “Roger.” The comm disconnected.

  So he was about to acquire the decoder, he already had his techie, he would soon have the address of the remaining equipment, all that remained was to destroy Solice, and hopefully Jack and his team. Then he would be done.

  Although it was risky, he had decided to alert the Feds to the rendezvous with Jack. It would cause confusion, they would be Tyrol’s back-up to take Jack’s team if Tyrol’s men failed, and it would expose Solice. If Tyrol didn’t get the chance to kill him, at least the Feds would have him wrapped up tight after the incident, long en
ough for Tyrol to get the equipment out of the country.

  He dozed in his chair, it had been a long day and he was exhausted. As he drifted off he thought perhaps he would cut back on the Nanos for now. He was already functioning well beyond any capacity he previously had, and there was no need to risk his body at this stage. Why was he so tired? Something to sort out. Later.

  He awoke abruptly to his comm device, it was Drake. “Good news?”

  “Indeed, we have your man. Luckily he was closing up and no one was around. He’s a sucker for a nice pair of legs, so we had Venus distract him while one of the boys shot him with a dart. Easy and clean.”

  “Good, so no witnesses?”

  “None, and we were in and out in ten minutes. I told you Tyrol, I’ve got the best.”

  “I never doubted you my friend, just ensuring you’re still on your toes.” Drake had a chuckle and cut his comm.

  Tyrol now had all the pieces in place, ready for the finale. He would now go and ensure his new techie didn’t get cold feet. It was time to cement him in the group, and ensure he performed to Tyrol’s expectations. He didn’t like dealing with street scum any more than he had to, but perhaps he could turn this lurker into something more resembling a man.

  He walked into the parlour and told a servant to go and bring Loach in. A minute later the two appeared before Tyrol waved the servant away. Loach was dressed in a fine cut grey suit with an orange shirt and black shoes. He looked, for all intents and purposes, human. He had removed his scrappy dreadlocks and now had a short-cropped, clean haircut. Tyrol was impressed.

  “Hope you don’t mind, I had the barber come in too. Could only do a quick cut, your girls were cleaning me for hours!”

  “Well, it’s good to see you taking my offer seriously. The girls are for your entertainment, assuming you want to be part of the family.” Tyrol let the statement hang for a moment, before smiling and presently a chair at the bar.

  “Well, Tyrol. I can’t say I’ve had any better offers than that for … Well, forever. Count me in.”

  “Excellent.” Tyrol put his hand out and gave Loach a shake, almost crushing his hand.

  “Wow, strong grip you have there.”

  “Well, you know us Alphas Loach, nothing to do all day besides sit around and work-out, or read news articles.”

  “You don’t strike me as the lay about type of person, Tyrol.”

  “Very perceptive. On that, we must talk about your next task.”

  “Biotronics?”

  “Not yet. I have a meeting soon. It won’t be particularly pleasant, and I need you to watch my back. We have a reasonable command centre on site here, you will be responsible for keeping my team up to date with locations and firepower of my rivals, keeping the Feds in check, and signal jamming if required.”

  “Jesus Christ, Tyrol. You going into World War 3?”

  “Perhaps. I’m expecting you will ensure I come back out of it.”

  “Hey, you’re the only employer that ever shouted me a suit, I’m your man.” He raised his glass to Tyrol in a toast before drinking.

  Loach seemed to be very casual about the recent events. Tyrol wasn’t sure if it was bravado or ignorance. He took it as the former, everything he had researched on this character showed he was one of the most naturally talented techies in the country. He watched him as he looked around the parlour, admiring the furniture, the holo-pictures of Tyrol with all manner of dignitary and royalty over the years, the parade of exotic vehicles parked through the next room. He knew Loach was under the spell of Tyrol’s lifestyle and life. From this point on, he could forge him into a powerful ally. A new beginning for both of them.

  “Loach, this meeting is going to be complicated and fast moving. The key objectives are to ensure a man named Peiter Solice doesn’t leave the scene, and we obtain the Biotronics Decoder. I have bio signatures of Solice, so you should be able to mark him easy enough.”

  “And what about the decoder? It’s not like I can just tag it from a Sat.”

  “Because it’s not an electronic system?”

  “Exactly. The decoder is the only thing that can actually read the Biotronics signals and convert them to electrical signals if required.”

  “Leave that to me. I have some leverage for that trade. Just make sure you have Sats over the area and grab as many markers as you can. I don’t want them leaving with it.”

  “I got it. So who else is on your tech team?”

  “Including you?”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  “Well my boy, you’re it. I can’t trust anyone else right now.”

  “Hold on.” Loach sounded more than a little concerned. “You’re telling me you’re engaging with at least three parties, multiple vehicles, no doubt multiple weapons arrays, probable hostile intent, and I’m it?”

  “Well, not exactly. I have what you would call ‘trick’ tech on site, Loach. We have pioneered much of the technology the general public use, and stolen most of the tech the military uses.”

  “So what are we talking? Autonomous Drones, mobile battlements, sweepers?”

  “Sure, if that’s all you want. I have Ion Plasma payload Stalkers, a stealth scramjet UAV, keyhole access to MilSats, and an armoury under this building. But if you just want a drone there must be some around somewhere we haven’t disposed of yet.”

  Loach was silent, staring with his mouth part open trying to digest the artillery Tyrol just rattled off. Tyrol enjoyed every second of it. He never grew tired of the awe people had in him, regardless of their pedigree. Any doubts Loach may have once had about this deal would now be completely wiped away.

  “That’s, uh, that’s, that’s pretty impressive Tyrol. Should I send a memo to the government to remind them not to mess with you?”

  “No need, I’ve already done that,” Tyrol said it as nonchalant as possible before downing his drink.

  “Well, you have me excited Loach, how about we go and check out this war chest of yours!”

  “I’ll have my chief of security show you around the site, get you familiar with the hardware. We probably have about twelve hours or so; make sure you acquire any assets you need prior to that and be ready, we will have to be in position fast.”

  Tyrol left the room as his Chief of Security walked in. Tyrol gave him a nod as he walked past. Tyrol made his way upstairs to arrange the meeting, and advise of the changed parameters. He would force a fairly quick engagement to throw them off guard, and hopefully keep them flapping about Jay.