Edgar Aeternum, Book 1: Tales of Aeternal Love (17 page)

So it went as he walked along, occasionally
stopping to check something in a shop window. One item, in
particular, kept his attention long enough that he almost went
inside. A home furnishings shop called
Mi Casa
had a bed
linen display in its main window. The eye-catching thing about
these sheets was their ability to change color depending on body
heat, as evidenced by the half-naked model rolling around on them.
They reminded Edgar of mood rings from the 1970s. He made a mental
note to stop in on the way home and check them out; if nothing
else, they were mildly entertaining.

Twenty minutes later, he was passing through
the entrance to the market and the earbuddy sounded again, letting
him know it was syncing with the store's computer. Seconds later, a
soft voice spoke into Edgar's ear, directing him to the bakery. He
spent some time enjoying the free samples, particularly a saffron
bread with candied fruit. He took a loaf of that and selected a
perfectly-crusted French bread for dinner with Maddox.

The earbuddy advised that produce was the
next department and provided direction to the section Edgar wanted.
He chose two bundles of fresh asparagus for grilling and a lemon
for seasoning. Next, the earbuddy directed him to the fresh
raspberries for the vanilla-bean mousse.

It went on like this until his basket was
stacked with all the things he needed for tomorrow night's meal. As
he was leaving the meat counter, the last stop on the list, he
remembered mint jelly. It would be a nice touch with the lamb chops
and he headed to that section before going to the front of the
market to check out.

Dalio's was unique in that it still employed
human cashiers. Most markets used automated systems reminiscent of
the various U-Scan stations in the twenty-first century. Dalio's
went so far as to employ human baggers, their goal to make
necessary shopping a personal experience. The ploy was wildly
successful and the one-time Mom-and-Pop shop was now the biggest
grocery chain in the country.

The cashier was a friendly young woman with
spikey blue hair. Edgar smiled, remembering when such a look was a
rebellion against the establishment and not an everyday fashion for
cashiers and barristers alike. The bagger was a gangly young man
apparently in the throes of puberty, if his seeming awkwardness
with his own limbs was any indication. He smiled at Edgar and began
bagging his order.

A few minutes and seventy credits later,
Edgar set out for home with his two bags. He was about halfway home
when his earbuddy chimed, signaling an incoming call. "ID caller,"
he said. The sensitive mic picked up his instruction through the
noise of the crowd.

"Comm ID: Barrister Evans," the unit
replied.

"Accept call," Edgar responded. The 'bud
chimed and the barrister's voice sounded in Edgar's ear.

"Sir," began Evans, "Terribly sorry to be the
bearer of bad news, but Miss Jarvis has gone missing. She was to
have been on a nine a.m. shuttle to Tyranus 6, but she never
boarded. A check of her residence proved futile; all her belongings
are gone. She left no hint of her present location," he paused.
"However, she did leave a clue as to her intent. The only item left
was a photograph of you, running in Gridley Park. Your face was
crossed out with black perma-marker. Mr. Aeternum, I strongly
advise you step up your personal security; it's my opinion that
Miss Jarvis is a potential threat."

Edgar slowed his stride as he absorbed this
news. "Is there any possibility she may just want to disappear,
rather than go offworld?" he asked.

"I don't believe so, sir," Evans replied.
"I'm looking into the matter, of course, but it would be
inadvisable for her to remain in Altair or Navea and no out-city
transit records exist showing her departure. I'll keep you apprised
of my investigation; in the meantime, please be careful, sir."

"Of course, Evans," Edgar said. "I will.
Please call me the second you know anything."

"Absolutely, sir," the barrister assured. "As
an additional reminder, she had access to your address, call code,
even spending patterns. If, in fact, she's got something unpleasant
in mind, she knows your routine, sir. The photograph proves that
she even has knowledge of your non-financial activities, which
suggests you've been under surveillance."

"Good to know, Evans," Edgar replied. "I
don't like it at all. However, it's not the first time I've had
issues of this type. Keep digging; I want to know everything about
her. Forewarned is forearmed and I intend to be ready for whatever
comes."

"Of course, sir," Evans said. "I already have
feelers out."

"Excellent," Edgar said. "One more thing,
Evans, off the record."

"Yes, sir, off the record," the barrister
responded.

"When we find Miss Jarvis, if she is a
threat, she's not going to Tyranus 6 or Dissa. She will disappear,
but it won't be offworld. Clear?" Edgar asked.

"As a cloudless day, sir," he barrister
answered. "I'm already planning for that contingency."

"Good man," Edgar said.

"Yes, sir," Evans said. "You're safe at
Highland House, given their security. Might I suggest you stay put
until this is resolved?"

"That's a fine idea, Evans," Edgar agreed. "I
don't like it, but safety first. Thank you for the suggestion."

"I know, sir," Evans said, a hint of humor in
his voice. "Perhaps you could order in?"

Edgar had to laugh, given that Evans almost
never joked about sex. "Point to you," he said. "As a matter of
fact, I am entertaining tomorrow evening."

"Enjoy, sir, and be careful," Evan said.

"Thank you, Evans. End call." Edgar picked up
his pace again, mood sheets forgotten, and headed home. It wasn't
the first time he'd had stalker issues, nor was it the first time
he'd handled them with Evans. There were other barristers and
agents, from other lifetimes; occasionally, he'd handled the
matters himself. One of the advantages of immortality, though some
might consider it the opposite, was the ability to view
dispassionately such unpleasantries as under-the-table justice. He
preferred to not be involved in such things, but self-preservation
was the number one priority. Miss Jarvis didn't have a chance if
she did decide to cause trouble.

Caution, however, was king at the moment.
Edgar kept himself on high alert, allowing no distractions and
avoiding as much of the crowd as possible. He didn't relax his
vigilance until the door of his apartment closed behind him and he
activated the security system. Once active, the system prevented
the door from being opened even by Edgar himself; it had to be
deactivated first.

Additionally, if breached alarms would sound,
both in the building and at Altair Security. Each floor of Highland
House would be sealed and elevators and stairwell doors locked. All
residents currently in the building would be required to identify
themselves either through their HC's, which then reported to
Highland House's computer, or by touching any door pad whether or
not their own.

Building sensors then determined the
locations of those not identified; what followed was, in Edgar's
opinion, nothing short of remarkable. The non-residents, identified
guests excluded, were given a chance to surrender by going to the
nearest elevator. Touching the pad at the elevator captured the
non-resident's ID, sending it to Altair Security in addition to
opening that elevator. The non-resident was then instructed to
enter the elevator, at which point the car locked them in, released
anesthezone, a powerful, fast-acting knock-out gas, and descended
to the first floor to await the arrival of Altair Security.

Of course, not everyone surrendered. These
situations particularly amused Edgar. After ignoring the broadcast
surrender instructions three times, the building took the
offensive. Using the sensor data, the building encouraged
cooperation with the elevator surrender routine. This encouragement
was provided by strong electrical impulses delivered from
directional electrodes hidden in the ceiling. The effect was
similar to that of a cattle prod; to date, no one in the history of
this particular system had managed to ignore it. Most luxury
buildings were thus equipped; reports of their deployment were
where Edgar got his knowledge. During his residence, Highland
House's system hadn't been deployed.

Edgar took the shopping bags to the kitchen,
depositing them on the counter nearest the 'fridge. First things
first, he kicked off his shoes and undressed. After downing a tall
glass of water and grabbing a refill, Edgar put away the groceries.
Once done, he took a quick bathroom break, returned to the kitchen
for coffee and headed for the living room where he stood before the
window overlooking Gridley Park.

I can't say I'm happy about this new
development, but it is what it is. Out there is some loony who
knows my patterns, my schedule, my everything and she's got a chip
on her shoulder. Been there, done that, though. Yeah, it's a pain
in the ass, but, like everything else, it'll pass. I trust Evans
and he knows what I meant when I said Serina Jarvis won't ever
leave Earth if she really is a threat.

It's a last resort, of course, but even in
these enlightened times, human instinct runs deep and that instinct
says 'if it's me or her, it ain't gonna be me.' If she really wants
to get me, she's not gonna stop because she got shipped to some
po-dunk colony world; she'll find a way and when I least expect it,
she'll pop up and bite me in the ass. Well, guess what, chica, shit
ain't goin' down that way. Fuck with me, I'll fuck you right back
and you'll know you've been fucked. Life can be easy, we can all
get along; I've been around over four hundred years, so I know it's
true. I also know that mad dogs don't stop biting until you put
them down and Miss Serina Jarvis strikes me as one crazy bitch.

The soft chime of
the wake-up alarm brought Edgar out of a sound sleep at nine a.m.
He ordered the drapes open and enjoyed the sun as the last vestiges
of a dream slipped away from conscious memory. The only thing that
remained was a vague sense of uneasiness.

I slept better than I thought I would. Guess
the weed 'n' whack worked better than planned. I hate to admit it,
but our Miss Jarvis is getting under my skin. I can only do so
much, though, and I refuse to let this mess take over my life. Like
everything else, the rule is do what you can and stop worrying.
Which reminds me, I need to call Evans this morning and get his
take on what I came up with last night; plus, I have some things I
want him to do.

Edgar spent an hour staring out the window at
Gridley Park the previous evening, reviewing possible scenarios,
and their corresponding contingency plans. The most obvious
scenario for Jarvis was a direct assault; she knew his routine as
evidenced by the photograph in the Park. It wouldn't take much to
step out from behind a tree and tag him; a dart with poison, a
micro-bullet to the head or heart, either would take him out
quickly, if he could actually die. If she picked the right spot,
she might even get away with it. This was also the easiest
contingency plan: No Gridley. Evans item one: Check weapons
registries to see if Jarvis was listed.

A less obvious, but equally dangerous,
scenario was that Jarvis somehow had his comm tapped, in which
case, she'd know about any food deliveries he was expecting. She
could intercept the delivery person, take his or her place and get
easy access to Highland House as he'd end up letting her in
himself. This scenario held the troubling possibility that the
actual delivery person might come to some form of harm. Given that
he knew and liked most of those people, the possibility that they
could come to harm bothered him. Contingency plan: No food
deliveries. Either shop at Dalio's or leave the apartment for
takeout. This would throw off Jarvis as it wasn't his normal
routine. Evans item two: Order full-scale comm sweep to check for
taps. The HC could find simple taps and Edgar would run his own
search; however, if Jarvis was smart enough or well-connected, the
taps would be more elaborate. Evans' own connections would allow
him to run a deeper sweep.

Scenario three had Jarvis working with others
in her illegal efforts. This was a troublesome scenario as he
wouldn't know who was watching him and when. Another missing piece
of information was the skill set of the possible co-conspirators.
This scenario was more vague than the other two, but equally
plausible. Contingency: None at present. Evans item three: Run a
check on all of Jarvis' known connections.

The fourth scenario was no less disturbing
than the third. What was Jarvis' mental status? If she was simply
angry that her extortion plan failed, her reactions would be more
emotional. However, if she had a history of such criminal activity,
she might be coldly calculating and a much more dangerous threat.
Contingency: None at present. Evans item four: Pull strings and get
access to Jarvis' criminal and psychological records, if any.

Scenario five had hit him like a ton of
bricks. Related to scenario two, if she had his comm tapped, she
would know about Maddox' visit. He'd felt nauseated at the idea
that she could possibly harm the young man, followed by
surprisingly strong anger. Contingency: Cancel the date? His heart
sank at the thought, yet another shock. Against his better
judgment, he eliminated that option and decided that the comm sweep
was the highest priority.

He reviewed the list of scenarios while
enjoying the soft morning sunlight. After about an hour, he
concluded that he had nothing to add and got up to start his day.
As he was cooking a pan of eggs, he pondered how to contact Evans
without tipping his hand to Jarvis if she did have the comm tapped.
The only reliably secure option was a face-to-face meeting at the
barrister's office in Navea.