Provenance I - Flee The Bonds Read Online Free

spread out onto glossy black-and-white diamond tiles like softened candle wax.
    On both sides of the foyer, columns interspersed butter coloured walls that formed arched corridors leading away to pairs of fortress like cream and gold doors. Life size statues lined the corridors, each lit by a tall window opposite.
    At the sound of Francois’s voice, Kacee closed her drooping mouth.
    ‘It is the home of my ancestors. A gift from the people.’
    ‘Very generous. What did your ancestors do?’
    ‘They protected our country from its enemies. Ah, here is Colette; she will take you to your suite.’
    Kacee followed Colette up the stone steps and onto the landing’s majestic red and gold carpet. They turned left into a wood-panelled corridor. Bowls of crystal light hung from the ceiling, highlighting the gilt-framed battle scenes lining the walls. Eventually Colette stopped and opened a heavily carved door. Kacee smiled and walked past her into the bedroom. It could have swallowed her whole apartment.
    Sunlight poured through four full-height windows, catching the gold braid in the pink curtains. Every piece of the flamboyant cream and gold furniture reflected in a glassy pool of golden-brown parquet flooring. The deep pink draping the four-poster bed continued into the bedcover and pillows. Burnt sienna wood panelling extended halfway up the walls before giving way to pink and cream flowers. Kacee raised her head. Lavish patterns in gold, pink and cream decorated the ceiling’s recessed square panels. Unfortunately, that wasn’t all she noticed. 22 nd century cameras had found their way into this 17 th century bedroom.
    Colette’s hand swept across two ornate cream dressers straddling a coral marble fireplace. ‘I put your clothes in these.’
    ‘Thank you Colette.’
    ‘This is a pretty room, yes Madame ?’
    ‘Sure is.’
    ‘It is La Chambre de Pauline .’
    Kacee had studied Francois’s ancestry in depth. ‘Is that Napoleon’s sister?’
    Colette bit her bottom lip. Kacee reached out and gently raised her chin. ‘You can tell me Colette, we are all friends.’
    Colette’s eyes peeked through her fringe. ‘She was a mistress of the Emperor.’
    Kacee smiled. That figures .

10:57 SAT 21:10:2119
    Red Zone, London, England, Sector 2
    Pulling up his jacket collar and ramming his neck down, Jason left the Food Ministry building and hurried towards the Admiralty Arch barrier. They had wind and rain in New York, but not these endless doom and gloom days. His Mediterranean heritage might be five generations old, but his olive skin still needed a regular dose of solar-powered UV.
    He headed for the dark-blue uniform with gold epaulettes standing under the left-hand arch. CONSEC had more than Defenders protecting Red Zones, every Advocate and SIS Prosecutor had first been a Gold Agent. The uniform stiffened and the female Agent made eye contact.
    ‘Good morning Commander. I’m sorry, but your car has been delayed.’
    Jason snatched up his wrist, 11:03. ‘How long?’
    The Agent’s posture didn’t slack, ‘Forty minutes, sir.’
    Jason looked up towards a distinctive hum. The yellow suitcase-like shell of a Prefect hovered in the shadows of the arch, its antigravity ion discharge producing a faint crackle in the moist air. He stared into its large circular lens and wondered if a nosy human Controller was staring back.
    Two red bands girdling the Prefect’s yellow armour hinted at its lethality and the green light on its indicator panel meant this one was in surveillance mode.
    Jason and everyone else entering a zone had their biofield ID scanned and stored at Central. If a Prefect detected an unmatched biofield, it emitted an ear-piercing screech to warn everyone to stand clear. Once connected to the Network, a human Controller would disengage the Prefect’s weapon locks. If you waited for CONSEC, the Prefect remained passive; if you decided to run, it killed you.
    Detecting a Drone in the Red and Blue Zones