The Peace Proxy: Part 1 Read Online Free

a curt nod, and the
officer returned to Garrett. He informed Garrett the interview was
complete and offered a ride to the train station, which Garrett
gladly accepted.
    Garrett followed the officer to the motor
garage and moved to get in the passenger’s
side of the police aircar, but the officer shook his head in
disapproval. “Sorry but you’ll have to ride in the back,” he
instructed Garrett, seemingly embarrassed. “Department policy.”
With a shrug, he pointed to a camera tucked into the ceiling.
    Garrett nodded with a shrug of his own. “No
problem. I’m just thankful for the ride.” Garrett’s understanding
produced a smile from the officer as he entered the vehicle.
    A beleaguered Garrett slid into the back
seat. Checking the time, he numbly deduced he could still make it
back to New York in time for this evening’s Christmas ball.
Recalling tonight’s celebration, Garrett realized there were only
four days until Christmas, and he had not
decided on a gift for Katherine. A radio broadcast of the
Governor’s death brought his thoughts back to recent events. The
report stated, for reasons unknown, the Governor had committed
suicide after an interview with a reporter from the New York
Herald . It ended with a promise from the Attorney General that
his office would look into the facts surrounding the incident.
Garrett asked the officer to turn off the broadcast, and he obliged.
    Garrett had diligently forwarded the story
to Charlie from his communications band a few minutes before the
police arrived. Commonly referred to as a “ comband, ” the device was essentially a touch screen
bracelet about an inch wide. It enabled the user to access the
information superhighway with all of life’s essentials. Like most consumers, Garrett wore a nearly invisible
paired earpiece for private voice communication. By now, his news
agency was running a written exclusive on the net edition.
    The day’s events had drained Garrett both
mentally and physically. The last thing he remembered was how
fatigued he felt as he slipped into comforting darkness.
     
    Garrett was enjoying a respite from the
day’s events at Arthur’s cabin by the lake. He had always favored
this special place where, as a boy, he had
discovered the mysteries of the great outdoors. He wrapped the wool blanket around his shoulders as he
watched the fire dance along the stone hearth. He felt a hand on
his shoulder, which was vaguely disconcerting since he was alone.
Arthur must have driven up to surprise him, but the repeated use of
“Mr. Richards” seemed out of character. It was getting colder
despite the adequate blaze contained in the fireplace. Was the door
open? Garrett opened his eyes, and the warm
cabin was instantly replaced by the cool night air entering through the open police car
door.
    “Mr. Richards?” the officer questioned. “Mr.
Richards, sorry to wake you but we’ve arrived.”
    Garrett struggled to comprehend the
officer’s meaning. “What?”
    “We’re here, sir,” the officer replied.
    Garrett sat up. The surroundings were not
what he had expected. The aircar sat on a landing pad atop a tall
building, not the train station as Garrett had expected. Garrett
exited the vehicle, the cobwebs clearing from his head, as he did.
He recognized the skyline.
    “Are we…,” he began.
    “At your apartment building,” the officer
finished. “You fell asleep before we got out of the parking garage.
I was going off shift, so I called in and asked if I could just
take you all the way. It seemed like you’d already had a rough
day.”
    Garrett rubbed his eyes with one hand. “How
long was I out?” he asked as he stretched to
ward off the last remnants of sleep.
    “About fifteen minutes.”
    “Well, thank you, officer…” Garrett started, extending his hand.
    Anxious to be on his way, the officer
quickly shook the offered hand.
    “Crandal. Troy Crandal,” Troy informed
Garrett.
    “Thank you, Troy.”
    “No problem,” he