Free Angel Of The City by R.J. Leahy

almost makes m e pass out again. “No, I’m good. Never felt better.”
    “ Excellent. It may interest you to know that the Counselor you assaulted will recover as well, though if he had not, it wouldn’t have changed much for you. The punishment for assaulting a Counselor and murder are of course, the same.”
    “ Glad to hear it. Listen, I hate to be a bother, but would you know the time?”
    He grins as he raises his left arm, pulling back the sl eeve. “Ten twenty five. Are you late for an appointment?”
    “ Dinner reservations.”
    “ Ah, yes? After curfew? Tsk-tsk, I’m afraid I’ll have to have the cook shot.”
    “ Don’t apologize. I’ve ate there before. You’d be doing the place a favor.”
    “ I’m glad to see you have a sense of humor. I hope you can manage to keep it. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Liedercounselor Remy.”
    “ A pleasure. You’ll forgive me if I don’t get up?”
    “ Of course. Now then, you may be surprised to learn of it, but there appears to be something wrong with your tags. The scanners can’t pick you up at all.”
    “ That’s odd.”
    “ Isn’t it? So then you’ll understand that I have to ask you your name.”
    “ Ellison.”
    The young Counselor ’s face turns a darker shade of crimson and his mouth sets in a firm line, but he doesn’t move.
    Remy raises his eyebrows and smiles. “Like my young protégé here? Isn’t that a coincidence. Related?”
    “ Could be. Dad got around.”
    “ I see. I’ll tell you what, why don’t we just call you Mr. Smith for the present? We’ll discover your true identity soon enough.” He rubs his hands together, the black leather of the gloves creaking. “Now then, Mr. Smith, tell me, are you one of those delusional revolutionaries that pop up now and again, or are you just a gun for hire?”
    “ I’m not much for causes. I like to think of myself as an independent contractor.”
    “ I thought so. You have the look. Some of my colleagues were hoping they would send in one of their own, but I find fanatics tiresome. I mean all that rambling about freedom and liberty and…oh, what’s the other one?”
    He looks to Ellison, who gives a slight shrug of the shoulders.
    “Democracy, that’s it! Where do they come up with these ideas? I swear I think they just make this stuff up as they go. No, it is much easier dealing with a practical man such as yourself. Now then, if you would be so kind as to tell me who sent you for the woman?”
    “ Woman? You have women here? This night just keeps getting better.”
    The nod is so slight I almost miss it, but I’m able to grit my teeth and contract my stomach just before the prod strikes me, right above the groin. Even prepared, the force of the shock is excruciating. I double over onto the floor, pulling the chair on top of me. For several seconds that seem more like several minutes, I can’t breathe. Ellison roughly pulls me back up. I’m still bent over in the chair, straining to take a breath as spasms rack my body.
    “ Shall we try again?” Remy asks.
    I can only grunt in response.
    “Oh,” he says, his smile fading. “I do hope you haven’t lost your sense of humor. I was beginning to enjoy our repertoire.”
    I work the muscles in my jaw, fi ghting to speak. “Two Cosags walk into a bar…”
    The next shock hits in my left nipple. I ’m not ready for it and my mouth slams shut with such force I bite through my tongue. Once again I fall down onto the floor, this time writhing as the contractions rip through me. I’m allowed to lie there a little longer before being hauled back up.
    “ My apologies, but I’ve heard that joke before. Let us understand one another, shall we? You are a shade. A man with no identity has no rights of any kind—that is the law. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you aren’t an imbecile and that you know this already. That being so, then you also know that your life will shortly end.”
    He steps closer and