Free Reality Matrix Effect (9781310151330) by Laura Remson Mitchell

today?” she inquired, plopping
onto Keith’s unmade bed as he busied himself hunting through
dresser drawers.
    “Huh?  Why do you say that?”
     “ Oh, I don’t know,” she said,
pausing for a long, deep breath. “You don’t usually have an unmade
bed at this time of day. I thought maybe you slept late or took a
nap or something. Besides, you seem a little tense.”
    Rayna cocked her head to one side as she
finished speaking. Something was tugging at her memory, but she
couldn’t quite identify it.
    Activating the closetron mechanism behind his
closet door, Keith inspected a visual directory, selected a shirt
and a comfortable pair of slacks, then closed the door. With a soft
hum, the closetron located the items in its memory banks, retrieved
the compacted atomic versions from storage, and reconstituted the
clothing.
    “Yeah. Maybe I am a little tired,” he said as
he opened the door and removed the shirt and slacks. “Or maybe
sleeping late just makes me grouchy.”
    “I know just the thing to give us both a
lift,” Rayna said brightly, grabbing Keith’s hand as he walked past
the bed. “I really need you right now, Keith,” she added earnestly
as their eyes locked.
    Keith pulled her to her feet and kissed her,
more with tenderness than with passion.
    “Give me a minute,” he said gently. “Look,
why don’t you go wait in the living room. I’ll be right in, and we
can feed all you have into the computer. That’ll give us a starting
point.”
    Rayna nodded and headed for the living
room.
    “By the way,” she called out, her forehead
creased in concentration as she sniffed the air, “what’s that
strange odor. Are you hiding some kind of exotic flowering plant
around here?”
    Keith hesitated before answering.
    “I don’t smell anything,” he muttered.
    Rayna moved to the computer terminal and ran
her fingers nonchalantly over the keyboard dust cover.
    “Well, it’s not a very heavy smell. Kind of
light and pleasant, really. Even seems a little familiar, though I
can’t remember what it is....  Oh, well. Never mind.”
    Rayna flipped the power switch on the
terminal and moved the nearby chair to a comfortable position as
the dust cover retracted.
    “Think I’ll catch up on the news,” she
announced, calling up the latest news briefs. “When you going to
expand your service, Keith?  I’d think that as a lawyer, you’d
want a lot more information than the briefs give you.”
    “As a lawyer, that’s all I need,” he
responded from the bedroom. “If I need more, I use my special
access code to hook into the law library’s 24-hour news watch. I
need it so seldom that it would be ridiculous for me to get news
watch service for myself. Besides,” he added, peeking out the
bedroom door, “I can always check with my friend Rayna Kingman, the
news junkie.”
    Rayna smiled, then turned back to the
terminal. “Jesus!” she said as Keith strode to her side. “I haven’t
paid much attention to what was going on for the last day or two.
Look at these headlines!”
      She gestured at the screen,
barely glancing up at Keith. “More problems in the Middle East.
Some new trouble in Southeast Asia. Unrest in South America.
Africa, too. And closer to home. There are three stories about
local burglaries, another one about vandalism with racial and
religious overtones, and even one story about an assault—all taking
place over the last few hours.”
    Keith peered over Rayna’s shoulder.
    “Yeah, things look pretty grim. Look at Brief
Number 12.”
    Rayna turned her attention to the story Keith
had cited.
    LOS ANGELES POLICE ARE GEARING UP TO DEAL WITH
A MAJOR CRIME EXPLOSION THAT HAS ROCKED THE CITY OVER THE PAST
SEVERAL WEEKS, ACCORDING TO LT. FRANK HERNANDEZ, WHO HEADS A POLICE
DEPARTMENT TASK FORCE CHARGED WITH RESTORING ORDER.
    “WE DON’T KNOW WHAT’S TRIGGERED ALL THIS,”
HERNANDEZ SAID, “BUT WE’RE DETERMINED TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF IT.
MEANWHILE, WE WANT THE PUBLIC TO START