Free The Machine Awakes by Adam Christopher Page A

weren’t employees of Helprin’s Gambit at all.
    The man sitting at the table in the interview room was wearing a dark gray suit with a dark blue shirt underneath and black tie. The tone of his skin was somewhere in between, his dense, closely cropped hair and chinstrap beard almost mathematically precise. In front of him on the table was a slim datapad.
    Kodiak turned on his heel, but the door had closed. He turned back, and the man gestured for him to take a seat. Before he did, Kodiak couldn’t stop his mouth curling into a lopsided smile.
    â€œSpecial Agent Braben. Fancy meeting you here.”
    Braben said nothing, but one eyebrow went up as he looked Kodiak up and down. “Nice suit.”
    Kodiak lowered himself into the chair. “You come all this way to offer me fashion advice, or is there something else I can help with?”
    Braben pressed a finger to the datapad on the table, then turned it around to face his prisoner. Kodiak leaned forward to look.
    The datapad showed a profile, an official identity record. Kodiak recognized it immediately, because it was his. On the left side was his official Fleet ID picture, his shoulders turned three-quarters as he pointed his clean-shaved jawline at the lens. Underneath the picture were his vital statistics, including employment history. Down the right side of the page, most of the text was blacked out. Redacted.
    Kodiak laughed. “What, they didn’t give you clearance to read my whole profile?”
    Agent Braben sighed and thumbed the datapad to display the next page.
    Kodiak’s smile dropped. His photograph was still there, but now there was new text superimposed over the top.
    WANTED
    It was an arrest warrant.
    Kodiak shook his head as he scanned the rest of the page. “Mike, come on, you don’t want to do this,” he said, lifting his cuffed hands from his lap, reaching toward the agent. “I can explain.”
    Braben pulled the datapad back toward him. “Special Agent Von Kodiak, you’re under arrest—”
    â€œLook, buddy, there’s been a mistake here. You just need to call the chief. Talk to Avalon. She’ll clear it up.”
    Braben sucked on his top lip and held up his hand. “It’s not that easy, Von.”
    â€œNo, seriously, listen—”
    â€œKodiak, please, ” said Braben. He adjusted himself in the chair, looking around the interview room like he was afraid the walls were about to come crashing down.
    Kodiak banged the table with his cuffs. There’d been a mistake. A big, big mistake. Braben clearly had no clue what was going on. Dammit, he should have been told. Of all people, he should have been told.
    The agent straightened his tie and cleared his throat. “Special Agent Von Kodiak, you are under arrest for treason. You have been found guilty and sentenced in absentia. The penalty is death. I am authorized by Fleet Command to carry out the sentence.”
    Kodiak’s stomach did a somersault. Now here was a mistake. Big time. Theft? Sure, he was guilty. Officially, anyway. But … treason? Death penalty?
    â€œWhat the hell is this?” he yelled, leaning across the table, the sound of his blood rushing in his ears nearly drowning out his thoughts. “I stole some money. That counts as treason now?” He could feel the pulse in his neck, the sensation sickening.
    Braben glanced sideways at nothing, then licked his lips. Then his eyes met Kodiak’s, but still he didn’t speak.
    â€œTalk to me, Mike,” said Kodiak. “What the fuck is going on? What did Avalon tell you, huh? You know I didn’t actually steal those credits, right? You do know why I’m here?”
    Braben opened his jacket and pulled a gun out of his body holster. Kodiak’s eyes widened at the sight of it—it was new, shiny, half a translucent blue plastic, the rest brushed metal. He hadn’t seen this kind of pistol before. Must have been a