009 �“ “An Offer You Cannot Refuse?”


The young woman moved through the snowy and steep terrain with inhuman speed. She practically leaped from one mountain to the next and Hot Rod found it difficult to keep up with her and not just because the white clad woman was difficult to make out against the snow covered landscape.

The chase, for that was what it seemed like, ended after a few minutes when she dived off a precipice, performed a perfect forward somersault before landing on her feet in a small village a hundred feet below.

Gavin had watched her every move with astonishment. “Holy crap,” he said when she had landed safely instead of shattering into a million pieces.

Tank had a large smile plastered on his face. “She does like theatrics.”

Moments later Hot Rod landed the green shuttle in the village square. Village was perhaps an exaggeration. The mountain settlement seemed to consist out of no more than half a dozen simple huts. The young woman quickly walked towards one and disappeared inside. Besides her there was no sign of any other inhabitants. It wasn’t a surprise as Gavin quickly realized; an icy cold wind blew across the valley.

The three men followed her inside.

The hut was as simple from the inside as it had appeared from the outside. A table, a chair, a bed and a computer console next to it were all the furnishings to be found. Over invisible speakers soft music played, a man signing of his fondness for Rock and Roll Music. The record sounded positively ancient.

The woman had discarded her coat and goggles and leaned against the wall next to an open fireplace. The licking flames were keeping the hut comfortably warm and bright. Gavin made an effort not to ogle her perfect body now clad in nothing but a skintight suit which left little to the imagination.

Masamune walked right up to her. “Nice place you have here. A bit difficult to get to.”

“That was the idea.”

“I see your tastes in music haven’t changed,” said Tank, trying to find the source of the soft tune filling the room. “How long have you been on Earth?” he asked as he inspected the hut. “What have you been up to?”

It took her one thought to pause the playback. “I’ve been keeping busy since the War. I travel a lot.”

Gavin cleared his throat which caused the young woman to shoot him a sweet smile. She eyed the elderly man. “Introductions?”

Masamune nodded. “Certainly. Mister Gavin Thorgood meet Miss McLaren.”

“Call me Mech,” she said.

“A pleasure, Mech.”

“I wish I could offer you some refreshments but I’m afraid the nearest replicator is twenty-five miles out and I haven’t had the time to shop.”

“That’s quite alright,” Masamune replied, missing or ignoring the sarcasm in her voice. “We didn’t come here for refreshments.”

She nodded. “All business as usual.”

“Gentlemen,” he said addressing his two subordinates. “Could you give us some privacy please.”

Both men gave him a ‘you gotta be kidding me look’. This was the most comfortable place they had seen in hours. Masamune was not kidding. He hardly ever did.

Begrudgingly they left, returning to the icy cold outside.

“You have to stop being so hard on your people. Someday they might decide to stop following your orders,” Mech said.

“I only recruit people I can trust.”

She nodded slowly. “I remember. Is that why you came here? To recruit me again?”

Masamune found a lone chair and sat down, placing both his hands on top of his ivory topped cane. “Yes.”

She didn’t reply right away. Instead he noticed her fiddling with a silver ring she wore on her left index finger. “You don’t think that making myself difficult to find is not a clear hint towards my inclination on that matter?”

“What I think,” Masamune began, “is that you miss your old life. The galaxy is a vast place and if you really wanted to be left alone there are a lot more remote places than Nepal. I think that for the past few years you’ve been aimlessly moving from one place to the next and diving through FedNet, seeking answers to questions you haven’t come one bit closer to finding.”

She looked up, a small smile on her lips perfectly masked her true thoughts. “Is that what you think?”

“Tell me if I’m wrong.”

Mech turned her head to look into the flames. “Maybe you’re not.”

“Then come back with me to San Francisco. The city needs people like you right now. I have formed an elite unit and you would be perfect to lead it.”

She looked right at Masamune when she spoke again. “CCiD? I’ve heard about it. They got you out of retirement to do this and yet they have refused to expand your remit beyond Earth. Federation politicians get cold feet when they hear of commando style law enforcement units.”

“You always have been well informed. And yes, they have limited our jurisdiction for now. But we only just started. Once those in power see what we can do I have no doubt they’ll reconsider.”

“Things must look pretty bad if they decided to bring you in.”

“They’re afraid, mostly. Crime has been on the decline for centuries on Earth. Until now,” Masamune said and stood. “This won’t be like Nyuchiba.”

“I know,” Mech replied. “It’ll be worse. Overcautious politicians will be analyzing every move we make. You cannot run an effective preemptive crime fighting outfit on this world. It simply won’t work.”

“So you will not help us?”

She turned away. “I don’t see how you would benefit from it. And quite honestly I don’t see any benefit for me either.”

“Very well. I will not try to convince you otherwise,” he said and walked towards the door.

Mech looked almost disappointed.

Masamune turned before he had reached the wooden door. “It was good to see you again.”

She nodded.

“You should try to stay in touch,” he added. For a few moments they locked eyes. But they exchanged no more words. Masamune opened the door and stepped outside. A few moments later the SAFVe was heading back for Northern California at multiple times the speed of sound.