Price of a Bounty - By S. L. Wallace Page 0,22
patted my behind with one hand while choosing a mushroom with the other. I imagined Rick would say it was yet another way to keep the Divide strong – a way to degrade the Working Class and keep us in our place.
I noticed the main staircase through an ornate arched doorway and began to meander in that direction but stopped when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Startled, I turned. A man in uniform stared at me. His eyes were the exact same shade as mine, a perfect reflection of my own.
“Scott, what are you doing here?” I asked.
“I’m attending a party. You?”
“I’m working.”
“Oh, no you don’t.”
“She didn’t hold up her end of the bargain,” I whispered.
“Keira,” Scott said quietly, shaking his head. “I can’t let you do this.”
“Yes, you can, Scott. If you knew the whole truth, you’d let me.”
Scott pulled me into a side room. No one noticed or cared. At parties like this, it was not uncommon for guests to sneak off with the help. Scott turned on a small lamp, leaned against the desk and folded his arms across his chest. I set down the tray and looked around. We were in a small library.
“You have five minutes. Convince me.”
“Elaine Ramsey is not to be trusted,” I began.
“Few are. Continue.”
“She knows my real name. She knows we’re related. You could be in danger too.”
“I’m always in danger. Is that why you wanted to see me? Because of what she knows?”
I nodded.
“She’s too influential, and you have other options. You should be avoiding her. You know how to disappear. It’s time to take your losses with this one.”
“No, that’s not how it works. I can’t disappear forever, and with the information she has, I’ll have to do whatever she tells me to. And by threatening my safety, she’ll control you too. I can’t allow that!”
“You know better than that. She already controls me, to some degree. She’s as close to the head-of-command any corporate leader can be.”
“Wait, there’s more. I’m sure you’ve been wondering how Rick and I met. Elaine Ramsey ordered a hit on him, only she didn’t know him by that name.” Now I had Scott’s attention. “She hired me through you to kill one of your friends. Doesn’t that bother you? Then she double-crossed me. That bothers me. Fortunately for all of us, things went wrong. I also called the other day because I wanted to talk with you about the Resistance but not here.”
“No,” he agreed, “not here and not tonight. Rick told you?”
I nodded again. “A little.”
“Does Elaine know anything about that?”
“I don’t think so, but Scott, Elaine Ramsey also murdered Rose Brackaby.”
“Rose Brackaby died in a car accident.”
“A planned accident.”
Scott was pacing now, clearly agitated. “Are you sure about all of this?”
“Absolutely,” I lied.
“What’s your plan?”
“To take her out, of course. She knows too much.”
“Wait. Rick authorized that?”
“Authorized? Not exactly, but he knows I’m here.”
“Just one minute.” Scott pulled out his transceiver and placed a call. I noticed that he kept the vidscreen turned off and didn’t use any names or mention specific places. Rick was likely doing the same on the other end. All Scott said was, “I’m here. What can you tell me about tonight?” He listened intently. “All right.” He disconnected and looked at me. “Get back to work. I’ll distract Ramsey.”
“No Scott, I don’t want you to get involved. I never wanted you to get involved in this.” I shook my head sadly.
“Keira, I was already involved. Now do as I say.”
I wrapped my arms around him and gave him a kiss on the cheek just as another guest entered with a pretty girl. Scott hurried back to the party, and I slipped down a side corridor. The front hall was mostly deserted, except for the butler who was relaxing in a chair now that most of the guests had arrived. My talk with Scott had taken too long. I waited patiently for a distraction. Soon enough, one of the kitchen staff brought over a plate of food. While they were talking, I began to climb the stairs with my head down. This wasn’t the best opportunity, but unless another guest arrived, it was probably the best I would get.
“Hey!” I heard a voice call. Just then the doorbell rang. Damn, I should have waited, but how was I to know someone would arrive so late? I practically ran up the rest of the stairs, quickly located Elaine Ramsey’s bedroom and turned on a small flashlight.
I’d