The Pieces of My Self

17 - Terrorists

ARTOIS MANGALOTTE

The Presidential Palace, 6 June 2174, Monday

My virtual meeting with the Economic Council didn't go well. They wanted more details about my expenses that I wasn't about to give them. I told them I had several classified projects, and they didn't need to know. Period. What part of presidential discretionary spending don't they get? I made a mental note to make some changes on the Council.

It was getting late, so I went to my private study, ordered up a Ramos Gin Fizz, and scrolled through messages on the video wall. I stopped at a note from Tony Brown with a subject: Uncovering the Mystery.

It caught my interest. I sipped my drink, then hit the Play tab to start the holovideo.

"We're putting the pieces together and are almost there. But I need more money for the investigation, and a bit more time. If you think I'm too pricey, you're welcome to put all your eggs in the LESA basket. Just keep in mind most of their people worked for Knightly. They could be part of a deep state effort to sabotage you. I'm just sayin'. I'll report only to you on this matter—for security reasons."

The image froze on the last holoframe, showing a smirk on Brown's face.

"Truth analysis," I said. "Every time I talk to Tony, I feel like taking a bath."

His image dissolved to the avatar's face. "We did not detect any obvious attempt at deceit. His pulse was within the normal range. His pupils did not dilate. The proxy measurement of blood pressure appeared normal."

I had to laugh. "For some people, lying can be a normal thing, can't it?"

"That is true, Mr. President."

The slimeball was good. Maybe that's why I keep him on as my personal attorney. After I executed Knightly and was about to publicly denounce him as a traitor, with his widow attesting to his perfidy, Tony suggested a different strategy: turn him into a fallen hero, killed by disloyalists. That had a much broader impact. Knightly became a catalyst for a societal purge. Tony was a snake, but he was my snake.

I waved my hand. "Send him another fifty thousand. But I want you to put a special watch on Mr. Brown. Let him know we will audit his use of the money. Tell me if you see anything unusual."

"Yes, Mr. President."

"And what of the anarchists?"

"The two people arrested this morning are being moved to the Dome as we speak."

"Who are they?"

"Reginald and Ayita Bischoff. He is a retired philosophy professor from LSU, and she is a retired teacher. They separated five years ago and were living apart, but we have evidence they continued working together, coordinating an act of insurrection—a violent mass protest accompanied by cyber-attacks against the state."

"What evidence?"

"The Bischoffs interacted with known troublemakers, one of whom was illegally importing crates of masks and body vests that could counter our law enforcement's crowd control measures. Another acquaintance is a suspected cyber-criminal. Five years ago, before they broke up, they met with Henri Knightly."

Alarm bells went off in my mind. "Put them in an interrogation cell." If they were part of Henri's deceit, there may be a connection to my granddaughter.

* * *

I went to the living room, where Stanislav still floated above my coffee table like a pole star.

I enlarged the image. The head looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

"Profiler, now is the time to give me some value for my money. I want you to listen to an intelligence report and advise me how to proceed."