James Axler – Freedom Lost

Ryan gave Morgan a thin smile. “All about greasing the palms, isn’t it?”

The bearded man nodded. “Perhaps. To be honest, I like to quote a phrase from an old predark song called ‘Hotel California.’ ”

“Been there. Hot as Hades. Unless you’re wanting to build sand castles out of radioactive dirt, I can’t advise the trip. Besides, I thought this was the Carolinas.”

“The theme still applies. Besides, if you’ve been there, I’m sure you know most of California fell into the ocean when the bombs hit. Now, the song sort of goes, a person can check in, but he can never check out. During my tenure here as operations manager for the Freedom Mall”

“Thought you said you were the administrator,” Ryan snorted.

“Like you told me earlier. Titles. Words. Barons. Kings. Means the same thing. But during my stay here, I’ve seen what I’ve just said come into play hundreds of times. I look at it as providing employment. Running a compound this size takes people, Cawdor.”

” ‘Mr. Cawdor,’ to you, Morgan. I want my boy and my friend.”

“And I want to be hung with a cock the size of my forearm, but it isn’t going to happen,” Morgan retorted, his elegant face flashing with anger. “This isn’t some little ville on the edge of nowhere, my one-eyed friend. Nor is it a place where you can come swaggering in and do whatever the hell you please.”

“Is that a fact?”

“The fact is thislike it or not, Freedom is a civilized patch that has been carved out of the southeastern hellzone. We’ve got all the tenants we can handle and a waiting list of thousands who’d like to live here on a regular basis instead of just passing through from one pesthole to the next. Those with the jack give up on permanent residence and just visit here for extended stretches. Any way you want to debate it, people want to stay in here and visit the mall because they can’t find what we have to offer anywhere else on the remains of the North American continent.”

“What, high prices? Overcrowding? Sec men with fancy green jackets and a bunker mentality?” Ryan asked. “Or that snazzy pit with the broken-down droid used in staging your own gladiator bouts for the unwashed masses? Pretty sad.”

“No, no, no,” Morgan corrected. “What we offer to them, besides access to food, clothing and shelter, is safety.”

“That’s debatable. What about those stickies on the outside trying to get in that I keep hearing about?”

“Yes, well, no location is perfect. Which is where you come in.”

“I was told the muties want to come in and spend some jack and have a hot meal along with the rest of us,” Ryan said laconically. “Seems to me you’re missing out on the almighty stickie dollar. Piss-poor thinking for a businessman like yourself.”

Morgan burst out laughing, his amusement coming in a series of mirthful snorts.

“Believe me, Cawdor, if those dumb bastards had the brains to understand the concept of legal tender, they’d be more than welcome to come in and spend, spend, spend. Unfortunately stickies are about as bright as a bag of dirt. Only thing on their mind is burning and killing, not necessarily in that order.”

Ryan turned to leave. “Well, thanks for the chat. I guess I’ve got some selling to do, see if I can come up with the jack to bust Dean and Jak out of your jail.”

“There is another way.”

“How so?”

“Work for me. Your entire group. Work off the debt. The mall will make good with the vid-game owner, and in exchange you join my sec squad for thirty days. You’ve got a rep. Let’s see how you earned it.”

“No.”

“Best offer you’re going to get tonight, Cawdor. And if you have any ideas about trying to take your son and friend out of the Wings by force, you’re sadly mistaken. Even if you could get to the cells, there are booby traps designed to kill if you try opening doors without proper authorization.”

“If you’re so damn strong and all-powerful, why do you need me?” Ryan finally said, growing fed up with all of the blunt goodwill. He was beginning to wish for the more traditional baron who smirked, pranced and bragged a blue streak. At least those types were men that Ryan could take their measure and figure out where he stood.