“What happened?”
“Most of the exterior cameras are down, and some of the interiors ones are shoddy and in need of replacing or repair. We were using thermal cameras for the outside perimeterhell, we even had a miniature long-range TV op system on the roof with all the trimmings, laser range finder, tilt pedestal and night vision.”
“Had?”
“Yes, had. All of them gave us good visibility in all ambient light conditions, day, night, smoke or haze. Now we’re lucky to even have the two regular cameras up and functioning. Freedom’s starting to fall apart at the seams. We have investors, money men from up north, looking to do something to alleviate their boredom. This seemed like a solid plan. Renewal of the past, protection for the future.”
“Sorry, but it still sounds to me like you need techies to fix your problems,” Ryan said. “And you’ll get your sec men if you’re willing to ante up the jack.”
“No. What I need are competent men and women capable of fortifying Freedom. Word is out. I’m hiring qualified mercies. But word travels slow, and now I’m making do with a few good men and a lot of cannon fodder with itchy trigger fingers blowing the heads off visitors who try and steal from merchants instead of arresting them so we can confiscate their possessions and jack. A dead man is of no use to anyone.”
“Have to disagree with you there, Morgan. In fact, the thought has crossed my mind that there’s nothing in here to keep me from gutting you like a fish or putting a bullet in your head. By the time your sec man outside could squeeze out from behind the desk, you’d be a dead man. That could solve a lot of problems.”
“Oh, really? Chilling me would just result in the deaths of your son and your friend. Understand, I’m trying to be polite here, but if you fuck with me, Freedom is the last place you’ll ever see againalive, at least.”
“Didn’t say I was going to do it. Just said what was keeping me from doing it? Could take you hostage.”
“Enough with the theories, Cawdor! There is a stickie situation to be dealt with, yes! But I’m being honest with you. I need your help in handling them. Your people”
“They aren’t my people, Morgan,” Ryan countered, cutting the mall administrator off in midsentence. He rose to his feet and began to pace in front of the overblown wooden desk as he continued to speak. “What they are to me are my friends, and my friends do as they please.”
“Surely they have loyalty to you?”
“Uh-uh. Stop right there. Big difference between loyalty and ownership. You speak of them like they were my slaves or something. Not even close. We travel together because we care about one another and don’t have to worry about waking up with a blade in our backs. I know trust is a double-hard thing to find anymore, but I guess that’s what holds us together. We trust one another.”
“Then I ‘trust’ they’ll stand by your request for a favorfor your son’s sake, and for the albino’s.”
Chapter Twenty
Despite Morgan’s lament over a lack of good help, the sec men in the holding pens knew their jobs. Ryan’s blaster and panga were both taken at the front desk, and he was carefully patted down in a full-body search, where the thin knife hidden at the base of his back was also revealed and taken until his visit was over.
“For your own safety,” the alert sec man said.
“Prisoner gets hold of a weapon, might use it on you first. It happens.”
Ryan felt naked after being relieved of his weapons before being allowed in to see Dean, but there was no other way to gain access. He was taken to a screened room divided in halves by a thick woven mesh similar to fencing he’d seen around outdoor sec areas. On the other side of the visiting room, a door opened and a pale Dean walked out, alone and unescorted.
Ryan pressed close to the wire and realized he could see and touch Dean, but only though the half-inch hole of the strong metallic material. What was obviously a one-way mirror dominated a side wall. Ryan suspected the sec man who had admitted him into this visitor’s center was keeping watch from behind the glass.