Wonderland 2049

Wonderland 2049 Part 1

Officer K sat in the outer office waiting for Mr. Willam K. Pruett. Pruett's secretary eyed him periodically from behind her computer screen.  She did not like him. He could tell. He would periodically catch her glancing at him with an interesting mix of distaste and interest.

When the phone rang she answered with a pleasant enough hello and nodded her head a few times. She stood up and walked towards an ornate wooden door decorated with the name William Kenneth Pruett in bold gold lettering.

"Mr. Pruett will see you now," she opened the door and stood aside as he passed by her.

William Pruett sat behind a large intimidating  walnut desk. K had never seen anything like it. Pruett was dressed finely in old style clothes. No one wore suits like that anymore. Three pieces with a waistcoat, he looked like he stepped out of one of the movies from the last century. Behind him, through a large picture window, the city sky was dark and it was just barely noon.

"Have a seat." Pruett said gruffly.

"Thank you, sir." K sat. The cushion was too firm it had severe straight back that forced him to sit in an uncomfortable and rigid position.

"I know you've had some trouble with your baselines but your Lt. Joshi did you a favor by recommending that you see me. A replicant without a purpose is no longer useful. So, I'm going to give you a purpose."

"Lt. Joshi informed me that you had a delicate situation." K said as he attempted to find a better position in the chair.

"Yes, delicate is one way to put it. DId she tell you anything else?" Pruett reached across the desk and opened a large ornate box. It looked like ivory but K couldn't be sure.

"No, she gave no details."

Pruett removes a cigar from the box. He cut the top and rubbed it underneath his nose, breathing deep. "A remnant of the old way of life." He chuckled. K watched him light and smoke the equivalent of an entire year of his salary. "I need someone to keep an eye on my daughter. Well, one of my daughters. I have two. Lena is off world, but Alice is here. Alice refuses to leave and there have been threats."

K leaned forward, "What kind of threats?" Pruett sucked and puffed on the cigar and the air around the desk filled with heavy, foul smoke. The air outside was bad enough, why ruin the purified air inside K wondered.

"I have lots of business concerns. Mining, building, and the like. Many off world sites and I'm up for several dozen new contracts for off world mining. These deals involve more money than you could ever comprehend. Naturally, I have enemies. I have people who wouldn't hesitate to hurt my family to get to me.  Since Alice will not go off world, I need someone to watch her. To keep an eye on her and keep her safe."

"She needs a bodyguard?" K asked.

"Yes, she will not agree to leave but she and I have reached a compromise and she has promised to stay put out. Her mother was from Nebraska. She's out there. Do you know where that is?"

"I know where it is." K knew there was a world outside of Los Angeles and beyond California. He never thought he would ever see it. There was no such thing as leisure travel so it existed like a fairytale. No one ever went out that far, travel restrictions left people to live and die in the same place. 

"Would you be willing to go to Nebraska? I would reward you handsomely for it. Also, I told Lt. Joshi that this would clear you in the books."

K raised an eyebrow, "How would you have that authority?"

Pruett laughed. It was loud and boisterous. "Are you so naive my boy? Money! Money gives me the authority." He wiped his eyes, a smile still on his face. "So, what do you say?"

K hesitated. "I..."

"I do hope you say yes. I've heard you are loyal and extremely capable. I will have to let you know however, if you say no you will be immediately retired." He leveled his eyes and looked directly into K's. K instantly knew that Pruett was telling the truth.

"Yes." K said flatly.

Pruett stood up. "Very good." He put the cigar down and extended his hand. "You will leave immediately. A car will pick you up in three hours."

And with that, Officer KD6-3.7 was now the private hired help for WIlliam K. Pruett.