The Liberation Paradox

Lightning

Mr. Daniau

19:20

The nerd had blundered directly into him while trying to escape. The impact had rattled Eddie's bones, but he'd managed to keep his footing. The nerd, on the other hand, had fallen hard to the floor. To stop his fall, Sky had held his hand out awkwardly before himself. Eddie could see that something in that arm was going to break even before he heard the pop! Sky was half his age. It should be Eddie on the floor cradling a broken arm, not the young nerd.

I'm guessing this kid doesn't make it to the gym very often.

Eddie didn't even have to say a word. One of his men fell upon the kid, held him down, and electrocuffed his wrists. The kid howled in pain as his broken arm was forced into the cuffs. Miles and the other enforcer, whose name was Spanner, fanned out, secured the scene, and made sure there were no other thieves to be caught.

Eddie crouched down beside the kid on the floor. Before he could even ask a question, the kid started babbling. "Mr. Daniau, it wasn't me. It was that that dirty Estrellan, Marcio. He's been in your office, I'm sure of it. I think he was doing something on your terminal. He stole your data, but we got it back. He's in the building somewhere. You have to find him before he can get away. You have to belie—OUUUU!"

The kid's rambling, incoherent story was interrupted by a scream of pain as Eddie squeezed hard on the little thief's broken forearm. Beads of sweat appeared on the thief's face and his eyes rolled back in his head as he lost consciousness briefly.

"That's the one that helped Stone get in through security, Mr. Daniau," said Channel Lock, the enforcer who'd just cuffed the nerd. "I was working elevator security down on fourteen when that scumbag came in disguised as an electrician. This guy here vouched for him."

"Is that so?" Eddie asked Sky who had already regained consciousness.

"Please, Mr. Daniau," the thief said. "You have to believe me. It was Marcio. I was tricked. I never betrayed you."

"Mr. Daniau," Miles said from just inside the doorway to Eddie's office, "you'll wanna take a look at this."

Knowing it could only be bad news, Eddie stood up and followed Miles into the office. Eddie normally kept his office tidy. Now, however, the office was in disarray. He followed Miles behind the desk, righting the overturned trashcan as he went, and he saw what he somehow knew he would find there. His safe was hanging open and it was completely empty.

"You found it like this?" he asked Miles.

"I just slid open the false panel in the bookcase and the safe door just swung open. Nothing inside."

"Hmm." What really bothered Eddie was the empty whiskey tumbler on the floor. This little nerd had had the nerve to enjoy himself a drink as he'd cleaned out Eddie's safe. "Find the other one, the Estrellan, Marcio. We'll take them all apart if we have to, but I will get down to the bottom of this."

"Yes, sir. Right away, sir." With that, Miles left to go find the other nerd.

Eddie went back out into the hallway where Channel Lock still stood over the sniveling Sky. Eddie crouched back down beside the crying nerd. Though Eddie was boiling with rage, he kept his tone intimately, malevolently quiet as he asked, "So, tell me what happened, Mr. Meussen. I'd advise starting with where my money and everything else from my safe is."

"What safe?" Sky asked. And he screamed as Eddie squeezed his broken arm again. "Ahhhhh!"

"Don't. Play. Dumb. With me."

Sky took several sobbing, gulping breaths but managed not to pass out. He began telling Eddie the story about how he was totally innocent and he was duped by Marcio and the fake electrician. Eddie wasn't buying any of it, of course.

After a few minutes of the kid's rambling, Eddie was just about to hurt him again when there came a loud and unexpected

BANG!

accompanied by a bright flash of light from outside the hotel. The flash came from the darkened night sky, in through the windows in Eddie's office, and shined briefly out into the hallway where Eddie crouched over the injured nerd. Everyone started at the thunderclap, even Eddie himself. Then, a momentary quiet settled over the hallway.

"Was that lightning?" Sky asked.

It was several moments later when Eddie realized what the sound had actually been. He realized it as another sound, distant, shrieking, and familiar, began to make itself heard. Eddie's quick mind put together what was happening before anyone else could. He turned to Spanner and shouted "Watch him!" and then to Channel Lock, "With me!"

He didn't check to see if Channel Lock was actually following him. He knew the big enforcer would be. Eddie just started running, drawing his plasma pistol from his shoulder holster as he went.