I don't usually get letters. Mailmen have been taught to avoid the cemetery. This one looks like he would rather do that. I take the letter from him and shut the door.
By the window, my heart sinks as I look at the seal.
I've been careful not to leave any traces in my work. But they know. They always know. I slit the envelope open and start to read.
I expected a warning, maybe even a request for me to turn myself in at the nearest prison. Of course, life continues to surprise me at every turn.
To Rheon Kasseida:
We, the Mayors of Gretya, have heard of your extraordinary talent in the field of programming.
Well...that's nice.
We now request that you put this talent to serve our great realm and its Commander.
No.
Now, the greatest threat to Arcadia is the hacker Wendlis Blair, who has been charged with exposing sensitive information to our political enemies, and is almost directly responsible for the incident that resulted in the deaths of eight of our governors last year.
Hey, that's me!
We therefore send you on a mission with four young, willing protegees, to locate Blair and bring her to us.
Oh. Poor kids.
Meet us at the Needle tomorrow at noon on the dot. Failure to comply will result in your immediate arrest. We know what you did.
Ah. Back to reality we are.
We look forward to cooperating with you.
Signed,
I fold it up at this point. I do not know the names of the people who are running my city, and I do not want to know.
Well, there's only two options here. One, since I don't want to end up in Arcadian State Prison.
I start looking through my closet for some acceptable clothing to wear tomorrow.
YOU ARE READING
Trellis
Science FictionRheon is a hacker. When she receives a letter from the mayor, she is almost certain that it calls for a fine, or, at worst, an arrest, only to find out that she is required to aid four young superheroes in their quest to defeat one of the worst vill...
