Reunification by Timothy L. Cerepaka Read Free Book Online Page B

Hold on,” I said,
holding up a hand. “I confess to being greatly confused. Why would
my sister be working with the Mayor? How do you even know he's
corrupt? My understanding of this situation is as opaque as the
polluted oceans of your world.”
    “ Xeeo's oceans aren't that polluted,” said Lanresia, rolling her eyes. “But you're
right. I should probably start at the beginning. I can't tell you
everything—I'm not allowed to tell you all of it—but I can tell you
enough that you can be confident that you know what's going
on.”
    Lanresia gestured at the chair next to my
bed. Wheels, as round as the sun, popped out of the chair's legs,
allowing it to roll over to her across the smooth floor. Whilst
that might have shocked me under ordinary circumstances, I was not
quite so surprised to see that her chair could move; after all,
Xeeonite technology could do almost anything. 'Twould not be
surprised if at some point I ran into a robot that could cast
magic, though to my knowledge, such a feat was beyond the current
limits of their technology.
    The chair stopped behind Lanresia,
allowing her to sit down on it. When she did, the wheels popped
back into the legs, thus assuring that she would not go sliding
across the floor unnecessarily.
    “ Where should I start?”
said Lanresia, putting the tips of her fingers together. “Ah, I
know. I will start with Mayor Xacron-Ah himself. He's at the center
of all of this, so he's the best place to begin.”
    “ I was told he came from
Dela,” I said. “Is that correct?”
    “ All our sources say
so,” said Lanresia, her speaking snake nodding along with her.
“More importantly, though, is the reason why he moved from Dela. Do
you know?”
    “ No, I do not,” I said,
shaking mine head. “The merchant I spoke with did not tell me
why.”
    “ He has told very few
people why,” said Lanresia. “It's pretty obvious, of course, why
he's keeping it a secret, but that still doesn't make it any less
scummy on his part.”
    “ For what reason did he
move to Xeeo?” I asked. “I am tired of you going on like this;
please just get to the point.”
    “ All right,” said
Lanresia. “Xacron-Ah used to be a super speed drug dealer. He would
arrange huge shipments of the drug to be illegally distributed from
Dela's Lower Panhandle to Xeeon and the surrounding countryside. He
says he's reformed, but considering how corrupt he is, we tend to
doubt it.”
    “ If he says he has
reformed, why did you say he has kept it a secret?” I said, folding
my arms over my chest.
    “ I didn't say that was
what he kept a secret,” said Lanresia. “Xacron-Ah ran a successful
campaign six years back on the premise of absolute honesty, so he
didn't deny the allegations that he had once illegally distributed
super speed drugs to the general population. He apologized for it,
and as a result, everyone thinks he's an honest man, which is how
he won the election despite not being a native Xeeonian. What he
kept a secret was why he came here in the first place, which has
nothing to do with honesty or truth.”
    “ What was his reason for
doing so?” I asked. “Was he escaping the law?”
    “ We believe so,” said
Lanresia. “He left Dela because his former drug dealing friends
turned on him. We think he sold out his gang to the authorities,
which is why he moved to Xeeo, where he thought he would be
safe.”
    “ That seems an odd thing
to keep a secret,” I remarked. “I am no expert in Xeeonite
elections—for I find democracy an ill substitute for a good
monarchy—but I would think the people would be more attracted to
the criminal who turned in his comrades, not less.”
    “ That's because it's not
as simple as it seems,” said Lanresia, shaking her head. “He didn't
have a simple change of heart, from ruthless drug dealer to noble
statesmen. He sold out his fellows because he made a deal with the
International Delanian Alliance of Law Enforcers to get some good
money out of his