The Ripple in Space-Time: Free City Book 1 (The Free City Series) by S F Chapman Read Free Book Online Page A

minutes later, after
following the instructions provided by an unenthusiastic janitor on Sub Level
5, Keira pointed to the long-sought portal in weary victory.
    Ryo tapped perfunctorily on the
door before pushing it open.
    It was a dark office of some sort.
Weirdly shimmering light spilled from a large video display that took up most
of a worktable on the left side of the room.
    The dark silhouette huddled in
front of the screen turned to scrutinize the new arrivals.
    “ Great, you found it; come on in, ” Lev stood and beckoned them to the table.
    “ You have an office? ” Keira asked as she shuffled
carefully into the dark room.
    Lev pulled up two more chairs, “ It ’ s nothing special, just one of the many doctoral
workstations. ”
    Keira slumped onto a chair.
    Ryo studied the screen. “ What have you got for us? ”
    Lev sat next to the woman, “ After you told me that the guy that we captured in Dublin erased all of
the lunar orbit traffic records around the time of the explosion, I spent a few
days trying to figure out another way of discovering what went on at the site. ”
    He pointed to the slowly shifting
images on the screen, “ It turns out that the University
Astronomy Department has five different satellites orbiting the moon right now
for various student projects. ”
    “ How does that help us? ” Keira asked.
    “ I found out that one of the satellites is just an old
cosmic ray detector, so that ’ s worthless to us; but at least
two of the others are used by Professor Hendley's Moon Surveying class. We
might be lucky enough to find some images of the Sea of Crisis around the time
of the blast. ”
    “ OH! ” Ryo patted Lev ’ s shoulder, “ Nice job! ”
    “ I suspect it ’ s going to take awhile, ” Lev warned, “ all of the video is raw footage without searchable
timeframes. ”
    Ryo nodded, “ You two work on this and I ’ ll be back by lunch time. ”
    Just before he pushed open the
door to leave, Ryo glanced back at the two seating together in front of the
monitor, “ I ’ ve got a hunch that I want to
check out. ”
    • • •
    Ryo traveled across the drizzly
Quad to the soaring edifice that housed the School of Biology. He had been to
this building several times before and wouldn ’ t have any
problem finding the proper room.
    Compared to the arcane and
forbidding School of Advanced Physics basement, the towering Life Sciences
Complex was cheery and well lit. Ryo slipped into the bustling Department of
Advanced Applied Molecular Biology Office on the twelfth floor. A half dozen
energetic students were fluttering merrily about between some sort of group
project involving green algae and a jovial middle-aged man in the center of the
room.
    The din was quite extraordinary in
the overfilled office. Ryo navigated past the young scholars to the big man.
    The gentleman’s face broadened
into a wide grin, “ Ryo Trop, damn good to see you! ”
    “ Professor, ” Ryo bowed slightly, “ I ’ m looking for Zmuda. Can you help me out? ”
    Just as the Investigator had
expected, the good-natured teacher ’ s demeanor turned solemn.
    The professor glanced at his busy
charges, “ Come with me. ” Before they departed he raised
his hands high like a country preacher and shouted to the throng, “ Keep working! You ’ re doing great! ”
    The academic unlocked a
nondescript door in the back of the room and led Ryo into a small inner office
staffed by a muscular red-bearded man and a petite raven-skinned woman. The two
looked up in unison from their paperwork.
    “ Carry on, ” the professor nodded to the
workers, “ we ’ re just passing through. ” He opened a closet door and slid several coats aside before prying open
a well-disguised rear door.
    The man stepped through the portal
and beckoned Ryo to follow him.
    “ Welcome to the CRAMP Operations Central Headquarters. To
the outside world I ’ m Professor Malcolm Evans, in here I ’ m called Lieutenant Zmuda. ”
    “