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

Lieutenant? ” Ryo laughed, “ The last time I saw you it was Sergeant. ”
    Zmuda shrugged, “ I gave myself a promotion. ”
    Ryo studied the spacious and
well-organized situation room, “ It ’ s been awhile
since I ’ ve needed your encyclopedic knowledge of the clandestine
and I seem to have forgotten what CRAMP stands for, although it does come up
periodically at the Inquisitor's Office. ”
    “ Combat Ready Advanced Mission Personnel. As you may recall,
we ’ re a group of concerned citizens of Free City, mostly
academics and scientists with a few paramilitarists thrown in, determined to
return all of humanity to the high ideals of the past. ”
    “ Who are those two in the other room? ” Ryo wondered.
    “ Jasper and Mixion? They ’ re part of the
CRAMP. I used an unusual new procedure to clone them as adults in the Advanced
Biology lab about a year ago from some genetic information that I found in a
really old database. ”
    Ryo was perplexed, “ There are plenty of human clones in Free City, myself included, why
fiddle around with old stock? ”
    Zmuda smiled, “ Their DNA isn ’ t registered anywhere. If they happen to lose a toenail
clipping or maybe an eyelash or two while carrying out a covert operation, no
Investigator would ever be able to track them down. ”
    Ryo chuckled, “ So you ’ re making my job harder? ”
    “ Not really, none of our especially nasty projects are in
Free City. Right now the good stuff involves insurrection and resource
reallocation in the fiefdoms.
    The old Investigator laughed, “ Technically the Inquisitor's Office regards the CRAMP Operation as
subversive, not insurrectionist. ” Ryo loved the lively back and
forth with his cloak-and-dagger friend, “ The difference centers around
the presumption that you hold antiestablishment views but you haven ’ t killed anyone yet. ”
    “ Oh but we have Mr. Trop. CRAMP Operatives did in Madame
Kufuzu at the Trade Conference in New Rome less than a month ago. ”
    “ Why would you guys bother knocking off one of the many
wives of the Warlord of EurAfrica? ”
    Lieutenant Zmuda smiled
fiendishly, “ Daniel Kufuzu is absurdly well-protected and we need some
of his DNA for a cleaver little assassination effort that the CRAMP is putting
together. So we bumped off his wife and collected some residual samples from
her corpse. I ’ ve got the specimens in the lab right now. ”
    “ Do I really want to know the details? ” Ryo asked half jokingly.
    Zmuda ’ s eyebrows arched up, “ I ’ ll tell you
anyhow as part of this proposed bargain: I ’ ll supply you with whatever
information that you came looking for today and you will let me know if anyone
in the Inquisitor's Office pins Madame Kufuzu ’ s untimely death
on the CRAMP.”
    Ryo thought for several seconds
about the ramifications of the deal, “ OK, I ’ m in. ”
    “ Excellent; ” a smug smile crossed his face, “ my colleagues and I are developing something that we call the
x-pathogen, which shows promise in infecting only a single individual with
deadly results. It ’ s still very crude, but we hope to use it or something like
it to eventually end the current feudal system and allow all humans to live
freely again. ”
    “ Lofty goals, ” Ryo nodded. “ Tell me about pirates, particularly anything that you might know about
two characters named Olin Gristle and Bosco Kremerling. ”
    “ Why is it that pirates always end up with the best names? ” Zmuda scratched his head for several seconds, “ I ’ m not familiar with either of those two, but it ’ s been a few years since I ’ ve done any field work in the
Asteroid Belt where they all seem to congregate.”
    Ryo slouched in defeat.
    “ Why the interest in these two low lives? ”
    “ They paid off a Lunar Traffic Controller to destroy some
records on the day that the Ultra Energy Lab was obliterated. ”
    “ Dr. Fesai was a dear friend of mine, ” Zmuda winced. “ I have a strange feeling