Mindguard (15 page)

Perhaps
that’s a good thing
, she thought.
Perhaps it will allow me to focus more
on Sheldon Ayers
.

Kernis continued
with his presentation: “It is a well known fact that Maclaine Ross has spent
more credits on genetic advancements than any other bodyguard in history,
perhaps any other human being. We have been able to find out that he spends
roughly eighty-five percent of his income on such modifications.”

“Wow,” Tamisa
said. Her reaction had the effect of irritating Villo.

“Yeah, well,
these so-called investments saved the guy’s ass multiple times,” he said, with
undisguised resentment. “Many years ago he got knocked out by a two ton rock
that fell straight on his head. The rock broke in half, his head didn’t. That’s
what ended his career as a mindguard. Then, a while after that, he was caught
in a confrontation that started a massive fire in a building complex. He
suffered fourth-degree burns on his whole body. It took him out of commission
for nearly eight months but he returned without a single scar. Once, on a
mission, some idiot desert dweller caught him by surprise and drove a spear – a
spear, can you believe that? – straight through his chest. Ross swiftly killed
him with the thing still impaled in him.”

“This guy’s not
human,” Tamisa said, impressed.

“No, he’s not,”
said Villo, with obvious malice.

Tamisa had heard
many stories about Maclaine Ross’ incredible strength and nearly indestructible
body, but they continued to surprise her. Ross had turned himself into the
absolute warrior, a soldier in every sense of the word, no different than any of
the enforcers, just differently molded. 

The enforcers
were exceptionally skilled fighters, with bodies trained to endure tremendous
punishment and perform incredible physical feats. As a unit, they were
unparalleled. But taken individually, Tamisa wondered if any of her fellow
soldiers could match this man in a one-on-one fight. Their strength lay in
their teamwork, in dynamic efficiency and speed, while Maclaine Ross was a
one-man army, his body a weapon of destruction. If his other bodyguards came even
remotely close to matching his incredible power, then the entire mission could
prove more difficult than she had foreseen.

She wondered if
she should request more men on her team, but she didn’t want to appear hesitant
or weak before the commander. She turned to Villo, hoping to ask his advice,
but she stopped when she saw the way he looked at Ross. She had never seen him
so tense. There was a frenzied determination in his eyes. She wondered what was
going through his mind, why he seemed to hate Ross so much. 

“There is one
more relevant fact we have managed to find out about Maclaine Ross,” the
timekeeper said, by which he meant himself and the seven adjunct timekeepers
working under him, working round-the-clock just like he was. “It seems it’s
something he keeps hidden from everyone, and for good reason.”

“What is it?”
Tamisa asked.

“Ross’ family
has a criminal background. His father, Jensen, was a firm believer in the
beneficial attributes of telepathy. He fervidly advocated its legalization,
invoking freedom of expression. That put a great strain on his marriage to
Amanda Ross, who was a devout Christian - as Maclaine also appears to be - and
who rejected telepathy because, in her conception, it would nullify the
mythical sacrifice of the Christian prophet.

His efforts
proving fruitless, Jensen Ross eventually joined a subversive group known as
the ‘Martyrs of the Mind’. They were involved in a number of terrorist attacks
throughout the IFCO. Eventually Jensen Ross was caught, prosecuted and, after
his wife testified against him in court, found guilty and sentenced to death by
telepathic assault. This was one of three times in history when this method of
execution was employed.

Mere days after
Jensen’s death, members of the Martyrs of the Mind murdered Amanda by cutting
her throat and then lobotomizing her, which was the group’s signature. The
entire experience greatly affected Maclaine, who was sixteen at the time. He
turned to drugs and violence and was charged with and convicted of aggravated
assault on three different occasions. He was sent to prison where he served
five years. During his incarceration, he seems to have underwent a ‘spiritual
awakening’, in which he has adopted Christianity, maybe in an attempt to honor
his deceased mother.

Once released,
he set out on a quest to clear the Ross name, which he considered corrupted by
his father’s actions. He probably decided to become a mindguard as a direct
protest against his father’s beliefs. He joined the ‘Thames-Rhys-Johnson’
agency as a bodyguard. At the time, they were very famous for employing the
services of Kinsey Ayers. It seems that, during his stint at the agency,
Maclaine Ross studied to become a mindguard, under the guidance of Kinsey.”

“He learned from
the best,” Villo said.

“He did. This
was while Sheldon was still a child, though there are claims that Kinsey was
already preparing Sheldon to become a mindguard. If he did, then he acted
unlawfully, as it is prohibited to train a child under the age of eighteen for
this particular profession. The effects of that kind of mental conditioning on
a developing brain are not yet completely understood. By all accounts, however,
Kinsey took the risk. He was known for being a rule breaker.

He might
actually have trained Maclaine and Sheldon at the same time, which would
account for Sheldon’s loyalty to his friend. After completing his training,
Maclaine Ross appealed to his Heads of Operations to allow him to become a
mindguard and bodyguard at the same time, which is unheard of even to this day.
They refused, so he left the company and built his own, which he simply called
‘Ross’. As you already know, he went on to become the first and only man to
perform both tasks.”

“His fixation
with clearing his family’s name,” Tamisa observed.

“So it appears.
Sheldon, who at the time had become a junior mindguard, immediately handed in
his resignation at Thames-Rhys-Johnson and joined Maclaine.”

“While his
grandfather was still working for Thames-Rhys-Johnson?”

“No, that was
after his grandfather’s controversial retirement.”

“You think that
was also because of Ross?”

“We doubt it,
but no one knows for sure. His sudden retirement remains a mystery. One day he
just stopped being a mindguard and dedicated his time to the study of history,
specifically, but not exclusively, the history of Old Earth. It’s also
interesting to note that, at the time, Sheldon was living with his grandfather.
They were basically inseparable.”

“Really?”

“It appears that
Sheldon had little interest in his parents, two moderately successful
businesspeople, and instead, exhibited a great fascination for his grandfather,
the mindguard.”

“Predestined,”
Tamisa said. 

“Perhaps. But
let’s get back to Maclaine Ross. There’s something else that is important. This
was almost impossible to find out. Just two hours ago, I have received
clearance from the Council of Presidents to access the internal records of
Ayers-Ross.”

“You hacked into
Ayers-Ross? I can’t believe this!”

Kernis frowned
and Tamisa knew she had committed a big mistake. It was well known that the
timekeepers detested being branded with the archaic term ‘hackers’.

“I accessed
their accounts and found out that Ayers-Ross is witnessing a steady decline in
business. It’s been going on for the past seven years, even before the
semi-retirement of Sheldon Ayers. The major cause is the growing market
preference for artificial mindguards. Maclaine Ross vehemently refuses to
integrate AI mindguards in his offer, which is slowly starting to affect his
contracts.”

“Why is he
refusing AI?”

“We cannot know
that. Perhaps it is connected with his religious views, but that is merely
speculation. Ayers-Ross survives on the market because of its image as a
high-end niche business, what is known as a ‘vintage’ thoughtprotection agency.
The term ‘vintages’ refers to human mindguards. However, with time, his refusal
to embrace artificial intelligence will be seen as a refusal to upgrade and
will earn him market distrust. Sheldon Ayers’ decreased involvement in the
company is also hurting its public image. Coupled, these two factors will
gradually take their toll on the company.”

“To what
extent?”  

“Upon analysis
of the company’s current trajectory, we have projected several scenarios for
its development in the next three decades. In all of the scenarios Ayers-Ross
does not survive.”

 “Wow.
And  you think Ross knows that?!”

“We have every
reason to believe that the company’s legal advisor, Kriss White, has informed
Ross of their grim outlook for long term survival.”

 “And
that’s why Ross is taking on this mission, to save his company!?”

“Most likely.”

“But his legal
advisor must have apprised him of the legal status of this mission and the
consequences of going forward. Ross must know that we will attempt to prevent
the delivery of this information package. That means that, as a bodyguard, he
is contracted to protect it via
force
.”

“Correct.”

Tamisa let out a
nervous laugh. “Come on, we’re not desert dwellers here. No thoughtprotection
agency in the world can engage in armed combat with the Enforcers. There is a
good chance they won’t survive the mission.” 

“We believe Ross
knows that.”

“So he is
willingly sending his men to their deaths?”

“It appears so.”

“Why?”

For a long time,
Villo had remained silent. When he spoke, he was adamant: “Because, Tammy,
Maclaine Ross is the type of man who would gladly sacrifice his team for the
reputation of his company. For his own
legacy
.” When he pronounced the
word ‘legacy’ his voice had an unnatural, metallic effect. It sent chills down
Tamisa’s spine. There was a change in Villo’s disposition. Tamisa couldn’t tell
exactly what it was but there was something strange about him. It was slight,
almost imperceptible, the type of change a woman can recognize only in the
heart of the man she loves.

“But how could
Ross imagine that this will save his company?” she asked.

Villo did not
let Kernis speak. Instead, he offered the answer himself, as if he was claiming
any assessment on Maclaine Ross’ character.

“Because he
believes he can beat us.”

Tamisa looked
skeptical but Villo maintained his position. “He thinks he can finish the
mission even if he and his team don’t survive. Their mission is to take the
carrier, Sophie Gaumont, to a certain place and drop her off there. That much
we know. If they manage to protect her during that time, and safely deliver her
to her destination, then the mission is complete. Then, whatever happens to
them, Ayers-Ross will be forever known as the thoughtprotection agency that
defeated the Enforcers. Maclaine Ross will be remembered as its Head of
Operations at the time. That is how he’s planning to go down in history.
That
will be his legacy.”

Tamisa’s
expression grew dark, almost vengeful. Her eyes were possessed by a glacial,
reptilian spark.

“He’ll be in for
a surprise then,” she hissed.

Strength is a
burden, stamina is insignificant, speed is key!

Villo Kantil

When the doors
to her private chamber quietly closed behind her, Tamisa let out a roar that would
have frightened the hungriest lioness. She was steaming; she felt like driving
her fist through the walls. She felt like tearing down the entire building
brick for brick. If someone had been standing in front of her at that moment,
she would have broken them in half, perhaps even her beloved Villo.

Villo had, in
fact, cautioned her about her anger many times, but it was only because of his
wise guidance that she managed to keep it under control, at least most of the
time. Now she was livid. She dropped to the ground and started doing pushups to
drain her energy, tens of them, hundreds; until she lost count.

Her adrenaline
had already been pumping when she left the timekeeper’s office. Inexperienced,
she had been thrust into a situation that could make or break her. But it was
good energy, raw intensity, the kind off which she could feed. Then, she
accidentally overheard a conversation between two members of her team.

“Well, I don’t
feel safe, that’s all I’m sayin’.”

“It’s unusual
but that doesn’t automatically mean it’s bad.”

Tamisa had just
gotten a quick workout in, which always helped her think. As she was about to
exit the locker room, she heard the two voices conversing right around the
corner. She recognized the first voice. It belonged to the large man with the
shaved scalp, who was going to be on her team.
Her
team. She couldn’t
recall his name but she definitely recognized his voice. She tried to remember
what he had said at the meeting, after the commander had announced that she
would be Field Unit Commander.

“Sir, with all
due respect, she is on her first mission -”

Then the
Commander had cut him off: “Do you have an objection against my order, Mr.
Calladan?”

That’s it, that
was his name: Winston Calladan. Tamisa remembered skimming through her
colleagues’ profiles a few days ago, when she was preparing for the mission she
never really expected to happen. Well, it seemed like Calladan did, after all,
have an objection. She remembered how revolted the man had been at the notion
of Tamisa leading the unit. Was it because she was a rookie, on her first
mission? That would be understandable. Or was it perhaps because -

“And now we have
the
girl
leading us into battle,” Calladan said.  

“Look, man, the
commander picked her for a reason. The old man never, I mean
never
slips. In two and a half centuries at the helm, he has never made a bad call.”

The second voice
belonged to the goateed man, also part of her team. Tamisa remembered that his
name was Dieter Muench. He was also the only member of the team who had ever
been to the Djago Desert before.

“Yeah, two and a
half centuries, that’s what I’m sayin’. He’s been at the helm for a long time.
He’s bound to make a mistake once and I just wouldn’t want to be there when he
does. I sacrificed too much to get here.”

“Winston, you’re
still a kid, I understand your concern, that’s why I’m going to let this slip.
I’ve been with the Enforcement Unit since you were still a little thug in
Pacon, hustling tourists.” The joke was followed by a forced laugh. “However,
there’s one thing you gotta get through your head: you don’t question the old
man! Ever! He has done more in his life than we ever will combined and he
always takes care of his men. The Enforcement Unit is his creation. He never
jeopardizes it and never makes a bad call. You always trust the old man, no
matter what. Even if you can’t understand his orders, you always follow them,
all right?”

“I’m just
sayin’, what if… you know… the Commander’s still a man, after all. What if he’s
sleepin’ with her?”

Tamisa was
enraged. She was about to walk over to Calladan and knock him out cold with no
regard for consequences, but there was no time. A short, tense silence was
followed by Muench’s glacial voice.

“Listen you… you
little
shit
. You don’t talk to me anymore… not now… not during the
mission, you understand that?”

“What? What’s
the -”

Tamisa heard a
sound that she recognized as the result of the collision between the old
agent’s palm and Calladan’s shaved scalp.

“Ow… what the…
the hell’s wrong with you man?” Calladan screamed.

“You understand
now? You don’t talk to me anymore. And if I ever hear you talkin’ like that
again, I’ll rip out your goddamned heart and bury you where no one will ever find
you. And I’ll make sure nobody’ll ever ask what happened to you either.”

“Damn, Muench, I
-”

“Shut up! You
keep talkin’ like that you’re not going to be making any friends around
here.  And you’re already short one.”

With her mind
still focused on the memory of the conversation, Tamisa wasn’t even aware that
the countless pushups were causing a throbbing pain in her muscles. She dropped
to the ground exhausted, but she still felt angry. That asshole Calladan
assumed that she was sleeping with the commander. She suspected that most
enforcers shared Dieter Muench’s opinion, but that was only because of their
love and respect for the commander, not because they thought that it was
beneath Tamisa to sleep her way to the top. Most of them didn’t even know her.
They knew nothing about her life, her struggle to get to where she was. All
they knew was that she was a
woman
.

She recalled the
day she left Aanadya. At first, she had felt so special. She was being granted
a unique opportunity for a fresh start. She was going to leave Aanadya as the
bastard child of the enforcers, but she would become one of the greatest
enforcers of all time, second only to Thomas Liam Anderson. She knew that she
was special. The Anderson brothers had seen something in her, something she had
always known was there. This was her opportunity to carve out her own future.
She would no longer be a slave to her condition. When she entered the
spacecraft, she was faced with a brutal disappointment, the memory of which
haunted her every single day.   

There were
children, many of them. Children of all ages. The youngest appeared to be
around seven, while the oldest seemed eighteen or, anyway, close to reaching
the legal age. She was heartbroken. She was overcome by a feeling of
unhappiness the likes of which she had never experienced in her otherwise
unhappy life. She withdrew into a corner and didn’t speak to or look at anybody
but she picked up from their conversation that they all wanted to become
enforcers. All of them had found a way to talk to someone, if not Commander
Anderson directly, then some other high-ranking officer. All of them had begged
and pleaded their way off that horrible planet.

All of a sudden
it dawned on Tamisa that they were all kindred souls, and all of them were there
for the same reason. Disappointed, she also realized that this was probably
standard practice for the Enforcement Unit, recruiting young people from the
desert planets they visited. She was not special at all. She had not been
chosen due to the workings of some grand destiny or because the Andersons had
seen something magical in her eyes. She had been harvested along with a number
of other kids for future enrolment.

Some were girls
but the most were boys. Some of the girls were taller than Tamisa, more robust,
some were more beautiful. She tried to take solace in the fact that she was
probably the smartest but she was terrified that maybe that too would turn out
to be untrue. Maybe she was just like everybody else. Maybe there was nothing
special about her at all. She looked at the dozen of kids in the room trying to
form an opinion about them. What would happen to those who failed the tests?
Most will probably fail but some, the really outstanding ones, would go on to
become enforcers. Could she be one of those fortunate young prospects? The more
time passed the more she started doubting that.

When the
spacecraft finally left the atmosphere and offered the last quick glimpse of
Aanadya, Tamisa was surprised at how beautiful the planet appeared from space.
It showed no hint of what it really was: a polluted wasteland
. I’ll come
back for you, mom
, she thought, when the spacecraft entered the
Muench-Henriksen gateway, turning Aanadya into a memory. She had no way of
knowing then that her promise would never be kept.

When she
realized that she was once again lost in thoughts of her childhood, Tamisa
decided to redirect those thoughts to the present, the mission in front of her.
She was still lying on the ground, recovering after the exhausting pushups. She
stood up and ordered the holocloud to produce an image of Sheldon Ayers.

The life-size
image of the famous mindguard appeared, facing her. He seemed to be staring
into her eyes. His face was gentle and his gaze was very intense, as if his
eyes contained within them his mind in its entirety. Sheldon’s eyes reminded
Tamisa of Villo’s. They possessed the same spark of intelligence, the same
depth, but also a similar hint of sadness. Villo’s eyes were light blue, but
his clothes were always dark, as dark as Sheldon’s eyes. Villo always said he
wore dark clothes because he was mourning the lives the enforcers were forced
to take. Sheldon’s dark eyes appeared to be themselves signs of mourning. But
who or what had the mindguard lost?

Tamisa felt that
the analogy with Villo made her connect with Sheldon empathetically, which was
the exact opposite of what she was trying to achieve. And yet, she had to
understand her enemy in order to defeat him. She took a step back from the
hologram and analyzed it further.

Sheldon was
rendered wearing a brown leather jacket that looked very worn-out. His dark
hair was flowing almost to his shoulders and he was clean-shaven. Tamisa
studied his build; he was only a bit taller than Villo. Average height, average
weight. While he appeared to be in very good shape, the contrast between his
body and that of the bodyguards - especially Maclaine Ross - made him seem
harmless. He was almost likable. It was frustrating. In order to be able to go
up against this dangerous man, Tamisa had to find a way to make him not
likeable.

She stared into
his eyes and imagined that he was trying to read her mind, to invade her
thoughts just like that man had tried to do on Aanadya such a long time ago.
She remembered how she had been pinned to the ground, how helpless she had
felt, how the man had hit her and hurt her and tried to claim her. She forced
herself to vividly relive all the emotions she had felt then, all the fear and
the hate. The anger. Throughout her life, the memory of that man represented the
core of everything that was evil and dangerous. She remembered how she had
repeatedly hit him in the face, so hard that it became unrecognizable. It could
have belonged to anybody. He could have been anybody. He could have been
Sheldon Ayers.

She closed her
eyes. She had always struggled to repress the horrible memory of that night, to
lock it up in the farthest corner of her mind, where she would never again have
to face it. Now she was forcing herself to relive it. Only this time, the man
who was trying to destroy her was Sheldon Ayers. She could feel his body
pressing onto hers, his hair falling on her face as she struggled to break free
from his clutch. She felt him trying to read her mind.

When she opened
her eyes, the holographic image in front of her was different. Sheldon no
longer looked harmless. Now, his undistinguished appearance was a mask,
purposefully hiding a hateful and dangerous soul. His eyes were no longer sad;
they radiated arrogance and contempt. A sense of entitlement flowed through his
veins, along with cold blood. Now he was her enemy. Now she was ready to fight
him.

She ordered the
holocloud to produce the entire team. Maclaine Ross appeared, followed by
Isabel Mensah, Ray Manner, Simon Bayles, Luther Brinks, Jason Elden and finally
Francois Gaultier. Now her enemies were surrounding her from every side. The
holograms were so lifelike she had to suppress a panic attack. She closed her
eyes and took a deep breath to regain her composure. She studied every one of
them with the utmost concentration. She swept her gaze over their bodies and
the features of their faces, trying to take in every detail as if she was
absorbing their life force.

First Maclaine
Ross, the Head of Operations. Giant, muscular, menacing. His mysterious eyes
hid a terrible secret: he was a criminal. She walked next to the hologram of
Isabel Mensah. A tall, attractive woman in an impressive, colorful garb. Her
sunset-colored clothes and headscarf enhanced the beauty of her dark skin,
giving her a vibrant, spectacular appearance.  She seemed to be much older
than the others, though she was still very attractive and in excellent physical
form. She had an air of wisdom and dignity that made Tamisa think of Commander
Anderson. She scolded herself for that. Again, she was drawing parallels
between her friends and her enemies. That could be dangerous.

She moved to
Luther Brinks, the oldest of the bodyguards. He was almost as large as Maclaine
Ross though not nearly as tall. He had a crew cut and the battered face of an aging
prizefighter. His eyes were barely visible in the shadow of his massive
forehead.

Jason Elden was
the youngest of the group, only in his early twenties. Blond hair, light blue
eyes and an expressionless face which gave him a ghostly appearance. Tamisa
remembered reading in his profile that Ross had personally taken this young man
under his wing. He was training and mentoring him with more dedication than any
other bodyguard before him. The nature of their very close relationship
remained unexplained. Tamisa wished she had more information on this mysterious
young man, but Timekeeper Kernis had been unable to discover much about him.