Mindguard Read Online Free PDF Page B

had already declined. You manipulated him from the
start.”
    “I did. Would he
have accepted otherwise?”
    “You have lost
his respect, Educator,” Ross said. The whole conversation left a bitter taste
in his mouth.  
    “I don’t care
about his respect, Mr. Ross, I want his services. Now, are we free to ‘seal the
deal’?” Horatio poured Ross and himself another glass of wine in anticipated
celebration. Ross felt like he wanted to empty the whole bottle right over
Miller’s head.
     
    ●
     
    In Horatio
Miller’s luxurious guest bathroom, Sheldon was splashing water on his face from
a faucet he figured cost more than his antique violin from Old Earth. That
didn’t bother him, but everything else about the situation did. He was going to
receive something he would have never thought possible: the opportunity to
speak with his grandfather again. Kinsey Ayers - the man who had taught him
everything worth knowing, the man he had loved more than anyone else in his
life.
    The fact that
this opportunity came through a person like Horatio Miller made his skin crawl
and his entire body shake with anger. He kept aggressively splashing water on
his face, as if he could wash away the frustration and drown out the voice of
his conscience, berating him for selling out. Horatio Miller was a man all to
accustomed to getting everything he wanted. Another splash of ice cold water,
another deep breath.
    He raised his
head to look in the mirror, to face the accusation in his eyes. He hated
himself for accepting the mission. He hated himself for feeling like he had no
choice in the matter. He stared at his reflection for a while, losing himself
in the details of his own face, until it became a face he no longer recognized.
He took a step back. He had no idea who he was, where he was or how he
had gotten there.
    Panic set in
instantly.

Chapter 3
     
    We are going to
emancipate ourselves from mental slavery because whilst others might free the
body, none but ourselves can free the mind. Mind is your only ruler, sovereign.
The man who is not able to develop and use his mind is bound to be the slave of
the other man who uses his mind ...
    Marcus Garvey
     
     
    Ross was beginning
to worry. He and Miller had just finished the glass of wine meant to ‘seal the
deal’ and Sheldon still hadn’t returned from the bathroom. He might have gotten
angry, but he was not in the habit of being unprofessional. Perhaps, unhappy
with having been manipulated, Sheldon had just up and left - through the
transporter and right back to his office. Ross had a hard time believing that.
First of all, no matter how upset Sheldon was with Miller, he would never have
disrespected his friend by leaving him behind. Second, Ross was sure Miller
would have gotten a holosense alert if the mindguard had tried to use the
transportation device. In fact, Ross was sure the device didn’t even function
without a password from Miller. That begged the question ‘Where the hell is
Sheldon?’
    The Educator had
prepared an encrypted file that constituted their contract. All it required was
a DNA sample from Ross, as Head of Operations.
    “I hope you don’t mind,” Ross said,
“but I’d like to wait for my partner before I sign this.”
    “Of course,” Miller answered. “Do
you think your partner might be unwell? He has been missing for quite a
while.”
    “Yeah, well, I’m not sure. I’ll go
see if I can fetch him, if you don’t mind.”
    “Certainly, I’ll wait for you
gentlemen in here, then.”
    Ross used the map of the building -
which had been made available to his retinal insertions - to find his way to
the ground floor bathroom. He figured that was where Sheldon had gone.
     
    ●
     
    Desperately
trying to back away from the face in the mirror, Sheldon hit his head on the
wall behind him. He was breathing heavily, his eyes were wide and he was
drenched in sweat. Staring at him from the mirror was the face of a stranger.
The mirror itself could just