The Ripple in Space-Time: Free City Book 1 (The Free City Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

three white porcelain
mugs with wafting black liquid, “Sugar?”
    Ryo chuckled, “Sure, as long as
it’s not xylitol.”
    Both Lev and Cyndi stared at him
in confusion.
    “ Yeah, sugar would be fine. ”
    • • •
    The two men bounced along in the
transport towards the City Limits Check Point.
    “ Cyndi seems nice. Are you two an item? ”
    “ Well; ” Lev vacillated, “ we do sleep together occasionally. But the Enlightenment Crusade is all
about experimentation so I also pretty much bed down with everyone else in the
house too. ”
    “ How very modern of you. ”
    The transport groaned to a stop at
the heavily barricaded Check Point. Dozens of weapons-toting Free City
Militiaman watched vigilantly over the border crossing for unauthorized
intruders from beyond.
    Ryo and Lev joined the small group
seeking to leave the civilized enclave.
    A surly EurAfrican border guard
summoned them through the gate, “Your names? ”
    “ Ryo Trop and Lev Fesai. ”
    “ What is the nature of your activities in the Supreme
Imperial Fiefdom of EurAfrica? ” he growled at the two men.
    Ryo rolled his eyes at the
pretentious sentry, “ Free City Inquisitor's Case Number 2445-11057. ”
    “ Trop and Fesai, ” the border guard sneered at his
interface screen, “ you are free to enter EurAfrica. ”
    They strolled past the Check
Point.
    Lev looked back at the dour
sentinel, “ I thought that you had to bribe the Fiefdom officials to
get though the gate. ”
    “ The job has its privileges, ” Ryo smiled.
    They filed past a long snaking
line of destitute refugees undoubtedly all far too optimistic about their
chances of entering Free City. Lev briefly studied two mucky teenage girls in
the middle of the throng before offering them the remnants of a stale bagel
that he had retrieved from his coat pocket.
    “ We need to get some ground transportation, ” Ryo craned his neck. “ Hopefully we can find something,
there aren ’ t any trains or street transports on this side of the
border. ”
    He scowled at the dreadful
conditions of the shantytown. “ Years ago, I was able to hire a
vehicle for a day or two but apparently most people never returned the jalopies
when the lease was up. We may end up having to buy something for the trip. ”
    They dodged past dozens of street
vendors selling contraband and worthless doodads.
    “ Ah, here we go, ” Ryo grinned.
    A garishly outfitted mud lot
loudly proclaimed Mwizi ’ s Motor Vehicles .
    Ryo strolled past the entryway
befouled with dozens of glittery mismatched flags. Lev cautiously followed.
    The men tentatively examined
several beat-up clunkers. Ryo beckoned to the lot attendant slumped
apathetically in front of a tiny interface display. The man eventually
approached the two potential customers.
    “ What do you guys want today? ”
    Ryo smiled superficially, “ Do you rent vehicles for the day? ”
    “ You ’ re kidding, right? ” The salesman shook his head sarcastically, “ Outright sales only. ”
    “ Alright then, ” Ryo ’ s eyes narrowed in annoyance, “ we ’ d like to buy a
three or four seat cruiser. ”
    The attendant surveyed the dozen
or so vehicles strewn around the lot. “ What level of Antipersonnel
Protection are we talking about here? ”
    Ryo rubbed his forehead in dismay;
long ago personal transportation in the domain of the Warlords had reverted
from the cozy mass friendliness of public transit back to the antisocial safety
of traveling alone wrapped in a hulking cocoon of energy-wasting steel.
    “ It ’ s been awhile since I ’ ve done this, remind me of the Protection options, ” Ryo was certain that final price that he would end up paying was
quickly climbing in the salesman ’ s mind.
    A sardonic grin stretched across
the man ’ s face, “ Well, you ’ ve got your Level One Protection which will stop rocks and small weapon ’ s fire. But Level One would only be effective in your nicer
neighborhoods of Free City if they still allowed