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

personal transports in that
prissy little fairyland.”
    Ryo impatiently cut the man off.
“We’re not going to keep the heap for more than a day. What do you recommend
for a quick trip to Dublin?”
    “Dublin’s a rough place, I’d go
with Level Eight Protection. That will stop all common weapon’s fire and most
types of explosives. If you were traveling at night, I’d insist on Level Ten.”
    “Naturally.”
    Forty-five minutes later, Ryo
navigated a hulking rustbucket off the lot and down the pothole-pocked road
toward Dublin.
    • • •
    Twenty minutes into the trip Lev
was jolted out of an uneasy catnap by an outburst of weapon ’ s fire. The unseen assailants caused no damage to the heavily fortified
conveyance; Ryo didn ’ t even bother to take his eyes off of the road during the
halfhearted ambush.
    The young man stared in lingering
panic out the window of the creaky vehicle.
    “ Tell me about your mother, ” Ryo asked idly.
    Lev contemplated the old
Investigator for several seconds as he drew his attention back to the tedious
road trip. “ My mother, ” his shoulders slumped, “ was my best friend for most of my life. ”
    “ Did you have a dad? ”
    “ No; ” he shook his head, “ mom was too busy to go through all of that; I was the result of random
insemination at the fertility clinic. ”
    Lev tilted his head in curiosity, “ What about you? ”
    “ Cloned. ”
    “ I would have never guessed. ”
    Ryo chuckled, “ Not all clones are janitors and day laborers. Some of us managed to
struggle our way up to Investigator Second Class. ”
    “ Did you..., ” Lev paused to consider the
propriety of his question, “ did you have anyone to raise
you? ”
    “ I was supposed to, ” Ryo sighed. “ I ’ m a clone of my father who was a rural bribe collector for
the Fiefdom of EurAfrica. ” The old Investigator winced, “ When I was about four years old, he was killed by the side of the road
by some highwayman. ”
    The travelers jostled along in
uneasy silence.
    “Fortunately the neighbors sent me
to the Institution for the Furtherance of Clones in Free City. ” He laughed, “ Evidently they thought I was too cute to end up in the
local EurAfrican orphanage. ”
    “ Well that was lucky for you, ” Lev nodded. “ I know those fiefdom workhouses are pretty much the same as slave mills. ”
    “ It ’ s not much better in Free City,
I ’ m afraid, ” Ryo said.
    “ Really? ”
    The old Investigator smiled at his
naive cohort, “ You had someone who looked after you day and night for most
of you life, right? ”
    Lev nodded.
    “ It ’ s not that way for most clones,
especially in institutions. Seven kids died in my ward during the first five
years that I was at the Institution. Four from illness, one from suicide and
two were beaten to death. ”
    “ I had no idea that it was so rough. ”
    “ Most people think that the cruel world stops at the city
limits, ” Ryo shook his head in disappointment, “ that everything is so much better in Free City compared to the fiefdoms.
But it ’ s not true. If it was, I ’ d be out of a
job. ”
    Lev considered the dismal
assessment. “ How did you end up at the Inquisitor ’ s Office? ”
    Ryo smiled nostalgically, “ Two things worked out just right; when I was eighteen, I started working
at the Institution ’ s accounting office. It was dreadfully dull but it did keep
me busy. Just by chance, a minor embezzlement scandal caught the attention of
the Inquisitor ’ s Office and they sent over a young Investigator Third
Class named Helga Bennet. ”
    “ Your boss? ”
    Ryo nodded, “ She and I worked together for hours and eventually straightened out the
mess. Helga liked my work and recommended me to the Recruiting Office. Within a
year I was a Cadet Investigator. ”
    “ What was the second thing? ”
    He grinned wryly, “ With my tough upbringing, I can spot trouble brewing long before anyone
else. ”
    • • •
    Ryo decided that