Liberty Read online

  It was not as though there was a spare room, even though Cygnus and June were now sleeping upstairs. ‘So, you’re expanding out of one of the bedrooms?’ Fire Bug asked.

  ‘Uh-huh,’ Cygnus replied. ‘Andrea’s idea, and she’s paying for it. We’re basically making a…’

  ‘An apartment,’ Andrea supplied. ‘We’re basically building an add-on apartment for Jacob and me. We’re beefing up the air conditioning and insulation, making the existing bedroom into a small lounge, and adding on a bedroom and a bigger bathroom. Then if we need some space, or Cygnus and June do, we have our own space to use. The whole thing is still covered by the force field, so security isn’t a problem. We’ll even have a small airlock to let us into here, so we can keep our rooms below fifty all the time. Should be finished by the end of January.’

  ‘So, you are moving in, Jacob?’ Svetilo asked. ‘Is becoming thing to do.’ She glanced to her side where Zoe was sitting in a tiny little party dress that was obviously the Russian’s doing. Svetilo herself was wearing a bright-red tube which barely covered her butt and seemed to be trying hard to slip off her breasts.

  ‘Well,’ Jacob said, ‘it makes sense. This place has more efficient air conditioning, because of Denny. The security is better and Frostburn’s starting to make a name for himself. And, um… Well, Andrea lives here.’

  ‘Wedding bells?’ Svetilo asked with a grin.

  ‘Oh, no.’

  ‘No,’ Andrea repeated. ‘Have you ever read a comic?! If we decide to get married, there’ll be villains crawling out of the woodwork. There’s a kind of unspoken rule about funerals, but weddings…’ She shook her head. ‘That’s just asking for trouble.’

  ‘Living in sin is better anyway,’ Svetilo said. ‘I am big believer in sin.’

  ‘We never would have guessed,’ most of the room said at once. Svetilo pouted.

  ~~~

  ‘I should thank you,’ Fire Bug said.

  Cygnus frowned. ‘For what?’

  ‘Not shutting down the link to the fire department. I agree with you on the police and camera links. If they can’t even be bothered to admit they screwed up…’

  ‘Well, the fire department connection never went down. They stuck with us.’

  ‘I’m not sure the government knows we have it. The department would’ve fought for it if anyone had told them to close it down, but I don’t think anyone did. Frankly, they know they can’t handle major fires without us the way things are now.’

  ‘Yeah…’ Cygnus frowned. ‘I may be a little less available next year. When my new job starts…’

  ‘It’s keeping you in the country, though, right? Aside from trips to Antarctica. You could be back here in seconds if we really needed you.’

  ‘True. I’m just saying.’

  The fireman smiled. ‘You’re playing it cool and refusing to let City Hall have their cake and eat it, but you hate this really. You’re still doing everything you can to help the city.’

  ‘Yes. No. I’m not helping the city. I’m helping the people. There’s a difference. I just wish the people who run this place could recognise it.’

  ~~~

  ‘Three… two… one… Happy New Year!’ The chorus went up as the clock Denny was displaying hit midnight. Glasses were clinked together and drunk from.

  ‘Let’s just hope this one’s better than the last one,’ Cygnus added, once the drinking was done.

  ‘That’s jinxed it,’ Andrea said. ‘I’ll be happy if I spend less of this year in China.’

  ‘Shouldn’t be too hard,’ June suggested. ‘Now, a toast to the Union of Ultrahumans’ new liaison to the United States of America.’

  Everyone turned to look at Cygnus, who blushed. ‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘I guess I’m now officially–’

  ‘I am receiving a connection request from Union headquarters,’ Denny announced.

  ‘Oh! Uh, everyone’s still dressed. Okay, Denny, put them through.’

  Doctor Ultimate’s face appeared on the screen, along with his wife, Alice. ‘Happy New Year,’ they said together.

  ‘Happy New Year,’ Cygnus said, ‘but isn’t it two a.m. there?’

  ‘Yes,’ Alice replied, ‘but Hugh doesn’t sleep, and I decided to stay up with him.’

  ‘I wanted to welcome our new American liaison officially,’ Ultimate said. ‘You said you’d be having a party tonight and, as my lovely wife says, I don’t sleep.’

  ‘Doesn’t the Union already have a liaison here?’ Fire Bug asked.

  ‘Not for some years. It was deemed unnecessary and Brightstar handled things when needed. Recently, the United States have been taking more of her time than we felt was warranted, so we reinstated the role.’

  ‘I think things might be a little easier when Francesca Hart takes over the presidency,’ Cygnus said. ‘Not that I’m complaining about the job.’

  ‘Good,’ Alice said. ‘Alison almost fainted when you just said yes. We wouldn’t want her thinking you were just playing with her.’ That got several grins from around the room; most of them knew the story of Cygnus telling Brightstar ‘no’ when asked to join the Union the first time, and they knew Brightstar had not taken it too well.

  ‘Well,’ Ultimate said, ‘welcome to the Union officially, Cygnus. We’ll leave you to enjoy your party.’

  ‘Enjoy yourselves,’ Alice added.

  ‘Oh, I think we will probably manage that,’ Svetilo said. ‘We have not even started the dancing yet. When we start the dancing, the fun really begins.’

  1st January 2017.

  ‘So, what does being the Union’s liaison actually mean?’ Zoe asked as she sipped coffee the following morning. There had been dancing, and more alcohol, and Zoe was feeling a little worse for wear.

  Cygnus pursed her lips. ‘That depends. I mean, there are regional and national liaisons for one thing. Regional liaisons handle local government and look out for Ultrahuman rights in their area. They’re also talent scouts. They look out for Ultras in their region who might be useful to the Union.’

  ‘And the national liaison does the same sort of thing at the national level?’

  ‘Basically. Next time the UID tries to arrest me for something, it’ll be my job to tell them off. To be honest, I’m underqualified. I need to brush up my political skills, but Alison, Brightstar, figured I could learn on the job. The main thing, she said, was visibility, and I have plenty of that.’

  ‘Her first public engagement is Hart’s inauguration,’ June said. ‘We’re both on the guest list for the luncheon afterward.’

  ‘President-elect Hart seems to like you a lot,’ Fire Bug commented. He had ended up in bed with Heather again, but he was looking less embarrassed about it this time. Heather was still smirking a lot.

  ‘She should do,’ June replied. ‘Between Cygnus’s endorsement and revealing to America what Captain Freedom was up to, we got her elected.’

  ‘But she’s an Ultra,’ Cygnus said. ‘I think she’s inclined to favour other Ultras who present a good face to the public.’

  ‘I wonder what she makes of me,’ Andrea said as she emerged from her room. She was looking rather pleased with herself and had just dressed in a short wrap.

  ‘There is woman who has just got laid,’ Svetilo commented.

  ‘Damn right. I’m glad it’s you handling the politics, Cygnus. That is not my idea of a good time.’

  ‘Not really mine either,’ Cygnus replied.

  ‘But, that said, I need a dress, June. My new working outfit is fine for… work, but I could use something for public appearances. What I’ve got is functional, but I need some fantasy. I’ll pay.’

  ‘You don’t need to…’ June trailed off in the face of Andrea’s level gaze. ‘Okay. I’ll start working on ideas. I… think I have a couple of good ones. You’re looking at “Mistress of the Dark” styling, right?’

  ‘Yeah. And I may not need the mask now but think of it as something Twilight would wear rather than Andrea.’

  Jun
e grinned. ‘Good, because the ideas I’m having aren’t something Andrea would wear unless she really worked herself up to it.’

  Cygnus handed Andrea a mug of coffee. ‘She hasn’t really designed anything indecent in months, maybe a year.’

  Andrea grinned. ‘This ought to be interesting.’

  Washington, DC, 20th January.

  The location was sombre, but the crowd seemed exuberant. Cygnus sat behind the stage where Francesca Hart would be making history with the largely demolished Capitol building as a backdrop. A mile and a half away, smoke could be seen rising from the volcano Magmatic had caused to come up in the pit left by a nuclear warhead. It was sobering and not a little surreal, but it had been decided that the inauguration ceremony should be held there to honour those who had fallen when Naryan Tan – an alien Guardian bent on capturing Cygnus – had nuked the city.

  The 2016 elections had been rather more extensive than was usual due to the bomb. Instead of the expected thirty-four Senate seats up for re-election, there had been fifty-two. The Democrats had ended up winning all but three of them after the disastrous publicity around Captain Freedom’s endorsement of the Republican presidential candidate. Cygnus might not have been exceptionally good at politics, but she knew that was going to make a massive difference. It was quite possible that Hart could get just about anything she wanted past the Senate, and the House of Representatives was looking more or less the same.

  ‘This should be quite an event.’ Cygnus had no real clue who the man sitting beside her was. He had grey hair and was somewhat rotund. She figured he was a senator, likely a senior one from some state or other. His accent was not helping place him, but she was guessing at somewhere in New England. ‘First woman president. First Ultrahuman president. I guess we like to get all our firsts wrapped up in one bundle these days.’

  ‘She could have been African American,’ Cygnus countered.

  ‘Maybe next time. Mind you, I never thought I’d be sitting beside a swimsuit model at one of these.’ It definitely seemed more like a joke than a reprimand. ‘I know you endorsed her, but I didn’t think that would get you a seat here.’ That sounded more like condemnation.

  ‘I don’t think it harmed my chances, but I’m here representing the Union of Ultrahumans. I’m their US liaison as of January first.’

  ‘Is that right? Time was we didn’t need one. We had a good relationship, didn’t rock the boat, and Brightstar would deal with it if she needed to.’

  ‘I think she got tired of coming here to yell at UID agents.’ Cygnus added a grin, but it was true.

  ‘You didn’t hear it from me, but you probably won’t have to do that much.’

  ‘Oh?’

  The old senator tapped his nose. ‘Hart has a few interesting ideas she’s been floating. But you didn’t hear a word of it from me.’

  Well, he had not really said anything, but… ‘Why, Senator, I have no idea what you’d be talking about.’

  He grinned crookedly. ‘I think you’ll do fine in politics, young lady.’

  ~~~

  The Presidential Inaugural Luncheon had been held in the National Statuary Hall inside the Capitol in previous years. That had to be changed because there was not much left of the National Statuary Hall. So, they had moved the event to Georgetown University. The new venue had not exactly reduced the boredom factor of the various speeches and blessings. The speakers made much of the new president’s gender as well as her being an Ultra. None of them seemed to have much of a clue about what she was going to do now that she had the keys to the White House. Not that there were doors left at the White House to unlock.

  ‘At least the food’s good,’ June said. ‘And no one’s suggested we attend any of the balls tonight.’

  ‘I think someone may have got the impression that I’d go nuclear if they suggested that,’ Cygnus replied. ‘And I’m not being figurative.’ She had managed to get time to change before the luncheon; like June, she was now in a relatively conservative dress. It came down to mid-thigh, which was almost proper for the kind of thing either of them normally wore.

  ‘Oh, honey, it’s all part of life on the Hill.’ The speaker was a senator’s wife who was sitting beside Cygnus. She was in a blue suit with a pencil skirt and pulling it off quite nicely. ‘We do it to be seen in the right places with the right people. Plus, I get a new dress out of it. Always nice to have an excuse.’

  Cygnus shrugged. ‘I get a new dress whenever June has a sudden urge to find out how little fabric she can use to make an evening dress.’ June squeaked.

  ‘I don’t know how you’re comfortable in that dress. The weather’s turned a mite chilly lately.’

  ‘We all suffer for fashion,’ June replied. ‘Of course, Cygnus can stand naked in a blizzard and not worry. That helps.’

  ‘Oh, well, yes. I guess it would. But you couldn’t really explode like a nuclear bomb, could you?’ The woman turned blue eyes on Cygnus with just enough question in them that Cygnus knew the woman was not entirely sure of how much danger she was in.

  Cygnus pursed her lips and considered for a second. ‘I think it would have to be a really small one, and I’d be dead afterwards, so it’s not something I’m really likely to do.’

  ‘That’s a comfort.’

  ~~~

  ‘Cygnus, could I borrow you for a few seconds?’

  Cygnus turned to find Francesca Hart, the new president, standing behind her. There were a couple of Secret Service people standing at a discreet distance, and another man standing closer. The latter had that look about him which suggested lawyer somehow along with ‘spouse of an important woman,’ so Cygnus figured this was the… president’s husband? What did you call a female president’s husband? Did the Union have a protocol expert on staff?

  ‘Madame President,’ Cygnus said, smiling. ‘What can I do for you?’

  ‘Well, first, Matthew wanted to meet you.’ She indicated the man – so he was the husband. ‘Matthew, this is Cygnus and her partner, June Summerfield. Cygnus, this is my husband, Matthew Desmond.’

  Cygnus took Desmond’s hand. He was a handsome man, a little older than his wife and showing it around the eyes. He gave the impression of being a man who spent a lot of time reading into the small hours. He was a constitutional lawyer, if Cygnus remembered right, so that possibly explained it. If he taught, his students possibly had fantasies about him since he had a ruggedly attractive quality, blonde hair, and blue eyes.

  ‘It’s an honour to meet you,’ he said. ‘Uh, both of you. I buy one of your calendars every year to go in my office.’

  Hart did not look like the kind of woman to get jealous, or insecure, and she smirked now. ‘He claims it’s for the charities,’ she said. She was an attractive woman with a very slight tan over beautiful skin, brown eyes and hair, and quite full lips. She tended to wear quite smart dresses but had selected a suit with a pencil skirt for her big day. She still looked trim and fit in it.

  ‘It’s mostly for the charities,’ Desmond said. ‘At least fifty percent.’

  ‘Yes. Of course. And you went with a West Coast ecology project this year.’

  ‘We’ve been having some issues getting the Churchton redevelopment projects moving,’ June said. ‘We may go back to it for the next one. If we can get local government interested finally.’

  Hart pursed her lips. ‘You may wish to keep an eye on the news for the next couple of days. However, that’s not what I came to ask about. You’re really the only person who’s spoken to Miss Liberty. No one can find her. She was tracked leaving Starblaze Airport for about a minute before she just vanished off the radar. We seem to have a new national hero who doesn’t like publicity.’

  Cygnus gave a shrug. ‘I guess we do. I don’t see that as a bad thing, to be honest.’

  ‘Well, no… The military and security services are worried. Then again, the briefing I had on you and the Union of Ultrahumans was… Mm.’

  ‘I’m not sure this is the place to discuss
this, Madame President. I have the authority to discuss it now, but a luncheon doesn’t seem like the right place.’

  Desmond grinned. ‘You and Francesca should get along fine,’ he said. ‘You’re both powerful women, unused to politics, but a lot better at it than first impressions might suggest.’

  Hart mirrored the grin. ‘That was a very good political answer. Let me get settled in and we’ll get together with my Secretary of State. It would be good to get our relationship with the Union straightened out.’

  ‘That’s fine by me, Madame President,’ Cygnus said.

  ‘Good.’ Hart started to turn and paused. ‘If you do happen to see Miss Liberty again, tell her I’d really like a chat.’

  ‘I’ll tell her if I get the chance.’

  ‘She doesn’t patrol anywhere,’ June said. ‘I think the next chance we’re going to get to talk to her will be the next time there’s some big disaster.’

  The president gave a small grimace. ‘Then let’s hope I won’t be meeting her soon.’

  The Asteroid Belt, 21st January.

  While popular images of the asteroid belt show billions of rocks, large and small, forming a navigation hazard to anyone trying to pass between Mars and Jupiter, the reality is both less dangerous and more boring. If one were to stand on one of the larger asteroids, the likelihood of being able to see any of the other rocks is pretty small, so there is generally nothing much of note to see in the region.

  Except for today. Out of the blackness of space, something appeared. It was a bulky, rather ugly-looking vessel some two thousand feet in length. The forward section was a solid, armoured hull, slab-like and windowless. Behind that the structure was more open. A framework of structural members joined together blocky modules in the midsection, and the rear seemed to be largely based around a huge engine, currently entirely dark.