Rising Tomorrow (Roc de Chere Book 1) by Mariana Morgan (essential reading txt) 📕

5, Subsection 45c of the same constitution, you are required to reply instantly in the positive. You may not delegate or refuse to co-operate. The law is quite clear on that, Eloise.’

Eloise froze, the strange bubbling sensation inside her intensifying. Her brain seemed to slow down, an odd sluggishness holding it back, and an even stranger tightness enveloped her chest. A person. An actual, living and breathing person. Here. Right here in her sanctuary.

‘Eloise?’ Tilly sounded uncertain. ‘I’m detecting a sudden surge of adrenaline and your cortisol levels are beginning to rise. Would you like Jeff to prepare a nano-relaxant?’

‘No! Yes! What?’ Eloise shook her head nervously; the fog was getting worse and she was also starting to feel sick. She never felt sick.

‘I said I’m detecting a sudden surge of—’

‘I heard you the first time!’ Eloise snapped, raw panic edging the tone of her voice.

And then she felt her chest relax, followed by a gentle tingling in her arm. Jeff had already slipped silently into the room and slapped a nano-patch on her arm. The quick-acting chemicals were already working, neutralising the stress hormones.

She wanted to shout at him, and Tilly, for acting without permission. She wanted to gut their programs for being smart-asses and take them apart circuit by circuit—but the urge disappeared almost as fast as it had appeared. She was back to her usual self. At least for now.

‘Tilly, let Inspector What’s-Her-Name in. Monitor all life signs and track the aircar’s approach. Bring it down onto pad A and take her to the reception area.’

As she spoke Jeff slapped another patch on her skin, this time on her midriff, where it would easily be hidden under her top. This patch was blue, a slow-release mild sedative.

‘Good,’ she acknowledged, pulling the first patch off with a sharp tug. ‘Prepare some refreshments for the policewoman. Bring us… bring us whatever she might want.’

‘Of course, Eloise.’ Jeff bowed deeply.

***

Eloise reached the reception area just as the aircar was touching down, visible through the huge nano-crystal. She couldn’t remember the last time she had used the reception, or the last time she had a visitor. Resisting the urge to run away, she sat down, hands under her bottom to hide the minuscule shaking. Her muscles were still responding to the side effects of the chemical roller-coaster her body had gone through.

Inspector Norah Bellefeuille was a tall woman. Perhaps a hundred and eighty centimetres, Eloise guessed, about the same as Eloise herself. Her brown hair was cropped just short enough to let her get away with not needing to pin it up when in uniform, and her youthful face showed an excessive amount of enthusiasm and not enough self-control. She moved with purpose, but her dark eyes flicked from one side to another as if she felt somewhat intimidated by the new environment. Maybe she had expected something far more lavish and was surprised by the functional simplicity. Her dark blue uniform looked smart and well tailored, but was too squeaky new to suggest the woman had any experience in her job.

Eloise finished her assessment of the woman in a second, instinctively storing all the information as if it were the blueprint for a character for her next VRP. She knew that writing the code to recreate Bellefeuille’s entrance to perfection would have been child’s play. Eloise’s grand-uncle used to test her like that when she was younger, but by her fourteenth birthday such simple tests had become superfluous; she had got that good.

‘Good afternoon, Ms Moretti. I’m Inspector Norah Bellefeuille.’ The policewoman stepped forward and held her hand out.

‘I know,’ Eloise replied, ignoring the hand. ‘That’s how you introduced yourself to my security system.’

‘Of course.’ Bellefeuille smiled awkwardly. ‘May I sit down?’

Bellefeuille was used to enjoying her own privilege and having Leech gendarmes stand in her presence, knowing none of the little vermin would ever dare to ask permission to sit down. But in the company of a higher-born Elite she always made herself act flawlessly. She wasn’t about to sit in the presence of this particular Elite without permission. Despite the minimalistic decor, everything Bellefeuille knew about Eloise Moretti told her that this one had power. Loads of it.

‘Yes.’ Eloise tilted her head towards a plush chair.

The patch on her midriff tingled as more relaxing drugs were released. The smart bio-feedback system was virtually flawless. It monitored Eloise’s blood for something like eighty-plus chemicals and released its own content as and when appropriate. The technology was readily available for anyone who could afford it. It either came from regular pharmacy stock, adapted to work for everyone, or one could have a tailored version made at an additional cost that matched their biochemistry perfectly. Eloise’s nano-patches were personalised; Tilly made sure of that.

‘Thank you, Ms Moretti,’ Bellefeuille replied in a sweet voice. ‘I realise this is rather unexpected, and I appreciate your willingness to spare me some of your time. The police have been looking for you for quite a while. You are not easy to find, Ms Moretti.’

Eloise watched the newcomer with no expression, her patch tingling.

‘Umm, well, yes…’ Bellefeuille paused, unsure, then took a deep breath and continued in a stronger and more professional voice. ‘I’m here to issue an invitation on behalf of Commissioner Louis Wagner. With your permission, I would like to take you to Lyon’s 4th Police Station tomorrow to meet with him on an urgent matter.’

The patch’s tingling burst into a painful stab, and Eloise fought hard not to wince.

Go out? They expect me to go out? They expect me to leave my home, get in an actual aircar and be flown to Central Lyon?

‘For months now, the police have been investigating a surge in dead bodies recovered from the Rhône right at the main sanitation dam. Not much that can be done about the Leeches, of course, but the frequency of it has been disturbing some of the Elite residents. The dam’s maintenance crew had to re-evaluate and re-design the sanitation procedures to