Freedom, Humanity, and Other Delusions (Death's Handmaiden Book 3) by Niall Teasdale (best summer reads txt) 📕

‘Dana deserved what he got.’

‘I’m not arguing, but Zayden probably would.’

236/4/18.

The temperature was beginning to climb toward summer, if gradually, and the night was a warm one. On the other hand, it was still April and it had rained on and off for most of the day before sunset. It was a warm, moist sort of night as Nava did the rounds with Courtney.

‘Patrolling isn’t normally much fun,’ Courtney said. She seemed to be taking the humidity badly, but then Nava would not have shown it if she was having trouble.

‘I’d imagine it’s mostly intensely boring,’ Nava replied.

‘That about covers it. It’s Saturday night, so we might see some action of some kind. Mostly, it’s just making sure drunks get back to their apartments safely. When I say drunks, most of them aren’t drunk drunk. Most students, and faculty, have more sense. It’s not so great when they throw up on your feet.’

Nava looked down at her boots. ‘I’d prefer to avoid that.’

Courtney gave a shrug. ‘Comes with the territory sometimes.’

‘Hm. If you’d told me that before I got the job, I might have let Taryn win.’

‘No, you wouldn’t.’

‘No, I wouldn’t.’ Nava’s gaze scanned across the front of the club the school’s young adults were allowed in. It was quiet, aside from the distant sound of music coming from within the soundproofed walls. The two doormen looked untroubled. ‘The clubs have professional security. Why do we need to be here?’

‘We sweep past, mostly. If the bouncers have real trouble with anyone, they’ll keep them in an office until one of us walks past and then hand them over. The clubs are mostly more like checkpoints. We go past each and sweep the areas between for trouble. Like I said, it’s mostly just people getting a little too celebratory. The end of each term is the worst.’

‘It’s early yet,’ Nava said. ‘I doubt we’ll see many people a little worse for drink at this hour.’

‘Well, you’re probably right, but some people like to get a head start on a bad hangover.’

~~~

They did find someone a little the worse for alcohol outside the senior students’ club around ten p.m. She, however, was with two friends who were taking her back to her apartment. She had misjudged her alcohol tolerance, was very embarrassed even in her inebriated state, and was not going to be a problem. After checking the other two had her in hand, Courtney let them go.

‘We get that more than you’d think,’ Courtney had said. ‘People just coming of age don’t know their limits and get carried away. It’s better not to make a big deal of it. You also get the ones who haven’t noticed they’re drunk until they can’t feel their feet. Those are usually stress cases. We’re required to flag them to the administration for the psychologists to look over, but they’re usually no trouble.’

‘So, the SSF can be as much counsellor as police force?’ Nava had asked.

‘I think that’s true of the ASF as well. Sometimes, someone you come across doesn’t need punishment, they need to be taken care of.’ Pause. ‘And that wasn’t a euphemism.’

Nava had almost smiled. ‘I didn’t think it was.’

Now, as midnight approached and people were starting to head back to their homes, there were more people to check over. The club in the Estate, frequented by school staff, would be open for another two hours, the junior club was already closed, but the senior nightclub was emptying its load of tipsy men and women and the SSF were busy. Courtney was busy helping Zayden and another man with the aftermath of a drunken brawl which had broken out between a couple of students when Nava heard a familiar sound and went to investigate.

Not that she could remember ever having made that noise herself, but someone was retching in the shadows of a nearby wall belonging to one of the mid-range apartment blocks. Whoever it was sounded like they were really suffering. Medical attention might be required. Nava’s night vision was better than a typical human’s, so she located the person responsible fairly quickly. Male: probably. Bent over with one hand on the wall, body trembling as it tried to rid itself of what was, essentially, a poison: definitely.

‘Are you okay?’ Nava asked, coming up behind the man.

She was still in the light, so when he turned and looked at her, he could see her uniform clearly. ‘None of your business. You’re not a cop.’ Belligerence: Nava figured that was a common reaction to SSF staff sticking their noses in, but he seemed more annoyed that she was not wearing a gold-trimmed uniform.

‘Not yet.’

‘Then fuck off!’

Nava watched the blow coming. She was not sure how competent the man was sober, but drunk he was so far below being a threat it was almost comical. His fist missed Nava’s face by several centimetres, then she moved and a second later he was lying face down in the mud. The soil beside the wall had obviously had no sun on it since the rain stopped. Then again, Nava realised as she applied a lock to the arm she had used to throw him that she had also delivered his head into the lake of puke he had left behind.

A warning seemed appropriate. ‘If you throw up on my boots, I’ll break your arm.’ The only reply she got was a pained groan.

‘What happened?’ Courtney asked, walking over. Nava noted that Courtney was walking and not quickly. Unaccountably, that small vote of confidence from her friend left Nava feeling rather pleased.

‘He was throwing up,’ Nava said, ‘and when I asked if he was okay, he took a swing at me.’

‘Could you get him up?’

‘Sure.’ Nava pulled. Her victim let out a shriek of outraged pain, rising to his knees and turning into the light as Nava directed.

Behind Courtney, Zayden and his partner had approached. Zayden was sneering and had apparently heard Nava’s explanation. ‘Sure. He took a swing at you, did he? You sure