EDGE OF DAY

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Suddenly, she bolted to her feet. The edge of her hand chopped up against his throat. As he doubled over, she slammed her knee into his groin. He fell to his knees, wrist alarm bleeping.

"Keep calm, officer Ryan," the wrist monitor said. "Medical assistance will be with you in thirty seconds."

Day's body began convulsing. She edged away and sunk against the far wall. Pressing palms over her eyes, she gulped in more air, heard the door opening, droids entering.

She was picked up and thrown back on the chair, while the medic droid took care of Officer Ryan. A droid placed cuffs on both her wrists and locked them together around the underside of her chair.

The officer left with the droids and then there was a man standing in the doorway, holding a steaming Styrofoam cup, the kind that were outlawed. It was one of the two officers who'd come to the house after Alexia disappeared from Janus and to the hospital after the bombing.

He looked at her for a full minute, his expression contemplative. He was in his forties, attractive, with a ruggedness reminiscent of cowboys in the old films.

He walked over and sat down in the chair opposite her, inserting a chip into the hollow table. A screen projected up in front of Day, and Day saw her profile picture.

"Monday Hollis," the electronic voice said, "second child of Lionnel Hollis and Emily Perkin. Date of birth October 19TH 2084."

Day felt a hitch in her breath as the screen showed pictures of her parents. The photos looked so different to her shoddy memories. "Parents deceased," the electronic voice continued, "cause of death a car accident on 8TH march 2099." Day averted her gaze at the sight of the footage filmed in the wake of the accident. They said it was a freak occurrence. The pod had taken her parents over an unfinished magnetic bridge and dropped them down a ravine.

"Only living relative is older sister, Amber Hollis, who disappeared from the grid eight years ago."

A picture came up on the holo-screen of Amber at around the age of sixteen, when her wavy auburn hair was still long, and her smile still goofy. An ache swelled in Day's chest. She'd tried calling Amber's emergency number and Amber hadn't showed up. Dread lurked deep inside that her sister was dead.

"Monday Hollis," Officer Rink said, "vanished from the grid on February 5TH 2103, at the age of nineteen. A month ago, her database was hacked, and her name was altered to Day White. You've been living with a man, Ed Wang for three weeks. But Ed Wang doesn't exist either. Unlike your identity however, his has been so thoroughly altered, the electronic trail is beyond recovery."

Officer Rink sipped from his steaming coffee cup. He didn't seem to notice the way Day was barely dressed. Or perhaps he didn't care. Day sat with her wrists pulled down the sides of the chair, uncomfortable and vulnerable, yet defiant too.

Monday was closer to the surface than Day could have hoped. Monday had stepped in and dealt with the lecherous officer, and if things really got crazy, Monday could take over again. Maybe the personality implant was dissolving. Maybe the shishak's machine had begun the process, after all.

"And then there's your acquaintance with activist Will Van de Berg." Officer Rink sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. "Nothing to say?"

"Oh, I thought it was a monologue."

"Your clever retorts will not help you, Day. Or should I call you Monday? It seems both men you're involved with are more concerned with covering themselves than helping you out of this predicament. Ed Wang has vanished, and the police truck carrying Will Van de Berg was hijacked. Which leaves you, and you alone to take the heat for a woman's disappearance and the Boulder shopping centre bombing."

Will was supposed to be arrested with her, so that they'd be taken off-world and hijack a spaceship together. Why would he want to escape the police truck? She stared at Officer Rink, but saw nothing to indicate he was lying. The ceiling and floors seemed to move inwards threatening to crush her.

"I'm going to give you some time to think about things," Officer Rink said. He twitched his wrist switching on a communication receptor. "I need a high-security escort to take suspect 402 to a holding cell. Suspect is unpredictable and dangerous." He stood up. "I'll get you some reading material while you're there. The orbiting moon camps are quite something. Prisoners are held in locked suspension for twenty-three out of twenty-four hours a day. Conscious the whole time. And the hour when there not in locked suspension, a machine moves their arms and legs up and down, up and down to help maintain a little muscle tone."

The door unlocked from the outside. "Goodbye Miss Hollis."

Four armed droids entered the interrogation room. They unlocked her hands from under the chair and dragged her to her feet. Wobbly, she tumbled into a droid and was roughly put back on her feet. The droids grip was so tight around her arm, her flesh bruised in an instant.

Getting caught was part of Will and Monday's plan. They were supposed to be tried, convicted of the bombing and sent to a prison camp orbiting the moon together. Or had she just assumed Will was going with Monday? Like she'd assumed Will would hijack the spaceship and redirect their course to Mars... Unless that was Monday's job.

Day's train of thought jolted and took on a new direction. Will didn't know the implant extraction had failed. Which meant she was possibly on her own now. For all she knew, he and Monday had intended to go their separate ways once they were arrested, or for some reason he had altered his plans at the last minute, thinking Monday could handle things from there onwards.

One thing was sure: Officer Rink wasn't going to give her any breaks. The only way Monday and Will could have planned months in advance that they'd be arrested for a shopping mall bombing, was if they'd placed the bomb. Officer Rink hadn't said whether any humans were injured in the bomb, but Day wouldn't put it past Monday to consider a shopping centre full of droids and the odd human as acceptable collateral damage in her efforts to find her parents and save the oppressed southern world. And as Will thought the world was a reflection of his consciousness, and dying was no big deal, then he might not have objected either.

Hope you're all OK! It's a crazy world right now. Stay safe :) Thanks for reading, commenting and voting. See you next Thursday!