Lost Boys and Golden Girls

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

    Chapter 5

Rachel was fuming, "What the hell did you think you where
doing shutting the Matrix off in the middle of a crowd!!!"

"It worked did it not? My goal was to clear the hallway so
I could get to Natarn, and that achieved it."

She sighed, "Really, we don't have him do we?"

"We have more then we would of had if I had not done that.
He's out of place now, and unless there is another agent
here, Sothia is safe, and if the police on this world are
anything to write home about, he shouldn't get far."

Sothia, who was behind me spoke up. "His picture and indent
code have already been distributed. He can't do anything
without fifty flags going up."

I nodded, sitting down in a chair near by. "Ok then. I have
two questions. First, how did he know Rethin and I where
heading to his office, and second, why didn't who ever was
investigating this do something like I did?"

"The second on is easy to answer," Sothia explained. "With
as high of a ranking as he held, the only one qualified is a
government investigator. It will take another week for one to
get here as there over worked."

"Ok," I said nodding again. "What about the first one?"

She thought this over for a few seconds. "Well... they way
you found him was doing a search through the records. He may
have had a watch on his, when you hit it, he was warned."

"I have a question of my own." Rachel said. "Do you have his
DNA profile on record?"

Sothia nodded, "Everyone is on record."

"Good. I want you to run it against unsolved murders in the
past few years."

I looked at her, "Why?"

"Because I'm rather sure you will find a match. Whoever this
group is there not the kind of people to leave an agents DNA
laying around for us to find."

"You have a point there." I said.

Sothia nodded, "I'll do that. Also, you do have access to
his records, I had guessed you would want them."

Rachel grinned, "Yes actually, I did."

Sothia returned the grin and walked out of the room. The
instant she did Rachel slumped back down in her chair,
letting out a soft sigh. "This is so strange."

I moved over to her, "What is?"

"Why there are doing this. If Natarn was a agent of the
corruption, which seams likely, why did they put him here.
I mean, we only decided to open Council negotiations with them
six months ago. So why act now? And why like this?"

I was a bit puzzled, once again I was at a lack of
information. "What do you mean exactly?"

She sat back up a bit, "Well, this is the first time sense
we've know the corruption has entered the Council that they
have tried to kill a prospective member. Why do it that way,
why not keep to there usual pattern."

"That being?"

"From what we can tell, bribing them, or there replacements,
and getting them on there side."

I though for a second, "Time."

She blinked, "What?"

"They don't have Time. Convincing the people, or waiting for
them to be replaced takes time. It looks more like they
found someone they either could easily get on there side, or
already is, and is trying to get them on the Council now."

She paled a bit (a good trick with through her fur). "I
think I see what your saying. Whatever there agenda is,
they need it soon, so they can move."

"Right, so the rushing to get more Council members on there
side so they--"

She cut me off, "75 percent. There trying to get 75 percent!"

Again, I didn't know what she meant, "75 percent?"

She nodded, "Yes, 75 percent is the majority vote needed to
do anything major in the Council or the multi-verse."

"You know what that means?" I asked.

She nodded, "They only need a few more..." she trailed off,
a very worried look on her face.

* * *

Three days later, I found my self being awaken from a
strange dream. Opening my eyes I saw Rethin. "Hello." I
muttered.

"The police have found Natarn." He said.

I sat up in the cot I had been using, in the spare office I
had been sleeping in. "That's good." I said rubbing my eyes.

He handed me my jacket, "Rachel has said we are to go see
him, and that you need to put our Matrix back on."

I nodded, muttering the activation command in my watch, as I
pulled my jacket on, squinting my eyes from the light it
caused. "What time is it?"

"About five in the morning. Come on." he was already
heading out of the office. I followed him in the hall,
hopping I didn't look as wasted as I felt.

Following him I dredged over what I had learned over the past
few days. Basically Natarn had only been working in the
building for six months, and on close scrutiny, didn't exist
before then. His DNA, as Rachel had expect, match a murder
victim from six months before. A day or so after the Council
had decided to open negotiations to this for membership. That
one thing had all but confirmed are conclusions.

I followed Rethin out of the building, handing my card out
for a scan, and was lead to a waiting vehicle. Climbing in I
found myself sitting next to Rachel.

"Hi Council Head." I muttered out.

She shook her head, "You look terrible."

"Only a couple hours sleep." I offered as an explanation.

She nodded, "I would think. Find anything new?"

I shook my head, "No. How goes the negotiations?"

She grinned, "The trade deal is almost finished, a few more
hours and Gratin will be the ninety third member of the
council."

"I though there was already 93 members?"

She shook her head, "No. There are only members 92, and
there's me. The other's represent there worlds, I represent
sanity."

I yawned, "Ok." Then watched out the window as parts of the
town flashed past. Sothia and Rethin where in the front.

I leaned forward a bit, and asked. "Is there any normal part
of the police procedure so as to get his DNA?"

"No," Rethin said, sounding a bit gruff, I guess he still
though of me as a child.

"Well, we need a sample."

"Why?" Sothia asked.

"We have the coding of everyone who has access to a control
on file," Rachel said behind me. "We'll run it though and
find out who is his."

I nodded, not wanting to mention the fact that if he was a
natural like me, he wouldn't be on file.

"That's easy then. We'll just prick it from him." Rethin
said.

"For some reason, I doubt he will let you do that." Rachel
said, "Some of are information says that the agents are
implanted with a destabilizer. If he sees a DNA sampler, he
would use it and literally melt in seconds."

I winched, I had seen a destabilizer used once, It was not a
pretty thing.

"So how do you plan on getting it then?" Rethin asked.

I sat back down, "Well," I said, yawning again, "I have a
bit of an idea. First, I'll need someone to show me how to
use one of the samplers."

"Then what?"

I grinned, "We let the fun begin."

* * *

I paced a bit inside the police station. Through the door
next to me Natarn sat, waiting for us.

I scratch my arm, feeling a bit nervous. I had my Matrix
off again, as he had already seen me without it anyways. I
was now just waiting for Rethin to return from getting me a
sampler, then we would both go in.

It was a short wait, as he came in a few moments later.
Handing me the sampler, I cupped it in the palm of my right
hand.

"Ready?" Rethin asked.

I nodded. "I guess."

He nodded back, and opened the door. Stepping inside Natarn
saw me instantly, he grinned. "Well, if he has not returned."
He said sarcastically.

I shook my head, "Nice to see you too."

He leaned back. "Sending a hairless monkey to catch me. What
an appropriate choice."

"It worked didn't it?"

He nodded, "Yes, my superiors were surprised you came at all,
though they found it interesting that this is the second
plan of ours you fucked up."

"Yes, I know."

He laughed, "They should have listen to us, and let you die.
But no, that little jerk has to have initiative."

I walked over to him, and placed my right hand on his
shoulder. Activation the sampler, I also squeezed hard,
hopping to mask the feel of it. "What do you mean?"

"That little ass is the only reason why your here. If he
hadn't spoken up about letting you stay you would still be
back on your little planet, not ever knowing."

I sighed, and turned away, pulling the sampler off his
shoulder. After a few paces I turned back around and looked
at him. Holding my right hand behind my back, I held the
sampler between my fingers. Rethin took it.

Reaching forward to crack my knuckles I asked, "Who are you?"

"No why would I tell you that?" was his reply.

"Ok then, why not confirm what we know, and tell us why
you're here."

He gave me a hate filled grin, "Because of you."

This gave me a start. "How do you mean, because of me?"

"Your little trip to Catarn. If you had left well enough
alone we could have keep to are schedule. But no, who had to
fuck it all up."

I leaned forward, "You mean whatever your labs where making,
I revealed it, so you destroyed the whole planet to keep it
secret!"

He nodded. "Right..." He said it in such away that he could
mean anything, or nothing.

I sighed, and turned to Rethin, "I guess we can't get
anything new out of him. Lets go."

As Rethin knocked on the door, Natarn called out, "Fox."

I turned, "What?"

"You can't stop us, and if you keep trying we'll take
everything you love from you."

I shook my head, and left the room. I may have not had any
answers, but I did have his DNA.

* * *

About twelve hours later, I sitting in Sothia's office.
Rachel was with me, and looking happy about herself. The
final deals had been made and Gratin had joined the Council.
Sothia was going to go back with us to get a crash course in
the multi-verse, and also get her implants and a controller.

Rethin came into the office, holding a data crystal. "The
DNA scan." he explained, handing it to Sothia.

Setting down he said, "I also have some bad news. Natarn is
dead. Apparently he used that destabilizer you mentioned."

I nodded, I had expected as much, and from the look at
Rachel's muzzle, so had she.

"Interesting," Sothia said as she read what her computer was
showing her.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"Well... According to this Natarn had only had three helixes
in his DNA, not the normal four."

I shrugged, "So what I have 2."

"Five myself." Rachel said, grinning a bit. "But that just
confirms he was planted here."

Sothia nodded. The standing up, she shut off her computer.
Walking around the desk, she handed the data crystal to
Rachel.

"Rethin, your in charge here until I get back." She said.

He gave a nod, grinning himself.

Rachel moved behind Sothia and hook an ear piece over each
ear. "This is only temporary, will get you implants when we
reach Prid."

"What are they for?" She asked.

"Living, when you go through the fold." Rachel said.

That wasn't a bad joke. The folds are basically weakness in
the universe, when one is opened you're ripping a hole in the
universe. When you go through a fold, you get all of the
pain from that pressed into your mind.

This means that if you go through unprotected you would come
out brain dead or, more likely, with out a head at all. The
ear pieces, and later the implants, block this out. As a
natural I have a natural resistance to it. The side effect of
this is that I'm telepaticly dead.

Sothia nodded, making sure they where on tight. "Well then,
lets go."

* * *

I was laying on the couch, relaxing a bit, when Fox came
through the front door.

He looked over at me, "Hi." He said.

I jumped from the couch, and ran over to him, hugging him.
"Fox!! You wouldn't believe what I found!"

He pushed out of my hug, and said, "What?"

I grabbed his hand, and pulled him over to the wall I had
first found. "This" I said, as I hit the panel.

He was startled as he saw the wall descend into the floor.
"What that?"

I grinned, "There's one in both of are bedrooms. Come on."
Grabbing his hand I pulled him down the steps, and into the
small room at the bottom.

"What is this place?"

Hitting the switch on the floor, I grinned, "You'll see."

Into the hallway we went, and into the elevator. He looked a
bit panicked as it started to descend.

He calmed down a bit as he saw the large cave spread out
under us.

"Wow." he said.

"That's not what I really want you to see." I said, as the
elevator stop. I headed for the small room in the corner.
Going inside, he looked over the mess. "Is this Ted's
stuff?"

I shook my head, and pointed to the picture on the dresser.
Walking over to it, he picked it up and looked at it. Seeing
who it was, his hand started to shake.

The picture, as I knew, as of two people. One of the two was
Fox.

"Becky." Fox said, naming the other.