00081

Osmo Martin stopped at the front office. After waking the Security Agent on duty, he explained the situation regarding the ex-Security Leader now in a cell. The Agent at the desk interrupted Osmo Martin frequently with "Wow!" and "Oh wow!" After taking care of that business at the Security Agency building, he returned to the Governor's House, and more specifically to the Governor's office, to report the safe jailing of Tretl Clyden. Sheila Bright and Mita Morgan were already gone from the office, but Agent Samm still stood where Osmo had left him, confused, spaced out, no longer Agent Samm.

A cleaning man worked on the vomit stains on the carpet.

Gov. Bright thanked Osmo Martin for all his help. "You were onto Clyden early in the game. And you and Agent Samm returned here secretly when I called you, to help me against any trouble Clyden might try. I appreciate your loyalty. Unfortunately, poor Mr. Samm has paid a high price for his part in protecting me. I won't forget what he's done.”

“What'll happen to Agent Samm?" Osmo Martin asked, concerned.

Gov. Xavier Bright shrugged, shaking his head. "His outlook is very uncertain. Of course, we will take him to the hospital, but honestly, I wonder if anything can be done for restoring his identity. I think, however, we can at least help him develop a new ID, and we can find a place for him with the Security Agency on a low-level job, until we know what he can do. We will find something for him so he can continue to serve the World of Hope, as he always did. We'll do what we can to keep his life useful and fulfilled..."

Osmo Martin said, "Maybe it won't be so bad for him, then. I mean, I wouldn't want to forget who I am, but at least he can be happy, doing something that he liked before he got this way. Even the miners are happy in their new identities, so why not Agent Samm, who already was a loyal and useful citizen?"

"I hope so," sighed the Governor. "Osmo, I must leave to take care of business, to keep the Security Agency from being harmed by the loss of Clyden. Can you please wait here with Agent Samm until the people from the hospital arrive? They have already been notified and are on their way."

"Of course, Sir."

"Also, Osmo- and this is not official business- can you make it here for dinner tonight?”

"I could use a good meal. It's been awhile, Gov. Bright."

It took several minutes until the emergency techs showed up. In the meantime, Osmo Martin talked pleasantly and reassuringly with Agent Samm.

Samm asked, "What is... do I know you? Who am I? I- I seem to not know anything at all about you- or me..."

"Your name is Samm."

"Samm? Okay. I'm Samm."

"Yes. Here, sit down for a few minutes, until the nice people come who will take you to the hospital to help you."

"Okay." Samm complied with no resistance.

After the ambulance left with Agent Samm, Osmo hurried back to the Security Administration building. He walked past the front office with the Agent on duty, taking care not to wake him this time as he slept, slipping by to do what he had wanted to do for the past hour, ever since Clyden had mentioned his secret file.

Clyden's personal office had a simple lock, and Clyden had shown Osmo Martin how to open many types of locks, including this kind. It took Osmo only a few seconds before he succeeded. Easy. Who would expect anyone to break into the office of the Security Leader anyway, and at the Security Agency building? Osmo quietly pushed in the door and stepped into the dark room.

When Osmo snapped on the light, he gasped. Either someone had already been here and rifled through the files and the computers, or Clyden really hated to be tidy and neat and orderly. Actually, Osmo Martin already knew that Clyden did, in fact, have slovenly habits, but not this bad. Clearly, someone got here ahead of Osmo Martin.

The young man hurried to look under the water cooler. He bent down and held the base of the cooler, then managed to tip it over slightly with one hand, and yet not spill the water bottle, while with his other hand he felt the floor under the cooler, where the water cooler base normally rested. He tried to find a file or a folder or something. Nothing!

Osmo Martin straightened back up. Hmm. Was there ever a file, or did Clyden simply try to manipulate his mind, to make him suspicious of Gov. Bright?

During the dinner that evening, Mita Morgan joined the Brights and Osmo at the table. The robot happily served them, happy to make them happy, and not a robot-care in the world.

Gov. Bright told Osmo, "Well, I checked into the matter with the miner, No. 317- or, I should say, Sheila and Mita have checked the records in Clyden's office, and, as far as they can determine, No. 317 is a hardcore criminal, and so are the rest of the miners. It appears that no one is there at the mining mountain who does not belong there."

The Governor’s niece nodded. "According to Mr. Clyden's database, there weren't any people kidnapped and stuck in the mines for no reason except that they were disagreeing with Uncle Xavier.”

Mita Morgan added, "According to Trel’s papers, no members of the illegal house church were sent to the mines, but for those taken in raids where they were caught with dangerous contraband drugs! At least, not so we could find in the records. We gave the office the once over to find any thing like that. We looked for maybe some kind of secret files that Clyden could use to fabricate lies against Gov. Bright, but we found nothing, not a thing about anybody being there at the mines who should not be there."

Gov. Bright appeared thoughtful. "I know that Clyden found drugs sometimes when he and a team of Agents conducted raids on the illegal church, but, to tell you the truth, now I begin to wonder. He is a thug, and... what if he planted evidence, to turn me against the house church people, and to make me look bad for trying to stop the house church because of their involvement with drugs? And, what if, behind my back, he actually did carry out kidnappings, and then he falsified the records to hide what he secretly did, in an effort to turn the citizens of Hope- and the Leaders of Earth- against me? And, this is the worst part- How could we ever find the truth?”

Sheila Bright made a face. "That would be terrible, Uncle! Do you think that is even possible?"

Mita Morgan snorted. "Who knows, with Clyden orchestrating things behind Gov. Bright’s back?"

The Governor let out another weary sigh, as if thinking too much about it and it tired him. "I suppose we may never know."

"One thing bothers me," Osmo Martin admitted. “He planned to take over as Governor, if I understand him. What made him think he could handle the job? To be honest, I don’t think he ran the Security Agency as well as he should have...”

Sheila Bright shrugged. Who knows, Osmo, and who cares? He's already shown himself to be a bad man, the way he tried to wipe Uncle Xavier's identity away with that touchpad thingie."

Osmo Martin nodded. “I suppose you have the right attitude, Sheila.”

Xavier Bright said, “Maybe because he fooled me so well, he thought I showed sheer incompetence to lead. I can see why he might think that, to be honest. All I can say in my defense- and this is a lame excuse- he had everybody fooled. He probably planned to blame me for all his dirty trickery- done under my very nose, which, unfortunately, I never discovered until recently. He expected to get me out of the picture, and he needed a cover story to justify his actions for removing me- He needed a story for the Leaders of Earth, as well as for the citizens of the World of Hope, and his own Security Agents, too.”

Osmo considered what the Governor said. "Oh. I'm not used to all this intrigue. Recently, my Father has asked me to return home, to learn the business, since I have now developed some self-discipline here in this job as a Security Agent. I'm stating to think more about my Father's suggestion..."

Sheila Bright shook her head in protest. "Oh, no, Osmo- You cannot be serious!”

Surprisingly, Gov. Xavier Bright laughed. Then, he said, "Osmo, if you don't like intrigue, joining your father in his big business isn't the solution on how to get away from it! I assure you, there is more intrigue in his corporation in one day, than you will find for a whole year on our little planet, even with people like Clyden around here. I don't want to say anything bad about Martinology, mind you, but that is just how things are done in corporations"

"Maybe, but I guess he also misses me.”

“So, invite him here. Osmo, you can't quit on us," Gov. Bright insisted. "We need you. After all, look how you helped to catch a big fish today. We need you to catch more big fish. You want to make a difference, don't you?"

Osmo Martin rubbed his chin. "Well, yes, I do... But you know my Father won't be able to come here for a visit. He first needs to find someone to replace him, before he can go on any vacation. He hasn't had a day off, except for Sundays, in a long, long time, probably a couple of years. But what you say sounds like good advice- I do think it is satisfying, to catch big fish, as you say. I can see myself staying on, doing just that, taking down corrupt law-breakers, big rotten fish..."

Sheila hopped up out her chair. "Enough of this depressing talk. You know you can't go back to Earth. You'll miss me too much. Now get up and take me out dancing tonight!"

Osmo Martin agreed. "It sounds like a sensible idea. I'm all for it, Sheila. Good day, Gov. Bright. Thanks for the meal. Later, Mita."

Mita Morgan gave a slight nod back. "Take care, you two. And don't worry about me, I won't be bored. I am still reviewing some of those things I learned back in school."

Mita resumed eating at the table. Xavier Bright also sat and continued eating at his side of the table. Neither spoke for a minute. Then, when Mita Morgan was sure Sheila and Osmo were gone, and that they would not be coming back to the dining hall unexpectedly for something like forgotten keys or anything like that, then, Mita picked up her purse and rummaged around in it, producing a fat yellow file folder. She handed it to Gov. Bright.

The Governor smiled. "Ah, good, Mita, you found it." Xavier Bright took the folder and opened it, scanning its contents. "I was right, then. I knew that rascal would be keeping a file with enough in it to make things bad for me. How did you find it?"

"It was easy to do, once I knew to look for something secret like that in the first place," she replied. "A tiny corner of the folder peeked out from under the water cooler. I made sure Sheila didn't see me taking it."

"Thank you, Mita. Did you find out where Clyden got that touchpad device?"

She shook her head. "No, sorry, Gov. Bright. He left no record of it that I was able to find.”

“Oh. Well, you have already been very helpful.”

She smiled at him. “I will always do what I can to serve you, Gov. Bright. You can be sure about that."

"I am. I appreciate the fact that I can count on you when I have a problem.”

(c) drk 2012