Frisco 2297, page 16
After brief introduction, he had the group stand and form a tight circle for a group hug. Julio was on the outside of the circle, and there wasn’t anyone in the group he felt like hugging. At that point, he was jealous of Jake. He had Mrs. Censoria and her good looking legs to keep him occupied.
When the group hug broke up, Todd peered at his tablet and then zeroed in on Julio. “Julio, how has your stay been so far?”
“Place kind of sucks, and what’s with the breakfast? You guys ever hear of ham and sausage?”
“Do you belong here?” Todd questioned.
Not wanting to ask for trouble, Julio looked at him. “No, I’m fine.”
“Is that how you truly feel?”
Julio looked at the other members in the group who were on the edge of their seats, closely following the conversation. “You want it writing or how about Spanish?” Julio couldn’t help himself.
“Now we get to the root of the problem,” their leader said for all to hear.
“Huh?”
“There were two choices on your entrance form for ethnicity, hereditary and non-hereditary.”
“But I’m Hispanic,” he argued.
“That’s not one of the choices. After the Great Reset, the world has changed, and I might add, for the better.”
“I don’t care what your form says, I’m Hispanic. Comprendé?”
The others looked at Julio like he was from the moon. “You’re confusing the class.”
“Not my problem.”
“Are you tense?” he asked Julio.
“Not really.”
Todd turned to the rest of the class. “I sense that Julio is all wound up. Why don’t all of us, including Julio, partake in some cannabis to clear our senses?” Joints were handed out and everyone but Julio lit up. Todd wasn’t pleased. “Light the joint.”
“No.”
“What’s wrong? Do you need a roach clip?”
“A what?”
“Roach clip.”
“Todd, I’ve just about had it with your smelly sandals and cannabis bullshit. How do you like that?”
After a long toke, Todd replied, “Man, what’s your trip? Everyone else is getting high and finding themselves.”
“When can get out of here? I have a son to attend to. Some of us have real responsibilities and don’t have time to pull roach clips out of our butts.”
“In a case like yours, I always recommend a top to bottom physical. I want you to go to the medical center first thing in the morning.”
“I don’t need a physical,” Julio insisted. “I have a sick son at home to attend to.”
“You want to go home? Then, you’ll go to the medical center tomorrow. Now sit back and breathe deep.”
Happy Trails
When Rolando came through the door to the bungalow at high noon, Julio thought his new friend would get a kick out of getting a cold beer tossed his way. The beer zoomed by Rolando’s head and hit the wall. ‘Maybe he didn’t see it,’ thought Julio. “Hey, where’s the hands? Man, you were gone long enough.”
Rolando smiled weakly. “Where’d you get the alcoholic drink? That isn’t healthy.”
“Say what?”
“I don’t understand that phrase.” Rolando seemed confused.
Julio took a closer look at Rolando, who was standing straight and gazing out the window as if in some sort of trance. “What’s up, man? You’re acting weird.”
“Nature is full of life this time of year. I will no longer barter for goods and services. It is the third protocol of society.”
“What the—” Julio saw a small silver port on the side of Rolando’s neck. To Julio’s surprise, Rolando stood still as he ran his finger over it. There seemed to be a needle-sized hole through the port and into the Rolando’s carotid artery. When Julio removed his finger, there was tiny drop of liquid that he touched. Within seconds, his finger started to burn.
The pain grew worse and Julio reached down, picked up the beer, and stumbled over to the sink. He opened the beer and poured it on his finger until the pain subsided. Rolando continued to watch the birds outside the window. “That is a woodpecker. It is endangered.”
“What kind of physical did they give you?” Julio gasped. “What kind of a physical are they going to give me?”
That night, Todd scheduled a special meditation session for his group. It was held by a fire pit on the edge of the property. Julio had watched Rolando pack his things like some sort of robot and leave the bungalow. The last thing Rolando said was, “Enjoy your stay. I did. Stay true to the Hereditary Council and rejoice in nature.”
Julio joined the others around the fire. Todd eyed him with narrowed eyes. It was at that moment that Julio realized his medical appointment the next day would turn him into a semi-comatose hereditary-loving fool just like Rolando. Julio smiled at Todd. “Toddster, how about some of that fine Mendocino weed?”
“I thought you didn’t partake in such things.”
“I want to join the group. I want to change. I will change.”
Todd wasn’t sure, but he still handed Julio a joint. Soon, they were both taking long hits from the Mendocino marijuana. “Julio, what is your nationality?” Todd inquired.
Julio leaned back on a wooden chair and looked at the stars. “I’m tripping, just taking it all in.”
Todd turned a bit serious. “Your nationality?”
“Julio Otero, non-hereditary member of the lower classes with a deep sense of appreciation for the Hereditary Council, and I like the TV show Socialites of San Francisco and roach clips.”
“Maybe I was wrong about you.” Todd smiled.
“I just had to find myself and what life is all about. Sharing, being one with the redwood forest, it was all out there.”
“You can cancel the medical checkup tomorrow, but I want you to continue to eat healthy and attend the yoga classes.”
Julio took a long hit. “Like wow, was that a shooting star or an internal cosmic event?”
“Eternal enlightenment.”
“Far out.” Your sandals still stink; as for the broads, skanky city.
Censoria Estate
Jake eased into his new surroundings at the Censoria Estate in Hillsborough. It certainly was a world he wasn’t accustomed to. Behind the heavy thickets of bushes and trees, the rough and tumble world of the non-hereditary class seemed like a bad dream, or rather nightmare.
Floria gave Jake his own suite in the main wing of the estate. The fact that it was on the same level as her bedroom wasn’t by accident. One only had to cross a Spanish-tiled, outdoor breezeway to reach Jake’s room, but all that did was rustle the bottom of Floria's nightgown as she sauntered into the cool Mid-Peninsula winds.
Jake did a full assessment on the estate's security system and thought it to be top notch. A fifteen-foot high block wall surrounded the estate. Electronic sensors and cameras covered the exterior perimeter. A massive, black iron gate was the only way in and out.
All of this was designed by Mr. Censoria. It was efficient and more than that, it was cutting edge. After a week on the job, a couple of things became apparent to Jake. First, he understood the security system from top to bottom, and Floria had a habit of joining him in his bed at all hours of the night. If truth be told, she was wearing him out. In his first ten days at the estate, Gaius Censoria had yet to be seen.
Jake couldn’t help but think, ‘No wonder she’s lonely. Maybe he has taken up permanently with Fufia.’ He also wondered just what he was doing there. Was he adding to the troubles of a wayward marriage? He had to admit that he was. He began to lose respect for who he was and what he had become.
The servants at the estate discretely but in no uncertain terms snubbed him. He was Floria’s boy-toy. A kept man. Granted, he had massive biceps and could whip through them in short order, but nevertheless, he was there for one reason. They knew she went to his room in the dark of night. That made for hushed conversations and giggles between doing the laundry, working in the kitchen, or cleaning the pool.
During the middle of the first week, Jake wandered into the eight-car garage. The checkerboard tiled floor was pristine, not unlike a chapel. The stable of luxurious cars was over the top. A hot little two-seat red convertible sat all alone.
Jake couldn’t help but open the door and eased into it. The keys were inside it. Before he started it up, Floria opened the passenger’s side door and joined him. “Do you like it?”
“A little out of my price range,” Jake lamented.
“It doesn’t have to be.”
“Floria, I appreciate everything that you have done for me.”
“I sense a ‘but’ is coming.”
“I’m serious.”
“Don’t be; not for now.”
“Why?”
“You still want to be somebody, don’t you? You do want to join the hereditary class.”
“I’m not sure anymore,” Jake confessed.
Floria reached out and touched Jake’s hand. “World ascendancy isn’t achieved by half-measures. I should know. Gaius is the king of that. It’s the one thing he does better than anyone else. It also makes him the vile person that he is. Ironic but true.” Jake sighed. “Turn it on,” she told him.
Jake took his hands off the keys. “Maybe later.”
“You can still get what you want, and there isn’t time to mope around. Now, listen. The Hereditary Council has accepted Gaius’ invitation to host the Founder’s Day Celebration here next weekend. Everyone on the council will grace us with their presence. It will be quite a spectacle, and you will be part of it.”
“It might be embarrassing for you, having me around. I was kicked off the force.”
“Nonsense. It’s time for the hereditary class to see who Jake Forest really is. It will be a new beginning for you—one that will eventually lead to your ascendancy into the upper class. Let me guide you. I know these people: the way they act, their petty actions. I know who they really are.”
“Okay, we’ll try it your way.”
“Wonderful. Take time for yourself. Oh, and leave your door unlocked tonight.”
Jake nodded. “Sure, whatever you say.”
Pier #4
Alfonso wiped perspiration from his bald head as he waited for Titus and Butch to make their way into his office, before cleaning his fingernails with a knife better suited for plunging into a man’s heart. Alfonso made a pact to himself that Igor would be that man, but when? And would it happen if the mobster with an irritating Russian accent got to him first?
Anything could happen. You were only careless but one time in Alfonso’s line of work, and if you were careless and unlucky, then more than likely you would be dead. As Titus strode down the hallway, Alfonso felt water pour from his body. It was bad enough that he sweated constantly, but every time he saw Titus, the situation worsened. What the hell did that mean?
That meant one of two things. First, his autoimmune system was compromised, and he had syphilis like Al Capone. Or Titus Bullus wasn’t to be trusted, and his body was telling him that. Why else would he sweat like a pig when Titus stared him down?
It was true that in his younger days he would romp with two whores at a time and sweat through the sheets and mattress. The whores never said anything about it, and why would they? Where else were they going to get a fast 500 PCUs and the pleasure of Alfonso’s company? Though some complained about getting a nasty yeast infection from him, such was the fate of whores and prostitutes.
Titus and Butch walked into the office like they owned the place. Alfonso wasn’t so sure he liked that. “I didn’t know you were coming. You need to call next time.”
Titus saw that Alfonso was sweating profusely all over his desk. “You have to fix that. What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing.”
Butch snickered as Titus said, “You look sick. You need to take better care of yourself. I can’t have a partner fail me now that things are getting interesting.”
“Titus, you worry about yourself. I’ve done my part and more, and next time you drop in, leave this lug behind.”
Butch raised up in his seat. Titus smiled. “It pays to have a man like Butch around.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t like his attitude.”
“If we can get down to business...” Titus got serious.
“What do you have in mind?”
“A hit.”
“I should have known.” Alfonso knew that Titus must need something important.
“One that furthers our plans.”
Alfonso said the obvious, “You mean your plans. I’m just along for the ride.”
“But, Alfonso, you’re very important. After all, I chose you to join me in this endeavor.”
“Yeah, who do you want knocked off? And when?” The mob boss was getting impatient.
Titus stood up and walked to the window, which had a panoptic view of the main tower of the Bay Bridge where his vaunted Peacemaker Program would soon be in full operation. “The Censoria Estate during the Founder’s Weekend celebration.”
“Are you crazy?” Alfonso continued, “I can’t get into the Censoria Estate. Gaius Censoria has the place locked up tighter than the womb of Novia Axius. You know she’s a virgin. There is no doubt of that. I’d like to pop that cherry. She would thank me later.”
Butch saw his chance. “Is that before or after you sweated on her like a fat hog?”
“Out!” he ordered.
Titus laughed and defused the situation. “Settle down. I don’t care about Novia Axius or Quintus. Their time is coming and it will not be pretty. Now listen, you fool. I will be at estate for the weekend with the Hereditary Council and the other members of the upper class. You will provide four of your best men, men with some brains. I will get them in the front gate.”
“How?”
“With the troupe of entertainment that is to be provided for the pleasure of everyone after brunch.”
“Troupe, are you sure?” he questioned.
“Alfonso, it is so much easier if you do as you’re told.”
“And who are the targets?”
“The waiters and household staff. Your men will kill them all.”
“And the hereditary members?”
“You will not touch them.”
Alfonso wiped his head. He placed it on the desk, and Butch turned up his nose at the sight of water dripping from it. “Why?”
“An attack so brazen and bold will leave the Hereditary Council no choice but to accept my plan to implement the Peacemaker across the city. Do you understand? With death and destruction so close to home, they will have no choice.”
Alfonso almost smiled. “And Titus Bullus, the newly appointed commander of the security force, is the man to do it.”
Butch laughed. “You aren’t as stupid as you look.”
Alfonso tossed the wet handkerchief at Butch. It smacked him on the face. Titus and Alfonso laughed. Butch stomped on the handkerchief. Titus went on, “One more thing; Jake Forest is in charge of the security at the Censoria Estate.”
“The disgraced obedience officer? He gets around.”
“I’ve decided it is time for him to die. He’s a loose cannon, and I’ve had enough of him.”
Alfonso jeered, “And what about his exploits in the fight cage?”
“Shut up! It’s an open secret, at least to me, that Jake Forest and Floria Censoria are an item. You will make sure that your men kill him as well. That shouldn’t be too hard; he’s a wannabe who isn’t very smart, a person from the lower class with no future.”
“I rather enjoyed seeing him fight in the cage at Maximus’ place. The heart of a champion.”
“A dead one,” scoffed Titus.
“As you wish, killing comes naturally to me. It is what I do best.”
Founder’s Weekend
At the Censoria Estate, the hereditary guests began to arrive at dusk on Friday night for Founder’s Weekend. Jake manned the gate and scanned in the approved luxury vehicles that carried the elite of the Autonomous City of San Francisco. The sedans were all armored limousines with bullet proof windows.
The half-dozen vehicles were directed to the little used squash court. The male attendants of the estate, many of them eunuchs, opened the doors to the limousines and bowed. The elite stepped onto the grounds of the Censoria Estate, and Founder’s Weekend was officially under way.
The entire Hereditary Council was in attendance for the festivities, as well as other important members of the upper class. Lucius Praetorius exited his sedan and waved off a eunuch who tried to take his hand. “Please keep your limp hands to yourself.” His two underage females got out and snuggled up to him as he shooed the eunuch away. “Go on. What you have, I don’t want. I have important work to do.” He goosed one of the girls on her buttocks.
Floria, who was wearing a beautiful white flowing dress, took Lucius’ hand. “I’m so glad you have honored Palatine Gardens.”
“Floria, you look lovely and ravishing. If I wasn’t smitten with these two, your husband would be in trouble. Perhaps I would send him away to a penal colony and keep you for myself. You do realize a convicted man loses his property to his accuser.”
“Lucius, you need a drink.”
“And my suite?”
“On the top floor with a view of the gardens, and yes, it has a triple bed as requested.”
Lucius kissed Floria’s hand. “You think of everything.” Gaius Censoria made his grand entrance into the squash court and went over to a shiny limousine. “I see Gaius has surfaced.”
Floria’s face turned sour. “Have a nice time.” She took two steps back and watched her husband open the limousine door. Fufia held out her hand and Gaius took it, kissed it, and gently guided her out of the car. Fufia said, “Gaius, it is so nice to see you again. How have you been?”
“Busy but very well satisfied.” He smiled at his personal plaything as they put on a show for Floria.
Fufia giggled. “I hope so.”
Floria walked over to the pair. ‘You whore. I should kill you right now. No one would miss you.’ “Fufia, what a pleasant surprise.”
