There was a subtle difference in the tone of the voice, something that told Dav things were different this time.

“Who are they?” Dav asked, his voice a low whisper.

“They are councilman Narb, and four of his security entourage.”

“Are my parents here?”

“Your mother is in the room with councilman Narb, young Eccles.”

Dav remembered a conversation his parents had had once when they thought he was asleep in the back of the aircar. Councilman Narb and father had gone to school together, at the same school Dav attended now. There had been some bad blood between them, but all seemed better, now.

Or was it?

The door opened and snapped Dav out of his reverie. Stupid, Dav thought. He’d been standing at the door thinking his thoughts, right where they could see him either through the door or on the security monitors.

“Come in, young Dav! Come in.” Councilman Narb was standing in his living room, walking towards him with outstretched arms. Well, perhaps ‘walking’ was too generous a term. He’d gotten quite pudgy since the days he and father had played sports in school together. He tried to hide the bulge in his middle by wearing dark robes, but it did no real good. Councilman Narb was short, chubby, and walking/waddling towards Dav with the dignified air all councilmen used on an official visit.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

There were four men in the room as well, each wearing the light armor of a private security officer. Each officer rested his right hand on the snub-nosed blaster pistol in his holster, presumably ready to draw it at Narb’s order.

“Councilman Narb,” Dav said, “good to see you. Is my mother nearby?” Dav continued, nodding his head just enough to convey his wariness of the new visitor. He’d learned from father that there were many, many subtle ways that politicians communicated with one another, ways that were easily overlooked by the common person but grasped instantly by those accustomed to them. Dav, by his short speech, slight smile and small nod of his head had just told the Councilman that Dav neither welcomed nor trusted him, and that this mistrust would continue until Narb was approved by Dav’s mother.

The Councilman paused, his hands still in the air, but his jowly face losing the slightest hint of its smile. “Your mother, Dav, is...”

“Here as we speak,” she said, emerging from the double kitchen doors, which had opened soundlessly for her. She held a tray with several transparent glasses on it, sparkling blue liquid in each. She offered some to each of the security officers, who held up their hands soundlessly in refusal. One of them had what looked like a pair of dark goggles for eyes.

But even having four armed men in his home didn’t make Dav as nervous as the look in his mother’s eyes. She was trying to keep a façade of normalcy, serving drinks as she would to company on any scheduled warm day. Mother was such a good hostess, father bragged the local protocol droids could learn a few things from her about customs and putting others at ease. Offering drinks to the hired help, knowing all the while they would refuse, was normal. But still, something was wrong.

-----

To Be Continued...