The Worker's Heart

By J. L. Allan

Eclison Tavares Jorge Machado thought he had it all. As one of the youngest Unit Leaders in all of KemVar Acquisitions, he had a steady paycheck, a challenging job, and the respect of his superiors and peers. That is, until he forgot the soldier’s cardinal rule—always follow your orders.

With a single action he’s suddenly on Management’s radar and his unhappy commander has just the job to teach him a lesson. From the steamy jungle of the Lost Margin to the frigid outskirts of USCR territory, Machado soon learns that there’s more at stake than just his career. As enemies become temporary allies, what starts off as a simple, if unorthodox, mission holds ramifications that, if left unchecked, could tear KemVar apart.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: May 18, 2015
• ISBN: 9781483553474

Book preview

2156

PROLOGUE

Sebastião Cavaco Alvarez stood on the glass-encased balcony looking down over the flight deck, where the harsh sun was already beginning to make the tarmac shimmer. Since becoming head of KemVar’s Research and Development Division more than eleven years ago, he seldom had any real reason to venture to this side of the complex. His tastefully appointed corner office overlooked the neatly pruned courtyard garden and provided a stunning view of Guanabara Bay. From his desk he could access any piece of information he might desire, from last quarter’s development figures to the amount of coffee distributed in the commissary that morning. He liked his office and had worked hard to earn it. Despite all of this, he often began his morning with a walk across the heart of the complex to this very spot.

In contrast to the cool efficiency of the office blocks, the flight deck seemed a site of barely controlled chaos. Though intellectually he knew that the flurry of activity below him was as carefully choreographed as any ballet, it always made him feel he was watching KemVar’s lifeblood ebb and flow across its myriad holdings, as the executive jets, security transports, and even cargo carriers continually landed and took off. His carefully manicured fingertips brushed the cool insulated glass that muted the engines’ sounds to an inaudible thrumming that he could feel in the back of his teeth, even if his ears couldn’t quite detect it. Alvarez had found that this sensation made most people uncomfortable, and had used this spot to his advantage in more than one negotiation.

Traffic was deliberately light on the deck this morning; no need for extra eyes on this mission. The lone BAT prototype sat at launch, looking horribly exposed in the bright sun, like its namesake would never be. Sitting motionless with its Active Camouflage inactive it was all sharp angles and dead, black surfaces. The BAT would never appear on recruiting posters or fly in airshows. He’d heard it called the ugliest piece of tech to come out of R&D this decade and he couldn’t disagree, but Alvarez loved every hideous piece of it. Eight years and $37 billion in R&D alone, it was designed to deliver small KemVar Acquisitions teams anywhere they needed to be without detection by conventional or advanced systems. This would be its first real mission. If it performed well, then the expense would be a justifiable investment and he could look forward to the sort of recognition which would give him more leverage with the board. If not, his division would be in the red, which would certainly jeopardize his other plans. He couldn’t afford to give Salazar anything to work with. As head of Acquisitions, KemVar’s military arm, Salazar had no direct oversight on Alvarez’s department on paper. However, in reality, Acquisitions always held a special place with the trustees, and if Salazar’s suspicions were raised prematurely, Alvarez could lose everything. He wasn’t particularly worried though; managed risk was something of a specialty.

As the fuel tank moved away, he saw the BAT’s lone passenger walk across the tarmac to board. His lip curled slightly at the sight of the man. It was rare that such a small cog in the KemVar machinery could become such a large issue for him. Oh, he supposed he could have just left it alone, but he’d have no room for troublemakers when he took over Acquisitions. He could tell himself that he was just doing some early house cleaning, but knew himself better than that. He often found it personally satisfying to swat an annoying insect or two, and if it served his larger purpose, so much the better.

He noted his second in command approach, a tall, lean woman who stopped, waiting silently behind him. She stood just close enough to be accessible but distant enough so as not to intrude. It was one of the many subtle qualities that made her one of his favorite assets.

Drawing a deep breath, he quelled his annoyance with the insect, with Salazar, and with himself and turned to the woman without greeting.

Have the negotiations been finalized regarding our PR snag?

Without consulting her HUD, Cecilia Tanque answered, Yes. Our offer has been accepted, informally of course, and the asset should soon be a liability no longer.

Alvarez allowed himself a brief smile. Good. All parties are satisfied with our offer then?

They are. Alvarez waited for her to continue, knowing he could count on her for a complete report. I had expected more negotiations to be necessary given the circumstances, but our offer was quickly accepted at face value through our regular channels. I also took the liberty of preparing the appropriate press release which conveys our feelings on the unfortunate loss. In the past, focus groups have indicated a positive response within the target demographic to similar statements, reinforcing brand loyalty.

Dismissing the topic with a nod, Alvarez leaned against the railing with his back to the flight deck, What about our other venture?

Tanque reached up to gently touch the side of her head-up display, temporarily caching the constant info stream and ensuring that no one could backride the data flow to eavesdrop. Even so, she was careful to keep her words circumspect. Everything is in place. Our team lead reports that negotiations are going well and our, she paused slightly, selecting the right word, gifts were well received. She expects to finalize the contract before the end of day.

A hint of a smile played across Alvarez’s lips, Good, good. It seems that many of our recent challenges will soon be resolved. Turning back toward the glass, he dismissed Cecilia and continued to watch the man chatting with the transport pilot below.

CHAPTER

1

’Chado, wake up.

Eclison Tavares Jorge Machado felt her bare foot gently push against the back of his calf but wasn’t ready to give up on sleep just yet. When he didn’t move she nudged his hip, more roughly, until he reluctantly rolled over onto his back.

Hey, she shook his shoulder, your screen’s screeching priority.

His eyes slowly opened; he heard her, and he could hear the intermittent bleat of the alarm, but his brain wasn’t quite up to speed yet.

He reached his hand out, slapped at the panel next to the bed to still the message alert. He felt the bed shift as she rose and heard her cross to the shower behind him. He took a moment to rub his eyes, willing himself to wake up. It had been a late night last night. He’d just finished a rotation, along with the rest of his unit, and was due to start a week of leave today. He met Avila and some of the other guys from his unit for pizza and beer, and when the place closed they moved the party over to the Galo Doido, a local watering hole frequented by Acquisitions. Machado rarely drank to excess; he liked to maintain control and didn’t like feeling like shit the next day. But, after the week, or to be honest, the month, he’d had, Machado decided he needed some stress relief that he wasn’t finding in his daily run or at the gym. The Galo was packed and pretty soon he found himself pounding back shots like he was some green recruit.

He glanced back at the shower and could see Saoirse’s profile through the fogged glass. He remembered leaning on her quite a bit when they left the bar. Luckily, the walk back to his berth sobered him up enough that she stayed. He briefly considered joining her, but as their exploits last night proved, the small corner shower really only had room for one, though the attempt had been fun.

Now that he felt marginally more awake, he couldn’t ignore the message alert any longer. Just as this thought formed, the screen sounded an annoying reminder trill at him. He was glad that he had taken his implant offline before tumbling into bed. At least the screeching was solely external. The tone told him it was a priority two message. Unlike a priority one, which was basically an immediate call to arms, this level required him to acknowledge the message’s receipt in the next twenty minutes. That meant orders of some sort, and he doubted it was a reminder to turn in his paperwork.

He swung upright to sit on the edge of the bed, immediately regretting the quick movement. As his head pounded he remembered why he rarely drank. Still on the bed, he reached over to the desk and hit the panel, bringing up the floating display. He tapped in his security code to open his messages. A quick glance revealed an inbox filled with unnecessary paperwork, unit reviews, and other odds and ends. He’d been planning to clean this out today, but the priority message nagged from the top of the display. Nothing good ever came in on priority, and he could already feel his leave evaporating in the wind. He opened the deep drawer under the display, fishing around until his hands closed around a small bottle buried under the detritus that every desk drawer seemed to collect. He popped open the bottle and dry swallowed a couple of the small, pink pills inside. With any luck, his head would feel better in a few. Having done what he could, Machado took a deep breath and, with the same mixture of resolve and trepidation as pulling a bandage off a wound, tapped the message.

He read it twice to make sure he got it through his sleep-fogged brain, but he wasn’t surprised. So much for his R&R.

The message was sparse on details, but explicit on where he needed to be. He touched the screen in the appropriate spot, holding his finger down for a full second, giving it the time needed to read his print to acknowledge the order. With a sigh, he cleared the display and pulled himself off the bed, stretching out the remaining brain fog and steadfastly ignoring the pounding of his temples as he bent over to retrieve his boxers from the floor. He stepped into them as Saoirse stepped out of the shower, wrapping his only clean towel around her. She looked at him, ready to suggest they go another round until she saw the look on his face.

What’s up? Saoirse asked, sensing that the morning wouldn’t go as she planned. Businesslike, she quickly removed the towel from around her body and began roughly drying her long hair.

Machado appreciated the view, and, hungover or not, was tempted to give the shower another try now that he was sober. She caught his look and paused, I’ve got time if you do.

For a split second, he considered taking her up on it, staying here, running away, and forgetting everything. Thinking of recent events, how much more trouble could he get into anyway?

With a sigh he let the fantasy go. Can’t. Orders. I’ve got to report for a briefing in thirty.

She shrugged and tossed the towel over the shower door. Well, I guess I’ll just have to go have breakfast without you. He smiled weakly but felt his stomach lurch at the thought of breakfast. Maybe it was best he was forced to skip it.

She quickly grabbed the uniform she had thrown across his one and only chair last night. Pulling it on while Machado opened the closet’s pocket door and grabbed his go bag, she asked Think you’ll be gone long?

Not sure.

She knew better than to ask for details he didn’t have. Though she herded data now, Saoirse had done her time in the field before riding a desk. They’d been in the same training unit when Machado first signed up with Acquisitions. Like him, she was a kid from the favelas, though from the opposite side of the Bay. For kids like they’d been, there were two real options, the factories or the military. Joining Acquisitions, the military arm of KemVar, seemed much more exciting than following his parents into the energy plant. Though she rarely shared anything too personal, from things she’d mentioned in passing, he suspected it was the same for Saorise.

Dressed, she quickly whipped her hair into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. Once again all business. I’m in meetings all day, but then I’m off until late next week. She took a deep breath and looked at him in a way he’d never seen, almost embarrassed, cheeks flushed red, I plan to spend my entire leave on the beach, and wouldn’t mind some company. Your company, I mean, Machado.

Though they’d spent plenty of time together, both professionally and personally, Saoirse always kept him at a distance, and he had no problem with it. Who had the time for anything else? Their encounters, while always, ah…mutually satisfying, were always born of convenience, never planned. She made a point of keeping it that way. As distracted as he was by the hangover and his impending briefing, Machado realized that she might be hinting at the possibility for something more.

Before he could respond, she placed her crisp uniform cap perfectly on her head, once again looking every bit the professional, the momentary vulnerability gone, replaced by her usual sarcastic grin. This was fun, Machado. If you get back soon, message me and I’ll buy you breakfast.

Will do. he smiled at her.

She was right, he thought. This was fun. For now. He quickly set aside that train of thought. His feelings for her were a puzzle for another day.

She quickly glanced around to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. Satisfied, she said, Be careful out there.

He paused in the middle of zipping up his bag and grinned, raising his hand to his forehead Yes ma’am. She rolled her eyes at his mock salute and opened the door.

He heard the door click behind her as he turned and slid open the panel next to his desk. It revealed a standard weapons safe, one of which could be found in almost every KemVar berth. Coded to both his DNA and requiring his unique security code, the box held what he thought of as his work tools. He unlocked the safe, releasing his combat knife, pistol, Capéval, and extra rounds. He wasn’t sure what he was getting into, but he intended to be prepared.

CHAPTER

2

After selecting the cleanest everyday uniform from the pile—pants he had always thought of as KemVar green, tan short-sleeved linen shirt over the standard-issue black KemVar flexshirt, and a new pair of boots he hadn’t quite broken in yet—Machado grabbed his go bag and, almost as an afterthought, pulled his cap over his head and headed toward his Commander’s office.

Commander Felipe Mateus Cardoso was new to this division of Acquisitions. He’d been head of Machado’s section for only a little over three months, and Machado wasn’t quite sure what to think of him yet. Conflicting rumors marked him both as a buy in, with his old-money family spending clink on a cushy commission, and as a boots-to-ground favela kid who worked his way up to sit in the comfy chair. Machado didn’t give much credence to either story; it didn’t matter much anyway. Cardoso was the boss, his boss at least, and where he came from wasn’t important. One thing he knew, though: when orders came through, he’d better show up for the briefing on time, ready to work. Cardoso was not a patient man.

Machado wondered why he was being summoned. It was possible Cardoso just wanted to yell at him some more, but he doubted it. Unlike his previous commander who never said something once when eight times would do, Cardoso seemed to prize efficiency. He gave an order once and expected it to be followed. After Liberdade, Cardoso had read him the riot act, privately. Machado had the feeling that his clean record and the regard his unit had for him had a great deal to do with the conversation remaining private. But he doubted that would help his career prospects, at least in the short term.

Machado always knew what he would be when he grew up. His entire family earned their livelihood from KemVar in one way or another. His parents both worked in the energy plants, but his mother’s sister, his Aunt Teresa, served. Back then KemVar’s military arm was still referred to as Security. Having grown out of its private security roots long ago, even then KemVar fulfilled most military functions for the old government as a private contractor. To the kid he’d been, it sounded like the most exciting career out there.

Whenever Teresa was off duty she’d come around the house and Machado would sit for hours listening to her tell the same stories over and over. His mother always just shook her head at her crazy little sister, but his father loved the tales almost as much as Machado and his friends did. Even when he was young, Machado knew his mother worried about Teresa, but she always came back home with another story. Until she didn’t. The official notice said ordnance accident, which maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. By that time Machado had already made up his mind to join Acquisitions. He grieved for Teresa, but unlike his mother, that grief didn’t extend to resenting her job.

When Machado hit sixteen he signed up for the Defensores do Futuro, like most of the other kids in his neighborhood. Though his parents worked for KemVar for their entire careers, the official transition from what was already called old gov to the corporate state was still relatively new then. The previous few years had brought a lot of changes. The transition went pretty smoothly in the city, but the occasional protest still sprung up once in a while or appeared in the news. For families like his, sending their kids into the Defensores was a good way to show loyalty. And well, Machado thought spending weekends in what amounted to teen boot camp to be a blast. He figured it would give him a head start on a career track in the military, just like his aunt.

At eighteen Machado signed on to the civil service force. All eligible young adults were required to undergo the training and serve for at least a year. Machado signed up for three to pad his resume for Acquisitions. Though he never doubted for a second that he would make the cut, he thought it was always good to hedge his bets. He knew who he was and what he wanted.

Growing up, he always loved going to family day at the plants, getting to see what his parents did. The importance of KemVar’s energy technology to his way of life was instilled in him from an early age. He believed it then, the way one believes any oft-repeated truth learned as a child, but now he truly understood it in a way he couldn’t have as a kid.

He moved into Acquisitions with little trouble after his time in the civil forces. He loved his job. Being part of keeping KemVar safe and strong, it was what he always wanted. But when Machado took the field supervisor position six months ago, things seemed much simpler. The promotion came with a bump in pay, a slightly larger berth, and most importantly, he’d be eligible for profit sharing in less than ten years. Sure, it may not be much, but he’d have a nice nest egg set up by retirement if he were careful.

His career had been on a solid upward trend ever since. At least until last month. He took a deep breath and stopped that train of thought. He didn’t have time to get stuck in a mental loop second guessing himself. That’s what sleepless nights were for.

Unsurprisingly, Cardoso’s summons offered few details. He fully expected to be sent off for a few days on border detail or as a protection monkey for some of the build crews. Boring jobs usually reserved for rookies and soldiers who had screwed up. Despite his promotion, he felt he’d barely made it out of the former category just to