Annette grimaced as she drove her Hyundai Ioniq 5 through the upscale districts of the Sirius Zone.

  The streets were wide and well-paved, with tree-lined sidewalks.

  High-end retail stores, restaurants and cafés were interspersed with sleek glass and concrete office buildings.

  More than the architecture, it was the women milling around that made her skin crawl.

  They were all attired in either sleek skirt-suits or fitted dresses. And of course, the ubiquitous high-heels.

  The sidewalks themselves were perfectly smooth ceramic, with no cracks, bumps, or even tile joints to trip on, and with gently sloping gradients where they met the streets - perfectly optimized for stiletto heels.

  "Wow!" said Mikaela, as she looked around wide-eyed.

  "No! Don't say that. This is oppressive," said Annette, her voice tight with anger.

  Mikaela looked away from the window, and down at her lap, shuddering slightly at Annette's harsh tone.

  Normally, Annette never ventured outside of Pine Springs, and the adjoining Boston Public School district.

  Today however, she had to visit the Sirius Zone to be present at the supervised visitation of Mikaela and Ivan.

  After she had found out that Ivan had treated Mikaela to a hot dog on his last visit, she had told Officer Vasquez that she would be there herself to supervise the next visit.

  "Next time, I'm picking the place," muttered Annette furiously, as she parked the car near a massive park.

  "Come on. Let's get this over with," she said, getting out of the car, and unceremoniously pulling a subdued Mikaela behind her.

  "Parent of the year," thought Officer Vasquez scornfully, as she watched Annette and Mikaela from her patrol car.

  "Hey there Princess," said Ivan, getting up from a park bench as Annette and Mikaela approached.

  "Daddy!" squealed Mikaela, lighting up and running into Ivan's arms.

  "Oof! You've gotten big!" said Ivan, as Mikaela nearly knocked him over with her hug.

  "I missed you, Daddy," said Mikaela, snuggling into Ivan.

  "Missed you too, Princess. How have you been?" asked Ivan, as Annette stood stiffly nearby, arms crossed.

  "Good. School is fun," said Mikaela, looking up at Ivan with a smile.

  "That's great to hear. What have you been learning about?" asked Ivan, sitting back down on the bench.

  Mikaela was about to get on his lap, before she saw Annette's disapproving glare, and instead sat down next to him.

  "I've started learning multiplication. It's hard, but I think I'm getting the hang of it," said Mikaela.

  "Her history and English grades have been slipping," said Annette, cutting in.

  "I wasn't asking you, Annette," said Ivan, as Mikaela flinched slightly.

  "And next time, how about you come near the school? I hate driving all the way here," said Annette, her tone sharp.

  "Fine, I'll do that," sighed Ivan. He gently put his arm around Mikaela's shoulders.

  "All right, Princess. What else have you been up to? How are your friends?" he asked.

  "Well, there's a new girl in my class. Her name is Anna, and she's pretty and nice," said Mikaela, brightening a little.

  "That's nice, Princess. I'm glad that you're making friends," said Ivan.

  "I asked Mommy if I could invite Anna over, but she said no," pouted Mikaela.

  "And why not?" asked Ivan, raising an eyebrow.

  "Because her father is that shark of a lawyer you hired," said Annette, her tone icy.

  Ivan's expression darkened slightly, but he kept his tone light.

  "Well, it's quite unfortunate that you hold the child responsible for the actions of the parent. But that's your decision, Annette," he said.

  "Yes, it is," said Annette, her tone hardening.

  "All right, Princess. Let's not let Mommy's bad mood spoil our time together. How about we go get some ice-cream?" suggested Ivan.

  "No you cannot," said Annette firmly.

  "Excuse me?" asked Ivan, surprised.

  "I said no. We're leaving. Now," said Annette, grabbing Mikaela's hand and standing up.

  "Annette, it's just ice-cream," said Ivan, standing up as well.

  "No. We're leaving," repeated Annette, pulling Mikaela away from Ivan.

  "Mommy, please. I want ice-cream," pleaded Mikaela, looking up at Annette with big eyes.

  "No! No ice-cream! You can have some vegan frozen yogurt when we get home," said Annette, her tone final.

  "Vegan frozen yogurt?" asked Ivan, raising an eyebrow.

  "Shut up, Ivan! Just shut up! I've had it! You're not seeing Mikaela again!" shouted Annette, pulling Mikaela towards the parking lot.

  "Daddy!" screamed Mikaela, struggling to break free of Annette's grip.

  "Annette, let her go!" said Ivan, stepping forward.

  "Stay back!" screamed Annette, her eyes wild.

  "Mommy, please don't be mad at Daddy! We'll not get ice-cream," sobbed Mikaela, tears streaming down her face.

  "Quiet!" barked Annette, dragging a sobbing Mikaela towards the parking lot.

  "Ms. Petra, I need to stop you right there," said Officer Vasquez, stepping out of her patrol car and approaching Annette.

  "Back off! I'm taking my daughter home," said Annette, her tone hard.

  Officer Vasquez toyed with the idea of arresting Annette for child abuse, but decided against the firestorm of paperwork that would follow.

  Instead, she kept her tone calm and professional.

  "Ms. Petra, I understand that you're upset, but you cannot deny Ivan his visitation rights. You can discuss any issues you have with the court," she said.

  "Then that's what I'll do! Now get out of my way! I'm going home with my daughter!" screamed Annette, unlocking her car, and shoving Mikaela into the back seat.

  Officer Vasquez sighed, and got into her own patrol car.

  She started the engine, and followed Annette's car at a discreet distance.

  ---

  Annette drove home as fast as her car's ADAS would let her, knuckles white on the steering wheel.

  The familiar, sightly run-down streets of Pine Springs finally came into view, and she let out a sigh of relief.

  She pulled into her driveway, and got out of the car, slamming the door behind her.

  Mikaela got out of the back seat, and ran into the house.

  With a sigh, Annette went into the house, and locked the door behind her.

  She went into the kitchen, and poured herself a glass of cheap boxed wine.

  "All right, Annette. You can do this. Just stay calm," she muttered to herself, as she took a sip of the wine.

  Sip after sip, she finally drained the glass, before pouring herself another.

  "I should get another restraining order against him. I'm sick of him indulging Mikaela!" she muttered, as the wine dulled her senses.

  ---

  Mikaela lay on her bed, curled up in a ball, sniffling softly.

  "Why does Mommy hate Daddy so much?" she wondered, tears streaming down her face.

  "Is it me? Does mommy hate Daddy because of me?" she asked herself softly.

  Her stomach rumbled slightly, and she realized that she was hungry.

  Cautiously, she got out of bed, and crept downstairs.

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  She saw Annette sitting at the dining table, draining another glass of wine.

  Fear crept through her, and she quickly retreated back upstairs, and into her room.

  She lay back down on her bed, and hugged her stuffed teddy bear tightly.

  "Maybe Mommy will be nice to me in the morning," she thought, as she drifted off into a fitful sleep.

  ---

  "I think I need to sue for custody again Stefan," said Ivan, as he sat in Stefan's office.

  "After what you've told me. I think I agree. For now, let's get some surveillance on Annette and Mikaela. If we have a solid evidence trail, there's no judge on earth who would deny you custody," said Stefan.

  "All right, let's do this," said Ivan, determination in his voice.

  "Before that, how are the alimony payments holding up?" asked Stefan.

  "I've been keeping up with them," said Ivan.

  "Good. Because if you fall behind, that could be used against you in court," said Stefan.

  "I understand. I'll make sure to keep up with them," said Ivan.

  "All right, if Annette pulls another restraining order, we'll deal with it. For now, see if you can get those PI's to start surveillance," said Stefan.

  "Will do. Thanks, Stefan," said Ivan, getting up to leave.

  ---

  "Natasha, Can you put me in touch with a good PI that you know? I can't keep asking you to do this for me," said Ivan as he entered the antechamber of Aaron's office where Natasha had her security desk.

  "That won't be necessary, Dad. Natasha, I'm putting you in charge of the surveillance. You can be a liaison with the SZPD detectives to get a round the clock surveillance going," said Aaron, stepping out of his office.

  "I'll get on it right away, Master Zakhrov," said Natasha, her hands already flying over her keyboard.

  "You sure about this son?" asked Ivan.

  "Yes, I'm sure. But for now, I need you to go over some stuff with me," said Aaron, leading Ivan into his office.

  "All right," said Ivan, following Aaron into his office.

  ---

  "I see. You want to make this nuclear control system even more secure," said Ivan, as he looked over the code Aaron had written.

  "I might have a potential saboteur in my ranks. I want to make sure they can't do anything," said Aaron.

  "All right. I can help you with that. You're already capturing everything including fingerprints through these doors of yours, so having a two-person authentication system should do the trick. No tech can shut down or override the system without your biometric authentication," said Ivan.

  "All right, let's get coding," said Aaron, cracking his knuckles.

  ---

  "Welcome to the first meeting of the Sirius Zone Redevelopment Authority," said Elena Park, surveying the six other members.

  They were Eliot Thompson of Thompson's Suiting, a high-end menswear store - the male counterpart to Margaret's The Feminine Professional.

  Fr. Joseph Xavier, the principal of St. Ignatius Academy.

  Congressman Michael DuPont, who also owned DuPont Hospitality and Services - which practically ran all of Massachusetts' F&B sector.

  Margaret Smith herself from The Feminine Professional.

  Ivan Zakhrov, representing the residents of Fenrir Township - the largest residential area in the Sirius Zone.

  And finally, Richard Hastings, commissioner of the SZPD.

  "First item on the agenda, is how this thing is supposed to work. Each of you represents one sector of the Sirius Zone, and you are expected to bring the concerns of your sector to this body.

  We will then deliberate and come up with solutions that work for everyone.

  Resolutions can be put to vote, with me as president having tie-breaking and veto powers. Any questions?" asked Elena.

  "Why isn't Mr. Aaron Zakhrov here? He's the owner of Sirius Software after all," asked Eliot.

  "He directly controls and manages Sirius Software and its holdings, this body is meant to be more representative of the people and businesses of the Sirius Zone," replied Elena.

  "All right. So what's the first order of business?" asked Eliot.

  "First order of business is the status of the SZPD now that the Boston Police Department has been reformed. Commissioner Hastings, would you like to start?" asked Elena.

  "The SZPD currently has 400 active officers. Our numbers are enough for the entire Sirius Zone, but we have a problem," said Richard, pulling up a map of the Sirius Zone on the screen behind him.

  "The Sirius Zone is 384 square kilometers, and divided into six 8 km by 8 km sectors. Technically, Pine Springs falls under the Sirius Zone, but its residents have protested their inclusion, and they fall under the jurisdiction of the new Boston Police Department. Which means that this 4 km by 4 km area here, is our problem area," he said, pointing to a section of the map.

  "How is that a problem?" asked Ivan.

  "The Pine Springs neighborhood is in a transition phase. A lot of the residents have moved out, and new residents are moving in. The problem is that these new residents are not the typical suburban families. They are mostly inner-city Blacks, and LGBTQ groups who are moving in. Ordinarily, that's no problem, but these guys have ACAB written all over them," said Richard.

  Ivan suppressed a shudder.

  "In other words, they are there to stir up trouble and bring the community down," he said grimly.

  "That's one way of putting it," said Richard.

  "Very well, what are our options? We need to maintain law and order in the rest of the sector," asked Elena.

  "Pine Springs falls under the jurisdiction of the Boston PD's 27th precinct. One option is to set up a liaison outpost just outside Pine Springs. Another option is to beef up our patrols in the border areas around Pine Springs," said Richard.

  "Hmm, I'm authorizing you to do both. All in favor?" asked Elena.Everyone raised their hands.

  "Excellent, motion passed. Next item on the agenda, is from Mr. Thompson," she said.

  "There has been a steady rise in both upkeep of infrastructure, and of petty vandalism such as littering in and around my establishment.

  It appears that the residents are simply unaware of how to properly present and carry themselves, despite the great strides made by both my store and Margaret's. I propose that all commercial establishments in the Sirius Zone implement a proper attire admission policy, along with civic sense awareness drives," said Eliot.

  "Why does that sound extremely snobbish and racist?" asked Fr. Joseph.

  "It's Mr. Thompson's British Accent. He makes even the most reasonable of suggestions sound snobbish," giggled Margaret.

  "I'm not being exclusionary, but I am concerned with the level of civility in the Sirius Zone. A lack of decorum leads to a lack of respect, which leads to a breakdown of society. We need to set standards," said Eliot.

  "I know. I've lost count of the times I've had to remind a few of my students that the civil rights movement is over," sighed Fr. Joseph.

  Michael raised his hand.

  "I'm fine with the civic awareness drives, but I don't think we should enforce a zone-wide dress code," he said.

  "Oh, I'm not advocating for that at all. What I'm proposing is that all commercial establishments must be required to clearly communicate their dress and admission policies. For example, a hot dog stand in a park can cater to everyone, but they must say as much, meanwhile a Michelin star restaurant can require formal attire, but they must also say as much," explained Eliot.

  "In other words you want a proper attire admission policy as a regulatory requirement," said Michael.

  "Yes, exactly," said Eliot.

  "All right, any other comments or objections?" asked Elena.

  "No. Everything is cleared up now. I was just scared that we were going to roll out Sirius Software's crazy-ass dress code to the entire zone," said Michael.

  "As tempting as that sounds, I'm not proposing a blanket like that," chuckled Eliot.

  "All right, all in favor?" asked Elena.

  Everyone raised their hands.

  "Motion passed. Next item. Why Mr. DuPont! You're proposing a relaxation on emissions?" she asked.

  "Yes, the zero emissions thing is complete nonsense. And I'm also proposing that the SZRA waive all carbon taxes, and pay a minimum to the rest of the city," said Michael.

  "As an owner of a BMW M5, I second that," chuckled Ivan.

  "Besides. If the green crowd makes a fuss, we can just say that we've got a surplus of trees thanks to our president's urban reforestation initiative," said Michael, giving Elena a wink that made her blush.

  "A-hem, all in favor?" she asked, her cheeks still pink.

  Everyone raised their hands.

  "Motion passed. I believe that concludes our meeting. Thank you all for your participation," said Elena.

  ---

  "This long game isn't working out! Aaron Zakhrov has his own damn fiefdom complete with a missile grid and a police force!" snarled Monica, slamming a report on the table.

  "I'm inclined to agree with you Monica. This isn't working out the way we planned," said Daniel.

  "Well, what do you suggest we do now?" asked Elijah.

  "I believe that I have a solution. We block his access to raw materials," said Daniel.

  "And how do you propose we do that?" asked Monica.

  "Let me introduce you to our Chinese ally, Mr. Li Wei. He's in charge of the global semiconductor alliance," said Daniel, as a gaunt Chinese man bowed politely.

  "Well?" asked Monica.

  "The global semiconductor alliance is willing to embargo Sirius Software, Albrecht Nuclear Systems and Yamamoto Corporation. They will be cut off from off-the-shelf chips and components, and they will not have access even to our fabs," said Li Wei.

  "Hmm, that will definitely send them to the Stone Age. Why so eager though?" asked Monica.

  "Let's just say that their unholy alliance has threatened our own naval interests. If they think they can just sell a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to Japan, they are sorely mistaken," said Li Wei.

  "All right. Let's do it. And get our allies in the EU as well. They are not getting access to any form of modern electronics," said Monica.

  "On it," said Elijah.

  ---

  "Well, Aaron. Looks like you really are a lightning rod for trouble," said Friedrich over a video call.

  "So it would seem. I've just confirmed that we've been blacklisted by every semiconductor fab and chip manufacturer," said Aaron grimly.

  "Yeah, well. We've got enough stockpiled to last maybe a quarter, but after that, we're screwed," said Friedrich.

  "A quarter eh? Sounds like I need to accelerate my next phase of vertical integration," mused Aaron.

  "Even if you can pull off CPU and GPU designs, you're looking at a worldwide blacklist of both fabs and fab equipment. You won't be able to make anything," said Friedrich.

  "Saladin, would you be interested in Sirius Software investing in a semiconductor fab in Libya?" asked Aaron, as Saladin joined the call.

  "Haha! Sounds like a plan. I've got plenty of sand," chuckled Saladin.

  "We've got a friendly country, Friedrich. Now all we need is to get the infrastructure up and running," said Aaron.

  "Knowing you, it might just work. It's a race against the clock then," said Friedrich.

  "Indeed it is," said Aaron, cutting the call.

  "Time to show the silicon mafia that there's a new player in town, and he doesn't back down," he chuckled, pulling up VLSI schematics for a CPU design on his computer.

  ---

  Annette watched as a moving truck pulled up to the house opposite hers.

  Pine Springs was in a strange state of flux. The families and residents that had been there when she had moved in, had mostly moved out, and new residents were moving in.

  Most of these new residents were African-American single mothers with children, or LGBTQ groups.

  A petite yet androgynous figure got out of the moving truck, and waved to her.

  "Hello, my name is Sky, pronouns they/them," said the figure, walking up to Annette's porch.

  "Hi, I'm Annette, pronouns she/her," said Annette, shaking Sky's hand.

  "Nice to meet you, Annette. It's so exciting to be moving here. I've just got a new teaching post at Boston Public School," said Sky.

  "What a coincidence! I teach there too, high-school English," said Annette.

  "Oh wow! I'm teaching 2nd grade," said Sky.

  "That's great. If you need any help settling in, just let me know," said Annette.

  "Now that you mention it, how about we start a carpool? Save the environment, you know," said Sky with a grin.

  "You just want to save on Uber and don't want to bike all the way to school," chuckled Annette, noticing that Sky didn't have a car, and the moving truck driver had just unloaded a bicycle.

  "Well, yes. But it's also about the environment," said Sky, blushing slightly.

  "All right, not a problem. Say, how about you come in for some coffee? I have vegan milk and everything," said Annette.

  "That would be lovely, thank you," said Sky, following Annette into her house.

  ---

  Mikaela crept downstairs at the sound of Annette's and Sky's voices.

  She peeked into the living room to see Annette and Sky sitting on the couch, sipping coffee.

  She squinted a bit at Sky's appearance.

  Sky had short-cropped hair, and was wearing a very loose-fitting hoodie and baggy jeans.

  Their hands were slim and dainty like a girl's, but their clothes and haircut made it hard to tell.

  "Mikaela, there you are! Come and say hi to Sky. They just moved in, and might be your new teacher," said Annette, noticing Mikaela.

  Mikaela approached Sky cautiously.

  "Hello Mikaela, I'm Sky, pronouns they/them," said Sky, holding out their hand.

  Mikaela hesitated for a moment, then shook Sky's hand.

  "H-hello," she said, shyly before scooting behind Annette.

  "Don't be shy, Mikaela. Sky is really nice," said Annette.

  "Yes, I am. I love kids," said Sky with a warm smile.

  "Are you a boy or a girl?" asked Mikaela, eyeing Sky warily.

  "Neither, I'm non-binary," said Sky.

  "What's that?" asked Mikaela,

  "Well, some people feel like they are neither a boy nor a girl. They feel like they are both, or somewhere in between," explained Sky.

  Mikaela nodded uncertainly.

  "Anyway, I should get going. I've got a lot of unpacking to do," said Sky, standing up.

  "All right, it was nice meeting you Mikaela. See you at school," said Sky, waving as they left.

  "Well isn't this exciting! A new neighbor, and a new teacher," said Annette, once Sky had left.

  "I guess," said Mikaela, retreating back upstairs.

  "Don't worry, Mikaela. Sky is really nice. You'll like them," said Annette, clearing away the coffee cups.

  "Yeah, sure," mumbled Mikaela, as she went back to her room.