by C. R. Daems
"Yes, ma'am. Not the specifics. But he ordered me to stop investigations and not to press charges many times when we had ample proof for a conviction. And he threatened me on many occasions, indicating if I didn't cooperate he'd see me court martialed. I believed him. I'd bet he could cover his actions in a way that made me look guilty. I love working for the NIA but…"
"Commander, I'm going to give you an opportunity to prove to me you should be managing the New Zheng station. I want you and your people to review the last several years' activities and identify and document activities that need action. Include a review of the station's financial transactions. This is not a witch hunt against Gardner. It's an audit, which you are in charge of. If I find your audit thorough, unbiased, and factual, I will consider making you the permanent station chief. If not, there will be no repercussions, but I will eventually assign another individual to be the station commander." I gave him a warm smile to reinforce what I had said.
"Ma'am, if I may," Stamm said nodding to Morrison.
"Yes, Master Chief," I said.
"Commander Morrison. Our boss prizes honesty, whether it reflects favorably or unfavorably on your activities, unlike others who tend to punish honesty when they don't like the message."
"Ma'am, we have just enough time to freshen up and meet Commissioner Hoffman for your dinner," Banner said, looking down at his tablet.
"Thank you, Lieutenant. Sorry, Colonel. I didn't think it wise to turn down the commissioner's dinner invitation. Besides, I like him…and you know how I like to suck up to people with influence," I said without grinning. Pannell just shook his head.
* * *
The Stockyard restaurant wasn't what I was expecting—not exactly. Oh, it had the rustic exterior made from what looked like logs, and inside it had refrigerated display cases where you could select the slab of meat you wanted from a large variety of herding animals. But inside, it had an old-world elegance that gave me a sense of reverence. The tables were set with china, crystal, and silverware that sat on white linen with silver and gold thread running through it. The long windows had red satin drapes, the floors were made of a rich redwood, and the waiters dressed in formal attire. The commissioner rose as the maître d' led me to his table. Uncharacteristically, Red hissed as we crossed the room. Scanning the room, I didn't see anything to warrant the hiss. Of course, there were at least seventy people in the room.
"I'm surprised they let you keep your weapon," Hoffman said, nodding to my oversized shoulder bag. "Weapons have always been forbidden and are collected at the door."
"Colonel Pannell wouldn't let me come without a weapon. I can't blame him. It does appear that I'm a very high-risk individual because of Red's value on the black market and the current group I'm chasing. He pulls out his P1A card and they have no choice."
"Pannell has P1A authority to guard you?" His eyebrows rose in surprise.
"It's a long story," I said and shrugged.
"We have all night." He smiled and ordered a bottle of wine. I sat, deciding where to start, thinking back to the Smugglers project, when shots rang out. By the sound, the shots were coming from the lobby behind me. I rose to look but stopped when Red hissed with his head pointing back into the dining room. As I scanned the tables, everyone was looking toward the lobby, although from varying positions: some had turned in their seats, some stood, some knelt half under the table or behind a chair, and a few had flung themselves flat on the floor. Then I noticed two men sitting at a table in the far corner of the room staring at me. The largest of the two rose with a laser as I thrust my hand into my handbag, found my Mfw, and thumbed to activate the laser. Although he drew first, I had merely to pull the trigger. The laser cut through the handbag's material without affecting its lethal beam. I won by a fraction of a second. Although my first shot wasn't perfectly aimed or lethal, the pain from a laser to his right side caused the big man's shot to go wild. My second shot less than a second later was a fatal shot to his left eye. As he stumbled backward, the wiry man with short black hair who had been sitting with him exited the table in a low crouch. He weaved behind tables and people and into the door to the kitchen and I'd wager out a back entrance. I idly wondered if that was the same man who had attacked me on Black Water. His size and agility appeared right, I mused, deep in thought.
I suddenly realized the dining room had erupted into chaos, as people couldn't decide which direction to flee for safety. Several seconds later, Pannell and two marines entered the room, and everyone fled into the lobby.
Hoffman didn't say anything but joined Pannell at the far wall, where a man sat slumped against the wall. Paul felt for a pulse in the man's neck, then shook his head. "Dead," he said to Hoffman. Pannell used a napkin to pick up the man's laser and handed it to the police commissioner. "The gunfire in the front of the building was a diversion. This man was the real assassin."
"I thought you unnecessarily paranoid when you insisted Anna carry a weapon into the restaurant." He gave a small laugh. "Besides, being navy, I doubted she could hit anything if she found the safety."
Hoffman insisted we stay and finish the wine while Paul and I gave our statements, and over another bottle, we talked about our encounters over the years. We boarded the shuttle back to the Taranis just as the sun rose, announcing the start of another day.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Star System: Eastar – Home at Last
Alexa had the door open before I reached it. I ran into her embrace, feeling loved and safe. Even Red seemed glad to be home as he wrapped around both our necks.
"How was your trip?" Alexa asked, holding me at arm's length while inspecting me, then glancing toward Pannell.
"I think the criminals are beginning to believe your daughter is a witch. In truth, I believe it," Pannell said, shaking his head. "The criminals are clever, ingenious in some cases, and get by my guards and me—and still fail time after time."
"I appreciate Paul and his troops protecting me, but I hate it. While I get hurt, they get killed giving me warning and time to prepare and find cover."
Alexa pulled me into a tight embrace. You each have a job to do. Your job is to catch evil criminals. Paul and his marines' job is to keep you alive to do your job."
* * *
"Was your trip successful?" Alexa asked when we had settled down on the couch in the living room after a steak and shrimp dinner and a triple-layered lemon cake with Welcome Home in yellow icing to celebrate my homecoming.
"The pills Dr. Renata gave me helped me to sleep but made me drowsy for several hours after I woke. And even with the pills, many nights I lay awake shaking and sweating with fear of… I missed you, Mother," I said, feeling like a young child who was afraid of the dark and thought unseen monsters were creeping into her room.
"Nothing to be ashamed of, Daughter. Even Dr. Renata acknowledges she's amazed that you are functional, much less able to work after your experience on the FPU cruiser." She reached out and took my hands in her. "I am glad you're home. I'll do my best to love the fear out of you. Together we'll fight the demons."
"Thank you, Mother. The trip was interesting…" We talked late into the night and hours more after I crawled into bed with her. I didn't get much sleep, but I was finally at peace.
* * *
"Ma'am, Admiral Lulltrel has called for a special staff meeting this morning."
"And I'm already late." I smiled, and he nodded. I double-timed it to her conference room and entered.
"Attention!" Spalding shouted as she entered only seconds after me.
"At ease." She waved as she sat. "I thought Paulus could bring us up to date, as she has missed the last seven or eight staff meetings," She said and a small grin touched her lips. "I understand your problem with nonattendance at your staff meetings."
"Being an admiral on a war cruiser is an unforgettable experience," I began knowing she wasn't interested in my accommodations and received an impatient look from Lulltrel. "The police commissioners were very cooperat
ive after I explained I wasn't there to review their handling of the cases. Together we've identified ninety missing women over the past five years who met the profile we developed here on Eastar. I'm circulating the women's pictures and information to the NIA offices and the police commissioners who have all agreed to work cooperatively with us," I said. When the side comments stopped, I continued. "There were two attempts on my life…well, three, but only two were related to the missing women…" I had to recount each incident in detail. During my account of the incidents, Lulltrel looked to Pannell, who quietly threw up his hands in defeat.
"On Blackwater, we think we finally found one of the missing women," I said and went on to explain what the medical examiner had said. "I'm having the NIA stations collect DNA samples from the missing women or their parents. When they finish, we'll be able to know positively whether she is one of the missing women and we'll have a database if the problem arises again."
"It's sex trafficking after all," Hadley blurted and everyone nodded. "They kidnap women and get them on drugs so they are dependent and cooperative."
"That may be true…but I think it's more complicated than that," I said, loud enough to be heard, although I hadn't realized I was voicing my thoughts.
"Why, Anna?" Lulltrel asked.
"Don't get me wrong, ma'am. It could be exactly what Hadley said. I'm having my folks coordinate with the medical examiners on each system. If that's it, then we should find a lot of the missing women listed as Jane Does."
"But you don't think we will," Lulltrel said, frowning in my direction.
"Some, but not all. I have no proof, but the criteria is too specific to be that simple an explanation."
"Project Magic Act is the NIA's highest priority, Anna," Lulltrel said. "What do you need from us?"
"Ideas, thoughts. Right now, all I have is conjectures—we have a criminal organization operating across the UAS kidnapping women who meet a specific profile. That seems like a solid conjecture, but some proof is necessary to be certain. In the meantime, we need to start on determining how, why, and who."
"Spalding, see if Admiral Webb has time for an update."
* * *
"What did Webb have to say, ma'am?" Stamm asked at my staff meeting the next day.
"After he stopped threatening the kidnappers with an assortment of increasingly dire consequences, he informed Captain Martz she was to be available on twenty-four hours' notice to take me anywhere I needed to go, informed Pannell to increase my security, and informed me the shit-eating parasites were my only priority and I had his permission to gut shoot them when I found them."
"Gut shoot them?" Banner asked, his forehead wrinkled in thought.
"A very slow and painful way to die," Stamm said, looking far off as if remembering some long-ago incident.
"Damon, the Magic Act is now officially an NIA priority project. You and the other NIA station chiefs will need to partner with your respective police commissioners to collect information and look for clues to the kidnapping ring and the kidnapped women's existence," I said. The kidnapping operation was too big and widespread for the criminals not to be leaving clues. We just needed to find them. "Banner, send the following message to all the NIA station chiefs using Crazy Numbers, and copy Admiral Lulltrel and her staff," I said.
Project Magic Act is the NIA's number-one priority. Attached is the latest information we have accumulated on each of the missing women. Each update is to be shared with the police commissioner at your station. As the police identify new cases, you are to forward that information to Commander Damon, who will update the database and redistribute it to ensure that you have the latest information. Don't forget to include DNA information if new kidnapped cases are identified. The updated database is to be given to the police commissioner and their medical examiner. There is a strong possibility that some of our missing women will turn up as Jane Does. We think we found one such case on Blackwater—a Lillian Barnes from Oasis—and are in the process of getting DNA information to verify her identity.
Project Magic has been elevated to P1A status with strict need-to-know access. Consider every case you investigate as having a possible connection to the Magic Act project—the criminals have to move the women around; they need places to keep them, possible medical care, and normal supplies. But be careful. They are extremely dangerous.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Star System: Eastar – Bread Crumbs
"Ma'am, Commander Damon received the DNA results back from Oasis earlier today. The DNA from Lillian Barnes's parents confirms a familia match," Banner said, looking down at his tablet.
"Good," I said, knowing that Barnes would not consider it good, but at least it would give them closure if not comfort. And it was the first bread crumb we had managed to find. If we were lucky, it wouldn't be the last and would eventually provide a trail to the kidnappers. "David, send the following message to all NIA chiefs."
The Jane Doe on Black Water has been positively identified as Lillian Barnes through our recent DNA database. Make sure the police commissioners and medical examiners are aware of this development. Since Miss Barnes was one of the oldest missing women in our database—forty-one months—we should be particularly watchful of women who went missing four to five years ago, turning up as Jane Does.
* * *
I heard my tablet ping, and when I looked, a mail icon with Commander Alston's face appeared. I tapped on it to see:
To: Rear Admiral Paulus
Director, NIA Stations
One of Commissioner LaPlante's detectives discovered a woman who matched the picture and information for a Sophia Becker during a raid on a brothel located on the outskirts of the city. She claims to be Dora Cobb and has legal documentation from Amend identifying her as Dora Cobb. However, her DNA is a familiar match in our database for Sophia Becker. Please advise on how you want us to proceed.
Lieutenant Commander Alston
Acting NIA Sudan Station Chief
Just then, Stamm peeked in. "Ma'am, Commander Damon would like to talk to you."
I waved for him to let her enter. Two seconds later, she bounced into the room barely able to stop her forward motion to salute. "What do you think, ma'am?" she asked between gulps of air after having rushed up the stairs to my office. I waved her to a seat.
"About what, Commander?"
"The message from Commander Alston. You've seen it, haven't you, ma'am?"
"I'm impressed. You nearly beat Banner's electronic forwarding of the message."
Damon blushed. "I was excited, ma'am."
"Good. It's why I chose you. You find the work exciting and love what you do." I gave her an approving smile. "What do you think, Commander?" I asked and settled back in my chair.
She looked shocked for a moment, then pursed her lips in thought. "She or her captives had her name changed legally to make it more difficult to identify her. But I don't know why she would lie. I'd think she would be happy to be found, particularly by the police. That would mean she was safe from whoever kidnapped her."
"Unless…"
"Unless it was her idea to become a prostitute…" Damon's voice faded and her face reflected her rejection of that idea.
"Or…"
"Or…her captives have some hold over her." Damon's voice rose in excitement.
I think we need to find out. Banner, please notify Captain Martz I'd like to go to Sudan as soon as she can be ready. And send the following messages. The first message to Commander Devries.
Commander Devries, please check out any information Amend has on a Dora Cobb. Although she has legal papers from Amend stating she is Dora Cobb, we believe she is actually Sophia Becker from Fire Rock. Send your encrypted reply to me on the cruiser Taranis.
And the second message to Lieutenant Commander Alston:
Ask Commissioner LaPlante to hold the woman claiming to be Dora Cobb. I'd like to interview her. I'm en route via the cruiser Taranis. Estimated arrival in four days.
Lieut
enant Banner, Master Chief, you two should stay on Eastar—"
"But ma'am—" Banner and Stamm began, but I silenced them with a hand.
"But if you think you must, I will require you wear a sidearm at all times and prove to Colonel Pannell you can hit what you're aiming at—and you spend at least an hour practicing every day we are traveling," I said, looking at Pannell, who nodded. "Stop grinning. If you fail to meet those conditions, I'll send you home on the first merchant ship going anywhere. Is that clear?" I shook my head as the nodding idiots tried unsuccessfully to look serious. They're crazy for wanting to go along, and I'm crazy for letting them, I mused. But I had to admit I liked the grinning fools.
* * *
"Mother, I'm off to Sudan," I shouted upstairs, thinking Alexa was there changing out of her work clothes. "They found one of the women and I want to interview her. I have a feeling she won't want to cooperate, and the commissioner can't hold her long on a misdemeanor. I'm hoping I can get her to verify some of my conjectures."
"Do you have time for dinner?" Alexa asked from the top of the stairs.
"Yes, I have a couple of hours. Captain Martz said it would take at least twelve hours before she could depart."
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Star System: Sudan – Insights
When I arrived at the Taranis, there was a long line waiting to board. Reluctantly, I went to the front of the line. I didn't like jumping the line, but my rank all but required it—and to do otherwise would make me the talk of the ship. I was surprised to see Captain Martz waiting when my security and I were cleared to enter.