by T E Olivant
“What about Scotclan?” There really were no weapons to hand in the cell. A serious design flaw.
“I’ll have done them a favor. The murderer of the Westward Ho! will be dead and they won’t even have to pay for a trial. Case closed.”
“You said you knew I didn’t bring down that ship.”
“Won’t matter when you’re dead.”
She lunged at him but he had seen it coming a mile away. He used his right arm to block the metal bar and only felt a small flicker of pain. Good. Not all his Augmented abilities were malfunctioning.
A low animal noise issued from the human’s mouth. She kicked out with her right leg and caught him a glancing blow on the shin as he moved backwards.
“Humans, always so irrational,” he said calmly as he parried another thrust from the makeshift weapon.
“Stop that!” The old woman shrieked. He moved backward, but now his back was against the wall and there was nowhere to go. Damnit, he was going to be forced to kill the stupid creature.
Lu Tang shoved the woman to one side in an attempt to get past her to the door. If he could get hold of Mackay then perhaps she –
A thump pushed the air out of his chest as Macleod’s boot caught his ribs.
“More spritely than I look, aren’t I?” she laughed as he staggered back, only just avoiding falling. “I’m going to kill you with my bare hands!”
“Enough,” Lu Tang said, once he had caught his breath. He drew himself up and punched once, connecting with the woman’s temple.
She went down like a sack of space junk.
Just at that moment there was the sound of voices and running footsteps.
“Late as ever,” Lu Tang said mildly as Mackay entered the room.
“What the hell?” Mackay shouted when she saw the mess in her cell. Macleod was slumped against the wall. The Detective walked over and checked her pulse.
“Unconscious,” she said.
“Yes. I ensured I did not use fatal force. A simple equation really when one considers tendon strength and muscle tension. I did have to allow for a particularly thick skull in this case.”
“Why were you fighting her?”
“She was fighting me.”
“Why?”
Lu Tang felt a drop of wetness above his lip. He reached up to touch it. Blood. The damn woman had drawn blood. “She didn’t like me. Blamed me for something that happened on a space station orbiting Saturn.”
“And were you to blame?”
“Not sure.”
The Detective’s lip curled upward in dissatisfaction. “How can you not be sure?”
“I am having some trouble with my cerebral functions.” This was an understatement. His whole spine pulsed with pain and he was seeing double. His battle with Macleod hadn’t helped his already overwrought systems. He leaned against the wall so that Mackay wouldn’t see how close he was to collapsing.
The young Detective stood up, leaving Macleod sprawled on the floor. She tapped her datapad. “Francesca, I need a medical assessment in the Augment’s cell. No, not him. Take your time, it’s Macleod and she’s not going anywhere.”
The woman turned back to Lu Tang. “How do I know that you didn’t attack her? Maybe to try and gain my sympathy or something.”
The Augment clicked his tongue. The Detective was irritating him with her pointless questions. “You think I lured her in here to attack her? Surely you’re not that stupid.”
“You really know how to get a girl on your side.”
Why did humans always resort to sarcasm?
“Have you decided to help save the Gods imprisoned on Eritree?” Lu Tang asked, tiring of the Macleod distraction.
“I just don’t see how I can trust you.” The Detective was telling him that she wasn’t going to help. But there was something in her manner, some watchfulness in her eyes that told him he still had a chance. He just had to convince her. Lu Tang’s mouth was dry. It had been decades since he had spent this much time in the company of a human, and he had forgotten how to talk to them. With so much riding on the Detective’s assistance, her couldn’t afford to get it wrong. Just how would he get her on his side?
“You are only a human,” Lu Tang said. “You should listen to a person of infinitely greater intellect than yourself. Anything else is illogical.”
That ought to do it, he thought.
The human detective stared at him for a long time.
“Bite me,” she said. She grabbed the unresponsive body of Macleod and dragged it out of the door, slamming it shut behind her.
Chapter 35
“Arrogant bastard!” Biddy yelled as she strode down the corridor. Phil and Francesca came around the corner, spotted her and stood with their mouths open.
“What the hell happened!” Her bodyguard pointed at Macleod’s body which Biddy had dumped against a wall.
“Don’t worry, it wasn’t me.”
Francesca hurried past and knelt to examine the Observer. Biddy knew she ought to hope that the woman wasn’t badly hurt, but somehow she didn’t really care.
“The Augment did this?” Phil asked.
“Yep. He claimed that Macleod broke into his room. Actually, judging by the state of her cell door, that’s probably true. Just how the hell did she manage to break out anyway?”
“She’s Scotclan, isn’t she?”
“You’re right. She probably designed the bloody things.” Better cell doors, Biddy thought, another item for her list of things she needed to get on top of.
“You shouldn’t have gone into his cell alone,” Phil said, his lip pouted. “You could have ended up the same way as Macleod.”
Biddy shrugged. She wasn’t going to argue with her bodyguard. He was probably right, but she hadn’t had time to think. She’d just seen the open door and gone to help the Augment.
Her datapad beeped. “Yes?”
“Campbell wants to speak to you,” Elvis said over the voice call.
“I’m not taking Scotclan’s calls at the moment.”
“It’s not a call.”
Biddy looked up at her bodyguard. Phil’s expression of horror was a mirror of Biddy’s own. “What do you mean, Elvis?”
“When we landed on Eritree to offload Tibo, Chief Campbell took the opportunity to come onboard. Without waiting for an invitation.”
Something about the strain in Elvis’s voice filtered through to Biddy’s brain. “He’s right there in the command room with you, isn’t he?”
“Affirmative.”
Biddy fought the urge to scream. “I’ll be there in less than a minute.”
“He’d also like to speak to Macleod.”
Biddy stared at end of the corridor where Francesca was currently laying the woman onto a stretcher.
“He’ll have to wait. She is a prisoner, after all. Tell him I’ll be right up.”
Biddy clicked to end the call. “Francesca, how bad is it?”
“She’s unconscious and she’s taken a bit of a beating but she’ll live.”
“Do me a favor and keep her sedated for a while. Last thing I need is her turning up when Campbell is on board.”
“Right-o,” Francesca said cheerily, as if they weren’t all in a steaming heap of trouble. And it was only going to get worse.
Fifty-seven seconds later and Biddy was back in the command room.
“Welcome aboard, Chief,” she said, panting, not managing to conceal the edge to her voice.
Campbell straightened the lapel of his suit. He looked like he might be about to attend a dinner party, or a dance across the ice fields of New Saturn. Biddy tried not to think about how long it had been since she had showered.
She positioned herself right behind the Captain’s chair, making sure that Campbell was off to one side. Phil gave her a warning look. She paid his wages, but he was Scotclan through and through. If it came down to it would he choose her over Campbell? Not a chance.
“Detective Mackay,” Campbell said, holding out his han
d. She shook it, making sure to keep eye contact. If the Chief wanted a pissing contest, she was determined not to be beaten. “Could we speak in your office?”
“I think, in the circumstances, I would prefer to have the conversation in the command room. I owe it to my crew to keep them in the loop.”
“That is… unorthodox.” Campbell’s eyes were narrowed.
“Oh, I think we’re way past orthodox now, Chief.” Biddy replied. Elvis shot her a glance from the Captain’s chair but she didn’t meet his eyes.
“I am here to requisition the suspect in your cells.”
“Which one?” Biddy said innocently.
Campbell raised an eyebrow. “How many do you have?”
“Oh, a few. One of which is your Observer. I arrested her on suspicion of murder, by the way.”
“We are aware. A misunderstanding, no doubt.”
“No doubt.”
Every member of the crew was staring openly at Biddy and the Chief now, with no pretense at doing any work. She would have told them off, if it weren’t for the fact that she was already on the edge of losing her shit with the Chief.
“Anyway, Macleod is merely a bureaucratic problem. In fact, I am prepared to overlook your treatment of her, as long as you hand over your other suspect.”
“This would be the Augment?”
“Known as Lu Tang. Suspected of murder of nearly two hundred innocent people.”
“Innocent until proven guilty, right?”
Now Campbell was turning red. “Of course. But he can’t be proven anything unless you let us take him to trial. The whole basis of the Scotclan organization, and you would do well to remember that fact. A trial of his peers. No one person can judge another, as you should know, junior Detective.”
“I am well aware of the process, Chief. But I am more than a little concerned at the fairness of your trial. Was it Scotclan that had him imprisoned for a decade with no legal council?”
Campbell looked confused. “He was imprisoned on Widdershins 3. Scotclan merely provided the security.”
“So you were happy that he deserved to be there? In solitary confinement for a decade?”
“His previous crimes are not common record,” Campbell said primly.
“Well, let’s just say I’m not sure about the role of Scotclan in any of this. People have died, Chief, and I won’t let there be a whitewash of what happened on the Westward Ho!. Their families deserve the truth. Not a scapegoat.”
“You have no damn clue what you’re talking about.”
“Then enlighten me.”
For a moment Biddy thought that Campbell was going to do just that. Then his face seemed to shut down. He shrugged and smiled.
“I’m not here to waste any more time arguing with you. Give me your Augment or I will requisition the Black Maria and imprison every member of your crew.”
A hiss of shock spread around the command room.
“You’re issuing threats now, Chief?” Biddy’s nails dug into her palms as she tried to keep control.
“Simple economics, I’m afraid. Scotclan owns, at the current estimate, half your ship. We therefore have the ability to call in that loan. Of course, we would not normally take such steps, but in this case…”
Biddy looked around the room. Her crew looked distinctly uncomfortable. How many of them would follow her if she betrayed the organization that they owed their livelihoods too? She looked up at Campbell’s smug face. Oh well, time to find out.
“How much of the ship did you say Scotclan owned?”
“Half. I can show you the spreadsheet. You have been rather lax in your recent loan repayments.”
“I think you’ll find that it’s forty-nine percent.”
“Let’s not be pedantic,” Campbell replied.
“Oh, don’t worry Chief, it is relevant. Yes, I had to mortgage the ship to Scotclan, but you can bet that I made sure I kept the majority share.”
Campbell checked his datapad. “We have your share as forty-nine percent also. And the other two percent?”
“Me,” the Geek’s voice said over the speaker. “An investment that has so far failed to pay any dividends, but I have high hopes for the future. And before you ask, Chief Campbell, my stake follows the ‘tec.”
“Thanks Geek,” Biddy said softly, as if that could ever be enough. “So you see, Chief Campbell, the ship is mine.”
To Campbell’s credit he barely needed a second to reassess. “But your crew is not. Every Scotclan employee who remains onboard in the next five minutes is hereby relieved of employment. They will never find work in this sector again, you can be sure of that.”
Crunch time. Who would stay and who would go? Biddy stared around the room. No one so much as fluttered an eyelid.
“The crewmembers not in this room, they should have the opportunity to leave too,” Campbell said. He had developed a slight tremor in one leg. Was he actually nervous?
“Of course.” Biddy gestured to Elvis who opened up the radio. “Francesca, Phil and anyone else. Chief Campbell has threatened… sorry… told each crew member who is in the pay of Scotclan that they will no longer be employed if the stay onboard the Black Maria. They will be blacklisted by the Clan. Now listen, and this goes for all of you. I understand if you don’t want to stay. No recriminations. Just get your ass off my ship.”
And then she waited.
“Tell him Scotclan can suck my…” Biddy cut off Phil’s radio with a smile. She glanced at Campbell who was pretending not to have heard it.
There was silence, then the noise of a chair scraping backwards.
“Coward!” Kenzie spat as Elvis bowed his head and walked out of the room. Biddy bit her lip but didn’t move a muscle. Not even when the door slammed shut after him.
“At least one member of your crew has seen sense,” Campbell crowed. “What about the rest of you? No one?”
Biddy’s rent heart mended a little when the rest of them stayed put. Ali even gave her a tiny nod, which was as good as a bearhug from the systems guys.
“Well then. It’s settled.” Campbell cleared his throat. “Biddy Mackay, you are expelled from Scotclan, starting immediately. I will consult with the clan about how you should answer for your crimes, but be aware that by the end of the day you will all be aboard my ship as prisoners. Prepare your things.”
“Fine,” Biddy replied. “Now get the hell off my ship.”
Campbell turned to go.
“Just one thing,” Biddy said, her eyes on the man’s back. “What’s all this really about?”
“You know what it’s about. You have repeatedly failed to accede to my requests concerning your prisoner.”
“He’s a murder suspect. Yes, a bad one, I get it. But Scotclan has never felt the need to intervene directly in these cases before. Threats, sackings, commandeering a Detective’s ship… What makes the Augment so different?”
“You said it yourself. He’s an Augment.”
“But what does that mean, really? Once upon a time some of our people used to think they were Gods. But no one really thinks that now, do they?”
“Well, Scotclan has always tried to stay away from religion…”
“Then he’s just a human, albeit an old one. So again, why all the fuss?”
Campbell’s forehead creased in a frown. “You are wasting my time.”
“I don’t think so.” Biddy took a deep breath. “What about the other Augments?”
Campbell’s response took just a fraction of a second too long. “What other Augments?”
It was all Biddy could do to stop from punching the air. Campbell knew about the others! “The ones on Eritree.”
“How did you hear such lies? There are no Augments on Eritree.”
At that moment, staring into Campbell’s eyes, she knew that everything Lu Tang had told her was true.
“Goodbye Chief,” Biddy said, not even watching him leave. Every member of her crew was still sitting there. Except for one.
&nbs
p; Biddy strode over to the empty Captain’s chair and sat down, pretending not to notice the gentle warmth its previous occupant had left behind.
“Well, thanks everyone,” she said, more than a little awkwardly. “Now let’s get back to work. Can we get the ship cameras up on screen?
Biddy waited until the screens showed her that Campbell had left the Black Maria. Then she turned to her silent crew.
“Get me the Augment. We’re going to find his friends.”
Chapter 36
Lu Tang’s cell door slammed open. A small figure vibrating with rage strode into the room. Mackay looked like someone had seriously pissed her off. The Augment hoped it wasn’t him.
“We’re going to do it,” she said as she stood in the doorway. “We’re going to help you.”
The Augment got to his feet and brushed a little dust from his knees. “The sensible choice. I am only disappointed that you took so long to reach it.”
“Cut that patronizing crap out,” Mackay said, her mouth a thin line. “You’re coming up to the command room with me and you’re going to tell me exactly what the hell is going on with the Augments and Eritree and all the rest of it. You’re going to tell me and you’re going to tell my crew who have all just stuck their necks out for you. And you’re going to do it nicely.”
Lu Tang shrugged. “I will do my best.”
Mackay led the way through the narrow corridors of the ship towards the command room. It was a paltry ship, nothing like the grand cruisers that he was used to. Lu Tang remembered Tibo’s magnificent glider. At least this space trash would be less conspicuous.
“Did Tibo live?” Lu Tang asked the Detective, the thought occurring to him in that instant.
Mackay spun around to face him, her face a confusing mix of emotions. “Of course. Do you think I would not have told you if he had died?”
“I had not considered it.”
“Augment’s make great friends, don’t they,” Mackay said, then turned around and stomped along the corridor. Lu Tang guessed that this was more human sarcasm, although he couldn’t see why. He had paid Tibo more than adequately. What more could one want from a friend?