The Interstellar Police Force, Book One: The Historic Mission

by Raymond F. Klein

  Genghis jumped into the backseat of the Thunderbird so Jennifer could sit up front. Jeff started the engine as Jennifer turned on the heater. “Boy, it’s cold tonight!” They pulled out of the parking lot and turned north on 9th Street, heading for home. Just then, an alarm started sounding in the cruiser. Jennifer looked around the car. “What the hell is that?”

  Genghis leaned his head in between the front bucket seats and said, “Mainframe online.”

  The hologram of the cruiser's computer console appeared around Jennifer. “Whoa! I didn’t know it could do that.”

  “Twink, see that flashing icon in the upper right corner?” Genghis said. “Go ahead and touch it for me, will yah.” It was a radio transmission from the Westberry Police Department.

  Bollar wasn’t sure what was happening. He couldn’t bring the A56 to bear, he was being hit over and over again by a guy shouting that he was the Old Town Gunman. Then, a patron the size of a wall started punching him in the face, which didn’t help his head that was already pounding. Bollar tried to pull the trigger, but the safety on the A56 was still on. People were screaming as others joined the fray. The lanky girl at the register had a broom and was hitting him with it. More people and more fists, as well as kicks to his legs and stomach. Then came the kick to the groin.

  What the hell? Bollar thought his head hurt! He had never felt such pain. The shock of the blow sent fire throughout his body. Why would human males have such parts on the outside of the body? He finally switched the safety off his A56 and fired a burst into the floor, scattering the mob. That gave him the opportunity to run. Or at least to hobble quickly.

  He made his way outside to his car that was still running. His right eye was swollen and his insides were still on fire. His head was throbbing badly, more than ever before. He got in and threw the car in gear and gunned it forward over the curb and onto the sidewalk. He then turned sharply for the road, hitting a mailbox. The tires squealed loudly as they gripped asphalt.

  Jeff was driving fast to the address that Genghis gave him. “It’s not like Bollar not to use the Interrupter.” Jeff said. “This may not be him.” They turned a corner onto First Avenue just in time to see a car smacking into a mailbox as it got onto the road and rocked past them. Jeff, Genghis and Jennifer all watched the driver as the car passed and all three shouted, “That’s him!” Jeff spun the Thunderbird around and started to pursue.

  Bollar saw the vintage car as he passed it. “No! No! Not the IPF. I don’t need this now!” Maybe the agent didn’t see him, Bollar thought as he looked into his rear view mirror and saw that the vehicle was turning around. Bollar couldn’t take his eyes off the IPF. How was he going to shake him off and get out of this damn town? Bollar’s car started drifting to the left and hit the curb. He lost control of the speeding car and started fishtailing. He tried hitting the brakes, but it was too late. He hit a concrete telephone pole with a sickening metallic crash. Lights in the surrounding businesses momentarily flickered.

  Chapter Sixty-Five

  Bollar hit the steering wheel hard as steam shot from the nose of the crushed front end and blood shot from his broken nose. He staggered out of the car as he saw a small flame in the engine compartment. He shook off the fog in his head and started running for the establishment that was in front of him.

  Trent braked hard and brought the Thunderbird to a stop as they saw Bollar run into the Starlite Club. Genghis and Jeff jumped out to pursue him. Jennifer got out as well and started running with them, but stopped and called to them, “I’ll get the duffle bag!” The bag was now always in the backseat of the Thunderbird, just in case. She ran back and grabbed the duffle bag from the floor of the backseat and started after them again.

  Bollar got into the dark front foyer of the club and ran right into a very large doorman who most likely doubled as the club’s bouncer. He was getting up from his chair and said over the din of music, “We’re at capacity! Come back later! Do you need a doctor?”

  Bollar could not hear what he said over the dance music, but didn’t care and didn’t have the time. He reached into his coat, buried the muzzle of the A56 Auto Loaded into the doorman’s stomach, and fired three quick shots. The doorman’s body jerked with the impacts. Bollar grabbed him and led his dying body back to his chair and dropped him into it. Then, he quickly walked into the club.

  Jeff and Genghis swung the club's door open and entered. They immediately saw the doorman slumped in his chair, a pool of blood forming at his feet. They continued into the club.

  The Starlite Club was packed. Loud techno dance music thundered from the surround-sound’s speaker system. Strobe lights flashed in time with the music as spot lights spun back and forth through the bluish haze that hung in the air. The dance floor was recessed two feet down in the center of the club, surrounded by a decorative railing. The left and right perimeter surrounding the dance floor had a walkway lined with crowded tables and standing patrons trying to talk over the music. The walkways then continued to the large back section of the club where more tables stood along with a staircase that led to the second floor loft overlooking the dance floor.

  Jeff and Genghis had a hard time seeing until their eyes adjusted to the atmosphere of the room. Jeff saw Bollar running for the backstairs to the loft and wondered if there might be a fire exit up there that Bollar knew about. Jeff and Genghis couldn’t hear each other even if they shouted, so Jeff nudged Genghis and pointed. Genghis saw him too.

  Bollar was still carrying the A56 as he ascended the stairs. Some of the patrons saw the weapon and started running down the stairs for the exits. The panicked people bounced off of Jeff and Genghis, pushing against them and impeding their advance. Jeff was able to push his way through the throngs and make his way to the stairs. He bounded up the steps two at a time. Genghis was having a harder time getting through the crowd. One person tripped completely over him and onto the floor, causing others to trip and pile up. Genghis had to jump up onto and climb over the summit of people.

  Jennifer made her way into the club. The duffle bag was heavier than she thought, slowing her down. She saw the doorman, shirt now soaked with blood. Then, she was met by a mass of people exiting. She pushed her way through and into the club.

  Trent made it to the second floor and saw Bollar swing around and point the A56 at him. As Bollar fired Trent dove to his right, crashing into a table that flipped. The people on the second floor couldn’t hear the report of the weapon, but they did see the muzzle flash which was met by screams and running people. They all at once ran for the stairs, knocking over chairs and tables. Taking an opportunity in the confusion, Jeff grabbed a large tumbler that had been knocked from a table and threw it at Bollar. The heavy drinking glass struck Bollar in the forehead, opening a deep cut. The hit momentarily stunned Bollar, giving Trent the chance to get to his feet and rush him. Trent rammed his shoulder into Bollar’s mid-section, they both went down in a heap. The A56 flew from Bollar’s hand.

  Genghis finally made his way to the stairs, ran up three steps, looked up, and saw a herd of people heading down the stairs toward him. Genghis couldn’t fight his way through, and like the rushing torrent of a fast-moving river, he was caught up in the current of people that brought him back to the front of the dance floor.

  Jeff shot his elbow into Bollar’s chin, smashing his teeth painfully together. Bollar answered that by driving his knee into Jeff’s stomach. Bollar kicked again and got to his feet. Jeff got up and gave Bollar a right jab to the kidney.

  Genghis could see Jeff and Bollar fighting on the second floor. He had to get to Jeff, but both perimeters were now crowded with panicking people tripping over each other as they tried to get out. Genghis thought that the only way he could get to the stairs, and to Jeff, was through the dance floor.

  Bollar got Jeff into a headlock. Jeff twisted and got his leg behind Bollar’s and kicked, knocking Bollar off balance. Jeff then grabbed at Bollar and brought him over his shoulder and down to the floor.

>   Due to the loud music and flashing strobe lights, no one on the dance floor was aware of the drama unfolding in the Starlite Club. They continued dancing to the techno-beat. Genghis leaped down the two steps to the dance floor. He sat, and using his hind leg, reached up and removed the Immobilizer from his collar, then set it to mild stun. He placed it into his mouth and stepped onto the laminated parquet dance floor, reached his head forward and touched the leg of the first dancer.

  Trent’s back hit the wall hard. Pictures fell off, as Bollar reared his fist back and threw it hard at Trent’s throat. Jeff saw it coming and ducked. Bollar’s fist grazed Jeff's head and impacted the wall, putting a large hole into it.

  The first dancer convulsed and crumpled to the floor. Genghis advanced to the next dancer and did the same, then the next. If Jeff Trent could have looked down to the dense dance floor, to all those rhythmically bobbing heads of people dancing shoulder-to-shoulder, he would not have been able to see Genghis. But he would have seen his advance as heads dropped from sight. Genghis was like an Iowa combine weaving through the middle of a tall corn field, leaving a swath of stunned dancers laying on the floor in his wake.

  Trent threw two quick blows into Bollar's stomach that doubled him over for a second, but when Bollar came back up he had a beer bottle in his hand and smashed it across Trent's head shattering the bottle.

  Genghis reached the other end of the dance floor and reattached the Immobilizer to his collar. As he ran for the stairs, he looked back at the dance floor. The dancers were slowly getting up, filling the void that Genghis made, and were wondering what just happened.

  Bollar threw a left hook that caught Trent in the face, knocking him back. Bollar then turned to run for the fire exit that was on that floor, but let out a scream when he saw Genghis jumping into the air at him. With a menacing growl the Doberman Pinscher landed on Bollar’s chest, throwing him back and onto the floor. They landed hard.

  Genghis bit down on Bollar’s upper arm, snarling and flailing his head. As his rows of teeth cut into Bollar’s arm, Genghis could taste blood. Bollar reached out with his other arm, grabbed a beer bottle off the floor and struck Genghis hard on the head, then rolled out from under him.

  As he was getting up, he saw Trent coming for him again. Bollar did the only thing he could: He got to the railing overlooking the dance floor and jumped over it to the floor below.

  Jennifer had just completed her second trip around the dance floor and still couldn’t see either of them. She began to wonder if they left the building and started for the front door when she saw a man jump from the second floor. She never even noticed the stairs at the back of the club.

  Bollar landed on top of a table that tipped over with a crash, knocking drinks and plates to the floor. Bollar realized as he got up that he had twisted his ankle in the fall. He saw another fire exit and quickly hobbled toward it.

  Trent grabbed the A56 that was still on the floor as he and Genghis ran for the stairs.

  Bollar hit the fire exit in a run and pushed the door open. A blaring siren went off and automatically silenced the music. House lights came on, and people who up until then had been dancing obliviously, started rushing for the exits.

  Jeff and Genghis again found themselves fighting the crowds in the attempt to make their way to the same exit Bollar went through. Jennifer was still on the other side of the club when she saw them and started for the door as well. Jeff and Genghis found themselves outside the back of the club. People were flowing out and bumping into them in a panic. Genghis stuck his nose to the ground and said, “Jeff, this way!”

  It took Jennifer a couple of minutes to reach the door and get outside with everyone else. She ran to the sidewalk and started looking up and down the street.

  Bollar ignored the pain in his ankle – as well as the pain in his forehead, nose, arm, chin, teeth, and groin – and ran as fast as his bleeding, limping human body could. Why are human bodies designed to be so fragile? His chest burned with every breath of cold air he sucked into his lungs. He looked over his shoulder and saw the IPF agent a half a block away running after him. But it was that damn human canine that was coming up fast. Bollar knew he could not outrun the animal so he chose to turn, face him, and fight. Genghis slammed into Bollar, who could do nothing to stop the animal's forward momentum and went to the ground.

  Jeff ran up with the A56 in his hand and said, “Bollar, I am an agent with the Interstellar Police Force. You are hereby ordered to stand down. You are under arrest!”

  “Get up Bollar,” Genghis said with a snarl.

  Bollar was surprised as Trent grabbed him and pulled him to his feet. He looked down at the Doberman, “What the hell, you’re an agent too!”

  They were standing next to a vacant store with a very flimsy door. Jeff kicked the door in and pushed Bollar into the building.

  “What happened to you? Were you replicated intentionally to look like a human canine?” Neither one answered him. Trent spun him around to face the back wall, shoving the A56 through his belt, and started going through Bollar’s pockets. They heard someone else enter the building and turned to see Jennifer.

  She stood at the entrance staring at Bollar, the man who had murdered and caused so much havoc in town. “Jeff,” she nervously said, “I have the duffle.” She held it up by the strap.

  Bollar looked over his shoulder, “Oh, for crying out loud, is she also an agent, too?”

  Jeff pushed Bollar against the wall. “Thank you, Twinkie. Just put it there. Twinkie? You can drive, can’t you?”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  “Would you please go back to the club and bring the cruiser around?” He threw her the keys.

  “I’m on it!” she said, as she ran from the building.

  “She’s not, is she?” Bollar asked. “Since when does the IPF hire human females to do their work for them?”

  “That’s none of your concern, Bollar,” Trent said, as he pulled a wallet from his pocket. He removed the ID. “Or, should I say, Mitch MacAfee.”

  “Oh, please,” Bollar said, with the air of disgust. “I hate that stupid name the replicator gave me. I never used it.”

  “Yes, as I recall that’s from the human film The Giant Claw where an extraterrestrial giant bird made of antimatter terrorizes the human race.”

  Genghis snorted out. “Antimatter!” He then reached into the duffle bag and removed the portable replicator and started setting it up.

  “And you?” Bollar looked down at Genghis, “What’s your story?” Jeff shoved him against the wall again and started going through other pockets. “I mean, why a canine? Is that what you selected? Do you get those little bugs that make you itch?”

  Genghis paid no attention to Bollar and finished setting up the portable replicator. “You know,” Bollar continued, “you kind of remind me of a Codas canine, except you can . . .”

  “Stow it Bollar,” Jeff said, pulling out his PK30A and turning Bollar around and pushing him against the wall. “Time to change you back.”

  “And why do we have to do that? I’ve become used to this . . .” Trent triggered the replicator. A thin red laser shot from the device and struck Bollar harmlessly in the head. It then fanned out and started oscillating up and down. Light that flashed through the poorly boarded-up windows to the outside looked as if someone was in the vacant building operating an acetylene torch. Bollar’s clothes started to rip away since he was much bigger than his human form. The light flickered and then abruptly shut off. Transformation was complete.

  Bollar was of a slug-like race with leathery dark gray skin from a foggy wet marshland of a planet that orbited a Red Dwarf sun. He had large, oblong gray eyes with yellow green pupils, a wide mouth that constantly dripped saliva and just a small vertical slit for a nose. He had four tentacles, two of which were very long and thin, protruding from where his human shoulders once were. Two shorter and thicker tentacles were directly under the longer ones. Each tentacle tip had several tiny digits. He had no
use for legs and for locomotion, shimmied.

  “What now, agent?” Bollar asked, with a deep voice that sounded like he was drowning.

  “Now,” Trent answered, “we teleport you to the cryogenic holding cell where you will remain there until we get back to Ashlar. Then you will be charged with the multiple crimes and murders you committed here on this planet, along with the murders of the guards and your escape from the transfer ship.”

  “I killed no one on that transfer ship!” he gargled.

  “You didn’t?” Genghis incredulously added. “What of that guard by the name of Mallton? As far as I know you were the only inmate incarcerated on that ship with arms like that.” He gestured with his head.

  “How about we make a deal?” Bollar drooled. “You turn me back to the way I was, and I leave this wretched town and never look back. And before I go, I’ll give you Prodor Moffit.”

  This got both their attention. “You’ve been in touch with Moffit?” Trent asked.

  “Of course. He’s here. Turn me back and I’ll tell you where to find him.”

  “We’re not turning you back, Bollar,” Trent replied. “You give us Moffit and I’ll make sure to tell my superiors that you cooperated.”

  “What, and get a lighter sentence on murder!” Bollar angrily spat.

  “That’s all we can do for you. Where can we find Moffit?”

  “I’ll give you some information as a good will gesture.” Bollar said. “He produces a drug that the locals are buying up like candy.”

  “Go on, we’re listening,” Genghis said.

  “I believe they call it Dragon's Breath. Now, how about you change me back, and I’ll tell you more.”

  “We can’t turn you back, Bollar,” Trent said. “So, you might as well tell us what you know.”