The Dark Colony

by Richard Penn

  ‘Police broadcast all officers. Sou Papadakis here. Sorry to interrupt everyone but we have made an big breakthrough here.’

  They moved over to sit down as Sou continued. ‘You will all have heard the news about Emma Doherty’s coke addiction. She is still standing mute, but were able to use that as leverage in our interviews with other suspects, and we have a confession from young Kayden Carter which blows things wide open. Our young seeker has confessed to placing the bug in the harbour computer, cloning David Fournier’s phone, and sundry minor offences under Doherty’s control. We’re working to charge him and to get the feds to release Fournier.’

  ‘Constable Papadakis, Johansen here,’ said Lisa. ‘That is enough for the present. Please continue briefing on a private call. Over.’ She was concerned that their role in defending David would be too prominent.

  ‘Right, Lisa, understood. I’ll call you in a few minutes.’

  Rasmussen was confused about their reference to a seeker, and Lisa had to explain the way that long-distance quidditch worked. Because of the travel times, teams could not play together, and played a virtual representation of the opposing team, using VR glasses and virtual balls. As the teams moved out into the Belt, they had found light-speed delay made the real-time game impossible. Each team now played a virtual team driven by an AI simulation, programmed by the opposing team. The rules stated that the programmer from each team had to also be one of the real-world players, and traditionally that person would be seeker, because little skill or agility was needed for that role. Terpsichore’s seeker was Kayden Carter, an unpopular fourteen-year old with poor social skills, but an intuitive oneness with computers.

  This was bad news all round, Lisa thought (not just for the quidditch team). She had been hoping that the bug in the harbour computer was controlled from outside the colony. If station systems had been compromised, there was no telling how much had been damaged.

  Sou came back on the line, privately this time. ‘Sou, that was unwise,’ said Lisa. ‘I didn’t want our bosses to know we’d been working for the defence on David’s case. Hopefully they’ll overlook it.’

  ‘Sorry, Lise,’ said Sou, ‘I guess I got overexcited. What that Doherty woman did is so despicable, I’ve been spitting bolts all afternoon!’

  ‘How did she do it?’ asked Lisa. ‘I thought Kayden was a bit odd, but I had no idea he would do anything this awful.’

  ‘It was clever,’ Sou replied. ‘She sucked him in over a year. He came into the poker game thinking he could outsmart everyone with a complex system involving probabilities, but Doherty is an expert player and read him like a book. She let him win the first night, but on the second she built him up for a massive crash. They play for gold coins, you know, with crypto-currency for bigger debts. She pulled him aside and advanced him money to keep playing, then smashed him again, so he owed her stupid amounts. After that game she lent him some more so he could come back the next week. He was still convinced his system would make him a rich man. On the third game she let him win back a little, and then contrived for him to watch her taking a shower. She’s 33, but she keeps herself fit, and she has those big boobs boys enjoy so much. She’d arranged a hidden camera to film him wanking away, and then she pulled him into the shower and had her way with him. He’s what, fourteen? Maybe thirteen then. Anyway, clearly not an adult, by his actions.

  ‘She let the debt ride, and made the shower session a regular feature. Now she had the carrot and the stick. Do my bidding and get this lovely body, or balk and I’ll call the loan and publish your little wanger all over the net. By this point I was ready to strangle Doherty with my bare hands, but I do understand we need her.

  ‘I wish to hell she’d talk,’ Sou continued, ‘we need to know who she’s corrupted in the hospital, and whoever’s sending her cocaine is our link to the dark place. I know torture —’

  ‘Papadakis, this call may be private now, but that does not mean you can talk like —’

  ‘Sorry, Lise, that was black humour, not —’

  ‘Understood. This is official business Sou, keep it sane, please. Find some legitimate leverage we can use on her. I’ll let you run with this for now, but we need to act like grown-ups if we want the feds to continue treating us that way. Excellent work though, Sou, carry on. Out.’

  Rasmussen was looking at her quizzically, having heard only one side of the conversation. ‘Seem to be developing some leadership skills, there, Johansen.’

  ‘Thanks... I think,’ said Lisa. ‘Can we go on with the tour?’ They joined Tommy, who had wandered off to one of the tables in the hall. The meeting of new women seemed to be taking precedence over police work for him. A couple of dozen colonists were in the hall, and Lisa and Tommy were attracting a lot of glances. Most of the faces seemed familiar, but Lisa had trouble remembering names – she had only been 10 when the colony was set up.

  One woman sitting at the table with Tommy was very familiar, though. She stood and smiled at Lisa, taking both her hands. ‘Lisa,’ she said, how lovely to see you!’

  ‘Hi,’ said Lisa, ‘I am afraid I don’t know your first name! I can’t call you Miss Adikari now, can I?’ It was her main teacher from primary school.

  ‘No, indeed. It’s Hashani, but everyone calls me Shani. Listen, don’t let Karel put you up in that dreadful police hostel. You should stay with me. Bring your bags over now.’ She started to lead them away to the side of the hall.

  ‘Hold on,’ said Rasmussen, ‘we’re supposed to be taking an official tour. I’ll bring them round later.’

  Something in Shani’s eyes led Lisa to dig in her heels. ‘No, it would be good to get settled in. Take Tommy out to see the hangar and the technical stuff, and we’ll meet later.’ She took Tommy’s bag and let Shani lead her away, knowing that Karel was suspicious.

  Around the corner was a long corridor leading into the cliff, curving around the back of the habitats buried in the cliff face. Shani led her to one of the doors, and unlocked it with her phone. Lisa was surprised to see this; locking doors in colony space was unusual. The door led into a flat. Lisa’s attention was grabbed by the large window looking out across the crater. The crater floor was sunlit now, and the whole thing was amazing. Looking back into the flat, she saw that it was similar to her own on the station, a room with a sofa and a small breakfast bar, a bedroom hardly larger than its double bed, and a shower cubicle. There was no kitchen; everyone ate out.

  Shani seemed quiet, unsure what to say. Seeing her for the first time with adult eyes, Lisa was struck by how beautiful she was. About Tommy’s size, 15cm shorter than Lisa, she had skin the colour of latte coffee, and delicate bones framed by long dark hair.

  ‘I have a number of things I would like to talk to you about,’ said Shani. ‘Let us start with the easiest one. You need to take me on your mission.’

  ‘Mission? We don’t have a plan for a mission, yet, it is still just an idea. Anyway, the bosses may not let me go, let alone random primary school teachers. Why do you think you should go?’

  ‘We all heard you rescue that poor little girl. Nell Xu beat me to the phone by milliseconds, or you would have heard from me then. My mother was Sinhalese, but my father was Singapore Chinese. I understood everything she said. It’s clear there must be more children hidden in that dark place. You must let me help get them out!’ Shani had taken Lisa’s hands again, as if to emphasise her words, but she took the chance to slip in a piece of paper before she let go.

  ‘Of course,’ said Lisa, ‘that makes a lot of sense. I will certainly talk to my bosses about including you, if they let me go.’ She paused. ‘Could I just use your toilet though? It’s been a while.’

  Shani showed Lisa to it, and she looked at the paper. Do not trust Rasmussen. Suspect flat has cameras/mics. Help!

  She used the facilities and flushed away the paper, working out what to do without making any watchers suspicious as she came out. ‘Thinking about that, I think we need to recruit you as a deputy,’ Lisa s
aid. ‘Tommy has the tabard kit, I’ll just give him a call.’ It was pretty thin, but perhaps it would hold up.

  ‘Phone deputy Tommy Hansen from Lisa Johansen, over.’

  ‘Lisa, hi. Karel is just showing me through the hangar here. Can I help you?’

  ‘I need you to come over to Shani’s flat please. It’s the third door on the left, out the back of the hall,’ said Lisa.

  ‘Should I come over when we’ve covered the hangar?’ asked Tommy. ‘It’s a bit out of the way.’

  ‘Thomas Hansen, when you have two stripes and a hand-knitted pip on your arm, you will be able to do things in your own time. Meanwhile, get your ass over here. Seriously.’ In all their childhood games, “seriously” had been the escape word.

  Tommy was soon at the door. As he entered, Lisa pointed at the equipment he was carrying and gestured towards the ceiling. He frowned, glancing at the small service box by the door. Shani joined Lisa, contriving to block the view from the main part of the flat into the entry corridor, looking as if they were giving him a hug while he was actually opening the box and cutting wires.

  ‘That will stop the feed from this whole flat,’ said Tommy. ‘They’ll know we’re onto them. Remember that our shoulder cameras are still working, so this is going out to Mars. Phone privacy superior officer only. You need to say that too, Lisa.’

  She did, and then led them back into the living room. The sofa was only big enough for two, Tommy had to sit on the floor. She led Lisa through the oath-taking, making her an official deputy.

  ‘So,’ said Lisa, ‘they will know they suspect us of something. What do we suspect them of? I pulled you out with nothing but Shani’s word, Tommy, so I guess I trust her, too. Shani?’

  ‘It’s hard to put a finger on it, there is bullying and intimidation, but it is held down to a level where there’s no serious crime. You know up on the station you have Krawczyk and his little group of elders, who know everything and steer the council the way they think is right? Well here it’s similar, but Rasmussen is part of the group, and they use the power to their own ends, rather than the colony’s.’

  ‘What sort of ends?’ Lisa asked. She was concerned that this might just be the sort of intrigue you get in small groups.

  ‘Well, they make it difficult for women to refuse them, they cover up petty –’ There was a knock at the door. ‘That’ll be Rasmussen now!’

  Lisa did not want to turn this into a confrontation until she knew more, but she needed time to find out. She undid her pony-tail, let her hair spread out. ‘Quick, you two. Snog!’ she said, undoing the top buttons on her jumpsuit and heading for the door. The knock came again and she opened it, blocking the corridor with her body.

  ‘What’s going on Johansen,’ asked the corporal, ‘we’re supposed to be –’ He stopped as he took in the scene inside the flat.

  Lisa turned a little, giving Rasmussen a glimpse inside her shirt. ‘We’re just getting re-acquainted, Karel. Old times, you know?’ She hoped he didn’t recall how young they would have been before.

  ‘Oh. Right, er… I’ll see you at breakfast then.’ He seemed suspicious, but not enough to call her on it.

  Lisa closed the door, and Tommy immediately jumped out of the embrace, bumping his head on the ceiling.

  ‘What’s up with you, Tommy?’ asked Lisa. ‘I thought you’d jump at the chance.’

  ‘But… she’s Miss Adikari!’ said Tommy, ‘she’s a teacher, not a…’

  ‘Not a woman? I think if you look closely you’ll see you’re wrong.’

  Shani was standing back, enjoying this immensely.

  ‘I am sorry about that,’ said Lisa. ‘I’m not supposed to order you to do such things in the line of duty. Please forgive me.’

  ‘No problem for me,’ said Shani. ‘He’s a lovely boy.’

  ‘Seriously though,’ said Lisa, ‘we’re all going to be cooped up in a small space for weeks, if things go the way I’m thinking. You will need to work together. You’re our engineer, she’s our interpreter, I can’t manage without either of you. Tommy?’

  Tommy seemed to be looking at Shani differently. ‘Sure, OK.’

  The women buttoned up, and they settled back into the briefing.

  18 Resuming the tour

  Lisa began a formal interview with Shani, getting dates and details of specific incidents she had seen. It emerged that Shani was part of an informal resistance movement, a group who looked out for each other to counter the exploitation by the men in power. Tommy extended the interviews by phone to other members of that group, getting independent statements about the same incidents and adding others.

  Lisa was outraged to hear that prisoners from the farm tunnels had been allowed to roam free in the station, put back only for Lisa’s visit.

  By four in the morning Shani’s coffee supplies were running low. Lisa received a call from Njenga, and moved into the bedroom to hear it privately.

  Njenga was with the brown-team leader, Joanna Johnson, both looking as they had had a long sol. ‘We’re impressed by the case you are building there Johansen,’ said Johnson. ‘There is some debate on how to proceed though. You have evidence which could see Rasmussen in the farm tunnels for years, and out of the force for good. Personally, I would like to see that, but there is a broader picture. There is a tobacco grow-op somewhere down there, and probably a still for the hooch they were trading around, but behind that may be evidence of contact with the dark colony. Those contacts may threaten the existence of Terpsichore and everyone in it.’

  ‘There is another consideration,’ said Njenga, leaning into the camera. ‘The picture people have been getting, across the Belt, is that every cop at Terpsichore is bent. A lot more people saw Martin locked up than saw him released. A criminal trial with a police suspect will make people think the whole colony has gone rogue.’

  Lisa was again frustrated by the light-speed delay, wishing she could interrupt, tell them about the oppression felt by the victims of these bullies. But she had to wait, and Njenga was still talking.

  ‘…to offer him a deal. If he gives his complete cooperation and good information, we treat it as a disciplinary matter, move him up to the station. If he refuses to talk, we throw the book. I know you well enough to imagine your expression now, but you’ll see it was right in the long run. We have to root out the traitors, that has to take precedence.’

  The inspector sat back, assumed a formal stance. ‘Acting Sergeant Johansen, your objection is anticipated and duly noted, along with those of several of my staff here. You are ordered to offer Rasmussen immunity from criminal charges related to the abuse of his office, in return for full disclosure and any evidence he may have on the activities of hostile outsiders. I will be waking him up in fifteen minutes and ordering him to report to you there, unarmed.’

  Lisa was appalled, but had no choice. Briefing Tommy, she got Shani to explain the route Rasmussen would likely take and then lock the flat door behind them. She and Tommy hid behind columns at the back of the empty hall where Rasmussen would pass. Luckily the sun was up outside, so there was light in the hall. Watching the other exits, they waited. Rasmussen appeared, looking confused.

  When he reached the point they had planned for, Lisa stood and pointed her gun, the laser spot steady on his chest. ‘Stop right there, and show your hands,’ she said.

  He stopped, but his hands were still at his side. He looked into the glare of the sun behind her, seeming unable to believe what was happening.

  ‘Hands! Now!’ Lisa shouted. ‘If I have to shoot we’ll raise the whole colony. Do it now.’ He moved them out to the side, empty, and Lisa signalled Tommy to move in as she kept the spot on Rasmussen’s chest.

  ‘What is this insanity? I don’t need a gun here, this is my own colony,’ said Rasmussen, as Tommy patted him down and cuffed him. ‘Who the hell do you think you are?’

  ‘Move along to Adikari’s flat. Now,’ said Lisa. ‘I am an officer of the law following the direct orders of our sup
erior. And this is not “your colony,” that’s what this is about. Open the door, Shani.’

  They moved inside, the little living room seeming very crowded now.

  Lisa took the couch and let Rasmussen sit on the floor. ‘This is a formal interview and it is being viewed by the crime teams at Mars. It is not accessible to anyone at Terpsichore. It is evidence-gathering which may lead to criminal charges or disciplinary ones. Do you understand?’

  ‘Yes but… What the hell are you talking about? What do you imagine I’ve done?’

  Lisa described the charges, played some key sections of interviews. They had a clear case for criminal charges, especially the trading of police favours for sexual ones.

  ‘But that’s not our main concern. It’s smuggling from the dark colony, child rape, the murder of that boy in -‘

  ‘Hold on,’ Rasmussen interrupted, ‘I wasn’t involved in any of that! Where do you get that from?’

  ‘You’ve got a little scheme going here, a little gang under your protection. Your mates could be doing anything while you look the other way.’

  ‘Not that sort of thing! Hold on a minute Lisa, you’ve only been a cop for ten minutes and you’re telling me how to do my job. I’m just one man in a colony of fifty people, with no outside help. I have to keep the peace. Several of the leading people in the colony help me with that, work with me to make things work smoothly. They don’t have our training, maybe I have to look the other way when they get a little rough. That sort of thing.’

  ‘Yeah, look the other way. So if they take something a person doesn’t want to give, and that person appeals to you for justice, for protection, you look away. That’s not keeping the peace, Rasmussen, that’s despicable. But, as I say, though I’d like to string you up by your balls for it, that’s not what my bosses are after. They are looking for the big fish, and you’re going to save your slimy pathetic skin by giving them to us. Clear?’