The darkened corridor Foster and J'aele had seen from the hovercam's live feed was now starkly lit by floating glow-globes and pin-spots, stark magnesium-bright light banishing all shadows and any places where even the tiniest speck of evidence might hide. Spider-like investigator robots prowled slowly over the floors, walls and ceiling, scanning the surfaces with fans of green laser light. J'aele gave a nod of greeting to another Tek-Judge, who sat crouched by a blackened disc of metal.
"Here's your camera droid," said the officer. "Close range pulse blast hit, I'd say a level four setting."
"I concur," agreed J'aele. "What else do you have?"
The Tek-Judge stood up and Foster caught the name Tyler on the glint of his badge. "Not much. We checked the security camera footage and whoever this guy was, he knew exactly where all the sensors were located."
"He? You're sure the suspect is male, then?" Foster replied.
"Yup. Body kinetics and motion track ties in with a male, approximately two metres tall, aged between thirty to fifty years-old."
"That fits the description of hundreds of Judges," J'aele was dismissive, "and that's even if the assassin was actually a Judge and not just a jimp."
Tyler indicated the window from where the shot had come. "Well, Judge impersonator or not, the shooter was a professionally trained marksman. Takes a good eye to make a heart-shot from this distance. Which brings me neatly to the weapon of choice."
"You found the gun?" said Foster. "Where?"
"Garbage grinder in the maintenance room. There wasn't a lot of it left by the time we got here, but we lucked out. The grinders clogged up when they chewed through the battery packs and they left a few pieces relatively intact." Tyler picked up a plastic-sealed packet and handed it to Foster. Inside, the Judge could clearly see the shape of a pistol grip and a trigger assembly.
"Any markings?"
Tyler nodded. "Oh yeah." He tapped the packet with a stylus. "That's part of a Mauley M500 Hunter-Stalker. We're running the serial numbers down right now, but it's my guess that the weapon is Justice Department stock."
"I know these rifles," said J'aele. "I've used them myself-"
"Yes," said a new voice. "Yes, Judge J'aele, you have." As one, the three men turned to see four more Judges exit the drop shaft that the killer had used to make his escape. Only the Simba City lawman was able to keep a neutral expression; Foster's and Tyler's faces both soured as they recognised the uniforms of the Luna-1 Special Judicial Service. The man who had spoken advanced on them. The harsh floodlights glinted off the clear disc of a cyberlink monocle over his right eye and under their luminescence the lengthy pink scar that crossed the left side of his face glowed red.
Foster's eyes drifted to the skull-shaped sigils on the SJS officer's shoulder pads and badge. He could never figure out why the Justice Department's internal affairs division had such a thing for death imagery. "Judge Kessler. So glad you could join us."
Kessler scrutinised Foster through the monocle for a moment and the Judge knew that the SJS Chief was using the device to call up his records. "The pleasure is all mine, Foster," he said, a humourless, icy smile playing over his lips. Kessler's reputation was well-known throughout the city: a ruthless, vicious man, the SJS-Judge was more than willing to go to extreme lengths to get the results he wanted and unlike the internal investigations divisions of other Mega-Cities, Luna-1's SJS had full discretionary powers. Quite rightly, other Judges spoke Kessler's name with dread and antipathy. "I'm here to inform you that as of now, in accordance with Justice Department regulations 46-A through 48-F, the SJS are taking direct control of this murder investigation. From this point on, you may consider yourselves under my command."
12. POLITIKA
Instead of hugging the lunar surface as they had on the journey over the terminator, Dredd ordered Kontarsky to get them back to the domed city as quickly as she could. The Sov-Judge programmed in a speedy sub-orbital trajectory that took them up and over the Pole, approaching the city's starport dock.
As they descended, Kontarsky tapped the side of her helmet as a message broke in over the guard channel. "Dredd, I am getting a signal from Traffic Control. There is a curfew in effect across all of Luna-1."
Dredd came forward into the cockpit from the rear cabin, a half-finished cup of synthi-caff in his gloved hand. "Any details?"
She shook her head. "No, just a warning. I will tap into the civilian video network for more information."
"Give me a feed on the monitor."
Kontarsky did as she was commanded and presently a grainy image broadcast on LCTV's news feed came into focus. "Reception is poor," she noted. "It's not the solar flares. It must be localised interference."
"Probably Moon-U trying to jam them." Dredd fell silent as a newsreader, grim-faced and severe, appeared on screen.
"For those of you just joining us, we apologise for the pre-emption of SportsTime and bring you this ongoing report of the current breaking story across Luna-1..." The display cut to footage of rioting near the water reclamation plants. "Tonight, a city is in uproar as millions of lunarians take to the streets in anger and fear after the brutal assassination of Chief Judge-Marshal Jefferson J Tex..."
Kontarsky's heart suddenly leapt into her throat as she watched the murder of Tex play out, the flash of the laser piercing the lawman like a lightning bolt.
"Tex..." Dredd's voice was a low growl.
"Recent incidents of civil disobedience by members of the Luna Liberty group Moon-U have spilled over into full-scale street warfare in all nine territories, as the Justice Department struggles to maintain an enforced curfew to stem the tide of lawlessness..."
"They killed him." Kontarsky breathed, hardly able to take in the enormity of what she had just seen. "They must have planned this all along."
Dredd crushed the metallic cup in his hand with a snap. "Moonie," he snarled. "He's behind this!"
The screen changed to show Che placing his hand on a giant star-and-moon sigil in the Grand Hall's central chamber. "Former Deputy Chief Che was sworn in as Judge-Marshal of Luna-1 a few hours ago and he promised that the current disorder would be dealt with as swiftly as possible, in addition to apprehending Tex's killer. Meanwhile, rumours continue to circulate that Mega-City One's Judge Joseph Dredd is the prime suspect in this heinous crime. Judge Udo Kessler, head of Luna's Special Judicial Service, had this to say..." The SJS chief stared into the camera. "We will capture Tex's murderer, you may be assured of that. He will not be able to hide, even behind the shield of a Judge's badge..."
Kontarsky muted the channel, the soundless footage of more rioting and street fighting taking on an unreal quality. "I... I am shocked..."
Behind her, Dredd was staring out of one of the hopper's windows, his jaw set with implacable resolution. "I'll find him, Tex," Dredd said softly, giving his old friend a private farewell. "Count on it."
The Sov-Judge spoke. "I have linked into a local Justice Department data-nexus. The SJS have us both at the top of a priority watch-list."
"Figures. Kessler's got no love for me. If he's on the case, he'll do whatever he can to lay the blame on me."
"You think the SJS could be involved in Moonie's conspiracy?"
"Maybe. Or he could just be using Kessler's natural antipathy toward me. Either way, it puts a king-sized block in our way."
She tapped her fingers on the flight yoke, thinking. "Judge-Warden Lee will be able to vouch for your presence at the prison and I can testify that I was with you during the assassination-"
"It would never get that far," Dredd rumbled. "If Moonie can get a Chief Judge killed in front of thousands of people, he'll have schemes in place to deal with us." The Judge shook his head. "No, we need evidence, something to tie MoonieCorp to this whole set-up." Dredd bent over a console and called up a digi-map. "Divert course and bring us down near Kepler..."
"Why do you want to return there? The dome is still sealed off. What do you expect to find?"
"The clues fro
m the weapons led us to Moonie, but that's dead-ended for now until we can locate the real man. Our only other lead is the oxygen outage."
Kontarsky considered this for a moment. "Very well. I'll drop you off outside and you can go cross-country."
"You have other plans?" Dredd asked.
"Yes. I'm going to land at the starport and turn myself in."
Dredd snorted. "I knew you Sovs were all crazy. Kessler's not likely to go easy on you just because you're a rookie, Kontarsky."
She bristled. "As I told you before, Dredd. I am not a rookie anymore. I am an East-Meg Judge and any interrogation of me can only be handled by a superior Sov officer. Kessler won't be able to hold me. Once I am inside Luna-1, I can buy you some time. I will use what influence I can to assist you."
"And I'm just supposed to take the word of a Sov-Blocker as gospel? What's to stop you singing like a canary?"
Kontarsky's expression hardened. "I'm a Judge. I do not lie."
He nodded and gestured at the lunar surface. "All right. It's a lousy plan but it's all we got. I'll get an e-suit, you set us down behind that ridge."
"Affirmative." Kontarsky angled the hopper smoothly into a controlled touchdown and settled the shuttle in a flurry of moondust. She glanced back at Dredd as he secured the spacesuit over his uniform. Again she felt conflicted towards him, part of her still strong with years of indoctrination that labelled the Mega-City Judge as her most hated enemy, another part of her seeing him as someone worthy of her respect and trust. "Dredd, I feel I must say how sorry I am about the Judge-Marshal. I... I know that Tex was a personal friend of yours. You have my condolences."
"Save it," Dredd grated. "We'll mourn him when we have Moonie on death row and this insurrection stamped out."
Kontarsky hesitated. She had expected some glimmer of emotion from Dredd, even the smallest hint that he was affected by his former partner's death, but if there was any kind of emotion lurking under that obdurate surface, he kept it well concealed. The Judge's face remained set and unreadable and something about that coldness unsettled her more than any shouting rage might have. He sealed his helmet visor down and gave her a curt nod, then he was gone and Nikita was alone with the turmoil of her thoughts.
With Kessler's arrival, the tension level at the Academy crime scene became palpable. It wasn't unheard of for the SJS to become involved in homicide cases on Justice Department sites, but more typically they only intervened when there was a clear suspicion of a "blue on blue" killing - a polite euphemism for a Judge murdering a Judge. Kessler's presence was tacit acknowledgement that a fellow lawman was firmly implicated in the assassination of Judge-Marshal Tex.
Kessler ordered one of his men forward with a snap of his fingers and the subordinate SJS officer unlimbered a complex scanner unit.
"What's that?" Foster asked.
"Skin-sniffer," J'aele replied. "A very advanced DNA sensor that checks for residual traces in the air or on surfaces."
Tek-Judge Tyler's face wrinkled in annoyance. "How the drokk have SJS got hold of one of those? Tek-Division have to work with obsolete hardware and those guys get state-of-the-art kit?"
The SJS sensor technician ran the skin-sniffer head over the three Judges. "Hold still," he ordered, "I need to register you so we can exclude you from the sweep."
"You all have alibis, yes?" Kessler asked in a deceptively casual manner.
Tyler sneered, refusing to grace the question with an answer. "Can we get on with our jobs now?"
The SJS chief nodded. "You may. In the meantime, I have some information that may assist you." He snatched the recovered rifle fragment from Foster's grip. "The partial serial numbers discovered on this evidence have been analysed. Central has identified this weapon as stock from Armoury Delta in the Grand Hall of Justice. It was assigned to a Street Judge during the shooting incident at the Green Cheese Shoplex earlier this week."
"Who?" demanded Foster.
J'aele felt his blood run cold. "Me."
"Yes," said Kessler, savouring the word. "But you passed it on to another officer, didn't you? There were several witnesses to that fact, including some of my own men." When the Tek-Judge didn't answer, Kessler continued. "Just as it was used to kill Judge-Marshal Tex, this rifle also killed Judge Rodriguez."
"Dredd?" said Foster. "You gave the gun to Dredd?"
The Simba City Judge said nothing, his gaze never leaving Kessler's.
Kessler continued; he was enjoying his little performance. "Armoury files have no record of this rifle being returned to the Hall of Justice or any other precinct command, which means it remained in Dredd's possession."
Foster gave a scornful snort. "No chance. Everyone knows Dredd is a stickler for protocol and regs. Hell, he wrote half of them! Your boys must have made a mistake."
"The SJS do not make mistakes!" Kessler snapped, all trace of his oily smile gone in an instant. "But men do and Dredd is nothing but that, an old man!" After a moment, Kessler composed himself and his flash of anger faded as if it had never been there. "Continue your investigation. I expect to know every detail that you uncover."
Tyler returned to examining the wrecked hovercam as Kessler moved away with his men. "I bet he's just loving this," the Tek-Judge said quietly.
J'aele blinked. "What do you mean?"
"If Kessler is fixing to put Dredd in the frame for shooting Tex, you can be sure he's as happy as a dunce in munce." Tyler lowered his voice. "This was before you two were sent up here, but a while back old Stony Face was in Luna-1 on a Psi-Division gig, babysitting some pre-cog. Anyhow, along the way Dredd got fingered for some murders and they set Kessler loose on him. The killer turned out be some sorta weirdo zombie, but by the time they'd figured that out, our pal Scarface over there had worked him over pretty bad."
"He tortured Dredd?" Foster's jaw dropped open. "Stomm..."
"Yup. Word is, Kessler was real angry about letting Dredd slip through his fingers and he's had an axe to grind ever since. When he wasn't able to break him, Kessler took it personally."
J'aele was about to add something, but a strident beeping from the skin-sniffer unit began to sound. "What is it?"
Kessler could barely keep himself from breaking into a grin, the pink slash of his scar puckering the skin on his cheek. "We appear to have a match. The scanner has detected a minute genetic reading that corresponds with that of gene-strain 0001, Mega-City One variant." He licked his lips. "Dredd was in this corridor within the last eight hours."
"That's not possible," Foster snapped. "The killer could have easily planted a DNA trace and there's hundreds of people who passed though this area, it could be any one of them-"
"Only a senior Judge would have been able to gain access to this floor outside of office hours!" Kessler countered. "Only a Judge would have known how to circumvent the security sensors..." He gave Foster a measuring look, "Or perhaps, the murderer might have had an accomplice? Say, another Judge working in a secure area in another building?"
"You're accusing Judge Foster?" said J'aele. "You have no proof!"
"Soon I will have all the proof I need, Judge J'aele. Piece by piece, I'll have this crime solved and the perp brought to swift, brutal justice. The killer," Kessler looked back at Foster, "and whoever aided and abetted him."
The Brit-Cit Judge grimaced and beckoned J'aele angrily. "Come on, we got a report to make to Che. The smell in this place is making me sick to my stomach."
Kessler ignored the jibe and drew a microphone from his equipment belt and spoke into it. "Kessler to Central, SJS advisory to all officers in the Luna-1 environs. Issue an all-points bulletin to intercept and detain Judge Joseph Dredd. Dredd is to be transferred to the Luna SJS headquarters when apprehended for immediate interview and examination."
Dredd shielded his eyes as Kontarsky poured power to the thrusters and the hopper launched itself back into the black sky, the jet wash sending a slow wave of grey moondust flowing away behind it. The blunt shape of the flyer vanished behind
the lip of a crater and was gone from sight. Beyond it in the distance was the graceful arc of the Luna-1 dome, shimmering in the reflected sunlight. He took a deep breath of plastic-tasting suit air and set off, carefully walking in the half-bounce, half-step gait that astronauts had used on the Moon since the days of the old Apollo missions.
The thing that always struck Dredd the most about being in space was the silence. Living in one of the largest cities in the world since birth, Dredd had grown accustomed to the constant background rush of noise from traffic, people and machines that made up the accompaniment to life in the Big Meg; but out here, there was no sound but the rasp of his own breathing and the soft chime of his virtual compass display. He didn't like the quiet; something about it felt wrong.
Skirting a security sensor, the Judge carefully approached Kepler's outer wall. The small conurb dome was gloomy, dimly lit with the faint glow of emergency lights. Glancing up, Dredd could see the inert disc of the oxy-station above it.
He checked his surroundings. In the soundless vacuum, a patrolling security droid or hopper could be on him before he knew it - but he had approached undetected and there was no other movement on the stark monochrome landscape. He reached a small emergency airlock and worked an override code through his thick, suited fingers.
A green light blinked and the outer door opened. "So far, so good," Dredd said aloud.
There were three Luna SJS officers waiting in the launch bay as the hopper shuttle dropped down on its hangar cradle. Even though she had been expecting to see them there, Kontarsky still had to smother a moment of fear when her muscles tensed in a primal fight-or-flight reflex. She shook her head to clear the emotion. No, she had a duty to perform and to run would be a waste of energy.
While the auto-lander guided her in, the young Sov-Judge removed the data chip that contained the hopper's cockpit flight recorder and ground it into powder under her boot heel. Now no trace remained of her flight path, including her touch-and-go landing in the Badlands and, most importantly, any audio transcription of the conversations between herself and Dredd on the flight deck.
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