Gunfight on the Alpha Centauri Express (Nick Walker, U.F. Marshal Book 5)
Page 21
“Yes. YES!!! What the fuck do you want?”
Nick shifted his weight on the chair. Tears leaked from Heaven’s eyes.
“Here’s the deal, Heaven—you’re sixteen, and I’m pretty sure she’s no more than fifteen, maybe even younger than that. You’re going to prison for murder, there’s no way around that—but you have a chance to help her out. You can save her from wasting her life in an iron cage.”
Heaven looked up again, her eyes measuring him.
“What are you talking about?”
“Star hasn’t been charged with anything yet, and she hasn’t admitted to anything. Unless we find out that she actually killed somebody with her own hand, she can still get out of this.”
“She hasn’t killed anybody.”
“Did she set the bomb in Gordon’s Creek?”
“N-No. She—” Heaven, perhaps realizing she was on the verge of a confession, gulped. “She acted as lookout.”
“What about before that? Did she do anything that could be construed as murder?”
“Gordon’s Creek was her first mission.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Ken doesn’t let anybody go on a mission until they’re fifteen, and Star just turned fifteen about a month ago.”
“So she tagged along to get experience?”
“Yes. She didn’t do anything on that mission.”
“And Trimmer Springs?”
“That was her second mission.”
“So you’re telling me that, aside from trying to grab Marshal Green’s gun, she hasn’t broken any laws?”
“No, she’s innocent. She hasn’t hurt anybody.”
Nick studied her face, watching her eyes, her facial muscles. After nearly a minute, he rested his elbows on the table.
“Okay, Heaven, here’s the deal. You tell me everything you know about Ken Saracen—and I mean everything—and I’ll see if I can get your sister cut loose.”
She stared at him, her eyes wary.
“How do I know I can trust you?”
“What choice do you have? You’re going to prison no matter what, and if we don’t make a deal, so is your sister.” He sighed. “You know what, Heaven? You may think you hate us pigs, but if we’re so bad, then why did Marshal Green not shoot you and your sister the other night? He could have, and nobody would have cared very much. But he didn’t. He killed Cassie because she gave him no choice, but he didn’t kill you.
“There’s only one condition; if we do this, and cut Star loose, she has to go home to your parents. If she goes back to Ken Saracen, she will die.”
“How do you know that?”
“That’s how he operates. He kills anybody he doesn’t trust, and now that you’ve been in jail, that includes you and your sister.
“So…I’m going to order that pizza now. You think about it and let me know when I get back.”
Nick shoved his chair back and stood up, picked up his hat, and walked out the door.
***
Bridge was waiting for him with a frown.
“Did you just make a deal on behalf of the prosecution?”
“I think so.”
“That’s pretty risky, isn’t it? I mean, you can promise to put in a good word, but shit—you just sprung her sister.”
“Only if she spills her guts about Kenny-boy.”
“Still, Walker, that’s bold. You don’t have the authority, and you have no guarantee the prosecutor will honor the deal.”
Nick settled his hat on his head.
“Gary Fraites is a friend of mine. I think I can talk him into it.”
“You think?”
“Yeah. I think so.” Nick started for the outer door, then looked back. “Do me a favor, will you? Have them put the sister back in her cell. Isolate her, don’t let her talk to anybody until we hear what Heaven has to tell us. The last thing we need is for her to start yakking and incriminate herself.”
Bridge stared at him in disbelief, then shook his head.
“Walker…you’re a damn fool! Do you know that?”
Nick grinned. “Yeah, I got that part down pretty good. You want some pizza?”
14th Floor, Morgan Olsen Building – Lucaston, Alpha Centauri 2
Victoria Cross was seated at her desk working on notes for the next day’s court appearance when Nick Walker tapped on her door. She looked up in surprise, then smiled briefly.
“Marshal! Did we have an appointment?”
“No.” He stepped inside and closed the door. Victoria’s eyebrows lifted.
He pulled out a chair and sat down.
“I’ve got a client for your new career.”
“I already have a client. You.”
“No, I mean a real client.”
“Well, it’s nice of you to think of me, Nick, but I’m a little busy right now trying to keep your renegade ass out of prison. You’re taking the stand tomorrow.”
“This won’t require more than an hour of your time.”
She laid down her stylus, trying to keep the annoyance off her face.
“Who is it?”
“I don’t know her real name, but she calls herself Star. The U.F. Marshal should have an ID on her in a day or two, but—”
“You can’t just ask her?”
“Oh, we did that, but she isn’t talking.”
“Then what can I do?”
“Make sure she understands her constitutional rights and invokes them. Primarily, the right to remain silent.”
“Wait a minute, who is this girl?”
“She’s one of the terrorists that Nathan Green arrested in Trimmer Springs.”
Victoria frowned.
“You want me to represent a terrorist? More than that, you want her to keep her mouth shut? Which side are you on?”
“I’m on the side of innocence. This kid is barely fifteen, and so far all she’s done is try to grab Nathan’s gun in that little dustup the other night. Her sister, who calls herself Heaven, is in a lot deeper, but she swears that Star is still clean, legally speaking.”
“Did you interview her?”
“I interviewed Heaven, but not Star.”
“Why not?”
“I think Heaven is telling the truth, and I don’t want Star to accidentally incriminate herself. That’s where you come in.”
Victoria stared at him in wonder.
“Nick, these girls are part of a terror organization that has murdered over three thousand people.”
“Yes, and they only did it because Ken Saracen, ‘the Chairman’, preyed on their innocence and vulnerability; he fed them a line of shit so transparent that no adult would ever swallow it, then sent them out to do all the killing and dying. Most of them have gone too far to be saved, but I think this one might still have a chance. But she needs just the right lawyer.”
“And you think that’s me?”
“I know it is.”
“I can’t just proclaim myself to be her attorney. Either someone has to hire me or the court has to appoint me.”
“How much do you charge?”
“Probably more than she can afford.”
Without another word, Nick pulled out his wallet and extracted ten terros. He tossed them on her desk.
“What’s this?”
“A retainer for an hour of your time on behalf of Star…whoever the hell she is.”
“Ten terros will buy you about three minutes.”
“Bill me for the rest.” He stood up. “Will you do it?”
Victoria scowled and scooped the money toward her.
“Damn you, Nick, you knew the answer to that before you walked in here, didn’t you?”
He grinned and winked as he turned for the door.
“Semper fi.”
“Nick!”
He turned back. She leaned forward and pinned him with her blue eyes.
“You and Suzanne are engaged?”
“Yeah.”
“Nick, you’re such an idiot.”
“Why?”
“Do you love her?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then stop being so cheap! Give the woman a ring, for Christ sake!”
Lucaston Department of Corrections, Lucaston – Alpha Centauri 2
The girl who called herself Heaven sat waiting at the interview table as Nick and Victoria Cross entered the room. She glanced up at Nick with an expression halfway between despair and defiance. Her eyes flickered to Victoria.
“Who’s she? Your bitch?”
Nick settled in at the table and stretched his legs.
“No, actually, Heaven, you’re my bitch. This is your attorney.”
The girl swept Victoria with her eyes, then sniffed.
“I can’t afford an attorney.”
“Sure you can. Remember when Marshal Green read you your constitutional rights?”
“No.”
“Well, he did, and one of your rights is the right to representation, whether you have money or not. Unlike communists, capitalists believe that everyone has a right to defend themselves.”
She glared at him with baleful eyes.
“Her name is Miss Cross, and she’s going to make sure that you get a fair shake. Do you think you can say ‘Hello’ and, maybe, ‘Thank you’?”
Heaven sneered.
“Whatever.”
Victoria glanced at Nick with a raised eyebrow, then took her own chair and faced the prisoner.
“What I’m here to do, Heaven, is two things: first I’ve already visited your sister and told her that she doesn’t have to answer any questions she doesn’t want to; the second is that I’m going to monitor your conversation with Marshal Walker here and make sure you don’t incriminate yourself any further than you already have.”
“Where were you the first time I was here? I didn’t have a lawyer then.”
“Well, that was your choice. You could have asked for one, but you didn’t.”
“Nobody ever told me that.”
“Yes they did,” Nick said. “Marshal Green told you that when he arrested you. After you tried to kill him.”
Heaven looked away to the side and didn’t reply.
“Do you remember our agreement?” Nick asked her.
She nodded.
“Okay. If you give me what I need, Miss Cross and I will both speak to the prosecutor on Star’s behalf. I’m pretty sure we can get her released, but only if you cooperate. Are you ready?”
“I guess so.”
“Where is Ken Saracen hiding out?”
“I don’t know.”
Nick hesitated a moment, then sighed.
“That isn’t a very good start.”
“I don’t know! Honestly. He moves around a lot.”
“Okay, how often does he move?”
“Two or three times a week.”
“Does he ever return to a location after he’s left it?”
“Yeah, but he has people check it out first, to make sure the pigs haven’t found it.”
“How many places does he have?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe nine or ten.”
“Do you know where they are?”
“Not all of them. He doesn’t share everything with everyone. That way one person can’t give everything away if they get caught.”
“Like Horace Cowan?”
She nodded. “Ken said Horace would squeal, so he moved. But Horace didn’t know all the addresses, and Ken got away.”
“Does he have hideouts in Lucaston?”
“Yeah.”
“How many?”
“Three or four.”
“Do you know where they are?”
“Only two of them. But even if I tell you where they are, he won’t be there.”
“How do you know?”
“Ken knows we got busted. He would have left as soon as he heard.”
Nick pushed paper and pencil toward her.
“Write down the addresses anyway. We’ll check them out.”
Heaven stared at the materials for a moment, then quickly scrawled the information. She pushed it back to Nick.
“That’s good, Heaven. Thanks.”
She rolled her eyes and looked away.
“How many people are in ARMO?”
“I don’t know.”
“Give me an estimate.”
“I dunno. Forty, maybe fifty.”
“How many men? How many women?”
“Ten or eleven men, the rest are girls.”
“How many are with Ken at any given time?”
“It varies. Two or three, usually, never more than five or six.”
“Where do they spend their time when they’re not with him?”
“Sometimes they’re out on a mission, and some of them have jobs. They have apartments in several places.”
“Ken pays for the apartments?”
“Yeah.”
“Let’s say Ken wanted to mount an operation, a mission, right here in Lucaston. He would call in his local people to carry it out?”
“Probably, but not always. Depending on the job, he might send a specialist, like a bomb maker or a sniper. That person would use the locals as backup, or to take care of shit.”
“Take care of what kind of shit?”
“Whatever needs doing. Going to the store, watching out for pigs, creating a diversion—whatever.”
“Do you know the names of everybody in ARMO?”
“No. I’ve only met about half of them. We’re never all together in one place at the same time.”
“Never?”
“Never. If the pigs got lucky, the movement could be wiped out, and Ken would have to start over.”
“How many names do you know?”
“Twelve, maybe fifteen.”
“Do you know the girl who’s been following me?”
Heaven’s mouth dropped open and she sucked in her breath.
“You’ve seen her?”
“Yeah, she sticks out like a comet at midnight.”
“And you didn’t bust her?”
“No. She’s more valuable where she is. As long as Kenny-boy thinks we haven’t spotted her, we can use her against him.”
Heaven’s face flushed and she began to pant. She closed her eyes and lowered her chin.
“What’s wrong, Heaven? Did you think we’re as stupid as Ken thinks we are?”
She looked up at him, a defeated look in her eyes.
“Who’s my tail? What’s her name?”
Heaven licked her lips in indecision. After a moment she told him.
“Tracy.”
“What’s Tracy’s mission, exactly?”
“For now, just to keep you in sight and report back.”
“For now? What about after that?”
“She’s just waiting for the word to kill you. She wants you bad.”
“Why? Why does she want to kill me?”
“You’re a big target, one that Ken really wants dead. Tracy has never killed anybody, and she wants to make a big hit with her first one.”
“That’s good to know. Do you know her last name?”
“No. In ARMO, nobody has last names.”
“It seems like most of the missions are carried out by girls. What do the men do?”
Heaven glanced at Victoria, who smiled encouragement. Her shoulders slumped a little.
“Horace is a recruiter, and he provides backup on some of the missions. He was Nadine’s backup when you caught him.”
“How many recruiters are there?”
“Three.”
“Where are the other two?”
“One is on Terra, the other is somewhere on this planet. I don’t know where.”
“They’re out recruiting?”
She nodded. “We always need more people.”
“Who are the other men?”
“I don’t know them all.”
“Which ones do you know? And what is their function?”
“Well…I knew Tommy, but you killed him.”<
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“Who else?”
“There’s Sam, and Joker, and Phil…and Charlie. Those are the only ones I know.”
“What do they do?”
“Sam is the tech guy. He’s a genius with IT and communications.”
“Can he work a satellite?”
“Yeah, sure. He can hack a satellite in a few seconds.”
“What about Joker?”
“Explosives guy. He’s the one who gets the PlastOMite and detonators and shit.”
“Where does he get them?”
“I dunno. Ken says nobody needs to know everything. He only tells you what you need when you need it.”
“Okay, keep going.”
“Phil and Charlie, they’re ex-military. They’re experts with weapons and stuff.”
“Those are the only men you know?”
“The only ones I’ve met.”
“That’s four men. You said there were ten.”
“Well, I forgot Horace. You already have him.”
“Okay, so that’s five. Did you count Tommy?”
“Yeah, he makes six. I think there are still five others that I haven’t met.”
“Do you know their names?”
“No. That’s everything I have.”
“What about the other girls? You said there were thirty?”
“Closer to forty, but they’re scattered in small groups. Ken keeps the girls in teams of two or three. Since the girls are the most likely to get caught, he keeps us separate as much as possible.”
“How many teams do you know?”
“You mean, personally?”
“Yes.”
“Only two, including my own. Me and Star and Cassie were one team. Tracy is part of another.”
“How many girls in that one?”
“Only two. Tracy and Ginger.”
Nick frowned, thinking.
“Do Tracy and Ginger stick together all the time?”
“Most of the time.”
“I’ve seen Tracy several times. Is Ginger with her then?”
“Maybe, maybe not, but she’s probably not far away.”
“Does Ginger have red hair?”
“Yeah. You’ve seen her?”
“No, but with a name like Ginger, it seemed like a good guess.”
“If you see Ginger, you should be able to recognize her. She has long hair and she’s really pretty.”
Unlike you and your sister, Nick didn’t say.
“How old is she?”
“Sixteen, I think.”
“Okay, thanks. That helps.”
“Is that all? Are we done?”