by K. C. Sivils
“Or get me the pilot on call.”
“Sir, we just...”
“You can. I have the authority to order you to do so,” I bluffed. “I am here under special authority from the IAPF.”
This gave the two guards pause. Rule number one for a guard was always to avoid trouble when it looks you in the eye. Kick the can down the road and figure out a way out of trouble later.
Without saying a word, the older guard picked up the comm at the guard station and turned his back to me. After a minute his voice raised as he argued with whoever was on the other end of the link. Frustrated, he turned and handed me the comm.
This was going to be fun.
“Who is this?”
“Inspector Thomas Sullivan, head of the special investigative team. We need to depart now for the space station. Whom am I talking to?”
I listened to the pilot thinking. It's funny how you can tell what people think when they're silent.
"Warden Corona hasn't scheduled a departure," came his delayed response.
“I scheduled the departure. What is your name?”
“My name,” the pilot mumbled.
“Yes, I need it for my report.”
“I’ll be there in five minutes Inspector.”
HOW COULD THEY? I DIDN’T grant permission for the Inspector to leave! Things are becoming interesting! How dare these mere guards make such a decision!
The watcher didn’t hesitate. Finding the nearest augmented human, the watcher gave the command. It found the human’s effort to resist amusing. It only further proved who was really in charge.
Following the augmented, the watcher turned off the recording capability of each camera in the human’s path.
Only the watcher could observe. Blank feedback loops would fill in the blank space of the digital recordings when the investigation continued.
Making good time, the augmented arrived at the guard station in just over seven minutes. So lax were the guards they didn’t notice until it was too late. The human even hesitated at first, struggling against the overriding imperative the watcher had sent.
It wasn't until the shank pierced the back of the older guard that either took notice of the prisoner. Before the second guard could react, the augmented stabbed once in the guard's abdomen. Stepping back, the human looked down at the two guards. The older one crawling towards the airlock and the second clutching his stomach.
With the kill command executed, the augmented regained control. The con pocked the shank and stepped into the guard station and fished around. Finding a medkit, the augmented pulled out a large pressure bandage and quickly applied it to the guard with the abdominal wound. After repeating the process with the guard by the airlock, the con stepped through the airlock and pulled the alarm, vanishing from the camera’s view.
How interesting. Even with a kill command, it could not override, the augmented thwarted my kill order. Still, the message has been sent. Next time, I’ll need to plan ahead. Send an augmented whose killed before.
NOBODY HAD SAID A SINGLE word during the shuttle flight to the space station. The same was true on the flight down to the spaceport.
I was okay with that.
I gathered everyone up close to the taxi stand. Ralph was waiting.
“Father, take Sarah with you and keep her with you,” I ordered. “Josephson, take a different cab. Everybody meet me in two hours at Joe’s.”
Sarah gave me the evil eye. Ralph took note of it and gently guided Sarah to his cab, carrying her backpack for her.
“Father, keep her close.”
“Something happened?”
“You could say that. Sarah found Ellie.”
“And, obviously, you left Ellie behind.”
I glared in anger at my friend. "If we sprung her, there's no tellin' what we'd bring down on ourselves. It was too big a risk for Ellie, and I'm not riskin’ Sarah’s safety over this.”
Father Nathan considered my words. “Not a friendly reunion?”
“You could say that. Just keep Sarah under thumb until I can figure out what to do.”
“She’s going to want to roam.”
“Father...”
“I’ll do my best, Sully. Just don’t be late.”
I stood and watched as the Father climbed in Ralph’s hovercab. Ralph left in a flash. Josephson finished carefully storing his equipment in the next hovercab, and he too was gone.
I hoped splitting them into two groups was a waste of time and money. I didn't know who was waiting for us.
Not waiting, I walked away from the bright lights of the taxi stand and made my way into the shadows. I paused to allow my right eye adjust to the light. Nothing showed on infrared, not even a Primian rat.
For once the cold air felt good. At least it was clean, not like the stale reconditioned air in the shuttles or the space station. Snow was falling gently, and the wind was blowing it along the ground before it could stick and began to form drifts.
Within fifteen minutes I was at the entrance to the subway that would take me to Bones’ apartment. If I could pry him out of his mini-fortress, I would have my entire team assembled at the deadline I had set.
“DMITRY, I HATE TO BOTHER you, but something has come up.”
The Russian King opened his eyes and glanced out the door of his cell. He sat in his favorite chair with his hands clasped in his lap. Standing in the middle of the corridor in the otherwise empty cellblock was Evgeny, a guard and one of their augmented humans.
Dmitry nodded to his second who motioned for the frightened man to step into the cell. Evgeny nodded and bowed to his leader, and he and the guard departed to allow Dmitry and the augmented to talk in private.
“You are upset.”
“Dmitry, I did not do it, but I did,” the augmented sputtered.
“What is it that you did but did not do?”
Lowering his face, unable to look his King in the eye, the augmented mumbled, “I shanked two screws.”
Unable to believe what he had clearly heard, Dmitry shook in a controlled fury before speaking.
“You did what?”
“I didn’t want to. I was just doing my prison job when the execute command came. It overrode all of my hardware, software, cyber defenses, everything. I couldn’t stop it.”
“Stop what?”
“The execute order, the command to kill those two screws. I don’t know where it came from. I’m not a killer Dmitry. You know that. I do numbers, just numbers. I write some code if necessary. I’m in for embezzlement.”
Dmitry looked at the man. Two ports for cables were clearly visible on the left side of his neck. His right eye had been replaced with a port to read high-speed data transmissions. Implanted in the inside of his left forearm was a keyboard.
“I didn’t kill them,” the man pleaded. “I made myself miss the first guard’s kidney. I didn’t stab deep enough with the second guard. Then I applied pressure bandages and sounded the alarm before I ran. They were alive when I left. Please, Dmitry, don’t kill me. I came straight to you. Please.”
“Where were these screws?”
“At the guard station for the shuttle.”
“Who saw you?”
“Nobody. The cameras were turned off as I went there.”
“How do you know this?”
“I could sense my processor turning them off. It was part of the execute command. I covered my face with a piece of cloth, like a mask, before I attacked. When it was done, the command had been executed. I was able to control myself again. I did it, but I wasn’t myself. Something took control of me. Please, Dmitry, spare me.”
“I do not completely understand what you are telling me. You say something like a computer program took control of you, through your augmentation, and made you do this?”
“Da, Dmitry.”
Dmitry sat in silence considering what he had just been told.
"You did the right thing coming to me and confessing. I will not decide your fate until I
have had time to consider the matter. It is to your credit you came to me. It shows loyalty and honor, even though what you have done is a bad business. I may spare you. I may not."
Relieved to hear there was a chance, however faint, he might live, the augmented nodded his thanks and backed away from Dmitry.
“Evgeny!”
His second reappeared.
"Have this man locked up in the hole on this cellblock. Nobody in the prison administration learns of this. I must think."
Evgeny remained silent, simply pointing the way to the solitary confinement cell at the end of the cellblock. The augmented shuffled away quickly, followed by Evgeny and the guard.
“This is strange business,” Dmitry whispered. I must discuss this with the Inspector. There are things he needs to be told.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
IT TOOK A MINUTE OR so for his eyes to adjust to the lighting. On the rare days that clear skies appeared over Beta Prime, the reflection of the sun’s light off the ice and snow created blinding glare. Some called it snow blindness.
Markeson had never been to the establishment he’d entered. The maître de greeted him and motioned for Markeson to follow. Following the host, Markeson entered the kitchen, busy with the hustle and bustle of the staff working to prepare the serving. He noted the smells with pleasure. He’d have to remember this place. The food smelled delicious.
“Your host is waiting for you here,” the maître de said simply, bowing and motioning towards a door. The man opened it, allowing Markeson to enter the room. It was decorated in muted colors, the table, and chairs of modern Alturian design and seated at the table was his mysterious host.
“Please, Captain, be seated. I hope you won’t mind. I took the liberty of ordering for us. I think you’ll find the food here excellent.”
Markeson seated himself at the far end of the table, opposite his host.
Let the games begin.
PAIN WAS SOMETHING Ellie avoided as much as possible. The pounding in her head combined with nausea she felt only served to deepen the rage she felt. Gagging, Ellie finally vomited the contents of her stomach, the odor of which caused her to gag a second time, throwing up bile and stomach acid. Her throat was on fire, and a foul taste filled her mouth.
Running her hand gently over a throbbing right temple, Ellie moaned. “My head. Oh, this is miserable.”
Leaning back, Ellie realized she was lying on a cot, one with an all too familiar feel to it. Sitting up quickly and regretting it instantly, Ellie struggled to focus. Minutes passed before the nausea subsided and her blurred vision became clear.
She was in the cell that had been her home for the last year.
Slowly, with great care, Ellie eased to her feet and shuffled over to the door. With hope, Ellie carefully placed both hands on the bars of the cell door. A gentle push did nothing, so Ellie applied more force against the bars. Still, the door did not move.
“No!”
Rage overwhelmed caution as Ellie shook the cell door with all of her strength. Exhaustion took control after minutes of screaming and shaking door had passed.
“How could you leave me here Sarah?”
Dazed and weak, Ellie collapsed on to her bunk. Losing focus as she succumbed to the remains of the drugs in her system and drifted back into oblivion, Ellie’s mind was clear about one thing.
Sarah would pay for leaving her behind.
I APPROACHED SLOWLY and made certain the private cameras Bones had mounted both outside his apartment and covering the approach to the entrance caught me in plain view. I gave the aging M.E. time to check the CCTV cameras covering the streets near his home.
I waited outside the entrance. There was no reason to knock or use the buzzer. Bones knew I was here. He would let me in or he wouldn't.
A buzz followed by several clicks told me I would at least see my paranoid friend's face. The door slid open with Bones gnarled black hand striking quickly and grabbing me, pulling me inside.
“Come in will you Sullivan. Don’t let anyone see you.”
I turned to watch while Bones made sure the door was secure. I couldn’t help but notice he was carrying a projectile weapon with him as he scurried over to his monitoring station and watched the outside world.
“Okay,” he wheezed, coughing a bit. “Nobody was following you.”
“You’re getting paranoid.”
“You would too if you knew what I know.”
“So it was murder?”
“Yes, both of them were murdered.”
“How?”
“Evans had his internal electrical grid fried so to speak. My guess is the retinal scanner was the source of the controlled power surge. His entire nervous system is shot. He died instantly.”
“The woman?”
“Now this gets scary Sullivan.”
“How so?”
“She killed herself.”
Bones was being unclear, leaving me a bit confused. "So I have one murder to solve, and the other is a suicide?"
“No. Don’t you see? The Russian was an augmented.”
“Now I’m confused Bones. Explain.”
Frustrated, the eccentric M.E. began pacing back and forth.
"I've taken everything off the communications grid. I'm totally isolated except for the CCTV links, and I'm severing those as soon as you leave."
Note to self, I thought. When this is all over, drag Bones to the department shrink. His paranoia is getting out of control.
“Bones, this case is bad enough. Don’t start causing me more problems.”
“Sully, I don’t see how you can’t see it!”
“I can’t see it,” I shouted, “because you won’t tell me what it is I’m supposed to see!”
My shouting didn’t help the man’s stress. Bones pacing picked up in speed and he began waving his weapon around.
“The killer, whoever it is, is brilliant. Can kill from anywhere!”
I sat down, more to calm myself and to think than anything else. Bones could be eccentric and a bit paranoid at times, but usually for a reason.
“Okay, I get how the retinal scanner could be controlled to fry someone’s nervous system. I mean, I don’t know how that would be done, but I can see the possibility. But that doesn’t explain the Russian.”
“Don’t you see,” Bones whispered. “She was an augmented. Someone gave her an execute command, and she killed herself."
“WE CANNOT CHANGE THE schedule.”
Dmitry looked around at the other Kings sitting at the table. None of them seemed happy about Gravestone's pronouncement.
“It is too dangerous. We must reschedule,” Dmitry said firmly.
“I agree,” Josef replied with conviction.
“This is crazy,” Jamaal snapped. “Too much at stake if this gets busted.”
“Andrea, I don’t think they understand,” a subdued Corona said quietly.
Gravestone stood from her seat and leaned over the table, placing both hands firmly on the surface, projecting menace and strength to the other kings.
"I think the Warden is right. So I'll make this clear. The wagering has opened and wagers made. Money has been paid. The satellite comm links paid for. I could go on, but you get the idea. There is no going back. Once a date is selected and set, there is nothing that can be done."
Jamaal stood and mirrored the assistant warden’s stance before speaking in a low, deep voice.
“You ain’t the one whose people are gonna die.”
“This is bad business,” Dmitry monotoned. “Why should we risk everything for one fight?”
“If we are discovered, that will be the end,” Josef commented. “Delay things. Wait until it is safe. Then resume the fight schedule.”
“To be the leaders of your respective groups, the three of you don’t seem to be too bright. I’ve explained why.” Gravestone stood up straight, placing her hands on her hips, clearly angry, making the Queen more dangerous than normal.
"This Inspector Sullivan
," Dmitry said softly, "he's too dangerous. He's uncontrollable. Despite precautions, he's found things he shouldn't have. Like the asset, the two of you have hidden from us."
Gravestone and Corona glanced at each other, alarm showing in their eyes.
“Da, it is as I thought,” Dmitry laughed, shaking his head sadly. “There are far more of us than you. Not to mention many of the guards are more loyal to us. You cannot keep secret from us.”
“She’s our asset,” Corona said firmly.
“That is not the issue,” Dmitry answered calmly. “The issue is you hid the fact from us. How are we to trust you?”
A piercing explosion rocked the small room, causing the occupants to dive beneath the table. The smell of cordite filled the air. Just as quickly as Dmitry hit the floor, he glanced over the table.
Standing with her arm extended, a projectile weapon in hand, was Gravestone. Across the table from her sat Jamaal. Rather, what was left of Jamaal. Most of his head was gone, brains, tissue, and bits of skull splattered on the wall behind him. Standing by the entrance was Corona.
“That was not necessary,” Dmitry said calmly, taking his seat in his chair. Josef did likewise, his gaze fixed on the bloody remains of Jamaal.
“One would think not, Dmitry,” Corona replied coldly. “But you seem to have forgotten, you might be a King, but I am the Warden. We all benefit from working together, but I still run the prison. The fights take place as scheduled.”
Gravestone looked at Dmitry with cold fury. “Be sure your people are ready to fight. The Warden and I will handle this Sullivan.”
THIS WILL BE FUN. THEY don’t know whom to trust now! I wonder what else I can do to stir the pot?
The watcher followed Corona and Gravestone as they hurried to Corona’s office. Guards had placed bags over the two handcuffed survivors of the meeting and were escorting them in the stress position back to their cellblocks.
It will be interesting to see how they deal with the good Inspector when he returns. Yes, it will be interesting.