Obsidian Detective

by Michael Anderle

  “Jia’s on a beignet run. We found a new place yesterday after we got back to the station. It’s not even that far from here.” Erik shrugged. “Not quite classics, but they’re still delicious.”

  “Beignets?” The captain shook his head. “You two…” he began, then shook his head again. “Not important. It doesn’t matter. What I have to tell you is important.”

  “But it’s not about pastry?” Erik raised a hopeful eyebrow.

  “No,” Captain Monahan barked. “It’s not about pastry.”

  “What’s it about, then?”

  The captain managed a smile. “You’re going to like this. One thing that’s been bothering me is why there are so many random rent-a-thugs who keep popping up from the Shadow Zone, especially now that Winthorpe’s dead.”

  Erik nodded. “The thought has occurred to Jia and me.”

  “I thought a lot about it, and on a hunch, I had the DNA samples from all the fake mercenaries and the men you fought the other day analyzed by an outside firm instead of the coroner’s office,” the captain explained.

  Erik’s eyes opened wide. “You did?”

  “Yes,” the captain replied. “I know you had a run-in with the coroner. He complained about you harassing him, but he was rather reticent to share the exact details. Fortunately, a few people owe me favors, and they aren’t part of the NSCPD system. They were able to do it quickly and provide the appropriate DNA reports for me to follow up.”

  Erik nodded, not trying to conceal any of the suspicion he felt. “Oh? Did they say they’re not criminals at all, but peaceful monks who have been on Mars all this time? Am I a fool who has been violating their right to shoot people?”

  Captain Monahan chuckled. “I know why you don’t trust me, and I can’t blame you, but no. In this case, I was trying to help your investigations. It turns out all the previous IDs were wrong. Every single one of them. Not even remotely correct.”

  “What?” Erik flew out of his seat. “I knew Hannigan might be dirty, but that’s like spitting-in-the-eye blatant. What did you find?”

  “Those men weren’t generic rent-a-thugs from the Shadow Zone,” Captain Monahan explained. “We got IDs that place them all in security teams associated with a Ceres Galactic-linked security firm.”

  “That makes sense.” Erik’s hands rested on his hips as he considered the information. “I thought they had a little too much discipline for thugs off the street. The average thug will break and run if you kill a man next to him, let alone an entire car going down with his friends, but they kept coming.”

  “Exactly. They were pros.”

  “And Winthorpe had connections to Ceres Galactic,” Erik murmured. He lowered himself back into his chair. “Is this the part where we don’t take on the corp? Where we say it’s not worth it, despite the corp sending death squads around our city like it’s nothing? Even you’ve got to say enough is enough.”

  “I’ve already put in my retirement request, Erik,” Captain Monahan told him. “I can’t deal with this sort of chaos. I didn’t develop the right skills over my career to handle it. I’m the wrong captain for the wrong time.”

  Erik eyed him. “Cutting and running? I don’t care if it’s Ceres Galactic or just their toy soldiers. They’ve killed whomever they felt like, and they’ll continue to do it unless someone slaps them down. This won’t go away if you ignore it. They think they’re above the law, and a corp that large that thinks it’s above the law might as well be a bunch of insurrectionists.”

  “I agree,” he explained. “That’s why I’ve taken measures to ensure this whole situation doesn’t become tainted.” Captain Monahan shrugged, a faint smile on his face. “I’ve spent too many years cutting corners. Too many years pretending I was doing the right thing when I was looking the other way and doing the wrong thing. I’m tired, Erik. Maybe if more cops were like you and Jia, it wouldn’t have gotten this bad. We wouldn’t have to put our hands over our faces and pretend there was no corruption.”

  He sighed. “I get it now. I was wrong about a lot of things. I don’t have the strength to continue to fight, but I can at least make one final stab at actually doing my job. It’s fairly easy to see, even to me, there are other people in this city, important people, who are too in thrall to the corruption around us. I have to fight that, and I think I can do it before I retire.”

  Erik nodded slowly. “Late bravery is still bravery. What’s your plan, Captain? What do I need to do?”

  “It’s already in motion.” Captain Monahan tapped his PNIU and a typed memo appeared. “Ceres Galactic might be headquartered in Neo SoCal, but they’ve broken laws of wide enough scope we can bring in the CID as primary jurisdiction. I’ve made a personal request and appealed directly to them over the head of the chief of police, so you see, even if I wasn’t retiring, I would have been forced out anyway. My plan?” He smiled, an actual smile that went all the way to his eyes and sparkled.

  “We’re going to raid Ceres Galactic.”

  Erik chuckled. “Damn, sir, you finally found your balls, and they’re huge.”

  * * *

  July 15, 2228, Neo Southern California Metroplex, Police Enforcement Zone 122 Station, Office of Detectives Jia Lin and Erik Blackwell

  Erik finished slipping on his tactical vest as Jia put hers on. Bright NSCPD letters were stenciled across the thin but strong antiballistic material. He eyed the stun rifle on top of his desk and grunted. It wasn’t his style, but for once, he couldn’t rely on pure intimidation to do his work for him.

  “Problem?” Jia asked.

  He nodded at the gun. “Yeah. I still want to bring along my TR-7. This stun rifle isn’t as bad as your little toy, but it’s still not a decent weapon, and my pistol isn’t good enough backup.”

  “They’re not going to have an army ready to take us on,” Jia insisted, then snickered. “And you can’t just kill every suspect, especially in this case. This isn’t a local company. This is Ceres Galactic.”

  Erik shrugged. “That means there’s more of a chance of them having a huge group of mercs or sentry bots, not less.”

  Jia shook her head. “Normally, we wouldn’t even have a chance of going at a corporation at this level directly. They let arrogance get the best of them, and we can’t let ourselves be as arrogant. We need to be watchful. We’re about to make a big difference with all this as long as we’re careful, and we’ve got the support of the captain and the entire 1-2-2.” She nodded. “We can do this.”

  Halil rushed into the office. He already was wearing his vest, and he had his stun rifle slung over his shoulder. Unlike Jia, he had a conventional pistol in a holster as a backup. “You two better come see this.”

  He nodded to the bullpen.

  The three of them left the office in a hurry.

  Dozens of murmuring police officers were clustered around a holographic display near a side wall. Jia and Erik hurried into the room, pushing past the men in the back to take in the newsfeed.

  A man in an expensive suit stood, flanked by CID agents on either side, his gaze downcast as he spoke. A chyron hovered below the holograms.

  NEWS ALERT: CERES GALACTIC SENIOR VICE-PRESIDENT ARRESTED. “Serious antisocial behavior” reports the CID.

  “What the hell is this?” Erik muttered.

  Halil folded his arms, his face crinkling in irritation.

  “My name is Davis Esposito,” the man in the suit began. “I am Senior Vice-President for New Products Development at Ceres Galactic. I’ve worked my way up in this company over many years, and have always been devoted to increasing our edge over competitors. Unfortunately, those desires led me down a dark path. This last year, in particular, without the knowledge of any other senior management personnel at the company, I have taken it upon myself to engage in a campaign of bribery and collusion focused on expanding our influence in the Neo Southern California Metroplex.

  “As part of this campaign, I have indirectly involved our company in a number of highly dange
rous, illegal, and antisocial acts, including, but not limited to, the corruption of public officials, conspiracy, smuggling, theft, and murder. I engaged in these acts with full knowledge of their inappropriate and illegal nature because I was under the belief that they were necessary to aid my company in our efforts against our rivals, but I fully acknowledge that they were not condoned by any senior personnel in my company, which will be ending my contract at midnight tonight, nor the metroplex, state, country, or UTC. Common decency would dictate to most people that what I have done is a horrible betrayal of the public’s trust, but I have let myself be blinded by loyalty and greed.”

  Jia narrowed his eyes. “I have trouble believing what I’m hearing, and this sounds a little…rehearsed.”

  Erik grunted. “It is mighty convenient.” He surveyed the room, which was full of police officers in tactical gear.

  Esposito wiped away tears. “Please allow me to make this very clear. I am the person who ordered the murder of Councilman Trajan Winthorpe in an attempt to cover my illegal activities. I did so because those same activities were on the verge of being discovered by the NSCPD and other relevant authorities.” He took a deep breath, looking into the cameras. “I also have, at this time, a list of public officials who have received bribes, either monetary or in-kind, from my agents or me for their assistance in my illegal activities. While I understand that the violation of the law by others don’t justify my actions, especially given my pivotal role in fomenting those activities, it is my strong belief, after consulting with my family and engaging in reflective prayer, that my part in corrupting Neo Southern California can at least somewhat be ameliorated by ensuring that those public officials who have betrayed their trust are also identified and purged from their positions.”

  Jia snorted as Esposito expanded on his litany of crimes and sins. “I suppose we’re not going to raid them now.”

  Halil gestured at the image. “You missed the big preamble before. According to what they were saying, Ceres Galactic was already talking to the CID, who was keeping it quiet while they prepared for their big arrest. They’d been worried for a few weeks that there might have been someone rogue, and they were negotiating with the CID to have him arrested. They said if they just fired him, he might start spreading company secrets.”

  Erik grunted. “Toss the bait to the wolves and run, but even then they managed to make it sound like they are more about the corp than everyone else.” He shrugged. “I’ll take half a win, so I’m not going to complain too much.”

  He sighed. “No stun rifle for me today.”

  Jia elbowed him.

  Halil gestured at the hologram of Esposito. “What I don’t get is this whole strategy of taking down a bunch of people with him. I’m guessing Ceres will do something behind the scenes to make sure his family ends up with a pile of money while he rots, but what do they gain from burning anyone else who was helping them, even if indirectly through one guy?”

  Jia’s face reddened as she glared at the newsfeed.

  “They’re sending a message,” Erik suggested. “They’ll take a short-term hit, but they make it clear in the future that if they go down, they’re taking everyone with them. It might make it harder to recruit new people in the short term, but the ones they do convince are more likely to stay bought.”

  “Maybe he’s right,” Halil replied. “Maybe it was all this one guy. He might just be saying things to try to throw more suspicion.”

  Jia looked over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow. “Now who’s naïve?”

  Chapter Forty-Four

  July 29, 2228, Neo Southern California Metroplex, Remembrance Bar

  Jia downed her beer in a few quick gulps and let out a long sigh. “You coming to Captain Monahan’s going-away party?”

  “No reason not to,” Erik answered. “He tried in the end to do the right thing, even if Ceres managed to dodge a direct hit. I’m surprised he’s leaving so quickly, but maybe that’s for the best since they’re indicting the chief for taking bribes. Monahan might have wanted to look the other way, but he wasn’t trying to do a corp’s bidding.”

  “I’m still surprised he’s leaving so quickly, but he said he prefers it that way. He’s made some recommendations for an interim captain, but he’s not going to have a lot of influence over the choice. No one seems to know for sure.”

  Erik snickered. “Maybe we should ask Ceres who they prefer?”

  “Have you looked at the latest reports?”

  “Nope. What about them?”

  “Ceres is acting like the aggrieved party, while they’re handing CID tons of documentation they’ve suddenly recovered from their internal systems. From what the media is saying, Esposito’s sticky fingers weren’t just in Neo SoCal.” Jia bounced her fist off the table. “They get to save their ass with only a little black eye. They just have to sacrifice a few people here and there, and then continue on like they didn’t have anything to do with it.”

  “They might not have known about it.” Erik finished his drink, his fourth of the night, but his speech and face barely gave any indication.

  Jia was a little jealous of how calm he could be during all this. It was taking alcohol and all her self-control not to shake with constant rage.

  The scope of the corruption from a major corporation to the chief of police still staggered her when she considered it.

  Jia let out a bitter laugh. “You’re telling me they didn’t know about all that? I’m trying to open my eyes to the truth. I’m trying to admit Generous Gao was my dad all along. But this is even worse. This is like waiting for Generous Gao and finding out he is a criminal who broke into your house to rob you, and he yells at you for daring not to believe in him.”

  Erik twisted his glass in a circle. “No, I’m not saying they’re clean, just that this thing really does smell like one arrogant man. I don’t think it’s that they never knew anything was going on, but more they turned a blind eye to it. They probably understood he was doing something off the books but didn’t order it directly. That explains a lot of missteps along the way. Some of this is Lady Luck helping us, and some of it is one man getting drunk on his own power.”

  “Is that ‘one bad apple?’” Jia raised an eyebrow in question.

  “It’s one rotten apple, and several on their way, but it’s definitely not a lot of innocent people.” Erik took another swig of his drink. “Esposito was a big link to the Metroplex Council and other officials. As long as he got them results, they had every incentive to not ask too many questions. They were ready to burn him, though. The fact that they had a CID contingency plan is proof of that. The minute we started pushing on Ceres, they must have put their plan in motion. It didn’t save them entirely, but it stopped the CID and the rest of the UTC from coming in hard and dismembering them,” he grumbled. “It’s not every day a couple of detectives set in motion this sort of thing. Not a bad month’s work when I think about it. Not a bad month’s work at all.”

  Jia ran her finger over the rim of her empty glass. “But did we win, Erik? I mean, we got the guy responsible, and a lot of the people who were directly manipulating the city have been punished or are on their way to punishments, but I’m not sure. It feels like half a victory. It’s not like I thought we’d be able to march up and arrest every senior official of Ceres, but still…”

  Erik’s smile was genuine but a little tired. “It’s a win. A big win, and don’t think it’s anything other than that.” He scratched his chin. “I told you before that sometimes you just have to bleed the other guy’s army. Even if Ceres is corrupt as hell, they’ve lost a lot of influence in Neo SoCal, and now they are closely watched. The CID will be up their ass for a while, and that’s going to limit them if they decide to do anything else.” His expression darkened. “And Esposito’s little list is helping us clean out the other trash. The chief was selling justice to the highest bidder, and he’s going down. Lower-level garbage like Hannigan have already pled guilty.”

  “He d
id?” Jia asked. “I didn’t hear that.”

  Erik nodded. “He’s being transported. A few inspectors in the fire department are working on plea deals, but Esposito and Winthorpe didn’t seem to have as much influence with them as they had with the police.” He chuckled. “It’s funny that Monahan comes out looking all right. It’s not that I ever thought he was taking direct bribes, and as much as he tried to look the other way, he never did take any. He wanted to do the right thing, but maybe for the wrong reasons. Sometimes wanting to do the right thing isn’t enough, and he found that out. There’s only so far you can push the line before you trip on it.”

  “There are a lot of bad apples in this particular bushel basket, and I’m not sure about a lot of things,” Jia murmured. Something approaching a smile appeared. “You’re right. The more I think about this, the more I think it’s a great outcome. We might not have stopped every criminal in the city, but considering I barely realized how many of these people could even be criminals not all that long ago and many of them are going to jail now, that’s progress, right?”

  “Exactly.” Erik took another sip. “Any victory that ends with more casualties for the other side is good in my book. I’m not like you. I don’t believe we’re ever going to be able to wipe out crime all the way, but we can knock it to its knees for a while by nailing the people doing their best to spread it. Corrupt politicians. Gangsters. Greedy, bribing corp officials. Everyone played their part, and a lot of them are now paying for thinking they would get away with it. The criminals thought they could rely on people not being willing to face the truth, but all it took was someone like you to force everyone to look that way. That changed everything.”

  Jia pointed at herself, then him. “We’re both cops.”

  Erik nodded. “Yeah, last time I checked.”

  “I mean, we both pursued the case, and we found different people responsible for crimes. It took a while in each case, but we uncovered everything from Windward’s fraud to Ceres Galactic’s smuggling tech.” Jia shook her head. “I bet the CID is having a lot of fun figuring out how they stole Emma to begin with.”