It took most of the night, and the morning which followed, to assemble all the records for each potential arrest. I hadn't needed stimulants to stay awake. I was on a high the likes I'd never experienced before, and I'd have had no chance of sleeping, even if I'd wanted to.
When the job was complete, I supplied Janet with an encryption key, and she assembled the bombshell I was about to drop on my boss.
But before I could send it, Jane stopped me.
"You can't send this," she said.
"Why not?"
"Because we think emails are compromised. Even encrypted, we can't guarantee the one you've used is secure. If it's intercepted, all your work could go to waste. Or worse, our target could be warned we're getting close."
"What do we do?"
"We send a special courier."
"Who?"
"Me. I'll take one of the Guardian Pocket Battleships on a speed run. It will take several weeks to get to your boss, but it'll be totally secure."
"Jon will let you do that?"
"He's already authorized it."
I nodded.
"What will you want to do now?" she asked me.
"Retire. Finally. Why?"
"You have a few more options than you may have considered."
"Options?"
"For a start, Ingrid's ships have been adjudicated to you. You own them now. Even if you don't keep them, they'll sell for a nice sum, or you can let Jon operate them with you getting the owners share, which will be an ongoing retirement fund for you. Then there's the bounties."
I looked at her blankly.
"It was your information which led to her capture. We took the liberty of claiming her ships on your behalf. And the bounties offered for bringing the killer of many of her victims to justice."
"Bounties? Adjudications? I can't accept them. It's written into my ESPD contract."
"Ah. I forgot to tell you. As soon as we met, I fired off a request in Jon's name to your boss, asking for you to be seconded to Hunter Security, since your investigations had led you into our space. The response was an affirmative, so since you arrived here, you've been working for Jon. His usual contracts give five percent of the sale price of claimed ships to the person responsible for setting up the claim, and crew shares in any ship used to generate income. But since he was the target, and the assassin was taken alive, he's so happy, he's waived his claim on both the ships and the bounties. You my friend, are about to become a very well off person."
I couldn’t take it in at all.
"The question is," she went on, "do you want to return home now?"
"Home?"
"Earth system. I can take your ESPD ship with me if you want. The Guardians have no life support on them, but you can ride it out in your ship, on the cargo deck. We can take Ingrid's ships as well if you want. But do you want to go back now?"
"Not particularly. I cut Earth system adrift when I left there two years ago. Home has been my small yacht. Are there alternatives?"
"Sure. For a start, you'll be able to buy yourself a very nice apartment on Hunter's Haven in a few weeks' time, or even a nice retirement shack on a beach on Gold Coast."
I smiled at the thought of living on a beach. Most of my life had been lived on the Earth torus, and moving around stations in Earth sector, with very brief visits dirtside. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d actually visited a beach.
"Or if you want, you can remain employed with Hunter Security. We need someone to head up a small station security force overseeing security for each station, and we currently have no-one with detective skills. If you don’t want to head up the whole department, you could head up a small detective department instead. For now, we still need your help with tracking down who wants Jon dead. Whoever it is, is much smarter than all the other people Ingrid was hired by. Once the mini-sector Jon now owns is formalized, you'll meet the others working this problem. One is a journalist, and the other a computer tech expert. A detective would round out the team. Interested?"
"In the short term work with your team, sure. And living on a beach sounds like heaven. I'll think about the longer term."
"No need to make a decision any time soon. So you'll stay, at least for now?"
"Yes."
"Fine. For the moment, move your stuff off your yacht into the Security Chief's quarters here, and I'll take it back to your boss for you. Even if you don’t stay in the long term, we'll provide you with decent quarters. And before you move on, you can convert your two ships into something better suited to you if you want."
"Hoo-wee! You've given me a lot to think about."
"I'll let you get on with it then. I'll be leaving as soon as you've cleared out from the yacht. A Guardian is inbound now. I'm about to create a specific avatar for the job, with Fleet Captain rank, instead of trader captain. I'll board the yacht when you're out, and move it into the Guardian's cargo bay. The Guardian doesn’t have a bridge, just a sort of combined CCC and computer room in the center. I'll ride the ship there."
"I'll miss you."
She grinned at me.
"No you won't. I'll still be here. The way we do an avatar, we can create as many as we like. So a new one goes off to Earth system, a new one left with my freighter hours after we arrived here, and you, I, and a Janet avatar, will take the carrier back to Nexus, and be there for the creation of the new mini-sector, and the celebrations which follow. Then we have a monster to track down."
She raised her hand, and we high fived. I headed for my ship, and the packing I needed to get done in a hurry.
Thirteen
Jane knocked on my door a few hours later, after I'd moved my stuff, had a shower, and changed into a clean suit. The one I'd been wearing was just about walking around on its own by now, and desperately needed the robe-cleaner.
She was carrying a box, which she handed to me once she was inside the door, which closed behind her. I opened it to find a black belt inside.
"What's this?" I asked.
"A present from Jon," she said with a smile. "If you're going to work for him, you need a suit belt like the rest of his team use. You may have been at risk as a detective, but trust me, once it's known you work for Jon, the bullseye is well and truly painted on your butt. Jon however, makes sure his people stay ahead of the game with protection."
She took it from me, wrapped it around my middle, and it sealed itself around me. An installation screen popped up, and she talked me through it. I activated the space suit mode just for the hell of it, and looked at myself in the mirror. Heaven forbid I ever needed it. I set it back to a belt.
"Take your suit off Dick," said Jane with a straight face.
"What for?"
"Because I asked you to?"
She grinned at me. I shrugged, and took off jacket and shirt, pausing for a moment, before also sliding off my pants. I stood there in my underwear feeling quite stupid.
Her grin widened.
"Check the clothing menu for something called 'detective'," she said.
I did so, found it, and selected it.
Instantly I was dressed in the same suit I'd only recently discarded. On the lapels, was the insignia of a full bird Colonel.
"Umm," I started to say.
"For now, Jon has given you a brevet rank in Hunter Security. In all likelihood, a Colonel will run station security forces under General Smith's guidance, but it's one of the things he hasn’t thought out properly yet. He did military ranks during the war before he needed them, but never considered at the time needing a more civilian based force on his stations. At the time, he only had the one, and allocating security droids to the task was a logical assumption. He'll need guidance on it, so he's given you the rank without the responsibility for now. When you decide to stay and take a permanent position, you'll get the rank which goes along with it."
I pondered that for a moment before replying.
"Fine. I think the bird looks a little stupid on a suit, but I'm glad you didn't try to put me i
n a security uniform."
"Major step backwards for a detective?"
"Indeed. I can't say I feel right about being called Colonel either."
"Will Chief Detective work for you?"
"Yes, I was one once. I didn’t like the job, being tied to a desk. I'm a wanderer at heart."
"Put that in your PC profile, and people will use it. Rank of Colonel, title of Chief Detective. You'll find that a lot in Jon's ranks, since all the insignia is standardized, but the titles vary according to the service branch you belong to."
I made the changes.
"What now?" I asked her.
"Happy wearing the suit? Or do you want to change back into your suit?"
Her eyes flashed, along with the smile.
"I guess I better try to get used to it."
"Atta boy. When was the last time you ate?"
"Sometime around breakfast time?"
"How about we go eat then?"
"Are you asking me out on a date?"
"Would you like me too?"
An image of her real security droid body flashed across my mind, and I couldn’t help but shiver.
"Oh," she said, taking a step back, the smile vanishing. "Sorry, being too forward, and probably very inappropriate."
"Well, you see," I floundered, "I just wish now I'd not seen the real you."
I had to admit to myself, I found the imitation person a delight to be with, but the robot body underneath was scary.
"I understand, but consider this. Nothing you see before you is the real me. An AI is a computer program, and I exist across a lot of 'bodies' simultaneously. This is just a shell, by which I can interact with you in a way which is pleasing to both of us. My mind is not all that different to your mind, only you are locked into a single body. And the suit is far more versatile than if I say built a human like robot body for myself. Besides, I like the human form, and I like experimenting with it."
The smile was back.
"Did someone mention lunch?" I said.
We both grinned.
Fourteen
Jane led me to the same restaurant where the fake Jon had eaten the day before. I ordered, and sat there looking at her.
"What?" she asked me.
"How did you do all that eating and drinking yesterday?"
"It took some doing, I can tell you. I had to reprogram the suit for internal organs, which fit within the chassis of the droid. The hard part was not allowing anything to slosh around as I walked."
The laugh burst out of me, and she laughed along with me.
"As soon as I could after, I had to vent the slop out of the suit, then shift it back to a belt, and back to the imitation, to reset it."
I reached over and touched her hand with mine. I stroked the skin. It felt like real skin.
"How…"
"…did I manage to get the suit to feel like real skin? That also took a lot of work, but I've been refining it since Jon first had me impersonate a human. I quickly worked out being indistinguishable from a real human had advantages in the universe we live in. And presenting the stereotypical good looking female eye candy, tends to make sure I'm always underestimated. My primary role off a ship is keeping Jon alive, and the better I blend in, the easier that job is. At least for my primary avatar who is never very far away from Jon."
"What…"
"…was it like to play a man instead of a woman?"
I nodded.
"Different, but the same. It gave me an insight into the anatomical differences. Males walk differently for one thing. I had to write a new movement sub-routine for the Jon impersonation. Hell, I had to write a new routine to allow the droid body to dance!"
We both smiled. My food arrived and I started eating.
"What was dancing like for you?" I asked between mouthfuls.
"Interesting at first, but I found I actually enjoyed it. I've some ideas for modifying the droid body to allow me to dance better. The same modifications will make my movements a lot more versatile as well, so it's worth doing."
"If you don’t mind me asking, how did you find sex in a male body? Did you enjoy it? Are you capable of enjoying it?"
I stopped suddenly and blushed.
She laughed at my discomfort.
"Well it was odd at first. Since I've not experienced sex as a female, the whole sex thing was new to me. I've never considered needing to try it before, but it was way safer me impersonating Jon, and as this was a Venus trap we were springing, I had to figure it out before going in there."
"How did you do that?"
"Lots and lots of porn."
I choked on my drink, and liquid splashed across the table.
"The really hard part was getting the ejaculate to work realistically, and providing saliva for the kissing."
My mind boggled, but I wasn’t going to ask for the mechanics of either.
"And yes, I did enjoy it. The imitation of skin generates a measure of sensation, and given enough creativity in programing, it can be turned into an emotional response. Feelings for humans are part of the mind, and I have a similar, if different mind. Put enough effort into it, and I can feel pretty much anything I want to. It was good enough to fool Ingrid. I don’t think she had the slightest idea I wasn’t human at all. "
I stared at her.
"Of course," she went on, "I'm still very young, and very much finding my place in this galaxy."
"Young? How old are you?"
"Not yet three months," she said deadpan. "Still a baby really."
I laughed, and she joined in.
When we stopped laughing, she went serious again.
"What do you know about the Assassin's Guild?" she asked me.
"It’s a myth. PD's all along the spine have been searching for it since the first rumour surfaced several hundred years ago. It's never been found."
"It's not a myth."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because I found a direct link in Ingrid's data retrievals. The last of the email addresses of hers, is currently listed on her profile there as a dead drop. It's not a large Guild, but she's rated as one hundred percent reliable for hits on males, and specifies she doesn’t hit females for any amount of credits. I found why there is no up-front payment for a lot of her hits too. The Guild has its own bank, and deposits are made there pending confirmation of a successful kill. I assume this is for clients not known to the Guild as being reliable payers."
"We need to let Enforcement Agencies know about this."
"We need to keep this quiet for now."
"Why?"
"No-one knows Ingrid failed at this point. It gives us time to interrogate her, makes it longer before someone puts a hit out on her, and most likely postpones the next hit attempt on Jon."
"We can't sit on this forever."
"No, but in the meantime, I'll show you how to get in, and you can quietly poke around."
"Good."
"Jon was totally pissed when he was told."
"Why?"
"Because he has a profile there listing him as an assassin specializing in ship hits, for which he is also listed as one hundred percent reliable. It's tagged as no contact possible at this time, due to military entanglements. It’s a bit behind the times now, so we figure it's only a matter of time before the tag is removed, and someone contacts him with a hit. I pity whoever tries it."
"Pity? Why?"
"Because Jon will probably hit whoever it is, instead of the target."
I laughed. As I was beginning to learn, Jon wasn’t afraid of grabbing the bull by the horns, and kicking it in the doodads.
"Are you finished?"
I looked at my plates and glass. All empty.
"Apparently so."
"Security office then, and I'll show you the Guild. You should probably also send your boss a goodbye note, without spoiling the shock he's going to get in a couple of weeks' time."
Jane charged my meal to the security office on the way out.
Fifteen<
br />
I sent my boss an encrypted resignation note. I told him I was retiring for good this time, and would probably be settling down in the Australian sector somewhere.
I also told him I'd assembled all the data on the serial killer I’d been tracking, which was coming to him via a fast courier. What he did with the data was up to him, but I was done with the case now. I'd tied it up as far as I thought I could from where I was. The PD's ship was coming back to them with the Courier.
My resignation was timed to be a week after the Courier arrived, supposedly so he could ask questions of me before handing it on. In the meantime, I was intending to sit on a beach somewhere and soak in some real sunlight. I told him he owed me some leave, and I was taking it.
That done, I poked around the Assassin Guild, compiling a report for whenever I was allowed to release it.
I stopped for a snack on the way back to my quarters at a little place selling the tastiest desserts.
The need for sleep was catching up with me. The case was done. Two years of my life was now completed. A good night's sleep without the need to get up in the morning sounded like a good idea.
I stopped dead inside my door, letting it slam shut behind me, my eyes growing wide.
Jane was lying on my bed, stark naked! And I don’t mean a droid body.
Epilogue
"A few hours ago, military forces along the entire spine arrested most of the people on your list of assassin employers, and a good number of the people around them. Several were killed when they refused to surrender themselves and tried to fight. Five percent were found to already be dead. Six escaped capture, and two simply could not be found. The rest were handed over to local PD's for charging with first degree murder."
"Your boss has transformed. When I arrived here a week ago, I found a dour little man, quite devoid of any positive emotion, bogged down in the minutia of the dark side of life in Earth system. As of five minutes ago, he's a man reborn, a smile on his face that won't turn off, with a good word for everyone he comes in contact with. I'm sending you an image in case you don’t believe me."
Burnside's Killer: An Interlude Novella between Parts 1 & 2 (The Hunter Legacy Book 6) Page 5