“Sir, it appears that Drake has abandoned the PAHC. It’s recorded as being motionless about thirty meters from the northside terminal in Sham.”
“Thanks, Cas.” He turned to Talon. “Alright, so he dropped the PAHC and is on foot somewhere in the city.”
“He knew we were tracking him. There was no train before this one, right? He could have thrown his PAHC and hopped a train going to…what’s the next city?” She looked at the subway map in front of her.
“New Pans. No, we are lucky to have caught this one at this hour…I thought we were going to have to fly through the tunnel after him. Now he can’t be more than a minute or two ahead of us.”
That fact sent Talon’s blood racing like a hound dog catching the scent of a denned fox. It wasn’t whether or not she would find him now, but how fast she could dig him out.
“Whoa!” Talon exclaimed when she first laid eyes on the city of Shambhala. It looked like a different world than Providence…opposite even. There were no skyscrapers or rafters competing for the available space, but instead stupas and pagodas studded the grounds in balanced, beautiful synchrony. They were incredibly ornate, with gold and red seeming to be the primary decorative colors. There was actually room to breathe in this breathtaking paradise and Talon could smell hints of jasmine, incense, and tea.
“They turn the lights on an hour earlier than we do.”
“What?” Talon asked, being snapped out of her state of awe.
“The lights,” he repeated, “they start turning them on around five for their morning meditation. I’ve never seen this place at dawn. It really is beautiful. There’s his PAHC,” the captain pointed to it thrown on the ground. “Where do you think he went?”
“Is this Windhorse tunnel the only way of getting in and out of this tube? I don’t see any other trains.”
“Yes, this is a fairly small city.”
“Tell one of your officers to guard this station in case he decides to double back and try to catch another train. The rest of us can split up and try to look for him. I’ve got the middle.” It was his more likely choice to run forward.
The other officers looked at the Captain to confirm Talon’s game plan.
They turned their PAHC’s on again and began hovering through the city. She buzzed overhead, piercing the monotones of chanting and the ringing of singing bowls. They passed a set of monks garbed in lavish yellow and burgundy robes walking into a temple. Their hands went palm to palm in front of their heart and they nodded their heads in warm welcome. Talon waved back in a gesture she hoped communicated ‘hello’ and ‘sorry’ at the same time. She felt intrusive in the peaceful microcosm they had built within the confines of the moon’s crust. She passed hundreds of people starting their day, and instead of the frantic frenzy of the rafters, she felt a warm and welcoming energy in Shambhala. She prayed their pursuit would not end in violence. After all, these people had moved here from the ground to escape persecution and violence.
She peered down and scanned the courtyard and streets for her prey in uniform, but the rat was hiding. Two minutes later she was on the other side of the lava tube and decided to double back more slowly. A woman was standing amidst an open square that was enclosed by buildings on all sides, like a Moroccan riad. As Talon flew close, the woman beckoned her closer with a soft wave. As Talon descended, the woman simply pointed to a door on one of the four walls. He’s in there.
Talon landed on the ground and pulled her gun. She glided forward cautiously, maneuvering around the bonsais and succulents floating seamlessly in the air above the rock gardens. When she reached the entryway of the building, she snaked along the wall. It became very dark. She feared Drake had a better position if he was somewhere back here looking at her silhouette.
“Night vision activated.”
Would you like to…
“Yes.” Blink blink.
Everything down the hallway became visible now. She moved along its length and became overwhelmed at the amount of doors. She decided to bait him out.
“We’ve got the building surrounded, Drake!” she yelled, making sure not to call him officer. “Come out and talk and maybe we can work out a deal.”
Crash!
It came from a room only three doors down. These were simple people with antiquated things, and so kicking down the wooden door wasn’t difficult. Drake had a monk in front of him, using him as a shield as he backed into the wall. She could see now that this was his bedroom. He had a meditation altar below an open window that was burning incense. The poor man still had puff under his eyes from waking up. Her blood boiled. How could he have so little value for a human life? She remembered her promise and held up her gun.
“Are you alright?” she asked the holy man.
“I am fine, thank you,” he said with a courteous nod. “Don’t hurt yourselves.”
“I will kill him if you don’t let me go,” Drake threatened.
“Where will you go?” Talon asked. “I will find you.”
“It is my destiny to die alongside the older one, not you.”
She knew right away by his crazy talk what he was. “You are a Sinupec.”
“That’s right.”
“I’m guessing you got your drug dealers to give Chris some Luminestal. He drugged Morten, and your people stole the ships.” Although it still didn’t explain why Morten had the drugs in his cabinet.
“That’s right. I did my part for the cause. I’ve made them tens of thousands of dollars peddling drugs and gave them a way to take those ships. I earned my way out in case this all doesn’t work.”
The monk twisted the gun out of Drake’s hands with lightning speed. An expletive escaped Drake’s mouth as he went flying over the monk’s shoulders. The holy man stood straight, brushed his robes, and handed Drake’s gun to Talon with a smile.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Desire is the root of all evil,” he nodded and waddled out of the room.
Desire. “What do you want?” Talon turned back to Drake with two guns now in her hands. “Why would the Sinupecs need money and ships? What is this cause?”
“We are not the enemy.”
“You people killed hundreds of innocent lives on Ohmani.”
“The older one gave us strict rules.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” she growled. It took every bit of control not to shoot him in the knee. “Who is the older one? Do you mean Aberdeen? My partner?”
“You will see. There are plans for Earth’s future.”
She shot him in the knee and he screamed in pain.
“What…are…you…going…to…do?” she repeated and pointed at his other knee.
“They do it to themselves.”
She shot his other knee. He leaned against the wall, squinting his eyes in pain. “The older one…”
A shot fired through the open window and she recoiled instinctually. Talon watched Drake slide along the wall, leaving a streak of blood behind him on his way to the ground. Outside of the window, far off in the distance, a black dot moved along the ridge of a roof. It was the hooded figure holding a sniper rifle.
9 AT LIBERTY
“On probation?” Talon couldn’t believe her ears. Eon, her main committee advisor was on the other end of the call. He instructed her to catch the next flight back to Ohmani. It left in a few hours.
“We will discuss this when you return. You are hereby prohibited from any further investigation on the ship case,” Eon commanded sternly
Talon hung up the phone seething with anger. “Did you tell them about the contacts?” she stormed into the adjacent room.
Aberdeen was tapping away on her device, a bandage tied to her head. She turned and pulled her glasses to the end of her nose. “No, I should have though.”
“Then what the hell did you tell them, Aberdeen? I’m kicked off the case!”
“My report was factual, Talon. I warned you this would happen.”
“Your report? Wait until I
write my report.”
“You will be expected to do as much. I think once you get it all down you’ll realize why you are being sent home.”
“You were lying in a hospital bed all night while I chased down the man who tried to kill us. I succeeded by the way.”
“And now he’s dead,” she pointed out dryly.
“I told you what he said. I basically solved the case.”
“Nothing Drake could have said warranted your torturing him for information. Your emotional state is concerning.”
“My emotional state?” Talon’s blood pressure rose with Aberdeen’s supercilious statement. “I saved Chris’ life, I saved your life, and I got a man to admit he was involved in a terrorist plot to attack Earth! You’re just jealous, Aberdeen. You can’t admit I’m better than you so now you’re selling me out.”
“Talon, let me be clear. Just because you are a very talented field officer does not mean you can go around breaking the rules and going solo. I received some disturbing security footage this morning from LPF of you chasing a suspicious person through the hive yesterday. Would you like to explain to me who that was?
“I didn’t tell you about the woman for a good reason.”
“She’s a woman, now?” Aberdeen shook her head in disgust and shoved her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. “I guess that’s why you fit into her shoes. There is no possible reason you should have kept anything that important from your partner.”
Except maybe that you are a prime suspect. “I thought I was your subordinate?” she spat.
“You’re wearing illegal government property. I won’t tell the uppers about your contacts under one condition. I need a copy of the recordings before you leave…and those boots,” she added. “Don’t wear those TechOcs anywhere near the DOLO or show that recording during your debriefing. They’ll be confiscated and you’ll get in even more trouble.”
“I’m not that stupid,” Talon snapped and chucked the moon boots on the ground. Aberdeen was going to run the trace DNA on them…or get rid of the evidence. She swiveled and tried to exit the room in a way that emoted outrage, but instead fell over her sock feet not once, but twice. She hopped back to her room like an angry bunny instead and uploaded the video to her computer. After some minor editing, she emailed it to her ex-partner.
A minute later her inbox notified her of incoming mail. “Emotion and secrecy are a recipe for getting yourself killed,” Aberdeen wrote back.
Talon huffed and hurled things into her suitcase. Aberdeen probably didn’t want the video viewed because it would blow her cover. No, Talon would scrutinize every detail of those recordings and find something to help expose the greater conspiracy going on here. Maybe uncovering a double agent would earn her a spot where she belonged on the black floor.
Two hours later, Talon was simmering in a hard chair at the departure gate. Not thinking it could get any worse, she looked up to see Brody and Kelly. Their flight had just arrived and they were dressed inconspicuously as every day tourists. Brody smirked as he passed and she glared back at his gloating face. He obviously knew she had been kicked off the case and was being sent home like a misbehaved child. The only redeeming part of the interaction was knowing he couldn’t stop and talk to her, or else blow his cover.
Talon noticed another passenger from the original briefing walk past. He was wearing an Ohmani State Investigator badge. Her damn replacement. Knowing these people would get to continue working the case while she was suspended irked her to no end.
She took a commercial flight back, which was a torturous eight hours longer than the military one. The thought of sitting in her own wallowing feelings of failure sounded like agony. She knew, at this point, her lack of sleep was adversely contributing to her attitude and ability to assess everything with perspective. As soon as she buckled herself in the seat, Talon flung a few sleeping pills to the back of her throat and swallowed hard.
“Ms. Green’s report makes us believe you were not fit to continue with the assignment,” Eon articulated the next morning in his office. “It was our mistake to put you out in the field on such a dangerous investigation so soon.”
Hamlyn Witicker was also there, glaring at her with controlled anger. She had obviously not impressed her new boss.
“Sir, I had reason to believe that Aberdeen was involved somehow and so I took precautionary measures.”
“Yes, I have read your report as well, Talon, but I do not see why such conservative actions were taken.”
“Ms. Green’s record is impeccable and we choose our officers very carefully,” Hamlyn asserted. “I am concerned you were not able to work as a team.”
Talon had replayed the conversations from the contact’s recording and wrote them down word for word. “Did you read my whole report?” How could they dismiss it so easily?
“Yes. Our decision still stands.”
“This fugitive, who I am confident was a woman, limped on her right leg. I never saw Aberdeen and this person at the same time, and the terrorist said he knew her.”
“It says here in your report that officer Drake said ‘the older one.’”
“Well, she’s older isn’t she?”
“Making such accusations against your fellow officers is not taken lightly.”
Hamlyn was obviously being defensive. She supposed she would be embarrassed too if she accidentally hired a criminal. Talon decided not to push the Aberdeen issue since it was obviously falling on deaf ears. “I uncovered the Sinupecs involvement. He said there were plans for Earth. The ground is vulnerable right now! It’s in a perfect state to be attacked!”
“I don’t care if you think he was a terrorist or not,” Hamlyn growled. “You shot an officer twice to gain information and now all we have is your word and another fugitive on the loose over there. Did you read your contract before you signed it? You broke so many rules and regulations in your twenty-four hours there that now I am debating putting you under investigation,” he threatened.
“Look,” Eon put his hand up to try and calm the fires, “we’ve decided to forgive your disregarding of protocol as naivety, but take this as a warning. That being said, the intelligence you collected will be paramount for my team there and it has launched another mission upstairs, for which you don’t have clearance,” he added.
Hamlyn leaned in. “You need to remember that you work for me, not him. He was your program committee leader, but I am your boss. You were working as if you were an intelligence officer, not a state investigator. We have divisions for a reason and your actions could have, under other circumstances, launched us into a legal battle.”
“I know you, Talon,” Eon offered sympathetically. “I know your heart is in the right place and you truly have good intentions, but the means do not justify the ends here. We expect honesty, teamwork, and protocol,” he explained in the nicest of voices.
Well she definitely couldn’t give them the recording now. “So, that’s it? This is still interdepartmental, right? I really want to be involved, even if it’s from here.”
“Aberdeen has requested your removal from the case.” Eon coughed in the back of his throat. “We’ve decided to honor that request.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“There will be other assignments.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Go home, Ms. Terry, and get some rest. Come in tomorrow and we can meet with the committee and Mr. Witicker to find out what responsibilities you will be undertaking in the future.”
“And just so you’re not surprised, these duties will not include field work for a while,” Hamlyn established with a stern nod.
She stood from her chair, nodded, and tried to walk out of the room with a little dignity.
The only thing on her desk was an apple that had become too ripe to eat. All the time she had sacrificed, all the work she had done – she had nothing to show for her talents and loyalties but a rotten piece of fruit. She sat down in her swiveling chair and ser
iously contemplated resigning from the DOLO.
They were not taking advantage of her talents by giving her a desk job. If she had to, she would do this alone…without a job. That would give her an opportunity to investigate whatever was going on by herself. The only problem was where to start. She spun in circles as she thought hard, ignoring the scrutinizing glances from the other employees in the office.
Talon knew a mystery woman was involved, and somehow, she was connected to the Sinupecs. Both Dr. Frank Garvie and Drake had used the phrase, ‘the older one.” How was it possible that a fictional simulation character was programmed to know about her? Unless…
Talon stopped and rolled her chair under the desk, frantically tapping the company computer awake. Was it possible the man in her simulation wasn’t fictional? There was no one in the archives or on the internet named Frank Garvie or Kasilla Mayport. It was probable that the characters in the simulation were given pseudonyms and so she searched ‘doctors who had been arrested’ and ‘skinny bitches.’ Still nothing. Terrorism was a IRID responsibility anyways, and so Talon doubted her limited OSSD access would produce any viable results. If she wanted to know more about the simulations, there was only one person who would help her.
She threw her backpack over her shoulder and went to the education department. Juv jumped in surprise as Talon rushed into her old simulation room. A younger boy was sitting in the simulation chair, strapped in like a patient in a mental ward. His legs and fingers twitched ever so slightly as he completed his final.
“Juv!” she greeted.
“Shhh,” he frantically waved a hand.
“Sorry,” Talon whispered.
“If you’re too loud, he can hear you and you’ll disrupt his simulation. Let’s go over here,” he pointed to the furthest side of the room. “Is something wrong? Are you experiencing unusual side effects?”
“Juv, you’ve been my only simulation officer since I’ve been here. I trust you.”
An Eagle's Revenge (Across the Infinite Void Book 2) Page 11