Kaufman could only pray that they would arrive in time, but as Barski pulled up to the loading bay, they could see Denton’s driver helping him aboard.
“Stay with them, Barski. Do not let them out of our sight!”
Kaufman had no idea where their boss lived; it was not a question he had ever felt was his business to ask.
“Morrison, check the files. I want to know Denton’s home address.”
“Sir, if we access them remotely we will be tracked immediately.”
“God damn it, is the whole world working against us?”
“Sir, check that van,” said Barski.
He looked to his flank at a large vehicle running alongside them. It was fortunate that the Caddy had reflective glass. It gave them all the privacy they needed. It was just as Kaufman had said, and nobody suspected that their vehicle contained any kind of law enforcement.
The driver of the van wore an unmarked work overall. Kaufman could just make out a communicator piece in his ear. He squinted to make out what was propped beside him when he recognised it as the barrel of a gun.
“He’s carrying, I don’t think Malory is going to wait to get Denton out of the way.”
“You think he’d go for such a public hit?” asked Kaminski.
“Sure, now that Denton has officially quit it’s no big deal, and people get shot all the time.”
Kaufman turned back to look at Denton’s vehicle just as a freight truck slammed into its side. The limousine careered out of control and smashed onto the rooftop of a nearby office building.
“Christ!” Barski shouted.
The van immediately raced towards the crash site.
“After them!” Kaufman ordered.
The van landed just ten metres from the stricken vehicle, but with its tough shell it had stayed relatively intact. He watched as two men with rifles climbed out of the van and approached Denton’s.
“Take us in for a shot!” shouted Kaufman.
He cocked his rifle and hit the switch to lower the door window. Barski brought them in at immense speed and pulled up at the last moment to hover on the rooftop. The two gunmen turned when they saw them, but it was too late. Kaufman and Morrison opened up with well-aimed bursts.
Bullets riddled the two men and easily penetrated their covert torso armour. Kaufman ripped the door open and leapt to the roof of the van below. He bent his knees on impact and rolled onto the hard surface, quickly getting to his feet. He pulled his rifle back up to his shoulder, quickly scanning for any more danger as he stepped towards the smashed vehicle. Much of the glass was shattered, so Kaufman peered in through the rear passenger door. Morrison was now there with him.
“Commander Denton, Sir?”
He could hear some muttering from inside. He caught a glimpse of Denton. He was stunned but had been strapped into the seat.
“It’s Captain Kaufman, Sir. We’re here to get you out.”
Morrison went to the driver. Kaufman saw him shaking his head. Denton’s driver had been killed on impact with the truck. Kaufman frantically tried to wrench open the door, but it was jammed. He fully expected the rest of the attackers to soon realise that their plan had not worked.
“Sir, you need to unbuckle yourself and come to me!”
He turned his rifle and smashed out what was left of the glass from the passenger door.
“Sir, we’ve got to move!”
Denton shook his head and began to regain his composure. He released the belt and heaved himself over to the door where Kaufman rather ungracefully hauled him out. Denton was on his feet but he was shaky. Kaufman pulled one of the Commander’s arms over his shoulder and helped him stagger across the rooftop. Barski was putting down there.
As Kaufman threw the Commander in through the back door, he looked up to see the freight truck heading back for them. He leapt into the vehicle with Morrison.
“Go, go, go!”
Barski put his foot to the floor and the Caddy raced into the stream of traffic. Seconds later they were out of sight from the truck, but they didn’t slow down. Barski grinned. He appreciated the car’s power in their most desperate moment. Kaufman and Denton stared at each other. Neither could believe the situation they had just faced. Even worse though, they knew it was far from over.
Chapter 9
“We may have to dump this car,” said Kaufman.
They had been travelling for over an hour to reach an old safe house. He knew it was abandoned and long out of use. It was built into an old sewer beneath an office building that had closed down earlier that year. Barski set the vehicle down. A small amount of light broke through from drains on the road above them.
Kaufman opened the trunk of the Caddy and pulled out the beacon light stowed there. It lit up most of the vast tunnel that was very high. Denton stumbled out of the vehicle. He was bruised and aching from the crash.
“What the hell are you doing here, Kaufman?”
“Saving your ass, Sir.”
He nodded begrudgingly.
“Much appreciated. Things have gotten a lot worse since you left, Captain, but I’m sure you are well aware of that!”
“Yes, Sir. We’re really being crapped on, Sir.”
“You have seen that I am no longer an officer of the IBI?”
“I saw it, Sir and it’s bullshit,” said Kaufman.
“Agreed, but there was nothing else I could do. Where are the rest of your crew?”
“Far from here, Sir. Our being here is off the books.”
Denton shook his head in disbelief.
“So it has come to this. Hiding from me the people who want to kill me.”
Kaufman could see that the Commander was on the verge of giving up. He had already had two attempts on his life. He was also coming to realise that the IBI officers would not be around forever to protect him, especially since his resignation.
“We’ll fix this, Sir. Now, who has filled your shoes?”
Denton was still dazed and coming to terms with the situation. Kaufman laid a hand on the Commander’s shoulder and shook him gently.
“Sir, get your head in the game, or we’ll all be goners.”
He looked up into Kaufman’s eyes. His desperation was as vivid as the sun.
“Mehdi Desal. I believe he has close ties to Senator Malory.”
“What kind of man is he?”
“A yes man. He has risen to power because he kisses the right asses. I wouldn’t trust him with any major responsibility, nor would you want your life in his hands.”
“Great, a fucking idiot in charge. That’s all we need,” said Barski.
“Wolves led by sheep,” said Kaminski.
Kaufman turned back to the Commander. Denton was still too shocked to be thinking straight. He had to be prompted for the information they needed.
“Is he a danger to our teams, Sir? Is he smart enough to discover that we have left the Intrepid?”
“I think you could fool him a little longer. If the ship is far enough away from Earth, you may have a couple of days at best. As for him as a leader, he would have you die for a cause or the right publicity without a moment’s thought.”
Kaufman stood up and walked around the cold and damp tunnel. He could not believe that they had been reduced to hiding in the shadows. His head pounded as he desperately sort for a way to drag them out of the pit they were in. He turned back to the group who were looked weary and angry.
“Commander, before we came to your aid, we were about to pursue what is our best lead so far. I am glad that you are safe but we must stay the course. You are still shaken up, but you need to stay under our protection. We have work to do, so let’s load up.”
Barski nodded in agreement; he wanted nothing more than to dispense some justice to their many enemies.
“Check your weapons and be ready. We’re going in hot.”
They climbed aboard. Barski fired up the raucous Caddy engine and raced out into the daylight. Denton sat in the back in silence. He was stil
l too shocked to be able to operate with his usual cool and efficient demeanour.
* * *
“Sir, I have a transmission coming through from IBI HQ,” said Anders.
Sergeant Lin’s face was pale and she looked concerned. They had all seen the live news of Commander Denton’s resignation from the service, and they knew the reasons why it had happened. They had yet to learn of the second attempt on his life. This would only make it worse when they knew.
“Put it through here,” she replied.
A large screen projection lit up on the bridge. The man before her was not familiar, but she already did not like the smirk on his face.
“Sergeant Lin, I am Mehdi Desal. Following Mr Denton’s resignation, I have been appointed to replace him as Commander of the IBI.”
“Welcome to the organisation, Sir,” she replied.
Desal looked more like a businessman than an officer of the law to Lin. His suit was cut closely to his body, and it clearly showed that he carried no weapons. He wore expensive designer cuff links and a hefty watch just visible on his wrist. He was a hotshot in every sense of the word, and he knew it.
“Please put me through to Captain Kaufman, Sergeant.”
“Just a moment, Sir.”
She reached forward and placed Desal on hold. It barred him from both audio and video transmission. She quickly rooted a call to the Captain’s cabin, and she prayed that she would reach Kaufman. Lin didn’t want to have to make any further excuses for his absence, but she had no such luck. The transmission went unanswered. She took a deep breath and then re-opened the channel to Desal.
“Commander, I am unable to reach the Captain at this time. We have just put down on Mars and he is currently making his way across Marsau.”
“That is unfortunate, Sergeant. These are difficult times for everyone. I am not a stranger to that fact. I do hope we can work together to rebuild the organisation’s reputation to the greatness that it once was.”
“Yes, Sir. We’re here to get the job done.”
Desal smiled. He was uncertain as to whether Lin was being abrasive or strictly professional.
“Sergeant, I have uploaded a new mission log to your ship’s files. I have information regarding one of the many gangs that were prolific before your crew’s creation. They have moved from heists to gun running. Probably Cosaline as well.”
“Sir, what about the Munoz case?”
“Money Munoz is a ghost, Sergeant. You will waste no further hours on that ridiculous case. The IBI exists to tackle cross-colony crime. Now, the gang is currently on a course for Earth’s Moon. You are to intercept and board them. Any assets you seize can be liquidated and put into the IBI budget. It could do with all the help it can get.”
“Sir? A space-based operation against an unknown force that likely has major firepower. That’s a lot of variables.”
“We are the IBI, Sergeant. You have the skills, the manpower and the equipment. You have your orders, so get it done. Inform Captain Kaufman to contact me as soon as the mission is complete for an immediate de-brief. Desal out.”
The transmission cut off. It left Lin standing speechless on the bridge. Only Anders had been witness to the conversation: the rest of the teams were either in the briefing room or on the surface of the planet.
“Sergeant, what are we going to do?”
She sighed and felt sick to her stomach.
“We have no choice.”
Lin started an open channel to all IBI receivers on the planet.
“All crew to return to ship immediately. I repeat, all crew to return to the ship immediately!”
Thirty minutes later she stood in Kaufman’s place in the briefing room as they lifted off from Marsau. She could see that the teams were bored of being messed with. They had all heard of Denton’s demise. It had been the big news story of the day across all colonies. The media had painted such an incompetent image of the organisation of late that many civilians celebrated the news. They were completely unaware of the evil behind it.
“Commander Desal has given us new orders to intercept a smugglers’ ship called The Challenger. They are known to have a substantial quantity of weapons aboard as well as other contraband.”
“Sir, why the hell are we accosting them in space? A raid targeted at their next landing site were be far safer,” said Davis.
“I am well aware of that and fully agree, Sergeant, but we have our orders.”
“This is bullshit,” said Morel.
“Agreed, but we are pawns now. We can only play our part and give the Captain as much time as possible to get to the bottom of this,” she replied.
“You think he can come through here? The whole Senate is against us, and the press has spun a story to vilify us. Our list of friends is rapidly decreasing,” said Chan.
“We have to trust in the Captain. He has always come through for us before. Most importantly, we are doing the right thing. We will nail that bastard Malory and we will return Denton to his rightful place in this organisation. Now, let’s play the game and get this done.”
The officers begrudgingly nodded in agreement. The mission stank to all of them. It was not just unnecessarily dangerous but an obvious ploy to move them away from the cases they should be working.
“We’ll intercept the Challenger in approximately two hours. She’s a fast ship, but we still have the beat on her. I want all able officers in MILAL suits in sixty minutes and with weapons checked. We’ve never breached and boarded a vessel off the ground before, so let’s be cautious.”
“I’ll handle the breach, Sergeant,” said Wilson.
“Good! Davis, you will co-ordinate the breach. Your team will be going in first. Chan, Morel! You’ll be sitting this one out for obvious reasons, so you will be stationed here for any co-ordination and comms work.”
The wounded officers were far from happy to be left out from a mission with their colleagues, but they knew there was no sense in arguing.
“That’ll be all. Get started. I want checks on all equipment, and we meet back here in one hour for the final brief.”
* * *
Barski pulled the Caddy up outside the address they’d been given. Their luxury car didn’t draw any unwanted attention in a district where wealthy gangsters went about their business. Kaufman could see two guards at the entrance, so they could be carrying nothing heavier than handguns.
“We’ll get nowhere if we go in there politely with badges,” said Kaufman.
“How do we do this, boss?” asked Wells.
“We go in with our weapons raised. Anyone willing to lay down their weapons and step aside may do so. Those who do not will be treated as hostiles.”
“Sir, we can’t just go in there shooting the place up.”
Kaufman turned back him. He understood the rookie’s concerns. Any other time he would have said exactly the same, but they lived in more uncertain times than ever.
“Wells, if we don’t get to the bottom of this case we are all dead. If the Commander’s life means nothing to them, what are we? Anyone who works in that building is a criminal supporting no end of drug trading, human trafficking and murder. They are not nice people. We only fire if a weapon is raised to us, got it?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Barski, have you got the compression bands with you?”
He lifted a bag from beside his seat.
“Hand them out. Anyone who you suspect to be dangerous is to be detained, whether they lower their weapons or not.”
He looked around the car at the small crew. They were all as anxious as each other. They wanted nothing more than for their predicament to be over, but storming a hostile building with so little intel was a frightful prospect.
“Denton, you stay in the car. The rest of you stick close with me. We need to hit them hard and fast.”
He pushed open the door and leapt out. Before the door had even got to its full width, he had reached a running pace towards the guards with his rifle shouldered and
aimed right at them.
“Police! Get down on the ground!” he shouted.
The guards panicked and initially started to go for their guns until they saw the other officers approaching with rifles already trained on them. They hesitated before finally putting their hands in the air.
“Hands on the back of your head!” shouted Kaufman.
“You know who you’re fucking with here?” asked one.
“Damn straight,” replied Kaufman.
He struck the guard in the jaw with his rifle and then he dropped to one knee. Barski and Wells immediately set about tying their wrists. They bound them back-to-back against a metal signpost.
“You’re fucking with the wrong man, pig! There’ll be hell to pay. He’ll have your job before the day is out!”
Kaufman ignored the bloodied guard and signalled for his team to go straight into the building. A few screams rang out in shock at the sight of the weapons, but they soon calmed when they realised they were not the target of the gunmen. Looking at the board of businesses in the building, it appeared that most were genuine. At the top of the list in the very highest suite, was the name they were looking for, Rubin Levin.
“That’s him! Into the elevator!”
“Everyone remain calm, this is a police operation!” Barski shouted.
The five officers rushed into one of the plush elevators as the concierge jumped out. He was no stranger to guns and got out quickly. Barski reached for the button marked as Levin. Kaufman stretched out and stopped him.
“No way. They’ll have some idea of what’s going on by now.”
He hit the button for the floor two down from the top and then stood back, adjusting his rifle sling. It was fifty floors up to the their destination. They all knew that the day could not end peacefully. They were breaking more laws than they could ever imagine and pissing dangerous people off, but they would get nowhere without some major gambles.
“I remember Levin from a few years back and he’s a nasty son of a bitch,” said Barski.
“Yeah, he was investigated after one of his employees was thrown off a roof. Most people speculated that Levin lost his temper and threw the guy off himself,” replied Kaufman.
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