by C. R. Daems
"You said, would meet."
"Red apparently found or created an area to slip through into the driver's area…and killed him. That caused a minor accident and traffic jam. Fortunately, the police found you before the thieves. They called the number on your bracelet before they realized Red was in the taxi, or they probably would have shot him."
"Where is Red? Is he all right?" I searched the room but didn't see him.
"He's fine, Anna. I wanted to look him over to make sure he didn't need attention. The gas they used can potentially kill. I've kept him isolated from you to make sure he didn't drink your blood until the drug is out of your system."
I lay back, relieved. I worried more about Red dying than me, and not because his death would mean mine.
When I woke it was early morning, judging by the dim light coming through the windows and lack of activity. Mother sat in a chair with her head lying on my bed and holding my hand—which Red was wrapped around. I squeezed and her eyes flew open.
"Sorry, Mother. I was stupid," I said.
"It's sounds like an extremely clever trap," she said. "I know if I heard you had been hurt I would have been in a rush to get to you and not thinking clearly. We will have to devise some way to verify…the authenticity of such calls."
"The caller said he was Judge Appleton. The image I saw looked authentic," I said, thinking back. "Of course, I wasn't looking at the image after I heard you were hurt. I was rushing to leave."
Pannell's voice surprised me. I hadn't noticed him in the room. "I'm considering posting a security guard on your mother when you aren't together. That way your security can verify with the other guard whether or not reports of her status are accurate."
"And I need to think before I act," I said, voicing what I was sure he was thinking.
"One can't always be in control of their emotions. Your mother and you are very close. In this case it wouldn't have mattered if your security jumped in the taxi with you. Only knowing the call was fake would have helped," Pannell said. I nodded. "Interesting that…Red attacked the driver."
The implication was clear. How? Can you direct him?
"Red appears to know when I'm being attacked and defends me. I put it down to our symbiotic relationship. Maybe he can sense or feel my fear." I laughed. "You'll have to ask him because he refuses to talk to me."
Pannell's lip twitched in amusement. "You and Red have many…talents," he said, almost to himself.
* * *
I was back at work the next day and held my normal staff meeting. Cooper was first to speak. "Ma'am, are you all right? We heard someone tried to kidnap you. Was that related to the project?"
"No. It turns out that red-headed kraits can keep the Coaca Virus in check. And at the present time there are less than twenty in research facilities. No one knows how many exist on the Black Market, but their estimated value is in the neighborhood of two hundred fifty thousand credits. That is a significant incentive for thieves and more to someone with the virus. Yesterday thieves attempted to steal Red… I went on to explain what happened.
"So you will die if Red is killed?" Atkins asked.
"Yes. To me Red is a critical organ…like my heart." I decided to change the subject. "The Hijackers are also very clever. Does anyone have any ideas on how their system might work?"
"Based on the ships they have hijacked so far, I think they are targeting specific merchants," Newman said, looking around the table.
"Definitely," Cooper said. "For one thing, none of the merchants were registered in the Northern Rim or even the Southern Rim."
"But they primarily did business in the Northern Rim," Atkins said. "And were hijacked while jumping to a Northern Rim system."
"And that implies?" I asked. The room became quiet while everyone sat gazing off into space or working on a tablet. I had an idea but didn't want to stop them thinking. They may have had an idea I hadn't thought of.
"Seems like it would be easier to select the merchants and wait for an opportunity to hijack it," Newman said.
"And that would mean they had a system to track those merchants," Cooper said.
"I tend to agree," I said. "Let's see if you can determine which of the current merchants would make good candidates for a hijacking."
"And wait and see if we are right?" Cooper asked. "Seems coldhearted, ma'am."
"Even if we had a list of all the merchants registered in the Middle Corridor today, we could not predict which merchant would be hijacked, or which system the merchant would be leaving from, or to which Northern Rim system he would be going, or which one of the ten or more jumps it would occur on, or how the Hijackers get the information to make the decision." I looked around the room. "When we can predict those things, then we will be in a position to stop the Hijackers. But, I'm afraid many merchants will be hijacked before we will be in that position."
"I can have Lieutenant Cintron scan the list of merchants registered in the Middle Corridor," Cooper said, looking to me.
"Good, that is the team's assignment. Based on what we know about the missing merchants, determine the most likely candidates to be hijacked."
* * *
My team was doing everything they could toward finding how the Hijackers worked, so my attention kept returning to the killings that had a possible link to the Navy. I needed more information but how to get it without upsetting people or being accused of violating people's rights or stepping on people's toes? I decided to try to take a sample, which would either convince me what I had found was at best just random crimes, or justify me in expanding the search.
TO COMMANDER SHRADER, WESTAR NIA CHIEF, COMMANDER SINCLAIR, STONE RING NIA CHIEF.
I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF YOU COULD GET THE CHIEF OF POLICE TO RUN A SEARCH FOR ME: ALL UNRESOLVED MURDERS AND DEATHS OF A SUSPICIOUS NATURE OVER THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS. I HATE TO BOTHER YOU DIRECTLY, BUT WOULD FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE IN YOU MAKING THE REQUEST IN PERSON THAN A WAVCOM REQUEST. ALTHOUGH I HAVE P1A AUTHORITY, WHICH CAN BE EASILY VERIFIED, I WOULD PREFER IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO USE IT. I'M LOOKING AT A POTENTIAL LINK TO SIMILAR UAS INCIDENTS. THANKS.
FROM: COMMANDER PAULUS, EASTAR NIA CHIEF
Next I called Hadley. "Teresa, do you have a minute? I need another search of your database."
"What are you looking for?" she asked, amusement ringing in her voice.
"I’d like a list of all the Navy and Marine deaths either unexplained or accident-related over the past twelve months."
"That's not technically in my database but I can get that information for you…for a price?"
"What will it cost me?" I asked hesitantly.
"You fill me in on what you are looking for. This doesn't sound like it's related to the Bunny Project." She chuckled.
"All right, but in person."
"Be right down," Teresa said and cut the connection. Five minutes later she burst through the door, poured a cup of coffee, and sat smiling. "I'm all ears."
I mixed a cup of my coffee and took a chair beside her. "I noticed several references to local police inquires to the NIA office because Marines…" I went on to explain the specific incidents and the information I had received from the NIA offices when I asked for specifics.
"You suspect Marines…an organized…syndicate?" Teresa whistled softly. "That may be worse than the Hijackers."
"Right now I'm only sampling a few sources to see if there is a reason to continue."
"This isn't related to the Hijackers, is it?" she asked, frowning.
"It could be. If there is a syndicate, then they are also operating on the Black Market and that could include selling information about UAS Cruisers." I shrugged. "Or it could be isolated crimes and unrelated to anything."
"You've got to tell Lulltrel, just to cover your ass and hers. A lot of high-ranking people won't like you poking around in Navy business without proof."
"That's a catch-22—if I had proof I wouldn't need to poke around."
"That's true but that won't deter them. Politicia
ns and admirals don't like scandals. It makes them look bad." Teresa shook her head. "We are all supposed to do the right thing but we don't all agree on what constitutes the right thing. Call Lulltrel."
I nodded. I clicked on my CPC. "Master Chief, would you tell Admiral Lulltrel I…" I looked to Teresa who nodded. "I and Commander Hadley would like to speak with her at her convenience?"
Teresa and I had barely sat when Stamm peeked in. "She said she is available now, which means you are probably late for your meeting." He gave a wry smile. Teresa and I took the hint and were out the door at a quick walk.
"Sit," she said after returning our salutes. "What unpleasant news do you have, Paulus?" she said after looking from Hadley to me.
"Ma'am, I was explaining to Commander Hadley a search I wanted and the reason. She suggested I should coordinate it with you before proceeding."
Lulltrel frowned and looked to Hadley. "Oh, this is got to be really bad news." She rose and walked to her sideboard. "Get yourselves something to drink. I'm sure this isn't going to be a quick update."
"Ma'am, when reviewing the monthly reports from the other NIA offices…" I outlined what I had found so far and what I intended to do. To her credit, Lulltrel didn't say a word for the entire half hour it took. When I finished, she sat there staring off into space. I felt a chaotic mix of emotions, although her face remained expressionless.
"So, you believe there is a possibility that this group, if it exists, could be providing the Hijackers with the information they need to hijack the merchant ships?" She gave me a critical gaze.
"Yes, ma'am. I believe the choices of merchant and time and location are not random. Of course, I'm guessing, based on what we have learned to date, but I believe they have a list of merchants and, when one of them meets some set of parameters, they are hijacked. If I'm right, the parameters are conditions like the location of the UAS Cruisers, and other factors yet to be determined. If that is true, then what better group than Navy or Marine personnel already engaged in criminal activities?" I said, wishing Sinclair had been here to deliver the summary. I knew what I surmised but had I used the right words to convince Lulltrel?
"What do you think, Hadley?" She turned her gaze on Teresa. The amusement I felt from her suddenly turned serious.
"I like that she intends to sample friends, which should minimize problems. When she is finished you can authorize her to continue or to drop that line of inquiry," Teresa said, meeting Lulltrel's gaze. "If Paulus is wrong you could get a bit of grief, but if she is right…"
"All right, Paulus, you have my permission to proceed. I wanted you here for just this kind of analysis, so I can't complain when you suspect a problem, but keep me—and my team—up to date…in fact, my staff will be the…?"
"Owlet," I said, and Lulltrel shook her head while Teresa gave a snort.
"Why?"
"Ma'am, I have six Purple Hearts. I'd like to spare my mother from me getting another one."
Lulltrel nodded. "My staff will be the project team for the Owlet Project."
CHAPTER SIX
Eastar: When is an Owlet an Owl?
The days dragged by as I awaited a response from Adrian and Kris. I spent a half day with the Eastar Police Chief and convinced him I wasn't looking into local crimes, but rather looking for what I thought a gang operating across the UAS. And used the admiral's murder as the reason NIA was involved. With a promise to let him know what I find, he had his information chief run my search. He sat with me helping eliminate those which were clearly local crimes. I left with eight cases.
After two days I narrowed it to three I thought the best candidates. Then I searched the list Hadley had run for me of UAS Cruiser system stops. The result was interesting. The Ceto and Graeae were the only two cruisers in port during the four incidents. The Vulcan was also in port twice on two of the incidents, but once with the Graeae and once with the Ceto, which tended to eliminate it, along with the Scylla, Typhon, Lapis, Rhode, and Keres, which were only in port on one of the four incidents. Not proof but a reasonable assumption.
System
Date / Incident
Ships in Port
Eastar
12/5 / Col Duarte Robbery? Marine-like knife.
8/5 / Williamson Robbery? Broken neck.
3/20 /Webster Robbery?
Fractured skull.
5/5 / McCurry. Robbery?
12/5 / Scylla, Ceto,
Typhon
8/5 / Graeae, Vulcan,
Lapis,
3/20 / Ceto, Vulcan, Rhode
5/5 / Graeae, Keres
The day before Lulltrel's staff meeting I received reports back from Adrian, who found two, and Kris, who found three. The Hecate was the only cruiser in port during two of the three incidents and therefore a candidate. Kris's findings provided, if not proof, at least a strong possibility that the Ceto and Graeae had gang members on board as they were there for each incident. The Vulcan and the Lapis were also there twice, but the two were not there for all four incidents.
System
Date / Incident
Ships in Port
Stone Ring
3/18 / Kelvin Montgomery CEO of a shipping company. Marine ammo.
6/1 / Robbery (6/1)
9/22 / Robbery (9/22)
11/4 / Robbery (11/4)
3/18 / Lapis, Ceto,
Vulcan
6/1 / Graeae, Scylla, Rhode
9/22 / Graeae, Keres, Vulcan
11/4 / Ceto, Romulus, Lapis
Westar
1/23 / Jonnie Lyons, was killed with a knife unique to the airborne
5/24 / Robbery (5/24)
10/8 / Robbery (10/8)
1/23 / Hecate, Romulus
5/24 / Laelaps, Oedipus, Zelus
10/8 / Hecate, Mermes
* * *
Lulltrel surprised me by starting with me instead of Byrnes. "Paulus has a second project going, which may or may not connect to the Rabbit Project. I've decided my staff will be the project team for Project Owlet." She paused for the knee-jerk response to the name. "I'll let her explain the project and the choice of its name."
"While reviewing the NIA station chiefs reports…" I explained why I was curious, the information I received from the NIA offices, and my recent inquires. "I think the Westar and Stone Ring information suggest probable cause to continue pursuing Project Owlet."
"Why Owlet?" Byrnes asked.
"For the same reason a Rabbit. It doesn't give an outside observer a clue as to its purpose. To me Rabbits are cautious, which we need to be, and Owls are excellent observers…and the names should delay the group realizing we are looking into their activities and targeting us."
"You think they will target us?" Leyva asked what the others looked to be thinking.
"Both groups are killers, so either to slow down the investigation, or to punish us for interfering, or both."
"I think Paulus is right. She has six Purple Hearts, compliments of the Smugglers and Raiders," Lulltrel said. "These are not nice people. I think you have a strong argument against the Ceto and Graeae, and maybe even the Hecate, so what's next?"
"I'd like to visit Stone Ring and Westar," I said.
"Why? What can you do there you can't do from Eastar? Commander Sinclair is an excellent NIA agent and one of your teammates on the Smugglers’ and Raiders’ Projects."
"Commanders Sinclair and Shrader are excellent but each of us look at a problem from a different perspective. And since they aren't involved in the project, they would need time to come up to speed. Besides, being there may trigger a clue which might otherwise go unnoticed. It was true in the Smugglers’ and Raiders' cases. Visiting the sites uncovered clues we would never have found from our office in Oxax."
"All Right. I'll…" She laughed. "We'll notify Admiral Webb of our findings and your need for transportation."
* * *
Webb's only comment concerned morale. "Tread lightly, Paulus, we don't want to cause a morale problem because the Mar
ines and Navy personnel believe we are on a witch hunt or to have them spying on each other. That would be worse than having a few criminals in the military. After all, the military is acquired from a cross section of the UAS, and therefore we must expect a few bad apples."
* * *
"Mother, I'm off again," I said, putting my hand over hers and feeling guilty. Lulltrel was right, I could have collected the information using the NIA offices.
"Where to?" she asked with surprisingly little emotion.
"Stone Ring and Westar."
"To see Kris and Adrian?"
"Yes, Mother, but primarily project business… I don't think it's dangerous."
"My precious daughter, worrying about my feelings." She hugged me. "Yes, I worry about losing you. It would break my heart. But even if we change our lives completely, that is no guaranty of safety, and it would change us and I don't want to change you. We must enjoy each day and take reasonable precautions. We've done that: Marine security, a safe room, weapons practice, and Red." Alexa actually stroked Red's head, which was on my shoulder, pointing in her direction. His tongue brushed her hand as if… I swear I felt his agreement and laughed.
"If I didn't know better—"
"You would think Red agreed," Alexa said and laughed. "Me too." She put her arm around my shoulders and we took our places on the couch. "All right, give me all the gory details."
* * *
"Ma'am, Admiral Lulltrel would like to see you," Stamm said through the half-open door. "I told her you were available."
"Thank you, Carl. What would you have said if I weren't?" I asked as I slipped on my dress blue jacket and headed for the door.