by Jim Proctor
“Okay,” she said with a smile.
After linking her data unit to his door scanner and transferring the access code that would allow her entry, he watched as she walked down the hallway to the stairs. He closed the door and then tried to make himself comfortable in a recliner. His head was still pounding even though the gash no longer hurt. He struggled to remain awake, not wanting to be asleep when Megan returned. It was a struggle he eventually lost.
Chapter 3
Captain Niles Jiorgenson’s door opened and Vice Admiral Tompkins entered. The captain stood quickly, but the vice admiral waved his hands dismissively and said, “Sit down. What have you learned about Lansing?”
Jiorgenson sat and cleared his throat. “Not much, I’m afraid. We don’t have access to tracking data for civilian data units. I asked a favor of someone in the Dawson Police Department to check a few things.”
“Why don’t we have access to the tracking data? They’re using our satellites for GPS and data connections, aren’t they?” Tompkins asked.
“No, sir. They use an array of civilian satellites. We only control the positions of the satellites through our traffic control system,” Jiorgenson said.
“They’re geostationary satellites—what position control do they need?”
“If it’s in orbit around Caldon, we control its position, even if it is always in the same spot,” Jiorgenson replied.
“I see. So, what were you going to tell me about Lansing?” Tompkins asked.
“According to my contact at Dawson PD, Lansing appeared in Dawson seven months ago without any record of having traveled here. He may have arrived as a passenger in a personally owned vehicle, or he may have traveled under another name. We’re still looking into that. He had multiple encounters with Carl Wilkins—once in a bar downtown, once at Wilkins’ apartment, and twice at the Dawson spaceport. Lansing also had several encounters with Charles Forbes. After the Phoenix departed, Lansing traveled around the city to bars, restaurants, and shows, acting like a man on holiday. After Segal vanished, he suddenly became reclusive, spending most of his time in an apartment that was leased in the name of Carl Wilkins.”
“So Wilkins rented the apartment for him. They obviously knew each other before Lansing arrived here,” the vice admiral said.
“I don’t think so, sir. Lansing lived in various hotel rooms prior to moving into the apartment. According to Wilkins’ tracking data, he never went anywhere near the apartment complex, including the rental office. I doubt he was connected to the apartment in anything other than name.”
“So Lansing leased it in his name to throw us a curve if we came looking for him,” the vice admiral said.
“I believe so. If I may continue, sir, Lansing performed his hacking activities from that apartment when he was searching for the Phoenix. Tracking data shows that our team just missed apprehending him when they raided the place. Lansing was two blocks away and probably saw them arrive. He walked a few kilometers to the Dawson Diner. While he was there, his data unit vanished from the grid,” Jiorgenson said.
“Do you know where he went from there?”
“No, sir. We interviewed the diner’s staff, but none of them were able to help,” Jiorgenson replied.
“Useless trolls. They probably didn’t want to help us,” Tompkins said angrily.
“Well, sir, we don’t know what Lansing looks like, so we couldn’t even describe him to them,” Jiorgenson said.
“Yes, of course. Good point. A dead end, nevertheless,” Tompkins said.
“We’re still investigating, but his trail ends there.”
The vice admiral sat, looking at the ceiling for a while. Finally, he said, “Lansing appeared in Dawson without any record of arriving. I want you to search for anyone who suddenly appeared in Dawson on the day Lansing disappeared. If he knew we were on to him, he might have changed his identity.”
“I don’t know if I can do that, sir. I’ve already asked my contact in Dawson PD for a lot of information, and a search like that would take a lot of time and resources,” the captain said.
“I don’t care. I want to find Lansing. I’ll authorize unlimited overtime for the investigative branch to work on this.”
Jiorgenson said, “Yes, but I still don’t have access to the data.”
“Push your contact to give you the data. Step up the investigation and find out anything you can. In the meantime, I’ll see what I can do about getting you direct access to the tracking data,” Tompkins said as he turned and headed for the door.
Jiorgenson stood and said, “I’ll get my people working on this right away.”
Tompkins nodded. “Find Lansing.”
* * * *
Vice Admiral Tompkins walked into Space Traffic Command and went straight to the commander’s office. Lieutenant Commander Greg Eaton looked up, recognized Tompkins, and stood to attention. Tompkins sat across the desk from him. “I feel like I’m chasing ghosts, Greg.”
Eaton sat and asked, “Why is that, sir?”
“Lansing, Wilkins, and the Phoenix have all disappeared without a trace. It’s frustrating. Lansing vanished from downtown Dawson in the middle of the day. The Phoenix whipped around Caldon like a bat out of hell and vanished. Wilkins and our plutonium are presumed to have been aboard.”
“I checked all available data on the Phoenix when it shot past here. It continued on a straight course to the limits of our long-range sensors. However, I did find another interesting piece of data. Four of our hyperspace relays detected small Keyser fluctuations at a time shortly after the Phoenix left our sensors. Comparing the magnitude of the fluctuations from the relays and triangulating, the fluctuations appear to have started near the Phoenix’s last known location,” Eaton said.
“So the Phoenix made a jump from within the system,” Tompkins said. “That explains why none of our ships in the outer system detected her passing. She could be anywhere in the galaxy now. What I don’t understand is why she hasn’t turned up at any inhabited world. If Wilkins intended to sell the plutonium, he had to have a buyer. I can’t believe he stole it intending to jump around the galaxy, trying to stay one step ahead of us.”
“What if Forbes was lying? What if Wilkins was supposed to take the plutonium somewhere and deliver it as part of their grand scheme?” Eaton asked.
“Why would Forbes lie about that? We had him on Segal’s murder.”
“Yes, but he worked a deal to get that reduced to a lesser charge with a three-year sentence. Suppose he decided that waiting three years to get his credits was preferable to being executed?” Eaton asked.
“You’re suggesting that Wilkins was their salvage man and their delivery man, too. The story of Wilkins stealing it was to make it look like Forbes wasn’t going to get any of the credits,” Tompkins said.
“If Wilkins made the delivery and the credits exchanged hands, Forbes would have gotten his share in three years. His mistake was implicating himself in the conspiracy,” Eaton said.
“That’s where it all falls apart, Greg. Why would he tell us so much if he expected to collect his share later?”
“He needed something big to get the deal on his sentence. Maybe he was afraid that if he concocted some elaborate lie, he’d trip himself up and be found out. So, he told us most of the truth with a few small lies thrown in to make us think he was getting nothing from the deal,” Eaton said.
“That still doesn’t explain the fact that the Phoenix has not shown up anywhere to make the delivery,” the vice admiral said.
“If we assume the Phoenix’s departure from the system was part of the original plan, and not a case of Wilkins stealing the cargo from Forbes and the others, then why assume the delivery would be made to a controlled system? The Phoenix could have rendezvoused with another freighter at some predetermined point in deep space. Wilkins and the plutonium could have transferred to the other ship and returned to any system in the galaxy unnoticed,” Greg said. “Of course, it’s also possible that whoeve
r collected the plutonium killed Wilkins to protect their identity. His dead body could be in the Phoenix floating around in deep space. The odds of anyone ever finding it are too small to calculate.”
Tompkins was silent for a while. Finally, he said, “If you’re right, then I’m back to my original statement. I’m chasing ghosts. Still, we’re talking about a medium freighter full of plutonium. A financial transaction of that magnitude couldn’t be hidden. Why haven’t we found it?”
“I don’t think Forbes would have arranged a transfer that big through established financial channels. Maybe the payment was made with a large number of smaller transactions over time, each one looking like a legitimate business transaction. Or maybe the payment never happened,” Eaton said.
“What do you mean, it never happened?” Tompkins asked.
“What if Wilkins was supposed to hand over the plutonium in exchange for the payment? Maybe the buyer took the plutonium and killed Wilkins instead of paying him,” Eaton said.
“According to Forbes, Wilkins was a hired hand, not a partner. I can’t imagine them allowing him to take the payment. What incentive would he have to return and hand over the credits just to get a small share of them?” Tompkins asked. “If Wilkins made the delivery, he would have to come back here to see Forbes or Lansing to get paid.”
“It was all over the Galactic News that Forbes was arrested. Wilkins must know that,” Eaton said.
“The Phoenix hasn’t been to any of our worlds. Unless he was able to hack into the hyperspace relay network to see the news, he wouldn’t know about Forbes. And he has no way of knowing that Lansing has disappeared. That hasn’t been mentioned in the news at all. I think he may have come back here to collect his payment. He would have found out about Forbes after getting here, so he’s probably looking for Lansing. In the meantime, our plutonium was moved to an unknown freighter that could enter any system in the galaxy, provided it didn’t get inspected. It could be anywhere, and we’ll never know until someone makes a bomb out of it and blows up a planet,” Tompkins said. “Our only hope of finding it is to find Wilkins or Lansing.”
“May I speak freely, sir?” Eaton asked.
“Of course. I value your input, Greg,”
“I think looking for Wilkins and the Phoenix is a waste of time and resources. We’ll never find them. Same goes for Lansing. I think our best bet is to look at who might want to buy that much plutonium, as well as who might have the financial resources for the transaction, and then begin investigating all such suspects,” Eaton said.
“Go at it from the other side of the deal,” Tompkins said. “You may be right. I’ve just given Captain Jiorgenson a new avenue of investigation. I’ll give his people a few days to see what they can find. If they don’t find Wilkins or Lansing, I’ll take your suggestion and start everyone looking into potential buyers.”
“Very good, sir,” Eaton said.
“You’ve been extremely helpful, Greg. You’ve remained levelheaded and thoughtful throughout this investigation. I can’t make any promises, but I’m going to put you in for promotion to captain,” Tompkins said.
“Thank you, sir!” Eaton said.
* * * *
Tompkins paused in the corridor looking at the engraved brass sign that read Commander of SACOM, First Admiral Georgia Bennett. His palms were sweating. In fact, he was sweating all over, he realized. He had been here countless times before, and it always made him nervous. Drying his hands, he opened the door and entered. The admiral’s secretary glanced up, then quickly stood to attention and saluted. Tompkins returned her salute.
“First Admiral Bennett will see you shortly, sir. If you would like to make yourself comfortable, I’ll let her know you’re here.”
Taking a seat, he closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. The clock on the wall ticked away seconds, and he found himself concentrating on the sound. Tick… tick… tick…
A chime sounded, and the admiral’s secretary picked up a handset. After listening for a moment, she said, “Yes, ma’am. I’ll see to it right away. Vice Admiral Tompkins has arrived.” After a brief pause, she added, “Yes, ma’am, I’ll send him in.” Putting down the handset, she looked at Tompkins and said, “First Admiral Bennett will see you, now.”
Tompkins stood and nodded. “Thank you,” he said before walking to the elaborately carved oak door at the back of the office and knocking softly.
Through the heavy door, he barely heard her say, “Come in.”
Tompkins dried his palms again, opened the door, and stepped into the office.
“Good afternoon, Tompkins. Please, be seated,” the admiral said.
“Thank you, ma’am,” he said with a sharp salute.
The first admiral saluted, and he quickly crossed the room and sat.
“You requested this meeting to discuss something urgent, I understand,” Bennett said.
“Yes, ma’am. As you know, I have been tasked with finding our missing plutonium. There is something that is impeding my investigation, and I was hoping you might be able to help.”
“Of course. This case is extremely important to SACOM. If there is anything I can do to help, you have only to ask.”
“Thank you, ma’am. I need… that is, SACOM needs access to the stored tracking data for civilian data units. We have to beg information from the Dawson Police Department for our investigation. They don’t appreciate the magnitude of the situation, and their continued cooperation is doubtful,” Tompkins said.
“Let me get this straight—the Dawson PD has access to tracking data, but we don’t?” the admiral asked.
“Yes, ma’am. It’s a civilian data system run by the Galactic government. SACOM is legally prohibited from having access.”
“I see. And having access to the stored data would allow you to make some progress in your investigation?” the admiral asked.
“It might, ma’am. We are currently at a dead end in our search for Wilkins and Lansing. If we had access to the data, we might learn something of their whereabouts. We might also learn of interactions they may have had with other people. We don’t know how big this conspiracy is.”
“I see. Don’t you also have subjects you are currently questioning?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am, we do, but I don’t understand the implication.”
“What about real-time access? Wouldn’t it be helpful to have real-time tracking of the people you are questioning?” the admiral asked.
“Yes, ma’am. That could potentially be helpful,” Tompkins said cautiously, trying not to make any implied promises.
The admiral swiveled her chair around and looked out the window for a while in silence. Finally, she turned around and said, “Come with me.”
Tompkins jumped to his feet at the command. “Yes, ma’am.” He didn’t dare ask where they were going as he followed the admiral out of the office. As they passed through the outer office, the admiral’s secretary asked, “Are you leaving, Admiral? Where shall I say you are should anyone inquire?”
Without breaking stride, she said, “If anyone has the nerve to ask where I am, tell them I am out.” And with that, she burst through the door into the lobby and turned left with Vice Admiral Tompkins following closely. The admiral waved her pass over the sensor for her personal express elevator, and the door opened. “Wonderful convenience,” she said. “This thing knows where I am at all times. If I take the stairs down to the basement, this elevator follows me.”
“Impressive, ma’am,” was all that Tompkins dared to say. Damn frivolous waste of resources, he thought to himself.
Inside, the admiral pressed the button for the tenth floor.
The entire tenth floor was taken up by a single unit. “We’re going to Satellite Command,” Tompkins said. The admiral simply nodded.
When the door opened, the admiral quickly strode across the hall and threw open the door to the satellite commander’s office. “Bruce! Whatever you are doing, drop it. As of this moment, all civilian satellites
in orbit around Caldon fall under your command.”
Captain Bruce Harding stood abruptly, too shocked to salute. “Ma’am?”
“You heard me! All civilian satellites are your birds now. Vice Admiral Tompkins,” she waved a hand in Tompkins’ direction, “is to be given complete access to all stored data as well as real-time data. Is that understood?”
“Yes, ma’am, but… those satellites are owned by the Galactic government. I’m not sure we have authority to take them over,” the captain stammered. Tompkins noticed that the man was trembling. Then he realized that he was, too. The first admiral had usurped power numerous times in the past, but this was brazen beyond anything he thought the woman capable of.
“Captain, I don’t care about authority. Send Daniel Stevens and his squad to their main facility and have them explain the situation to them,” the admiral said.
“And what should they tell them?” the captain asked.
“Tell them the satellites and their data networks are ours,” the admiral said with a cold, steel edge to her voice. The captain’s legs gave out, and he fell into his chair.
“It will take some time to reallocate resources, ma’am. I mean, we need to set up our own uplinks and downlinks. We’ll need dedicated servers, operators, technicians, and… well… a lot of space,” the captain said.
“The systems are currently operating,” the admiral said with a tone that clearly indicated the solution was obvious.
“Yes, but…” The captain’s voice trailed off as he suddenly realized what the admiral was proposing.
“Inform all the people currently running the system that they have a new employer. They will continue their duties as civilians, but obviously, we will need to put some of your people into their management chain to run things,” the admiral said. “For the moment, I want Stevens there to make sure nobody gets out of line. Eventually, we’ll put one of your people in charge after we’re sure there won’t be any resistance to the new working arrangement. Think about who you’ll want to have running the facility in a few months.” Turning to Tompkins, she said, “The system is no longer owned by the Galactic government—legal dilemma solved. The captain will inform you when you have full access to all tracking data. Carry on.” Bennett swiftly turned and walked out.