by Jake Bible
“Okay, Poq, we’re out,” Angie said.
“Yes, I can see that in the vid feed,” Poq said. “I am timing your ascent.”
“Hold on,” Kalaka said. “The kid needs to leave now. His job is done.”
“I am aware of that,” Poq said. “That is also a part of the timing. Please be patient.”
They waited in the still lift for a good five minutes. Then the doors slid open.
“You may exit,” Poq said.
“He better be talking to me,” N’ummi said as he shoved the cart out into the corridor and gave a half wave before hurrying out of sight, back to the rear entrance door.
“He could have delivered us all the way to the Squad office,” Angie said.
“No way,” Kalaka said. “Not putting the kid in that kind of danger.”
“Why? What’s he to you?” Angie asked as the lift began to rise through the building. “He’s full Groshnel, so not a bastard of yours.”
“He’s a friend,” Kalaka said in a tone that made it very clear Angie was to ask zero follow-up questions.
“I don’t think you’re lying, but you sure aren’t telling me the truth,” Angie said.
“Too bad,” Kalaka said.
They rode in silence then Angie shook her head. “I can’t believe you talked me into riding in a warming case all the way across this base. This is what my career has become. Great.”
“It was either that or get nabbed by face rec,” Kalaka replied. “Poq couldn’t handle the entire Jafla security system while also tackling this building. Priorities.”
“I know that,” Angie snapped. She waited a second then said, “You really aren’t going to tell me who that N’ummi kid is to you?”
“Drop it.”
“What’s to stop him from calling Jafla PD on us?”
Kalaka turned and stared at her. “What is up your human butt? Really?”
“That case made me smell like Hoocahna snake after mating season. I hate snakes and I hate—”
“Mating? Because you could really stand to get laid, McDade,” Kalaka interrupted and chuckled. “Laid. McDade. I’ll be using that rhyme again.”
“I should have killed you when I had a chance,” Angie muttered. “What in all the Hells have I stepped in?”
“Welcome to Jafla.”
They rose in silence the rest of the way. When the lift stopped, the red light flashed again.
Then the lift doors opened onto pure chaos and bedlam. Uniformed PD officers were hurrying this way and that, sergeants yelling for men and women to get in place, while blast shielding was set up in the corridor outside the Galactic Vice Jafla Base Squad office doors. A dozen breach bots stood at the ready, their many armed bodies humming with energy as handlers double checked their systems.
“I…” Kalaka started. “This… Huh…”
“Poq?” Angie snapped.
“Interesting,” Poq replied. “The Jafla PD managed to keep this off all official channels. I blinded myself by disengaging the security holo feeds on this floor. The coincidence is disconcerting, to say the least. A mistake I will not make in the future, I can assure you.”
“Feeling so assured,” Kalaka said.
“Someone get me the lead tech for this fucking building!” a Leforian shouted from behind the row of breach bots. “Why are the holos still down?”
“Poq, stand down,” Angie said. “Do not do another thing to the system until I tell you to.”
“Should I restore the holo feeds?” Poq asked.
“Not yet,” Angie said. Kalaka gave her a side look, but she shrugged it off. “We find out what’s happening first.”
“Shit met fan. That’s what’s happening,” Kalaka said.
Several heads turned to look at Angie and Kalaka. The Leforian caught sight of them as well and his mandibles began clicking at an alarming rate as he stomped his seven-foot-tall frame over to the lift.
“Kalaka,” the Leforian snapped. “Do you want to tell me what is happening? Your name is all over this shit.”
Kalaka glanced around. “Me? I was thinking you might have more info than me.”
“Typical,” the Leforian said, dismissing Kalaka with a glance he turned to face Angie. “You better be Lt. McDade because your name is all over this too.”
“I could be,” Angie said.
The Leforian held out his lower right hand. “Lt. Jheral Woss. I was number two here in the Squad. I may be number one here pretty Eight Million Gods damn soon.”
Angie took Jheral’s hand and shook it then she looked past the Leforian’s bulk at the continuing chaos. “Well, Lieutenant, care to fill us in?”
“Shit,” Jheral said. “Are you saying you don’t know what this is all about? How in all the Hells can that be when Jorg has been doing nothing but shout for your names for the past hour? Will you both stop playing dumb and tell me why our captain has lost his mind and is threatening to blow up this entire building unless we get you two in there ASAP?”
“I may have insight,” Poq said over the comm. “I have been going over the security holos for the past hour and it appears that Captain Jorg received a comm call from an unknown source. By the time the comm was done, his blood pressure had risen to unbelievably unhealthy levels.”
“Who’s talking to you?” Jheral snapped. “I can tell someone is talking to you over your comms. How do you have comms when our entire system is down?”
“Poq? Fix that,” Angie said. “Put everything back together.”
“Yes, Lt. McDade,” Poq said. “Would you like me to remain on the comm in order to assist with the situation?”
“I’d like that,” Kalaka said. “Seriously.”
“Yes. Stay on the comm,” Angie said. “I’m going to need you.”
“Who is it?” Jheral snarled.
“The receptionist,” Angie answered. “Systems should be back now.”
The chaotic chatter in the corridor grew as everyone present began getting comm signals again. Techs pretended like they did the heavy lifting, but no one seemed to care as they started barking simultaneous orders into their comms.
“Shut up!” Jheral roared. “NOW!”
Most of the noise quieted down.
“What is this all about?” Jheral said as evenly as his rage allowed. He glared down at Angie. “I have FIS on the way here. Why are two IID agents about to be up my butt?”
“We can fill you in on everything or we can try and defuse this cluster,” Angie said. “Your choice.”
“Defuse then explain,” Jheral said without hesitation. That made Angie smile. “Something funny, Lt. McDade?”
“No. Just surprising someone didn’t argue with me about making the right call,” Angie said.
“I don’t have time for arguments,” Jheral said. “Follow me.”
“Me too?” Kalaka asked.
“Fuck off, Kalaka,” Jheral said as he took Angie by the arm and led her to a group of huddled officers. They stopped talking and looked directly at Angie. “Give them a short explanation so they can decide whether or not to let you go inside.”
“Very short version,” Angie said and began telling the abbreviated story of Etch’s undercover work as well as his unfortunate ending.
Angie quickly made sure that everyone present, who all turned out to be Jafla PD brass, knew that they were dealing with syndicate-influenced corruption and Jorg was at the heart of it. The looks of incredulity were almost unanimous when Angie finished her brief story. Those looks turned to Jheral and became ones of suspicion.
“Lt. Jheral is not on my radar,” Angie said. “His name hasn’t come up at all in any connection to the Squad corruption.”
“We will need the names of those that are suspected of collusion,” one of the officers stated.
“And you are?” Angie asked.
“Commander Fall Blean,” the man said. “I run the Narcotics Division in Jafla PD. I need to know who I can trust in the GV Squad.”
“You bet,” Angie
said. “I’ll make sure GVD Kalaka provides you with all names involved.”
That got several laughs.
“Lieutenant, you are new to Jafla, so you may not understand GVD Kalaka’s reputation,” Jheral said. “If there is a list of corrupt GVDs, then Kalaka is at the top of that list.”
“Not for me,” Angie said and squared her shoulders as her hand went to her pistol.
“McDade? What in all the Hells are you doing?” Jheral hissed as he took Angie by the shoulder and walked her a couple steps away from the gawking group of Jafla PD brass. “You cannot threaten to draw down on these men and women!”
“I’m making a point,” Angie said.
“Do all your points include plasma pistols?”
“The majority of them do, yeah.”
“Then rethink this point,” Jheral insisted, lowering his voice. “And rethink your alliance to Kalaka. He is dirty and will take you down to his level before he buries you.”
“I know exactly who Kalaka is,” Angie said. “You let him handle the GVDs on the list and I’ll handle Kalaka.”
“You guys are talking about me. I can tell,” Kalaka called from his spot by the lift. He was leaning against the wall, picking something out of his teeth. “Not nice.”
Jheral pointed at Kalaka with two hands and clicked his mandibles over and over in obvious frustration. Then he shook his head and the pointing turned on Angie.
“This is all on you now, McDade,” Jheral said. “The outcome of this day is all on you. You trust Kalaka? Great for you. But unless you talk Jorg down, none of it will matter.”
“Still not understanding why we aren’t evacuating and letting the bots handle this one,” Angie said.
“We are quietly evacuating the other levels. But, he has hostages. That’s why we’re still here,” Jheral said. “Two of the hostages are witnesses in an ongoing investigation. One is an office assistant and the fourth is a GVD. From what we saw before the holos went down, the GVD is mortally wounded. He could already be dead. The witnesses are unharmed, but the assistant is not in great shape.”
“Poq?” Angie called.
“Lt. Woss is almost correct on his assessment,” Poq replied. “Except that the GVD can now be confirmed as dead, as well as the assistant. That leaves two hostages. Both appear healthy, but frightened. They are directly behind the barricade. He is using them as a shield.”
“Where?” Angie asked and held up a hand to stop Jheral from asking questions.
“Captain Jorg’s office,” Poq replied. “He does appear to have an explosive device on his desk. Quick analysis shows it to possibly be a quantum incendiary device. It would be quite unfortunate if it detonates.”
“Possible quantum incendiary device,” Angie said to Jheral. “Jorg has it on his desk with the two hostages poised behind the barricade at his office door. The GVD and assistant are dead.”
Chatter over general comm channels began to confirm Poq’s findings as techs relayed holo intel to the officers milling about.
“Why does he want to speak to you?” Jheral asked. “What can you do that I cannot?”
“Make a deal,” Angie said.
“A what? He has killed a GVD and a Squad assistant. Why would you make a deal?”
“Because he can get me up the ladder,” Angie said. “He knows it. I’m Division, you’re Squad. I’m his only chance at getting out of this alive. He’s dirty, not insane.”
“We’ll see about that,” Jheral said. He rubbed at his mandibles. “Okay. We send you in so you can negotiate the release of the hostages. First priority. We’ll begin evacuation of the entire municipal building and the surrounding block. As soon as the hostages are free, your job is to talk him down from detonating the device. If a quantum incendiary device is activated in an urban setting such as Jafla Base, it will burn half this district to the ground before we can get it under control.”
“I know what a QID can do, Lieutenant,” Angie said. “I used a few back in the War.”
“Then we are on the same page,” Jheral said and turned to the main group. “Someone get this woman a set of body armor! NOW!”
35.
“I’ll be in your ear the whole way,” Kalaka said over the comm.
“That doesn’t make me feel better,” Angie replied as she slowly opened the Squad office doors. She ducked her head inside, glanced around at the overturned chairs and upset desks, then walked all the way inside and paused. “If your voice is the last voice I hear, then I may have seriously failed in life.”
“Funny,” Kalaka said. “I know Jorg better than most. I can help you navigate him. You’ll want help navigating the guy. He’s…touchy.”
“He took hostages, killed two, and is threatening to destroy this building and most of the district,” Angie replied. “Is touchy the right word here?”
“Very touchy?”
“Fuck off, Kalaka,” Angie said. “Stay out of my ear unless you absolutely have to tell me something. Otherwise, do not distract me.”
“Copy that,” Kalaka said and the comm went silent.
Angie walked across the office, winding her way through the mess.
“Jorg?” Angie called out as she approached the captain’s office door. “Jorg? It’s Lt. Angie McDade. You called for me. I’m here. Can we talk?”
“Stay right there, McDade!” Jorg shouted from inside the office.
“Staying right here, Jorg,” Angie said as she stopped moving. “Not taking another step. Gonna be hard to chat through the door, though. Any chance you’d let me in so I can make sure the hostages are alright?”
“You already know two are dead!” Jorg yelled. “You can see in here!”
“True, but you know as well as I do how this plays out,” Angie said. “I need to make visual confirmation of the state of the remaining hostages so I know what I am dealing with.”
“You can’t come in!” Jorg shouted. “I have the door…blocked. Check the Eight Million Gods damn holos for visual confirmation!”
“Not the same, Jorg. You know that.”
“I don’t fucking care!”
“I’m getting that.”
Angie wanted to rub at her face, but the energy shield coming down from her blast helmet prevented that. Not that the helmet or armor would do much against a QID, but it kept her from being shot by a plasma blast if Jorg decided to get trigger happy.
“Listen, Jorg, I know what all went down,” Angie said. “I know about you working with Tipo S’lunn. I know that you two were being paid by the Willz Syndicate.”
“You don’t know shit, McDade! Not one single piece of shit!”
“Possible. Yeah. Sure. I probably don’t know shit. But I’m not wrong, right? It was Willz that paid you two? They’re going after the Collari hold on Jafla Base and they bought the two of you to help smooth the way.”
Jorg didn’t answer. That made Angie nervous, but she continued.
“S’lunn set GVD Tikk up on your orders, yeah?”
A long silence then, “I didn’t want to.”
“No, of course not. Killing a GVD? No captain in the galaxy wants that. You probably had no choice.”
“There is no probably, McDade. I never had a choice. Not one single choice.”
“I bet, I bet. And S’lunn? He didn’t have a choice either, right? He liked his partner’s wife. Did the Willz Syndicate threaten to kill her?”
“Yeah…”
“I’m sure they did. They threatened to kill someone you care about too, yes? I can say that your entire extended family is currently being put into protective custody as we speak. They’ll be safe. That means you can talk to me, Jorg. You can tell me how this all went wrong.”
“Lt. McDade?” Jheral’s voice called over the comm. “No motions have been taken to put Captain Jorg’s family in protective custody.”
“I just received confirmation that your family will be safe within the hour, Jorg,” Angie said, ignoring Jheral’s protestations. “Isn’t that great?”
“Willz will find them,” Jorg responded. “The syndicates are too powerful, McDade. It has all gone too far…”
“I agree with that. Which is why I need your help. I need you to let those hostages go. Then I need you to deactivate that QID.”
“SEE! You are watching me! How else would you know about the QID?”
“Of course we’re watching you, Jorg. That’s procedure. You know that.”
“Stop watching me! STOP IT!”
“You can’t tell us to verify hostages over the security feeds then tell us to stop watching you. One or the other, Jorg.”
“Back off,” Kalaka said over the comm. “Pause a moment. Let him catch his breath. When he sounds like a pissed-off kid, that means he’s about to blow his top. Do not let him blow his top, McDade.”
Angie growled and shook her head. She waited a few moments then said, “I’ll have them turn off the holo feeds.”
“You’re lying!” Jorg yelled.
“I’ll ask. That’s all I can do, Jorg. I can ask. You know my hands are tied here. There is only so much I can control.”
“I want immunity and a new identity. I want to get off this planet and away from this Eight Million Gods damn base! I want safety and new identities for my family! Get me that and the hostages can be set free!”
“Let them go first. That way I know you’re serious about talking. You’ll still have the QID as leverage. Let the hostages go and I can make an honest request to Division to get you immunity in exchange for your full cooperation and testimony.”
‘“Testimony? Did you not hear me, McDade? It’s too late for testimony! The syndicates have won! I want a new identity so I can disappear! I will not be going near a single damn courtroom over this crap! I show my face and I’m dead!”
“You detonate that QID and we’re all dead, Jorg. Hundreds of innocent lives. Don’t make this about innocents, Jorg. Keep this about you. Let the hostages go and we can talk about you and only you. They are a distraction that neither of us can afford. Do you hear what I’m saying, Jorg?”