by Simon Haynes
"I can't hear anything."
"They say your hearing goes as you get older."
"Cheeky swine. I should have let her shoot you."
"You should have told me you had a gun."
The sirens got louder.
"I wonder if there's a silent alarm or something?" Harriet looked up. "Maybe they have satellite cameras."
"That Navy cash is going to take some explaining," muttered Alice. "They'll go into the records, and my uncle will take the blame."
"They can't hurt him now," said Harriet gently.
"Yeah, but they can ruin his reputation. It's all I have left, Harriet."
Wisely, Harriet said nothing.
There was a crackle, and Harriet saw a bright blue light. Before she could stop her, Alice crouched and sliced through the DNA lock with Teresa's cutting tool. There was a loud fizz, and Alice stepped back hurriedly as the roller door began to dissolve. Seconds later, the door had disappeared into thin air, and the pallet, the stacks of tin boxes and all the cash was no more than a mist of swirling dust.
"What have you done?" demanded Harriet, shocked.
"Like I said, it was just a bunch of parking tokens."
"It was evidence!"
"Yeah. Shame about that." Alice prodded Teresa with her toe. "She's lucky. I was going to bung her in there before I zapped the place."
"You're better than she is, Alice."
"Glad you think so." Alice hesitated. "If she's going to jail, can we have her ship?"
"No!"
"Go on! It's proceeds of crime."
"If anyone should get it, it's the Vasquez security force."
"They already got Tyron's freighter. Oh, come on Harriet. Think how much more crime we could solve if we had a fighter jet!"
"We're Peace Force, not intergalactic rescue."
"But I can learn to fly it, and we won't have to get around in grubby old cargo holds any more!"
There was no time to reply, because at that moment three cruisers pulled into the yard, engines growling and roof lights flashing.
Chapter 28
The grey-haired commander of the Vasquez security detail was less than impressed to see them. "You again? What did I say about running missions on my planet without permission?"
Half a dozen officers had emerged from the cruisers, and they surrounded Harriet and Alice with guns at the ready.
"I'm sorry, Commander … er …"
"Commander Welness."
"Well, my colleague and I were chasing a wanted criminal, and there was no time to—"
"Wanted criminal? You landed in her ship!"
"She wasn't wanted then," admitted Harriet. "It's what she did afterwards that put her on the wrong side of the law."
"Oh, and what was that? Did she land on my planet and conduct an operation without my knowledge?"
"No, she was going to kill us."
One of the men was crouching next to Teresa, and as he finished his inspection he glanced up at Welness. "She's been shot."
"No kidding," muttered Alice. "They ought to make you detective."
"Before, I mean," said the man. "Her shoulder is bandaged."
"That was yesterday," said Harriet. "Smith shot her."
"Tyron Smith?" The Commander stared down at Teresa. "Is that the woman who assisted with his capture?"
"Yeah, but she switched sides."
"Is she alive?"
Harriet nodded.
"Well, at least I won't have to book you two with murder." Welness glanced at Alice. "You're just a kid. Why did this woman want to kill you?"
"I'm not a kid," said Alice, drawing herself up. "I'm a trainee with the Dismolle Peace Force."
"Yeah, I heard they start brainwashing you from a young age. I didn't realise they got you before puberty."
"That's out of line," said Harriet, with a frown. "Alice is a valuable member of my team."
"Where are the rest? Still in childcare?" Welness shook her head. "I don't know what you think you're doing, but I'm not having the Peace Force running around my planet with guns, putting the lives of my residents in danger.
Alice gestured at Teresa. "She had a gun too, and hers was bigger. And she's not Peace Force, she's a dirty, double-crossing murderer." Then, in a belated attempt to be impartial. "Attempted murderer."
"What were you doing in this area?" demanded Welness.
"It was deserted," explained Harriet. "We thought it would be safer to confront her out here, away from the, er, residents of Vasquez."
"So why didn't you interrogate her back on Dismolle? That would have been safer still."
Harriet wasn't sure what to say to that, but eventually she managed an incisive "Um."
"You should call the super," suggested Alice. "He'll straighten this out."
"He?" Harriet glanced at her, confused, and then she realised what Alice was hinting at. Dave had already impersonated a Peace Force officer once, and he'd surely have another go if she asked nicely. "Yes, that's a great idea. I'll call the super right now."
She reached into her pocket, but Welness grabbed her wrist. "Let me get that."
"Seriously?" demanded Harriet. "You think we're going to shoot our way out of this?"
"It's the Peace Force who turned my hair grey in the first place," growled Welness. She reached into Harriet's pocket and took out the commset. Then, with a shrug, she handed it to her.
Harriet called the office, and after a lengthy delay she heard Bernie's voice. Keeping the commset pressed to her ear, so the conversation wouldn't travel, Harriet spoke rapidly. "Bernie, it's Harriet. I'm with Commander Welness of the Vasquez security detail, and she's, er, unhappy about our presence on her planet. I wondered if you could ask the Superintendent to have a word?"
Fortunately, Bernie was quick on the uptake. "The Superintendent? I will see if he's free."
Harriet gave Welness a smile, while simultaneously tapping her foot with impatience. However aggrieved the Commander was at the unexpected Peace Force presence, Bernie would be ten times more upset at the unexpected cost of another interplanetary call. Then a strange voice spoke in her ear, and she nearly dropped the commset. It was a deep male voice, smooth and buttery like a professional voice-over artist. "This is Superintendent Bernie. How may I help you?"
"Superintendent Bernie?"
The robot switched back to her regular voice. "If you don't play along with this farce, Trainee Harriet, I fear you will be incarcerated. And you will address me as sir."
"Um, yes. G-good afternoon, sir. I wondered whether you might speak to Commander Welness? She's a little upset at our being here, and—"
"Of course," said Bernie, using the male voice again. "Please put her on."
Harriet passed her commset over, and the change in Welness's manner was abrupt. She lost the angry frown, and as Bernie apologised profusely, promising to contact her in future over anything to do with Vasquez, she even managed a smile. "That is acceptable, Superintendent. I trust our two planets can move forwards with a spirit of mutual cooperation."
Bernie signed off, and Welness handed the commset back. Harriet was on the point of offering her Teresa's ship as a final apology when she realised Alice had been right. The pair of them had busted two crooks in as many days, and why shouldn't the Dismolle Peace Force keep the fighter jet? Alice learning to fly the thing was out of the question, but they could probably raise some much-needed funds by selling it off. So, she tucked the commset away and gave the commander her best salute, then turned to Alice. "Back to the spaceport?"
"Yes sir," said Alice smartly.
Harriet turned to the Commander. "We'll need to borrow one of your pilots."
Welness looked thoughtful. "As a matter of fact, I have a license myself. It's been a while since I visited Dismolle, and I really should meet your Superintendent in person."
"You want to … meet? In person?"
"Certainly. We could do a lot of good if we pool our resources and cooperate on future missions."
"Y-yes," said Harriet. "You know, we can probably find a pilot at the spaceport. There's no need to trouble you."
"Nonsense." Welness signalled to one of the waiting officers. "Take the other two cars back to the station, and I'll escort these two to the spaceport and fly them home."
"Yes sir."
Welness indicated Teresa. "Take this one with you. Put her in a cell, and get someone to check her over. I'll send through the charge sheet later, once I've sorted out exactly what it is she's done."
The officer nodded.
"And you'd better tell Lester he's in command … temporarily. I should be back by six."
The officer saluted, and then Harriet heard a buzz. Welness took out her own commset, inspected the screen and cursed under her breath.
"Problem?" said Harriet.
"Message from headquarters. We've got a hostage situation at the local settlement. Major incident, from the sound of it." Welness hesitated, then shook her head. "I've got to deal with it. Lester's a good guy, but … I've got to deal with this."
"We understand," said Alice. "Don't worry, we'll get home. You go and deal with the incident."
Welness glanced at her and nodded. Then she addressed her officers. "One car to the station, two of you can take the prisoner in. The other car leaves now with you, you and … you. Spaceport, and call ahead! I want the ship ready to leave."
The officer saluted, and several of the team gathered up Teresa's inert form and bundled her into one of the cars. Two men drove off with her, and three more officers climbed into the second car and raced off, leaving one last officer and the Commander.
Welness motioned Harriet and Alice towards the remaining car. "We'll give you a lift to the spaceport, but that's it. You'll have to organise a pilot," she said apologetically.
"No problem."
They climbed in, and the car shot through the gates and roared down the road, lights flashing. Welness turned in her seat to address Harriet. "Tell your super I'll be over to see him soon. The planets in this system have been playing lone hands for much too long, and I meant what I said about cooperation."
"Excellent. He'll be so pleased."
Welness nodded, and the rest of the journey passed in silence.
At the spaceport, Harriet and Alice were dropped off next to Teresa's ship, and they watched in silence as the cruiser tore across the landing field, lights flashing. "Impressive outfit," said Harriet.
Alice laughed. "If you say so."
"What does that mean?"
"First they fell for your daft superintendent trick, and now they're off chasing their own tails."
Harriet stared at her. "What did you do?"
Alice smiled and took out her commset. "I sent them a little text message while you were trying to get Welness off our backs. Oh, please help, they've kidnapped my husband!"
Harriet stood, open-mouthed. Wasting the Commander's time, making a false report, sending the entire security detail on a wild goose chase … just so Welness couldn't fly them home? She knew she ought to tear a strip off Alice, lecture her on the law, but frankly she thought it was brilliant and she wished she'd thought of it herself. "Yes. Well. Don't make a habit of it."
"That's okay, you can thank me later." Alice reached up for the fighter's access hatch.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Home. Are you coming?"
"You're not flying that thing," said Harriet firmly.
"I know." Alice held up a small, square device. "I filched this from Teresa's pockets after you shot her."
"What is it?"
"Remember how the ship flew here from the settlement and landed itself?"
"Sure."
"This is the remote. With this we can go anywhere, and it's completely automatic." Alice aimed the device at the fighter and pressed a button. There was a double beep and the navigation lights blinked. Alice tucked the remote away and opened the hatch in the belly of the fighter. She hauled the ladder down and started to climb, but when she realised Harriet wasn't following, she turned to give her an exasperated look. "What?"
"We can't just—"
"Harriet, when's the last time you drove a car?"
"Fair point, but … space travel? Between planets?"
"There's a lot less traffic in space."
"What if we run out of fuel?"
"Last one to Dismolle's a loser," called Alice, and she climbed the rest of the way into the fighter.
Harriet stood on the landing pad, arms crossed. She dreaded the idea of strapping into the tiny vessel with Alice at the controls, no matter how confident the teenager was. Then she realised she was fussing over nothing, because the ship had already proven itself capable of flying, navigating and landing by itself. Worst case, they'd end up in orbit around Dismolle, unable to land, and someone would fly out from the orbiter and get them home.
Anyway, the alternative was to find some freelance pilot hanging around the spaceport, and from what she'd heard they were ten times worse than computers. Some were downright menaces, both to themselves and to everyone within blast range of their dodgy landings.
So, Harriet suppressed her misgivings and followed Alice up the ladder.
Chapter 29
Harriet was nervous as the fighter's engines burst into life, but Alice was in her element. While Harriet sat in the back with her fingers crossed, Alice selected their destination, checked it, then hit confirm.
Nothing happened.
Alice hit confirm again, but still nothing happened. "What's going on?" she asked.
Harriet started undoing her belts. "I knew this was a crazy idea. Come on, let's—"
"Obtaining clearance from the control tower," said the flight computer. "Clearance obtained. Departure authorised."
Alice pressed confirm for a third time, and the ship took off while Harriet was still scrambling to do up her belts. "A little warning next time?" protested Harriet.
"You mean there's going to be a next time?"
The ship soared into the sky, taking a much gentler course than Teresa's slam-it-and-up approach. Harriet realised it was the first time she'd actually felt comfortable aboard the thing … until they reached orbit, and she discovered they were weightless. Her stomach rose into her throat, and she clung to her seat, feeling green to the core. "Alice?"
"I'm looking, I'm looking!"
Alice scanned the console, and Harriet hoped she didn't hit the reverse thrusters … or the emergency eject. "Just tell the computer what you want!" she suggested.
"Computer, gravity on," said Alice.
"No it isn't," said the computer.
"Can you put it on, please?"
"Complying."
Weight returned, gradually increasing until everything was the right way up. Harriet's stomach returned to normal, and she relaxed her death grip on the seat. "Now just get us home safely," she muttered.
The trip passed without incident, and as planet Dismolle grew larger Harriet felt a rush of relief. Of course, they were heading straight towards the thing, but she was confident the ship would be smart enough to avoid something as big as a planet.
It was. The planet slipped beneath the nose, and then the ship rolled over automatically and headed down through the atmosphere. The craft was buffeted and shaken, but they emerged safely above an expanse of lush green landscape. Then the thrusters cut in, and they tore across the landscape towards the Dismolle spaceport.
"You've better get landing permission," called Harriet.
"I'm on it," said Alice. She turned to the console. "Get landing permission, please. Dismolle spaceport."
"I know," said the computer. "I heard the other one."
"That was Harriet. I'm Alice, by the way."
"Pleasure to meet you both." The computer hesitated. "Where is Teresa Smith?"
Harriet closed her eyes. Now it had to ask? If they gave it the wrong answer anything might happen. It could fly back to Vasquez. It could tip them out in mid-air and then fly back to Vasquez. O
r—
"She tried to kill us and got arrested," said Alice. "You belong to me and Harriet now."
Harriet closed her eyes and waited for the canopy to fly off.
"Understood," said the computer calmly.
—Or it might just accept the new situation without a murmur, thought Harriet. Maybe the flight computer didn't like Teresa either. She glanced through the canopy and realised they were flying low over the city, and down amongst the low-slung buildings in the commercial district she saw a sight which brought a lump to her throat: the huge, blocky shape of the Dismolle Peace Force station. Then, looking closer, she saw something she'd never realised before.
"Computer, can you change the landing plan?"
"Certainly. What is your new destination?"
"Harriet, what are you doing?" demanded Alice.
Harriet ignored her. "The Dismolle Peace Force station. Can you land on top?"
"Indeed. That is a certified landing pad."
"Great. Off you go, then." Harriet watched the building slide by, with its huge yellow circle painted on the roof. Of course the station had a landing pad! They were Peace Force, not some tinpot private security detail.
"Oh, wow," said Alice, as she saw the rooftop landing pad. "Awesome! We're the Space Peace Force after all!"
"Throttle back there, hotshot."
"Complying," said the computer, and the engines cut out.
"No, not you!" said Harriet hastily. "I was talking to Alice! Turn them back on!"
"Complying," said the computer calmly. "But I don't know how you expect me to know who you're talking to."
"We should give him a name," said Alice.
Harriet thought for a minute, but she couldn't think of anything suitable for an ex-military fighter jet with a calm, laid-back personality.
"Clint!" said Alice.
"Nope."
"Arnie?"
"No chance."
"Chuck?"
"I am not flying around in a spaceship called Chuck," said Harriet firmly.
"Says the woman who called her car Steve."
The fighter turned sharply, and Harriet grabbed for her seat. The buildings were so close now she felt like she could reach out and touch them, and then with a gentle bump, they set down. "Rover," said Harriet suddenly.