Steel, Titanium and Guilt: Just Hunter Books I to III

by Robin Craig

  She flipped the toggle and saw the light on Amaro’s chest change to a blue spot. “Now I think I can dare, James,” she said. “Give it up.”

  “I don’t think I can do that, Ms Hunter.”

  “James, do you have a family?” His eyes flickered to hers, but he said nothing.

  “Your loyalty to your boss is admirable, but it’s over. Tagarin will get his day in court if he thinks he can justify what he has done. It’s him I’m interested in, not you. If you surrender now I can forget about the resisting arrest, I can forget about a lot of things. You’ll get off lightly. But if you don’t you might be put away for a long time. Do you want to do that to your family? Maybe you should think about where your loyalties truly lie.”

  She did not know how, but she had miscalculated her appeal to his loyalties. At her words, James just gave an inarticulate growl and started to dance forward, randomly jerking Amaro this way and that like a rag doll; whenever Miriam thought she had a shot, before she could take it she’d lost it. Finally she could risk no further delay and took her chance, but James had anticipated well and she hit Amaro instead. “Uurrgh,” he noted. But he was certainly quick, she thought. In his few seconds left, using James as a support he lifted his knees to his chest and Miriam took the opportunity to shoot James in the leg. He roared, dropped Amaro like a sack of wheat and headed toward her. But it was too late. She skipped out of the way and watched him fall. Then she switched the gun back to bullets and ran from the room.

  Chapter 51 – Choices

  Miriam walked as quickly but quietly as she could down the corridor. She heard a soft voice coming from a room just ahead, and silently crept toward it. She took a deep breath then stepped into the doorway, gun held in front of her.

  Tagarin had laid Katlyn’s body on a bed and covered her, and he was leaning over to place a tender kiss on her forehead. He had told her the truth, she thought; he had loved her, and the sorrow of the tableau before her made tears prick her eyes again, though whether for his loss or for hers she did not know. His gun was leaning against the wall, out of his immediate reach. She swallowed and stepped inside, pointing her gun at him.

  “You will have to come with me now, Dr Tagarin. I am sorry for your loss, truly sorry, but it is my duty to arrest you for...” she began: then stopped in shock as Katlyn opened her eyes and turned to raise herself onto one elbow, staring at Miriam.

  “But, you’re dead! I thought she was dead! She’s alive?”

  “I guess you can’t kill me that easily,” Katlyn said softly, with a solemn smile. Her usual bravado, which had been slipping in the office, seemed to have been knocked out of her completely for now; she had the simple manner of a young girl, with no trace of the hardened adult.

  “But how? I saw you shot! She was shot! Don’t tell me she’s bulletproof as well!?”

  Tagarin shook his head. “Sadly no. But when you are a famous scientist with many contacts and even more money, it is remarkable how much you can learn about what’s going on in advanced research and development labs. Take this material, for example,” he said, pointing to Katlyn’s skintight outfit. “She doesn’t wear this just to look sexy, though I think it serves that purpose admirably well,” he smiled. “It is thin and supple yet warm, while allowing the evaporation of sweat. But its main virtue is it is made of narrow fluid-filled channels with Kevlar reinforcing spiraling through their walls. The fluid is a gel full of suspended multicore carbon nanotubes modified to have an affinity for the gel. Have you heard of non-Newtonian fluids, Detective Hunter?”

  Miriam shook her head. Keeping track of Tagarin’s conversations was sometimes a trial.

  “They are fluids whose viscosity changes with the force applied to them. There are several kinds and in one, most infamously quicksand, viscosity increases rapidly with stress. You can see the same thing if you mix cornstarch with water. To put it simply, the fluid stiffens the more you push against it but becomes runny when you ease up. Because of the exceptional strength and length of carbon nanotubes and how they interact with the gel, the fluid in this material is highly dilatant above a certain threshold of stress. In layman’s terms the material remains soft and pliable under the forces applied by normal human movement, even Katlyn’s, but if you apply extreme force the material stiffens dramatically. Owing to the strength of Kevlar and carbon nanotubes it is enormously strong for its thickness as well.”

  “So all that collapsing on the floor was just an act!?”

  “Unfortunately not. If you have ever seen a high-speed photo of a bullet hitting a bulletproof vest, you’d see how far the bullet actually penetrates before stopping. The bullet may not put a hole in the vest or your skin, but it still packs quite a punch. If you are ever shot while wearing one yourself you’ll see what I mean.” He looked at her darkly, as if wishing that fate upon her sooner rather than later.

  “Remarkable as this material is, for Katlyn’s needs we had to keep it thin, and while it provides protection it is not as effective as a normal bulletproof vest. She is lucky she was shot with a .22. If you had shot her at such close range, suit or not she’d have probably ended up with a ruptured liver or spleen and died regardless. As it was she collapsed due to the shock.”

  “Will she be all right?”

  He gave her a bitter glance. “Oh, you care? She is in pain and has serious external and internal bruising, but nothing life-threatening. Except for you and your gun of course. Now what are your intentions?”

  Miriam ignored the question. “So let me get this straight. This material, and I suppose all your other little tricks, are things you acquired from labs working on advanced materials and processes? How did you get them?”

  “Oh, as I said, I have contacts, friends and money. Sometimes I am given samples. Sometimes it requires, shall we say, off the books gratuities to staff seeking an improved standard of living. If something interesting comes out of a research lab but is just an idea, I may fund the development myself: either by a grant to the scientists or perhaps within my own companies – though you would find it hard to discover that they are mine. On rare occasions I confess, officer, we have resorted to plain theft. Another charge for you to add to my sheet.”

  “Now,” he added, voice hardening, “What are your intentions?”

  “My first intention is that I have some unfinished business with Katlyn from our first meeting,” she replied coldly, moving towards Katlyn with her gun aimed at her head. Katlyn blinked and simply looked at her, attempting no defense.

  As Miriam approached Katlyn, she saw Tagarin tense and focus on her trigger finger like a bird of prey watching a snake approach its chick. She got the distinct feeling that the moment he saw that finger twitch, he would launch himself at her whatever the risk to himself. She stopped but kept her gun leveled.

  She stood there regarding Katlyn, then said in the tone of idle conversation, “You know, there’s something that really bugs me about my job.”

  “If you’re going to give me another speech about how sorry you are that your duty forces you to kill me against your better instincts, I might have to hit you again, bitch,” said Katlyn, in a soft self-mocking echo of her tough persona.

  “Believe me, that question still preys on my mind,” said Miriam seriously. “However, that is not what I was thinking of,” she continued lightly. “I work long hours. And what do I get? I get insulted” – she looked at Tagarin – “beaten up” – she looked pointedly at Katlyn – “and people keep offering to shoot me. Sometimes they succeed,” she added, waving her injured arm. “But do you think they pay me enough to compensate for all that?”

  Katlyn’s smile faded to a look of puzzlement. Tagarin had a look of puzzlement that hardened halfway into contempt then stopped, unsure of whether to complete the transformation. He said harshly, “If this is your way of suggesting that a bribe will persuade you to let us go, then of course I will comply. Name your price. Though I have to admit I am surprised: I did not suspect it of you. If I had known it
was that easy I’d have done it earlier and avoided all this.”

  Miriam replied, still in a tone of idle conversation. “Oh, don’t blame yourself. This has been a night of education for me too. Not only have I learned all about non-Newtonian fluids, but I have discovered that I am an utter fool who fondly imagines that a life in the service of justice is somehow good for me, while all around me people deceive me, betray me and advance their careers at my expense. I think it is time I said ‘screw them all’ and did something for myself – don’t you think so?”

  “Name your price,” he said thinly.

  “Frankly, it isn’t even the pay scale,” she continued lightly. “It’s the overtime that really bugs me. Take tonight for instance. I know those skinflints. They won’t care what I’ve had to go through. They won’t pay me any more than if I’d been sitting in the office doing filing.”

  “So...” she said, with a look of calculation. “Taking into account my sterling efforts, especially compared to my colleagues who are all either locked up or unconscious; what the department will actually pay me; and various quality of life considerations: I calculate, let me see.... Yes. I calculate that I went off duty five minutes ago.”

  With that she holstered her gun, stepped forward and reached out her hand to Katlyn. Katlyn looked surprised, then hesitantly reached out and shook Miriam’s hand. Her handshake was surprisingly gentle. Miriam smiled at her. “I think that finishes our business.”

  Katlyn gave her a surprised but delighted smile. “But why? What about you?”

  Miriam looked from one to the other. “I once read that while the Secret Service devote their lives to protecting the President, they are actually sworn to defend the Constitution: if the President goes bad their duty is not to him but to the country. I serve the law not because some people wanted it or some politicians voted for it but because the law upholds justice. I still believe that: only not this time. Like you said, Dr Tagarin, it may be a dangerously slippery slope to make an exception, to allow myself the indulgence of taking the law into my own hands. But I can’t live with the alternative. If the law says to kill you for what you are, Katlyn, not what you have done – then that law be damned. I won’t do it. If I lose my job: well, I can’t do it and keep doing my job anyway.

  “Now to quote you, Dr Tagarin: get out. The two of you, get out and don’t come back. Before I change my mind.”

  Then they heard feet rushing up the corridor. Miriam drew her gun, unsure of what she’d actually do with it if the feet belonged to Amaro, but it was James. James panted and looked around wildly, then pointed his own gun at Miriam. He looked the worse for wear but had obviously come to earlier or overcome his opponent again. Miriam spread her arms then slowly put her gun away.

  Tagarin said roughly, “James, please keep your gun pointed at Ms Hunter. Ms Hunter, stay where you are and don’t move.”

  Miriam looked at him, confused. Oh God she thought, not again, not again, is there anyone left who hasn’t betrayed me? “But, what...?” Tagarin smiled sharply at her as he retrieved his own weapon and covered her with it. “No more questions. James, please disarm Ms Hunter.”

  “Kindly be seated over there,” he said, waving his gun towards a chair. She complied. “Now James, tie her to the chair. Arms and legs: she’s slippery.”

  Miriam looked at him. She wasn’t sure whether to be furious or afraid and if furious, at him or herself. “What are you doing?” she asked dully. As for Katlyn before, it was too much. All of the fight had left her. Katlyn herself was watching the proceedings wide-eyed and uncertain.

  “James, kindly strike Ms Hunter.”

  “No!” cried Katlyn softly. Both Miriam and James looked at her in surprise. But James shrugged and lifted his hand.

  The blow knocked her head sideways. James must have been feeling uncertain himself, for the blow could have been much harder.

  “Good. Again, other side, slightly harder this time.”

  Miriam looked up at him through hooded eyes, breathing heavily, feeling her cheeks swell and tasting blood in her mouth. “But why? Why?” she breathed. “I was letting you go.”

  Tagarin ignored her, lifting her chin to examine her face, glancing at her wounded arm and her other injuries. “Yes, that will do nicely,” he commented to himself. Then he looked at her and smiled wolfishly. “As for why, you are not the only person who believes in justice, Ms Hunter. I really think I need to repay you for what you’ve done.”

  Miriam just looked at him, not knowing what to say. She felt as if the world had gone insane and nothing she thought she knew was real, and it made her unable to think or move.

  Tagarin smiled and turned to address James. “It’s lucky you showed up when you did, James. To fill you in, stricken with grief I was determined not to let Katlyn’s body fall into the hands of her enemies. Unfortunately, carrying her slowed me down enough for Det. Hunter here to catch up with me before I could escape. Taken by surprise and encumbered by Katlyn as I was, she had little trouble arresting me. But as she was escorting me out to become more closely acquainted with our admirable legal system, you surprised her and freed me. Of course, as Katlyn was still unconscious Det. Hunter has no idea she actually survived.”

  He smiled at Miriam, who was now looking at him wide-eyed. “Ms Hunter, I think you are too honest for your own good. Honest people tend to get themselves hurt when those around them are less so.”

  He stood in front of her, looking down on her with a faint smile. “I’m sorry for that little show and the minor beating. But,” he paused, glancing toward Katlyn, “I know you have survived worse. I meant what I said. I wish to repay your – I was going to say kindness, but I think I mean justice. Perhaps they are the same thing in this case.

  “You now have a plausible story for how we escaped and your role in it. Like all good lies it is mainly true. I suggest you use it. You can tell the truth and nothing but the truth, exactly as it happened, without danger to yourself: just neglect to tell the whole truth. You do not deserve to lose your career or your own freedom for what you have done. For that matter, I believe you are one representative of the law who tries to protect innocent people. They do not deserve to lose you either.”

  He looked away into the air, as if hearing something transmitted privately to him, then turned back to her. “Well, goodbye Ms Hunter – Miriam, if I may call you that now. Katlyn? I don’t think you should walk too far yet. James, will you carry her?”

  “Wait,” said Katlyn. She got carefully to her feet and hobbled over to Miriam. To Miriam’s surprise, she sat on her lap and wrapped her arms around her. “Goodbye Miriam. You might have noticed I’m not good with apologies, but what I did to you on our first meeting – I know you didn’t deserve it. I think I knew it even then. Will you forgive me?”

  “Of course, Katlyn,” she said. “I especially forgive you for not choosing to kill me,” she added.

  “And don’t you forget I could have, bitch!” replied Katlyn with a grin. She leaned over and kissed Miriam on the cheek. “Goodbye then, Miriam. Perhaps we will meet again some day.” She rose shakily to her feet.

  “Katlyn?”

  She looked at her enquiringly.

  “Is it true? That you saved me in the park? Or was that another of your lies? I won’t hold the truth against you: I just need to know.”

  “It’s true. All of it. Don’t forget that ‘all’, including why I was there in the first place. I know I’m not blameless.”

  Miriam looked into her golden eyes. “Thank you,” she said softly.

  James picked Katlyn up as if she was a bag of feathers and they turned to leave.

  “Wait,” said Miriam. “Where are you going? This place is surely surrounded by now.”

  Tagarin smiled. “It is not a secret that I have a Gulfstream executive jump jet. What is a secret is that it is currently parked fully fueled in a hangar outside that looks like a glasshouse. In fact, it is a glasshouse. My collection of rare and exotic orchids has even f
eatured in magazines, revealing my softer side to a cynical world. Alas, those flowers are about to become casualties of war. In a short while any helicopters your colleagues may have circling this place will find it prudent to get out of the sky. We shall then make our daring escape, to everyone’s shock and amazement.”

  “But what will you do? Where will you go?”

  He smiled again. “Capital.”

  Chapter 52 – Flight

  Miriam was amazed. “Capital? You’re going to Capital? The anarchy? Are you crazy? Even if you survive, the first bounty hunter to come along will shoot you or bring you straight back here! Katlyn will end up dead or chained up in a freak show!”

  Tagarin shook his head slowly. “Capital is only an anarchy in comparison to our own over-regulated state. And it is a convenient slur bureaucrats encourage to protect their own power from any shade of a viable alternative. Capital is actually what used to be called a free country, the freest country on Earth. In any event, it is the only real hope we have. It is possible I am wrong about its nature and we are walking to our deaths. It is possible that I am wrong about it in the other direction, and they will turn us straight over to our enemies: whether for their own protection or because their prejudices – whatever their publicity – are no better than anywhere else. But if I am wrong about it, well, we won’t be any deader than if we stay here.

  “Now Miriam, there is no danger to us if you manage to release yourself once we are gone. Indeed, your colleagues will be freed then, so nobody will find it remarkable if I leave you the means to free yourself too. So I have left you a knife on the table over there. Please ensure you can hop yourself over there, acquire the knife and begin cutting your bonds.”