“Sergeant, what have you got for us?”
“Travers did indeed call my old precinct and notify them of Maric’s address, but he also made another call to a re-direction service on Mars.”
“Who to?”
“Impossible to say, nobody can trace a call like that, anonymity is the reason the service exists. I am guessing that whoever Travers called, he doesn’t know where they are either.”
“And what about when we landed on Titan?”
“He made a call to the spaceport authorities just after we landed, but I have no idea why.”
“Barski, get me whoever is in charge of the Titan 1 Port now!”
“Here?”
“Yes!”
The two men went silent as Barski brought up his intercom channel and contacted the spaceport. Both Nowak and Kaufman were as eager to hear what the port had to say, as much as they dreaded the response. Within a few minutes Barski had managed to reach the Port Commander.
“This is Ryan, Commander of Titan 1 Port Authorities.”
“Kaufman, Interplanetary Bureau of Investigation.”
“What can I do for you, Sir?”
“I have records that someone aboard my ship contacted you a few hours ago, moments after we landed, I want to know what it was regarding.”
“Can you not ask your crew?”
“Commander, we are in the middle of a highly sensitive investigation involving deep rooted corruption, I am asking because I gave no such authorisation for contact with the port authority after we gained clearance to land.”
“I am having my assistant check our files now.”
“Thank you, Commander.”
The three men sat desperately awaiting a response from the Commander. For three minutes they sat in silence, though it felt far longer, until finally the Commander came back on the comms.
“Sir, I have got the comms officer here that received the communiqué with your crewman. It was a transcribed message to be forwarded as an emergency message to a small freight vessel that had just arrived called Hopper.”
“Does your officer remember what was on the message?”
“Something to do with a family emergency on Marsau and to call home immediately.”
Kaufman shook his head in astonishment.
“Thank you, Commander, Kaufman out.”
“What does this mean?” asked Barski.
“It means Travers has some serious questions to answer.”
“We have to be absolutely certain before we start throwing allegations about, Max.”
“Why, isn’t this enough?”
Kaufman grit his teeth. As the commanding officer it was his responsibility, and he was about to condemn one of his own men. On the other hand, if he did nothing and the man was the cause of their failures, he would be responsible for allowing them to continue.
“What’s the nearest colony to us?”
Barski studied a map on the screen before him.
“We have a trade station not far away, it’s a hub for interplanetary business in the area as well as ship repairs and re-supply.”
“Alright, take us in. Nobody outside of us three discusses this matter.”
* * *
“Welcome to Damasia, the trade and business jewel of the Solar System.”
The intercom rang off as The Intrepid made its final approach into the docking bay. Damasia was a vast station, with a permanent population of a little over twelve thousand, but accommodation and facilities for a vast number of passersby. In its infancy, the station was a hive of crime and illegal business activity, being lightly policed and ideally suited to trade away from the colony authorities. Over the past decade it had evolved and cleaned up its image, becoming a popular trade colony for big business, as well as a prime location for new and legitimate business ventures, especially due to its lenient income and business taxes.
“We’re making a short stop to pursue a lead. Barski, Nowak, Travers, you’re with me. I want everyone else to continue to pursue any leads on the Gadson Gang that you can find,” said Kaufman.
The four men headed for the door of the ship and stepped out into the docking bay. Security was tight throughout the station, firearms and other weapons being strictly prohibited, even for self-defence purposes. Kaufman flashed his badge at the attending port authority guards, allowing them to pass through without handing in their weapons.
They walked around in a freight corridor, out of view of the guards and passing travellers. Without warning Kaufman drew his gun and quickly turned, lifting it to Travers’ head.
“Whoa, what the hell!” shouted Travers.
“I am sad that it has come to this, but you are going to answer my questions. Do not think I will not shoot you, as I have all the authority I need to do so. You contacted Maric’s address on Mars and warned him of the raid before the uniforms got there. You also warned the gang to leave Titan after we arrived. Do not treat us like idiots, I want the truth, now!” shouted Kaufman.
Travers dipped his head in shame. He was obviously guilty and that he felt ashamed of what he had done, and not just because he had been caught. He face began to quiver, his eyes watering.
“I am so sorry, Sir.”
“Why did you do it?” shouted Kaufman.
“I needed the money!”
“The IBI are paying you a fortune compared to any cop’s salary, how was that not enough?”
“I owe five times my yearly salary to a bookie back home. Maric found out and sent his people to my home, he said if I agreed to give him information, he’d payoff my debts!”
“Jesus Christ, you betrayed your friends, your colleagues, and your President for a bit of cash?”
“What else was I supposed to do?”
“You should have come to me!”
“I’m sorry, Sir, I had no idea what to do.”
Travers was weeping, a shattered mess of a man. Kaufman reached under his coat and pulled out his gun and his badge.
“If you’d come to me with this at the start I could have helped you, but all you have proven is that I cannot trust you. You put all of us at stake. You cost a lot of people their lives!”
Kaufman turned and walked away down the hall, followed by Barski and Nowak.
“What am I supposed to do now?” Travers screamed at them.
Kaufman turned back to the man, furious at his stupidity and lack of loyalty.
“I don’t give a shit! Be thankful that I don’t give you up to Denton! You’re on your own now, don’t ever come near the IBI ever again!”
He turned and stormed off back towards their ship, leaving their former comrade in a quivering mess.
“You’re just going to leave him here?” asked Barski.
“It’s more than he deserved, not so long ago we would have put a bullet in the back of his head. He will be able to hitch a lift back to Earth eventually, that’s his problem.”
They walked back aboard their ship. Kaufman was pale, deeply affected by the deception of a man he had called a colleague and friend. He stepped back onto the bridge, the crew surprised that he was back so quickly.
“Singh, get us out of here.”
He turned in surprise to look at their leader.
“Where is Travers?” he asked.
Kaufman hit the intercom, the switch that gave a feed to the entire ship.
“This is Lieutenant Kaufman. Justin Travers has been relieved of his badge and his duties within the IBI. He is a traitor to our organisation and does not deserve any of your sympathies. Any further contact with him is strictly forbidden. This is a sad day for all of us, but let’s move on and do our jobs, Kaufman out.”
All the crew were silent. A few looked at Kaufman, most stared into space. They could not believe what they were hearing. A few among them at that moment suspected rightly that he had been an inside man for the gang they had been hunting, for too many things had gone badly for the Bureau since their founding.
“Where are we heading, Sir?” a
sked Singh.
“The military colony of Vicina, how far are we from it?”
“About a day’s journey, Sir.”
“Do it.”
The crew were sullen and quiet as their leader strode off into his office. He knew their morale was low, but he felt just as distraught, there was nothing he could say at that time which would help. Moments later the buzzer of his door went. He contemplated not answering, not wanting to discuss any of it with the crew, but finally he opened the door. Nowak, Denver, Lin and Barski stepped through.
“Sir, Barski has filled us in on the details, we are so sorry for not being aware of Traver’s deception,” said Denver.
Kaufman looked up at his four sergeants. They looked almost as mentally exhausted as he felt.
“The important thing is that we have rid ourselves of the mole. The next time we are on the Gadson Gang’s trail they will not be a step ahead of us, and when we encounter them I want us to be better armed. They outgunned us in our last meeting. At Vicina we will re-equip with military hardware.”
“Surely they won’t be too keen to hand over their hardware?” asked Lin.
“They won’t have a choice, by Presidential order, all authorities are legally obliged to assist us in any way we deem fit.”
“What about our teams? We are two officers down,” said Denver.
“We’ll recruit from the army ranks at Vicina.”
“Sure that’s a good idea? They could raise hell,” said Lin.
“Yeah, which is what we need. We are dealing with hardened criminals, many of which are ex-soldiers. We need all the help we can get.”
“What is this Vicina base?” asked Barski.
“It’s a military training base and prison. Not wholly secret but neither common knowledge. The military use it as a centre for extreme terrain and environment combat training. The prison is strictly for military felons only.”
“Must be a real hellhole.”
Kaufman nodded.
“Denver, you’re in charge of the teams following up research and leads on the Gadson Gang. Lin, there are still plenty of other gangs operating in the system, your job is to follow up anything you can find on them, we need any victory we can wrestle from this situation. Barski, I want you in engineering, make sure our vehicles and weapons are serviced and ready. Nowak, I know you’re not popular with your old precinct, but you’re out best bet. Get on to them and try and pursue any leads you can get on Maric’s old address, family, associates, anything!”
* * *
Kaufman had gotten just two hours sleep en route to Vicina, he was already becoming wary of space travel. He missed the day and night cycle of Earth, the comparatively fresh air of his home city and the ability to simply walk in the open air. The Intrepid roared into the airspace of the colony, faster than their rules allowed, but nobody had the power to call them up on a charge.
Vicina was little more than a giant rock in space with uniformed masses of military compounds and training buildings. The other colonies they had put down on at least made some attempt to be inviting in some way, but not Vicina. It was harsh and ugly, the only sign of life being the glow of lights through the windows of the buildings and the odd vehicle. They could see the glimmer of movement in the distance of soldiers in zero gravity combat training.
The docking facility they landed in was spartan to say the least, lines of military freighters and a number of fighters and assault craft. Their ship put down in one of the few open spaces they could find, with nobody to guide them to a docking terminal. An officer approached their position, though Kaufman could already see he was not of particularly high rank. The doors to their ship opened and Kaufman stepped out with Nowak and Barski at his side, walking up to the lone officer.
“Lieutenant Kaufman?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Captain Lewis, the base commander has appointed me as your liaison officer. Welcome to Vicina, follow me.”
Moments later they were sitting in a small office beside the freight bay, it was just as grey and ugly as they would have expected after seeing the planet on their descent.
“What can we do for you?”
“Are you aware of our organisation and its purpose?” asked Kaufman.
“Yes, Sir.”
“Then you are aware that we have Presidential authority to require all departments to assist us as required?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“In our last few firefights we have been outgunned by the criminals we have been sent to bring to justice. We have also lost two of our comrades. I need two men to fill their shoes, and enough weapons to equip twenty men.”
“The equipment should not be a problem, Sir, but the troops are a different matter. Our General has already decreed that no man may leave his duties without his express permission.”
“Then I will talk to him personally.”
“Sir, the General is a busy man.”
“Captain Lewis, I have no time to sit around and argue the particulars with you, get the General on the line this minute!”
Moments later, Lewis had indeed got General Nichols on the line.
“This is Nichols.”
“General, I need two men to join my crew, Captain Lewis here says you need to authorise it.”
“Listen, Lieutenant, we have lost enough from the budget cuts of the last decade as it is, we are running on bare bones, I can’t afford to lose anymore men.”
“What about the prison facility? Can you afford to lose two from there?”
“You want to recruit men who have been incarcerated in a military prison to do police work?”
“I wasn’t asking for an opinion, General, I just need the men.”
“Fine, you have my authority to take two prisoners into your care, but from that moment on they are your problem. I never recommended this course of action nor will I condone it.”
“Thank you, General.”
Barski looked to Nowak, shocked at what he was hearing, but Nowak showed no surprise at all.
“Captain, please get us over to the prison wing immediately. I’ll need personnel files for all prisoners. I also need that hardware sorted while we work. I need assault rifles, light machine guns, grenades, all the standard kit that you would equip a platoon with, as well as twenty MILAL suits.”
“Sir? You shouldn’t even know about those suits, those are latest issue kit.”
“I know, just get them for me.”
* * *
The three IBI officers had been sitting in a small office within the prison compound for half an hour, looking intently through the files of those who were sentenced there. Most of the criminals had committed acts of murder, severely broken the chain of command, or been illegally selling military hardware on the black market.
“So what are MILAL suits?” asked Barski.
“Latest body suits that the military are using for assault troops and marine units. They are full body armour suits that are suitable for almost any environment in the system, from zero G to extreme hot and cold temperatures. They have eighty per cent coverage of body armour that is proof against most small arms fire and low power booster devices.”
“Booster devices?” asked Nowak.
“They allow safe descent from several thousand feet in any atmosphere, as well as assisting in some jumping and flying actions on low gravity colonies.”
“You think they’ll just give them to us?” asked Barski.
“They have no choice.”
“Sir, how about these two?” asked Nowak.
Kaufman looked down at the file. Two men, best friends, sentenced to twenty years each for brutality, torture and murder during a terrorist action on Europa. The file said that they saved thousands of lives, including the Vice President from an assassination plot, but used unethical means to gain information and excessive force in completing their mission.
“Christ, sounds more like they should have been given medals,” said Kaufman.
“People don’t wan
t to hear that torture and murder were used against civilians, even when it was necessary.”
“Yeah, well maybe that was the case a couple of years ago, but a decade of misery in this great depression can win hearts and minds for such things,” said Kaufman.
Eric stood up and went out of the room, stretching his legs that had gotten stiff and weary of doing so little while sitting at desks so often in recent times. Captain Lewis was in the adjoining office.
“Captain, please bring me Prisoners Wilson and Morrison.”
“What are their numbers?” he asked.
“3487128 and 3492134.”
The Captain tapped in the numbers to his computer and looked at the files, his facial expression immediately turning to dread.
“Sir, you sure about this?”
“You’re a soldier, honestly tell me you think they are bad men?”
“Sir, that is not the cause of my concern. Those two men were poster boys for the anti-military movements to force our budgets down.”
“Means nothing to me, just get them, Captain, bring them to our office.”
It was half an hour’s wait until the door to their office was finally opened and Captain Lewis presented himself. They hated waiting, but knew that they could do nothing to speed up the prisoner release process. Lewis came in with the two prisoners trailing behind him. They each wore a fixed width shackle bounding their wrists together and joined to a similar device at their feet.
“Captain, get those shackles off them,” said Kaufman.
“But, Sir?”
“Now!” he barked.
The Captain nodded to a prison guard who had followed them into the room. The two men wore identical pale blue overalls with white t-shirts showing beneath their open collars. They stood tall, proud men, but also showed absolute disdain for the way they were being treated. A few moments later they were released from their bonds.
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