Sirius Academy (Jezebel's Ladder)

by Scott Rhine

  “Remind me to buy Sojiro an art gallery,” Daniel muttered.

  “He’d settle for getting his comic published,” Zeiss said, handing Daniel a cup of juice and a handful of pills. “Take your meds and some aspirin.”

  After Trina and the TA guided Daniel to his bed, the two snuck out, closing the door behind.

  “You,” Trina said, poking Zeiss in the chest with her forefinger. “I came in here fully planning to roast your ass for this whole fiasco, but just about everything that went right today had your fingerprint on it, too. Yvette called up several students with medical training before the phones crashed. Triage services were ready before the first casualty arrived. Herk pulled in military firefighters who knew what they were doing.”

  “What’d you find in Lazlo’s personal storage?”

  “Destroyed. He had a couple of long video files we might be able to recover a few frames from, but I doubt it.”

  “Sex videos? Meetings with the enemy contact?”

  “No way to know. I just have one bone left to pick with you.”

  “Mira?” he guessed.

  “What?”

  “Mira called you, pissed off, right?”

  “No, the phones are still down. She can just stew in silence for a while as far as I’m concerned. I’ll find her after I shower and eat. Some of us didn’t get breakfast or lunch.”

  “Breakfast? Crap, I forgot. No wonder I’m shaking. I thought it was the adrenaline and lack of sleep.”

  “You can sleep the rest of the day and have dinner on us, but first you need to walk me through what happened with Carmine. Who else knew you were onto him?”

  “No one. I stayed up until I found him, which was all night.”

  She paced. “How did you find him?”

  “Sojiro found that the messages were being hidden in photos. Red showed me how and which ones to target.”

  “Someone knew it was just a matter of time after that and took measures,” Trina reasoned. “Your signature was the last one to read the data logs that Carmine destroyed. He tried to escape on a fishing boat, but we sank it before it could get close enough.”

  “So he’s in the brig?”

  “When we closed in to cuff him, he started convulsing. No one touched him. There are no marks, but he’s in a coma. He was reporting to someone just before we arrived.”

  “I pulled the top of the dandelion off again and didn’t get the root.”

  “We can still catch the enemy if we know who warned them. Who did you tell?”

  Zeiss listed all the team members. “But I swept for bugs and cameras. We were clean.”

  “It’s a human link. We track them all, you included, for every minute from the time you discovered the messages until the explosion. Taggart’s waiting for you.”

  After he left, Trina showered, ate, and fell asleep next to her husband. Since everyone trusted Red, she was the last person who security tracked. By noon, their prime suspect was Green. He’d gone to the women’s dorm as predicted, visited Kaguya, and vanished after passing through security.

  “Who worked that security desk last night?” asked Zeiss.

  “Carmine,” said Taggart. They ran to the clinic to see if their witness had turned up among the casualties.

  Dr. Marsh spoke with them personally and looked at the photo on Taggart’s pad. “He wasn’t one of our smoke inhalation victims. Wait,” he said, checking his own log sheets. “Here it is. Ms. Mori said she sensed pain radiating from one of the storage rooms this afternoon and discovered your navigator tied up in the corner. He’s been injected with hallucinogens and beaten.”

  When Zeiss reached the room, Kaguya was already at the man’s bedside. Green was whimpering something to her like, “Pet the bunny.”

  She soothed him, stroking his hair, and saying, “Yes, you can pet the bunny when they let you out of here. You were so brave.”

  The TA said, “Green. God, I’m sorry. What happened?”

  “You never came looking for me,” his former student mourned. “They beat me for your crypto information, and it took almost a day for you to find me?”

  “Green, I had no idea. I thought you were having fun being with a star and didn’t want to eat with us.”

  “Some valued team member I am. Do you even know my first name?” the man snapped. Before Zeiss could respond, the man ranted, “Why isn’t Red visiting? Is she doing something more important than my bleeding? I’m done with your team. Kaguya has an opening on hers, and she cares about her people.”

  “You’re disturbing the patient,” Dr. Marsh whispered to Zeiss. “The commander can talk to him, but you should probably leave.”

  Depressed, Zeiss trudged to the library elevator and badged into the sublevel. The door had been disassembled from the inside. A note was pinned to his mutilated computer chair. “This is what I’m doing to your ass when I find you–R.”

  Eventually, he tracked Sojiro down.

  “You don’t look so good, Z.”

  “Better than Green. I just need about twelve hours of sleep. The black hats roughed him up pretty bad. He blames me and Red, and he’s quit the team over it. She’s already on the warpath because I locked her and Risa in the safe room.”

  The artist shuddered. “Bad juju.”

  “I’m going to be sleeping in the locker room for weeks.”

  “You were kind of sexist, sending Herk and me into battle and the ladies into the tower to be protected.”

  “No. I sent Yvette to the clinic to help.”

  “Uh-oh. You’d better hide here while I smooth things out with her.”

  He took off his workout shoes and fell asleep on top of Sojiro’s sheets.

  When he woke up, Mira was standing over him, livid. “Thirty seconds.”

  Zeiss sat up and shook his head to clear it. “You’re the most important person in the world. We had to keep you safe from the terrorists and near a lifeboat. Even if the whole island sank, you had to survive.”

  “And I don’t get a choice?” she shouted in his face.

  “No,” he said without blinking.

  “Aaarrrgh!” she shouted, kicking the door open so hard the knob put a hole in the wall. She faced that wall and struggled to control her breathing.

  “You need to talk to Dr. Marsh about anger management,” he suggested.

  “Don’t tell me what I need. I just lost a team member because of your interference,” she said to the wall. Walking out the door, she growled, “Don’t bother coming to dinners anymore. I’m replacing you as our adviser.”

  Chapter 27 – Global Events

  The second morning of the semester beginning in January, Zeiss was with Daniel in the gym. This time he was doing some working out of his own. “Frustrated?” asked his boss.

  The TA lifted padded bars from each side up to a midpoint over his chest. “Red’s seriously pissed. She won’t say a word to me that isn’t required by law. Three weeks after our rift, she dropped the navigation class, and she needs that to graduate as a pilot. She won’t even let the team members talk to me.”

  “I promised her I wouldn’t talk to you about the team either,” Daniel admitted. “It’s the only way she’d let me be the new adviser.”

  “You’re gaining weight from those weekly meetings. Could you tell me about what sent her off the deep end?”

  Daniel bit his lip as he played with the weight bar in front of him. “I could tell you about another friend of yours not on her team.”

  Zeiss put the machine back in place and sat up. “Go on.”

  “Kaguya’s team started recruiting aggressively.” Daniel rattled off a few student names and specializations.

  “She’s using Red’s list, the one she spent a year developing. Syd Green gave it to Mori!” He mopped his face with a towel and draped it around his neck.

  “In more ways than one, I hear.”

  “So that touched off a blood feud?”

  “I can neither confirm nor deny.”

  “
That explains why Sojiro watched The Godfather.” When Daniel raised an eyebrow, Zeiss explained. “I monitor their computer activities to give me clues.”

  “Sneaky.”

  “Occupational hazard. Of the nine recruiting targets, how many has the other team scored?”

  “Four so far; two are still in play,” Daniel hinted. “We don’t think Green told Mori about only needing eighteen talents; he was so new that no one had explained that to him yet.”

  “That means Red’s team is up to eleven people, right on schedule aside from no navigator. That confirms my suspicions from the size of their beverage orders from the BX. But only three team members are women.”

  “You shouldn’t be worrying about this anymore. When I asked about your frustration, I meant sexual. You’ve been doing more pushups than me these days. How’d the date with Nurse Betsy go?”

  “Yeah. Yvette set us up before Red built the Iron Curtain. She said Betsy was sweet.”

  “So, how did she taste?”

  Zeiss cracked his boss in the butt with the towel. “Dirty old man.”

  “You didn’t swallow a second earring to complete the set?”

  “Eh? No. We had dinner at the restaurant, that’s all. A date doesn’t mean sex.”

  Daniel scratched his head. “Did she wear a dress?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Colored bra?”

  “How did you . . .?”

  “Then she was expecting sex. What was wrong with her?”

  “She wanted me to pick the time, order for her, and didn’t have an opinion about anything.”

  “And the pilot from the mail plane who offered to give you a ride back from the funeral? You used to pick up parcels from her all the time. Now she asks about you.”

  “Huh? She’s as tall I am with bigger muscles. Have you ever seen her toss those mail sacks?”

  “Might do you some good to get your sack tossed.”

  Zeiss stood up. “I ought to leave you strapped to that thing.” Then he saw Herkemer walking through the gym wearing shorts and a tank top. “Herk!”

  To Daniel, the Polish bomb technician said, “Tell this man I came to talk to my adviser.”

  “Come on, Red doesn’t watch the security videos,” insisted Zeiss. When Herk’s head jerked up to check the camera, the TA said, “She does! Gott in Himmel.” Zeiss collapsed onto the bench to have a drink and eavesdrop.

  Daniel asked, “How did the trip to Panama go? Did Risa’s folks like you?”

  “Her mom couldn’t stop smiling or feeding me.”

  Zeiss stage-whispered into Daniel’s ear, “What made the mom smile?”

  Herk slipped and answered directly. “Whenever I opened a door for her or offered to carry something. I must’ve fixed twenty things around that kitchen. Her aunts would fan themselves while they watched.”

  “You took off your good shirt so you wouldn’t get grease on it, didn’t you?” suggested Zeiss.

  “Yeah, how did you know, Z?” Catching himself, he cursed. “I’m no good at this spy stuff.”

  The professor nodded at the machine on his other side, “If you’re working out, your knees block any lip-readers.”

  “That’s why you’re an adviser, sir,” Herk said, lying down at the machine beside Daniel’s.

  “Why has Red been practicing lip-reading?” asked Zeiss.

  “Officially, the Academy teaches it in case helmet radios go out,” Daniel said, covering his mouth. To Herk, he said, “Tell us about Panama.”

  “She has a huge extended family, and they were all great, sir. Risa told them about me last year, but only mentioned my first name—Rafael.”

  “You’re kidding,” Daniel exclaimed.

  “No, man. They all thought I was Latino. Her relatives made me feel welcome even though my Spanish sucks. All I know are short compliments for women and food. Her mom or one of her aunts pinched my damn cheek every time I talked.”

  “You speak four languages; you’ll get there,” said Zeiss, turning his back to the camera. “What’s the problem with her father?”

  Herk sighed. “See, you get this. I can’t talk to anyone else on the team about these things.” Lowering his voice so others in the gym couldn’t hear, he said, “I asked him for his blessing, for Sonrisa’s hand in marriage.” When Zeiss didn’t drop his water bottle in surprise, he continued. Idly, Herk pulled the triangle handle down on the apparatus in a rhythm as he enumerated his problems. “He doesn’t want us getting married before she gets her degree. He gave all sorts of excuses. He rambled about the honor of Panama, how they’d never get another astronaut if Risa washed out. I think he used a triple negative at one point. He made a point that they’re very Catholic in that family—no birth control. We couldn’t live together here on the island. We’ve been together almost two years. I can’t wait five years to . . . you know.”

  Daniel smiled. “He didn’t specify which degree. Nine months back from the bachelors’ graduation puts a wedding about six months out. I don’t think you could plan a big wedding any sooner than that. There’s one other married student couple on the island; it’s about time we converted one of the pods to married housing. I was just about to suggest that to Dean Stanton.”

  “That’s fantastic, professor,” Herk said with a relieved grin. “But kids?”

  “Your friend here put the best UN-security-cleared baby nurse on the planet on your team.”

  “I was wondering about that,” Herk fished.

  “I’m still trying to prove my theory. You’ll have to trust me a little longer,” said Zeiss.

  “I owe you for taking care of her the day of the bombing, Z. That buys you a lot, man,” Herk said pumping the weights. “Risa’s dedicated to this mission; she wouldn’t risk it by getting pregnant. Her dad also thinks my technician job doesn’t pay enough to support a family.”

  “I have a suggestion. You and Risa will love it, but Red won’t,” Zeiss offered.

  “Let’s see, sex three-and-a-half years sooner, or tolerating a bad attitude from Red,” Herk said, pretending to consider. “Since Red’s going to have a bad attitude regardless, I’d vote for everyone else being happy.”

  The other men chuckled. Zeiss licked his lips. “Bodily Override talents get high-risk combat pay from day one.”

  “You want me to sign up to be a Rex?” asked Herk, incredulous.

  Daniel nodded. “Your team needs one. You worked well with the ones on the fire team. I’d sign that request.” After a moment, he whispered, “Rexes can also delay the release of problematic fluids for over an hour. That’s why Kaguya always kept one handy. Of course we can’t let her infect any more of them; she destabilizes them too much. That could be your hook with Red—you couldn’t be recruited by Mori if you got Override training.”

  “I guess I could do that . . . for the sake of the team,” said Herk.

  “So what’s the group doing these days?” asked Zeiss.

  The Polish team member smiled. “I can’t talk about some of it. She’s doing the calculator trick every week to practice, but it’s not the same without you.”

  “Is Lou on the team yet?”

  “He was impressed but doesn’t want to settle for second chair. He’s aiming for pilot himself.”

  “How about more personal information: what classes is she taking for her second semester of her Sophomore year?”

  “Risa’s learning about combining Ice Nine and solar cells. The solar fabric keeps the ice from melting in the sun. She’s meeting with her talent mentor once a week.”

  “I meant Red.”

  “Oh. They’re probably all the ones you suggested to Professor Sorenson. I saw the handwriting on her degree plan. Chemistry, Thermodynamics and energy transfer, Space propulsion, Resisting interrogation, and Biology. She hates Biology already.”

  “Too bad, she needs it. Is she getting headaches, keeping her potassium levels steady?”

  Herk laughed. “You sound like Risa’s mom. The only problem Red’s had
lately is clothes that don’t fit anymore. Risa, Yvette, and Trina are taking care of that.”

  “She’s seeing Trina again?”

  “Yeah. Red started tutoring in place of that class she dropped last . . . oops. Sorry, man.”

  Zeiss looked at his watch. “I have to stretch Daniel some more. It’s been good not talking to you today, Herk.”

  “I owe you. I won’t forget this,” Herk promised.

  ****

  A few weeks later, the island was rocked by a different set of events. Famine in Africa caused several loan defaults. Bankers around the world scrambled to raise interest on their other accounts to compensate. More defaults followed. Financial markets were sliding.

  Red called an emergency team meeting in the simulation center at 1900 on a Thursday night. Daniel and Trina were both present. Sojiro had been there for hours prepping a new interface. She told them all, “I’m adjusting the clearance level of everyone in this room. Last week, of all things, a plague of locusts started a chain of economic events in Africa.”

  “How Biblical,” said Risa.

  “Closer than you think. Seven years ago, I and a close team helped to avoid a world-currency crash with similar roots.”

  One of the newcomers raised an eyebrow. “When you were what, ten?”

  “At ten, I was in Mensa and taking remote math courses from Stanford. This was eleven. My parents saw me building a model of the impending crash in my playroom. I worked with some of the best minds in the UN to stave off disaster. We couldn’t avert all of it, but we worked for a soft landing.”

  “Except Somalia,” Trina whispered.

  “They were trying to assassinate members of the financial team. It’s evolution,” Red barked. “The Band-Aids we left in place might have worked, except the Russians panicked and dumped diamonds to shore up their own currency. This sent the Africans even lower.”

  When Sojiro brought the three-dimensional model of world economies up, people stopped doubting. The first two attempts to manipulate the flow crashed the simulator. “More memory. It’s bigger this time,” Red pushed.