‘They aren’t going to be dropping anything any time soon. That’s assuming they do it ever. We still don’t know.’
‘I know, but…’
‘You’re worried. I get it.’ Aneka glanced at Ella and then went on. ‘Look, we’ll come out there, but only for a couple of days. We’ll get drunk… We’ll get you drunk and persuade Ella to do something inappropriate, and then things will get back to more or less normal.’
Gillian smiled, which was good. ‘It’ll be nice to have you here. We’ll see you in an hour or so.’ The screen went black.
‘Things will be back to normal?’ Ella asked as she got to her feet.
‘More or less normal,’ Aneka replied. ‘There’s a difference.’
Tristar Township, 6.1.529 FSC.
‘…deployed construction foam barricades early in the afternoon as tensions continued to rise.’
The news was depressing, to say the least. The video under the voice showed Peacekeepers in their distinctive blue body armour and helmets pouring the dense foam between light, plastic formers to create low walls in front of the gate of the Herosian embassy compound. The crowd looked… restive.
‘Rumours of arrests at the rear entrance spread quickly through the crowd, though the news was denied by officials and there have been no arrest notices filed with any Peacekeeper station. At fifteen hundred, riot gas was deployed as masked rioters attacked the cordon with makeshift weapons. The use of sonic dispersion weapons was approved shortly afterward. Peacekeeper Representatives have reported that fleeing rioters were marked with tracer chemicals. Anyone noticing the distinctive scent should report it.’
‘Rioting,’ Gillian said. ‘This is what I was hoping wouldn’t happen…’
‘Wait for it…’ Aneka said, still frowning at the screen.
The picture cut to some sort of burning building. There was signage above the shattered front windows, but it was now blackened and unreadable. ‘Homemade incendiary devices were used to destroy Sh’Thoris Imports in Downtown this evening. No one was in the building, which was gutted by the fire which Peacekeeper responders said was “unusually fierce.”’
‘And the victimisation starts earlier than I’d expected,’ Aneka said.
‘Head of the Federal Security Agency, Marcus Dowler, has put a request before the Administration to declare a state of civil emergency. This would allow the limited deployment of Marines to assist the Peacekeepers, make large public gatherings illegal, and allow for a night-time curfew to be enacted. The request has been refused but High Yorkbridge Representative Frederick Isherwood called for restraint from the citizenry…’
Isherwood was a typical Jenlay politician, or one of the archetypes anyway. Elroy followed the distinguished gentleman model. Isherwood looked good on camera. ‘At this time we have no news on the situation on Obati and the Administration would like to reiterate that there have been no aggressive acts made by any Herosians currently living on New Earth. Unfortunately, if this unprecedented level of unruly behaviour continues, we will be required to take stronger measures to regain control.’
‘I’m going to go out on a limb here,’ Aneka said, ‘and suggest that your politicians aren’t used to dealing with any form of crisis.’
‘A crisis to most of them is not having the right wine for a dinner with business reps,’ Drake said. Drake and Shannon had turned up late the previous evening, primarily because of Shannon. Gillian’s home was out on the edge of the city and the telepathic pilot had to deal with fewer depressed minds around her. Even so, she was not in the room; she was spending much of her time in the back yard. Aneka was on duty to take her drinks when required since Shannon could not hear her mind.
‘Basically,’ Ella commented, ‘he just admitted they’ve lost control, and it sounds like he’s making excuses for the Herosians.’
‘Uh-huh,’ Aneka said.
‘We need Elroy back here,’ Gillian said. ‘He can handle a crisis.’
‘It might be too late by the time he does get back,’ Aneka replied, ‘and did anyone else think Dowler was a little quick to push the state of emergency thing?’
‘Calling in the Marines this early would probably do more harm than good,’ Bashford agreed.
‘Those arrest rumours?’ Monkey said, sounding uncertain. ‘You, uh, don’t think…’
‘Someone started them,’ Aneka said. ‘Of course, it could have been anyone. I just don’t like the way Dowler jumped on it. And attacking Herosian businesses this soon?’
‘The report did say it was a bad burn,’ Monkey said. ‘That doesn’t sound like a normal accelerant…’
‘Look who’s been studying demolitions recently,’ Bashford commented, but he picked up a phone near where he was standing. ‘Old buddy of mine from the Navy went into forensics when he left. Best explosive ordnance technician the Peacekeepers have. He’s probably on the case…’
~~~
‘How are you doing?’ Aneka asked as she walked out to where Shannon was sitting, two drinks in her hands.
‘Oh… Not too bad. The headache’s gone at least.’ The blonde pilot took her drink, smiling a thank you. ‘I assume the news hasn’t improved? I’m still getting hints of annoyance and frustration from the house every so often.’
‘Actually, we’ve detected an undercurrent of conspiracy to go with the rest of the problems.’
‘Oh?’
‘Bash called an old friend in the Peacekeepers about a Herosian business that was firebombed. Monkey thought the fire sounded odd. Turns out that the FSA has taken over the investigation. They’re calling it “domestic terrorism” so it falls under their purview.’
‘Which is true…’
‘Yeah, but the guy had done some preliminary work and he thinks it was high-end military tech, not some citizens with Molotov cocktails.’
‘I’m going to assume that’s a firebomb of some sort and move on.’
‘It’s a bottle full of petrol with a burning rag stuffed in it.’ Aneka gave a little shrug. ‘There are some variations, but that’s the most basic form.’
‘It sounds crude.’
‘Crude, but effective, and a favourite of rioters the world over. In my time, obviously; petrol is harder to get your hands on now. Simple to make, relatively easy to deploy, and quite effective at disrupting police lines or destroying property. Bash’s friend thinks the accelerant in this case burned far hotter, and he said the responders had trouble putting the fire out, that suggests phosphorous, or something similar, in the mix.’
‘There are plenty of chemicals that’ll burn without oxygen. They usually need some sort of catalyst though which would probably survive the fire…’
‘And the arsonist wouldn’t want that being discovered,’ Aneka said, nodding.
‘You don’t seem terribly surprised that the FSA is covering this up,’ Shannon commented.
‘I’m a little surprised they’re getting away with it. And that Elaine hasn’t managed to weed out all the paid-off agents yet.’
‘Telepathy isn’t a perfect solution. You can get around it with the right training. Or they’re making it hard for her to get everyone checked out. She’s on it and they probably just exposed some more people for her to go after.’
‘Let’s hope so.’
High Yorkbridge, 7.1.529 FSC.
‘You’re worried,’ Truelove said to the assembled Representatives, ‘I get that. But this is no time to be allowing potential enemies to go undetected. Exactly the opposite. And it’s no time to be making snap decisions based on incomplete, raw data…’
‘Are you saying we are acting without due consideration, Agent Truelove?’
Truelove frowned at the speaker. Brittany Usher was a rising star in the Administration, one of two subordinate Representatives under Frederick Isherwood. Attractive as she was, the blonde woman had never used her looks to progress up the ranks; she had found money and influence to be more useful tools. Truelove had files on all the members of the FSA Oversight Commit
tee, but Usher’s was the thickest.
‘Do you want me to say that, Representative?’ Truelove replied. ‘Examine the facts. We do not know why Obati is off-net, but you are pushing forward measures assuming that we are in a state of conflict. Despite that you are asking that an operation designed to eliminate internal threats to the Federation’s security organisation be suspended rather than accelerated. Does that not sound ill-considered to you?’
‘I’ll remind you, Agent, that we are here to oversee the operations of the FSA…’
‘No,’ Truelove stated flatly.
‘I’m sorry?’
‘This committee’s remit is to provide political oversight of FSA operations and activities. It is not to second-guess operational decisions and priorities.’
‘Administrator Dowler has made a clear case for the re-prioritisation of resources to search out the perpetrators of these acts of terrorism on the streets of this city,’ Usher snapped. ‘We are not questioning the priorities of the FSA, we are questioning yours.’
‘Representatives,’ Truelove said, trying hard to keep her voice level, ‘you and Administrator Dowler are politicians, not intelligence analysts or agents. If you were, you would, perhaps, know that you can’t clean someone else’s house while your own is covered in gopi.’
‘Our recommendation stands, Agent Truelove,’ Usher said. There was far too much light in her eyes.
Truelove took a deep breath and stood. ‘In that case, you will be receiving notification of my resignation within the next couple of days. I will, of course, be required to work through the next month to hand over to my replacement. I will be compiling a full report on the current state of the Agency and the interference of this committee to be handed over to Senator Elroy upon his return. Good day, Representatives.’
The light was still there in Usher’s eyes as Truelove walked out of the committee room, but there was a wrinkle in the woman’s brow as well. She had been hoping for the resignation, yes, but the report was an unexpected diversion in the planned trajectory.
‘Hear any of that?’ Truelove asked Justine as she picked her up in the corridor outside.
‘Are you trying to get yourself killed?’ Justine replied.
‘Of course not. I just don’t want you getting bored.’
‘Then buy some exotic underwear.’
Truelove gave her bodyguard a quick grin. ‘I might just do that, but no, I’m not trying to get myself killed. If they tie my hands and listen to Dowler over me then there’s nothing much I can do aside from worry them. I’m hoping that Elroy will come back, tell me I’m not allowed to resign, and beat all of them over the head until they stop being assholes.’
‘They’re politicians, Elaine,’ Justine replied wryly, ‘they actually do have a genetic disposition toward being assholes or they wouldn’t get the job.’
Tristar Township.
Truelove sat on a seat in Gillian’s back yard looking pensive. This was probably because she had Aneka, Justine, and Sharissa staring at her with frowns on their faces. ‘I’ve made my mind up, you know? If Elroy asks me to stay, and countermands the committee, then I’ll stay, but I’m not going to change my mind about this.’ It was a good, solid, determined statement, right until she added, ‘Really I’m not.’
‘Someone has to be keeping an eye on Dowler,’ Sharissa pointed out.
‘If the committee is too scared of civil unrest to face facts, then there’s no point in watching him. He’ll feed their fears and they’ll do what he says. We need Elroy to stamp his foot.’
‘She does actually have a valid point,’ Justine conceded.
‘How long before he’s back?’ Aneka asked.
‘He’s due in system on the seventeenth,’ Truelove supplied. ‘That’s well before my resignation will become final.’
‘Yeah, but that gives Dowler ten full days of unrestricted mayhem.’
Justine frowned and then appeared to come to a decision. ‘I’m going to make a call,’ she said. ‘I’ll be back shortly.’ She walked down to the end of the yard, keeping her distance from Shannon.
‘Who’s she going to call?’ Truelove asked.
Aneka looked over toward the dark-haired woman. ‘If I said “Ghostbusters” neither of you would get the joke anyway.’
~~~
It was getting quite late when the three women arrived at Gillian’s house. One of them was a short-haired brunette with dark eyes and a compact, muscular body dressed in a tight-fitting bodysuit and a long coat which hid the array of weapons she was carrying. The other two were hidden under hooded cloaks. They walked silently into the lounge of Gillian’s house to be stared at by the entire crew of the Garnet Hyde, and Janna, Sharissa, and Truelove.
The brunette moved over to the window where she looked like she was standing guard. Her two companions stood beside Justine who, along with Aneka and Ella, was one of the few people who seemed to have a clue what was going on.
‘We’re safe,’ the brunette said.
Justine nodded. ‘Nothing we say in the next little while leaves this room. It’s important. I mean, we’re trusting you with this, but it’s not a safe thing to know. By now Dowler will think none of you know, but still… Anyone who thinks they can’t handle that should probably leave. No questions asked.’
No one moved, or said anything, until Truelove asked, ‘What’s going on, Justine?’
‘I think we’d all like to know that,’ Drake added.
‘Okay…’ Justine said. ‘When you first saw me, Elaine, you recognised me. I’d talked to you before, but I acted as if we’d never met, yes?’
‘I thought it was a little odd, but we are, basically, spies.’
‘Actually, I had never met you. She did.’
The woman standing beside her pushed back her cowl to reveal another Justine, smiling, perfect in every detail. ‘Hello again, Elaine,’ she said, and the voice was a perfect match.
‘A… twin?’ Bashford said. ‘A clone?’
‘Clone is closer,’ Aneka said, ‘but these two are actually more different than, say, the new Justine and that brunette over there.’
‘I’m not getting this,’ Truelove said.
‘Yeah, well,’ Aneka replied, ‘she’s always had a bit of a flair for the over-dramatic revelation.’
‘Who?!’ It came from more than one mouth.
‘Aneka is referring to me.’ The second hooded figure revealed her face. There were the expected gasps. Winter, the Winter most of the people there knew had been killed by a sniper’s bullet to the head, was standing there, in Gillian’s front room, large as life. ‘I think Aneka should make the introductions,’ she said.
‘Thanks,’ Aneka responded. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, this is Sleep Brings Renewal to All Things, but you can call all of them Winter, except for Justine Nivalis there. She’s actually a little different.’
There was silence for a second and then Truelove said, ‘I’m still a little confused.’
‘Sleep Brings Renewal to All Things was the AI the Xinti built to supervise the Human Uplift programme, Elaine,’ Gillian said. ‘She left Negral before the Federation was founded and… Well, apparently she helped found the Federation.’ She looked at Winter. ‘Am I wrong? You actually were Xenia Winter?’
‘You are not wrong, Doctor,’ Winter replied. ‘I’ve been using bodies like this one, avatars if you will, to run the FSA ever since.’
‘Which is why you seem to be able to get to wherever you’re needed so quickly,’ Drake said.
‘And it explains why your memory is so good,’ Truelove added.
Winter smiled. ‘After recent events I’ve had to retire this body. I brought it out because, frankly, I thought this was the only way you’d believe me. Now I’m using nine different forms, plus Justine here on occasion. Elaine’s Justine ran my safe house on Odanari for several years and did not get the periodic resynchronisation the others are subject to. She has a unique mind and I could not bring myself to terminate it when her job w
as done.’
‘A safe house on Odanari?’ Janna said. ‘Is that where you had my daughter hidden when they were supposedly in a cabin in a forest?’
‘Yeah,’ Ella said. ‘And that’s why me and Aneka knew about this. Sort of. I mean, Aneka’s sort of Winter’s daughter… In a very obscure way.’
‘All right,’ Drake said. ‘We accepted the other AIs from Negral, so I guess we can accept you, but why are you telling us this now?’
‘Because you are the only people I’m quite sure I can trust with the information,’ Winter replied, ‘and I’ll quite possibly need your trust in the future. The first step in trust is not keeping a rather important secret. And because I need Elaine to keep doing her job, and to know why she needs to keep doing it.’
‘I can’t back down now,’ Truelove said. ‘I’d just look weak.’
‘Quite true. You’re absolutely right that you need Elroy to come back and lay down the law. I expect him to be fairly sarcastic about what’s been happening without him and Ollander to keep things in check. You need to keep to your current position, but I think you’re going to need help.’
‘Uh… what kind of help?’
FSA Headquarters, High Yorkbridge, 8.1.529 FSC.
Dowler was smiling as he walked into his outer office. He stopped as soon as the door opened.
Truelove was there, siting at her desk and apparently very busy, but she was not alone. Sharissa Torrence was peering over her shoulder intently and a man from Internal Affairs, Grant Hoffman, was leaning against the wall watching them both. As Dowler moved into the room he glanced to the left and saw Justine sitting there, as always. She was watching Dowler.
‘Agent Truelove,’ Dowler said. Suddenly everyone was looking at him. ‘I understood you had resigned. Do I need to have you escorted from the building?’
‘That would be illegal, sir,’ Hoffman said. ‘According to regulations, Agent Truelove’s compilation of a final report requires that she do so with the supervision of the Security and Internal Affairs departments.’
Aneka Jansen 5: The Greatest Heights of Honour Page 13