Of Cinder and Bone

by Kyoko M

  “Not enough time on the clock for that. We’ll work out the details later.” Jack cleared his throat and cast her a sidelong glance, smirking.

  “Ladies first?”

  Kamala sent him a glare that could curdle milk. His smirk widened into a grin before he tossed both large black lids back and heaved himself up over the side. He landed and wobbled for a moment before shuddering as the stench of rotten food swallowed him whole. He breathed through his mouth in shallow bursts, his eyes tearing, and managed to keep his breakfast down after a moment.

  “Yep,” he said weakly, offering Kamala his arm. “Charming, indeed.”

  She climbed in next to him and they carefully rooted through the trash, checking for any bits of electronics in case the laptop had been disassembled before being tossed. “What are the odds that we’ll find it in this mess?”

  “We probably have a better chance of growing wings and flying around the city,” Jack said, grimacing as he tossed a half-filled macchiato aside. “But the devil’s in the details. There is no perfect crime. If Okegawa was on a deadline, he might have been in a rush. Being in a rush means making mistakes. That’s all we need. Just one mistake to catch him.”

  They searched for the better part of half an hour before Kamala heard a suspicious crunching sound beneath her covered boots. She shifted a few things aside and found a long white cord. She tugged sharply on it and the battery charger for a MacBook laptop popped free, swinging in her hand. She met Jack’s gaze and they both tore through the trash surrounding that spot. A moment later, Kamala’s hands closed on Jack’s laptop.

  “Hello, beautiful,” Jack said, wiping grime and gunk off of it. “Leave it closed. I’m sure the garbage probably did a number on any evidence on the outside, but there might be fibers or hairs between the keyboard and the screen. Nice work, Dr. Anjali.”

  She flashed him a grin, handed it to him, and turned to exit the dumpster. She stopped after only a step. Jack realized why a second later.

  “Konnichiwa,” Okegawa said pleasantly, his smile off-setting the silenced Beretta .9mm in his large hand. “Ogenki desu ka?”

  “We’ve been better,” Kamala said, slowly raising her hands. Jack did the same, but he inched towards her in an attempt to block Okegawa’s line of sight.

  “Relax, Jackson,” Okegawa drawled, his tone almost bored. “I have no intention of hurting ojō-sama.”

  “Well, you tossed my apartment and now you have a gun pointed at us,” Jack said. “You understand my concern.”

  “Of course. The gun is merely insurance. If I wanted you dead, I could have had it done already. I think you know that, as smart as you are.”

  Jack narrowed his eyes. “Then what do you want?”

  “A distraction. That’s why I left the laptop for you to find. It gave me time to break into your car and take the other laptop. I’ve been trying to get it for days, but ojō-sama takes it with her everywhere, unlike you.”

  Kamala clenched her jaw. “How long have you been following us?”

  Okegawa shrugged. “Not long. Had to get everything prepped and tie up loose ends.”

  “Is that what we are now? Loose ends? It’s broad daylight, man. You can’t just shoot us and walk away. Hell, you’ve probably only got another thirty seconds before one of the Starbucks employees empties the trash and sees you.”

  “Hai. That’s why you’re going to toss me the laptop.”

  “Or you’ll shoot me?”

  What little light there was in Okegawa’s brown eyes sputtered out. “Hai.”

  “You just said you didn’t want me dead.”

  Another dispassionate shrug. “I’d prefer not to, but if you push me, I will retaliate.”

  “Jack,” Kamala whispered.

  He glanced at her. She kept her eyes on Okegawa, but her tone was enough. He exhaled and tossed Okegawa the laptop. It landed at his feet, shattering several pieces over the concrete with a loud crash. Okegawa flinched on instinct, his eyes snapping towards it for a split second.

  Kamala took her Taser out of her pocket and shot it at Okegawa.

  Okegawa screamed as the electrified prongs hit him. Jack pulled Kamala down into the dumpster as the gun went off twice, tearing two chunks out of the wall where he’d been standing. They both lay panting in the garbage heap as they heard a thud and then nothing. Jack motioned for her to stay put and slowly rose to his knees, peeking over the rim of the dumpster.

  Okegawa lay on the ground, twitching occasionally, his eyes shut, teeth clenched, the gun lying several feet away.

  Jack scooped Kamala up in his hands with a hysterical laugh, holding her above his head. “You. Are. Freaking. Brilliant.”

  Without thinking, he gave her a jubilant kiss on the mouth and then put her down before climbing out of the dumpster. “Call Stubbs. I’ve got this.”

  Jack grabbed the gun and unloaded the magazine, tucking it carefully in his coverall pocket. He then unbuckled Okegawa’s belt and then flipped him onto his back. He knelt and used the belt as an improvised pair of handcuffs.

  The back door to the Starbucks opened and the manager, a thirty-something blonde, spilled out looking pale. “What’s going on out here?”

  “Oh, nothing much,” Jack said, casually sitting down on Okegawa’s supine form and grinning wolfishly as the man groaned in pain. “Just apprehending a criminal.”

  “We heard gun shots. Are you two okay?”

  “Stellar. Don’t worry. The cops are on their way. Sorry about the noise.”

  She nodded shakily and slipped back inside, telling her employees to do the same as they tried to crowd around the exit.

  Kamala hung up her phone after finishing the call. “Well, Stubbs is on his way. And he doesn’t sound too happy about us investigating on our own.”

  “It’s to be expected. I’ll take the punishment as long as we get some answers.”

  Jack glanced down at his captive. “Comfortable?”

  “Gurk!”

  “Oh? Having trouble breathing, are we? My fault. I should really lose some weight.”

  “Ack!”

  “Really? You think so? I guess you’re right. No point improving on perfection.”

  ~*~

  “I only have one question,” Detective Stubbs said with feigned calm and patience. “Do either of you have any idea how reckless you were? Or how lucky you are to be alive right now?”

  Jack sipped his third cup of coffee that morning, having tipped the staff so generously that his wallet was empty. “Probably.”

  “Probably? You could have gotten yourselves killed. Not to mention one of the staff members could have stumbled out here in harm’s way. I’m about half a second away from charging you with reckless endangerment and obstruction of justice.”

  “We understand, detective,” Kamala said. “We had no intention of endangering anyone else. We had no idea that Okegawa would show up here. It was an egregious oversight on our part. We’ve already apologized to the staff and its patrons for the disturbance, and we’re fully willing to cooperate with anything you would have us do.”

  “Well, one thing you might do is explain how a civilian got access to a type of Taser that isn’t legal to own,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “But for the sake of plausible deniability, I’ll let that one slide for now.” Stubbs sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Look, it’s pretty admirable that you were able to apprehend the guy. You might have just cracked this case. But, I can’t have you interfering from this moment on. Do you understand me? I want you back at MIT, in your lab, working on your project and schmoozing talk show hosts. No more gumshoe work.”

  “Yes, detective.”

  Stubbs waved a hand. “Oh, I trust that you have the sense to know better, Dr. Anjali. It’s this lummox I want to hear it from.”

  “Hey,” Jack protested.

  Stubbs glared. “Say it. Say the words. All of t
hem. Or I’m taking you in right now.”

  Jack met his gaze levelly until Kamala elbowed him in the side. He scowled and said, “I will not interfere with the case from here on out. Happy?”

  “Ecstatic. Go get yourselves cleaned up and then meet me down at the station. We’ll start the interrogation and keep you apprised of what we can get out of Okegawa.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Stubbs turned and nodded to the tall Hispanic man on the driver’s side, Detective Julio Faraday, before stepping into his police car. Okegawa sat in the back, his hands cuffed behind him, staring intently at Jack. Jack smiled sweetly and blew him a kiss. Okegawa kept staring as Faraday started up the car.

  Then, just before they drove off, Okegawa cracked a smile and winked.

  The bottom of Jack’s stomach dropped out.

  He turned to Kamala, pointing at the police car as it wove into downtown traffic. “Did you just see—”

  Kamala pushed his arm down. “He’s trying to mess with your head. Relax. They got him. It won’t be long before we recover Pete.”

  Jack took a deep breath. “Right.”

  He turned towards the manager one last time. “Again, sorry for the incident. If you don’t mind, I’d like to buy your staff lunch for your trouble.”

  She shook her head. “Trust me, that enormous tip you left made them plenty happy. Not necessary. Good luck to you guys on nailing that jerk.”

  “Thank you. Have a good day.” Kamala and Jack headed back to her car. Thankfully, Okegawa hadn’t punched through the window to get inside; instead, he used a device called a Slim Jim to crack the door and then unlock it. The police had already swept it for prints and fibers to prove he’d broken into it, but the results were negative. They were free to go.

  They drove to the Fairfield Inn off of Monsignor O’Brien Highway and headed up to their rooms, which were across from each other. After thoroughly hot, cleansing showers, they met in Kamala’s room to see what Faye wanted.

  She sat at the desk pushed against the far left wall by the window, shoulders hunched, a pair of reading glasses perched on her nose, as she squinted down at some kind of electronic device.

  “Faye,” Jack said, toweling off his unruly hair.

  “Jack,” she said without looking up. “Kam tells me you caught Okegawa.”

  “Yep.”

  “And that it was all her and you were totally useless.”

  “I wasn’t totally useless.” He paused. “I mean, I sat on the guy after Kam tasered him. That counts for something, right?”

  She snorted. “Right. Well, congratulations. Hopefully they get him to ‘fess up. Any luck with Dr. Yagami?”

  “Last time I checked, he’s still AWOL,” Kamala said. “The police are looking into it.”

  “We might not have to depend on the cops. I had an idea. What if we cut out the middle man and just find the dragon?”

  Kamala and Jack traded a glance and then chorused, “How?”

  She turned to face them, her blue eyes bright. “Remember the physical exam after Pete was born? How her maturation was at such an exponentially fast rate? You told me that because of her unusual genes, Pete grows a little each day, and as a result, she sheds her scales frequently. She’s very small, and if they’re transporting her in some sort of cage, there is bound to be a trail. I’m not sure it’s something they would have noticed. Every time they opened a car door or a trunk, when they transported her to different places, she could have left scales somewhere.”

  She tapped the Petri dish on the desk containing the aforementioned tiny grey scales. “That’s why I asked you to bring the samples from the lab. I think I’ve found something that can track them. At the very least, it would narrow what area of the city to search.”

  “So, you made a dragon GPS?”

  Faye scowled at Jack. “That’s putting it rather crudely, but yes.”

  “Honestly, I’d kiss you right now if I didn’t hate you so much.”

  She winked at him. “Still a good excuse.”

  Kamala hid a smile. “How long before you think you can get it up and running?”

  “I’ve already ordered the parts I need and put overnight shipping on them. I should have a prototype by tomorrow night.”

  “You are the best, saheli. I can’t thank you enough.” Kamala squeezed her tight in a hug and then went to grab her keys. “We’ve got to go to the precinct. Call us if you need anything.”

  “Break a leg! And maybe a kneecap too.”

  ~ * ~

  Jack and Kamala weren’t entirely sure what to expect when they arrived at the 1st precinct of the Cambridge police department.

  But they certainly weren’t expecting it to be a madhouse.

  Detectives and officers were darting back and forth, handing each other folders and files. Some were at their desks on the phone, scribbling into their notepads, while others were at the bullpen, discussing something on a large map of the city pinned to a whiteboard. Worse still, there was no sign of Detective Stubbs or his partner Faraday. The ice-bucket feeling in his stomach Jack had earlier in the day returned tenfold.

  They approached the nearest desk with a detective sitting at it. “Excuse me, but what on earth is going on?”

  The detective, a thin black man, had his desk phone pinned between his ear and shoulder and glanced up at the two of them. His brown eyes widened in recognition. He swore and told the person on the other line that he’d call them back.

  “You’re Dr. Jackson, right? That MIT scientist who made the dragon?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  The detective exhaled. “Follow me.”

  Jack and Kamala exchanged worried glances and followed him. The detective led them to the largest office in the precinct. Inside stood a grey-haired man in a charcoal suit and a short-haired brunette woman in a black pinstriped suit. The woman had her arms crossed and the older man appeared to be telling her something that made them both seem gaunt.

  The detective opened the door for Kamala and Jack, shutting it behind them. The man and woman inside the office went silent, offering frosty stares.

  “Yes?” the man asked.

  “Sir, this is Dr. Rhett Jackson and Dr. Kamala Anjali, the scientists Detectives Stubbs and Faraday were assisting.”

  The older man sighed. “Oh. Thank you, Robbins. I’ll take care of it.” He left.

  “Take care of what?” Jack asked. “What the hell is going on?”

  “Dr. Jackson, Dr. Anjali, my name is Captain Ed Burns.” He gestured to the woman standing nearby. “This is Agent Michelle Dunham. She’s with the FBI.”

  “So I take it our request for escalation went through?” Kamala asked.

  “Escalation is an understatement, Dr. Anjali. Approximately ten minutes after you left his company, Detective Stubbs’ police car was ambushed by an unmarked SUV on the way to this precinct.”

  Jack paled. Kamala’s jaw dropped. “What?”

  “Eyewitnesses saw three assailants. One female, two male, all dressed in black with bulletproof vests on and equipped with automatic weapons. They rear-ended the car, shoving it onto the sidewalk to keep him from getting away. Stubbs was forced to exit the vehicle and took cover behind it. He was shot twice. He’s in critical condition at CHA. Faraday returned fire, but he was hit as well. They took them both in for surgery a few minutes ago. The suspects fled after collecting Okegawa from the backseat. Witnesses said they were headed east, but there wasn’t a patrolman close enough to verify where they went. We’re conducting a citywide manhunt as we speak.”

  Jack sank down into the chair by the door. “I can’t believe this.”

  Agent Dunham came forward, her countenance softening somewhat. “I know this is a lot to absorb, but time is of the essence. Have you noticed anyone following you?”

  He raked his hands back and forth through his hair. The room tilted sideways for a minute
and he realized he hadn’t breathed in a while. “No, I… aside from maybe the press. Their interests seem to be my home or the lab. I haven’t seen anyone while we were out investigating.”

  “What about you, Dr. Anjali?”

  “Not that I can recall. How long before the detectives get out of surgery?”

  “An hour, maybe two,” Captain Burns said. “I understand that you’ve been working with Stubbs since this afternoon?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Then we need to know every single thing he knows. Down to the last detail, no matter how minor it may seem.”