“Well, the terrorists don’t care about that. All hell is going to break loose.” It already had, the thought bringing back the smell of burnt flesh. She forced herself to take slow, measured breaths to fight back the nausea.
“Inspector Cervantes. One hell of a way to start the day.” Outside the ambulance stood Drago. He was wearing his uniform and latex gloves, his posture tense.
“I’m sorry,” she said, not knowing what else to say. “I couldn’t do anything for them.”
He nodded in acknowledgment. “When you’re done here, we need to talk. Inspectors Raymond and Hale are here. We need to work out a strategy on how to proceed.” His gaze fell on Ami. “Why is she here?”
“I picked her up this morning,” Katlena said without blinking.
“Okay. Good,” he said, studying Ami who held his gaze as well. “We wouldn’t want a new employee under suspicion, especially since you seem to work well together.”
“About that…Sir, I was wondering if we could make an exception and take her off probation sooner. This investigation will need all of us to stay extremely focused, not waste time with formalities.”
“Do what you need,” Drago said. “Later.”
“Of course, sir. Thank you.”
She was surprised to see him give in so easily, but of course Drago had other things on his mind.
When they walked out, the bodies were carried away by the coroner’s team. Ami shuddered. “Shouldn’t we drive by your apartment?”
Katlena regarded her torn sleeve with a shrug. “I have another uniform at work. We get supplied too, you know? I need to talk to a few people. I’m sorry, but you can’t be present for that. Can you drive the car to the department and wait for me there? Someone will give me a ride.”
“Sure.” Ami still looked uncomfortable.
“Wait a minute.” Katlena walked her back to the car where she kept a notebook and pen in the glove compartment. She quickly wrote a few lines and added her signature.
“If anyone asks, give them this. I’ll try to be quick. In the meantime, you can finish the reports you started yesterday.”
Ami nodded and made a move to get into the car, halting in mid-motion.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done…Inspector Cervantes.”
Katlena gave her a brief, but genuine smile. Ami couldn’t call her by her first name here, and Katlena was grateful she accepted the necessities. Whatever it was between them, it only had a chance if they treaded very carefully.
“I’ll see you later.”
* * * *
“I can’t believe this happened. There is no way this could have been done from the outside.” Drago’s anger and grief was quiet, and all the more dangerous. “Any ideas?”
“Long-term?” Inspector Hale shrugged. “Cut the funding for all the cyphers. They are most likely to side with the rebels, hell, most of them are cyphers, and we don’t want government-funded terrorists, do we?”
He glanced around, looking proud of himself. Noelle caught Katlena’s gaze and rolled her eyes. “It’s certainly not anything to think about right now,” she said.
Katlena thought of Amy’s tiny apartment, food deliveries and the many regulations that dictated her life. Where could you cut from that?
“I agree with Inspector Raymond. Besides, cyphers aren’t that expensive for the government when they work for just about nothing.” She addressed Drago next. “Are you aware of any threats to your family?” He shrugged.
“There are always threats. Occupational hazard.”
“This was planned too well. I don’t think any cypher would have the means or even the time to come up with a coordinated plan like that. We don’t know what those rebels are doing out there in the woods, who they communicate with.”
“We could send a tactical team to find out,” Hale suggested.
“We need to start an undercover operation and at the same time look at possible suspects from the inside. Motive, access to explosives. I’m sorry, but we have to look at people close to your brother,” Katlena said after a moment of hesitation. “Especially those.”
“I understand that, Inspector Cervantes. I’ll need to get hold of him meanwhile and have him return here.”
“He’s not in the country?” Katlena asked, surprised.
“Not even on the continent.” Drago shook his head. “What a terrible mess. I’ll have to notify my niece too. Thanks, Inspector, for making sense. I’ll put you in charge.”
“Excuse me, sir, why her?”
“Inspector Hale, I don’t believe we have time for this. You all know what to do. Oh, and while I’m with Inspector Cervantes on the cypher issue, check the CId buildings anyway. You never know.”
“You want us to do raids?” Noelle looked uneasy, Hale, not so much, with the prospect.
“Cover all angles, right, Inspector Cervantes? Can’t hurt to shake them up a little. With the new laws, there’s bound to be a lot of interesting reactions. They need to be aware of the IdA presence.”
“How random are these raids going to be, then?” Katlena asked, using all her self-restraint to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. She had to find the murderers of four people who had died today. She didn’t feel much like going after cyphers for a few liters of smuggled wine, or the occasional piece of clothing they weren’t supposed to wear.
“You’re going to tell me,” he said. “I suppose all of you will have to look at a lot of files today. Now excuse me while I find my brother to tell him that his wife and children are dead.”
* * * *
Katlena had Ami working on some harmless paperwork while she compiled the information they had so far. She made a list of people in the IdA who had experience with explosives. Another was of known convicts who had used them. Techs had worked out a general idea, but they were still testing for specifics of the bomb. She was working out a schedule for interviews when Noelle approached her.
“I think I’m ready for a break. How about you?”
“I don’t know, I was—” Katlena let her sentence trail off when Noelle gave a pointed look in Ami’s direction. “Whatever. This isn’t going anywhere.”
She followed Noelle into the break room and closed the door behind them.
“What do you have?” she asked.
“You won’t like it.”
“You’re gonna tell me anyway?”
Noelle sighed and opened the file she’d brought with her.
“Here.”
“16439,” Katlena read. “Caroline Rivera, forty-nine, unemployed. What’s the deal with her?”
“You know, the time after my brother disappeared was hell for everyone in my family. We were under a lot of scrutiny until it was clear that none of us had helped him. Rivera was his therapist. She might be looking for work as documented in the file, but she has said some things that make it unlikely for her to succeed. Reports have been favorable, but I think we should start the search right there. Her husband was a demolitions expert.”
“That was when?” Katlena asked, not entirely convinced. “It says here she’s living alone.”
“They are divorced. No current address known, as far as he’s concerned. Doesn’t that look murky to you?”
“It’s the best we have so far,” Katlena admitted. “Just strikes me as silly that we’ll have to go to the break room every time we find anything.”
“Well, your cypher girl will learn about this soon enough, and I’m sure she will not be happy.”
Katlena was about to ask what she meant, but leafing through the file again, she managed to find the answer herself. She groaned when she saw the address sticker on the back.
“Just great.” 16439 was Ami’s next door neighbor. “I should at least warn her about it. Raids are like a goddamn wildfire. They spread.”
Noelle looked doubtful. “Drago would not like that, and you want to stay on his good side. Wouldn’t be so hard on her, would it? Girl’s almost one of us. I don’t think she has anything to hide. Be
sides, this is only her second day, and her apartment was searched after she was arrested. We have that on record. There’s no way she could plan an attack in so little time.”
Katlena didn’t react to that. She wondered if her Saturday plans had been premature. With the vicious and deadly attack the IdA had suffered, overtime was a likely prospect. She thought it would make more sense to take a close look at Drago’s extended family, as some of them tended to treat the IdA like a family business. Somebody might be looking at a hostile takeover.
Cyphers were angry, for sure, but they didn’t have the means to buy explosives.
“Don’t tell her,” Noelle advised. “You’ll get yourself into trouble. She’s cute, but not that cute.”
“I don’t intend to. See if there are any connections to other cyphers in the building. I’d like to talk to some other members of Drago’s family first.”
“He’s not going to be happy.”
“He put me in charge. A raid at night is less likely to cause unwanted attention and we want to catch Rivera off guard.”
Noelle didn’t comment, but her expression was somewhere between amused and impressed.
“Four people died today,” Katlena reminded her. “I want to know who’s behind this. We all agree that it can’t have been just one person, and those people had contacts. The sooner we find out who the better. Drago would want to know if there’s a snake in his house.”
“You seem awfully convinced that there must be some corruption in the IdA.” Noelle sounded offended. Katlena had an idea why. All employees were subjected to extensive background checks and regular drug tests, but with Noelle’s family history, any whisper of suspicion was a touchy subject. Katlena took a sip of her coffee and sighed. It had long gone cold. She cast a look across the room to where Ami sat at her desk, typing away with diligence, or maybe trying to keep her mind on something other than the horrible images.
“Please, I wasn’t talking about you. It was once a good idea, you know. I still think it is. There are people who can’t hold a job, or can’t find one for several reasons. Somebody helping them, that is necessary, but I do believe that things have gotten out of control. Look at her. She was eighteen. Who the hell sanctioned this?”
“She wasn’t a minor. From what I understood, she wanted her child to grow up with rich parents, for all the good it did her.”
Katlena shook her head. “There’s still something weird about it. She could have given up the baby for adoption. Couples who adopt usually have the means, otherwise they wouldn’t be approved.”
“Well, maybe she pissed somebody off, or her parents did. Don’t you find it odd that there is no record of them in her file? Since you’ve studied it intently.”
“I don’t have time for this, Noelle. I need to start on those interviews. Meeting at five. I don’t want to go in before dark. We can’t afford any mistakes.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t go anywhere today,” Noelle said. “I have it on good authority that you’ve had your arm sliced open.”
Katlena wished she hadn’t reminded her. “You make it sound a lot worse than it is. You can go see Drago’s niece if that makes you feel better. I want to take a look at her husband. He was in Defense for a long time.” Maryann was the daughter from Drago’s brother’s first marriage. She and her husband, while not often present, were familiar faces in the IdA.
“You always pick the sweetest deals for me, thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome.”
“What about your intern? You’re going to let her sit here without supervision?”
Katlena’s gaze went back to Ami who sat typing in the same position as before.
“No. She’s my designated driver.”
Chapter Seven
“Are you really okay?”
Ami had stepped into a world much more disturbing than she’d ever imagined. Once upon a time, she’d thought she knew what was right. Pay for her mistake, secure a better future for her child, best she could do with the government she had never fully trusted, especially when she was offered the side job. She’d done her best to stay under the radar, until one careless act exposed her.
Ami hadn’t seen the bodies up close, but the sight of body bags, knowing that a family and another young mother had died, had shaken her deeply. She’d been living in a world that wasn’t great. It seemed rather safe in comparison to the threat of being blown up on your way to work. If ex-cyphers had done this, who could anybody trust anymore?
“I’m fine.”
That seemed to be close enough to the truth for Katlena. She was mostly grumpy about being in the passenger’s seat though she had admitted this was the better idea. She had been calm and detached all day, but she looked pale and was probably in some pain.
“Do you want to stop somewhere for dinner after we’re done here?” Ami ventured. “You’ve had a tough day.” It was better to concentrate on the present. They didn’t know yet who was behind this attack. There was no point in falling back into a time of grief that had been so much worse than when she’d signed her life away. She couldn’t think about her parents now. She had to hold on to her goal.
“This is not over yet,” Katlena reminded her. “I’m not hungry, thanks. You can drop me off at the department later. I won’t need you after that.”
Ami couldn’t help but flinch.
“Stop here.” Katlena leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes for a moment. “I’m sorry, okay? You know there’s no time for this at the moment, but we’ll figure it out. I promise. Let me do my job first.”
“People died,” Ami said quietly. “I understand.”
“Thank you.”
To her utter surprise, Katlena leaned over and kissed her. “Wait here. It shouldn’t take too long.”
“Will you be okay?”
Katlena smiled wryly. “I’ll see you in a few.”
Ami watched her walk up the stairs to the porch of the mansion-style house. Paul Trenton was working for the IdA from his home office these days, but he must have been a bigger figure at some point for Katlena to see him about today’s incident. Maybe he still was. Maybe she suspected him. Ami, of course, was nothing more than the personal secretary and sometimes driver. She didn’t get to ask questions, but she could take an educated guess.
After about a minute, the door was opened to Katlena, and Ami froze.
She’d never learned the man’s name. It had been a few weeks after she’d signed all the papers, desperation beginning to creep up on her, when she’d gotten the call. They had met in a non-descript office in town where he had shown her IdA credentials to make sure she knew this was an offer she couldn’t afford to refuse. He had known everything about the inspector who had done her interviews.
Did he know about her internship? Probably. Had he expected her to be here today? Ami sank deeper into the seat. In the doorway, Paul Trenton looked right at the car, a frown on his face. Then he and Katlena disappeared into the house.
Ami wondered what to write into her report tonight, or if the other cypher woman finally had her baby so she could more safely continue to spy on her. She couldn’t stop thinking about this morning, the sudden blast. Earlier, she had been looking forward to going out with Katlena and possible continuations of an evening at a restaurant.
It probably wasn’t going to happen.
After about half an hour, Katlena returned, slamming the car door after she sat inside, her stance revealing her frustration.
“It’s remarkable how hard people try to keep you out of the loop when you’re supposed to be in it,” she said.
“What makes you so sure that family is involved in this?”
Ami didn’t think a man who employed spies for the IdA would sabotage it at the same time, but maybe he’d found a good cover. She’d never met Drago before she was introduced to him, hadn’t known he was related to Trenton.
Katlena stared straight ahead. “Let’s not discuss this. Just get me to the department, and you can go ho
me then.”
“How will you…”
“Don’t worry about me,” Katlena said curtly, and Ami refrained herself from further questions after that.
* * * *
An hour later, she got the laptop out of its place, filling in the required spaces for the daily observation.
The simple phrases that had come easily to her for years gave her a headache tonight. What was it all worth anyway? For five years, Ami had feared and hoped. Seeing today how a life could end in a heartbeat had given her a frightening reality check. The truth was, she didn’t even know where her child was, or if Lily was still alive. Ami wiped her face, forcing herself to keep typing. Against her will, her thoughts were drawn back to the memories of this morning. Had they found the father of the baby or would the little girl end up in the foster system?
She realized she was crying. For so long, she had kept up the pretense, the idea that what she did would lead to something, a real life. That night with Katlena had made that hope flicker, briefly, but the morning after had come too quickly.
Ami closed her laptop and put it back in the hiding place in the wall where there had been a fireplace before. It had been removed in the renovation, as such was too much luxury in a cypher unit. Then she put on shoes and left her apartment with only a key, knocking on the front door opposite of hers. Cara answered right away. Where would she have been anyway?
“Hey,” she said. “I haven’t seen you in a few days. Is everything all right?”
Ami shook her head, thinking she should have washed her face before leaving. Not that it made any difference.
“No. Not at all. Please tell me you still have something to get drunk on.”
Cara smiled. “You bet. What have you been up to?” she asked while closing the door after Ami. “It’s been quiet over there.”
Despite her less than positive state, Ami felt the blush coloring her cheeks. They hadn’t been so quiet last night, she remembered. That time seemed so long ago.
“Well, it all started when I get arrested.”
Cara let out a surprised yelp. “Oh my God, arrested? No wonder you need a drink. Sit down, I’ll get you something. Have they been treating you okay?”
CYPHER: A Dystopian Novel Page 7