"Hey! Look, Nick, you know me. I'm not just 'Earthforce,' all right? Maybe somebody's probing into the terrorist thing, but it's not me. Not now. Hey, you can believe me, can't you? We knew each other on Mars for, what, three years?"
"Yeah, but things are different now. You've been out of touch."
Garibaldi was, for an instant, bitterly reminded of Lise. She wouldn't come with him to Babylon 5, he wouldn't stay with her on Mars. Yeah, he'd been out of touch too long, 'til it was too late.
"All right," he said, forcibly putting her out of his mind, "we're not on Mars now, we're on Babylon 5: a space station, a closed environment. I have the safety of this place on my hands. All I want to know is: how does a guy get onto the station without going through customs? Does he get smuggled in with the cargo or use a fake identicard, or what? Nick, think about it. Forget politics for a minute, Earth and Free Mars and all the rest of it. Nobody wants a crazy getting onto the station, running around with explosives, biohazards, whatever! Come on! Help me out here!"
"I'll think about it, Mike. I'll ask around. But this really isn't a good time right now. Things . . ." He shook his head. "I'll see."
"If you know anything"
"I don't know about any threats to the station. I can tell you that right now."
"Or illegal entries? Or counterfeit identicards?"
Nick shook his head, put down the empty glass of beer, stood up to leave. "I'll ask around. But it really isn't a good time."
You could say that again, thought Garibaldi. It was a lousy time. And he had a feeling it was going to be getting a lot worse, real soon now.
CHAPTER 8
The interview did not start out on a cordial note. Lieutenant Miyoshi barely looked up when Ivanova came into the briefing room.
Ivanova waited a moment, then, "Lieutenant, judging from the number of messages you sent while I was on duty today, I assumed you had some questions to ask me. But if you're busy, I can certainly come back later."
When Miyoshi did look up, her expression reminded Ivanova, too late, of Garibaldi's warning this morning. "Not at all, Commander. I'm glad you can finally spare the time to help with this investigation."
Ivanova sat down opposite her, uninvited. "I'm sure you can appreciate, Lieutenant, that my duties on this station can't always be dropped at a moment's notice. I am the executive officer. We've had a transit point jump gate out of commission recently, and a number of other urgent matters that I had to deal with."
"Yes, I understand you were involved in that . . . accident. However, in the interim, I've had time to review your filein particular, your correspondence with the fugitive terrorist J. D. Ortega."
Correspondence? Ivanova frowned. She didn't like this. "Don't you mean 'alleged terrorist'?"
"If you insist. So, how long have you known this 'alleged terrorist,' Commander?"
"About ten years. Since shortly after the war. He was my flight instructor when I was in training."
"You were close?"
"No closer than cadets and instructors usually are."
Miyoshi raised a dubious brow. "And after the war, you maintained a correspondence."
"Not really, not after he went back to Mars, no."
"Indeed? What would you say if I told you we had records, notes signed by you, in your handwriting?"
Tightly, "If you want to call a couple of holiday greeting cards a 'correspondence,' then I suppose we did, for a year or two."
"And can you produce any of the notes he sent to you?"
"I'm an Earthforce career officer, Lieutenant. I've been posted a half-dozen different times in those years. I don't save holiday cards from all my old buddies."
"So, since the time of your last known meeting with the suspected terrorist, you've disposed of all written records of your correspondence."
Furious now, Ivanova got to her feet. "I don't have to sit here and take this"
But it was as if Miyoshi had been waiting for her outburst. A smile spread across her broad face. "Commander, yes, you do. Let me remind you, we have full authority here to conduct this investigation. Full authority, Commander. I could, at this moment, have you arrested until you agree to answer my questions."
Glowering, Ivanova sat back down.
"Now, to continue." But having made her point, Miyoshi kept the rest of her questions closer to the facts. "You claim that when Ortega contacted you, you had no idea he was a terrorist suspect or a fugitive."
"That's right."
"But there was a priority alert sent out by Earth Central."
"That alert was sent out to all Earth Alliance installations. To their security offices. There was no particular indication that he might be here on Babylon 5."
"But Mr. Garibaldi recognized the name."
"Mr. Garibaldi is head of security on the station. That's his job. Not mine."
"And when you became aware that he was the subject of a fugitive alert, you immediately contacted security, is that right?"
"That's right. I called Mr. Garibaldi."
"But why the delay? Why wait until Ortega had already been dead for almost two hours?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that we have a certain number of facts here. Ortega was supposed to meet you in ready room one at 20:00 hours. According to Dr. Franklin, whose credentials are more than adequate, he was killed at approximately that time, probably in the adjacent rest room. The log of the station's computer places you on the scene intermittently from 20:04 to 22:06. And by your own admission, you were near the body for over two hours."
"That's correct."
"Approximately twenty-three hours after the murder, Ortega's body was found in an equipment locker in an aircraft maintenance area just one level from where he was killed. His body was stripped, and his clothing and personal effects have not yet been recovered."
"That's right. So just what are you implying?"
"I'm stating the facts, Commander. These facts are consistent with a number of different interpretations. Let's look at some more facts. From the time of Ortega's death to your meeting with Mr. Garibaldi over two hours later, you have no witnesses to your presence in the ready room. No one saw you thereexcept for one man you claim to have seen leaving just after you came in. But you haven't been able to identify this man, am I correct? You'd never seen him before, you haven't seen him since. In fact, there's no reason to suppose the existence of this mysterious figure, is there? Except for your testimony."
Ivanova was too stunned to reply.
"Now, we have one other piece of evidence, Commander. A note, addressed to 'S.I.' We all suppose we know who S.I. is, don't we? Susan Ivanova. This note, addressed to you, Commander Ivanova, says, 'hardwir.' You claim, don't you, that you have no idea what this might mean. 'Hardwir.' "
Miyoshi leaned forward a little in her chair, closer to Ivanova. Her hair was black, pulled back away from her face, and shone with what seemed to be some kind of perfumed oil. "This note is one of our very few tangible pieces of evidence, Commander. It's been positively linked to Ortegaour own forensics tests confirm this as well as the scan performed by your station security office. And I don't think there's any argument, is there, as to the identity of S.I.?"
She leaned even closer. "He wrote this to you, Commander Ivanova. He meant for you to understand it. Do you still claim you don't know what it means?"
Ivanova couldn't think of the words to say, she was so furious and confused. Finally, stiffly, "You already have my testimony."
"Yes, we do." Miyoshi sat straight again, spent a few moments glancing back at the data screen in front of her. Then, "It would be a very good thing, Commander, if you could manage to recall the significance of this note. A very good thing for you and for all of us.
"That will be all, for the moment."
Ivanova stood, still too shaken to speak, and stalked out of the briefing room. She was alternately flashing hot and coldanger, disbelief, and a trace of real fear battling for control of her reactions.
What was happening? What was going on? Reality seemed to be shifting beneath her feet.
Could they really do this to her?
Garibaldi. He warned me. He tried to warn me.
He said that it was something they did deliberately try to make you so angry you'd make a mistake, say something you hadn't planned to. But why? Could they really think she'd murdered Ortega? Been involved in his murder? But only a few minutes ago Miyoshi was almost outright accusing her of conspiring with him, carrying on an illicit correspondence! It just didn't make sense! So why were they doing this to her? What did they want?
What side did they think she was on?
CHAPTER 9
Something was going on.
Michael Garibaldi had been in the security business for a long time. Over the years, he'd developed the instincts. Sometimes you could see it out in the open, the way it had been last year when the dockworkers were working up to go on strike. Trouble coming on and nobody trying to hide it. But this was something else. It was in the way people wouldn't look at you straight down at the floor, out into the distance, anything to avoid meeting your eyes. They knewbut they wished they didn't.
The only problem was, he was dead certain it was connected to the Ortega thing, and that meant terrorism, separatist politics, the Free Mars movementstuff way up out of his league. Sheridan had told him straight out, "Earth Central is taking over the Ortega case. It belongs to Wallace now. Stay out of it."
Good advice. Maybe he should take it.
But, hell, since when had he been any good at taking advice?
Take Nick Patinos, now. A good guy. Life-support systems engineer. Worked on all the big domes on Mars in his day. Been on Babylon 5 since the construction phase. Garibaldi had met him originally in Gerry's Lo-G Gym in Marsport, where they'd worked out together some. He'd developed into a good, reliable source. Garibaldi could always count on Nick to put him straight. Not that he was an informer, no. You had to be clear on that. Guys like Nick didn't turn in their own. But: Hey, Nick, I hear there's a lot of skimming going on out of the warehouse in Syrtis. You suppose organized crime's got a hand in it? Or: Nick, there's a rumor that Biggie Wiszniewski is back on the docks, starting up his old operationyou hear anything about that? And Nick would set him straight. A good contact.
But now Nick wasn't talkingNick was afraid to talk, and that meant something was seriously not right.
Back at his office in Security Central, Garibaldi called up Nick's file from the computer, just to see if he could stir up a hunch, reading through it. What he didn't expect was the prim computer voice saying: "That file is not available."
Garibaldi sat up straight at his console. "That's the file on Patinos, Nick. P-a-t-i-n-o-s."
"That file is not available. The information is restricted."
"What?"
"The security file on Nick Patinos, spelled P-a-t-i-n-o-s, is restricted. No access is permitted."
"This is Chief of Security Michael Garibaldi. My security clearance is ultraviolet-alpha, the current passwords are Ginseng, Rabbit, Arawak. Acknowledge? Or do I have to key it in?"
"Clearance and passwords acknowledged. The information you have requested is restricted. No access permitted."
"Restricted to whom, dammit?"
"That information is restricted."
"It's Wallace, isn't it! That bastard has locked up my files!"
"That information is restricted."
He thought for a moment. "Give me a list of the unrestricted files on all station personnelNo, that'd be too long. Give me a list of the unrestricted files on all persons known to have worked on the Mars Colony."
It was a very short list. His own name was on it. Two otherssecurity personnel. That was all.
Garibaldi stared at the data screen. "The bastard he's locked up my files!"
Captain Sheridan had placed himself between Wallace and Garibaldi, which was probably a good thing, unless his Chief of Security tried to go through him to throttle the Earthforce investigator.
Garibaldi was livid. "He has all my official passwords! He has access to all Babylon 5 security records! He's gone into the station database and put a lock on the files! Not just Ortega'she's locked up every damn file of all station personnel who've ever worked on Mars! I can't access any of them! He's crippled the security operations on the whole damn station!"
Wallace only gave him a cold, narrow look and directed his reply to Sheridan. "How does he know? How does he know Ortega's file is restricted if he hasn't tried to access it? Or the files on these other suspects? This simply proves my precautions were necessary. There are very sensitive aspects to this case, which neither Mr. Garibaldi nor anyone else on this station have a need to know. I don't want every file clerk and security grunt accessing the records of my investigation. And, quite frankly, I have serious doubts about some of the personnel on Babylon 5."
"If something affects the security of this station I damn well right have the need to know what it is!" Garibaldi snapped back.
But Sheridan interrupted with a sharp chop of his hand through the space separating them. "All right! Let's get this sorted out! Commander Wallace, you admit you've restricted access to these records? You've restricted access to Babylon 5 security files from Babylon 5's own security chief?"
"My authorization"
"Commander, your authorization does not give you full control over Babylon 5! That happens to be my position. You're here to investigate the Ortega case, not take over the security functions of this station and hamper its officers in the performance of their normal duties."
"Let me correct you, Captain. My authorization covers more than the case of one mining engineer's death. We're here to investigate a serious terrorist conspiracy, a threat both to this station and to the established government on Mars Colony."
"That may be the case, Commander, but I can't let the security requirements of Babylon 5 be compromised. You've exceeded your authority here, and I'm ordering you, as the commander of this station, to restore access to those records."
Wallace replied tightly, "I have to insist that the files on the Ortega case itself remain sealed. Even from Mr. Garibaldi. I have my reasons."
"All right, but only those files directly concerning Ortega. The rest are to be restored immediately. And I don't want to see you pulling this again, Commander. Is that clear?"
"Captain," Wallace acknowledged with stiff formality.
"And as for you, Mr. Garibaldi," Sheridan went on, "you will, as ordered, not involve yourself in Commander Wallace's investigation."
"Yeah, but how far does that go? If there are people sneaking onto this station, I need to find out about it, I need to be able to plug up the holes before more rats crawl onboard. And what if we've got guys with counterfeit identicards? That affects security on the whole station. I'm not supposed to investigate it? Some of my best contacts happen to come from Mars. I'm not supposed to meet with them? Just because it might happen to interfere with his investigation?"
Sheridan shook his head. "I have to agree with the Commander on this one, Mr. Garibaldi. Probing into the way Ortega got onto the station could well interfere with the investigation of this case. Now, if you find other evidence that somebody on Babylon 5 is churning out counterfeit identicards, then that's your business. But not if it involves Ortega. Let it go."
How can I find evidence if I can't investigate? Garibaldi thought but didn't ask aloud. At least he was getting his records back. That was the main thing.
But Wallace wasn't finished. "There's one more thing, Captain. A serious matter. One reason, in fact, why I saw fit to restrict access to these sensitive records. In my opinion, the security of this station is compromised. Seriously compromised. You have an officer on your command staff who is gravely implicated in this case. I have to insist"
Garibaldi was the first to catch on to whom he meant. "Now you just wait one damned minute"
Wallace ignored him. "I have to insist, Captain, that this offic
er be placed under arrest pending the completion of our investigation."
Sheridan's eyes widened. "If you mean"
"Confined to quarters, or, at the very least, suspended from her duties."
"Commander Ivanova"
"You've got to be crazy!" Garibaldi exploded.
Wallace was impervious. "You've ordered me to restore access to highly sensitive files, on the grounds of maintaining Babylon 5's security. This means that Commander Ivanova, as a member of your command staff, would have access to them. Commander Ivanova, let me make it plain, is a suspect in this case. She has maintained a correspondence with a suspected terrorist. She arranged a clandestine meeting with this terrorist and was present at or about the time he was killed, under extremely suspicious circumstances. A note addressed to her by this terrorist was found near the scene of his death. It's obviously in some code, but Commander Ivanova has refused to reveal what it means. The commander was hostile when questioned by my investigator. She only agreed to answer questions under threat of arrest. She claims to have seen a suspect in the murder, but there are no other witnesses to identify this man. In fact, there are no witnesses to support her version of events."
Garibaldi furiously interrupted, "You haven't got a scrap of evidence"
Ignoring him, Wallace continued. "Most important, we also have reason to believe that when the suspected terrorist J. D. Ortega came onto this station, he brought with him some information: vital information concerning a matter I am not authorized to reveal. When his body was discovered, there was no sign of this information. His clothing and personal effects have not yet been located, which gives us reason to believe that this information was taken from him and is now in the possession of some other party. He may have passed it on to a contact before his deathor it may have been taken from him, either by his killer, or someone who discovered the body after the killer left. We think it is quite possible that Commander Ivanova may be one or another of these persons. Given the circumstances and the extremely sensitive nature of the information in question, I think it imperative that the Commander be placed in custody. Certainly, it's unthinkable that she be allowed to remain in her current position, with access to sensitive records."
Babylon 5 02 - Accusations (Tilton, Lois) Page 6