by D. M. Pruden
“But something went wrong, I’m guessing.”
“I lost contact with my people on Victorem, the other ship. I think Mundi learned Dunn’s plans and replaced the crew with his own people. Worse, I think Dunn knows and is scrambling for another escape plan. I believe he’s using the Terrans to that end.”
“If that is the case, why did they fire missiles at us?”
“If a Terran warship was really shooting to hit us, they would have done so. There was no damage in engineering from the barrage. We were never struck.”
“A smokescreen? Why?”
“First, I believe Dunn plans to double-cross his own people on this vessel; Garrick, Limn, myself. I think the boy is his as well, especially after the death of your friend. Dunn needed an excuse to move the sealed samples in medical to the drop ship, as a precaution, without arousing undue suspicion among his people.”
“Well, his little plan almost killed us all. If the power hadn’t come back on, the released virus in the chamber would have flooded the air system.”
“I’m afraid he was counting on that belief. The reality is, the power to medical was never interrupted.”
“How would you know?”
“Remember the day I bumped my head? You surprised me while I was installing a specialized shunt. It was designed to interrupt all power to most systems, but still maintain an active, undetected flow to any chosen location, in this case, medical and the isolation field.”
“Why would you install something like that?”
“All part of my original plan. When the Victorem got within docking range, I would have deactivated gravity and general life support so my people could board and take control without releasing the virus.
“Someone in engineering, probably Bogdan, discovered my device and Dunn activated it when the Terrans shot around us, giving the impression we’d been hit and the power to medical failed.”
“And Schmaltz found it by accident and was killed?”
“I believe so. I’m sorry for my part in his death. I never intended any of you to die in this operation.”
“A good-hearted spy? Forgive me if I don’t trust your sincerity.”
Hodgson had no reply for me.
I asked him, “So, what is Dunn’s new plan?”
“That is what I was trying to discover by searching his quarters. I was looking for some type of communications device or another clue, but I couldn’t find anything. My best guess is he’s going to make an escape in the drop ship, but he’ll need to act before we get too close to orbit around the sun. Garrick’s current flight plan puts us in closer than Athena can match, but the shuttle can’t survive in that kind of heat and radiation.”
“Do you think he’s made a deal with the Terran Captain? Perhaps he plans on jumping ship and getting picked up by them. It would explain why they didn’t hit us.”
“It would. But it would also mean he runs a good chance of losing control of the virus to the Terrans. I don’t think he would do that.”
“Why are you telling me all this, Hodgson? What makes you think I won’t betray you to Dunn and risk he’ll let me go?”
He glanced at Schmaltz, then turned back to me. “I think we both realize how that would turn out. I read your file and I know how you ended up here. He manipulated you and it is pretty clear to me, if not you, he intends to dispose of you when your usefulness is done.”
Hodgson was right, of course. I had no illusions Dunn would not kill me. I saw it in his eyes when I thought I’d outsmarted him at the start of all this. He never had any intention of letting me live long enough to collect.
“How can I help?”
“Keep your eyes and ears open. Learn what you can. Maybe you can play the kid. I caught him in some inconsistencies in his story. He’s Dunn’s man, and while I think he was your friend’s killer, I don’t think he’s an experienced one and it’s eating at him. Maybe he’ll let something slip if you work him the right way.”
“If there’s one thing I’m good at it’s working a man. I’ll find out what I can.”
He squeezed my hand to reassure me, then walked towards the exit.
“I have some more things to check. Be careful. Trust no one.”
I smiled at him before I replied, “I don’t trust anyone. I don’t trust you either, just to be upfront about it. But your’s is the best deal I’ve been offered.”
He nodded, a sad look on his face.
“Fair enough.”
Chapter 31
I did not want to spend my time in the medical centre so I returned to my cabin I had seen little of recently. The sheets were still a rumpled mess from my romp between them with Hodgson.
I made up the bed and decided to indulge in a hot shower. With all the stress of the previous few days accumulated, I couldn’t stand my own smell for one minute longer.
I emerged to the sound of my door chime. Wrapped in a towel, I answered the door and immediately regretted my casual attire. Bogdan Skorupa stood at the door. He turned two shades of red and averted his eyes from my dripping self.
“No sisters?” I indicated for him to sit on my bed since I had no chair.
He perched himself awkwardly on the side and inspected everything around him. “No, I am an only child.”
“Well, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I’m completely covered. You’ll see more on the beach. Try looking at my eyes if the towel makes you nervous.”
He continued to distract himself by playing with my hairbrush on the bedside table. I toyed with the idea of telling him who last occupied that side of the bed.
“Bogdan, why are you here?”
He stared at me, confusion all over his face.”You left me a message.”
“And I told you it was urgent. Sorry, I forgot.”
“I can come back later...”
“No, it’s okay. I won’t take long. I just have a question for you.”
He fidgeted nervously while trying to maintain eye contact. I wondered what he imagined I might ask. “Bogdan, what was Schmaltz doing just before his death?”
He swallowed and studied the floor. Dark spots began to form in his armpits. “Checking the feeds.”
“Did he discover anything unusual? Anything someone didn’t want him to?”
“What are you talking about?” He squirmed and wrung his hands absently.
“What did he find?”
“I...I’m not sure. He never got a chance to tell me. He asked me to confirm the flow to medical and...he got killed. At first, I thought he touched an exposed contact, but...I saw all the blood.” The pitch of his voice rose higher with every word. I worried he might piss himself.
“So, as far as you could tell, what shut off the power?”
“A surge, I think.”
“Did it happen when Athena’s missiles struck us?”
Clearly not the question he anticipated, he frowned first. “It blew out when we were shot at, but not because we were hit. The Athena never touched us. There was no structural damage or anything.”
“What happened?”
“Some kind of power pulse. I don’t know much else. The Boss fixed the problem.”
“Who had access to that panel?”
“Well, the last was Mister Schmaltz...” His voice cracked and his eyes teared up. He looked away while he tried to compose himself, faced me again and continued. “The only other person who ever accessed it was Hodgson.”
His eyes widened with an epiphany. “Do you think he had something to do with the sabotage?”
“What sabotage?”
“I...I meant murder.”
This kid was no professional killer. If I could spook him he was more of a liability to Dunn than an asset. But he lied, and I needed to know why.
“Did you examine the panel Schmaltz worked on?”
“Umm...no.” A lie.
A crushing weight squeezed my chest. I realized at this moment I’d wanted to suspect Hodgson of being anything other than what he claimed.
The accumulating evidence forced me to accept a different conclusion. Bogdan’s involvement in Schmaltz’s death became ridiculously obvious. I required all my self-control to not reach out and scratch the little shit’s eyes out.
He was not smart enough to be acting on his own. Dunn worked him and most likely set him up to take the fall for the murder to distract us from his real goal. With the virus now aboard the drop ship, Dunn would make his final play soon. I hoped Bogdan didn’t serve any further use for him. In any case, he couldn’t be trusted.
We sat silently for a moment. He fidgeted and avoided eye contact. Under other circumstances, his behaviour would have been endearing.
“Did you move the portable containment unit to the drop ship yet?” I asked.
He exhaled and visibly relaxed, apparently glad for the change of topic. “Yes, I finished this afternoon.”
“That didn’t take very long,” I said.
“We tied it into the shuttle’s grid as an additional layer of power continuity,” said Bogdan. “Its design didn’t provide for it, but your modifications gave me the idea.”
“So my kludge was okay?”
“I couldn’t have come up with a better way to do it.”
“Why didn’t it work?”
“It worked fine.”
I began to doubt myself. Did I flip the switch? Possibly in the panic of the moment, I might have only thought I did. It would be a first. I was good in a crisis. Maybe my own life being on the line made the difference.
The mystery of my malfunctioning modifications also presented another confirmation of Hodgson’s theory. If Dunn somehow messed with the portable unit to make everything look like the backup power failed, fewer arguments would occur on my part when he ordered it moved to the shuttle.
“Bogdan.”
“Yes, Doctor?”
“Do you want to watch me get dressed?”
“Yes...I mean no, ma’am...I mean...What?”
“I want to get dressed now. You should go.”
“Oh! I... Yes, of course. Sorry, I should go.”
“Good idea.” I accompanied him to the door as he backed towards it.
“It was a pleasure to see you, Doctor.” He blushed. “No, not you. Not a pleasure. No. That’s not what I mean...”
I gently pressed on his chest until he stepped into the hallway. “Thank you. You were most helpful.”
I watched Bogdan’s back as he hurried to engineering. Catching movement out of the corner of my eye, I turned to the sight of Hodgson staring gape-mouthed at the scene in front of my door. I smiled at him, slipped off the towel and went back inside my quarters.
Chapter 32
Freshly showered and dressed, I went to the mess hall before we were all called to the bridge for our orbital approach. Shigeko and Dunn sat together, eating but not conversing. I ordered a hot tray from the dispenser and took a table across the room, not wanting to interrupt their riveting conversation.
Hodgson entered and got himself a cup of coffee. He nodded to the others, then came to sit with me. Recovered from his dumbfounded look in the hallway, he winked. “So. Bogdan, huh?”.
“I had a leak in my shower.”
“I understand.” He took a sip from his steaming mug and watched me over its edge. The twinkle remained in his eye.
“Are you not cooking for your boss anymore?” I nodded towards Dunn, who now exited the room with Limn.
“What? No, just a one-off thing. He found out about my little adventure in the Admiral’s service and decided he wanted to impress you.”
“You are a man of many hidden talents, Mister Hodgson.”
“So I’m told.” He glanced around the room, ensuring we were alone. “Dunn is planning his move to happen soon. He and Garrick have been conspiring on the bridge.”
“What do they have planned? We’re almost in solar orbit. He hasn’t much time”
He shrugged. “With him, the plan is probably as elaborate as you can imagine. Do yourself a favour and ensure your pressure suit is always handy and prepped. If the power fails again, medical won’t be overlooked. The likely protocol will be an emergency depressurization to try to evacuate the bugs.”
I nodded. “The virus can’t survive in a vacuum. But a purge would never get rid of the ones still transiting the wall of the isolation chamber.”
“Make sure about your pressure suit, Mel. It’s important.”
“You act like they aren’t going to give us any warning.”
“They haven’t told anyone. I don’t think they were planning on doing so either.”
“Do you think Shigeko knows? Bogdan?”
“I’m not sure about Limn. I don’t trust her. Bogdan said he wasn’t told anything about such a protocol, but he’s a shitty liar. I asked him after he...fixed your shower.” He smirked, despite the seriousness of the topic.
“How does he plan to do it?”
“It would be from engineering. I need to sneak in there and look for what he can do.”
“Won’t he use your device again?”
“It won’t accomplish what he needs. I think he’ll opt for explosives and create a catastrophic systems failure.”
“Where would he get those?”
“This is a big ship, Mel, and he’s a resourceful guy. I’m sure he made some provision for them before we left Luna.”
“Bogdan will be watching you.”
“I’ll think of something to keep him occupied.” He reached across the table and took my hand in his. “If it comes down to the virus being released, vacuum or not, Victorem will destroy this ship. They can’t risk any chance of Terra obtaining even a small sample of it.”
My hands were freezing and I savoured the warmth of his on top of mine. “Why are you trusting me with this? Aren’t you breaking a dozen spy rules or something?”
“Just because I don’t want to marry you doesn’t mean I want to see any harm come to you, Mel.”
“You don’t want to marry me after I gave you my body? I’m crushed. I must be losing my edge.”
“I’m being serious. What I’m trying to say is I owe it to you.”
“What do you owe me? I have treated you pretty poorly since I met you. Though, admittedly, up until a short time ago I thought you were Dunn’s hitman.”
He smiled and squeezed my hand. “I accessed your file.”
“If you had access to Dunn’s file about me...” I blushed. I didn’t actively share my colourful past with people, but I deny it if somebody knew. Discussing it with Hodgson, however, was proving uncomfortable.
“Charlie Wong had info on you which he never passed on to Dunn.”
“Charlie? How...?”
“I’m a spy, remember? I went through the records of everyone connected with this op. Your name kept coming up, but not much of what Dunn was given went further back than a year. The more extensive data Wong held on you came from Rego Corp, and they only gave him part of what they have.”
“The corporation keeps a file on me?” My mouth was parched. I knew Dunn and Charlie set me up and were likely behind all the shenanigans on Luna, but I thought that was the extent of what might be in any file. What he now revealed was downright creepy.
“What kind of information do these files contain?” I could barely hear my own voice.
“It was pretty complete. From what I could tell, they’ve been tracking you since you were born.”
“The fucking corporation has tracked me for my entire life? Why? What did it say?” In all the years I sold my body for money, I never once felt as violated as I did in that moment.
“It contains the name of your mother, where you lived, when you left home, your criminal activities, your juvenile record. There are school reports, IQ tests, aptitude assessments, psych profiles, med records...” He noticed my discomfort and stopped though his expression told me there was more.
I sat frozen in my chair and my heart pounded wildly. My life had just been ripped open and my entire sordid history laid
out for Hodgson to pick through. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat and croaked, “What else?”
“You’re sure about this?” he asked.
I nodded and he grabbed my hand and squeezed it before he continued.
“It names your benefactor.”
“Walter Bickell,” I recalled the kind face of the wealthy, much older client who took an interest in me. He pulled some strings, allowing me to write and pass the entrance exams to medical school. He paid for everything I needed and sponsored me until I graduated. We met once a year when he would join me for coffee and check up on me. After graduation, I never heard from him again and he never left me a way to contact him.
“Yes, but his real name is Talus Varr.”
“What?” The man I always considered to be my ‘fairy godmother’ turned out to be a fraud? I would not have believed it except for the other revelations. “Does the file say anything about where he is now?”
“No, it only named him and listed the funds he passed on to you.”
The tears ran down my cheeks as I stared at the wall. I glanced down to see my nails digging into Hodgson’s hand. I let go to see I’d drawn blood. “Oh, I’m so sorry...”
“Don’t worry about it.” Hodgson seemed to know doing nothing was the best thing for me. He sat quietly, held my hand and gave me the time to process everything. His face showed pain and regret though I didn’t blame him for anything.
“Is there more?” I wiped my eyes, sure I could produce no more tears.
He hesitated. “Yes.”
“Is it bad too?”
He nodded. “Worse.”
I thought I had ridden out the worst part of what Hodgson might tell me, but the anticipation of news more disturbing than what I’d already learned panicked me. I had trouble catching my breath. I’ve never been punched in the stomach, but I’m sure it would come close to what I experienced. I took a moment to compose myself, then asked him to tell me.
“The file documents Carlos Montoya and is pretty complete; birth, education, military service...”
“What are you talking about? Carlos never served in the military.”