“And how often were they actually meeting?” asked Andrea.
“At least a few times every year. Face to face meetings, not random encounters. On the occasions requiring them both to be at the same public event, they don’t seem to have spoken with each other at all.”
“So these were secret meetings?” asked Veraldi.
“‘I’m not certain,” Thomas answered, “but they were certainly discreet. Huxley would bring along the bare minimum of staff and meet Kote at places Kote himself selected.”
“Like what?” I asked. “Restaurants? Theaters?”
“Like this ship, as far as I can tell. In any case, Huxley seems to have seen the ship in person, and that’s something not many people can say.”
“Kote is a secretive person?” asked Andrea.
Thomas nodded. “Yes. Almost pathologically so. If Huxley’s memories had not provided the clue, I would never have realized the ship docked at Llyr Station had any potential connection to our case. Looking into it, though, the connection is obvious. The shell company’s links to Kote were not hard to ferret out. The company is the owner of record for the ship, and Kote’s name is on the original incorporation paperwork of the company.”
“Hold on a second,” said Raven. “Are you seriously telling me you looked all that up as well?”
He looked slightly confused. “Of course. How else would I know it?”
Raven shook her head in disbelief. “Never mind…”
Andrea stepped in. “So, let’s review. A shell company founded by David Kote owns that ship, and Huxley may have seen the ship and used it to meet with Kote.”
“That’s the essence of it, yes. I don’t know why you’d reduce it down like that, but yes.”
Vincenzo Veraldi steepled his hands in front of his face, deep in thought. “I think it’s significant,” he said at last. “I think we should hit the ship.”
“Kote is a lot more than just a random rich person,” Andrea pointed out. “If we hit that ship, we’re going to need an airtight legal justification. Or we’re going to need to go in hard.”
“Go in hard?” I asked. “You mean kill everyone on the ship?”
“If necessary, yes.” She nodded. “I’m not willing to lose any more agents over this case if there’s anything I can do about it. But if we go in there with the right coverage, we may not even have to kill any of them.”
“You’re talking about the Section 3 option?” Veraldi asked.
Andrea smiled. “Exactly. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Ages. We may need to fill Tycho in, though.”
“Oh, I think I’ve got the gist of it,” I said. “Section 3 of Sol Federation Intelligence is responsible for investigating interplanetary crime. So you go in there with some fake Section 3 credentials and arrest the guy.”
“Close,” replied Andrea. “Section 3 is an intelligence unit. They don’t have arrest powers. The actual arrest would have to be carried out by your old buddies.”
I didn’t know why this had never occurred to me before, but now that I thought about it, I could remember two or three occasions when Section 3 intelligence agents had accompanied Gabe and me on an especially sensitive arrest. Had those really been Section 3 agents, or Section 9 agents pretending to be something they weren’t?
“Same picture, different view.”
“How’s that?” asked Andrea.
“Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t matter.”
“That’s the spirit, Tycho.” She smiled, and I got the impression she knew exactly what I was thinking about.
I finished drinking my coffee and checked in with myself to see how I was feeling. I concluded that I was doing surprisingly well considering how much I’d had to drink at the Emerald City the night before. Raven had wanted to stay out dancing, and I didn’t really want to dance. That left me only one option, which was to sit at my booth and down one cocktail after another while I watched her. That was what her comment about me being a beast had been all about. By the time we got done, she’d had to help me stand up on our way back to the safehouse.
“How do we know this ship is going to stay where it’s docked?” Veraldi asked.
Thomas shrugged. “We don’t. If we move on this, we have to do it quickly. Too slow and we could be chasing this ship all over the solar system for years before we get another chance to search it.”
Andrea stood up. “I’ll get in touch with the Operator for a warrant. Tycho, can you get in touch with your old crew and get them to coordinate with us?”
I wasn’t a wanted fugitive, but I had killed a member of the Arbiter Force. How did Capanelli possibly expect me to do this? They would sooner want me dead.
“Relax, Tycho.” Raven put a hand on my arm. “You’ll have a fake ID. Section 3, remember?”
Andrea looked stricken. “Shit, Tycho, I forgot about your situation there. I’m sorry. Yeah, we can come up with a fake ID for you, but if you want someone else to do it instead—”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll do it. It’s just kind of a challenge.”
“Maybe not the best sort of challenge for a hangover day.” Raven grinned. “I can do it, Tycho, it’s no problem.”
“No, no.” I shook my head. “I’ll do it, I know what they’ll be looking for better than anyone else here.”
“Good man,” said Vincenzo—probably the closest thing to a compliment he’d given me since Mars.
Andrea turned to Andrew Jones. “Can you handle the Section 3 IDs?”
“Of course. Give me, say, an hour.”
“Alright. Get ready, people. We’re heading out for Europa as soon as we have everything cleared for this search.”
She left the room, and all at once everyone prepared for their portion of the mission. I remained where I was, thinking through how I would navigate the problem I faced.
Raven stopped halfway to her room and came back over to me. “You okay, Tycho?” She seemed genuinely concerned, although one side of her mouth was turned up in amusement.
“Yeah, I’m okay. I just overdid it a little last night.”
“I hear you. So did I. I’m just a bit better at hiding it, I guess.”
“No, you were dancing. I’ll bet I had twice as many of those Casablanca Sunsets as you did by the time we headed home.”
“Well, dance with me next time. You’ll feel a lot better afterward.” With this comment, she squeezed my shoulder and went to her room.
About twenty minutes later, Jones sent me a Section 3 ID over my dataspike. According to the card, I was a man named Angus Contralvo, ID number SFI3-5639.
I called up the Arbiter Force, using the extension for the Mission Coordination Department. The woman who answered the call had a familiar voice, although I couldn’t quite place it.
“Sol Federation Arbiter Force, Mission Coordination. Can I have your agency and ID number please?”
“Of course. Intelligence, Section 3, personnel ID SFI3-5639.”
“One moment… yes. Oh.”
“What is it?”
“My system is running slow today,” she replied. “It couldn’t find you at first, but then you popped right up. Angus Contralvo?”
“Yes, that’s correct.” Once again, the power of Section 9 continued to surprise me. We must have just added this completely fictional Section 3 agent to the official record system only moments ago.
“What can we do for you, Agent Contralvo?”
I thought back to what I knew about Section 3, and the few encounters I’d had with their agents. They were bookish types, if that’s the word for it. I decided to go for a bookish tone. “We’re currently in the process of obtaining a warrant to search a private vessel docked at Llyr Station in orbit around Europa. I was wondering if you might be able to supply an Arbiter Force team to help us conduct a search of the vessel.”
“Let me see, I’m not sure who we have in the area. Ah, yes. We do have an available drop team who can be assigned to this search. Can you forward me th
e warrant?”
“You’ll have it as soon as I do.”
“Thank you, agent. The Arbiter Force appreciates your cooperation.”
It was as simple as that. Fooling the elite law enforcement agency I had once been so proud to serve took me less than thirty seconds.
6
The plan was to execute the raid immediately after no more than a short briefing once the Arbiter contact picked us up from our transport. What happened wasn’t nearly so simple.
Fully armored, with my face obscured behind a tactical visor, there was little risk of being recognized by someone. It hadn’t been that long ago, but my time as an Arbiter already felt like a different life. I don’t mean it felt like something from a nearly forgotten past. It was more like a memory from a previous incarnation, a life lived by someone else entirely in a different place and time.
I stepped through the airlock and was immediately brought back to that final drop onto Venus with Gabriel Anderson. Tower 7 had gone completely dark. August Marcenn, commander of the tower law enforcement, had broadcast an incomprehensible but threatening message about dying with dignity. Gabriel and I geared up and jumped down into the planet’s poison atmosphere to stop him and save half a million people.
I didn’t know it then, but that was the last moment of my old life.
This ship didn’t look the same as the one we’d had back then, inside or out. They rarely did; it was better to avoid standardization to preserve the element of surprise. Still, despite the differences, I couldn’t help but feel that I was going back in time.
Andrea messaged me over dataspike. You okay, Barrett? You’re acting strange.
I wasn’t sure how she could even tell with the armor. I’m fine.
Glad to hear it. Keep it that way, yeah?
You got it, boss.
The drop ship Commander was waiting for us in the briefing room, hands folded behind his back. He had the same ramrod stiffness my old commander used to have, a mechanical quality to his movements from a lifetime of maintaining strict dress and appearance standards. His pale blue eyes fixed on us as we entered.
“Welcome aboard, gentlemen,” he said. “The raid has been delayed by a few hours, so you might as well take your armor off.”
With a single sentence, the situation had become magnitudes more complicated. What if one of the Arbiters recognized me? What if the Commander did?
I won’t let anything happen to you. If it comes to it, deny and disavow.
It was Andrea again. She was right, chances were slim anyone beyond a handful of people would recognize me. I dropped back through our ranks and slipped my helmet off with the others.
“Greetings, Commander.” Capanelli stuck her hand out. “I’m Amy Caplan. Section 3 thanks you again for accommodating us. What’s the cause of the delay?”
“Sector Command wanted to double-check the warrant. The target seems to be owned by David Kote.”
“That’s correct. We suspect him of involvement in human trafficking.” She put a slight emphasis on those last two words. The last thing we needed was for the Arbiter Force to second-guess our warrant, and emphasizing the crime was one way to discourage that.
“Understood, but he’s a citizen of outsized influence. There’s bound to be pushback, and we want to be sure the warrant is airtight before we launch.”
I wondered if our documents could hold up to that kind of scrutiny. Section 9 had seemingly infinite resources, but a lie is still by nature a divergence from the truth. That space between fact and fiction was always there, no matter how small. Would they see it?
“Of course,” Andrea replied, as smooth as silk. Even as she said it, she sent all of us a dataspike message. Be ready. This is a problem.
“While we wait, you’ll have the opportunity to formally meet the two Arbiters you’ll be working with on this mission. They’ll be joining us in a moment for the brief. The Senior Arbiter is Li Fei, and his partner is Mike Mitchell. I’ve led six missions with them, and they’ve consistently demonstrated exceptional skill and professionalism. You’re all in good hands with these men. Please have a seat. They’ll be right out.”
Li Fei and Mike Mitchell. Mike’s name was not one I recognized, but Li Fei was known to some of the other Arbiters I’d worked with. He was supposed to be reckless, a bit of a rogue element depending on who you asked. That didn’t completely wash with what this Commander was saying, but then it’s a poor leader who criticizes his subordinates in public.
Jones sent a message. Tycho, do you know any of these people?
No, but I’ve heard of Li Fei. Hard to predict.
A door opened behind us, and a young man stepped through, shaking his head as if to clear the cobwebs. “This is awful, sir. Waking up in space doesn’t get any easier.”
I almost laughed. The guy was just like the old me—half-asleep until the start of the mission, then deep in the shit for the duration.
“This is Mike Mitchell.” The Commander’s tone was dry. He was obviously irritated at his earlier praise being undercut by reality. “Mitchell, these are the Section 3 agents you’ll be working with.”
Mike glanced over in our direction as he sat down but didn’t really look. That was a rookie move. You always read the room, no matter where you are. Gabe would have been on his case about it.
“I’m Amy Caplan,” said Capanelli. “I’m the commanding officer, and this is Victor Veidt, deputy officer.” She indicated Vincenzo Veraldi.
“Nice to meet you,” muttered the Arbiter, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. I wanted to think I’d been a better rookie than this guy. He was obviously inexperienced, and he didn’t even seem to know it.
Another door opened, and Li Fei walked in. The Senior Arbiter had a wolfish face, intense and focused. He scanned the room as he entered, his eyes fixed on each of us for a moment before jumping to the next. I couldn’t be certain, but I thought I saw his expression change when he saw my face.
“Reporting for duty, sir.”
“Be seated, Li. This is that Section 3 team. Their commander is Amy Caplan here.”
Li Fei reached out and shook Capanelli’s hand, and they exchanged pleasantries.
Once everyone was seated, the Commander began his briefing. “The ship we’re here to search is docked on Llyr station, orbiting Europa. Llyr station is a private-owned colony, so be aware that anyone there is a possible threat and we have no local law enforcement support. Once Sector Command gives the all-clear, we’ll be going in. Agent Caplan, do you think you could fill us in on what exactly we’re searching for?”
“Certainly.” Andrea sent an image to the briefing screen, a detailed map of the ship we were going to be searching. “This is the target, a civilian ship registered as the Havisham. We’re looking for evidence of a sophisticated human trafficking operation sourcing children from the Jovian system, primarily Ganymede.”
“Cavadora kids?” asked Mike Mitchell. He looked mildly disgusted. I was disappointed in him at that, although it didn’t surprise me. The Cavadora are the most despised ethnic minority in the entire solar system, and many otherwise reasonable people buy into the prejudice.
“That makes sense.” Li Fei nodded. “Those kids will be perceived as…unworthy of sympathy. But why would a major industrialist be involved in human trafficking in the first place? Is he a pervert?”
Andrea shook her head. “We don’t believe that’s the reason, although we can’t rule it out yet. We do have some evidence of Kote meeting with other suspects aboard the Havisham, so we’re hoping to seize video and other material evidence that can establish what they were talking to each other about and when.”
“Copy that. I take it you’ll be seizing the evidence you need, and we’ll be conducting any arrests?”
“Yes, although we don’t know for sure yet that any arrests are going to happen. You’re basically here for jurisdictional cover. Sorry about that.”
Mike groaned quietly, but Li shrugged. “You’re working the sy
stem. I get it.”
It was a strange conversation for me to witness. As an Arbiter, I’d been on the other side of exactly the same interaction. I’d heard Gabriel Anderson questioning the Section 3 agents, finding out what we were expecting and what the likely charges were. It had simply never occurred to me at the time that they might not be Section 3 agents in the first place.
“We’ll go in this airlock here.” Andrea marked the airlock on her own map with a white circle, and it showed up on the briefing screen. “Agent Veidt will lead a team of three of my people to secure the dock and block the exit. The rest of us will enter the vessel with your team and conduct the search.”
“Who has authority to determine arrest?” asked Li Fei.
“You do. We’re there solely to collect information, but if you see anything that warrants detainment, it’s up to you to make that call.”
I wondered why she was giving the Arbiters so much leeway, but both of them perked up when they were told arresting authority would be theirs rather than ours. “Hey, that’s great,” Mike Mitchell offered.
“It’s appreciated,” Li Fei added. “In many of these cases, the Intelligence team still wants to make the arrest decisions. They basically just tell us who to pick up. It creates undue interagency friction.”
“That’s perfectly understandable, and that’s why we wanted to do things differently this time.”
“Good enough for me.” For a supposed firebrand, Li Fei was being pretty damn accommodating. He glanced in my direction again, but his eyes were unreadable.
“Commander, do we have an ETA on that warrant check?” Andrea asked. “I’d hate to miss our opportunity. The target could spook at any moment and run off.”
“I’ll go check,” he said. “Wait here, I’ll go make a call.”
The Commander left the room, and Li Fei turned his gaze on Andrea. “Why don’t we take the opportunity to get to know each other a bit better? Introduce the members of your team?”
“Of course,” she replied. “This is agent Victor Veidt. He’s my second in command on this mission.”
Sol Arbiter Box Set: Books 1-5 Page 76