by C. R. Daems
I smiled. "As you've said in the past, 'Kris wants, so Kris gets.' I thought I would try 'Anna wants' ..." In fact, I hadn't thought, just acted. The thought of people dying because of me had driven my actions, not logic.
* * *
I spent two more days in bed. MacLin assigned Alexa a room and she spent every waking moment with me. It was wonderful. The third day, I was released for light duty and that night MacLin asked Alexa and me to join him. When we arrived, we were directed to the captain's conference room, where everyone had assembled. Before anyone could say anything, Rawls’s aide appeared and called, "Attention" as Rawls and Stauffer entered.
"At ease," Rawls said, coming over to stand next to me. "Sit, Anna. You don't look in condition to stand. "Everyone get something to drink, and we'll make this informal." She went to the opposite side of the table and sat as her aide placed a cup in front of her. "First, here's your forth Purple Heart medal. Admiral Lultrel told me to tell you she's ordering you not to get any more." Rawls looked and sounded far too serious.
"Yes, ma'am, so noted," I responded, not sure what else to say.
"She also sends her congratulations. You've been awarded the Navy Cross for your actions on the Vulcan. The award recognizes not only your courage, but also your extreme compassion. You chose to risk your life to avoid a potential Coaca outbreak on the Vulcan." She slid a velvet box across the table to me: the medal, lying on white velvet, was a gold cross with a trident in a circle in the middle of the cross and was attached to a blue ribbon with a vertical white stripe down the middle.
I stared opened mouthed, not knowing what to say.
Fortunately, Rawls continued. "Admiral Lultrel and I decided to give you the award in private, since you don't need the publicity."
"Anna, do you want to continue or return to Oxax?" Stauffer asked, surprising me.
I stood and walked over to Alexa. "Mother?"
She hugged me for a long time without saying anything. "Every mother should have a daughter like you, Anna. You would give up everything you love doing so as not to hurt me. I owe you the same love. Your death would rip the life out of me, but trying to cage you would destroy us both. All I ask is that you stay in touch and take reasonable precautions." She kissed me on the forehead and whispered, "take care of her, Red," before stepping back.
I turned to where Kris, Adrian, and Gannon sat. "Are you continuing on?" I asked.
They nodded.
I returned to my seat. "Sir, the team's going, so I would like to go with them. I'm in no more danger than they are."
"All right then. Since we're all together, why don't you bring Admiral Rawls and me up to date?"
Kris and Gannon and I looked to Adrian, who smiled and spent the next hour detailing everything that had happened.
* * *
We decided to stop further investigation of Ms. Simons and the Blackwater Saving and Trust, hoping the raiders wouldn't know we had identified two of the individuals involved in the raids on the bank. The Vulcan was underway within hours of Rawls and Alexa disembarking. Doctor Renata managed to convince Rawls she should stay on the Vulcan in case I was hurt again.
CHAPTER FIVE
Visit to Eastar
"Come," I said when I had everyone in the captain's conference room. "Major Pannell has arranged for us to have time at the marines’ firing range. And before you argue, Mother told me to take reasonable precautions. Knowing you can hit the target—the one you’re aiming at—is a reasonable precaution. Besides, I wouldn't mind the practice with a multi-functional weapon."
"Commander Paulus is right. I'll have two marines with each of you from now on, but you could get separated or we could be overwhelmed," Pannell said.
For a moment, everyone hesitated.
"I agree," Adrian said while moving toward the door. "The threat is real, and I doubt the raiders are going to give up because this attempt didn't work. Nor are they likely to move on. These thefts are far too lucrative to abandon."
"This fast track stuff is really hard work," Kris quipped while doing her best to look disgusted. "Confined to space submarines for months on end and then having to qualify with weapons. What next, hand-to-hand combat lessons?"
"What a great idea," I quipped, but the idea did have some appeal.
Kris punched me on my shoulder as we exited the room. We took the elevator to the ground floor and Pannell led us to the range, where a Master Sergeant Gant, a short stocky man with short-cropped hair, explained the range rules and stood watching us, providing helpful instructions. Pannell stood behind me as I practiced with a small multi-functional weapon that was capable of delivering a laser beam, shards, or single projectiles.
"That was good shooting against those intruders, Paulus. Chief Ransom must have worked you hard," Pannell said as I stood reloading the weapon.
"He did. I had to learn to take each weapon apart before he would let me shoot it." I laughed, remembering the grizzly chief whose training had saved my life more than once now.
"Leave it to a chief to make sure you learned how it worked and how to care for it before he would let you use it." Pannell grinned as if remembering a similar experience. "Did you enjoy learning?"
"Only the sessions where I had to take the weapons apart and put them back together again. The chief had to change the silhouettes to bull's-eyes; otherwise, I probably would never have hit the target." I gave him a wry smile.
"I'm sure he would be pleased with his student." Pannell walked down the line, watching and occasionally giving advice.
"That was a wakeup call," Adrian said as we left the range. "I didn't realize how easy it is to lose the skill. I would have failed to qualify if I had taken the test today. Worse, I couldn't have defended myself even if I had remembered how to get the safety off." He gave an embarrassed laugh.
"I qualified just last year, but in truth, in an emergency I know my reactions would have been too slow." Rich shook his head. "Because I doubt raiders hesitate."
* * *
"Well, we know your prey is creative. Why attack a ship full of marines when you can get desperate people to do it for you for nothing?" MacLin said at the evening meal that night. "I doubt they expected them to actually kill you, just to infect the crew and maybe your team."
"That would have been a nightmare. Hundreds die or are wounded in an encounter with an enemy cruiser, but most of the wounded recover over time. Almost no one recovers from the Coaca Virus," Jordan said. "Whoever you’re chasing, they're evil."
"I'm increasing the team's security. There’s no doubt they know the current NIA agents are the same team that broke the smugglers ring, and they’re smart enough to see them as a threat," Pannell said. "So they'll try again."
"I agree. Tighten security on the ship as well. Consider us at war with the raiders." MacLin took a sip of wine as he evaluated each of us. "What are your plans, if you don't mind telling us?"
"We'll identify the person on Eastar who provided the raiders with the details and access they needed," said Adrian. "Then ... we need to establish how they communicated, and finally to find the link between the inside person and the raiders."
* * *
The shuttle delivered us to the Naval Headquarters complex on the outskirts of York City, the capital of Eastar and the central government of the United Alliance of Stars. There, we were escorted to NIA Headquarters and into a conference room, where we were served drinks while we waited.
After only a short wait, a commander and two lieutenants entered, followed by Admiral Lultrel.
"Attention," one of the lieutenants shouted, and we braced to attention.
"At ease and relax," Lultrel said as she came walking over to me. "Congratulations, Commander Paulus. I see you still haven't learned how to speak to captains." She laughed as she shook my hand. "I don't think anyone ever envisioned an NIA agent giving orders to the captain of a war cruiser. At least this time you won't get a letter of reprimand." She smiled and took the seat at the head of the table. "
Sit. I'll let each of you introduce yourself and then I like to be brought up to date on your activities." She looked to the major who was standing toward the rear of the room against the wall.
"I'm Major Pannell. I've been assigned to provide the team's security, ma'am. The raiders don't appear to like them."
Lultrel sighed and I could feel her concern, almost panic. "You've my permission to stick to them like glue." She then nodded to the commander who sat to her right.
"I'm Commander Wright. I manage day-to-day activities at this office." He looked to his right and nodded.
"I'm Lieutenant Cooper. I worked on the robbery of the Eastar Art Gallery." She nodded to her right.
"I'm Lieutenant Vetter. I assisted on the Eastar Art robbery." He smiled at me where I sat across from him before nodding to Gannon, who sat next to me.
"I'm Lieutenant Gannon, temporarily assigned to the NIA team out of Oxax." He hurriedly looked to me with a feeling of relief.
"I'm Commander Paulus, a member of the NIA team out of Oxax," I said just as Red chose to make an appearance. The three from Eastar actually leaned forward for a better look. They had obviously been briefed on Red and me and had been expecting to see the krait.
"I can't imagine ..." Lieutenant Cooper began, but stopped.
I looked to Lultrel, who nodded.
"Red found me at age four and never leaves my person. That has earned him a name and recognition as a companion. He's now as familiar to me as your arms or legs are to you. He's venomous but lazy, so he isn't aggressive unless I'm being attacked." I looked to Kris.
"I'm Commander Sinclair, a member of the Oxax team." She looked to Adrian.
"I'm Commander Shrader, a member of the Oxax team," Adrian said and then when on to give Lultrel a detailed account of our activities from the day the project was assigned.
Lultrel was quiet for several minutes after the briefing. "Interesting, Commander Shrader. You list yourself as a member of the Oxax team but you seem to be the acknowledged leader." Lultrel appeared to be probing for something.
"My teammates let me assume the role because they don't like the administrative work. Someone has to do it and I don't mind. But we're equal members who bring different talents and interests to the team."
Lultrel snorted. "Rawls said you were ... different ... and the best bloodhounds in the NIA. So although I liked Admiral Rawls’s idea of expanding the team, I can see that forcing new members on you might actually be disruptive. All right, I'll leave you with Commander Wright to discuss the raid on the Art Gallery. You've done a good job of keeping me updated. If you want to keep me happy, continue doing so." She rose and exited the room.
"I agree with Admiral Lultrel. 'If it ain’t broke, don't fix it,' which I believe applies to your team. You've made excellent progress so far, better than we've here on Eastar. That's no reflection on Lieutenant Cooper. Without P1A authority, the Eastar robbery was a local police matter, in which they let us participate at Admiral Lultrel's request. Since Lieutenants Cooper and Vetter did all the work, I'll let them explain what they found and help you get whatever you need. Good hunting." He rose and left.
"What would you like?" Cooper asked.
"We would like to get the police captain and the gallery's manager to walk us through what they think happened. We've read the reports but find it's helpful to see the building, rooms, and meet the people involved," Adrian said. "One of those people provided the raiders with the details they needed."
* * *
Lieutenant Cooper had two company ground vehicles transport us to the gallery. I found the architecture interesting and unique. Eastar was the first planet colonized, and one of the most modern. The current population of York City, the capital, exceeded fifteen million, but it had few skyscrapers. The buildings were designed to be elegant, and consequently few were more than five stories; however, inside they had the latest technology.
The gallery was a three-story gold-veined white-marble structure that looked like it could have been ancient Greek architecture, with its massive columns, but the inside was ultra-modern. In the lobby to the right was a large gift shop, and to the left stood multiple voice-activated monitors providing information about the exhibits and painters along with directions to each display. In the center, a ticket counter provided an entrance into the main gallery. Cooper led us around the counter to a private elevator, which took us to the basement where paintings were cleaned and repaired, incoming articles inspected, and outgoing packed. The area also included several offices and a conference room.
When we arrived, an elderly lady and a stocky man in a police uniform where already there. They stood as we entered.
"Mrs. Vega, Captain Mitchel, this is the NIA team sent to investigate the robbery, Commanders Shrader, Sinclair, and Paulus, and Lieutenant Gannon," Cooper gestured to each of us as she said our names. "Mrs. Vega manages the Eastar Art Gallery and Captain Mitchel was in charge of the investigation."
"It's unusual for the navy to be investigating a civilian robbery," Mitchel said without any emotion I could feel. "I'm assuming that means this robbery is linked to others."
"Others?" Vega asked, surprise evident in her tone. "Other galleries?"
"That's correct, Captain Mitchel. There have been several major robberies, and they appear related, so the powers that be have asked the navy to look into it," Adrian said. "They weren't confined to art, but all were major thefts carried out by professionals."
"These were definitely professionals," Mitchel said. "They knew what they were looking for, how to bypass the alarms, and got in and out before we were aware the gallery had been robbed."
"Fortunately, they only took forty-two articles ... although they were some of our best exhibits," Vega said, and I felt her deep sense of loss.
"We'll need to see a list of all your exhibits and their values and locations." Kris looked to me.
"Who on your staff would have access to where those articles were in the gallery and their value?" I asked.
"Well ... me of course," Vega said, lips pursed and eyes down in thought. "And Mr. Kelly, Mrs. Atwood, and Ms. Sangler."
"Would you ask those people to join us?" Adrian said. We were served drinks while they were located.
"Is this really necessary?" Mitchel asked after pulling us aside. "The robbers could easily have found the location of each of the articles they stole through the information monitors in the lobby."
"That's true, Captain, but the other robberies had an inside person, so it's logical to assume this one’s no different," Adrian said.
I interrupted on a whim. "Adrian, can we have the devices brought here and hold everyone until we have a quick check?" I asked, not wanting to let the individuals free while we looked.
"Yes, but why?" he asked as Kris moved closer.
"Just a feeling. We know what we’re looking for, so we can probably identify the person within an hour or two. Then we can confront him or her immediately ... before the raiders can do anything."
Kris nodded. "I think we should interview each of them separately so we can keep the fact that we know who helped the raiders from leaking out, if we need to."
* * *
As each person's equipment was delivered to the gallery, we took the individual into a separate room while we looked at the emails and Internet activity. We got lucky. Atwood, a long-time employee who was responsible for cleaning, repairing, and moving the articles, hadn't attempted to destroy her emails or web activity—either because it was her home computer, or out of ignorance.
"Mrs. Atwood, we know you aided the robbers—" Adrian said, after he review the emails I had found and the dark web sites Gammon had discovered.
"No. I wouldn't do that," She protested weakly. "I've never been in trouble or done anything wrong."
"Mrs. Atwood, we've enough proof on your computer to send you to a penal colony for life. However, if you cooperate with us to help identify the thieves, the prosecutor may go easier on you. If you don't, he may be vi
ndictive, since people were killed during the robbery. That makes you an accessory to murder. Since it's a UAS crime, he'll have a lot of discretion and could choose to consider your family also as accessories. He’ll have input into where and how long you're all incarcerated. Therefore, you've nothing to lose but much to gain by helping us," Adrian quietly explained, sounding like a helpful friend.
Atwood sat crying with her face in her hands, and I could feel the hopelessness she felt. It took a long time for her to calm down enough to start talking.
"It began with an ad I saw on the Internet, Help prevent crime and win millions. To qualify, you had to say the company you worked for, the value to potential robbers, and the information they would need to be effective. Then they wanted a user name, password, and an email address."
While she talked, Adrian had a snack and drinks brought in, which eased her tension somewhat. She seemed a meek person and the food and drinks probably gave her the illusion of talking to friends.