Calculated Risk

by K. S. Ferguson

  "Captain Benson, please release my uncle. He hasn't done anything wrong. He didn't kill my parents." Gabe's voice wavered. "My mother killed my father before he entered the room, and I'm responsible for my mother's death."

  "Gabe, that's not true. You didn't kill her," Rafe protested.

  "Then how did she die, Mr. McTavish?" Benson asked.

  The boy needed comforting, not an interrogation. Rafe bunched his fists in the cuffs. "Captain, Gabe's just lost both his parents. Perhaps this could wait until later and a less public venue?"

  "Fine with me," snapped Benson. "Take him to his cabin. One guard inside, one outside, and keep him cuffed until we've left the station."

  "No!" Gabe shouted. "It's me you've got to lock up, not him. I did it. I pushed her down, and she died because of it. He tried to help her, but he couldn't."

  The boy threw himself at Rafe, wrapping arms around his waist. Rafe wanted to hold him, take his pain away. He felt helpless, and Benson was making him more angry by the minute.

  The medic sidled up to the group, looking harried. "Look, you folks, you're arguing over how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. I did an examination like Captain Benson requested. No one killed that woman. A brain scan shows she died of an aneurysm. She was a walking corpse for about the last half hour of her life. Now can you please either start helping us or get the hell out of the way?"

  Benson glared at the medic, and then at McTavish. "Why did you run?"

  "I didn't run. I was pursuing Yuri Roshal, the man who murdered three people on the station, the same man who blew the explosives bunker and injured all these miners. I surrendered to you as soon as I could."

  "Yeah," said Greg. "And it was Roshal who shot your crewman, not Uncle Rafe."

  "That's right, Captain," said Cookie, who stood nearby, his nose swollen and both eyes blackened. "I'd just come around after being knocked out and saw a man in a spacesuit shoot John. Then the same guy took a shot at Mr. McTavish and tried to kill this lady." He nodded at Kama.

  "Please let him go," pleaded Gabe, face buried in Rafe's shirt.

  "Well, Mr. McTavish, since there appears to be overwhelming eye witness testimony to refute your involvement in any of this… this…" Benson threw up his hands. "I release you from custody."

  Cookie drew a knife from his pocket and sliced through the plastic cuffs. Rafe gathered Gabe to him, hugging the boy close.

  "Did you hear what the medic said?" he whispered. "It's not your fault. You did the right thing. You saved my life. You're a hero. Your dad would be very proud of you."

  Gabe's eyes misted, and he nodded uncertainly. Rafe's heart shattered. Empty platitudes weren't enough. The boy needed so much more. He hoped Gabe could let go of the guilt, something he'd never achieved.

  "Greg, get Gabe back to the ship," Rafe said. He watched them go, tears stinging his eyes. Then he cleared his throat and turned to Benson. "Are the security cruisers here yet?"

  "They've just arrived, sir," Benson replied.

  "Good. Get one of them docked. We'll be transporting wounded as quickly as we can get it loaded."

  He threaded his way through the miners on the floor, seeking out Janice. Kama trailed after him. The doctor wrapped bandages around a miner's arm, a grim expression on her face. The flesh of the arm looked freezer-burned, and the miner moaned in pain.

  "How many critical?" he asked.

  "Lord, I don't know. I've lost count." She gestured toward the far wall. "All of those over there."

  "We'll have transport here in about fifteen minutes. They'll have another medic or two and extra supplies. Send anyone who's critical in the first wave. If we need to, we can send a second batch on the other cruiser. Then you need to disappear for a bit."

  Janice looked puzzled. "Why's that, cowboy?"

  "We have an EA ship incoming. I don't think the commander will appreciate the kind of 'diversion' you offer."

  She laughed. "Thanks for the warning, McTavish."

  "Tell me something, Janice. How bad off is Ed? Should he be headed for the hospital, too?"

  "None of your damn business," Browning boomed from behind them. "Can't stop sticking your nose in, can you?"

  Rafe spun around and lifted his hands in surrender. "Just asking."

  "Ms. Bhatia, if you're done with my tug, I'd like to have it back for rescue operations," Browning growled. "I need it out there moving the space garbage away from the station. We have enough holes already. Where's Yuri anyway?"

  Kama put a hand on Browning's arm. "He's dead, Ed. He's the one who blew the bunker and killed Todd, Rodriguez, and Levine."

  "Levine! He's dead, too?" Browning wiped a hand over his face. He looked around at the carnage and said, "Looks like you got things under control here, McTavish. I gotta get back to the command center."

  Rafe circulated through the men, helping where he could. He knelt over one of the miners, applying ointment to a laceration. Kama tugged his sleeve and pointed. The security cruiser had docked. Its commanding officer walked into the storage bay and lifted his eyebrows at the scene in front of him. Rafe and Kama approached him.

  "Commander…?" said Rafe, extending his hand.

  The commander ran his disapproving eyes over Rafe's stained and bloody clothing and didn't take the hand. "I'm looking for Mr. Goldman. I see his ship is docked here."

  Kama edged forward, probably to give the man a swift kick, but he stopped her with a hand on her forearm. She glared at him, but he remained calm.

  "Mr. Goldman is dead. I now represent EcoMech's interests here. We have a large number of critically wounded who need immediate transport to the jump gate hospital. I want your people to get them loaded on the double. Our medical staff will show them who to take."

  The commander stared in disbelief. "Our contract is with Leon Goldman, not the riffraff on this station, and we're here to quell labor unrest, not play nursemaids. On whose authority do you represent EcoMech?"

  Rafe fought to answer. After fourteen years disavowing his family, he choked on the words. Kama reached out and squeezed his hand, and his eyes flicked sideways to her. He took a deep breath, drawing courage from her touch.

  "On the authority of Aaron Goldman, Chairman of the Board, and on behalf of my family. I'm Rafael McTavish."

  The commander paled and squinted at his face. "The Rafael McTavish? Of Security Partners?"

  A spark of pride ignited at the commander's recognition. It was his own hard-earned reputation the man responded to, not his familial allegiance.

  "That's correct. If you'll get these people loaded, I'd like them to be at the jump gate in six hours."

  "But, sir, we'd have to run beyond maximum safe speed to cover the distance that quickly," the commander protested.

  "EcoMech will provide a thousand credit bonus for every man that arrives at the hospital alive." Rafe knew he had no authority to say such a thing, but he didn't care. He wanted the injured miners to get the best treatment possible, no matter the cost. If he had to, he'd pay the expense out of his own pocket.

  "I'll see to it, sir."

  The commander sketched a salute he seemed compelled to make and hurried back to his ship. Moments later, mercs poured into the bay. They did a double-take when Janice began ordering them around, but they complied. Two medics from the cruiser conferred with her about the condition of their new patients, and then they were gone.

  The storage bay quieted. Rafe ran a hand through his hair, sticky with dried hydroponic fluid. He'd claimed that he was Aaron Goldman's representative here, a tenuous claim at best. It was time to pay the piper. He had to inform Aaron of Leon's death and all that had transpired. He looked around for Kama, but she'd vanished.

  He walked through the deserted station corridors. Most of the remaining miners were busy outside the station, clearing up debris, patching the hull, or repairing damaged ships. He hoped the long range com still worked. If not, he'd have to use the one on the EcoMech yacht. When Aaron heard about events, Rafe wasn't s
ure he'd still be welcome on the ship, or even on the station, since it was also EcoMech property. He might have to take Kama up on her offer of a ride, assuming she hadn't already left. She'd be safer if she had, but he prayed she hadn't. He didn't know where she lived, how to contact her.

  The com tech put his call through, and when it connected, he left the room, giving Rafe privacy. He dreaded the coming conversation. Aaron Goldman's maid answered the call. She refused to put him through, saying Aaron couldn't be disturbed. In the background, he heard Aaron's voice asking who she talked to. At the mention of Rafe's name, he dismissed the maid and took the call.

  Aaron, a small normally dapper man in his seventies looked like a corpse reanimated in a lab. Dark circle shown under his eyes, his cheeks hung flaccid, and his eyelids drooped. He's in shock and maybe on meds. Benson must have already informed him of Leon's death.

  "Rafe, thank God. If you're calling me, then I take it you're not in custody."

  Surprised by the man's concern, he said, "I'm sorry for your loss, sir. I don't know what you've heard, but I didn't kill Leon."

  "I know that," said Aaron, irritation tingeing his voice. "I told Benson he had it all wrong, but he just kept on about it being your dagger and how you'd left the ship without saying anything. I told him if you'd left the ship, it was because you had a damn good reason. Was it Amaya?"

  "She wanted to be CEO."

  "She's always been unbalanced. I should have done something about her. How's Gabe?"

  Rafe thought he must be dreaming. This wasn't the conversation he'd expected. "He's in shock. He feels responsible for his mother's death, even though I assured him he didn't kill her. He'll need professional help when he gets home."

  "That bitch. Bad enough she killed my son, but now she's damaged my grandson." Aaron lifted a glass, popped a pill in his mouth, and washed it down.

  "Are you okay, sir?"

  "Yes, yes." He sipped again and set the glass aside.

  "We've had an explosion here at the station. I've taken the liberty of organizing transport for the injured to the jump gate hospital. I invoked your name to get the cooperation of Leon's security forces. I also promised them a bonus if they performed above spec."

  "I'm sure you did what you had to do for the injured. Your actions will go a long way toward helping us should anyone file damages. Did you get to the bottom of Leon's strange behavior?"

  This hardly seemed to be the time for the discussion, but Rafe didn't see a way to dodge the question.

  "He was being blackmailed. It's been going on for years, and he'd been unable to discover who was behind it. He thought the objective might be to drive him out of EcoMech. The mining station purchase was another of the blackmailer's demands."

  Aaron sat straighter. "Did Leon tell you what the blackmailer had on him?"

  "No, he didn't share that information." Some of Aaron's tension dropped away, and Rafe wondered if he already knew about the blackmail, or at least guessed what Leon had been blackmailed about.

  "Could it have been Amaya?"

  "She denied it before she died," Rafe said. "I believe her."

  "If someone blackmailed Leon so they could replace him at EcoMech," Aaron said, "then I'm in something of a quandary. All the most likely candidates for the CEO position are now suspect."

  His eyes narrowed. "I want that blackmailer, and I want someone as CEO that I can trust to safeguard Gabe's inheritance until he's old enough to take up the mantle. Most men ambitious enough to keep EcoMech on course would never give up the position when Gabe's ready. But you would."

  It took Rafe a moment to realize what Aaron had said. "You can't mean for me to become EcoMech's CEO. I have my own company to run, and I doubt the EcoMech board would consider me a suitable candidate."

  "Of course they'd accept you. You've more than proven yourself while building Security Partners. And it's the strongest position from which to smoke out the blackmailer."

  "I can't argue with that," he said, imagining himself strolling the EcoMech corporate campus with a target pinned to his chest. Aaron had to be crazy with grief.

  "It's important to reassure the shareholders quickly that EcoMech will remain in capable hands, or stock prices will plummet. I'd like to announce your appointment this afternoon when I announce Leon's death."

  Rafe wiped moist palms on his pants. Associating with Greg at the station or telling a commander he was a McTavish was one thing. Facing his father at board meetings was quite another.

  "I'm sorry, Aaron. I understand how important the company is to you, but I think your loss may be clouding your judgment. You know I can't come back to Harvest."

  "EcoMech's always been one big family, Rafe. I looked after you and your brother when you two got in trouble, and now I need you to help my grandson. If something happens to me, I want to know you'll be looking out for him. I want to know he'll receive Leon's legacy, my legacy, as we both intended."

  Aaron had always been like a father to him, he realized, more so than his real father, and he owed a debt for that. Sweat beaded on his brow and trickled down his ribs. He'd told Kama he wouldn't run anymore. If he meant it, now was the time to step up.

  "I'm honored that you'd consider me as Leon's successor, and I accept your offer."

  The chairman nodded his acknowledgement. "I'll get a contract drawn up."

  "Things are a mess here. I'll need a day or two to straighten them out. Would you prefer that I send Gabe back with Leon's remains immediately? I can find other transportation for myself."

  "I don't want Gabe out of your sight until you deliver him to me. He's all I have left, and I want to know he's safe. Bring my son and my grandson home when you come."

  Aaron cut the connection, and Rafe slumped back in his chair. What had he just done? Had he lost his mind? He didn't want to be CEO of EcoMech. Gabe was only eleven. He'd be stuck on Harvest for years. But he couldn't back out now. With deep regret, he made another call.

  When the vid cut in, Rafe saw a raw-boned blonde woman with a buzz cut whom he'd clearly woken from sleep. He cursed himself for not checking the time in Mumbai first.

  "RM? Why are you calling in the middle of the night? And what are you wearing?" his assistant asked, rubbing her eyes and wrinkling her nose in disapproval. She looked at him more closely and snapped to attention. "Is that blood on your shirt?"

  Rafe looked down at himself and realized what a sight he must be, hydroponic fluid and blood stains smearing his chest, face bruised. When he looked up, a smaller female Chinese face crowded the screen with Barb's, alarm plain to see.

  "Sorry, I didn't realize the time. I didn't mean to wake you two. I'm fine."

  "You don't look fine," replied Ying Ying. "You in trouble again?"

  "Barb, I need to ask you for a favor," he said, ignoring Ying Ying's question. "I know the timing isn't good with the baby due next week, but I'd like you to take over as Security Partners CEO."

  She blinked at him. "You know I'm happy to fill in if you want to take some time off."

  Ying Ying squinted at Rafe. "How long you want Barb to cover for you?"

  Rafe shrugged. It had to be done. "Twelve to fifteen years."

  "What you do, grand theft? Twelve to fifteen about right for that," Ying Ying said.

  Rafe laughed."Thanks for your unwavering support. I wanted you to hear it from me before Aaron Goldman makes the announcement tomorrow. Leon Goldman's dead. I'm taking over as EcoMech's CEO."

  Both women stared. Barb responded first. "Are you sure about this, RM?"

  "Honestly? No. But I have an obligation. I'll continue as Security Partners' owner, but you'll be running the show. If any of our customers squawk, let me know, and I'll do what I can to reassure them."

  His two best friends looked at him with sympathy and concern. A pang of loneliness shot through him, and he realized he'd deluded himself when he thought he had no family. Maybe they weren't related by blood, but he'd built a new family on Earth. Now he was leaving them
behind. The real cost of his decision steamrolled over him.

  "Ying, send me whatever I need to sign so Barb has the authority to cut checks against the business accounts. And remember you're supposed to be on maternity leave. No long hours at the office."

  "You not my boss now. You don't tell me what to do," she sassed, then became somber. "We going to miss you, RM. You come back visit us whenever you can. Baby needs to see his godfather."

  Rafe nodded, too choked to speak, and cut the connection. In a daze, he wandered out of the com center, uncertain of his next action. He reached in his pocket for his ball before remembering that he'd tossed it away in hydroponics. At least he could remember where he'd lost it this time.

  Tie up loose ends. Put one foot in front of the other and get it done. His stomach reminded him of his meager breakfast, and now he'd missed both lunch and dinner. Thinking of food reminded him of Miss Patty. He'd start with her.

  He didn't find her in the admin offices. Not surprising considering the chaos on the station and the time. He trooped to her quarters and pressed the call button next to the door. It opened to reveal Miss Patty in one of her characteristic frilly dresses.

  "Mr. McTavish, what can I do for you?"

  "I apologize for the lateness of the hour. May I come in?"

  She stepped back and waved him through the door. To his surprise, her quarters were as spartan as Levine's. From the way she dressed, he'd expected doily covered furniture and knickknacks littering every surface.

  She noticed the way he looked around and blushed.

  "It isn't much, is it? But with the price to transport goods, I haven't been able to decorate."

  Then what are you doing with the money from R. S. Steele? He waited while she seated herself on the only armchair and took a seat on the couch.

  "Miss Patty, during the course of my investigation, it came to my attention that Mr. Levine was also embezzling money from Galaxy Mining. Did you have any knowledge of that?"

  She wrung a handkerchief between her fingers. "No, Mr. McTavish, I knew nothing about that, or about the mine buyout. Mr. Levine seemed an honest and decent man. I was as much taken in as the others."