by Matt Doyle
Casille di Franco really had disappeared before anything could happen to him, though nobody really seems to know how or why. That didn’t bother Angel. As long as Pauline maintained her guilt, it wouldn’t even matter if the boy later turned up and said he’d seen something different.
The theory allegedly came from a nameless source in the prison that held Pauline. She was let out after serving ten years, and immediately returned to Angel’s side. Searching her name shows she then spent several years in pretty much the same position as she had previously: she was suspected of various crimes but had alibis that prevented her from being locked up again. It’s when I’m scrolling through her most recent news appearances that I spot something interesting. Another photo, this time far closer in appearance to the one we have on file. This shows Pauline Welch standing alongside the man who had provided irrefutable proof she had not been present at the scene of a multiple homicide, one that had strangely involved the victims being drained of much of their blood. That man was Doctor Harold Sanderson.
Now I just have to figure out what I can tell the rest of the team without revealing something unfortunate.
IN THE END, I decided I couldn’t mention Sunglasses or what he’d told me about Fuerza being involved in the leak of names. Instead, I claimed Castleford had leaked some names to Welch—or Warner now—because he felt aggrieved by the whole mess last month. I’m pretty sure Donal will make sure he gets the message to play up on that if asked. The picture stuff was easy enough to spin off from there as a natural next step.
“Dev’s gonna need to be caught up on all of this,” Hanson says after I finish explaining what I’d turned up.
Captain Hoover snorts and starts tapping away at his keyboard. “Damn right he is. Let’s see if we can find anything in the California database that’ll help tie this together. What date was the multiple homicide?”
I check my cell again and confirm, “Sometime in June two years ago.”
“Okay…” Hoove grunts, his eyes scanning the cases in front of him. “Okay, here we go. All surveillance equipment cut before attack…no prints, no survivors… They originally tried pinning it on Pauline Welch as she was spotted nearby and has a history of aggressive behaviour, though this has only led to one conviction… It says here that the case remains open in terms of identifying the assailant with any certainty. With no witnesses, living or mechanical, not to mention no similar or potentially related events happening prior to the attack, they had no real leads on an assailant. As an interesting addendum, a large delivery of blood was made to the hospital shortly after, with the types matching those of the victims. Due to a combination of incomplete medical files and the cremation of the bodies, DNA testing was only able to identify two of the seven victims in the delivery. There was no record of who ordered or supplied the blood, and it was only found by chance when an industrious receptionist decided to double-check the records before moving it to the relevant storage area.”
“If we’re dealing with the same person here, we could be looking at an underground blood trade,” I say. “There’s been a big drop in donors over the last few years, and the synthesised stuff has a high rate of rejection right now, doesn’t it?”
“It would make sense,” Donal replies. “Maybe that case was too close for comfort for the perp, and they’re taking it more slowly this time. Relocate to a new city and sample a bunch of people, then when the need arises, they can check for blood type matches to source fluid for delivery.”
“If they’re sampling on that basis, they may be going deeper than type when it comes to selection,” Hanson adds. “They could be looking at getting as close a match as possible from the standpoint of genetic defects or strengths too. I read that there’s a lot of research being done into taking closer matches where possible. It’s something to do with responsiveness to medication that needs to be taken at the same time for other issues.”
“Still, seven victims at once. Any chance our LV could have pulled that off?” Hoove asks and glances towards Donal.
The Irishman rubs his chin thoughtfully and replies, “Depends on the victims and the circumstances. If he took them one by one, and did it quietly, maybe. The news report said they were all in the same room, though, right?” I nod, and he continues, “It was two years ago. The tech could have changed a lot over that time. His gear could have been built more for multiple encounters back then.”
“Sounds to me like you’re just trying to get it to fit,” Hoove says, his upper lip twitching and crinkling his moustache.
“The number forty-eight,” I say, my eyes going wide. “Could there really be that many?”
“Thus far, it seems like there’s only one here,” Hanson replies. “But we can’t rule out there being more. Not now.”
Hoove sighs and sits back into his chair. “I’m open to suggestions as to how we deal with this. For one, we need to figure out whether to try to pump the esteemed Mr. Castleford for more information.”
I shake my head. “I wouldn’t. Not yet anyway. He was pretty beat up when I spoke to him, so he’s obviously been upsetting the wrong people already. Even if we take him aside for a private meeting, the other prisoners will likely know. If it were me running the case on my own, I’d leave him alone unless it became absolutely necessary. Given the professional links here, though, it may be worth getting some of the guards to keep an eye on things.”
“They probably are already,” Donal comments. “I can check it. I’ve got some buddies on that side of things, and I’m sure they’d be happy to make sure he stays alive long enough to testify if needed.”
Hoove’s eyes slide over to Lieutenant Hanson, who appears to now be fiddling with her cell phone. His brow furrows into an angry grimace, and he growls, “Not boring you, are we, Lieutenant?”
“Not at all,” Hanson replies, keeping her own gaze on her phone screen.
“Then perhaps you’d like to share your thoughts on what we’re discussing?”
“You know me, Cap. I love a good interrogation, and I’d normally have no problem hauling Castleford across the coals again. But in this case, I think Cassie is right.”
“Why’s that? And put your fucking phone down.”
Hanson smiles, pulling every ounce of innocence she can onto her face, and gets to her feet. She struts across the room and hands her phone to Hoove, stating simply, “That’s why.”
Hoove starts scrolling through something, his lips moving slightly as he reads silently to himself. I can tell this is bad, because he isn’t making any move to remove Hanson from her new position sitting on the edge of his desk, kicking her legs idly. Once he’s finished, he hands the phone back to Hanson and shoos her from the desk. “As Lieutenant Hanson has just shown me, Angel Tanner has been making some noise down in California about challenging the Four Kings of Utah. That would tie up with the attacks on those known to be linked with the Kings appearing to be pre-planned. I think we better come up with a way to end this sooner rather than later. I do not want New Hopeland turning into an inter-state gang war zone. O’Brien, did you make any headway on the contact lenses?”
“They should be ready to pick up by now. We’ll need to test them, though. And figure out what else the LV—or LVs—are doing.”
“Okay. You go grab the lenses now and bring them back here. Any thoughts on the other trick?”
“Bert’s in for repairs,” I reply. “They’re gonna check through his data logs to check if there’s any indication of why he attacked like he did. That could give us some idea of what happened.”
“In that case, get on to the repair team and see if they’ve got anything for us. If you need to visit them directly, I’ll get you an escort. Bert wasn’t affected by the LV, so if he’s battle-ready, he’d potentially be a good addition if you’re fine with that?” I nod, and Hoove continues, “Hanson, give Devereaux a call and explain what we’re dealing with. Make sure he knows not to give anything away to anyone, but especially Doctor Sanderson. Have him stay there
to guard the victim but tell him to be careful. Once your jobs are done, we’ll reconvene here so that we can hammer out a plan.”
And so, for the second time today, we all file out of the war room and start heading our own way. Hoove, no doubt responsible for multiple operations right now, makes a beeline back up the hall towards the stairs to his office. Hanson follows along, though she’ll detour to her desk to call Corporal Devereaux. Donal waits back a little and beckons me over to the ramp down to the TS area.
“Good job in there,” he says, after checking we’re alone. “I’ll get Castleford caught up on what he needs to say if anyone pays him a visit. Was it only him you spoke to?”
I shake my head. “Nah, another King’s Guard turned up. Big guy in a suit, shaven head, neat beard, dark skin. Sunglasses Paloma I call him.”
Donal laughs. “You have him down as a Paloma?”
“The first time I met him was during the Castleford case. He was masquerading as a Paloma then.”
“The poor sod. Sunglasses, though… You don’t do well with getting people’s names, do you?”
“I get them when they’re freely given. Not everyone likes to give them out. Or in some cases, not their real names.”
“Aye, true enough. In that case, good job on not bringing him into it either.”
I shrug. “Seemed safer if we’re trying to keep Allen Fuerza away from the spotlight.”
Donal gives me a slap on the shoulder. It’d annoy me if a member of the public did it, but it’s a common thing among members of the PD, so I let it slide as a sign that I’m an accepted member of the team. “Good lass,” he says. “So, are ya heading out to FE Limited, or are you gonna call them?”
“I’ll call ahead, but I’m hoping I can drop in. If Bert’s ready, or will be soon, I can pick him up that way.”
Donal nods and says, “Well, in that case, I’ll see ya back here in a bit,” and heads back up the hallway towards the main station.
I DIDN’T ENTIRELY lie to Donal. The ability to pick Bert up did form part of my decision to head over to the Familiar Enterprises offices. Truth be told, my paranoia engine is beginning to warm up. The way this case is going, it’s going to be difficult to keep it all in check. Given he’s no doubt more experienced with the cover-up side of things, I’m glad Donal is on board with this, but I’m getting the distinct impression that I need to be careful with who’s listening to what right now. That being the case, I’d rather get a private room to talk to Doctor Faraday. Sure, FE Ltd are no doubt controlling things within their building, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the conversation was recorded for their testing, but as long as I’m careful with what I say, I’m confident the conversation will go no further by their hand.
After an awkwardly quiet journey with a chaperone who, not knowing what I’m working on, obviously feels like his time is being wasted, I make my way into the building. The check-in process is nice and quick, and I head straight up to today’s home away from home, the third floor. Brenda is back at the desk again and does the honours of taking me to Doctor Faraday. The human-shaped familiar regards me with a curious look and waves Brenda away so that we can speak in private.
“Hello, Doctor Faraday. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice.”
“I noted that you called from a number registered to the police station. Given you’re likely working on this case of yours, I thought it prudent to offer assistance.”
I nod in agreement and ask, “How’s Bert doing?”
“Straight to the point. Good. I loathe small talk at the best of times. Too many openings to slip up. Though I suppose that doesn’t matter with you. Regardless, he will be fine. The initial examination showed only superficial damage to his outer shell, but upon closer inspection, it does appear there are some near misses internally. In layman’s terms, this means his chassis has been compromised and any direct impact would likely result in his internal systems becoming damaged. As such, the repairs will take a little longer than I had originally anticipated.”
“Ah. How long do you think he’ll be out of action?”
“Bert is classed as a priority case, so you can expect him back within the next three days.”
“That…he would have been really useful right now.”
“Well, a quicker repair is certainly possible, but he would need to be returned to us as soon as possible after the cessation of whatever you need him for so that we could finish the job.”
“What would the risks be?”
“As already stated, if he were to suffer a direct impact to the affected areas, his internal systems would be damaged. That would mean a far longer repair job, and most likely a full reset of anything we can’t back up. Depending on your viewpoint of AI technology, this could be seen as a death for him. Or part of him, certainly.”
“Death…” I repeat, mulling her words over in my head. “I’ve never really considered death in relation to Bert before.”
“I see. Then am I to take it that you have not truly viewed him as on par with a living being of flesh and blood?”
“That’s complicated… I haven’t really sat down and acknowledged it, but… I haven’t ever looked at him as just a machine either. I mean, I know he is a machine on a base level, but he has his own little personality, eh? He’s…he’s unique. I don’t know if I’d even fully consider him a pet at this point.”
“Is he more or less than a pet to you?”
I pause and think about it for a moment, then answer firmly, “More. He’s both a guard dog and house pet, yes, but he’s there in the same way as a close friend sometimes. Or as much as he can be, anyway.”
“Fascinating. Should I proceed with a temporary fix for Bert, or are you happy to wait for the full maintenance?”
“Take as long as you need. I wouldn’t want any part of him to die. Did you have the chance to go through his behaviour and memory logs yet?”
“We have. Would you like a summary of the points of interest?”
“Please.”
“Running through the evening he took the damage, he saw something watching your apartment. I say something as he has catalogued the being as both hostile and a monster rather than as a human or animal. They were not visible by normal optical scans, though they did show up on thermal. He would not even have checked this setting if it had not been that he happened to pick up a pulsing auditory disturbance aimed at your sleep quarters.”
“An auditory disturbance?”
“Yes. He continued to track the disturbance when you left the building and confirmed that it was following you. He did not act initially as he believed your body language to be such that you were aware of its presence. He was also aware of a companion who would offer some protection for you. From the detail in his internal visualisation, I would assume it was the Tech Shifter you mentioned before. Even so, he knew you were likely in danger and eventually made the decision to act. He did not want to go through the window as, although it was a quicker route, he knows you prefer him not to damage the apartment. He calculated a minimum time needed to intervene, however, and would have broken out through the window anyway if the door had not been opened for him.
“Tracking you down was easy due to the link on your cell phone, and when he arrived, both you and your companion were already suffering. He decided this was likely due to the auditory disturbance, which he registered as having increased in level, and so he targeted the source of this.”
“Did he register any details about the audio? I couldn’t hear anything specific.”
“He did not. Bert’s programming is such that, while he technically could ascertain such things given time, he is more likely to act quickly if he believes it to be in your best interests. For what it is worth, he does so as he is happy to have found a home with you. Whether this is true happiness or a simulated response, I will leave up to you to decide.”
“Okay. Okay, that’s a good start for us.”
“That he registered the attacker as a monster was int
eresting. I must confess, Miss Tam, I am a little curious.”
“If I could tell you more, then I would. As it stands, it’s all confidential. Maybe once the case is closed, I’ll be able to, though it’ll probably be nothing more than gets released publicly.”
“I understand. I am what you would call a fan of the more unusual news sites online, and simply wished to clarify if the attacker had anything to do with the rumoured genetic mutation research that has been doing the rounds with the conspiracy theorists of late.”
“I hadn’t seen any of that. I can confirm we’re not dealing with a genetic mutant, though. The monster thing is probably due to my own reaction. It’s definitely a straight-up human, just one who came prepared for a particular task.”
“I see. Well, I thank you for that information, at least. Was there anything else?”
“No, that’ll be it for now. Thank you, Doctor Faraday.”
“You are welcome, Miss Tam. I shall be in touch once Bert is ready.”
I exit the building as quickly as I entered it because, well, I don’t want to leave a bad taste in my escort’s mouth. His continuing to give me the silent treatment is useful, though, as it gives me a chance to think through what I’ve learned. By the time we’re back at the station, I have an idea. Or I have two words anyway. Confident they may help, I march straight up to Lieutenant Hanson’s desk and slam my hands down in front of her. She glances up at me and, in a move that probably makes me look like I’ve lost my mind, I smile and say, “Dog whistles.”
“SO,” HOOVE SAYS, pacing in front of his desk in the war room, “you’re telling me you had a dream about an LV winding some dogs up, is that right?”