“Yes! Catch him!” He had a better chance than she did. Noriko was fast, but Cameron’s long legs made him faster. Activating her phone, she pulled up dispatch, then threw the call up to her Bluetooth.
“911, state your emergency.”
“Dispatch, we have a runner,” Noriko relayed the information as carefully and precisely as she could, trying to remember all the protocols that she had been trained with. “Heading north on West Tehachapi Boulevard. Pursuit is on foot. Arashi and Powers are in pursuit. Could really use a squad car, though.”
“Noriko?” There was an audible blink through the line. “It’s Cheryl. Why on earth are you chasing a man when you’re supposed to sit down for a test this morning?”
“He looked suspicious, we just pulled over to see if our instincts were right, and he took off?” she offered. Really, she didn’t have a better explanation than that. “Can you call the proctor for us? We’ll obviously be—” she cut herself off as the man they were chasing dove into an alleyway behind a row of small businesses. “Cheryl, change that, he just went into the alleyway between Tehachapi Boulevard and Mulberry. Now doubling back and heading toward Mill Street.”
“Hold on, I’m dispatching a unit right now. Car 23, are you available?”
Cheryl must have put her on a conference call or the police equivalent as Noriko heard the cop’s response. “Roger that, Dispatch. Over.”
“We have a runner with two GF in pursuit on foot. Currently in an alley between West Tehachapi Boulevard and Mulberry, heading south towards Mill Street. Do you copy, over?”
“Copy that, Dispatch, I’m on my way.”
It was getting harder to run and talk. Noriko had stamina, yes, but not to sprint like this for over a mile in ninety degree weather. Especially not in these boots. How Cameron was managing, that was the real question, as he was running full out in flip flops. Sweat dewed her temples, her breath came shorter and harder, but she didn’t dare let up her speed. If she lost them now, the policeman coming to their aid wouldn’t know where to go.
Cameron let out a burst of speed, tiring of the chase, and tried to catch hold of the man. At the last possible second, Hodges ducked and rolled, losing his cap in the process. He didn’t bend to retrieve it, just changed directions and kept running. Noriko knew he must be tired at this point, but adrenaline and desperation egged him on.
She slowed her own pace just enough to gain enough breath to update, “Suspect now heading down Mill Street. Correction, cutting across toward Pauley Street through a parking lot. Still in pursuit. Car 23, what’s your location?”
“On Curry Street and almost at D Street. I’ll try to cut him off from the front. Suspect’s description?”
“Male in late thirties, brown hair, jeans and black shirt, running like a scared rabbit.”
There might have been a chuckle over the mic. “Copy that.”
Noriko lost some distance because of this exchange, but she didn’t have the breath necessary to do a mad enough sprint and catch up. She tried, though, to at least close some of the distance. They crossed over the parking lot, dodging cars as they did, then emptied out again on the sidewalk. It was busier than the street, as this section of town was known for quaint stores that attracted customers who liked to browse. Noriko lost more ground as she bobbed and weaved around people, trying not to run smack into someone.
Fortunately, most of them had the sense to flatten themselves against the building and stay there for a few seconds as Hodges and Cameron came barreling toward them. Noriko’s path was half cleared because of this. Hadn’t that cop said he was almost there?
Just as the thought crossed her mind, a blue and white squad car flew onto the scene, sirens blaring, lights flashing, and spun into the street to block off their runner. Hodges could hear and see the car coming, but he couldn’t do much about the speed with which it approached. He dodged, but it cost him time, as he didn’t possess the cat-like agility it would take to vault over the car’s hood. Hodges skidded to a semi-halt, reversed directions again, and tried to go back down Pauley Street and for the main boulevard.
Doing this cost him. Cameron put on another burst of speed and launched himself into a flying tackle. Six inches taller, at least thirty pounds heavier, he impacted the slimmer Hodges like a football lineman. They both went down in a tangle of limbs, Hodges taking the brunt of the fall, as he was the one on bottom.
Cameron immediately latched onto the man’s arms and jerked them behind his back. The grin on his face was wild with adrenaline and exhilaration.
Noriko skidded to a stop two feet away, dragging in air desperately, now completely soaked along her back and under her arms with sweat. To the still listening Cheryl, she reported, “Dispatch, we have suspect in custody.”
“Roger that, suspect is in custody.”
From the car came their backup, a face that she recognized, although it took her a moment to remember his name. Conrad, that was it. He was also rather new to the force up here, having only been stationed a year before she and Cameron came in. He still looked it, too, as his dark hair was academy short, uniform perfectly pressed and deep blue. He came out with handcuffs in one hand and the other resting on his gun holster. “Powers, you got him?”
“I got him,” Cameron assured him.
“I’ll cover you, cuff him.”
Didn’t anyone wonder what they were arresting him for? Noriko wasn’t about to question that, though, not right here at least.
Cameron slapped the cuffs on him before getting off his landing pad and jerking the man up to his feet. Hodges did so with considerable resentment and a glare hot enough to melt steel. “You’re one of them,” he spat out, “part of this atrocious organization that messes with evolution. You’re thwarting nature and progress and you don’t even care!”
It sounded like some kind of crazy, cult rhetoric, but it wasn’t in the least bit familiar to her. Seriously, what was going on?
As Conrad took over, escorting Hodges into the back of the squad car, Noriko sidled up to stand next to her partner. In a low tone, she asked, “How much you want to bet Hodges was the tech that messed with the fail safes in 2A?”
“I don’t take sure bets.” Cameron’s face reminded her of a gathering storm cloud. “How much you want to bet he knows something about all of these unstable ley lines that are cropping up all over?”
“Not sure I want to bet on that, either.” Noriko shook her head. “Cam. I think we better skip taking a midterm today. We need to ride herd on this man and get some answers.”
“It’s like you read my mind. Call the Cap and tell him.”
“No, no, I made the last call. Your turn.”
Cameron bent a sideways look on her. “I would like to point out that I went first last time. And I was the one that actually caught the guy.”
The first reason was not compelling, but Noriko had to concede defeat on the second one. “Fine, fine, I’ll call. Or wait, maybe I should text. He’s in court after all.”
“Text,” Conrad called over to them. “You do not want him in contempt of court.”
Excellent point. Text it was.
25th Merlin
While Noriko knew that they had two-way mirrors in police stations (mostly because of television shows and mystery movies) she’d never once thought that she would be using one in real life. Neither she nor Cameron were trained interrogators, so they couldn’t do the interview with Hodges themselves. Conrad had that pleasure.
Hodges sat at the table, hands cuffed, and looked around with suspicious confusion. There was very little in the room—a table shoved into a corner, two chairs, a waste basket and a box of Kleenex on the table. That was all.
The room she stood in actually connected to four interrogation rooms, and she could choose which window to stand in. There was a listening button next to each, which automatically linked to her Bluetooth when she inserted her ID number. Because of the link, no noise came directly into the room, leaving nothing but the hum of
machines as they recorded every visual, every rustle of movement, all to be used in trial later.
Cameron stood uncharacteristically still next to her, watching intently. Seeing him so quiet and serious actually spooked her more than Hodges. That was saying something, as Hodges had gotten progressively creepier the longer he’d been left alone.
It was strange. He just sat there, one leg crossed over another, hands in his lap. He wasn’t doing anything provoking or threatening. But the longer she watched, the more convinced she was that this man was no longer in his right mind. His eyes shifted, back and forth, back and forth, and otherwise looked far too calm.
Wouldn’t a person normally be worried? Pacing? Upset? Something aside from that unnatural calm.
Conrad waltzed in with his partner, Ben English, at his back. Conrad sat but Ben stayed right in front of the door. Noriko didn’t know Ben all that well. She’d basically just met him in passing a few times, so she wasn’t sure if that serious look on his face was normal or not. From this angle of the camera, she could see his curly dark hair, a hint of his face, and that was about all.
“Am I under arrest?” Hodges asked as the policemen came in. “I don’t understand why I was chased.”
Ah-ha, it was about time someone questioned that. Noriko had been waiting for the past hour for someone to ask.
“You were chased because you ran,” Conrad answered forthrightly, as calm and pleasant as if he were chatting with a fellow coworker. “And yes, you are under arrest for now.”
“I’m under arrest. For what?”
“We’ll get to that.” Conrad popped on his holoshades and did a two finger scroll through the file. “But first let me read you your rights.”
“Explain why I’m under arrest,” Hodges insisted.
“I will, I will,” Conrad assured with a waving motion of his hand. “But let me read you your rights first, okay? Just let me get through this, and I’ll explain it all for you. That okay?”
Cameron leaned a little her direction and said in a low tone, “This is weird. He was so frantic earlier, when we were asking him simple questions. How come he’s calm now?”
“I’m wondering the same thing,” she admitted. Although as she spoke, an idea began to form. “It took, what, twenty minutes to bring him here?”
“About that, yeah.”
“I think he used that twenty minutes to gather his wits. Maybe he formulated some kind of strategy. He hasn’t actually admitted to anything, I mean we basically chased him because he screamed something crazy and ran, so maybe he thinks he can skate out of this if he plays it cool.”
“You sure it’s not because he’s crazy as a bed bug?”
“I am sure of nothing at this point.” Her head turned as the door opened.
Banderas strode in, for once not in uniform, but in a very nice dark grey suit and silvery-blue tie. His impression was so different than the rough-and-ready captain she knew that Noriko had to blink twice to get used to this new image.
Cameron let out a low whistle. “You clean up nice, Cap. Your wife dress you this morning?”
“She did,” Banderas admitted with a rare smile. “And nearly didn’t let me out of the house afterwards. Now, what do we have?”
Noriko hadn’t been able to send much in the text, so ran him through a concise summary of events. “And now we’re wondering where the crazy man that we were chasing went. He’s far too calm now.”
Banderas strode to the wall monitor, punched in his ID number, and stood watching intensely for a moment. “Noriko, Cameron, take note: a man that calm in this situation is likely guilty.”
“Really?” she stepped back toward the window for another, closer scrutiny.
“Because an innocent man would be upset about being unfairly locked up,” Cameron offered.
“Exactly.” Banderas put a finger to his lips, hushing them, so that he could listen.
On the other side of the glass Hodges was saying, “I don’t understand why they were chasing me.”
“If it helps any,” Conrad responded, tone still easy and un-pressuring, “they’re not quite sure why you ran. They mostly chased after you because you were screaming things and running.”
“Running along a street is not a crime.”
“Running away from officers of the law that are shouting at you to stop, or trying to jump over my squad car, that is illegal. Obstruction of justice and resisting arrest is what the lawyers like to call it.” Conrad shifted forward, his whole vibe friendly. “But we can skip all that, pretend it didn’t happen, just answer a few questions for me.”
At this promise, Hodges looked the tiniest bit relieved. “Just some questions?”
“Yeah, just a few questions, clear some things up. You know why they stopped to talk to you?”
“No, no idea.”
“Well, you’re a technician that works out at the Air Force Research Lab, right?”
“Yeah, I sure am.”
“The two that stopped you? They are the main investigative team for that explosion. One of them, the girl? Yeah, Noriko’s her name. She recognized you. She wanted to stop and talk for a second, as she doesn’t get to see the first day of trial for the case. You didn’t recognize her?”
Hodges gave a jerky shake of the head. “No. Why would I?”
Noriko frowned at that. “But I did meet him. The night of the explosion, he was there.”
“He was part of the cleanup crew that last day, too,” Cameron recalled. “Although he was mostly on the 1A site, but we did cross paths quite a few times.”
Why would he lie about something so easily disproved?
“Really?” Conrad didn’t sound doubting, it was more like a verbal shrug. “Okay. You said something to her. What was that all about?”
“I don’t believe,” Hodges said carefully, as if picking his way through a minefield, “that the cities off the coast should be kept afloat.”
“Huh. First time I’ve heard that. Why do you think so?”
Not getting a negative reaction, Hodges seemed encouraged, and he had more enthusiasm as he explained, “It’s going against the natural order of things. Look, we have evidence that the earth was all one big landmass at one time, right?”
“Sure, sure.”
“And they all broke apart, and drifted outwards because of the pressure of tectonic plates and diverging lines, and they eventually became what they looked like today. We consider this to be its natural state, as it’s an evolution of how things worked out. California itself is a collaboration of seven different landmasses all shoved together, held in place by converging lines and tectonic pressure.”
That was news to Noriko. She looked to her captain and Cameron, both California natives, and asked, “Really?”
“He’s correct,” Banderas answered without looking at her. “It’s something every child in California learns in high school.”
So this was common knowledge in this state? Wait, was that why California was so earthquake prone? Because it literally had multiple gigantic fault lines where all of these different landmasses were being shoved together? What a terrifying thought.
Hodges was really on a roll now. “It stands to reason that these separate landmasses can’t stay in the same place forever. The tectonic plates will shift, the convergent lines will fall out of sync with each other, and everything will move in response. That’s exactly why Los Angeles and Santa Barbara broke apart from the mainland.” Pointing a finger empathically toward the ground, he declared, “It was natural. They weren’t a part of the North American continent to begin with. They were doomed from the start to eventually fall away from the mainland and return to the ocean.”
“What about the people that live in those cities?”
“They need to leave. They can leave, it’s not like their lives hang on living there anyway. If they don’t want to drown, they can move to some other area of the country and let nature take its destined path.”
The problem with his words was
that he was almost convincing. Noriko was stunned by his logic, the way that he so clearly and calmly laid out the facts, without once considering what the consequences would be. Just abandon two of the largest cities in the United States? Granted, their country had a lot of unused land, but that was because a good section of it was desert and not usable. Where did he expect all of those millions of people to go?
“Certifiable, this one,” Banderas stated firmly.
Cameron blew out a low breath, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. “Oh man. Like, I don’t even know how to respond to what he’s saying.”
“You two were right to stop and talk to him. Chasing him down was also a good decision. This man might not be criminally culpable for anything, but he definitely needs mental help. Although honestly I think he was part of the 2A explosion.” Seeing their looks, he explained with a slight shrug, “An innocent man will tell you what he was doing. A liar will spin a story and then try to sell you on it. Like he’s doing.”
Conrad didn’t bat an eye at any of this. “Okay. So you really think that we should stop sending all of that energy toward the generators, just shut them down, let nature take its course.”
“Absolutely, I truly do.”
“Okay, man, I gotcha. Can we switch topics a little? I have a few questions about the night of the explosion. I know you went over it a dozen times already, just answer two questions. That okay?”
Hodges looked put upon but had the sense to not say ‘no’ to a cop. “Sure, what are your questions?”
“You were assigned to the test cell that blew up. And we know you were there the night of the test. Did you see either Wesson or Landers near the engine? Or near the big tanks nearby?”
“I don’t really recall seeing them there.”
“So they were there, and you were all prepping for the test that night, but you didn’t see them at all?”
“I don’t remember seeing them.”
Banderas had taken on the role of teacher and explained quickly, “A man that won’t give you a straight ‘yes’ or ‘no’ is trying to hide something.”
Call to Quarters (A Gaeldorcraeft Forces Novel Book 1) Page 23