by C. G. Hatton
He left the room, leaving behind an atmosphere that was dangerously edgy. Whatever happened next could lead to Hilyer’s immediate execution. If he slipped up. If the kid let a single thought enter his mind that incriminated himself.
NG felt cold. The two guys outside the door had been briefed to wait for his word. They both had their hands on their guns. He told them to stand ready and casually reaffirmed their orders, mostly concentrating on following Hilyer’s train of thought, easy enough to listen in to at this distance.
Quinn was good and he quickly provoked the young field operative into a reaction. To be fair, that wasn’t hard with Hilyer. NG felt the pure frustration-fuelled anger that sparked in Hil as Quinn played the game. Combined with the pain he was picking up from the kid, it all made his head ache with a pulsing burn. And nothing was clear, not until Hilyer’s memory started to flash on scenes of Earth – Mendhel and LC, and LC scared and hurt. LC was never scared, Hil was thinking, oh god, what had happened?
It was genuine.
“Stand down,” NG said quietly. He turned to the two elite guards. “Stay with him, don’t let anyone near and keep him away from Legal. I want him intact.”
They both nodded, synchronised small, curt motions.
NG turned back to the door. Quinn and Hilyer were inches apart, Hil with fists clenched, struggling to hold back an intense agitation that was about to explode.
NG pushed open the door, releasing the tension in the room before it came to blows.
Quinn glanced over, eyes switching from Hilyer to NG, not making a move until NG shook his head slightly and sent privately, “He’s clean.”
The relief in the big handler was immense but he showed nothing in his face. He stepped aside. Hilyer almost sagged behind him, shoulders dropping. His hands were shaking again and he stuck them in his pockets to hide it, slouching and glaring at Quinn’s back.
The kid’s headache had intensified into a dense black migraine that was spilling over and eating at NG’s concentration.
“Sit down,” he said to Quinn. “Hil, go up to my office and call into Medical on the way for some painkillers, for Christ’s sake.”
Hilyer left, slinking out and picking up his bodyguards with resignation rather than resentment.
NG sat, exhausted. Quinn was a cool presence opposite, easy company in the circumstances.
“Give him whatever he needs,” NG said, rubbing a hand over his eyes. “Get him out there and do whatever you have to do to nail the ID of this corporation.”
He looked at Quinn, reading a calm readiness in the big man’s mind, mission prep and a cool, clinical need to go after the people who had killed his friend. “I’ve cleared it with the Chief. We want you to handle Hilyer. Only Hilyer.”
Quinn’s only response was to raise his eyebrows.
“We’ll juggle the rest of your field-ops for the time being. Some of them are due to take leave anyway and we can handle the others. I want your attention on Hil. Is that clear?”
It was a question in wording only and Quinn knew it. He had no choice and NG didn’t want his opinion on it. It was decided and yes was the only answer.
“Yes,” Quinn said with a small smile. He didn’t like Hil but he respected the kid’s abilities. It was in the method that they’d clash. And he was thinking that Hilyer was going to have a problem taking his orders.
“I’ll get everything sent to Ops,” NG said. “Give me an hour with Hil. He’ll be fine. If he ever wants to get back on the list again, he’ll have to be.”
He poured himself a whisky and stretched out on the sofa. His head was pounding. Whatever Hil had going on, he wasn’t trying to hide anything. Not consciously. If anything, it was the opposite. The kid was frustrated that he couldn’t remember what had happened. It just wasn’t inside his head. Or rather it was, he just couldn’t get to it. Yet.
NG closed his eyes. It was hard work venturing into that kind of maelstrom.
When Evelyn interrupted, she didn’t connect through the Senson, she just knocked at the door with a single clear rap and walked in. She wasn’t happy.
“You have a message from the JU,” she said and dropped a board on his desk.
NG sat up. “Jameson?”
“He wants to see you. He’s demanding that you go to Earth. Now. No delays or he will, and I quote, ‘cause you so much fucking trouble, you’ll wish you’d never even heard of the JU’. You want me to tell him you’re busy?”
Damn, he should have thought of Jameson.
NG jumped up and downed the last of the whisky in the glass. “Tell him I’ll see him but at RV2. We can get there in what? Two days?”
Evelyn considered arguing with him but thought better of it. She really was good in a crisis. No tea, but she walked briskly over to the cabinet and picked out the exact whisky he was drinking. Who was it in this office that was supposed to be the telepath?
“I’ll set up the hospitality room,” she said, topping up his glass.
By that, she meant the high security suite they used whenever there was a risk in bringing outsiders on board. Isolated, physically and electronically, sterile and fitted with a security system that was impregnable.
“He won’t like it,” she continued without waiting for him to speak, “but if Jameson’s January Unit is anything like it used to be, they’ll know what’s going on. That’s what worries me.”
NG shrugged.
She glared at him. “Half a billion will tempt even someone like Jameson.”
“He knows he’d never be able to put me down and walk away alive to enjoy it.”
“Let’s not put that to the test,” Evie said, not realising that she sounded more like the covert bodyguard she was than the PA she pretended to be.
NG smiled. Matt Jameson was one of their closest allies. Jameson’s January Unit paid the Thieves’ Guild well to both keep their hands off Earth military business and to run tabs on the other side of the line for them. It was the only Imperial military unit they ever dealt with. Anything Earth wanted from the Thieves’ Guild went through the JU. Jameson knew fine well that NG took payment from the Wintrans to do exactly the same but that was the game. It was a valuable service and one they did well. Not so much industrial or military espionage, rather a delicate balancing act to maintain a steady level of technological advancements within the two powers and everyone in between.
Evelyn’s worries were probably unfounded. Whenever Jameson wanted to see him, it was urgent. The guy didn’t have any other setting. It would be some routine tab. But Evie was right. Chances were he could know something of what was going on. Any intel from that direction was always welcome. And Jameson usually brought more than information. Good whisky and real coffee went a long way out here.
It wasn’t routine. Jameson threw one punch and had NG around the throat, pinned to the bulkhead, before anyone could react. Sometimes knowing what was about to happen before it did just sucked.
Chapter 8
“Ah. The might of the Imperial military. Its peculiar relationship with our guild has always fascinated me.”
The Man reached for the jug. “It is a disgustingly arcane and stifled organism that believes it is untouchable.”
“Winter is no better.”
“No, it is not. But at least the Wintran corporations are transparent in their greed.”
“You sent Zach Hilyer into the hands of the corporation that mocks us. Was that fair?”
“No. What in any of this has been fair?”
She looked up. “I must say, I am pleased to hear that Zachary did not betray us. He is one of my favourites. What did the good Colonel Jameson want?”
“What he always wants. The Earth Empire is insidious in its need to control and its desperate desire to regain its former glory. Jameson has always seen our guild as a means to wield power across the line. It is a delusion we have nurtured. But one that has come back to bite us.”
•
“Stand down,” NG sent calmly on a shared link
to the security detail, Banks, Martinez and Evie included. He hadn’t stopped Jameson or ducked out of the way because he wanted to know what the hell had freaked out a guy he thought of almost as a friend. “He’s just pissed. He’s not going to kill me.”
They didn’t like it but they all lowered their weapons.
Jameson glared at him, nose to nose, fingers squeezing and shutting off his air. NG breathed slowly and kept eye contact, calm, no resistance.
“You’ve gone too fucking far this time, NG,” Jameson hissed. “You bastard thieving son of a bitch. What the hell do I pay you for?”
NG let him vent, riding with it and using the physical contact of the hand around his neck to look deep as Jameson slammed him up against the wall with another punch. Evelyn and Martinez snapped their guns back up, two perfect stances aiming at Jameson’s head. Jameson’s own holster was empty. He’d been thoroughly searched and hadn’t bitched when he’d been told to leave his guards on his ship. Not that he needed a weapon. He was thinking how little effort it would take to snap NG’s neck, fingers twitching and weight shifting slightly in readiness. The thoughts that flashed deeper were more disturbing.
“It wasn’t us, Jameson,” NG said softly, throwing a subtle spanner into the midst of the man’s anger. “It wasn’t us.”
Jameson’s grip eased slightly, confusion replacing the surface fury.
NG strengthened the suggestion, calming, taking the heat out of the colonel’s emotions.
Jameson sagged and shoved NG to the side, turning and looking around as if he was noticing for the first time the full force of guild personnel surrounding them. He threw his hands up, glared at Evie, then spun on NG again, pointing. “I swear,” he said, voice raised, “no one else could have got near. It was your operatives, you son of a bitch.”
Evie sent, “Hilyer and LC?”
NG gestured her to stand down. “Jameson, it wasn’t authorised,” he said. “We have two rogue field operatives out there that we’re trying to find ourselves.”
Jameson narrowed his eyes. He didn’t believe it. He didn’t want to believe it. He’d come in here expecting to have caught them off guard, fingers in the cookie jar.
“Sit down,” NG said calmly. “We’re as much in the shit here as you are.” He gestured towards the conference table and sent privately to Evie, “Get Devon in here. It looks like our boys hit the JU.”
Jameson sat and unbuttoned his jacket. He was wearing a civilian suit. Unofficial. His relations with the guild didn’t exactly go through regular channels.
Evelyn brought tea and a decanter of whisky, setting three shot glasses on the table. She backed off and joined the circle of security surrounding them.
NG poured two shots of whisky and waited for Jameson. The colonel stared at him without making a move for the cup. “We had an agreement, NG.” He was still furious, distrusting, but the edge was gone. “What the hell happened?”
NG picked up one of the cups and nudged the other. Jameson still ignored it. It was obvious that the colonel was now very aware of the security around them. And he knew why, amused to see NG having to take such precautions.
“We don’t know yet,” NG said. “Mendhel was killed.”
Jameson nodded. “We heard. Is that connected? Jesus.” He hadn’t put the two together and now it was laid out, his mind started ticking over. He picked up the shot glass and downed it in one. NG followed suit and topped them both up, filling the third as he sensed Devon approaching.
Jameson recognised the significance of Legal joining them and stood. Old Earth manners.
She smiled as she sat and raised her glass. They didn’t toast; it was more a silent acknowledgment to each of their positions. Three of the most powerful individuals in the galaxy and one of the worst breaches in trust and security NG could recall.
“Half a billion is one hell of a price, NG,” Jameson said, going on the offensive. “Who else have you been pissing off?”
NG smiled, refusing to rise to it.
Jameson looked around theatrically. “Worried?”
“No one can get to me,” NG said nonchalantly, cocky, feeling Evelyn and Devon both tense inside. They’d never let on to someone like Jameson that the Alsatia had already been compromised. He kept his gaze steady. “What did they steal and from where?”
Jameson stared from NG to Devon. He still thought they were playing dumb.
Devon leaned forward. “Whoever got to our field operatives killed their handler, Colonel Jameson. One of our best handlers. We’re not involved and the sooner you stop assuming that we are, the sooner we can all find out who is behind this.” Her tone was cold but not as withering as it could get. She could be a softie when she needed to be with outsiders.
Jameson was smart. You didn’t get to that kind of position in such a specialist unit within any military without being very good. He considered them both then reached for the shot glass, holding it up for a refill.
NG played the game, topping up all three cups.
Jameson took a sip and placed the cup very deliberately on the table. “I cannot divulge that information at this time,” he said, the formal words tripping off his tongue with infinite ease.
Devon laughed. “Come on, colonel. You’ve admitted it was your facility. You want your stuff back? Tell us what it was.”
He was still suspicious but NG started to pick up an underlying uncertainty. It was obvious that his superiors hadn’t told him what it was. Jameson didn’t know what had been stolen and he’d been expecting to find out by coming here.
“We don’t have it, Jameson,” NG said cautiously. “And we want our people back. Someone is working against us both. Tell us what you know. We’ll tell you what we know.”
There was a long moment of silence then Jameson said, “It was a research facility,” conceding but giving away nothing of value because he didn’t know any more himself. “High end, top secret. Hell, we don’t even know what the researchers were doing in there.”
He looked up, from NG to Devon again. “Honestly. Your boys got away with something that we’ve never even seen. There are no records. And guess what? The lab was destroyed by an explosion after they got out.” He sounded pissed again. “Who was it?” he said aggressively. “No, let me guess – Anderton?”
NG nodded. There was no need to deny it. Jameson was smart. He hadn’t plucked LC’s name out of thin air, he’d heard about the bounty. It didn’t take much to put it all together and the guy was suddenly thinking, hell, this was someone else. He’d come to the Thieves’ Guild expecting all the answers, pissed at the idea that NG had betrayed them and now it seemed like it was an unknown. An enemy out there, not a betrayal by an ally after all.
Jameson shook his head, disbelief crossing his mind. “And you have no idea why he did it?”
NG sat quietly, non-committal. Devon was as still as a statue, willing him to give Hilyer to Jameson. They’d sent the kid out to confront the corporation with half an army of extraction agents at his back. Setting the Earth military after them as well wouldn’t do Hil any favours but it might tip the chances of them catching the bastards.
“One of our other field operatives was there as well,” he said. “We don’t know why but we think the two of them were freelancing for a corporation. He made it back here.” He considered what else to say. “The corporation sent in an anonymous request asking for him – to finish the job, we think. We’re assuming they think he has the package. Him or LC. And they’ve put out a price on LC to try to find him.”
Jameson nodded.
“We’ve sent him out on the tab,” NG said coldly, feeling satisfaction from Devon and dismay from Evie. “We can tell you where but we want him back alive.”
Jameson smirked and reached for the shot glass. “Deal.”
He left Jameson with Devon to work out the details and walked to the elevator flanked by Evie, Banks and Martinez, two of the elite guards a step behind.
Evelyn was quiet until they got into the lift
, too quiet because he could feel she was itching to say something.
“You don’t like it?” he sent finally, privately on a tight wire.
“No.”
“Don’t make this personal.”
She was still scowling as the door opened onto twelve.
He stood aside to let her out first but she stopped and looked at him.
“I trust Hil,” she said quietly. “Everyone does. I don’t believe he’s betrayed us.”
“LC?”
“The same.”
That was personal with her. He knew she’d hooked up with LC a few times and the worry she was feeling wasn’t just that for a work colleague.
“Someone got to them,” he said.
“There’ll have been a reason,” she sent privately and walked out. She was thinking that he’d thrown Hilyer to the wolves. She could be right. It was never easy to sacrifice a piece for the bigger picture. But sometimes that was the only way to win the game.
He followed her and went towards his office, headed off by Martinez who respectfully nudged him aside and went in herself first, to check that it was clear. He knew there was no one in there but that was hardly something he could say. He humoured them but he was starting to feel claustrophobic. He stood at the door and watched Evelyn go to her desk, watched the look on her face as she picked up a board that was waiting for her. She glanced up at him and put it down quickly.
“What is it?” he said.
She shook her head and shuffled the board into the others sitting there. Not every board went across her desk before it hit his, but when they were this busy, a fair few did.
She was bothered. Thinking that there was no way she could give it to him until she’d spoken to Devon.
He beckoned with a finger. She tried to look calm and neutral but he listened in as she sent an urgent warning to Devon that she was needed here fast.