Book 2: 3rd World Products, Inc.

by Ed Howdershelt

  "I thought you'd be asleep by now, Caitlin."

  Until Caitlin addressed me and gestured to the other officer, who was holding the core, I had no idea which bright orange suit contained her.

  "Sir, we've removed the core and your computer told us what happened. Do you want us to pick up Brinks now, or do you have other plans for him?"

  "You're the cop, Caitlin. Go by the book, whatever it says. Deleted stuff from his website seems to have killed a flitter computer, but his DNA and prints won't be on the programming, so better evidence is probably a factor to consider. By the way, Stephie isn't exactly my computer anymore."

  I'm sure she gave me a wry look, but I couldn't tell through the suit's faceplate.

  "Then the core and flitter are hereby impounded as evidence and Brinks will be picked up this evening for questioning. Do you wish to be present, sir?"

  "Not in the room when you talk to him, but I would like to be able to watch."

  "There's an observation room. I'll let you know when we've got him."

  "If he isn't home, check arboretum six."

  Caitlin paused in reaching for the hatch panel.

  "Why do you think we should look for him there, sir?"

  "Get a playback about that from Stephie."

  Maybe she nodded assent; I couldn't really tell. She said nothing and didn't seem to move for a couple of seconds, then she entered the airlock and held it open for us.

  In the prep chamber, we unsuited and redressed ourselves. You didn't just climb into a space suit; you had to strip to your skivvies in order for the air conditioning system in a suit to be effective.

  Caitlin skinned out of her suit and hung it back on the wall rack in a very unselfconscious manner. She seemed to care not a whit that she was wearing nothing more than her bra and panties as she reached to hang the eighty-pound suit.

  As I slipped off my own suit, I watched the muscles play under her skin and wondered what she did to keep herself so fit. She had the body of an athlete, and her proximity had an effect on my own body. I half turned away and pulled my pants on.

  "Wow, Caitlin. How do you..?"

  "Aerobics. Swimming. Stop staring and get dressed. Sir."

  "Sorry. Ma'am."

  Williams was already straightening his jacket. Guess he'd seen her before or he wasn't about to be caught staring at his boss's fantastic body. He gave me a look that seemed to ask if I were nuts. I shrugged and finished dressing.

  Caitlin organized her posse as we walked to the elevator and the hunt for Brinks was well underway by the time we arrived at her office. She waved at someone and held up three fingers, then led the way to her desk.

  The woman she'd waved at delivered three coffees moments after we were seated. As expected, my coffee was scalding hot. I waved off condiments and aimed a cold spot into the coffee as Caitlin and Williams stirred stuff into theirs.

  Cop coffee, I thought as I sipped it. It was like Army, Navy, or any other such coffee. You couldn't see the bottom of the pot if there was a quarter-inch left, and nothing else that was non-prescription could keep you awake quite as well.

  Williams and Caitlin watched me drink deeply from my cup and glanced at their own coffees, undoubtedly wondering why I wasn't screaming from a mouthful of blisters. I sent cooling fields into their coffees, too, just to see their expressions the next time they sipped. Williams almost dropped his cup. Caitlin simply gazed at me, knowing that I somehow had something to do with the tepid coffee in her cup.

  As we waited for word from those searching for Brinks, Caitlin reviewed my discourse with Stephie concerning the arboretum. When it finished, she looked at me oddly for a moment, then sipped her coffee.

  "Your cover story is absolute bullshit,” she said. “No offense, of course."

  I grinned. “None taken."

  "Baines sent you up here, didn't she?"

  "Ask her."

  "I'm asking you. Sir."

  "Same answer. Ma'am. Just do your job and don't worry about me."

  "I checked you out. As far as is possible, anyway, which doesn't amount to much, since I had to use routine sources and systems. I didn't like what I found because I didn't find out anything that didn't look like boilerplate from something else."

  "That would seem to mean that it's none of your business."

  "You're on my station, sir. It's my business to know who's here."

  "Until I leave, it's my station, lady. You work for me. You do your job as it should be done. That's your business. Not me."

  "That's just the point. Doing my job means knowing who's here. I'm not sure how you came to be in charge of the station. It isn't in your job description, that's for damned sure. Come to think of it, damn little is in your job description. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a less descriptive job description."

  "Your job description could soon be in question, too, Caitlin, if you continue in this vein. Why are you pushing me?"

  "I want to know how you wound up running the station. Who authorized it? Nobody at 3rd World admits knowing what the hell you're doing here, but they're all afraid to talk to me about you. Nobody in security Earthside seems to know, either. Yet, here you are."

  "Yet here I are, indeed. And nobody is telling me that I can't fire high-ranking goldbricks like Carlton and Hawkins. Doesn't that tell you anything?"

  "Yes, sir, it does. It tells me that your cover story is absolute bullshit."

  Williams snorted and tried to hide a chuckle.

  I shook my head and said, “Live with it, Caitlin. Now, do I have to leave in order to keep you from running on about this?"

  "No. Sir. I just wanted you to know where I stand. Without reason to do otherwise, I'll accept your orders. but be prepared to explain any that don't make perfect sense."

  "Happy to, as long as they're followed when I give them. You may have to wait until afterwards for an explanation, though."

  Her gaze narrowed.

  "Caitlin, I could have ordered you to pick up Brinks earlier, before the core crash. What would you have done?"

  "I'd have asked why."

  "And if I'd just told you to do it and hold him for questioning?"

  "I'd have asked why."

  "Then you'd have been out of a job, Caitlin. Fired with prejudice and replaced instantly. These aren't normal times. I won't ask or tell you to do something that I can't explain later, but if I tell you to do something, you'll do it or you'll be gone."

  "I see. One moment please, while I call Baines.” She reached for her pad.

  I said, “Stephie, open a link to Linda Baines for Miz Caitlin, here."

  "Open, Ed."

  I said, “Go for it, Caitlin."

  Caitlin eyed me warily as she sent a message asking for absolute confirmation that I was in command of the station. Nobody spoke as we waited a few minutes for the reply. When the outer office woman peeked in, Caitlin again held up three fingers, and three more coffees were brought to us. Caitlin thanked her as she turned to leave.

  Stephie said, “Linda's reply has arrived."

  "Let everybody in the room hear it, Steph. Send a copy of it to Caitlin's pad, too."

  Linda said, “Confirmed, Caitlin. Stop rooting around, damn it. He's one of ours."

  Caitlin said, “Send her a thanks and thank you, too, Stephanie."

  "You're welcome."

  I was about to cool my coffee again when someone reported in. When they'd entered Brinks’ room, a buzzer had sounded, and then an explosion had killed two officers and injured another. Brinks was nowhere to be found.

  Caitlin said, “You've checked the arboretum?"

  "Yes, ma'am. We didn't find him there, but he was in it just before the alarm sounded, according to the gate log."

  "Okay. Keep looking. Assume he's dangerous and probably armed."

  "Um, armed how, ma'am? A stunner?"

  Caitlin looked at me. I nodded and said, “A stunner, possibly. More likely a modified PFM. Don't laugh."

  Williams snicke
red anyway, of course.

  "A PFM? How's he going to hurt anyone with a PFM?"

  Caitlin quietly asked, “What if one locked onto your clothes and hauled you fifty feet into the air before letting you go?"

  A moment later the guy soberly said, “Uh, yes, ma'am. I'll pass the word."

  There was a commotion in the background, then the voice came back on.

  "We just found Masters! She's not breathing, but Price is trying CPR on her!"

  I looked at Caitlin and said, “He logged out, but he didn't leave. Tell them to..."

  There was a choking sound and a thud as the watch arm hit the ground.

  "Stephie, they'll all need CPR and oxygen. Send enough medicbots for everybody."

  "Okay, Ed."

  I got up to leave, but Caitlin took a moment to reach in her desk drawer. She brought out an extra stunner and tossed it to me.

  "Here. Have your computer reprogram it for you."

  "Got one, thanks."

  I tossed it back to her and pulled my own stunner from my sleeve. Her eyes narrowed a touch, then she nodded and dropped the extra back into her desk.

  When we got to the arboretum, one of the officers was back on her feet—on her knees, really—and trying to help the other two. We got there just ahead of the medical ‘bot and two human medics and stood guard as the unconscious officers were treated. Two needed further attention and were prepped for transport under guard. Price asked to remain with us.

  Caitlin asked her, “Are you sure you're okay, Price?"

  "I'll be fine, ma'am. Let's get him."

  "Not yet. I sent for more people."

  I consulted Steph.

  "Stephie, can you get a reading on Brinks? Maybe save us a long search?"

  "No, Ed. The only people on my sensors are you and Caitlin's people. I've searched the entire station and there's no sign of Brinks."

  "Then we'll assume he's still in here."

  When the other two squads arrived, Caitlin said, “We're going to lock the gate and fan out. Everybody stay in sight of someone at all times."

  And so it was. Half an hour later, we were more than halfway to the other end of the arboretum with no results. Caitlin called a halt and told everyone not to get careless because Brinks was running out of room and might pop up at any moment.

  "Stay in line, stay in sight, and stay alert!” she yelled, then she referred to her pad for a moment and approached me, her finger poised to point out something on the pad to me.

  At odd times you may see, or hear, or even smell something that your conscious, thinking mind is too busy to register at the time. You may be talking to someone or be doing something when your subconscious mind begins screaming a warning at you for no apparent reason.

  I have no idea to this day what sparked my anxiety, but suddenly it was there and I followed my impulse to get flat on the ground.

  I muttered, “Option five on,” and yelled, “Get down!"

  Caitlin had been talking to me when my subconscious went off like an alarm bell. She must have seen it in my eyes during the split-second before I dropped.

  Caitlin also screamed, “Down! Get down!” as she also dove for the dirt.

  All I knew was that I wanted to put something between me and the direction we'd been heading. One of the larger imported trees was near me. I quickly crawled to it and got to my feet behind it.

  Maybe half a dozen of the others had fairly instantly followed Caitlin's order to get down. Too many others hadn't. Caitlin made it behind a tree and hunkered there with her back to it, screaming at the others to get to cover.

  Simply getting flat is considered good initial procedure before an explosion, but it wouldn't have done much good that time. With a deafening explosion, the entire top of one of the trees was converted to wooden shrapnel that ripped into and through people every bit as well as metal shrapnel.

  Quite a few of Caitlin's people were down by then, but damned few had made it to adequate cover and a few were still on their feet or only then getting flat when the shockwave from the blast slammed into them and past them.

  An explosion is like thunder. If you can hear it, it's too damned late. You're either hit or you aren't. I peeked out from behind my tree to see more than half a dozen people lying unmoving on the ground and several more writhing in agony.

  Caitlin stared around the scene in abject shock for a moment. When her gaze turned my way, I tried to tell her to stay put, but our ears were still so full of the explosion that I didn't think she could hear me, so I slapped the tree in front of me and yelled again, hoping that she could understand what I was saying.

  Apparently she couldn't. As she stepped from behind her tree to go to someone near her, the second explosion I'd expected shattered the top of another tree. Caitlin was thrown backwards and my tree rocked slightly as another blast wave rammed its way through the forest around us.

  A yard-long chunk of split tree branch had spun past my position so quickly that I hadn't seen it. When I looked for Caitlin, I saw the branch embedded in the earth only a few inches from her left hip. As she stirred and looked around, she saw it, too. Her eyes were like saucers as she stared at it for some moments.

  Her stare found me when I moved away from my tree toward her. She shook her head as if to clear it, then rolled away from the branch and tried to stand. No good. She fell back and settled for crawling to the nearest member of her team.

  I put my hand on her back to get her attention. When she looked up, I tried to tell her to look at her leg, but she couldn't hear me, so I pointed. When her eyes fell on the six inches of wood sticking out of the side of her leg, they widened again.

  I pressed her flat to the earth on her front and left a hand on her back to keep her there as I looked at her wound.

  "Stephie, we need help fast. Several wounded."

  "Med ‘bots are on the way, Ed."

  Caitlin had no other wounds that I could see. I tilted her face up to see mine and yelled at her to 'leave it there'. When she nodded understanding, I moved to check the other people. Caitlin managed to get to her feet and hobbled over to do the same.

  "Can the medic ‘bots get in without opening the gate, Steph?"

  "No, Ed."

  "They can fly, right? Like the ones on the ship?"

  "Yes, Ed."

  "The gate's fifty feet tall. Crack the gate just wide enough to let the ‘bots in. Why the hell didn't you know there were explosives in the trees?"

  I didn't mean for that to sound like an accusation, but it did, of course. At least, it did to me. Steph's answer reflected that she'd noted my tone.

  "Ed, my sensor sweeps never noticed them. They must have been concealed. That's all I can tell you. I'm sorry."

  Can a computer program truly be sorry, or was that just a programmed response to a situation that seemed to require one? What the hell; was it any more than that in people? Barrett hadn't noticed the wire he tripped in 1968, either. He was sorry. It hadn't helped a goddamned thing, but he was sorry about it. Shit.

  "Yeah, Steph. Sorry I snapped at you. Sometimes the bad guys get to score."

  Chapter Thirty

  I was kneeling next to someone, searching for a pulse, when a bit of stick bounced off my field suit. If I hadn't seen it fall away, I wouldn't have known to look around. Caitlin was frantically pointing to my extreme left. When I looked that way, a slight motion guided my eyes further left.

  A patch of green moved, then disappeared for a moment, then moved again. Caitlin's people all wore blue.

  I said, “option three on” and rose to my feet to follow the motion in the woods. The next motion I noticed wasn't green. It looked as if the trunk of a tree swelled outward, then the swelling changed to match the background vegetation.

  "He's using a tight distortion field, isn't he, Steph?"

  "He must be, Ed. I can't see him."

  "You don't see anything? Not even motion about twenty-five yards ahead of me?"

  "I see nothing at all. Motion
is probably making a sighting more difficult."

  "Steph, does option three work while I'm using option five?"

  "Not as well. Displacement of light won't be quite as effective."

  "It'll have to do for now. Brinks is heading toward the gate, isn't he? Just about one step at a time, waiting a few seconds between steps?"

  "It appears so, Ed."

  "That can't happen, Steph. Can you stop him? Can you stun that whole area?"

  "I'll try. You may feel this, Ed. Stay in your five suit for now."

  A few small animals fell from trees in the area where I'd last seen motion. I realized that I'd heard some of them land, which meant that my hearing was returning. For several moments nothing else happened, then some vegetation seemed to shift itself to the left.

  'No,' I thought, 'It's more like seeing things through a ripple in a window.'

  "Didn't work, Steph. He's still moving. Try a barrier."

  The barrier field snapped into being ahead of Brinks and me. A line appeared in the vegetation as if an axe had cut its way through the forest.

  Where the field neared me, I could see that the barrier hadn't actually cut anything but the dirt; it had simply displaced leaves and branches to one side or the other and appeared to extend into the earth a foot or so.

  Brinks stopped a few feet from the barrier, and while his field effect shifted around him, it didn't continue moving forward.

  "Ed, I have a visual on his field now that he's stopped moving."

  "Try whatever you can, Steph. Focus a stun on him that would knock over a rhino. Try everything you can think of."

  Brinks became partially visible for a moment, then again seemed to disappear.

  "His field shunted the stun to the ground, Ed, but it seemed to take a lot out of it for a moment. I saw him before he adjusted his system to compensate."

  "What about a laser or something, dammit? Don't you have anything but fields to throw at him?"

  "Not in here, and even if I did, I couldn't use something like that on a human, Ed. You know that."

  "I'm getting tired of hearing that line, Steph. Real goddamned tired of it. Did you get any kind of reading on him while he was visible? What's he got with him that could force open the gate?"

  "He's carrying a pad and a backpack, but the pack is shielded. I couldn't tell what was in it. From his posture, it would appear to be fairly heavy."