Erasmus played snips of her in proximity to other people, but stopped and focused on one interaction with a well-dressed young man. They talked and laughed, and he handed her a card before waving and walking away. Throughout, he’d kept his back to the video device, but when he turned, it showed enough of his face to run it through the system.
Callius Markmal. Intergalactic playboy. He had a huge following, with the entirety of his success built on the fact that he was popular.
“What did he hand her?” Rivka asked.
“It is the shape and size of an access card, but without distinguishing marks or colors, I cannot guess what it is for, beyond access to a controlled area. I will need more information. If you could find the card, I will conduct a full analysis.”
“I expect that if I find the card, I’ll already know what it is for. Jay?”
“Magistrate?” Jay replied.
“Do you know that guy?”
“I might have seen his face on the web, and I might have read an article or two about him. But I’m not a fan!” she replied hastily.
“I didn’t accuse you of having poor taste,” Rivka told the younger woman. “How old is this wank-splat?”
Erasmus answered with a simple number. “Fifty.”
“Fifty? He’s enhanced, then.”
“He claims it is from good genes and all natural,” Erasmus spouted, skepticism heavy in his AI voice. “There’s no record within the Federation of the procedure.”
“Enhanced it is, in a system that’s off the grid. Otherwise, you would have found something. Pod-docs record everything they do.” Rivka continued to scan the data. “I suspect you’ve already built a profile on Mister Markmal. Where can I find him?”
“He has an extensive suite on an executive cruise liner that orbits the planetoid.”
“Get us an appointment, Chaz. Jay and I are going as fans.”
“We are?” Jay blurted. “But I’m not a fan. He’s disgusting.”
“Neither am I. I’m a fan of truth and Justice. Why is a popular jag like this guy kidnapping people? Or is he surrounded by opportunists? Maybe being popular doesn’t pay what it used to. So many questions that need answers. We’ll have to run the gauntlet of his security team to get close enough to ask him a few pointed questions.”
“Hang on, Magistrate,” Red interjected. “You can’t go in there without security. This guy’s a scumbag.”
“He’s definitely a scumbag, but has he committed a crime?” Rivka countered. “Fine, Lindy is going as a fan, too. Ladies. We need to dress to kill.”
Me, too! Floyd cried.
“Sure,” Rivka agreed, much to the team’s surprise.
“Maybe he needs some dental work?” Tyler suggested from the corridor, leaning into the rec room as if hesitant to enter.
“Did you see his picture?” Red asked. “That guy doesn’t need any work. And if I’m not going, you’re not going.”
“Red’s right—you can’t go. Jay, Lindy, and I are going to visit Mister Markmal.”
“Make him squeal like a little girl,” Red suggested.
“To ask him a few casual questions. Have a conversation.”
“Bullshit.” Red’s face started to flush. “You need to beat the crap out of this guy and haul him before the judge!”
“The judge is me, and what if he didn’t do it?”
“Of course, he did it! Erasmus, what are the odds that he’s our perp?”
“I calculate a fifty-three point four percent chance that he is complicit.”
“That’s it? Not ninety? Weird. Still better odds than tossing a credit in the air.”
“Sounds like a conversation. What’s your hurry, Red? Are you still angry that Lindy makes more than you do?” Rivka crossed her arms.
Red furrowed his brow before mirroring the Magistrate’s pose. “She does?”
“I do?”
“How would I know? I don’t know what I make, let alone what anyone else makes.”
“I know,” Ankh interjected from the bridge.
“I’m sure you do, but don’t share that information. I’m blissful in my ignorance.”
Ankh appeared and headed for the galley, where he snagged a container of juice while he waited for something to appear from the food dispenser. A plate slid into the chamber, complete with a steaming casserole sporting melted cheese on top and a crumb topping.
“Whoa, big fella!” Red bellowed. “How can I make it do that?”
“You can’t,” Ankh said over his shoulder, his tone neutral as it always was.
“You’re going to wave that in front of me and tell me that I can’t have any?”
“That was exactly what I told you,” Ankh replied, shutting and securing the bridge access.
“It sucks owing that guy money,” Red complained.
“Such is life. Lindy and Jay, we’re going on the orbiting cruise liner in order to look for a party. Jay takes the lead because Floyd will be so cute that everyone will want to pet her. No one will notice us. We’ll canvass the area and see if anyone knows anything.”
Lindy put her foot down verbally. “I’m staying close to you, Magistrate. That is non-negotiable.”
“Fine. I’m not going anywhere.”
I’m cute! Floyd said all of a sudden, and everyone laughed except Tyler. After a few moments, the chuckles subsided. Jay vigorously rubbed the wombat’s body, making the little girl giggle into their minds.
“We should have given him a chip,” Red whispered urgently. “He’s a liability without it.”
Tyler eased into the open area.
“I know,” Rivka replied, talking softly behind her hand. “You keep him out of harm’s way.”
“If anything happens, I’m going in heavy.”
“I figured. Make sure Ankh keeps you up to speed. He’ll be tracking us for the duration.”
“And for the record, dudes won’t care about Floyd. They’ll only have eyes for the hot women. You aren’t exactly going to be dressed like wallflowers.” Red was serious, not doing his best to improve the team’s situational awareness.
“That’s what we’re going for, but we’ll keep our eyes out. If we have to deploy Floyd as part of our battle strategy, she’s ready.”
Floyd is ready to fight! the wombat declared.
Red stared like a stunned mullet. He couldn’t imagine how Floyd could contribute if things got out of hand, but he knew that the Magistrate and Lindy could handle themselves as long as there weren’t too many combatants. He shook his head.
“I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Period. Bottom line. End of story.”
Rivka winked at her bodyguard as the group disappeared into their quarters, returning fairly quickly after a complete change of clothes. Red found it hard not to stare.
Lindy stood on her toes to give Red a kiss. “We’ll be fine. I’m afraid for the guys we want to talk to, but you know what they say. You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet or something like that. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a real egg.”
“Not all they’re cracked up to be,” Rivka added. “We are looking for Callius Markmal. Everyone else is an hors d’oeuvre. I want the main course.”
The look in Rivka’s eye suggested that she would have it even if she had to tear the luxury ship apart.
“Try the soft sell first,” Red suggested.
“I can’t believe you think I would go in there like a bistok in a glass factory.” Rivka put her hands on her hips after smoothing a fold on her slinky black dress.
“There is a history...” Red let the words hang in the air. Lindy nodded her agreement as she flexed her hands as if preparing herself for a fight. Jay continued to stroke the wombat’s fur.
Rivka waved Reaper, the neutron pulse weapon, in the air and then tucked it into her clutch. “Shall we, ladies?”
Wheee! Floyd squealed.
Red’s expression was grim as he started to gear up. “Just say the word, and I’m coming in.”
The den
tist looked appalled. “This is how you do it?” he asked.
The team nodded as one. “Pretty much,” Rivka replied.
“I’m assuming that thing you stuffed in your purse is a weapon. You’re dressed for a party but ready to beat people senseless?”
“Pretty much,” Rivka repeated. “Stay on the ship, Doc. We’ll be back.” He continued to look aghast as the three women tiptoed through the ship in their high heels.
Lindy cycled the airlock, exposing the access tunnel beyond.
“Ladies, it’s showtime. I need information, and this is where we’re going to get it.” Rivka said as she followed Lindy into the liner on their way to the executive level to find the reality star.
“You aren’t allowed upstairs without an invitation,” the bot said.
“Maybe you could bat your eyelashes at it?” Lindy suggested. Rivka looked over her shoulder at her bodyguard.
“There seems to be a flaw in our evil plan to get Callius to sign our breasts,” Rivka replied. When Rivka turned back, the bot retreated.
“You may enter, but not the rodent of unusual size.”
“She’s a wombat, and her name is Floyd,” Jay said, her head held high. “She’s not a rodent!”
“The wombat cannot enter,” the bot clarified.
Nooo! Floyd cried, and she started to fuss.
“We’ll go back to the ship,” Jay said sadly.
“We won’t be long,” Rivka replied in a cold and hard voice.
“Not long at all,” Lindy reiterated.
Jay put Floyd on the deck and they walked slowly away.
Rivka tipped her head toward the door and took one step, and it opened without any manual intervention. The bot looked like it was part of the wall without lights or movement to show that it was active.
They headed up the stairs, Lindy staying one step back and on Rivka’s left side. If the Magistrate drew her weapon, it would be with her right hand, which didn’t interfere with Lindy’s field of fire. She also had a weapon; not the compact neutron pulse device, but a hand blaster secreted in a ruffle on the train, which looked almost like a cape and flowed from the back of her dress. The Magistrate didn’t know about it, but Red had refused to send her in unarmed. Lindy had agreed.
At the top of the steps, a large man filled the role of bouncer or the second last line of defense for the celebrity and his inner circle. The large man looked bored.
Lindy smirked at his size—smaller than Red, he was less intimidating. I can take him, she thought.
Rivka shook her head almost imperceptibly. She smiled broadly and waved. “Can you show us to Mister Markmal?”
“Security check. Hold your arms out.” Rivka did as directed and he patted her down too thoroughly, copping a feel as he did so. He took her clutch from her hand and looked inside, quickly handing it back.
“Now you,” he told Lindy.
“If you try to grab me like that, I’ll break your face.” Lindy glared at him as she put her arms out. Rivka grabbed his arm as he reached for Lindy.
“She has had some trauma. You don’t need her hell all over you,” Rivka warned while trying to interpret the thoughts going through his filthy mind. “Mister Markmal?”
He showed her exactly where he was, and that the celebrity was alone. Rivka checked the short corridor. Only two doors. “What’s through that other door?”
“What?” the security guard asked. By then, Rivka had all she needed.
“We’re alone,” she said to Lindy. “Finish him.”
Lindy’s hand shot out at the speed of light, delivering a devastating throat punch. He bounced off the back wall and started to gag. She followed with a roundhouse to the side of the head and he went head over heels, rolling once before coming to a stop. He gurgled slightly but was still getting air.
“We’ll throw him in there. It’s a party room, but it’s empty.” They each grabbed an arm and dragged him to the door, opening it and throwing him inside. Rivka followed him in. “I judge you guilty of sexual misconduct. Your punishment for unwanted touching is that every other finger will be broken. Rivka quickly snapped the finger bones and left the man to his fate. She stopped before leaving. “And this is from me.”
She kicked his knee and twisted. The kneecap shattered under the blow. “Asshole.”
Across the hallway was the door behind which they’d find their quarry.
Rivka straightened her dress, and Lindy pulled her pistol and held it behind her back. The Magistrate knocked lightly. “Mister Markmal?” she called and threw the handle to open the door.
It was pitch-black inside.
“Follow the sound of my voice,” he said in a breathy whisper.
“Lights!” Rivka stated, and the room lights came on, showing a naked Callius Markmal on his bed.
“Lights!” he shouted, and darkness returned. Rivka had the misfortune of having Markmal’s form burned into her retinas.
“Fine,” she said, allowing her low-light vision ability to guide her. “Hold the door open, please.”
Lindy remained in the hallway, watching for any surprises while Rivka went inside.
“You’ll need to close the door if you want to climb in with me. I’m not opposed to a threesome, but I am opposed to doing it in front of an open door.”
“There will be no threesome, twosome, or any-some. I need information, and you’re the only one who has it.” Rivka jumped to the side of the bed, grabbed his arm, and dragged him halfway to the floor to keep him off-balance.
He started to complain, but it was too late. Rivka was in charge.
“Why are you kidnapping young women and selling them into slavery?”
“What?” His mind was as confused as his question suggested.
“What do you know of Seequa Holmes?”
“Who?” More confusion. Images of women flashed through his mind—too many for Rivka to make any sense of. None of the images were of the woman she’d discovered in a Corran cell.
“Who handles the women for you, and where is he?”
“Why do you want her?”
“Finally we’re getting somewhere.” Rivka retreated into her mind and activated her comm chip. Ankh, get me everything you can on a Candi Matz. I need to know where she is right now.
She has boarded a long-range shuttle and is preparing to blast away from the liner, the Crenellian replied almost instantly.
Lock her down! Rivka requested.
The ship has launched and cut all digital ties with the cruise liner. They are attempting to make themselves a hole in space.
But you can still track them? Rivka had no doubt what the answer would be.
Of course.
We’ll be home shortly. Prepare an intercept course, and we’ll launch the second we get back.
“Why is Matz running?” Rivka demanded.
“She is?” the man asked, wondering where the intruder was getting her information.
“Do you know anything? Don’t answer that. I already know you don’t. You, sir, are an absolute pig, abhorrent in every way, but I don’t see where you’ve broken any laws, as surprising as that is. Appalling, actually. Don’t cross me ever again, and if I find out you’ve been feeding your Candi Matz victims, I’ll come down on you like a battleship landing on a shantytown.”
“Who the hell are you?” Callius shouted, finding his man-voice.
“I’m Magistrate Rivka Anoa, now shut up,” Rivka told him, and twisted his arm until he stopped resisting.
“We need to get going, Magistrate,” Lindy warned. With one arm, Rivka lifted the struggling celebrity and tossed him onto his bed.
“I better not ever see you again.” Rivka pointed a finger-gun at him to make it clear what the consequences might be.
Once free of the Magistrate’s grip, Callius laced his hands behind his head as he leaned back against the pillows. “I’m everywhere, baby, and you’ll regret that you missed this. Lights!”
Rivka was already walking from the room when h
e put his nakedness on full display. She didn’t turn back.
Chapter Eight
Rivka hammered the big red button as soon as she was through the airlock. A faint clunk from the other side reported the release of the access tube, and Peacekeeper started to move away. It accelerated steadily until Chaz reported the Gate drive was fully charged.
“We can follow her, or we can disable her ship and seize her,” Ankh offered from the bridge.
“We don’t need to follow her. I can take what I need from her mind.” Rivka walked lightly toward her quarters but stopped when she saw the look on Tyler’s face.
“Do you look into my mind?” he asked.
Rivka deflated. “I don’t. Sometimes I can force it to stop. It’s a gift and a curse. It haunts me, because no one should see into anyone else’s mind.”
“But you can look into suspects’ minds?”
“That’s different. I only do it when I have probable cause.”
“As defined by you,” the dentist countered.
“That is part of the burden. I don’t have to defend it before I use it, but I sure as hell have to defend it afterward, all the way to the High Chancellor. I include everyone I’ve interrogated in my reports, even those who are clear. Chaz keeps a good record.”
“Who watches the watchers?” Tyler remarked.
“Everyone needs a watcher. No one should be able to hear others’ thoughts, but these things are as they are. I have to maintain my moral compass at all times so I can look people like you in the eye and not be ashamed.”
“People like me?”
“Innocents. Those I am sworn to protect. I can only stop criminals from breaking the law again. I stress the word again because they have to break the law before I can do anything. Just like that sock-slapping toad, Callius Markmal.”
Jay bumped against the dentist. “You ever been in love, Doc?”
He shook his head. Floyd rubbed against his leg while Hamlet watched from nearby. The cat vaulted to the table, keeping his eyes on Tyler while he groomed himself.
“I think it would be like that,” Jay continued. “Complete trust. No doubts. And for the record, I haven’t been, either. Still waiting on Miss Right.”
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