by David Bishop
After Hershey told Dredd, he nodded. "I can't wait to see the look on that punk's face when it happens. He won't know what hit him."
Once Dredd was gone, the Chief Judge called Control. "Relay this message to all helmets in the city. Dredd is on a mission of vital importance. He is to be given every assistance by all Judges, without exception. Hershey out!"
Dredd's first call was to the PSU. "I need a current location on Judge Jago Warner from Brit-Cit," he said while waiting for a turbolift. "You should find a homing signal on frequency 212.7 kHz."
"That's a roj. Checking now," PSU replied. "He's on the move, approaching Mega-City One Spaceport. Will cross-reference it with our spy-in-the-sky cameras, see if we can get a fix on the vehicle he's in. PSU out."
Dredd stepped into the turbolift and sent it hurtling to the Grand Hall's motorpool and garage. When he emerged there was a Lawmaster already fuelled and waiting for him. A Tek-Judge was by the motorcycle, loading extra ammunition into the panniers. "Dredd, I heard your own bike was still buried under rubble near Joe Chill. Take this one. It's been turbo-charged and should give you an extra fifty an hour in speed."
Dredd nodded his thanks and climbed onto the Lawmaster. As he roared out of the garage PSU called again. "Looks like Warner's in a hoverpod with four other occupants, judging by the heat signatures. They are just arriving at the spaceport."
"The rest of the delegates," Dredd deduced. "Any scheduled flights due out in the next hour?"
"Checking for you... No. One private charter, craft registered to Red Inc. Do you want it grounded?"
"Not yet. If I can reach the spaceport in time, I want to be on the shuttle with the delegates. They can lead me straight to Jesus Bludd." Another voice broke into the conversation.
"Dredd, this is Niles. I'm coordinating with Control, clearing a corridor between you and the spaceport. Judges on patrol are being ordered to get any blind citizens still wandering the streets out of your way. If you hurry, you might still make it to the spaceport before those shuttles leave."
"That's a roj. I'm en route now. Dredd out!"
Bruce was bored and nervous, two things he disliked intensely. Yesterday's treaty negotiations had been tedious beyond belief, an arid wasteland of serious-minded talk and discussion. Strewth, it was enough to drive a bloke to drinking! But the monumental hangover from his escapade with Smirnoff had dissuaded the Oz delegate from revisiting the bottle.
Then came the mysterious call on his secure comms line urging him to watch Mega-City News and the warning about what was to happen at midnight. It had all sounded a mite far-fetched to Bruce. Indeed, he had only stumbled upon the news channel while searching for a little adult entertainment on the Tri-D set in his private quarters. It was only natural; he was away from home, looking to relieve a little tension. Any bloke's mind would start to wander south of the old waistline. But triple-breasted mutants munce wrestling was not Bruce's idea of erotic thrills, so he kept flipping through the channels until he saw what was left of Joe Chill Block. That got his attention.
Crikey, Bruce thought to himself, that Bludd fella hadn't been joking. A whole city block, flattened like somebody had dropped Uluru on it. No survivors, the reporters were saying. Gas explosion got the blame, but Bruce knew the truth. Bludd by name, blood by nature. That was when the Oz delegate got nervous. This trip to the big smoke had been a walkabout on the wild side up until then. Suddenly it was getting a bit serious. Bruce had closed all the curtains, locked the doors and waited for midnight. He had heard the delight of those outside watching the lights in the sky turn to fear and anguish as they went blind.
Then came the knock at the door. The hoverpod was outside, waiting to take him and the other delegates to see Bludd. Bruce had clambered in, looking round at the faces of Chang, Warner, Belgrano and Smirnoff. Ivan stank of cheap perfume, so got a corner to himself. Belgrano and Warner were ashen-faced during the journey, while Chang observed everything they passed with clinical detachment. Finally, Bruce had snapped and asked her what was so bloody interesting outside.
"I am observing the effectiveness of these weapons. Should Sino-Cit agree to meet our host's terms, such information will prove most beneficial."
"Well, whatever you say, Ms Chang."
"Representative Chang. Please call me by my correct title," she said blandly without turning her head.
"Yeah, yeah."
They had reached the spaceport without incident and were now waiting in a first class lounge until their shuttlecraft was ready for boarding. Nobody was talking, everyone apparently deep in thought. After all he'd seen and heard in the past few hours, the Oz Judge was in no rush to meet this Bludd bloke. But hanging around waiting was even worse because it only amplified his boredom and fear. Finally, he stood, unable to take the silence any more. Everyone looked at him. Bruce smiled and shrugged.
"Just gonna..." He spotted the toilets across the room. "Just gonna let the weasel see the porcelain, alright?"
The others turned away or regarded him with disdain, except Chang. "Excuse me please. What does that mean?"
Bruce looked at his crotch, then at the Sino-Cit woman's inquiring face. "Tell you what, why don't you ask Ivan? I'll be right back." Bruce hurried towards the toilets, happy to have avoided explaining his vernacular vulgarity. He entered the male restroom and began relieving himself at a urinal.
"Going somewhere?" a deep, gravelly voice asked.
"Flamin' Nora!" Bruce shouted in surprise, fleetingly forgetting what he was doing. Dredd was standing inside one of the cubicles, tapping a daystick against the palm of his left hand. By the time Bruce recovered his wits there was a fine spray of urine down the legs of his uniform. "Now look what you made me do, you bloody Gallah!"
"You didn't answer my question. Where are you going?"
Bruce finished his business at the urinal and hastily zipped himself back up before moving to the sinks. "A little outing for all the delegates. Didn't your Chief Judge tell you? Something to keep us all occupied." He wiped clean the legs of his uniform before washing his hands vigorously.
"Try again," Dredd replied. "Where are you going?"
"I told you. A little outing, that's all." Bruce dried his hands before facing Dredd. "Now, if you've got a problem with that, I suggest you take it up with Hershey. In the meantime, get out of my way or else I'll have to-"
Bruce saw a blur of movement out the corner of his eye, felt an intense pain at the back of his head and then all was darkness. A few words fell after him as he plunged into unconsciousness.
"Bruce! Are you in there? It's time to leave!"
All the other delegates were already clambering into the shuttle when the last representative hurried from the restroom, still adjusting his uniform. "Sorry I'm late," he said gruffly after boarding the spacecraft. The latecomer took a seat at the front of the shuttle where none of the other passengers could see his face. "Got bogged down with the, err, paperwork. You know how it is, mate."
Chang was not impressed. "Please, be silent. We have all heard quite enough about your weasel and its problems. Representative Smirnoff has explained the situation."
Once they were all seated, a droid sealed the external door and the shuttle began rolling towards its launch pad. A Tri-D screen at the front of the cabin came alive, revealing two faces. Bludd was at the centre of the image, smiling at his guests. Behind him and to one side Kara could be seen concentrating on another task, jet black hair shining beneath overhead lights.
"Welcome to my private transportation, lady and gentlemen. I will be your host for the short trip to my new orbital headquarters. For security reasons the crew cannot divulge your exact destination. But the journey should take less than two hours and G-forces will not exceed four gees. So sit back and enjoy the hospitality on offer. Loyal customers of the Bludd Group are amply rewarded for their support. Once we become business partners, I will let you sample a few of those rewards too. Good morning to you all."
The screen blinked of
f again and the shuttle flung itself into the sky.
Judge Bruce regained his senses while slumped over a toilet bowl, not an unfamiliar situation. His head was pounding, he stank of urine and had lost all his uniform except for the lucky pair of u-fronts he always wore while away from Oz. Then he remembered the close encounter with Dredd. The Big Meg bully had caught him cold and stripped his clothes but why? Bruce got to his feet and staggered out of the cubicle to find a Mega-City One Judge's uniform carefully hung from a hook by the mirrors.
"The bloody cheek - he's nicked my flamin' identity!" Bruce realised. "I'll murder the drokker when I get my hands on him!"
At PSU headquarters Niles watched the shuttle leave Mega-City One airspace. Soon after it reached the outer limits of the atmosphere the craft disappeared from the PSU's screens. "Switch to the frequency Dredd gave us earlier. Even if Bludd's got some sort of stealth technology masking his shuttle, we can still follow the bug inside Warner."
Judge Sharp was back on duty, having been called in from a day off to cover for those affected by the light storm. She located the homing device's signal and displayed its location on her Tri-D monitor. "Looks like the shuttle is headed over the North Pole. Plotting course projections in case we lose the signal."
"Transmit them to Justice Four ," Niles said. "If Dredd can't stop Bludd, Taschen and her crew will have to finish the job."
Once the shuttle's trajectory had levelled out, Bludd reappeared on the Tri-D screen. "I'm sorry to say one of you is not abiding by my preconditions. Onboard scanners indicate there may be an impostor among you. I did ask for the surrender of all weapons and electronic devices. Please remain in your seats, my robot crew will find and deal with the culprit."
Dredd reached towards the Lawgiver holstered in his boot, but before he could draw it a robot was already standing over him. The droid was holding a powerful laser close to Dredd's face, electricity crackling about its end. "Surrender your weapon now or there will be... trouble."
THIRTEEN
Dredd pulled the Lawgiver from his boot and aimed it at the robot. "What if I shoot? The bullet will puncture the hull of this shuttle, causing a massive decompression. Everybody on board would die within seconds."
"Humans die. We are droids; we would simply become inactive. Commit suicide if you wish but your death remains inevitable unless you surrender the weapon - now."
"No worries, mate," Dredd replied, attempting an Oz accent. "Strewth, I just wanted to check you blokes were up to the job. Don't get your tin knickers in a twist, cobber."
The robot ran a scanner over Dredd's body, but found no other weapons. "Very well. This infraction of Mr Bludd's preconditions will be noted, but you shall be permitted to continue on this journey."
"And if I wasn't?"
"This shuttle has its own airlock. All those who displease Mr Bludd are asked to step outside." The droid gestured to one of the shuttle's windows. Part of a corpse was floating past outside, the face frozen in a screaming rictus of fear. Other body parts were visible, all preserved by the vacuum of space. "This vessel had a human crew until a few weeks ago. Mr Bludd discovered they had a Justice Department informant among their number so he dispensed with their services permanently."
"Crikey, guess it doesn't do to cross Mr Bludd," Dredd said.
The droid moved on to the other passengers. "There is still one among you hiding something. Admit your guilt and death shall be quick."
The four remaining passengers looked at each other, all wondering who the impostor could be. None volunteered a confession. The robot tired of waiting and began scanning each of the delegates. Chang and Belgrano were adjudged innocent but the scanner gave an electronic squeal as it passed over the body of Jago Warner. The Brit-Cit Judge protested his innocence but two more droids were already moving towards him.
"Please, there's been a terrible mistake. I would never do anything to breach Mr Bludd's rules. The Mega-City One Judges, they tried to blackmail and coerce me into helping force through that treaty, but I resisted their threats!"
By now Warner was being dragged along the centre aisle of the shuttle to a separate compartment at the rear. Once inside, a curtain was pulled shut, blocking the others from seeing what was happening. But the noises escaping from the compartment made it all too clear.
"Please, no, you've got to believe me. I would never-" Warner's words were overwhelmed by the sound of tearing leathereen. The Brit-Cit Judge yelped in embarrassment and terror as his uniform was ripped from him for the second time since arriving in the Big Meg. "Oh grud no, not that not again!"
"Bend over!" a robotic voice commanded.
"Please, don't do this. Don't put that... Ar-rrggghhhhh!" Warner's voice was replaced by a scream of pain. After several more anguished cries there was a whirring noise and a wet plop. The scanning device was briefly reactivated, repeating its electronic squeal.
Warner could be heard pleading for his life in a pathetic whimper. "You must believe me, I don't know how that got up there. I would never... It must have been Dredd or his Med-Judges! I was given a full cavity search when I arrived in Mega-City One. They must have implanted that device then. I'm innocent, don't you see? Completely innocent! Please, grud, believe me..."
The curtain was pulled brusquely aside, allowing the lead droid to re-enter the main cabin. The other delegates got a glimpse of Warner, naked and tear-stained, before the curtain was drawn again. The lead droid was clutching a tiny metallic sphere. It marched to the front of the cabin and stood before the Tri-D screen, activating the link to Bludd. "We discovered this tracking device secreted inside the Brit-Cit delegate's body."
"Destroy it, now!" the crime boss commanded.
The robot snapped its fingers together, crushing the sphere between them. "The delegate claimed no knowledge of the device's presence. He suggested it had been implanted by the Justice Department."
"More than likely, but he should have detected it himself and had the device removed before boarding the shuttle. You know what to do."
"Of course," the droid replied. A scream of pure terror filled the cabin before being abruptly cut off. The droid punched a button beneath the Tri-D screen. "Opening airlock now." The shuttle swerved sideways momentarily before resuming its journey. "Airlock is empty. Closing doors."
Smirnoff was peering out the window by his seat, looking backwards. "Warner's out there, I can see him! He's still alive, he's still..." The East-Meg Two delegate turned away from the window hurriedly, his face filled with dismay and disgust. "Bulgarin's ghost! That's no way to die..."
The droid stepped aside to let Bludd address the four remaining passengers. "An unfortunate incident but necessary to ensure our safety and security. We don't want the Justice Department gate-crashing our meeting. For now, sit back and enjoy the rest of the flight. I will see you all soon. Bludd out."
"Stomm!" Sharp cursed. "We've lost it!" She had been monitoring the progress of Bludd's shuttle via the tracking device hidden inside Warner. As the tiny sphere was destroyed, the last method of tracking the spacecraft was lost.
"How long had they been in the air?" Niles asked.
"More than an hour. If Bludd's HQ is in a standard orbital, the shuttle can't be more than a few minutes from its destination."
"Transmit the final trajectory extrapolations to Justice Four . If anybody can find Bludd, it's Shona Taschen."
The commander of Justice Four was smiling at last. The round trip to Hestia had taken months instead of weeks, thanks to a fault in the propulsion drive. The emergency recall signal had hastened their return journey until fresh orders arrived only an hour later. Justice Four was to replace Justice Seven as Mega-City One's orbital platform, becoming a conduit for Control messages and PSU surveillance systems. "A glorified relay station!" Commander Taschen fumed after reading Hershey's request. "Grud on a greenie. Why don't they ask us to organise duty rosters while we're up here!"
"It's just temporary," Judge Tyler had said, trying to placate her.
He was Taschen's deputy and rightly terrified of her fiery moods. "Until they can get another orbital platform into position."
"There is nothing so permanent as a temporary position!" Taschen snarled back.
It was only after she received permission to go after Bludd that a smile appeared on her face. "Have you got the final course projections from PSU plotted in yet?" she demanded, impatiently drumming her fingers against the arms of her chair on the command deck.
Tyler nodded hurriedly. "They're coming up on the main screen... now."
Taschen leaned forward to see the results appear on the Tri-D screen that dominated the command deck's far wall. A red line marked the path followed by the tracking device that was inserted into Judge Jago Warner. From where the red line terminated three dotted yellow lines continued onwards, indicating the most likely paths taken by Bludd's shuttle. All of this was overlaid on a celestial map of known satellites and other material orbiting the Earth.
"We know Bludd's HQ and shuttle have stealth protection, so our systems can't directly detect either of them," Taschen said, thinking out loud. "The shuttle is too small to be obvious by other means, but perhaps we can find the orbital HQ from what isn't visible..."
"I'm not sure I understand, ma'am," Tyler said.
The commander pointed at the middle path from the three dotted yellow lines. "None of the projected shuttle trajectories go near a known satellite. However, the central extrapolation does pass through a patch of empty space." Her finger indicated a blank section of blackness where no stars were visible. "Our sensors can't see Bludd's HQ, but they can't see past it either. The computers think literally, not laterally. They can't escape their programming."
"So where they see nothing-"
"Should be where Bludd is hiding his HQ," Taschen concluded. "Begin a search pattern, starting from where the tracking device was destroyed. Let the drokker think he's fooled us, but keep a fix on that patch of empty space. If Dredd can't stop Bludd, we'll have to blow both of them out of the sky."