“Come out, Nefas!” Rivka yelled. Red’s shotgun belched smoke and fire. Rivka couldn’t see what he’d fired at. She coughed before the air cleared. He fired again. “Stop that. I can’t see.”
“Movement at my twelve o’clock. That’s your three o’clock.”
“I’m a lawyer, for fuck’s sake,” Rivka complained. “Nefas! Get your ass out here. We need to have a conversation!”
“Cease fire!” someone yelled from inside.
“I can take him down,” Red said softly.
“Wait,” Rivka replied. She ducked into the room, a massive space set up as living quarters. Curtained alcoves surrounded the room, making it impossible to see what laid beyond. Through one of them, Oscura Mandel stepped, his hands raised and an easy smile parting his lips. Rivka was revolted. His partner had just been killed, and he didn’t seem to care.
“How many more are here?” Red asked, signaling for the man to stop. He kept walking. “One more step and you lose a leg.”
Red changed his aim point. Mandel stopped and stood relaxed. “Magistrate Rivka Anoa. Finally, I get to make your acquaintance.”
“Since you’ve been following me throughout the galaxy, you know that I’m not screwing around. I have all the evidence I need to put you on Jhiordaan for the rest of your days.”
“You and I both know that isn’t going to happen,” he remarked.
“Oscura Mandel, I am charging you with the bribery of the officials on S’Korr, Show Low, and Zaxxon Major. I am charging you with interference with an official investigation, I think there are seven counts of that, but we’ll get a correct tally when we fill out the paperwork. Most egregious for your personal crimes is ordering the destruction of my ship while I was on it. That rises to the level of conspiracy and attempted murder, five counts. Almost all of those are considered predicate crimes under the RICO statute, Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations. I can’t think of a better description of the Mandolin Partnership. If you bring up the enterprise element of the statute, I refer you to the partnership. You and your now-dead wife were together to initiate the bribes. Enterprise. Predicate Crimes. RICO applies. Together, it’s a capital crime. So you are correct. You will never see prison.”
Rivka checked behind her. Her senses were tingling, and she didn’t know why. “Kill him,” Rivka ordered.
Red fired almost instantly, but Nefas was faster. He dodged the shotgun slug and dashed through an alcove. Rivka aimed her device at the space and pressed the trigger. She waved it back and forth to cover all the space. Red fired his shotgun. It shredded the curtain.
Rivka peeked inside. Nothing. “Dammit.” She held Red back. “One trap to the next. We need to find the controls and shut this place down. Then the ship’s sensors can find him and whatever else is down here.”
Red watched as Rivka started her search. After ten minutes, she determined that the controls had to be in one of the alcoves, or a space beyond the alcoves. She started on the far right. Behind the first door was a corridor with five doors on each side.
“Shit,” Red mumbled. “Let’s get the fuck out of here. We can seal it off, and the military can come in and do a proper clearing. With the two of us, our asses are hanging out big time.”
“I would love to see Justice come to this guy, but it’s okay if it doesn’t happen today.” Rivka waved her pulse weapon at all the alcoves, starting from the far right and going to the far left, taking care to keep Red behind her. Once finished, she ran for the blown door. Red backed up until he was in the doorway. The area around the door was in bad shape because of the grenade.
Red saw his railgun on the floor by the female’s body. His eyes darted around the room one last time before he ran forward, angled, grabbed the railgun without slowing, and continued out the door. His heart pounded as he hammered his way up the stairs. He stopped to throw a grenade through the door into the underground.
Rivka reached the top. The grenade exploded, and Red continued up the stairs. The Magistrate jogged out the front door and up the stairs into the ship. Red took one last look before following Rivka in and securing the hatch.
“Fuck,” Rivka snarled. She headed down the short corridor, turned left past the bridge, and walked into the rec room. She froze, and Red almost ran into her.
“I have something you want, and you have something I want. I think we can make a deal, don’t you, Magistrate?” Nefas said while holding a knife across Lindy’s throat. Red was so angry he started to shake. He raised his railgun. “We all know you don’t want to fire that thing in here.”
Chapter Eighteen
Rivka pushed the barrel down, risking a look to see what Mandel’s partner had put on it. Chewing gum. Not an explosive, or an acid, or anything destructive. She stood in front of the railgun and bluffed.
Oscura Mandel was not bluffing. His blade was only too real.
“Relax, Red. We have a guest on board. Our ship’s name is Peacekeeper. Apropos, don’t you think, Mister Mandel?”
“My friends call me Nefas. Won’t you be my friend, Rivka?”
The Magistrate moved to the side, keeping her hands where Nefas could see. She sat down, crossing her legs and her arms and looking blankly at the head of the Mandolin Partnership.
“I try not to be friends with criminals. That might give me a bad name.”
Jay and Ankh were unconscious on the floor. Lauton and Hamlet were nowhere to be seen. Red quivered in place; if looks could kill. Lindy looked more angry than scared, but Mandel held her in an iron-fisted grip.
“Like your murder of a man set free by a jury of his peers? Your history is there for all to see. One minute, you are condemned for your capital crime, and the next, you’re sitting in judgment. I don’t understand what happened to change your situation, but with your murder of my associates, I can only assume that you are a hitman for the Federation. An assassin.”
He let that sink in. Rivka tried not to let it bother her, but his arrow had hit too close to home.
“I told you what you are charged with and found guilty of,” Rivka said coldly.
“No innocent until proven guilty? No opportunity to face my accusers? Sounds like a totalitarian dictatorship.”
Rivka didn’t have to wait long before Nefas made his real demands.
“I need your ship,” he said. “You’ll have to stay here, of course, but you’ll find my quarters quite comfortable. Well, the part you didn’t blow up. I am curious about the weapon you used to kill my partner. I would very much like to see that.”
“I don’t think you understand how Federation ships work. They cannot be jacked. The intelligence that runs them won’t respond and will self-destruct before they allow themselves to fall into an enemy’s hands. Chaz, introduce yourself.”
“Yes, Magistrate,” the evolving EI agreed. “My name is Chaz, and I am Federation Corvette Seven Seven Four, called Peacekeeper. I help the crew fly the ship. You are not part of the crew and never will be.”
“My. That’s definitive. New plan. My friend here,” he caressed Lindy’s throat with the knife blade, “and the so-called Magistrate, you stay. Everyone else, get off my ship.”
“Ain’t happening, Dick,” Red replied. “If you hurt her, I will tear you apart with my bare hands, and I’m not leaving as long as you are threatening her.”
“A watchdog. So loyal,” Nefas teased. “That wasn’t a request. How would you live with yourself, knowing that you were the cause of this young lady’s demise? Plus, you’ll need to carry these two.” He nudged Jay and Ankh with his toe before backing himself into a corner. He held all the trump cards.
“Go on, Red. Take them off the ship,” Rivka ordered. The bodyguard glared at her. “Trust me.”
Red groaned and blew out a long breath, his eyes pleading with Lindy. She nodded slightly. Red’s shoulders slumped, and he looked at the floor.
“There’s nothing like the love of a good woman to soothe the savage beast. Alas, my love was taken from me too quickly, bu
t looking around, I see all manner of potential replacements.” He sneered and started a slow and evil laugh. Lindy twisted, rolling toward him, and his knife slipped across the surface of her neck until it was no longer at her throat. She pushed herself away, getting to arm’s length before the edge of the blade bit more deeply into her flesh. Rivka fired.
Nefas suddenly gagged, and his arms went limp. Lindy kneed him in the groin before throwing herself backward. Red caught her before she hit the floor. Rivka held the neutron pulse weapon steady. “Oops. It was still set to eleven. You’ve been judged, you piece of shit.”
“Get me the first aid kit!”
Rivka rushed to the bulkhead and pulled the box out. She opened it on the floor.
“Bandages,” Red snapped, and held out a hand. She gave him a stack of gauze. Blood flowed freely from the cut in the side of Lindy’s neck. Red pressed the bandage down firmly.
“That stings,” she said, wincing.
“But it’s not your jugular,” Red replied softly.
Rivka checked on Jay and Ankh. “What happened?” she asked.
“He came aboard and sprayed something in their faces, then he grabbed me and waited. He only wanted you,” Lindy told Rivka.
“They seem fine, just out cold. Where’s Lauton?”
“Somebody called?” a tired voice replied. “Hey! What happened here?”
“Do you recognize this guy?” Rivka asked, pointing to Oscura Mandel’s body.
“No. Should I?”
“The money laundered through your facility ultimately made it to him.”
Lauton sat down next to Rivka on the floor. “Are they okay?” She brushed Jay’s hair out of her face.
“They are fine. Knockout spray or something. I have no idea when they’ll wake up, but they have strong pulses and are breathing deeply. It’s more like they are in a deep sleep. Erasmus, are you there?” Rivka wondered.
“I am. Since I couldn’t determine the intruder’s actions, I merged with the ship. Chaz and I are sharing cramped quarters. I’ll need Ankh’s assistance to return to my storage unit.”
“Was the box okay when Ankh fell? It wasn’t damaged, was it?”
“I don’t know. My storage unit is not in the box.”
“Where is it? I didn’t see Ankh bring anything else aboard.”
“It’s in his head.”
Lindy was sitting up and holding the bandage to her neck while Red went to the galley to get a container of water. Everyone stopped at Erasmus’ revelation.
“You fit in there?” Lindy blurted.
“Ankh has a big and beautiful brain.”
Rivka coughed. “I suppose he does. When he comes to, we’ll do what we need to squeeze you back in there. In the interim, we have some work to do.”
Red offered water to Lindy. He stroked her hair with one big hand. “What’s up, big guy?” Lindy asked. He shook his head and blinked quickly.
Rivka joined them. “Many people would be traumatized by what you just went through. You seem okay, though. Tell me what you’re feeling.” The Magistrate touched Lindy’s arm and recoiled at the images. “You two!”
Lindy giggled and winked at Red.
“Here you go, Zombie. Touch my arm,” Red offered.
“No!” the Magistrate shot back, tucking her hands behind her back. “Make sure you’re done bleeding before you defile my spaceship.”
“Again,” Red and Lindy chorused.
“Nothing like a near-death experience to make you feel alive,” Lindy added.
“I thought it was just me. I think I’ve found my soul mate.” Red looked adoringly at her.
“You deserve each other.” Rivka headed for the bridge. “Erasmus, we need to dig into their digital systems and take them over as the first step toward dismantling them.”
“I am at your service, Magistrate,” Erasmus replied.
“I may be able to help,” Lauton offered. “Should we leave them on the floor?”
Rivka shook her head. “Let’s put them in their beds.” They took them one by one to their cabins and tucked them in. Red and Lindy went to Red’s cabin and closed the door. “Have you seen Hamlet?”
Lauton hadn’t. Rivka opened the door to her cabin. Hamlet stood on her pillow and stretched, yawning to show his fangs. He walked in a tight circle and laid back down, smacking his cat lips before closing his eyes.
“Someday, that cat and I are going to have a knock-down drag-out fight.”
“It looks like you already have.” Lauton looked away from the room. “And lost.”
“I haven’t had time to clean. Fighting criminals is a full-time job,” Rivka tried to explain.
“It’s three square meters, but everyone else is earning their keep. Let me clean this up while you get us set up for whatever we need to do for Erasmus.”
“With Erasmus. You’d do that for me?”
Lauton smiled and nodded. “I’ll be done in five minutes.”
Rivka thanked her. The sounds coming from Red’s quarters convinced her that she needed to be somewhere else.
Anywhere else.
“According to Erasmus, he could find no signs of life in the complex below. I can’t believe Nefas and that woman ran everything by themselves. And what’s wrong with his ship, that he needed mine?” Rivka spoke out loud as she walked down the stairs. The damage at the bottom was a stark reminder of how they had breached the entry and confronted Nefas.
Rivka stopped when they reached the door. “Wait a moment. I’ll let you know when it’s clear.” Rivka went inside and threw a cover from a couch over the body on the floor. It was starting to smell. When she turned back to call for Lauton, the Zaxxon was already inside and looking at the blanket-covered mound.
“Is that...”
“Yes. I thought I told you to wait,” Rivka scolded the woman. “You don’t need to see this kind of stuff.”
“This is the second dead body I’ve seen today. My consolation is that it’s not me.”
“We leave more corpses behind than I had intended when I accepted this position. I’m happy to say they were all guilty of capital crimes. That’s how I sleep at night.”
Rivka placed coins throughout the room as Erasmus directed her. The datapad provided the interface where he transmitted his instructions.
“Now we wait,” Rivka remarked. She looked in the refrigerator to find a stock of beverages and preserved foods. “You’d think he was human, with these tastes.”
“He could be a Zaxxon, except he’s male.”
“Your culture is far different from anything I’ve seen before. I wish I could have spent more time on your planet to get to know about your people,” Rivka replied.
“Maybe when we go back. I hope the planet is back to the way it used to be.”
“It will be different. Worse before it gets better, but that’s where you come in. You have to help lead the people back to prosperity. Legally, this time.”
“But I didn’t know!”
“And that’s why you haven’t been charged. I have judged you innocent.”
“That’s how it works? You fly in, whip out judgments, kill people, and fly out?”
“That’s not how it works. We’ve been on the trail of this one for a while. First and foremost is the law. Upholding Federation law is our charter. The universe is a better place without certain criminals in it. We almost always work with capital crimes, ones where the punishment is death.”
Lauton nodded and looked uncomfortable. “How many people have you killed?”
Rivka wanted to answer, but she needed to count. She closed her eyes and sighed. “I don’t want to answer that,” she finally admitted. “It’s not the part of the job I like, although this isn’t a job. This is duty to the Federation. It is my way of helping people I will never meet. It’s my way of keeping our worlds safe from predators like Oscura Mandel and the Mandolin Partnership. A mandolin is a musical instrument, but it’s also a knife.”
“I didn’t know that,�
�� Lauton said, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees and head bowed.
“Criminals think they’re smarter than everyone else. They get weird when they find out they’re not, either growing ultra-violent as they lash out or being crushed by despair. Nefas was the former.”
“Magistrate, I will need you to turn on some of the systems. It appears that there are far more than are currently operating. You’ll find the entrance in the seventh alcove from the left.”
“Looks like our break is over. We have to answer to our AI master,” Rivka quipped. She counted the alcoves until she got to seven and pulled the curtain aside. A locked door greeted them. “Can you unlock the door for us?”
“My lack of fingers makes that quite impossible,” Erasmus replied. “Might I suggest a key?”
“I thought you could... Never mind.” She pulled her pistol, aimed it at the lock, and fired. The bullet spattered against the metal frame, pinging both the women with shards.
Lauton grimaced and turned away. “I’ll wait over here if you don’t mind.” She plucked small pieces of bullet from her exposed flesh. Blood trickled down her arm.
“Sorry about that,” Rivka apologized. She studied the door. It looked as sturdy as the main door that led to the underground. She didn’t have Red’s main weapon, but he did. “Tell Red to get down here and bring his railgun.”
Rivka and Lauton continued exploring while cooling their heels. They found a home that was well cared for. Rivka grabbed a Coke from the refrigerator, offering one to Lauton.
“What is it?” she asked.
“You don’t have Coke on Zaxxon Major? Or Pepsi?”
“No. I don’t know what they are.”
“They are joy in a bottle, and absolutely nothing your body needs. Carbonated sugar-water with flavoring, but oh, so good.”
Rivka opened hers and took a long drink. She handed a bottle to Lauton. She opened it and sniffed, then tried to drink it like Rivka had just done. The Magistrate tried to stop her, but it was too late. She gagged, and Coke exploded out her nose, running down her chin and onto her shirt.
She handed the remainder of the bottle to Rivka. “I think I’ll pass.”
Judge, Jury, & Executioner Boxed Set Page 36