“The senior positions are put through a public approval process. We have to uphold the law, but we have to maintain good public relations as well. It prevents heavy-handed law enforcement.”
“You mean it prevents effective law enforcement. We were looking for a serial killer, and you wanted to pussy-foot around because the public might not approve? How happy are they going to be when they have to pay for the building that was just blown up by the perp you dutifully ignored?” Rivka closed on the supra.
“I can only say I’m sorry so many times. What do you want from me? A resignation? Fine. I failed spectacularly. I should go.”
“Stop!” Rivka put all the weight of her position into that one word. “You’re going to make this right by getting to the Forum and finding evidence that we can use to corner this scumbag. On the way there keep unfucking yourself, so that you can do your damn job when you arrive!”
Red appeared at Rivka’s side as she stormed toward to the station’s entrance. The hover-van was abandoned in the middle of the lot, but no one was going to mess with it.
“Shall we?” Jay offered, motioning for the supra to lead the way to his vehicle.
“Are you that mad?” Red asked, not looking at Rivka as he scoured the station’s main entry for threats. There were enough uniforms inside that he was not very concerned. He would never be completely at ease, except inside Peacekeeper. He thought the name fit.
“Nah. I wanted him to stop his waffley bullshit and get to work. Someone who knows how to make sophisticated bombs is out there. Every person in this city is at risk, and Harpeth knows the ins and outs of how things work. He also has access to resources we need, like people and labs.” Rivka looked up at her bodyguard. “I remember a time not that long ago when a certain man mountain would have said that such things weren’t his concern.”
“Times change. When cases became missions, we evolved into a combat squad where we all have to watch each other’s backs. It’s not that I didn’t care about this stuff before, but that my job was different. And what I do today is different from what I did back then. Did you see Jay shielding Ankh with her body? Jay. She gave you the finger, and you almost ripped it off her hand. Now she’s protecting the smart guy with the big head and stupid goggles.”
Rivka chuckled softly. “I am blessed with a great team. We better get in there before the guvna escapes. Plus, I need to talk to the other five suspects, assuming they haven’t executed them or let them go already.”
They started to walk toward the elevator, and officers got out of their way. The word had already been passed. Don’t mess with the Magistrate.
Once on the elevator, Rivka turned toward Red. “There’s a price on your head, isn’t there?”
The large man wasn’t surprised that she knew. He nodded.
“What do you say when we’re finished here, we find your former employers and have a conversation? I think afterward, you and my other bodyguard will be safe to take a nice vacation somewhere. A place you can go without your weapons and maybe let your hair down.”
Red bumped his helmet off and ran a hand over his smoothly shaven head. “I’d like that. I’d like to see those two punished for their crimes, but you won’t get testimony from me. I gave them my word, and you know how I feel about that. They’re scumbags, but it’ll take you all of ten seconds to learn that on your own.”
“We’ll take care of them, Red. You, me, Lindy…all of us. We’re going to ruin their day.”
“They won’t know what hit them.” Red smiled, but his eyes turned dark and dangerous.
On their floor, the Magistrate led the way toward the guvna’s office. Perps and field hands didn’t pollute this floor of the facility. It was immaculate, and decorated better than the palaces on some planets.
“Methinks they aren’t a slave to their budget like most police forces. Too much success and the politicos start cutting funding,” Rivka mumbled as she walked through the outer office, ignoring the assistant at the desk outside the massive doors leading to the inner chamber. Rivka shook her head as she ground her teeth, yanked the door open, and headed in.
The guvna stiffened when he saw her. A box on the desk was stuffed with a number of personal items. The room looked like it had been sanitized.
Rivka didn’t beat around the bush. “Why did you execute that man?”
“He committed a capital crime under Collum Gate law. Everything was done in accordance with the law.” The guvna sounded like he was parroting a media release.
“But not in accordance with common sense. The case wasn’t closed. I told you that!” she growled. She didn’t know what answer he could give that would satisfy her. Maybe she only needed her pound of flesh.
He didn’t reply. Nothing he said would have been good enough.
There was no value in further words with the guvna. In less than a day, he had gone from being an ally to an obstacle to a fading image in Rivka’s rearview mirror. “Where are the suspects from the raids?”
“Two floors down,” he replied softly. Rivka turned and left. Red glared briefly before following her out.
Chapter Fifteen
Rivka was given access to the suspects, four men and one woman, without question. She visited them in their cells, not wanting to waste time by having them moved to an interrogation room.
“What were you doing in that house?” she asked each while holding an arm. Some tried to fight, but they weren’t strong enough. Nowhere near strong enough. Red loomed nearby, which helped reduce their spirits.
Four were squatters, but the last one, the woman, was quiet and confident.
“What were you doing in that house?”
The woman’s arm remained limp as images flitted across Rivka’s mind. It was like watching the heat shimmer over a desert’s sands. Watching. Waiting for the right time. Aliens!
“Describe what was going to happen at the right time?” Rivka asked.
“Very good. You can see into my mind. How about this?” the woman said projecting lurid images of her and a naked Red.
Rivka let go and stepped backward. The woman lunged forward despite her handcuffs and grabbed Rivka’s hand to continue pummeling her with warped images of gratuitous sex.
Red peeled the suspect’s hand off the Magistrate’s arm and slammed her back into the chair. “Stay down!” he ordered, moving behind her and waiting.
“If you only would stay down,” she purred.
“I don’t know what she’s doing, Magistrate, but you’re better than her. Work through it and find out what you need to know.”
Rivka met Red’s eyes. He dipped them to point at the woman. Rivka surged into her, grabbing both wrists. “Who are you working with?”
The images bounced. A face appeared. A man, shrouded in shadows as he talked in a low voice. Naked people!
“What’s his name?” Rivka pressed, squeezing the woman’s wrists and yanking her arms.
She didn’t know his name, but he worked at the Collum Daily. He was sitting in a cool room filled with equipment, showing the woman around. His face became clear under the lights.
Rivka had seen him in the building.
“Let’s go!” She pushed the woman away and stepped to the door. The woman tried to get up, but Red dropped a hammer fist on top of her head, crunching her neck and driving her into her seat. She collapsed over the table before sliding to the floor.
In the hallway, Rivka grabbed the waiting guard. “The other four are free to go, but that one, she’s an accomplice. Lock her up, but whatever you do, don’t kill her!”
Rivka ran to the elevator.
“Where to, Magistrate?” Red inquired.
“The Collum Daily.”
“Can’t this thing go any faster?” Lindy asked. The driver ignored her. Harpeth leaned over his shoulder.
“Uniforms, both lostas and petros, are already on the scene and have the area cordoned off. An analysis van is on its way. Manpower to sift the wreckage is being assembled. Getting there
a few minutes sooner isn’t worth the risk.” Harpeth hesitated before adding, “In my opinion.”
Lindy nodded. Ankh stared out the front window, lost in communing with his AI. Jay watched the people and their body language. She wanted to do more for the team. She hadn’t done anything to help this case, including buying something that was a cross between dead squid rotting on the beach and fermented cabbage—snacks purchased with Ankh’s credit chip because hers was maxed out.
She bowed her head and tried not to cry.
Lindy started rubbing her shoulders. “It’s okay,” she whispered. Jay wore her emotions on her sleeve, so there was no doubt she was upset. Lindy understood why because she also hadn’t contributed much on this case, not in her mind anyway. She started to laugh. Jay turned, her anger fighting her sorrow.
“I was thinking about how little I’ve done for the Magistrate today, but then I remembered. I got to body-slam that one bitch who sold out her people to be the queen of the news.”
Jay smiled. “Yeah, you did. Ass over teacups.”
“While we’re occupied guarding the Magistrate, you’ve been watching over Ankh. It may not seem like a lot, but he’s the one they shot at.”
“I know. If you ever wondered, now you know. The Magistrate would take a bullet for any of us. As would Red. I wonder if I will. I’d like to think so. I know you will. And Ankh will use his techno-magic to save us all.”
The big, bald head turned, goggles firmly in place on his forehead. “It’s not magic, it’s mastery. Some work with the technology, having a rudimentary understanding of the science, and others, like Ted, bend it to their will.”
“Profound, Ankh,” Lindy stated.
“I’m afraid I would only block a bullet destined to hit you in the kneecap, and that’s not a good use of my life, but I am working on a personal shield. With further miniaturization of an Etheric power supply, I believe I can build something that would protect us all.”
“Raise shields, Number One!” Lindy said in her huskiest voice. Jay looked confused again. “It’s some stupid video series that Red watches.”
“I bet he doesn’t think it’s stupid,” Ankh postulated.
“No. And don’t you tell him I said that!”
Ankh looked at Lindy with his usual blank expression. They both jumped when the door popped up. They’d arrived at the Forum, and it was a beehive of activity.
Red couldn’t drive like he wanted to. Without Ankh, they didn’t have a straight shot of green lights. It seemed to be the opposite, stopping at each intersection to wait for the traffic. The Magistrate was in the back. Even though she’d wanted to be up front, Red had talked her out of it.
She played with her datapad. “Chaz, show me a layout of the building. Where is the computer room?”
“The basement,” the evolved EI replied. A map with arrows showed the way. At the back side of the stairs that commanded the main floor was the stairway down.
“Why are they always in the basement? What the hell is up with that?”
“It’s a tactically inferior position,” Red replied, drumming his fingers on the driver’s yoke while waiting for the light to change. “But it’s easier to keep cooler.”
“You’d think that with modern technology, those things could be smaller and better cool themselves.”
“Every time technology advances we want more of it, and content expands to fill new capacity. The newest stuff is more powerful than ever, as is the demand.”
“Where did Red go?” Rivka punched her bodyguard in the arm. “I’ll buy your explanation.”
“Do you think he’ll be there?” Red asked.
“No. I think he left the second we launched Miss Prissy Pants out the door. Do you have any of Ankh’s coins?”
“Two. Didn’t you stock up when we were back on the ship?”
“I forgot.” Rivka shrugged. “Ain’t no ‘I’ in team.” She pushed on Red’s shoulder, but he didn’t budge. There was too much of him and too little space in the driver’s seat.
“Ain’t no Ankh coins either, Magistrate.”
When they finally hovered into the parking area, they found the lot mostly empty of personal vehicles.
Red climbed out, stretching as his eyes searched. He reached back in to get his railgun. Rivka opened the side door, making Red rush around the vehicle.
“You think they packed it in for the day?” Red asked.
They hurried to the main entrance, happy to find it unlocked.
“I think they work early hours. Maybe this is normal for the late afternoon in the digital publishing world before the night shift comes in to set everything up for the next day.”
They found minimal staffing, but they didn’t care about the journalists or paper pushers. Their target was IT, information technology. They went around the main staircase and down, finding the computer room at the bottom. Inside, a young woman was at the desk working on a programming issue using a holographic interface. She almost jumped out of her skin when Rivka poked her shoulder. She fumbled with the physical controls until the holoscreens dropped.
“Who are you?” she demanded.
“I’m Magistrate Rivka. There’s a man who works here...”
“There are a lot of men who work here. You’ll have to be more specific.”
Rivka took a slow breath. She pointed to the workstation where she’d seen him in the suspect’s mind. “He was sitting right there. Brown hair, a little spikey, not too tall. What’s his name?”
The woman knew who she was talking about. Recognition flashed across her features before she tried to put on a brave face.
“What’s his name?” Rivka asked as she gently touched the woman’s small shoulder.
She recoiled, but not before the name appeared in her mind.
“Bindola Shnobhauer. Really?”
“I didn’t say anything!” the woman protested.
“Now you’re afraid. Why? You know he’s killing people, and you believe that if he thinks you gave him up, he’s going to come after you.”
“I didn’t know, but he’s creepy. Who isn’t, down here?” She took in the entirety of the space with a grand gesture. She sat down and buried her head in her hands.
“What else do you know that will help us find him? Please understand that I won’t rest until we’ve caught him. He left early today, before the end of his shift, didn’t he?”
She nodded reluctantly, blinking rapidly.
“Where can we find him?”
“I don’t know. I don’t hang out with the guy. He’s creepy, always making remarks about aliens doing weird stuff.”
Rivka checked Bindola’s workstation. She held out a hand, and Red placed one of Ankh’s devices into it. She put it behind the flashing systems. As usual, all the computers were operating.
Ankh, I think we found our bomber’s name. Bindola Shnobhauer. I’ve put one of your devices on the workstation that he was using. Get this... Rivka passed over their internal comm link.
He worked at the Collum Daily, Ankh finished.
If you knew that, why didn’t you tell me?
I can’t share every half-baked notion I have. I had no evidence besides a hunch based on how the broadcast signal traveled. It wasn’t really broadcast, simply sent unidirectionally.
How was it half-baked if it was right? Never mind. Can you access his system and dig out any information on where he might be or what his next target may be?
Rivka waited impatiently. “Have I become so spoiled by the speed with which Ankh does things that when something takes longer than five seconds, I want to start pounding on the desk?”
“He is good, but yes, you’ve been spoiled by your team’s awesomeness.”
“Not a word I would have thought you would use, but I’ll take it. Come on, Ankh, tell me you’re done.” Rivka smiled as if his voice would appear inside her head. It didn’t. She grumped and moped around the IT section as she tried to kill time.
When Ankh’s voice returned, i
t carried an unusual sense of urgency. You must get to the Crenellians’ building. There’s a car bomb.
“Car bomb in front of the Crenellian business!” Rivka blurted.
Red didn’t hesitate. He flung the door open and raced up the steps. Rivka was right behind him, pushing him to go faster.
“We need to go,” Ankh insisted. He started pulling Jay but quickly ran out of energy. “He’s going to bomb my people.”
“Then that’s the last place you need to be,” Lindy argued.
“No! I need to help them.”
“Help them do what?” Lindy asked. Jay was torn between wanting to help her friend and doing what was right by that very same friend. “If I’ve learned anything from Red, it’s that if you know there’s going to be shooting, stay out of the line of fire.”
“There’s not going to be any shooting. It’s a bomb,” Ankh retorted.
“Same premise. We’re not going. Can’t you do your thing from inside the van?” Lindy waved at Harpeth, who was standing knee-deep in rubble nearby. He looked annoyed for a moment before climbing to where Ankh weakly tugged on Jay’s hand. “Ankh says there’s a bomb at the Crenellian business building.”
The supra whipped out his communication device and started issuing orders. When he shut it down, he spoke softly. “Three units are en route to cordon off the area. And that’s it. There are no other officers available.”
“Can’t you call them from elsewhere in the city?” Jay asked.
Harpeth glanced past Lindy, Jay, and Ankh. All around them lay what used to be the Collum Gate’s finest conference center. Lights flashed and people moved slowly, checking things and moving on. “There isn’t anyone. We aren’t staffed for multiple major issues.”
“Diplomatic security?” Lindy suggested.
“The Crenellians run a business. They aren’t an accredited diplomatic post, so they don’t rate security.”
Judge, Jury, & Executioner Boxed Set Page 53