Erik’s legend didn’t end with a headshot. No gunfire erupted.
No grenades dropped into the tunnel. Not a single Tin Man stabbed at him.
The detective counted off a few more seconds and then hoisted himself out of the tunnel, immediately rolling to his side and slapping both hands on his rifle. He was ready to nail the first trigger-happy bastard he spotted.
He wasn’t surprised that he’d emerged outside. From the looks of things, they were in a wide alley. The exit was sandwiched between two large garbage chutes with drone landing clamps on top. The alley opened up to a street and an abandoned shop missing its windows. The alley dead-ended behind him into the scratched and bullet-riddled wall of another building.
A pile of worn or broken crates was strewn behind the decaying shell of a small open cargo trailer that left only a narrow passage through the alley. Several old pieces of furniture occupied the trailer, along with a makeshift bed. The body of a disheveled man in ratty clothes lay face-down in blood near the bed. Several bullet holes marred the trailer’s walls.
Erik spun, seeking targets.
Jia climbed out of the tunnel and frowned at the corpse. “I doubt he was one of the shooters. The body looks fresh, too.”
“Yeah.” Erik frowned. “Just a poor bastard in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not only hitmen but random murderers. Real winners. I definitely want to add them to my omelet.”
Something flashed in the distance.
“Get down!” Erik threw himself to the side.
Jia ducked behind one of the garbage chutes. The echoes in the alley amplified the crack of gunfire, A bullet sparked against the garbage shoot. Another ripped through the trailer, then another. Erik kept low, focusing on the new bullet holes. He switched back to four-barrel mode, angled his weapon, and held down the trigger.
His rounds shredded the trailer wall with ease.
A man shouted in pain from the other end of the alley. Jia took her chance and spun around the corner, firing. Erik held down the trigger until his gun went dry, resulting in a jagged window in the trailer.
He could make out two men hiding behind walls on either side at the end of the alley, their rifle barrels poking around the corners. A quick eject and reload had him ready for another attempt. With a clear view and a decent angle on one, he pulled the trigger. The man crumpled to the ground. His friend darted across the alley toward him, loosing rounds.
Jia’s next shot hit him in the neck.
“Cover me while I get out of this thing,” Erik called to her.
“I’m glad you’re both still alive,” Emma commented. “Now that we’ve reestablished contact, I again recommend drones. You might as well do something with all those drones you brought back from the moon.”
“You just want to play with my toys,” Erik taunted.
“I don’t play. I offer supplemental tactical enhancements.”
“Then look for Alicia,” Erik ordered as he cleared the front of the trailer. He spared one final glance for the poor, murdered transient. “I don’t think they would have stuck around if they’d already grabbed her. They might have thought they could get her, or they came later, looking for her. I don’t think they came through the tunnel.”
Overlapping sirens sounded behind him. Erik glanced over his shoulder.
The tall building at the end of the alley blocked his view of the Big One, but given the volume of the sirens, the police were probably fifty to a hundred meters away.
With no obvious exits other than forward, Jia and Erik advanced toward the dead gunmen. Both detectives were wounded and had gone through several magazines, but until Emma came up with something or Alicia popped out of a box, they weren’t going to stop.
They slowed as they reached the mouth of the alley and moved to either side, edging forward until they arrived at the street.
Jia mouthed a countdown and they spun in opposite directions, but no one stood on either side. Most of the ramshackle buildings were half-collapsed or obviously abandoned.
That was logical.
If Alicia wanted to escape, heading to an area with fewer people made more sense than popping into the center of a bunch of potential witnesses and drones.
Gunshots sounded in the distance. Even with the echo, Erik could tell they came from a different direction than the sirens.
“I just lost two drones,” Emma reported. “But it was arguably worth the cost.”
Erik sighed. “Says the AI who doesn’t have to pay for them,” he grumbled.
Emma transmitted a small feed window to their smart lenses. Six gunmen were clustered in front of a squat, windowless building tagged with graffiti. One of them reached into his pocket, pulled out a breach disk, and placed it on the single door in front of the building.
A navigation marker popped up.
“Quickest path is right, left, right,” Emma offered. “I’ve sent an anonymous tip to the local authorities to encourage them to join you.”
Erik appreciated her discretion. Emma might be an open secret at the 1-2-2, but it was risky exposing her to different enforcement zones, or really, anyone outside the core people he worked with daily and trusted.
Colonel Adeyemi hadn’t told him anything about the DD coming for her, but Erik knew that was always a possibility. She might be a snarky, insulting AI, but not only was she damned useful, she was also a friend. It didn’t matter if she wasn’t human.
A lot of humans weren’t worthy of the racial designation.
The detectives rushed down the street in the direction of the navigation marker, following Emma’s recommended path. They spotted dried bloodstains but only slowed when they were about to make the last turn. A bright white light flashed from ahead, accompanied by a thunderous boom.
Erik surged around the corner and arrived at the building from the feed. The six gunmen waved their hands to try to disperse the smoke pouring out of the blasted-open entrance to the building. The door was gone, with mere remnants of the original structure left intact.
“NSCPD, drop it!” Erik yelled.
The criminals spun toward him and raised their guns. They didn’t drop the weapons, so he decided to drop their bodies.
Erik pulled the trigger, and the four-shot burst accounted for three targets. Jia fired from slightly behind him. The enemy line collapsed in seconds, several men killed by the attack.
“I did tell them to drop their weapons,” Erik muttered.
“You can’t fix stupid.” Jia shrugged. “At least, not without superior firepower.”
The sirens grew louder and closer as Erik and Jia advanced toward the smoking doorway. They kept their guns raised, snapping them up when the shadow of a person appeared in the smoke. If one man had made it into her back room, he might have made it into the building.
Alicia stepped out of the smoke, clutching a blood-soaked arm and grimacing. Her normally crisp vest, white shirt, and pants were splattered with blood and torn. “I’d like not to get shot again, Blackwell. If you don’t mind.” She nodded toward his gun.
“Fair enough.” Erik lifted his TR-7 and chuckled. “I’m good. I’ve shot my quota of people today. I can take the next few days off.”
Alicia glanced at the bodies. “I can see that.”
“You should see the Big One.”
A sad look passed over her face. “I think I’d rather not.”
“We’ve got a few questions for you,” Jia commented. “But you should get medical treatment first.”
“I figured.” Alicia managed a pained smile. “But thanks. If you two hadn’t come when you did, I would have ended up like these assholes, or worse.”
A police flitter zoomed over the building, its lights flashing. Another joined it from a different direction.
Erik flipped on his safety before reaching into his duster to pull out his badge. Jia grabbed her badge and held it up as well. That might not be necessary with facial recognition, but better safe than ending up under fire from fellow cops.
“I think the Zone needs a little longer before people start making all that investment you were talking about,” Erik mentioned.
“Probably,” Jia muttered.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Alicia sat in the back of the ambulance on the edge of a hoverstretcher.
Several medpatches had been placed on her body. An EMT stood in front of her and was running a scanner over her.
He shot a dirty look at the detectives, but he didn’t say anything. He’d been doing that for the last few minutes, as if he blamed them for shooting her.
Jia had a few new medpatches on her as well. The pain from her earlier wounds had faded, and her mind was still mostly clear, despite the anesthetic. No one liked getting shot, but she appreciated how many men they had taken down. Besides, it had been the criminals’ choice to open fire.
They’d even gotten a rare second chance from Erik and still went out of their way to fight. Every stupid thug in the Zone was too stubborn. They were throwing their lives away for nothing.
She couldn’t decide if that was pathetic or karma in action.
Her gaze flicked to Erik’s wounded arm. They’d given him a patch for the flesh parts, but if the underlying cybernetics had been damaged, he would need a different type of help. The last major repair had needed specialty parts. To her relief, so far, he hadn’t mentioned any trouble. It was a good reminder that no matter how many gunfights they were in, there was always a risk.
But they’d survived, and a lot of criminals hadn’t.
“Do you have any idea what the hell all that was about, Alicia?” Erik asked. He nodded at the EMT. “Or do you want to wait on this? If it’s something we can help with, it might be good not to wait. Whoever those guys work for have to know they’re dead.”
Alicia shook her head. “We can talk now. The simplest version is my career as an info broker is deader than all those guys you just shot. I’ve been worrying about this, but I tried to convince myself it wouldn’t happen. It was something I was going to warn you about during our meeting. I just had a few visitors show up first.”
The EMT finished his scans. “Please lie down, ma’am. We’re going to take you to the hospital soon.”
“We just need a few more minutes,” Jia insisted.
The EMT frowned. “Fine, but make it quick, Detective. She needs more extensive treatment for her wounds.” He looked at Jia and Erik. “Honestly, you two do as well. You look like shit.” He shook his head in disbelief and climbed into the driver’s seat.
Alicia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “My career’s a victim of cop success. The NSCPD has been ripping so many gangs and syndicates apart that the few pieces of what now passes for organized crime have grown desperate to hold onto what they have. They get that if they don’t do something big and soon, they’re effectively done in Neo SoCal, even in the Zone. Thanks to you two and all your cop buddies, the ruling organizations in this area got wiped out, and then the guys who tried to take over did too. Other people have been getting picked off one by one, and even the guys smart enough not to take part in the hit on the new chief are getting shredded. It doesn’t help there’s been a lot of infighting. Plenty of open territory.
“The idiots should have just focused on what they could grab without getting too much attention.” She chuckled. “It’s not like there’s no crime down here, but there are no big boys left to direct it and take their cut. Disorganized crime, if you want to call it something, and those kinds of guys are easy pickings even for cops who are terrible at their jobs, let alone the CID or the Shadow Zone Taskforce.”
“What’s that have to do with you?” Erik asked. “And what does it have to do with a whole gang of men showing up to kill you?”
“The few bastards left with delusions of grandeur had enough sense to realize they needed to plug any leaks if they wanted to have a chance to re-establish themselves,” Alicia explained. “You two are famous. It’s not like you don’t know it.”
“Famous enough to get shot at on sight,” Jia grumbled. “So yeah, we know it.”
“I should have used a different color on the MX 60,” Erik suggested. “The red’s too iconic. But what, Alicia—you’re saying it’s our fault you were attacked?”
Alicia shook her head. “It’s not like that, Blackwell. I knew the risk I was taking feeding you information. I gambled that yours and Lin’s reps would save me from this kind of blowback, along with my reputation for being comfortable selling to most people, asshole or otherwise. Sometimes you gamble and win, and sometimes you gamble and a bunch of men with rifles show up and shoot up your bar.”
“You knew they were coming, and you didn’t ask for police help?” Jia folded her arms, an impatient look on her face. “You seem smarter than that.”
“Things filter to me. I sell information. I did, anyway.” Alicia shifted on the stretcher but kept her eyes closed. “A few people have approached in the last few days. They made certain things clear, and also talked about some offers they thought I should take advantage of.”
“Offers?” Erik asked.
Alicia gave a shallow nod. “They wanted to use me to feed bad info to the cops. False leads, a few sacrificial guys here and there. The thing is, I’ve got no problem working with criminals, but I take pride in my job. Feeding bad info, even for a good payday, is something I won’t do. It makes a mockery of my rep.”
“And annoying the cops in the middle of a huge crackdown isn’t all that smart,” Jia suggested.
“Yeah, that, too,” she agreed. “Plus, some of these new acquaintances wanted to run drugs out of the Big One.” Alicia scowled. “They thought my reputation for not tolerating drugs would make it the perfect place. I told them to go blow themselves. I knew I was smarting off to the wrong people, so I took measures to make sure I didn’t end up in the ocean in pieces.”
“You had the tunnel made that quickly?”
Alicia chuckled weakly, shaking her head. “I’ve had that for years. No, I just kept an eye out and reduced my staffing these last few days. I thought I was being paranoid. I figured if they wanted to take me out, they’d wait until night or when I was alone, not come at me in a big way in the middle of the day.”
Erik grunted. “Sometimes a hit is as much about sending a message as killing a particular person. If they’d taken you down, everyone would have known not to deal with the cops.”
“I know. I know.” Alicia sighed. “Look, the Big One’s done. I can’t stay here, and even if you take out every last syndicate and gang member in Neo SoCal, there’s always going to be one guy who harbors a beef. If I stay here, eventually, I’ll run into him and his gun.”
“What’s your plan?” Erik asked.
“To do what I do best: give information.” Alicia smiled. “This time for relocation help. I’m going to squeal to the NSCPD and CID. I’ll give you every last little morsel I’ve been squirreling away for a rainy day. By the time I’m done, you’ll be able to kneecap what still passes for organized crime in the Zone. Maybe a place as big as Neo SoCal will never be free of crime, but all those Uptown commercials will become closer to reality.” She groaned and clutched her arm. “I forgot how much getting shot hurts.”
“Detective!” snapped the EMT. “She needs to go to the hospital.”
Erik nodded. “Okay. I’ll call the 1-2-2 and get the captain to assign you a guard from the Shadow Zone Taskforce. Until then, stay alive.”
Alicia gave him a thumbs-up. “You too, Blackwell. And you, Lin.”
The EMT tapped his PNIU. The back hatch of the ambulance lowered and shut. A moment later, the vehicle lifted off the ground. Its lights and sirens came to life, and it flew away.
“It’s the end of an era,” Jia mused.
“In more ways than one.” He nodded.
* * *
Aug 7, 2229, Neo Southern California Metroplex, Police Enforcement Zone 122 Station, Office of Detectives Jia Lin and Erik Blackwell
“Thank you, Agent Kim,” Jia
offered over her call. “We appreciate all your help. If you have anything else, just let us know.” She ended the call and looked across the office at Erik.
Her partner had his feet on his desk and his hands behind his head, a merry smile on his face. “Good news, bad news, or something in-between??”
“It depends on your perspective,” Jia answered.
“That was the same Agent Kim from CID who was supposed to be handling Alicia’s Witness Protection and coordinating her debrief, right? Not the Agent Kim who called me an asshole a few weeks ago?”
“The former, not the latter.”
Despite their presence at the Big One, Erik and Jia had been sidelined on the main case.
The CID wanted primary jurisdiction, although they’d promised to work with local authorities once they vetted some of the information. Jia didn’t mind. Taking down criminals was the important part, not that she be physically present at every major confrontation.
At the same time, she didn’t mind the idea.
Jia nodded. “He confirmed she’s being resettled. For her safety, she won’t have any contact with anyone from her old life, including us. They might even move her off-world. The CID’s confirmed almost everything she’s said.”
Erik dropped his feet to the floor and sat up with a somber look. “That makes sense. She was right—she’ll always be the woman who sold out all the local gangsters to anyone in the criminal underworld.”
“Her sacrifice is going to do a lot toward ending crime in the Zone.” Jia looked around, a small smile playing at the edges of her lips. “I hope she appreciates that. She’s a hero. She could have chosen to feed bad info to the cops.”
“I don’t know if she appreciates it, but it doesn’t change that it will help.” Erik had an almost wistful look on his face. “It’s like everyone’s been infected with Lady Justice Syndrome.”
Jia eyed him, one eyebrow raised. “You make that sound like a bad thing.” Her breath caught. “Wait, are you okay with us not being in on the final raids?”
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