Cabal of Lies

by Michael Anderle

  “Indeed,” Emma commented.

  He smiled at the hologram.

  Jia made her way out of the cockpit and through the crew quarters. Now that they were on the ship speeding toward a location, the tight quarters were more obvious. If they had more than four people, they would need to work in shifts. That wasn’t unusual for small crews, from what she’d read.

  She stopped at the table, running her hand over it. She’d gone from not being sure when they would use the ship to worrying about crew staffing and logistics.

  If Erik pressed her, she might even admit to wondering how hard it would be to hide a few anti-ship weapons on the Rabbit.

  Jia lifted her hand and stared at it.

  Leaving the NSCPD would be daunting. For all the media attention heaped on the Obsidian Detective and Lady Justice, as if they were single-handedly saving the metroplex, they still relied on a large number of people for support.

  It wouldn’t be easy to replace that network. Alina could help, but they wouldn’t be Intelligence Directorate agents with full access to the organization’s resources. Jia didn’t doubt her abilities. She just preferred it when things were less difficult.

  With a shake of her head, she continued out of the crew quarters.

  There was only so much planning they could do until they decided to leave for certain. She opened the door to the empty cargo bay. There was no reason to bring a flitter to a prison station. Although a few emergency supplies and the suits were packed in crates, most of their gear was hidden in the secure cargo areas.

  Erik lay on his back in the center of the cargo bay, staring at the ceiling.

  “What are you doing?” Jia lifted her head to see what he was staring at. The cargo bay ceiling remained nondescript and gray.

  “Getting a feel for the ship,” Erik replied. “If we’re going to have this one for a while, I figured it’d help. All the transports I flew on since Molino were different sorts of ships. Flying hotels. Not like this. I’d prefer something with a few more guns, but it’s nice to have the mobility. Being in here also reminds me of being in the Army on a troop transport. No flight attendants bringing me snacks, just a lot of men, women, and weapons sitting and waiting, talking trash. It’s not like we were in our drop pods the entire time.”

  “And I thought you were in here double-checking the laser rifle,” Jia commented.

  He sat up and shot her a smile. “The less I mess with it, the less chance there is of them finding it.”

  “We’re technically smuggling weapons to a prison station. I didn’t even blink when you started loading things, but it’s true. As Emma pointed out to me recently, I’ve let a lot of illegal stuff slide.”

  Erik hopped to his feet. “Technically true. However, we’re not planning to bring the weapons past the docking bay. If it makes you feel any better, law enforcement is technically allowed to bring weapons when investigating possible crimes at prison stations, and that’s exactly what we’re doing. I’ve read the regulations.”

  “That’s a pretty thin excuse if we get caught.” Jia leaned against the wall, her arms crossed. “Especially since this isn’t an official police visit, and we didn’t request permission.”

  “We might not need them, but you know how things go for us. We might talk to Esposito and get caught up in a prison riot. We’ll be hundreds of thousands of kilometers from Earth. If I have to bend a few rules to make sure we don’t end up dead?” He shrugged, “Well, I’m going to do it.”

  “I suppose if we’re going to take Alina’s offer, I’m going to have to stop thinking like a cop.” Jia chuckled. “The old me would have been shocked to hear that, but that’s where I am.”

  “That means you’re attuned to reality.” Erik walked toward her. “And you already seem to get it. We’ve been playing fast and loose with the letter of the law for a while now, especially using Emma.”

  “I know.” She moved her hair out of her eyes. “I’ve accepted that. I’ve also accepted that the kind of men behind Molino aren’t going to be caught through conventional means. Esposito is a way to tell for sure. I have a feeling this will be the meeting that determines whether we stay cops or not.”

  Erik stopped in front of her, a surprised look on his face. “You think so?”

  Jia nodded. “Yes. We’ll be there unofficially, but we’re still going as NSCPD cops. If he gives us good information, we might be able to take on the conspiracy as cops. We won’t have to fly around in modified smuggling transports, and we’d still have all the official aboveground resources to help us. It’ll be easy to go after dangerous assassins and full-conversion Tin Men with TPST backing.”

  “I hope it’s that easy,” Erik admitted. “But I doubt it will be. If I can take down those bastards all nice and legal, I’ll be happy to choose that direction. This has never been about anything except getting justice for my soldiers.”

  “It’s going to be a lot more than that in the end.” Jia lowered her arms and took a deep breath. “Whoever did it is hiding something so big they were willing to kill an entire military unit to cover it up. There was something so important on Molino that it was worth risking the attention of not just the military, but also the CID and ID. Effectively, the entire government of the UTC.”

  “Assuming it doesn’t turn out to be the government in the end,” Erik offered.

  “I’ve considered that possibility, but we’ve got enough people in the government helping us that it’s more likely to be a rogue operation if it is.”

  “Unless we’re the rogues.” Erik cocked his head. “I kind of like the idea that we are.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Jia replied. “I’ll be honest. I want to help because I care about you, Erik, but the evidence points to deep corruption at the heart of the UTC. If we take it out, it’ll make it better for everyone.”

  “Maybe.” Erik averted his eyes. “I’m going to be honest with you, too. That’s just a nice bonus as far as I’m concerned. We might find some evil assholes at the end of this, but even if we send them to prison or kill them, more will probably just pop up. I’m less worried about the future than the past.”

  “If new puppet masters appear, we’ll take them down, too,” Jia told him. “It gives us something to do other than go to sphere ball matches.” She slapped the wall. “Naivete isn’t believing you can defeat evil. It’s believing you only have to defeat it once.” She slammed a fist into her palm. “It’s like the emperors back in ancient China. They had the Mandate of Heaven until they didn’t and someone brought them down. This was a Shadow Mandate, and they lost it on Molino.” She looked at something in the distance, or was it in the future? “They just don’t realize it yet.”

  Erik stared at her for a moment, then a grin appeared. “Listen to you. When I met you, you couldn’t even shoot a man with a stun pistol. Now you’re talking about crushing every new conspiracy that arrives.”

  “My eyes are open now. Let’s just hope Esposito gives us something to work with.”

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  The prison station loomed before them on their final approach. Despite all the emptiness of space, the sensor displays made it clear this slice of the Solar System, L4, was far from empty. The clusters of stations in that orbit weren’t close enough for easy transit from one to another, but they formed their own small constellations, masquerading as bright stars in the distance.

  “I’ve imitated Mr. Durn’s voice for final approach communications,” Emma explained. She’d been invisible for the last few hours. “I did not imitate his annoying manner.”

  “Because no one can imitate me all the way,” Cutter insisted, jerking a thumb toward his chest. “I’m unique and original. That’s why I fly ships and don’t try to do all that ghost stuff.”

  Emma raised an eyebrow. “You certainly are unique. No one can escape that horrifying realization.”

  Cutter chuckled.

  Erik found himself transfixed by the prison station growing closer in front of the
m. The squat globular central body connected with a dozen arms leading to circular compartments. A few patrol ships, mere specs in the distance, flew past. It wasn’t as if someone escaping had much of a chance.

  The Fleet maintained a presence in the area and was more than prepared to send destroyers and fighters to intercept anyone who might somehow escape from a prison station, providing them an opportunity for target practice.

  “Never been to one of these,” he admitted with a chuckle. “We barely had any on the frontier. A lot of colonial governments think it’s a waste of resources to house prisoners off-planet, especially if they can use those prisoners for any sort of work.”

  “I suppose it was inevitable that we ended up on one as cops.” Jia nodded toward the station in the distance. “But from everything I’ve read, on the inside, it’s not any different from a jail on Earth.”

  “Looking the same and being the same are very different.” Erik lifted his arm. “Just like with this. A man in jail still knows there is air outside those walls, and he knows he might have a chance at returning to a normal life. A man on a prison station knows there’s nothing but death waiting outside.”

  “I just hope we’re not wasting a day being screwed with by Esposito.” Jia glanced at Cutter. “You’re going to have to stay on the ship. We’re the only authorized visitors. They know you’re coming, but you can’t enter the prison.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t care either way as long as I get paid. It’s not like I was looking forward to hanging out in a prison.”

  They finished their approach, Emma decelerating until the ship gently floated forward. The large docking bay doors had already opened, the faint shimmer of the temporary oxygen field marking the border of survival.

  The docking bay wasn’t much more than an expansive open area with several sets of docking clamps. A couple of patrol craft, slender ships not much larger than the MX 60 were parked at the far end of the dock. A cargo ship easily twice as long as the Rabbit was docked in the center.

  Emma fired thrusters to maneuver their ship next to the other cargo vessel.

  The light from the inside the bay grew brighter, the darkness of space receding from the edges of their view. Proximity alarms beeped, warning of their final approach. The grav emitters smoothed out the impact of the course corrections on the three humans inside, but they all wore harnesses for the final approach.

  Emma extended the landing struts, a faint mechanical whir echoing throughout the ship.

  The Rabbit glided gently into the docking bay, now subject to the prison station’s grav field. Emma brought the Rabbit down to settle near a forward docking clamp. Prison guards in beige uniforms, stun rods on their belts, stood at parade rest, surrounding a tall white-haired man in a dark suit.

  “Let’s go say hello,” Erik suggested. “And hope we didn’t waste our time.”

  “We’re not going to be able to bring our PNIUs into the prison,” Jia commented. She grimaced. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “So?”

  “No PNIUs means no access to Emma.”

  “That does sound questionable,” the AI chimed in.

  “We’ll be fine.” Erik unfastened his harness.

  “I’ve gotten used to the backup,” Jia admitted.

  “I appreciate your confidence and support, Detective Lin,” Emma replied.

  “Just keep the sensors active, and if anything weird happens, she can hack the prison.”

  “Hack a prison?” Jia stared at her partner in disbelief. “Are you insane? That’s not keeping a low profile.”

  “Only if something happens, and only if the prison staff can’t keep it under control. I’m not saying she should do it if there’s a riot.” Erik inclined his head toward the side of the cockpit. “Emma, open her up. I’m guessing the guy in the suit is the warden.”

  She sniffed. “It is. I checked his image against the database I downloaded.”

  With a hiss followed by a loud hum, a side door pulled away from the cockpit. When it was pointed down, a ladder extended until it hit the ground. Erik and Jia disembarked and walked toward the guards and warden.

  The man in the suit cleared his throat and extended his hand. “Warden Harris. My pleasure, Detectives.”

  Erik and Jia shook his hand in turn.

  “We’re sorry to have to bother you,” Jia replied. “But if Esposito’s ready to give people up, this could lead to the case being reopened and a lot of other people going down.”

  The warden smiled. “No, I’m sorry you had to come all the way out here. We do our best to keep filth away from Earth so people don’t have to deal with them. You two have dealt with your fair share of antisocials and others. You know what I’m talking about.” He looked over his shoulder. A narrow hallway led from the cargo bay to a reinforced door. “I’m going to be honest with you. You might hate me when I say this since you just flew a half a day to get here, but I think you’re wasting your time.”

  “Why?” Erik asked.

  “Because I think this is just Esposito trying to get you to come here so he can cry about his family,” the warden admitted, annoyance coloring his voice. “He was already whining to us. I don’t know what he expects us to do about it. We’re not the ones who committed his crimes.”

  Erik grunted. “If you think he’s just yanking our chain, why did you tell us to come?”

  The warden gestured toward the corridor and turned around. “Because if I’m wrong, we get more customers to join the family here in our pleasant hotel. I’m willing to take a few hits to the ego and admit I’m wrong if it means we take down more criminals.”

  Erik could respect that and said nothing back.

  The guards didn’t move, so Erik and Jia fell in behind the warden. The other men finally broke their line, forming a semi-circle in the rear. Erik wondered if it was a show of force to impress him.

  That he didn’t respect.

  The warden stopped at the reinforced door and placed his hand on the access panel. Internal bolts thudded, and the door opened to a small room connected to another reinforced door. He stepped inside and waited for Erik and Jia to join him. After they did, the door shut behind them, leaving the guards outside.

  The warden gestured to Erik’s and Jia’s PNIUs. “Sorry, no outside devices. We’ll give them to you on the way out. If you have anything else on you, this is a good time to pull it out.” He pointed to his eyes. “That includes smart lenses, sorry.”

  A small door popped open in the side wall and lowered until it was flat. Two thin trays lined it on either side. Erik pulled the small silver card off and set it inside. He carefully popped out his two thin lenses and set them in one of the trays. Jia did the same.

  The warden looked satisfied. “Before we go any farther, I have to ask you if you’re carrying any weapons.”

  Erik shook his head, and he wasn’t lying. The warden hadn’t specifically asked if they were carrying any weapons on the ship.

  A blue light illuminated the room. Erik stood in place, letting the weapons scan proceed.

  “Clean,” announced a voice over a hidden speaker.

  “Thank you for your cooperation, Detectives.” The warden nodded and the back door slid open, revealing a brightly lit corridor. “That makes it so much easier for everyone involved.”

  Once they stepped into the corridor, Erik could see guards off to the side, managing a security station with data window feeds from the checkpoint. A half-dozen other feeds showed other locations.

  Six-legged security bots crawled past an intersection, their thin legs tapping on the hard, smooth floor. Small drones flew with them, keeping pace.

  “Trouble?” Erik asked, waiting for an alarm to sound.

  “Just standard patrols. We’re not in the cell blocks yet.” The warden shook his head. “People can be made into hostages. Machines can’t. Consider those a way of amplifying the effectiveness of our staff while reducing risks. Not every prison follows this model, but a few of us have b
een pushing this strategy. It’s cheaper overall. Why spend more taxpayer money on the inmates than we have to?”

  Jia narrowed her eyes at the departing bots. “But machines can be hacked.”

  “Which is why prisoners aren’t allowed access to the appropriate tools.” The warden’s satisfied smile suggested he thought the method flawless. “And you’d be surprised by how secure our systems are. I think you’d need to be a ghost to have a chance.”

  Erik waited for Emma to make a snarky comment in his ear. A few seconds passed before he remembered he didn’t have a direct connection to her anymore. He didn’t know how to feel. He’d gotten so used to her omnipresence, he almost felt naked without her—not that he would admit that to her.

  The last thing Emma needed was to have her ego fed.

  “You’ve never had any escapes?” Erik asked.

  “Sure, but it never ends well for the prisoners.” The warden gestured to the security station. “I’m sure you saw them from outside. All those external habitat modules are the cell blocks. The prisoners have no direct docking bay access. Maybe a guy somehow gets his hands on a suit, and then what? Floats until he runs out of air? That’s the big advantage of a prison station. All we have to do is keep people from taking the docking bay. Deep space is the most effective prison guard ever conceived, and we don’t even have to pay it or spend money to fix it.” He chuckled. “No prisoner who has escaped this place since I’ve been warden has made it far. We either caught them, or we found their body floating near the prison.” He clapped his hands. “But enough about us. Let’s go to your boy and see if he’s ready to sing a new song.”

  “Come on, Holochick,” Cutter whined. “I’m sure you’re a great singer.”

  Emma glared at him. She floated in the air, her eyes turning solid black. She grew transparent.

  Cutter looked up at her. “Are you trying to haunt me now?”

  “I’m simply adopting an appearance that reflects my current feelings.” Emma’s nails grew into twisted talons. “I’m not a human, Mr. Durn. And I don’t sing folk songs. This will be far less annoying for both of us if you simply do not talk to me until the detectives return.”