‘I suppose so. As long as she keeps her fascist views to herself.’
‘I’m pretty sure Dad will be okay with it. You’re now officially a citizen of Kev’s world.’
Reims gave a little half smile. ‘Is that it? No certificate or handshake or anything?’
Dimitri grunted. ‘I’m going to see how the water pump is coming on.’ He tossed the rifle to Connie and stomped off towards the settlement.
‘He’ll be okay,’ said Kevin.
Reims wasn’t so sure. Ivankov was carrying a grudge against her. She just hoped that he could let it go when she and Josie settled here for good.
‘Shall we go?’ asked Simone.
‘Yes. It’s time to teach Webb that no-one is above the law,’ said Reims.
CHAPTER 36
Connie chattered about life in South Africa and how hard things had been on Earth for the whole drive from the Box to the communal hab. Reims had wanted to go alone, but the others had insisted that she take someone with her. Reims had picked Connie because, well, because she found the ex-ranger attractive. She glanced over at her passenger who was animatedly talking in her exotic South African accent, her dark eyes full of emotion. She looked wildly beautiful. Reims returned her eyes to the road. Now was not the time to be thinking like that, they were on their way to convince Josie to help them.
They reached the hab and Reims got out of the rover.
‘Stay here. I’ll be back with Josie soon,’ said Reims.
David was just leaving as she approached the airlock.
He nodded at her. ‘Reims.’
‘David.’ Reims returned the nod.
‘Who’s in the rover?’
‘None of your business,’ said Reims.
David shook his head. ‘I don’t get you, Reims.’
She didn’t have time for this. Bearing in mind she would likely never see David again she decided to cut this conversation short.
‘Good.’
David shook his head and walked away with his hands jammed into his therms pockets.
The familiar smell of the hab greeted her. That was something she wouldn’t miss, the lingering odour of bodies and cooking. The scrubbers were supposed to deodorise the recirculated air but never seemed to quite manage it.
The common area was empty and when Reims poked her head around the door of Josie’s room it was empty. The bed was unmade which meant she could not be far. Josie never left for work without making her bed.
The sound of running water came from the shower room. Smiling to herself, Reims gently pushed the door open. Steam fogged the room and a pleasant soapy fragrance replaced the stale smell of the rest of the hab.
Reims could see a shadow moving beyond the frosted glass of the shower cubicle. ‘Josie?’
The water stopped and Josie’s smiling face poked out from inside the shower.
‘Lucy! What a pleasant surprise.’ She smiled mischievously. ‘Are you trying to save your water allowance again?’
Reims couldn’t help laughing. ‘No time for that today.’
Josie’s mouth went from a grin into an exaggerated unhappy downturn. ‘That makes me sad.’
Reims laugh subsided as she remembered why she was here. ‘I need to talk to you Josie. It’s important.’
‘Sounds serious. Towel.’
Reims grabbed Josie’s towel from the rack and threw it at her.
Josie’s head slipped back behind the frosted glass as she towelled her hair. ‘So, what’s so important you take time off from work to come ogle me in the shower?’
‘I need your help,’ said Reims.
‘For an investigation? Sounds exciting,’ said Josie.
‘Sort of. Also, I have a life changing proposition for you.’
Josie stepped out from the cubicle with the towel wrapped around her and grinned wickedly. ‘I thought you didn’t have time for that today.’
‘Josie, can we talk seriously for at least ten minutes?’
Josie sighed. ‘Go make some coffee, I’ll be through in a minute.’
Reims went over what she was going to say while she waited for the coffee to brew. She was going to lead with the request for help, then follow up with a declaration of her undying love and the offer to come with her to Kev’s world. Kev’s world? She really needed to ask if they were going to change the name.
She was just pouring the second cup when Josie, now dressed in her grey coveralls, walked in.
Josie grabbed one of the steaming mugs of coffee from the side and sat down at the table. ‘Okay, mystery woman. What’s so important?’ She pushed an errant strand of hair from her eyes.
‘God, I love you,’ said Reims. So much for her plan.
Josie put on a serious face. ‘That is important. How about you come and prove it?’
Reims, slightly smiling, shook her head. ‘There’s something else.’
Josie’s mock seriousness morphed into mock horror. ‘There’s something more important than your infatuation with me?’
‘I need you to be serious, Josie.’
‘Alright. Sorry. Go ahead, what’s so important?’
‘I have some evidence that a senior council member had one of his political opponents killed and made it look like an accident.’
Josie looked at Reims.
‘Say something, Josie.’
‘Wow. But why tell me?’
‘Because, chief Smith is covering up for this senior council member.’
‘Holy shit.’ Josie frowned. ‘I still don’t get why you’re telling me.’
Reims took a deep breath before plunging on. ‘I need your help to put it on the network with a link to the news feed.’
‘Excuse me if I’m repeating myself but, holy shit.’
‘Will you help me?’ asked Reims.
Josie took a sip from her coffee then looked Reims in the eye, all trace of her playful mood gone. ‘Lucy...I…’
‘Before you answer, there’s another important thing I need to ask you.’
‘Another one? Jesus, Lucy. I don’t know if I can handle more.’
‘Hear me out.’
Josie nodded and clutched her coffee cup tightly.
‘This is going to sound a bit crazy. God knows I wouldn’t believe me, but you’ve got to know this is real.’
‘Please, just tell me.’
‘I want you to come away with me,’ said Reims.
‘Come away? Where to? What do you mean?’ Josie was looking bewildered.
‘You know that alien artefact that vanished?’
‘The one in the news feed that was stolen?’
‘Yes. That one. Turns out, it’s a faster than light spaceship and it can take us to another world. I want you to go there with me.’
The moment seemed to stretch out forever before Josie said anything. ‘You’re shitting me.’
‘No. I’ve been there. There’s grass and clouds and open water.’ Reims was animated, her voice full of emotion.
‘You’re serious, aren’t you? This is real?’
Reims nodded and took Josie’s hand. ‘It’s real.’
‘And you’ve not just had a psychotic break?’ asked Josie.
Reims shook her head. ‘No psychotic break.’
Josie grinned. ‘And you really want me to come with you?’
‘Yes, I do.’ Reims realised she wanted that more than anything.
‘Yes.’ Josie stood up and flung her arms around Reims. ‘My answer is yes.’
‘And you’ll help with the evidence?’
‘Oh, right. That. Of course. Now shut up and hug me properly.’
Reims surrendered herself to the warm comfort of Josie’s arms. Her hair smelt of jasmine. ‘You smell good.’
‘You don’t,’ said Josie.
Laughing, Reims moved back a little so she could look at Josie’s face. ‘Come on. We need to pack some stuff and go.’
Josie slyly smiled and drew Reims back closer so she could whisper in her ear. ‘What’s the hurry?’
; Reims pulled out of the embrace. ‘You’re incorrigible. There’s someone waiting for us outside.’
‘You have a chauffeur now?’
‘Just throw some stuff in a bag and let’s go.’
‘I love it when you take charge.’ Josie kissed Reims on the cheek. ‘I’ll only be a minute. I’ve not got much worth taking.’
Ten minutes later the two of them were dressed in their therms and carrying a backpack each. They were not particularly large bags.
Josie patted her bag. ‘I just packed my favourite underwear. You?’
‘Let’s just get going,’ said Reims.
Outside, Connie was waiting in the rover.
When Reims and Josie were stowing their bags in the back of the rover, Josie leant in close and whispered. ‘Should’ve known you’d have a good looking chauffeur.’
‘She’s from Earth, and I’m driving,’ said Reims.
‘Serious?’
‘Serious. I’m driving.’
Josie laughed. ‘Not that. The Earth bit, silly.’
‘Most of the people on Kev’s world are from Earth.’
‘It sounds very cosmopolitan.’
Once inside, Josie leaned forward from the back seat her hand extended. ‘Hi. My name’s Josie.’
Connie took her hand in a firm handshake. ‘Connie. Nice to meet you.’
‘That accent is fabulous. You’re from South Africa?’
Connie released Josie’s hand. ‘Yes.’
Josie sat back in her seat and clipped on her harness. ‘I can’t wait to see this new world. Let’s go and do this thing.’
Reims got to listen to Connie’s description of living in South Africa for a second time as the South African and Josie exchanged life stories on the way to their destination.
‘You two had better stay here,’ said Josie.
Reims passed her the flash drive. ‘Good luck.’
‘Lucy, please. The day I can’t set up some secure network storage and insert a news feed story link to it is the day I should quit my job.’
‘This is the day you’re quitting your job,’ Reims pointed out.
Josie chuckled. ‘So it is. I’ll be thirty minutes, tops.’
She leant forward and bumped masks with Reims. ‘Don’t run off with Connie, dear.’
Reims felt blood rush to her face. Fortunately, only the upper part of her face was visible. She coughed to cover her embarrassment. Josie gave her shoulder a squeeze, then climbed out of the rover and walked towards the airlock.
‘You’re lucky,’ said Connie.
‘Sorry?’ said Reims.
‘Josie.’ Connie nodded towards the woman who was entering the airlock. ‘You and her. Both of you are lucky.’
‘Uh, yes.’
Reims didn’t know what else to say. She had never been good at talking about her personal life, preferring to keep it just that, personal. Besides, having emotional attachments didn’t help a career in ColPol. Although now she was in the process of flushing her ColPol career down the toilet, there was nothing stopping her.
‘So…’ Connie cocked her head. ‘Your name is Lucy?’
Of course Josie had used her first name. She was the only person that did since her mother had passed away.
‘Yes.’
‘Suits you,’ said Connie.
Reims said nothing. The seconds turned into minutes and then into tens of minutes.
‘You don’t talk much,’ said Connie.
‘I’m just worried about Josie.’
‘She seems confident.’
Reims chuckled. ‘She always does.’
‘How did you two meet?’ asked Connie.
‘Nothing particularly interesting. We’re singles hab-mates.’
‘So you didn’t know her before?’
‘No.’
‘I guess you were lucky to move in to the same hab,’ said Connie.
‘Not so much. An AI assigns people a singles hab based on personality compatibility analysis.’
‘Really? That’s a bit sinister.’
Reims shrugged. ‘A necessity of colony life. You spend that much time together, things will get ugly if you don’t get along.’
‘Does that work?’
‘Most of the time. When it doesn’t, there’s ColPol.’
Connie glanced at the ColPol patch on Reims’s therms. ‘How’s that working out for you?’
Reims sighed. ‘If this works, I’m hoping Chief Smith will do the right thing.’
‘And if he doesn’t?’ asked Connie.
‘If he doesn’t...’ Reims frowned. Shit. She was going to have to make sure. ‘I will make sure he does.’
Connie twisted around in her seat to face Reims properly. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean that I’ll talk to Chief Smith and suggest that he does the right thing.’
‘And he’ll listen to you?’
‘With a bit of encouragement.’
Reims checked the clock on the rover dashboard. ‘She’s been more than thirty minutes.’ Thirty-one to be precise.
‘I’m sure she’s fine,’ said Connie.
Reims checked the clock again. Thirty-two minutes. ‘I’m going to make sure she’s okay.’
Connie put a hand on Reims’s arm. ‘Give it a little more time.’
Reims took Connie’s hand and lifted if off her arm. ‘I’m going now. Come if you want.’
Connie looked Reims in the eye for a moment. ‘Fine. Come on, let’s go rescue your damsel in distress.’
Reims had to switch her cuff on to open the airlock. This had the side effect of announcing her presence on the colony network. It couldn’t be helped.
The data centre was not a particularly big building. Miniaturisation had reduced the footprint of data storage significantly over the years. Reducing the size even more was the fact that all required cooling could be provided by the external heat sinks dumping heat into the cold martian atmosphere.
The main hall had several doors leading off it.
‘Which one?’ asked Connie.
‘Not sure,’ said Reims.
None of the doors were labelled except for ‘EXIT’ above the door they had come in.
Reims was about to pick one at random when she heard voices from behind the door on their left. She looked at Connie and put her finger to her lips. Then she put her ear to the door. She recognised Josie’s voice but she couldn’t quite make out what she was saying.
‘In here,’ whispered Reims.
Reims readied her taser and nodded Connie towards the door handle.
Connie turned the handle and pushed the door open to reveal a large open plan office. Josie was standing near one of the desks in a heated discussion with a ColPol officer. She recognised him. Carver. What was he doing here?
Reims held her taser by her side and angled her body to keep the weapon out of sight. ‘Hey, Carver.’
Carver looked up in surprise. ‘Reims. Shit.’
The man was going for his taser. Well that answered one thing she had been wondering about. She was now wanted by ColPol after her little escapade in the agri-dome. Carver must be here to pick up Josie.
Reims raised and fired while Carver’s taser was still clearing his holster. There was a buzz as the charge flowed down the wires, his muscles locked and he fell backwards over a desk, sending a monitor crashing to the floor.
‘Holy shit,’ said Josie.
‘Have you done what you need to do?’
‘Not quite. This guy interrupted me before I could finish.’
‘Well hurry up.’
Carver was struggling to get to his feet. ‘Reims, you bitch.’
Reims gave him another jolt then walked over and scooped Carver’s taser off the floor. ‘Thanks, my battery pack was getting low.’
Carver replied with an incoherent, pained gurgle.
Josie sat down at her desk and continued with the news feed setup, finishing by dramatically banging the enter key. ‘There. Done. It will take a few seconds
for the AI to insert it into a news item.’
‘Time we were gone then.’
Reims pulled some tie-wraps from her pocket and secured Carver’s hands behind his back. ‘Sorry about this, Carver.’
‘You won’t get away with this,’ said Carver. He seemed to have recovered the power of speech.
‘Maybe. Maybe not. We’ll see,’ said Reims.
While they waited for the airlock to cycle, Josie was watching her cuff intently. ‘There it is.’ She turned the volume on her cuff up so the others could hear the AI newsreader’s voice.
‘—of a conspiracy at the highest levels of the colony council. The evidence has been made public and is available via a data-net link.’
‘Oh boy,’ said Josie.
‘Now I need to make sure Smith does the right thing.’ Reims activated her cuff and placed a call to chief Smith.
Smith’s voice sounded annoyed. ‘Reims. Where the hell have you been?’
‘Upholding the law,’ Reims said calmly.
‘You’re in serious trouble. You need to come back and turn yourself in.’
‘I’m afraid that won’t be possible. Have you seen the news feed, sir?’
‘What the hell are you talking about?’
‘You really should check it. I can wait.’
The call went quiet for a few moments. Reims waited impatiently. She knew that her cuff network log on was being traced and a response team would be on the way.
‘Jesus Christ, Reims. What have you done?’
‘I’ve made sure a law breaker will be brought to justice.’
‘Webb? Are you crazy?’
‘The truth is out now. There’s no way this can be covered up.’
‘We’re going to have to bring him in.’
Reims could hear the dawning realisation in Smith’s voice as he assimilated the implications of the very public exposure of the murders and cover-ups.
‘I knew you would do the right thing.’ She hadn’t, but he didn’t need to know that. ‘Can I suggest Conway as the arresting officer?’
‘Conway? Of course. That makes sense. What about you?’
‘Consider this my resignation. Good bye, sir.’
‘Resignation? What?’ Smith sounded flustered.
Reims ended the call and switched off her cuff. ‘That went better than expected.’
‘That’s it? We won?’ asked Connie.
Box Page 18