EMPIRE: Imperial Detective

by Stephanie Osborn

“Between the new facility being set up two floors down, and the facility at ICPD’s main precinct, there are two lie detectors available,” Carter noted. “The ICPD has kindly offered to handle the matter for us, so please get with Colonel Maia Peterson, here, and work out a schedule to re-take your Oaths, please. And thank you for understanding, and being willing.”

  “Are we being vetted, as well?” Jimmy Rodriguez wondered.

  “You are,” Ashton answered. “It’s hard, because we’re trying to staff up as fast as we can, given everything going on. But thorough background checks are being performed, not only with the aid of the ICPD, but with the aid of a couple of offworld ICPD sectors, such as Catalonia, whose lead is working with me to help out, there. Please be patient while we work through a really big backlog of checks.”

  “Any other questions?” Carter asked, and when none were forthcoming, he announced, “Dismissed.”

  Once Carter had discussed matters with the half-dozen confused staffers, they all decided to follow his lead and re-take their Oaths to the Throne. Carter left Ashton’s office, headed across the bullpen where he entered his office, followed by Ashton, Ames, Peabody, Demetrius and Gorski – Peterson was too busy working out a schedule for taking Oaths, and the rest of the ICPD crew were escorting fired personnel out of the building. He closed the door, then sat down with a sigh.

  “Damn,” he grumbled. “I could do without the last day or so.”

  “Couldn’t we all?” Ames murmured. “And losing Alan was by far the biggest hit of the lot.”

  The office was silent for a moment. Finally Carter spoke.

  “I want to thank all of you for standing with me,” he said. “Especially you, Peabody, after I initially doubted you.”

  “I understand, sir, and it’s okay,” Peabody said with a shrug. “I know I have trust issues to work out with the management of this new version of the department. And I’m willing to do that. I want to do that.”

  “You were right, Nick,” Carter said, nodding at Peabody. “You talked with him, sized him up, and hit the nail on the head. Good job.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Ashton said. “I knew that Peabody was a delicate situation, but based on the data I got from the Imperial Guard, I thought he was more than worth taking the time to do right by him.”

  “And that was appreciated from the very beginning of our working relationship, Detective Ashton,” Peabody declared. “As I hope I made clear at the time.”

  “Good, and yes, you did. How are things going with Emily?” Ashton asked, and Peabody fairly lit up with his smile.

  “Great!” the older man declared. “I might actually have a happy ending this way, after all!”

  “She’s being looked after, back at our precinct,” Demetrius said, “I promise you that. I set my top protégé on guarding her.”

  “Thank you for that, too,” Peabody murmured. “I think she’s the core of that happy ending.”

  “And several of us understand that, all too well, Peabody,” Carter said quietly. “I had much the same situation with Maia, truth to tell.” He cocked his head. “Perhaps we should sit down and talk, you and I, over drinks, one of these days.”

  “I’d be honored and delighted, sir,” Peabody said. Then he saluted, thought better of it, and cleared his throat. “Um. With the Director’s and division lead’s permissions, I should return to duty, sirs.”

  “Heh,” Carter chuckled, dry. “We need to figure out some other response than saluting, that will convey respect without looking too militaristic, I guess.”

  “It… would help, sir,” Peabody said, the ghost of a smile on his face. “I’d be happy to sit down with some of the others and perhaps… would a working group be suitable for such matters, do you think?”

  Carter raised an eyebrow and glanced at Ashton, who shrugged.

  “I think that’s an excellent notion, Peabody,” Carter decided. “I hereby deputize you to do that very thing, on my authority, and report back to Ashton and myself on your progress.”

  “Done, sir.” Peabody smiled. Carter stood, came around his desk, and shook Peabody’s hand.

  “Thank you again. Dismissed, Peabody.”

  “Gone, sir.”

  And he left the room, carefully and gently closing the door behind himself.

  “All right,” Carter sighed, easing back into his desk chair. “Let’s weed out the liars and the crooks, and maybe, just maybe, we can get started on the new building. I actually have plans and blueprints in hand and everything, but I need division leads to look at them and approve them.”

  “Well, I don’t think we can help with that,” Gorski said with a chuckle, “so I expect it’s time we got out of here and back over to ICPD. Cally, are you ready?”

  “Almost,” she said, going over and kissing Ashton. “I’ll see you at home tonight, hon.”

  “It’s a plan,” he agreed, kissing back. “You want me to pick something up for dinner, or you want to cook?”

  “I always want to cook,” she said, and everyone laughed.

  “Lee, tell Peabody that we’ll see his lady gets home safely,” Demetrius said.

  “Will do,” Carter averred. “Later, guys. And again… thank you.”

  And they, too, were gone.

  “On that note, I think I’ll head for my own office,” Ashton said. “At least we didn’t give ‘em a chance to start staking out their territory in our offices.”

  “Yeah, but I still think I’m gonna disinfect mine,” Carter said with some wry distaste.

  “Don’t blame ya there, Lee!” Ashton laughed, and left.

  When the door closed behind Ashton, Carter closed his eyes, leaned back, and let out a sigh that was more than half a groan of relief, and that he could have sworn came from his toes. “Thank the good Lord that is over!” he muttered.

  Then the alert… with the Imperial header… came in.

  “Oh shit,” he murmured.

  Moments later, in VR channel 22, Carter stood before the Emperor’s desk. Seconds after that, the Emperor appeared behind it, seated in his chair.

  “Your Majesty,” Carter said, as he bowed. Dunham nodded acknowledgement, then waved his hand.

  “Please be seated, Director Carter.”

  Carter took the indicated seat.

  “Director Carter, I wanted to let you know that, when I received your inquiry regarding immunity from the death penalty for the ‘enforcer’ who turned state’s evidence this morning, I decided to watch the interrogation. I was having breakfast with my fiancée in any event, so it did not take away from my other duties.”

  “Yes, Sire? Have you changed your mind on the immunity?”

  “No, I stand by my word on that,” Dunham said. “The man evidently doesn’t seem to quite grasp that things have changed where the IPD is concerned; I rather wondered if perhaps he has a somewhat mentally skewed view of our world. Or maybe a learning disability of some sort. However, between that, the video recording that was sent me of his and his colleague’s sabotage of your home, coupled with the news reports of the faked explosion, well. I’ve been thinking about the situation.”

  “Indeed, Sire? May I inquire as to your conclusions?”

  “You may, Director Carter, for that is the reason I called you to meet with me,” Dunham said with a slight smile. “I even discussed it with Milady Amanda – who will soon be the Empress, as we’ve discussed, and is already an invaluable member of Consul Saaret’s staff of advisors…”

  “I see, Sire.”

  “Yes, and I have decided in favor of trial in the High Court,” Dunham decreed. “You are as much a member of my staff as Vasilisa Medved was of my sister’s staff, even if your office isn’t in the Palace environs, and you are endeavoring to perform a very specific function for me, just as she did for my sister. And so the same considerations must surely apply. I also discussed it with Consul Saaret, and he is likewise in agreement.”

  “I see…”

  “I think it will also make matters ea
sier for the interrogations, in that the counsels for the defense have little to no say in the progress of the interrogations.” Dunham shook his head. “That almost made for a bad situation this morning, in that, had the interrogators not discovered that Investigator Peabody had been targeted, Peabody could have been killed before anyone was the wiser.”

  “True, Sire. We still don’t know if Bradly had anyone else tagged on the assassination of Peabody, so my people are, rather surreptitiously, keeping an eye on him and his lady friend.”

  “Excellent, then. All that said, please realize that I am still likely to watch the recordings in my off hours; other things are moving too fast, and there are simply not enough hours in the day.” Dunham sighed. “However, as I indicated, an attack on you as the head of my Imperial Police is indeed treasonous, and an attack on those in your employ, trying to protect you, is little, if any, better. I will want to see any additional evidence you have, as well as an interview with Investigator Peabody, whom I recall from his cooperation with my sister’s investigations. Also please ensure that I am provided with a rough schedule of the interrogation times; should I be available at any of those times, I can always drop in and watch live. Will any of that be difficult?”

  “I don’t think so, Your Majesty. I had figured on making all that available to you in any case, and Peabody would have been a witness for the prosecution in the lesser courts, so it all ties together.”

  “Very good then. And so you all made it through the conspiracy unharmed? No one was injured or killed?”

  “Well…” Carter paused and drew a deep breath, and Dunham raised an eyebrow, then leaned forward in obvious concern. “I wouldn’t quite say that, Sire.”

  “Oh? Tell me.” Dunham’s tone was gentle, though the words were patently an order. “Take your time. We lost someone?”

  “A young detective with the ICPD, Sire,” Carter sighed. “Alan Compton. I mentioned him the last time we met, though not by name. He was the electronics expert on the team to disengage the two sabotage packages that had been installed in my home. Unfortunately, given the uncertain and swift timetable of events, it was necessary to do that on the day the tropical storm came through the Imperial City. Lightning ran in on the lines from a very close strike, and…”

  “Yes, I recall now. He was in the hospital at that time, I thought. Oh dear,” Dunham murmured, sitting back, eyes wide. “And so young Detective Compton didn’t survive it, after all?”

  “No, Sire. It took a couple of days, during which time the doctors assure me that they did all they could, but… no. Even his nanite systems had been damaged. It was a slow deterioration and crash, but… well. He… didn’t survive.”

  “Damnation.” The curse from the Emperor’s lips was low, and Carter could not be certain he said it. But when the younger man with the greater power looked up, the blue-white eyes were cold as ice. “And of course, had it not been for this conspiracy, the man would still be alive.”

  “Exactly, Sire.”

  “He was promising?”

  “He was. He had a lot of talent, Compton did. It was – and is – a very close-knit group he was in. He worked for my wife, Colonel Peterson, if you will recall, and he was a close friend and colleague of my current Investigative division lead and his wife.”

  “Who are?”

  “Detective Dominick Ashton and his wife, Detective Callista Ames.”

  “I see. Yes, I recall Detective Ashton as well, though he hadn’t reached that rank yet, and I didn’t have a lot of interaction with him, but rather with his mentor, Detective Gorski. So the lot of you are in mourning, of a sort.”

  “Very much so, Sire.”

  “I am very sorry for your loss, Director Carter. Please convey my condolences to the rest of your people, and if you would, please send me contact information on Detective Compton’s next of kin. I should like to thank them personally for his willingness to give all on behalf of my Police Director.”

  “Thank you, Sire, and certainly.” Carter paused, then asked, “Is there anything else you need from me or my department?”

  “No, I don’t think so,” Dunham mused. “I will send over a couple of the Imperial Guardsmen to assist you in the interrogations, to make it more official. If they would not interfere.”

  “No, Sire, I think that would be greatly appreciated. Given I’m struggling to ensure my own staff is legitimate, I hesitate to lean any harder on the ICPD staff for assistance than I already am, and your Guardsmen would be a big help in that regard.”

  “Ah, very good then. Is there anything else I can do for you, Director?”

  Carter paused, as Dunham watched him in silence. Finally the head of the IPD responded.

  “In all honesty, Your Majesty, I’m afraid I flatly don’t know yet,” Carter admitted. “We had just gotten the obvious conspirators taken into custody, the first round of weeding performed, I tagged up with my inner circle, and sat down at my desk… and got your summons…”

  “Ah, I see,” Dunham said with a wry smile. “You haven’t had a chance to catch your breath yet, let alone think about what wants doing next.”

  “Exactly, Sire. I’m sorry, but as you say, there are only so many hours in a day…”

  “No need to be sorry, Director Carter. You and I are both just human, after all. And things are moving fast. Let us call the meeting done for now. Go back to your office, get a cup of coffee, sit down and relax for, oh, ten or fifteen minutes – longer if you need it – and simply see what floats to the top. If I can provide for any of your needs at this time, simply pop me a message. You’ll find I may not answer it directly, depending upon need and urgency, but I’m very good at delegating to the right people to get the job done.”

  Dunham grinned, and Carter returned it.

  Then Dunham dropped the channel, and Carter found himself back in his own office. He took a long, deep breath and let it out, staring absently at the back of the door to his office.

  Then he promptly rose and headed for the break room and the coffeemaker.

  Some orders were easy to obey.

  Interrogation

  By the time any of the other conspirators were due to be interrogated, Demetrius had finished the interrogation of ‘Enforcer’ Hennig. The day after the interrogation was complete, a document came down under Imperial cover containing the Emperor’s verdict, declaring Hennig guilty on all counts, but specifying life in prison as his sentence. Whether parole was possible or not would be determined by the Emperor at a later date, and might be marginally influenced by Hennig’s behavior in prison.

  Hennig was downcast, but at least, his lawyer pointed out, he was alive. And if he behaved himself, he might see the outside of a prison, one day. It was more, Attorney Chase suspected, than Hennig’s erstwhile employers would ever see.

  Since he was responsible for bringing in Hennig and Brandt to the conspiracy, Officer Hunter Williams was the first of the IPD personnel to be interrogated. His lawyer, notified of the arrest before Williams had been removed from the temporary headquarters building, showed up at the time scheduled for his interrogation.

  “May I help you, sir?” the police officer on guard outside the interrogation facility asked.

  “Yes, I’m Richard Thompson, Officer Williams’ counsel. Please let me into the interrogation room.”

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Thompson, I can’t do that, and you won’t be needed,” the guard said.

  “What?! I beg your pardon, officer, I most certainly will be needed! I intend to be with my client while he is being questioned.”

  “No, sir, you won’t,” the guard replied. “It’s a matter for the Throne now.”

  Thompson paled.

  “H-high court?” he murmured.

  “The highest, yes, sir.”

  “Oh damn,” Thompson cursed quietly. “May I at least watch the proceedings?”

  “No, sir. Only the interrogators, the doctor, and the Emperor will be watching that. There will be video available for viewing a
fter the Emperor has rendered judgement, but not before.”

  “What do I do, then?”

  “Go home.”

  Williams had been kept in an ICPD lockup, with the rest of the conspirators, and was now led from the cell in which he found himself, out of the lockup, past a police guard and down a blank corridor, to a door between two uniformed guards… except they weren’t wearing police uniforms. These guys are wearing an Imperial Marines uniform, he decided, with some sort of fancy braided folderol on the shoulder. What the hell? Who the blazes are they, and why are they even here?

  His police escorts took him through the door. Within the room, there was a table and two chairs. The chair on the far side of the table was bolted to the floor. He was taken to this chair, seated in it, then his wrists and ankles were cuffed tightly to the chair. This ensured that his arms and legs stayed in firm contact with the arms and legs of the chair.

  Oh shit, he realized. This is a lie detector chair. This could get bad. Really bad.

  He sat for long moments after the two police officers departed, wondering in what situation he found himself, and whether there was any serious hope of bluffing or conning his way through it. Then a voice came over a speaker in the corner.

  “Officer Williams, there are a few videos we’d like you to see before we begin. You will see that a VR channel has been opened to you. Please enter it and watch the videos. Notify us aloud when you are finished.”

  Williams, curious, entered the VR channel and began to view the videos.

  Damn, damn, damn, he thought as he watched, becoming furiously angry. Those idiots Brandt and Hennig walked right into a trap. That bastard Carter had it set up and recorded the whole damn thing. How the hell did Carter even find out about us?! Well, but those suck-up bastards can’t tie it back to us, can’t tie it back to me. There’s that, at least.

  And then he saw the video of Hennig’s interrogation, which had been given in this same lie detector chair, in which Hennig named the members of the conspiracy, specifying Williams by name, as well as several others.