“Not this one,” he said, stern. “This one, you swear allegiance to the Throne, and you do it on a lie detector chair.”
“What the hell is a lie detector chair?” she wanted to know.
“Exactly what it sounds like,” Ashton shot back. “You sit in it, it reads your vitals, and tells the technician – and the physician – if you’re lying or not.”
“Why would I need to swear while sitting in one of those damn things?”
“To demonstrate that you’re not lying about your Oath.”
“Pssht,” she murmured, waving a dismissive hand. “There’s gotta be a way around those. Or I’ll just get it waived. Like you probably did.”
“So you don’t intend to take it, let alone mean it?”
“Why should I? I’ve been doing this job for years now, just like you have.”
“That’s gonna be difficult.”
“Oh, I’m sure you can help me, sweetie,” she said, becoming flirtatious again. “Once lovers, always lovers. Mwah!” And she blew him an air-kiss.
Before Ashton could say more, a familiar head stuck inside the doorframe.
“Nick, I think we might need to – what the hell?!”
Ashton looked up, and Koch spun to see who spoke.
“Why, Win Peabody!” Koch exclaimed, leaping up and running to hug him. “I never expected to see you here!”
Peabody froze, his arms away from his sides – and Koch’s – and he stared at Ashton in horror as Koch hugged him familiarly.
“What are you doing here, Win?” she asked the older man. “And why aren’t you sitting in Nick’s chair?”
“Um, be-because he’s better at it than I am,” Peabody tried. Koch laughed. Then she spun to Ashton, a smirk on her face.
“Aha!” she crowed. “See there! I knew you were on our side! I knew you weren’t the goody-two-shoes you always made out to be! And here you even have Win Peabody working for you! How did you manage that?! And who did you have to con to do it?”
“It’s not like that, Tabby,” Ashton said, seeing the displeased expression that was deepening on Peabody’s face. “Uh, Win, would you go fetch Lee, please? I think maybe he needs to, um…”
“Right,” Peabody said, something just short of a scowl on his face. “But then you and I need to talk, Ashton.”
“Yeah, probably,” Ashton agreed, hiding the sigh. “Oh, sit down already, Tabby.”
But instead of sitting in the visitor’s chair, she moved it around to sit close to Ashton, reaching for him.
“I told you already, Tabby, I’m not available,” Ashton said, rising and moving to the bookcase adjacent to the desk… and on the far side from Koch.
“You keep saying all this shit,” Koch said with a smile. “But I don’t think you mean it.”
“Oh, he means it, all right,” came a female voice from the doorway. “He better mean it, anyway.”
A very pregnant Cally Ames stood there, with Lee Carter and Winston Peabody behind her.
None of them were smiling.
After Carter took Koch off for what he termed, “A little catching-up on the way the system works now,” Cally fairly glared at her husband, tears sparkling in her eyes, as Peabody helped her to the nearest chair, but she didn’t sit down.
“Close the door, Win,” she ordered him. “This isn’t gonna be pretty.”
Without a word, Peabody shut the door.
“Now you just explain to me what the hell is going on here, Dominick Xavier Ashton,” she demanded then. “You said the two of you never slept together!”
“We didn’t,” Ashton sighed.
“Nick, I heard her refer to the two of you as lovers, just as I came to the door,” Peabody pointed out.
“I know,” Ashton said, and sighed again, slumping into his desk chair. “I didn’t even know she was anywhere around, and just as I got to the building after having lunch with you, Cally, she practically bowled me over, then laid a big wet one on me in public before I could even react. And I practically had to pry her off me. I dunno what the hell she remembers about our relationship, but it sure as hell isn’t what I remember. I heard she had quite a few boyfriends, so she might have some things mixed up with other guys, I guess.”
“Why the hell did you even have a relationship with Kershaw’s niece?!” Peabody challenged. “I thought you were a good, upstanding guy.”
“Simple. I didn’t know she was Kershaw’s niece,” Ashton explained. “I met her when she was a rookie beat cop, and I’d just finished my rookie status, myself. She came on to me, and I liked what I saw of her, so we started seeing each other. It never got as far as sleeping together, because my roommate at the time, Pete Stone, told me who she was, first. And you can go ask him about that, ‘cause he’s right out there.” He gestured at the door. “I didn’t believe him at first, but I dug up the reports on her work, and I had to admit, she was shaping up to be as crooked as her uncle, and fast. So I ditched her before the morning briefing the next day, and by the time I could figure out what to do – ‘cause if she was the baby girl Kershaw doted on, it wouldn’t do me any favors to just dump her – so anyway, while I was trying to figure all that out, Lee had me sent over to the ICPD before Gorecki could rip my head off. Trust me, that was one more damn bad day. And that was the end of the relationship. I haven’t seen her since… I thought she’d died in the Headquarters strike, I honestly did, and by that time, it was kind of a relief… then she suddenly appeared less than an hour ago, and seems to think that not only am I crooked too, but she can just pick up where we left off. And she thinks where we left off was a helluva lot farther along than I remember.” He met his wife’s eyes. “Cal, I swear to you, I never lied to you, I had no idea she was back, and I’ve been looking for a stick to beat her off with. Well, more like a baton, ‘cause I don’t think a stick woulda been enough.”
“Oh,” Cally said then, easing into the chair, leaning back, and relaxing slightly. “So she sorta ambushed you.”
“There wasn’t any ‘sorta’ about it,” Nick said, putting his face in his hands for a moment, as he rested his elbows on the desk. “She ran into me so hard she nearly knocked me down. If I hadn’t already shifted my weight to my front foot, I’d have been plastered on the sidewalk.”
“With her trying to hump you there, by the sound,” Cally snorted.
“Ugh,” Ashton responded to that mental image.
“I understand that you didn’t know she was related to Kershaw,” Peabody said then. “But if you had to clear out to keep Gorecki off your back, then they already knew you were strait-laced. Why did she come on to you in the first place?”
Ashton threw up his hands, and Ames answered for him.
“We talked about that when he first told me about her, Win. We think that Kershaw sicced her onto him,” she said then. “That they figured that, if he was sleeping with her, she’d have influence on him, and be able to sway him to do what they wanted.”
“They were wrong,” Ashton said then, with a shrug. “It wouldn’t have convinced me to do things their way. I’d just have ended up disappointed in her and I’d break it off, and that’d be the end of it.”
“That’s what you did, it sounds like, I guess,” Peabody decided. “Pretty much as soon as you found out.”
“Yeah,” Ashton said, morose. “It hurt, though. I cared about her. Well, about the person I thought she was. But evidently she never did give a rat’s ass about me. And that… hurt.”
“Which makes me wonder,” Peabody thought. “I knew her too, because of Kershaw. And if she’s back after you, it’s for a reason.”
“Yeah. I sorta think she’s looking to use me to get back in good with the department,” Ashton said. “Because she thinks I’m as crooked as she and her uncle were. I guess when you get used to a certain way of seeing the world, you see it like that, whether it’s really like that or not. Not that that’ll work, ‘cause I’m not.” He looked at Cally. “Are you still mad at me?”
“No,” Cally said, softening her demeanor. “I’m starting to understand, now. As soon as I got back to the office, I received a bunch of messages from several of the beat cops over here, about some floozy hanging all over you – one even saw that kiss, apparently – and came straight over. I guess the operative phrase is ‘hanging all over you,’ rather than the inverse, huh?”
“Yeah. The term ‘octopus’ comes to mind.”
“Ew.”
“Yeah.”
“Cally showed up just as I went to get Director Carter for you, Nick,” Peabody explained. “And I told him what I saw and heard, and we all came storming over.”
“I’m glad you did, even if you all were mad at me to begin with,” Ashton admitted. “I thought I was gonna have to use my stun gun on her to get rid of her. And yes, I was seriously considering it.”
“It’s okay, honey,” Cally said then. “It was a bad situation, and one you had no reason to expect.”
“Yeah, but it didn’t help my reputation any.”
“I’ll take care of that,” Peabody noted. “Along with Stone’s help. Don’t worry about it.”
“That… would be good. Thanks.” Ashton sat up straight. “Cal, do you need to ping Maia about where you are?”
“I did that on my way out the door,” Ames responded, “and she kind of cussed, but then told me to go, and let her know what the hell was going on. Which I already did, in VR, just now. It’s all cool.”
“At least something is,” Ashton sighed.
“What are you doing here, Koch?” Carter demanded, as soon as the pair were in Carter’s office with a closed door. “And why are you harassing Nick Ashton?”
“I’m not harassing anyone, sir,” she said, adopting an air of innocence. “Nick and I used to be an item, and I was just so glad to see him after so long, I wanted to chat. I don’t understand what all the fuss is about.”
“I’ll just bet you don’t,” Carter snapped. “Now answer my question. Why are you here?”
“Returning from a sabbatical to get my master’s degree in forensics, sir,” Koch noted. “May I ask who you– oh damn! You’re Captain Carter, aren’t you?!”
“I was Captain Carter,” he noted. “I am now Director Carter.”
“What’s a director?”
“It means I run IPD now,” Carter replied.
“Oh,” she said with a slight smirk. “So you’re one of us, too.”
“I doubt it,” Carter replied, short. “If you’re coming back, where’s your uniform?”
“Um, it’s been a couple of years, sir, and my old uniforms need to be re-tailored or replaced,” she said, flushing slightly.
“Aha. Graduate student spread?”
“Something like.” She flushed deeper. “I’ve been trying to stay in shape, though.”
“Have you sworn your Oath yet?”
“When I first signed on, way back as a rookie, sir.”
“No, I mean the new Oath. To the Throne.”
“I don’t know of any new Oath, sir.”
“Then we need to rectify that.”
“Oh, I’m sure Lieutenant Colonel Ashton will vouch for me.”
“You might be surprised, girl. And it’s Investigations Lead Ashton. He runs the Investigations division, and he’s my Field branch assistant – Investigations falls under the Field branch. We got rid of military style ranks a year ago.”
“Oh, I see,” Koch said, surprised. “My, he’s come a long way since I saw him last.”
“More than you know,” he replied then. Carter didn’t realize that she’d seen Ashton – and given him away – to her uncle when Ashton was still with ICPD. “Now come with me.”
He rose from his chair and headed out the door at speed, Koch following.
“But, um,” a chagrined and disconcerted Koch said, as she stood before the lie detector chair that the Emperor’s staff had seen the IPD acquired, the one expressly for the Oath ceremony. She was confused and thinking fast, trying to come up with a way to get out of the chair. She didn’t mind ‘swearing the Oath,’ but she had no intention of keeping it, and didn’t know how accurate the chair would be on detecting the falsehood.
“Sit,” Carter ordered, pointing.
“Uh, but, but I don’t know the new Oath,” Koch tried, even as Ashton, Ames, Stone, and Peabody entered the room to watch; Dr. George Withers, the new IPD Headquarters staff physician, already sat there, alongside technician Scott Sanders.
“We’ve had that issue before,” Carter said, calm – and hard as flint. “Sit. I won’t say it again.”
Koch sat.
“Now. In VR channel 1111, you should see the words of the Oath displayed,” Carter said. “Scoot all the way back in the chair until your back is resting against its support, place your forearms firmly on the chair arms, and press your calves back against the chair legs. Some officers find it helps to go up on tiptoe to push your calves against the chair.”
“Um, Nick?” Koch appealed. “Is this really necessary, baby? Can’t you explain to Chief Carter?”
“I’m not your baby, and yes, it is necessary,” Ashton replied, curt. “And it’s Director Carter.”
“Which I already told you,” Carter reminded her. “Do as I told you, if you want to see your old job again.”
Sullen, Koch did as she was told, positioning herself in the chair… except she subtly arched her back to minimize contact.
“Flatten your back, please,” Officer Sanders ordered. “Put it up against the chair back, as closely as you can.”
“But I have a problem with my ba–”
“Then you’d be disbarred from your old position for medical reasons,” Ashton barked. “Do it, Tabby. We don’t have all day.”
“Obey the man,” Carter said, when Koch frowned.
Finally Koch was positioned in the chair to the technician’s satisfaction.
“You may begin,” Sanders said.
“Um,” Koch murmured as she opened channel 1111 and read the text there in the lower half of her vision. “I, Tabitha Eliana Koch, do solemnly swear that I will, um, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the, uh, the Throne of the people of, of Sintar.”
Carter, Ashton, and the others glanced at Sanders and Withers, who both pressed their lips together and shook their heads.
“Would you like to try again, Ms. Koch?” Carter asked, deceptively quiet.
“Not particularly,” Koch noted. “I don’t see why I had to do it in the first place.”
“Maybe because your uncle was crookeder than a shipment of springs, and you followed in his tracks?” Ashton retorted; it was practically a snarl.
“You’ve got no room to talk,” Koch flashed. “Look at you, all sitting pretty in your fancy office, so early in your career. Look who your right-hand man is!”
“Investigator Peabody swore the Oath honestly, and has stood by it, Ms. Koch,” Carter said. “Which is apparently far more than you can say.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean you have one last chance to swear – honestly – to the Throne of Sintar, or so help me God, I will personally throw you out on your ear.”
Koch flushed a deep red in anger, and opened her mouth to speak, coming partway to her feet. Then she thought better of it and sat back down, carefully positioning herself in the chair so that it would look as if she were contacting it properly, while actually minimizing all contact.
“No, Ms. Koch, it won’t do,” Dr. Withers said. “We can see in the telemetry that you’re trying to cheat the chair. Sit properly.”
“No. I’ve had enough,” Carter said then. “Ms. Koch, your employment with the Imperial Police force is now formally terminated. You’re fired. I’m sending two of my people with you to your home to fetch your old uniforms and equipment and return them to Headquarters. Get out.”
Koch glared at Carter and the others as she stood and stalked out.
“Nick, send Roberts and Keenes with her,” Carter said then.
“On it, Lee,” Ashton said, opening a message in VR.
Division
A furious Tabitha Koch watched as the police escorts left her apartment with her uniforms, her equipment to include duty belt and accessories, and her IPD-issued weapons. She was not a happy camper.
You can’t tell me this damn department is ‘all cleaned up,’ like Carter declared, she thought. There’s no way in hell an organization that big can even function without some looking out for oneself… by pretty much everybody. He was a captain the last I heard, and a retired one, at that. Since Peabody survived that damnable hell the new emperor brought down on Uncle Bill and the others, he should have been this ‘Director,’ not Carter! And how the hell did Nick wind up over Peabody too? Carter and Ashton never should have wound up in the positions they got. They have something going, those two, that’s all.
And, she decided, if anything were to happen to Carter, I expect Nick would step into the pilot’s seat. And then he could appoint me to anything he damn well likes! Especially if we’re lovers again by that time. Except he managed to get himself shackled to that preggers bitch, and she apparently has eyes like a hawk, and spies in the department, watching him. I wonder if the baby is even his, or if she saw him climbing the ladder and just knocked herself up to catch him.
This won’t do. She looked around at the rather run-down, bedraggled apartment in which she now lived. That damn emperor not only killed him, but confiscated pretty much all of Uncle Bill’s assets as ‘ill-gotten gains,’ and I didn’t get hardly anything out of the inheritance! I should be sitting pretty in a top of the line condo, instead of living in this rodent-infested old rattletrap. And now I’ve lost the job I was counting on to pay for this shabby shit. I need to think.
So she went to the kitchen and opened the fridge, disclosing precious little – a stick of butter, a hunk of moldy cheddar, half a bottle of flat beer – before huffing and closing it again. Then she started banging through the cabinets, revealing not much more except some inexpensive dishes and glasses. Finally she opened a full cabinet, revealing several rows of liquor – whiskey, bourbon, and tequila principal among them. She got out a bottle of bourbon and a cheap old-fashioned glass, put ice in it, and poured it full of bourbon.
EMPIRE: Imperial Detective Page 19
