by B. V. Larson
“Give you what?”
He looked at me like I was the dumbest animal on the farm. “The key, you idiot. Are you backing out? Because I don’t like welshers, McGill.”
“I don’t have it,” I growled back at him. “Not yet. I told you to give me a year.”
“Shit,” he said. He shoved his hands back into his pockets.
When we were led into Equestrian Nagata’s office, the two centurions retreated. The first time I’d met this man he’d been in the Mustering Hall in Newark. But the headquarters building in Central was his home office. As a hog officer, he belonged here.
Claver and I stood there like kids in the principal’s office while Nagata fooled around with some computer scrolls on his big, brass-studded desk.
At last, he looked up. “Adjunct Claver,” he said, nodding, then turned to me, “and Veteran McGill. Two of the most infamous rogues in Frontier 921.”
He riffled through his computer scrolls and selected two of them. He slid one across his desk toward each of us.
I glanced down. Whatever it was, it looked like an official document. Equestrian Nagata’s scrawled signature was at the bottom of both.
“What’s this, sir?” I asked.
“What do you think it is?” he asked me in return. “An agreement to avoid prosecution—provided you give us the testimony we’re asking for.”
Frowning, we both picked up our documents and looked them over. Claver read a few words. “Immunity…immediate release….record stricken…good enough. I’m signing.”
He touched his thumb to the bottom and an image of his print appeared on the scroll.
I looked mine over with far less enthusiasm. I had no idea what I was facing, and as I paged through the scroll, it wasn’t getting any clearer.
“Sir?” I asked. “I don’t understand what this is about.”
“You’re trading your testimony for immunity. You’re the small fish, McGill. It’s standard practice to allow a few lesser criminals to escape the net in order to capture the big one.”
“And who is the big one in this case, sir?”
“Imperator Turov, of course.”
“And the charge?”
“In Claver’s case, the charge is sedition and racketeering. In your case, it’s murder. Namely, the murder of Chief Inspector Xlur. Imperator Turov is guilty of both these crimes.”
I’d known the answer to my question before asking it, naturally. I’d just wanted it confirmed. I glowered at the document. It seemed so dirty. Was I going to let Turov hang out to dry? She’d never been a stellar officer, and she was often up to no good, but I felt uncomfortable saddling her with things I’d done at her side.
“Sir…the Galactics aren’t behind this prosecution, are they?”
“Fortunately, no. If they ever do bring charges, we’ll all be permed. These charges are relatively minor—murder, disobeying orders, endangering the state—the sort of thing you two excel at.”
I could tell Nagata didn’t like me or Claver. He’d apparently lumped us into the same pot, calling us both troublemakers and criminals. That didn’t sit well with me.
“Sir,” I said. “Are you aware of the circumstances that led to the unfortunate death of a foreign dignitary on our soil?”
Nagata stared at me. “The Chief Inspector is not a foreign dignitary. He is a Galactic, part of the Empire we all serve.”
“You should think that over, sir—”
“McGill,” Claver said at my side. He’d been quiet up until now, but he’d been growing increasingly alarmed. “Shut that big cracker mouth of yours, for the love of God, and sign!”
I ignored him and stayed focused on Nagata. I pointed at Claver. “This man will tell you whatever you want to hear. He’ll sell Turov—or you, for that matter—down the river of your choice without a qualm. But sir, I’m made of different stuff. Honestly, killing Xlur has probably been one of the best things I’ve ever done. Turov should be commended for her action as well, whatever other faults she might have. Xlur meant to perm everyone on Earth. We did what we did because we had to. And now, as a big thank you for saving your collective butts, you’ve decided to perm us as a reward? I don’t get it, sir. Not at all.”
“They aren’t going to perm you, McGill. Just Turov,” said Claver.
I turned on him. “And is that what you want? You want Turov arrested, tried and executed? What do you think will happen during that sequence of events?”
Claver’s face froze. He got it. If the hogs caught and tried Turov on the basis of our testimony, he’d never get his key. Turov would either use it to escape her fate, or it would be confiscated.
“I’ve had a change of heart, sir,” he said suddenly. He rubbed his finger side to side over his mark on the computer scroll until it vanished, then tossed the scroll back on the Equestrian’s desk, where it rattled with the rest of the documents. “I’m sorry.”
Nagata’s mouth hung open. He swept his eyes back and forth between the two of us. He was surprised but thinking hard.
“She’s got something on you two,” he said. “Something so bad, you’re willing to risk trial to avoid it. That’s got to be quite a lever. I’m impressed by this woman’s scheming. Your case isn’t unique, you know. I’ve had my eye on her for years, trying to stop her. Always, my evidence falls apart at the last minute. She has friends in very high places—but she has just as many enemies.”
We both gazed at him evenly. I knew now what I was caught up in. A vendetta. A squabble between high-ranking officers. For a mere enlisted man, that wasn’t a pleasant place to be, let me tell you.
Nagata stood up suddenly. His body was stiff and angry. “I won’t bother to tempt you with bribes. If the threat of prosecution won’t sway you from serving your mistress, rank and bank accounts would have even less of an effect. However, my offer stands, and I will seek to come up with a further offer you can’t refuse. Know, gentlemen, that I’m a patient man, and that I’ll win this contest in the end. You cannot prevail in this political battle in the long run.”
“Ah…” Claver said uncertainly. “You said something about an incentive program, sir? Are you sure you don’t want to provide more details on that?”
“Get out!”
That was it. We were thrown out of Nagata’s office and out of the gigantic headquarters building as well. Claver and I went our separate ways almost immediately. I had to wonder why Nagata didn’t have us arrested—but the answer to that puzzle was easy to figure out.
When a fisherman seeks to catch a really big fish, he baits the hook with a small one. Then he lets the line pay out, far, far from the boat…
I went home to Waycross, Georgia, knowing in my heart I was being watched. I was the bait, and that meant I was already on the hook.
I didn’t like the sensation. Not at all.
The End
From the Author: Thanks Reader! I hope you enjoyed MACHINE WORLD, the fourth book in the Undying Mercenaries Series. If you liked the book and want to read the story to the finish, please put up some stars and a review to support the series. Let me know what kind of world you’d like McGill to discover next.
-BVL
More SF Books by B. V. Larson:
The Undying Mercenaries Series:
Steel World
Dust World
Tech World
Machine World
STAR FORCE SERIES:
(In chronological order)
Swarm
Extinction
Rebellion
Conquest
Army of One (Novella)
Battle Station
Empire
Annihilation
Storm Assault
The Dead Sun
Outcast
Exile
IMPERIUM SERIES:
Mech Zero: The Dominant
Mech 1: The Parent
Mech 2: The Savant
Mech 3: The Empress
The Black Ship (Novella)
OTHER SF B
OOKS:
Starfire
Element-X
Technomancer
The Bone Triangle
Z-World
Velocity
Visit BVLarson.com for more information.
