All in Good Time

by Mackey Chandler

  “I saw the same release to which you would be referring,” Howard said, which was no reply at all. He did have the decency to look uncomfortable.

  “Well if you are preparing a defense, they must at least have a judge who is going to hear my case,” Irwin deduced.

  “Not exactly,” Howard hedged. “They are still having trouble finding someone who will sit for the case, and I’m more in a caretaker position collecting the evidence piling up and keeping it organized so when you do have new official counsel appointed I can assist him in discovery without any delay for him to become familiar with the case.”

  “Then who do you work for?” Irwin asked, puzzled.

  “I’m on detached duty from the Federal prosecutor’s office,” Howard revealed.

  Irwin started laughing and proceeded to completely lose control, hooting, and snorting.

  Howard just let him go, grim-faced, seeing it was pointless to try to interrupt his fit until he ran down on his own.

  “Detached? That is priceless,” Irwin finally said, wiping the tears from his eyes. “You couldn’t make this stuff up. My defense is being assembled by the prosecution? What could possibly go wrong?”

  * * *

  Chen watched April’s announcement. There wasn’t much to be said. They got briefer each time. It was prerecorded and sent to a number of news agencies both in North America and abroad.

  “You still hold Irwin Hall, North America. It’s going to hurt today. Do what’s right and release him before I start destroying things you can never replace. I’m prepared to leave you a third world nation if you defy me to the end,” April said. “This is not a negotiation, it’s an ultimatum.”

  After some minutes and no reply, the machines followed their programming.

  “That was the uncertain part,” April said, watching the flash disappear behind a cloud of muck and saltwater.

  “You know, that isn’t going to kill anybody directly, but it is going to be a tremendous big mess to clean up after that gets through falling all over the city,” Chen said.

  “Who was it, in ancient times, that would sow the fields with salt when they got through destroying a city?” April asked.

  “The Romans,” Chen supplied. “They were never especially noted for benevolence to the conquered.” He didn’t note that she was doing things out of order salting first.

  “Kind of like Jeff,” April decided. “If they ignore me maybe I’ll ask him to take over. He already has nightmares from Jiuquan, why should both of us have them?”

  Chen couldn’t answer that. His own family had fled Beijing because it looked like his nation would defy Jeff until he bombarded the government out of existence. It had been a close thing. It was Jeff’s respect for the history and artifacts that stayed his hand.

  “There you go,” April nodded at the screen. Scattered flashes marked the cratering of roads and power lines, the suspected routing of underground cables and the antenna yards connecting it to the outside world. The second wave disassembled five huge buildings down to ground level. There didn’t seem to be any protective fire from under the cloud of saltwater and lakebed covering the airport and ballistic site to the north. The last three weapons came in unopposed and burrowed deep under the complex. When they detonated it lifted the loose soil higher than the buildings had stood. When the jumble settled back it was impossible to tell where building or parking lot had been.

  “And now I expect a lot of yelling and accusations,” April said.

  “Yes, but who is yelling what will make a lot of difference,” Chen said. “I’ll have an analysis as soon as we have something definite.”

  “The problem as I see it now, is that we have vastly different perspectives,” April said. “We remember the war and the treaty vividly having lived it. The Earthies who lived through it are all dead or retired. To the next generation, it is all dead history that doesn’t have any gut-level connection to them. Everybody always thinks they are the pinnacle of creation and grandpa and his generation were grunting savages. They really don’t see why they should be held to any agreement those fossils made.”

  “They don’t feel it,” Chen agreed. “It’s only going to get worse as our generation counts diverge away from each other more and more.”

  “I’ve got to get out and walk around. Don’t worry about reporting anything until tomorrow,” April said. “I’m going to go get some supper and not think about this.”

  Chen nodded polite agreement, but didn’t really believe that was possible. He’d certainly had thoughts he’d wished to turn off many times in his life. So far, the talent had eluded him.

  Chapter 15

  “This is a disaster,” the Secretary of State said. Around the table, nobody on the Security Council or invited experts disagreed. “We’ve lost years of vital data and our best expertise for analyzing it. It makes us look powerless and encourages our enemies, not to mention the very real support her actions gave Texas to snatch more territory.”

  “I know it’s hard, but be patient,” the head of Homeland Security, John Brandon, counseled them. “Sometimes a war is won with a single shot instead of armies and massive weapons.” He gave a nakedly contemptuous look to the military heads present.

  “I can’t believe we couldn’t hurt them if we threw everything we have at them,” President Wiley said.

  “You’re right, we can probably destroy both Central and then Home with enough nuclear warheads expended in a barrage. You might even get to enjoy the spectacle briefly, before it starts to rain ungodly large thermonuclear weapons,” the head of the Space Forces agreed. “If you want to see what happened to the Jiuquan and Vandenberg repeated on Vancouver, Toronto, New York, Mexico City, Chicago, Miami, Denver, Mobile, etcetera, etcetera, go right ahead.” It was his turn to look at the director of Homeland Security like he was a fool.

  The Secretary of State looked at this exchange amazed. He knew Director Brandon was shown the diplomatic cable from Norway. Apparently, he was incapable of believing the young woman would follow through on that threat. He considered bringing it up, but there were ears in the room that shouldn’t hear it, and he suspected it would be for naught. He could just imagine Brandon saying in his flat Mid-western voice: “She wouldn’t dare!” Time to see to his own people’s safety and to the Devil with John Brandon.

  “You’d never know it from public sources,” Brandon said with a smirk, “but Ms. Lewis has returned to Home and been seen in public recently. Why she left the relative security of the Moon is a mystery, but we will take advantage of that as soon as possible.”

  “I’d be delighted,” the gentleman from Space agreed cheerfully, “but I seem to remember the last time one of your agency tried to arrest this young lady on our own territory, with an entire entourage of agents and security waiting on the roof, they all ended up suddenly dead. That was when she was younger, less experienced, and not as enhanced as she will be now.”

  “I assure you, we won’t bother with the formality of an arrest this time,” Brandon said.

  The head of Space Forces looked at the smug spook and decided there was no pointing out a successful assassination would still leave April’s partners of a mind to lash out. Possibly, on the full scale he’d warned about earlier. The man was incapable of thinking in terms of personal loyalties and honor. To his mind, it was just an impersonal chess game of geopolitical gambits. He had no idea what an individual driven by other thoughts and motives than his own might do. The best thing, he decided, was to hold back counsel that Brandon would only mock, and quietly move his own family far from any target area.

  * * *

  “Why don’t you go to the Fox and Hare?” Gunny suggested.

  “You just like the security better at the club,” April accused. “I’m not really in a celebratory mood. I just bombed a bunch of spooks and snoops, and I suspect it won’t be enough to make them release Irwin anyway.”

  “The special board said they would have stuffed peppers today,” Burt mentione
d.

  “OK, there will be a positive side to it,” Gunny allowed.

  “The Fox and Hare is too rich for my blood anyway,” Burt revealed.

  “April is an owner, so her table is never billed,” Gunny explained.

  “And she still wants to go to the public cafeteria?” he couldn’t understand that.

  “Would you really want to eat club food every day and never enjoy the simpler things? Wouldn’t you miss home cooking like your mother fed you?” April asked Burt.

  “My mom was a busy attorney and dad was an accountant who traveled. If we didn’t want to wait to eat when one of them came in near bedtime, my brother and I popped frozen dinners in the microwave. It was better after we were both sixteen and had a late enough curfew to eat out. The cops didn’t hassle us as long as we took an auto-cab.”

  “I guess I have an idealized image of normal family life,” April admitted.

  “That’s the kind of stuff they showed on public TV programs,” Burt said. “Nobody we knew ever lived like that unless they were rich and kind of strange.”

  “OK, we’ll go to the club tomorrow,” April promised. “You should have some extra perk for getting stuck babysitting me.”

  “Not a problem,” Burt assured her. “It beats the heck out of running dock security on the south end, watching fat Earthies bounce off the bulkheads like drunk dirigibles.”

  “Yeah, when I was a kid we used to beg to go watch,” April told him. “My mom always disapproved, and tried to make us feel guilty for making fun of people.”

  “Let me scope it out,” Burt said, when they arrived at the cafeteria entry.

  April glanced at Gunny and saw he looked pleased with Burt’s initiative, so she just nodded to him to proceed.

  Rather than come back he contacted Gunny’s spex.

  “He says come on. The mustache guy is there but nobody else they list as a foreigner,”

  Burt was ahead getting his food already. April got the stuffed peppers too. When they sat, Burt positioned himself a couple of tables away, back to the wall like April and Gunny.

  “You don’t care for stuffed peppers?” April asked Gunny.

  “You have to look down too much to eat them,” he explained. “I can pick up a cheeseburger and find a French fry by feel, without losing awareness of the room.”

  That seemed a little extreme to April, but how could she fault his diligence?

  “Uh-huh,” Gunny said very softly. April just barely caught it. She hadn’t said anything so he must have gotten a call or text from Burt. When she turned her head to look at him Gunny didn’t meet her gaze, but even from the side, she could see his sheepish look at being caught out.

  “Burt said the new guy at the counter is a North America, but a long term resident.”

  “Not many places will hire them,” April noted. “What does he do?”

  Gunny didn’t answer right away. He was probably asking for the question to be relayed.

  “Jon says he appears to be filthy rich and just doesn’t want to live down there.”

  “With the exchange rate what it is now?”April asked, skeptical.

  “Maybe he gets paid in something decent, like Australian dollars,” Gunny guessed.

  The object of their speculation took his tray to the furthest row of tables, facing them with his back to the coffee pots. That was a popular place for easy refills. The fellow with the mustache was almost between them. He was one of those people who ate off the tray instead of removing everything. He did the oddest thing. He got up with his tray and moved over two seats so he was exactly between the new fellow behind him and April.

  “That was on purpose. He has cameras on the back of his spex,” April said. She’d used those to good advantage before herself, and immediately figured out how he knew what was happening behind him. But what was the point of it?

  Gunny was immediately on alert over the weirdness and must have alerted Burt, because he looked up. All of them had stopped eating trying to figure out what was happening.

  The new fellow leaned out looking past Mr. Mustache with a frown. He stood back up to move and so did the source of his irritation, turning to face him. The mustachioed fellow reached up and did something on his chest. Whatever it was, alarm flashed across the new man’s face and he did something foolish. He tried to draw on the man confronting him.

  The mustached one was fast. So fast the fellow facing him couldn’t even clear leather before he jerked back with an uncontrolled spasm in response to an Air Taser jolt. The shooter hesitated a full second to see if the man might recover and try to get back up. He was so limp once down sprawled loosely on the floor it was obvious that wasn’t happening.

  The fellow returned the black Taser to his holster before turning to look at them. He had a pleased with himself squinty smile. On his chest was a circular badge with a five pointed star cut-out in the middle.

  Gunny was both impressed and cautious. The man was definitely gene modified and every bit as fast as him. He had no idea Texas allowed that now.

  “You might want to question that man,” the Texas Ranger suggested. “I had firm intelligence that he was tasked with assassinating Miss Lewis.”

  “From whom?” Gunny asked, still shaken and on high alert.

  “The official name wouldn’t mean anything to you. They think it amusing to refer to themselves as ‘The Eyes of Texas’ unofficially,” he said.

  “He’s alive to question?” That obviously surprised Gunny.

  “Unless he had some medical problem he should be. My Taser was set on the high end of stun, but it wasn’t set into the lethal range. I thought he might still have some value to you for information. Just be careful. He may have some spectacular way to suicide. I’d suggest calling your medical people to sedate him. They should be willing to do that if you explain he could be a danger to himself.”

  “This is going to complicate things,” April complained. “I know Texas took advantage of the things I did to North America, but I never wanted my actions to be seen as directly working for them.”

  The Ranger looked a little irritated. “You’re welcome,” he said sarcastically.

  “Oh crap, I’m sorry,” April said. “That must seem so ungrateful.”

  “Apology accepted. There is no need to credit my nation or force. Your men might have stopped him, but likely more permanently. We inherited a great deal of information from the agency offices in areas we annexed, and from people who defected to our side. That’s how we knew they might move against you. On the whole, we decided you are a beneficial factor worth safeguarding,” he said, and smiled with more feeling.

  “Thank you again. Is there anything we can do for you?” April asked.

  “No, my work here is done. I imagine I’ll be recalled.” He frowned and looked down at his tray. “My eggs are cold. I believe I’ll go get a fresh breakfast. I imagine you folks will be busy for a few hours. If you want to share what you suck out of this fellow, I’ll be around another day at least. There might be some useful things worth knowing.”

  “Yes, don’t hurry away on the next shuttle. I’ll make sure nobody gives you any grief over this and one of my intelligence people, Chen, will share information with you. He is well worth knowing and maintaining as a contact,” she promised.

  “That’s what keeps the whole mess from grinding to a halt,” he said, “networking.”

  * * *

  “What are you going to do next?” Chen asked. He was a little scared to ask. If the program was to be one of escalation then the last act would be hard to follow.

  “I killed a couple of hundred spooks and data experts in Utah, so I can’t say I’m just destroying property anymore. They don’t seem to twitch at even multi-billion dollar infrastructure, so I guess the only thing left is to target responsible individuals if I don’t want to be a monster who bombards civilian targets. I doubt they will rebuild that data center any time soon,” April speculated.

  “I don’t think they will
rebuild it at all,” Chen said.

  “I suppose the skills will be harder to replace than the hardware,” April said.

  “Those were upper level people for sure, but look at the population of Earth. Consider even how many really good IT people they will have in North America, despite a declining population. They’ll recruit easily enough but anything they rebuild will be dispersed. Very few of the best and brightest are going to want to work in the sort of facility that has a history of being blasted from orbit.”

  “Oh, I hadn’t thought about it from that side,” April admitted.

  “Who do you consider responsible?” Chen asked.

  “Well, the laundry list of all those agencies that were so hot to claim credit for arresting Irwin seems a good place to look for targets. Want to bet I can ID where the head guy for each letter agency works and lives and track the car that takes him to work?” April asked.

  “Probably,” Chen said. He was just as happy she didn’t ask him to do it.

  * * *

  “We’ve pretty well wrung dry the fellow the Ranger gifted us,” Chen informed April later.

  “Already?” It was barely supper time. “I thought it would take a long time to soften him up and then proceed by increments to ask the same things over and over,” April said.