Maelstrom of Treason

by Michael Anderle

  Neither Jia nor Erik were all that interested in sending a bunch of pathetic struggling actors to jail, but the men were being held temporarily while Digital Forensics attempted to see if they could trace the initial payments to their accounts.

  It might scare them straight.

  Jia yawned as she and Erik entered Malcolm’s office. After the Dwazil murder, she’d wondered if things would slow down for a few weeks. That hope now seemed pathetically naïve. Malcolm had called them down before they headed out for the night.

  She doubted there was a deep, dangerous foe behind the ridiculous quartet, but in Neo SoCal, a person could never be sure what was going on.

  Malcolm spun in his chair, a huge grin on his face. He bowed over his arm. “I’ve got good news, Detectives.”

  “Good news about the case?” Jia didn’t have time to discuss his love life.

  Malcolm nodded. “I traced the payments. Yes, there were attempts to keep things anonymous, but this wasn’t close to the hardcore off-world financial shenanigans we’re used to running into. It was just someone taking basic measures with basic encryption.” He scoffed. “It’s enough to stop a quick surface check, but nothing remotely thorough. It wasn’t even a decent challenge for my skills.”

  “We’re not talking about the syndicates, then,” Erik concluded. He nodded, satisfied. “That’s a nice change for this month.”

  “It also means no terrorists or dark conspiracies.” Jia smirked. “We’re dealing with someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing, but that was obvious from the men they hired to bait you.”

  “I don’t get it,” Erik admitted with a shrug. “I’ve pissed off a lot of people, but almost all of them have the power and resources to do a lot more than try to get me to hit someone. If they were going to hire a patsy, they wouldn’t grab a random group of actors. This was insultingly pathetic. Who did it?”

  “That’s what I’m going to tell you.” Malcolm chuckled. “You’re going to love this. Those payments? I traced them to an account owned by Lance Onassis.”

  Erik furrowed his brow. “The reporter? That’s even more pathetic than I imagined.”

  “The one and only. Mr. ‘I’m here live and in-person.” Malcolm tapped his PNIU. A data window with a series of account numbers and payments appeared. “I can’t one hundred percent confirm his accounts haven’t been manipulating without double-checking the bank’s systems, but I’m going to need a warrant for that unless you just want Emma to do it.”

  “I’m not averse to toying with that useless fleshbag,” the AI admitted cheerfully. “I was amused by the way you put him in his place before.”

  Erik shook his head. “No. For now, we assume it’s him. You’re right. I’ve embarrassed him a few times, so it makes sense he might want to take a run at me, but we can’t do anything he can use against me. We want to do this smart and not play into whatever plan he’s got going.”

  “Time for a live and in-person interrogation?” Jia suggested. “It’s not the crime of the century, but hiring people to harass a cop is a felony.”

  Erik nodded. “Yeah. You’re right. He hired crap actors to help him in a stupid scheme, and he did a poor job of covering it up. I think he’ll fold with a little pressure. If he was ready for the big leagues, he would have gone to the Zone and hired real riders to attack me.”

  Jia walked toward Malcolm’s desk to scan the data window. “I’ll admit I’m surprised.”

  “Why?” Malcolm asked.

  “Even with the ridiculous actors, I thought there was a deep conspiracy angle I might be missing.” Jia stood up straight and snickered. “It never occurred to me that some petty idiot would try something so ridiculous. This is the Neo SoCal, where crimes involve rocket launchers against chemical plants.”

  “You’re focusing on the big ones,” Erik noted. “It’s not like every case we have involves triads or yaoguai or major explosives. It’s probably a good thing we’re both leaving. Our sense of proportion is way off.”

  “True. It’s hard to remember between all the explosions.” Jia headed toward the door, throwing a wave over her shoulder as it slid open. “Thanks, Malcolm. We’ll send in the warrant request. It won’t hurt to double-check.”

  Erik watched the casual wave from his partner and looked at Malcom, who shrugged as the usually-more-uptight ex-corp princess sauntered out of his office.

  “In case it is a dark conspiracy?” Malcolm asked

  “You never know,” Jia’s voice called from the hall as Erik followed her.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Erik offered his best attempt at a charming smile to the perky redheaded woman at the reception desk. “We need to see Lance Onassis.”

  No one else was in the reception area. It was a shame, given all the plush chairs waiting for use.

  A holographic recording of a beautiful woman stood in the center of the room, extolling the virtues of the company’s media reporting.

  They’d sent in the warrant request and flown over without contacting Lance or his employers. Surprise was useful when dealing with a suspect, and they didn’t want to ruin it. They weren’t worried about catching him, but they didn’t want to subject either themselves or any other cop to such pointless annoyance.

  “Do you have an appointment?” The receptionist fluttered her eyelashes. “I’m not trying to be difficult, Detective, but Mr. Onassis is very busy. I’m sure we can find a way to slide you in if you don’t, but it might not be right away.”

  Jia muttered something under her breath before stepping forward. “This is police business concerning Mr. Onassis. We don’t need an appointment.”

  Erik noticed the laid-back Jia was gone. Maybe he had imagined it?

  “Oh. Police business.” The receptionist licked her lips. “Someone threatened to kill Lance over his reporting? How exciting! I hope you catch the bad guys. Then again, you always do, don’t you?”

  “Something like that,” Erik replied. “Tell him Erik Blackwell’s here to see him, and it’s best if he hurries up and comes to see me so we can talk about what happened.”

  Emma-controlled drones patrolled the parking lot and the parking garage. They’d already pulled records to identify his flitter. If he tried to run that way, they’d know.

  “One moment.” The receptionist tapped at her PNIU to connect a call before delivering Erik’s message verbatim. “Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Of course, Mr. Onassis.” She smiled at Erik. “He said he’ll be right out.” Her smile faltered. “Oh. You probably want to talk to him in private. Should I call him back?”

  “No. That’s okay. I’d almost prefer to do this in public,” Erik admitted.

  She stared at him in confusion for a moment before gesturing to the chairs. “It might be a few minutes. Can I get either of you anything?”

  “I’m good,” Erik replied.

  Jia shook her head. “I’m fine as well. We’ll just wait here for Mr. Onassis.”

  Erik smiled, the amusement building as he walked to a chair. He would have had no problem talking to Lance in his office, but if the idiot wanted to talk in public, that was his choice. A small chance remained that Lance had been framed. The warrant was still being processed, but Erik’s gut told him it was the reporter. Onassis was pompous and arrogant, and the fake rider plot smelled like it came from that kind of man. Erik didn’t regret humiliating him before, and he wouldn’t regret arresting him for his idiotic plan.

  “We’re on his turf,” Jia whispered from beside him. “He might not break down so easily. You sure about doing this here?”

  “It doesn’t matter.” Erik offered a nod to the waving secretary. “We’ve got the actors’ testimony and the payments. That’s enough to arrest him, but I’m guessing his ego won’t let him keep his mouth shut. I know his type. He thinks he’s better than me, and he wants the entire world to know it. I’m going to give him his chance.”

  “Like you told Malcolm, we need to step carefully.” Jia inclined her head toward the holographi
c woman. “He is a media personality. He could do a lot to make you look bad, and we don’t need bad publicity before switching jobs.”

  “No.”

  Jia frowned. “No?”

  “No,” Erik stated. “He can try to make me look bad, but that doesn’t mean he’ll succeed.”

  Minutes passed, and a door to the back opened. Lance Onassis, blond, tall, and handsome, emerged with a smug grin on his face. Two small camera drones hovered behind him. They flew toward Erik and Jia. An older man followed Lance, his craggy face amplified by his deep frown.

  Erik hadn’t expected the drones, but their presence worked to his advantage. It was important to make sure Lance didn’t believe that. He leaned toward Jia to whisper, “Follow my lead.” He stood and raised his voice. “We might want to talk in private, Mr. Onassis.”

  Lance scoffed and wagged a finger. “I’m not doing that.” He inclined his head toward the man who had followed him out. “This is my senior editor, and he’s agreed to come here as a witness. That’s also why I brought the camera drones. We both know you have a vendetta against me, Blackwell, so I’m documenting every interaction.”

  “Is that how you’re going to play this?” Jia frowned. “You really don’t want us to do this here, Mr. Onassis.” She blew a breath out, knowing Erik had called it. “Trust me.”

  “I do,” Lance insisted. “Anything you want to say to me, you can say in front of the other people in this room and the drones. The truth will prevail as long as we bear witness.”

  “Okay. Fine. You were sloppy, Lance.” Erik smiled directly at a drone. “We’ve already traced the payments you made to the fake riders you hired to mess with me. Keep in mind, you’re not just messing with some random man, but an NSCPD detective. That’s conspiracy, harassment, and interference with a government official. You committed all sorts of crimes.”

  Lance’s jaw tightened. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he ground out. “This is obviously a desperate attempt by a man with a questionable record to smear me because my work has taken me too close to the truth.”

  “Spare us the garbage.” Jia glared at him. “We’re used to dealing with terrorists and organized crime. You need to do a lot more to hide payments than what you bothered to do. It’s almost like you went online to some forum and anonymously asked, ‘If I wanted to hire someone but keep my payments secret, how would I do it?’”

  There was a flicker of irritation in Lance’s eyes. Jia’s guess had struck close to his beloved truth.

  “I’m used to thinking of criminals as stupid and lazy,” Jia continued, “but you’re making me appreciate how hard the average criminal works. You’re an insult to criminals.”

  “Criminal?” Lance gasped, and he stepped back as if struck. “That is slander, and I’ve got witnesses and a recording. How dare you. I’m going to sue you. I’m going to force you both to apologize to me in court.”

  Jia’s mouth quirked into a mocking smile. “Go talk to your company lawyer, and you’ll find that the truth is an affirmative defense against slander. And I would stop digging the hole you seem to be doing so well. I assume you have had practice.”

  Erik stopped smiling into the cameras. “Onassis, I get that I pissed you off, but things will go easier on you if you just admit to what you did. I think you should come with us to the station.”

  Lance turned toward a camera drone. “Here you see it. I regret that I couldn’t provide you a live feed of my harassment at the hands of the arrogant and conceited Detectives Erik Blackwell and Jia Lin, but by the time you’re watching this, I’ll be in jail, accused of a crime I didn’t commit, the victim of a bully cop who has let fame go to his head and a partner being led around by the nose.” He slapped his chest. “I’ve done nothing, Obsidian Detective, but you’ll beat me up and then cover it up. That’s what you do, isn’t it?”

  “Watch yourself, Onassis,” Jia hissed.

  “Or what?”

  Erik shook his head at her. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it.”

  “Do you?” Lance flung out a hand dramatically. “You can’t cover this up. These two drones are transmitting this to a secure backup that’s set to automatically uploaded to a number of sites if I don’t disable it in thirty minutes. The truth will be known.”

  “Dead man’s switch. Nice.”

  Lance gasped. He looked at his editor and then the receptionist. “You heard that, didn’t you? He threatened to kill me.”

  The receptionist shook her head. “I saw it in a movie. He’s right. You set up a dead man’s switch.”

  The editor sighed and scrubbed a hand down his face.

  “Should I disable his drones, Detective?” Emma transmitted, restricting her voice to Erik’s and Jia’s ears.

  “No,” Erik whispered. “I want the world to see this. If he’s got an auto-transmitting trap already set up, that makes it easier.”

  “What are you muttering about, Blackwell?” Lance taunted. “About how I’m going to expose you for the fraud you are?”

  “No.” Erik grinned. “I was just thinking about how you’re Mr. Live and In-Person, right? Shouldn’t you be doing that now? Screw the delay, send it now. Let’s see you report live and in-person.”

  Jia grimaced. “Erik, I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

  He shook his head. “It’s a great idea. Come on, Lance. Show me what you got. Expose my allegedly corrupt ass to the world. Make me fall to my knees, crying and begging forgiveness for my sins against Neo SoCal.”

  The editor groaned. “I think maybe we should reconsider this. Lance, you told me you wanted me here as a witness in case he tried to do something to you, but he’s obviously not going to do anything.”

  “No, Blackwell is right. It’s time to do this live and in-person.” Lance dropped his hand to his PNIU, typing for furious seconds. “It’s being streamed directly to several sites. Alerts are going out to my fans.”

  “Reporters have fans?” Erik shrugged, keeping his smile up. It was easy when dealing with an idiot.

  “I have people who respect my work,” Lance insisted. “You just have people who think of you as some sort of movie character, but in truth, we should be terrified of you. You’re a loose gun who kills people. You’re a monster.”

  “I have killed people.” Erik scratched his ear. “But last time I checked, they were all violent criminals, terrorists, or enemy soldiers trying to kill innocent people or me. Come on, Lance. You’ve been around some recent big incidents. You think we can protect this city without taking down a few bad guys? You think we should let gangsters and terrorists run around shooting people, dealing Archangel, and blowing people up during parties?” He clucked his tongue. “I don’t know. It seems like a bad idea to me. I think if the cops let that happen, they would be monsters.”

  Jia folded her arms and nodded her agreement. Erik appreciated that she trusted him to handle the situation. It might not be a firefight, but it would be good to remind her, Emma, and the world that he wasn’t only the man with the cybernetic arm and big gun.

  “This is absurd.” Lance jabbed a finger toward Erik. “Of course, I’m not saying soldiers and police should never take down dangerous people, but you go well beyond that. You hide behind your badge to indulge in your twisted predilection for violence.”

  Erik’s eyebrows lifted. “’Twisted predilection for violence?’ That’s a fancy way of describing me as a thug. Excuse me, alleged thug.”

  Lance’s face was smug again. He sauntered forward, the drones changing position to better get him in the shot. “You don’t deny it? That you’re an out-of-control thug who is being forced out of the NSCPD because of excessive violence?”

  “Forced out?” Erik kept this amused expression, but he hadn’t anticipated Lance would know about him leaving the NSCPD. The small respect the minor information-gathering victory garnered was balanced by the fact the reporter hadn’t mentioned Jia. Either he was terrible at his job, or he was laser-focused on Eri
k and was missing out on important details.

  That was just another way of being bad at his job.

  “Do you deny that you’re leaving the police department?” Lance pressed.

  “No, I don’t deny it. It’s true.”

  The editor and receptionist gasped. Jia rolled her eyes and shook her head. The way her mouth kept twitching, Erik knew she wanted to say something, but he didn’t need her help.

  Lance was behaving exactly like he’d expected, even if the triumphant look on his face made Erik want to rearrange it with his left arm.

  “I’m not leaving because I’m being forced out,” Erik continued. “I’ve decided to leave to pursue private-sector opportunities. I feel I’ve accomplished a lot in my time with the NSCPD, and even though I haven’t spent as much time as a cop as I did as a soldier, it doesn’t mean it’s been a waste.”

  “Yes, the soldier who led his men to a terrorist slaughter on the frontier.” Lance scoffed. “I’m surprised you weren’t court-martialed. The Army played it down, tried to keep it out a lot of media, but it’s true, isn’t it? That your unit was wiped out on the frontier after you blundered into an ambush? You were the only survivor.” He thrust out an accusatory finger. “The only reason the entire UTC isn’t talking about it is that the government didn’t want everyone talking about it.

  Erik took deep breaths and consciously avoided curling his hands into fists. Lance’s desperate attacks proved he was hoping to cause an incident to try to use against the police when the inevitable charges were filed.

  A man didn’t win a battle if he let the enemy dictate the tempo.

  The detective would have preferred it if everyone in the UTC had been talking about the Molino massacre when he returned to Earth. It might have helped flush out the conspiracy. But hearing a pompous, self-serving son of a bitch use it to attack him was almost too much for his self-control.

  “Ambushes happen,” Erik offered quietly. “Soldiers die.”

  Lance walked right up to Erik, grinning like a fool. The idiot thought he’d won. “But those men died under you because of your incompetence. That’s not the kind of person we need as a cop. You should have stayed out on the frontier, not come back to Earth, let alone Neo SoCal. You’re dangerous.”