by C. R. Daems
CHAPTER TWENTY
UnCab: Kill Paulus at All Costs
She had heard them arguing as she reached for the door. And as she entered, they stopped and turned to stare at her. Harold sat on one couch and Ryan and Steve on the other. All three men had drinks in their hands, the glasses less than half full.
“I repeat, she’s clever,” Maria said as she walked over to the bar and poured a glass of carbonated water. “Her secretary had reservations at the upcountry resort, Clarmont Cliffs, her security was told to expect to stay a week…and she flew out on the UAS cruiser Typhon to Black Water.”
“You said you had a mole!” Ryan shouted.
“I do and it’s obvious she knows we do. Although I don’t think she knows who.” Maria paused for a sip of her drink and sat next to Harold. “When I found out, I decided to try using the kill-squad. I obtained credentials for one of the female members to impersonate a lieutenant commander and be on the space station when Paulus arrived. She thought she could kill Paulus and escape undetected.”
“How?” Steve asked. “The only way off is by shuttle. If she killed Paulus, they would lock down that level and investigate everyone there.”
“That was the beauty of her plan. She had me obtain a hypodermic syringe with a slow-acting poison. She planned to inject the krait sometime before or during the shuttle ride to the planet.” Maria took another sip while the men absorbed the scenario. “If all went well the snake wouldn’t die until well after Paulus was home or at work.”
“Couldn’t Paulus get another krait?” Harold asked.
“Maybe. But it would be easy to hit the research labs and kill off the existing ones in captivity. Those labs aren’t that well-guarded and there aren’t that many labs or red-headed kraits.”
“What happened?” Steve asked, frowning. Being military, he knew the security on the military levels and doubted the agent could get away even if she succeeded.
“Don’t know,” Maria admitted. The story the newsies reported isn’t consistent with what was planned. They claimed a woman dressed as a navy commander gained access to the military level, and when she was confronted drew a gun and fired several shots, wounding a bystander before being killed by security.”
“Well, that’s certainly possible,” Steve said.
“No, it’s not. That wasn't the plan and her credentials were excellent forgeries that would have taken days to discover they weren’t genuine,” Maria said. “We will have to wait and see. She may have succeeded in injecting the krait and been caught. If not, I may have to use our mole.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Vanishing Crumbs
“Good morning, Martha, Maxine,” I said as they entered my office.
“Good morning, Anna,” they both said as Martha sat at my table and opened her tablet. Maxine went straight to my sidebar, mixed my coffee, and set it down on the table next to me as she sat.
“Ma’am, I’ve verified the passports are real, the people are residents of Eastar, and they live at the address on the passport, however the picture on the passport isn’t the individual with that name and address,” Maxine said, looking hesitantly at me for my reaction.
“Good work, Maxine. It’s about what I expected. The people who hired these people have money, high-level connections, and access.”
“Then how do we catch them?” Maxine asked, her frustration evident in her voice and hangdog expression.
“By hard work and patience. They are clever and cautious but not perfect. We have to find those small mistakes they make and hope that leads us to them. It’s not so much a question of whether we will find them, but a question of whether we will find them before they achieve their objective.”
“And if they succeed?” Maxine asked, looking worried.
“You’ll get a new boss. Other than that, I doubt you will notice the change of power,” I said. In fact, I doubted most people in the UAS would notice the change. The Alliance would move in a different direction. Policies and programs would change but life would go on, because if too many people were adversely impacted there would be a revolution and the party in power would be ejected.
“Then we had better find and destroy them, since I’m happy with the boss I have,” Maxine said, looking determined.
“Martha, get Commander Weaver on the Comm link,” I said and waited. Frankly, I agreed with Maxine. I liked the Core group and my current job.
“Ma’am, he’s on your tablet’s Comm.” Martha pointed to my tablet.
“Good morning, Commander Weaver. I have a favor to ask.”
“Good morning, Director Paulus. What can I do for you?” Weaver looked in a good mood and was smiling.
“I’d like to borrow Commander Carlson for a week or so to do more of what he has been doing for me.”
“Where would you like him to report? You’re our top priority, even if you hadn’t recommended me to replace you.” He gave me an award-winning grin.
“Thank you. Have him come to my office,” I said and clicked off.
“Martha, see if you can get me an appointment with General Guzman,” I said, beginning to think positively and aggressively. I wasn’t going to beat the UnCab by waiting for them to make mistakes—maybe I could help. I smiled.
“Anna, he asked if you could meet him tomorrow morning for breakfast at the Army and Marine Headquarters building at Fort Douglas?” Martha looked to me and I nodded.
“Martha, keep that between us. I’ll go straight there from home,” I said when she finished.
* * *
A knock and Martha peeked in. “Commander Carlson is here, ma’am,” she said and I nodded to let him in. She opened the door wide and Carlson walked in followed by Maxine. I could tell he had the same problem—deciding who required a salute. I rose and pointed to my table.
“Would you like something to drink, Carlson?”
“Coffee, black,” he said. I sat as Maxine poured the drinks and brought them to the table.
“Gerry, I’d like you to load the pictures of the two men we identified at Black Water into Eastar’s space station’s facial recognition program. Then I want you to go to Sutan and do what we did at Black Water. The three persons you are looking for are Franks, Bryant, and Jensen, who arrived on the Gray Hound on day one hundred twenty. When you find them, come back to Eastar and add them to the faces of Reed alias Pittman and Sanchez alias Guerrero. I’d like the system watching on all five levels. If the system recognizes one it should send a signal to a designated monitor.” I waited for him to nod his understanding. “I’ll get you P1A authorization so you shouldn’t have any problems. Remember, the folks at Sutan are not entitled to know what you are doing or why or for whom.”
* * *
“You’re starting early today, ma’am,” Sergeant Brewer, the head of today’s detail, said as I exited the house and entered the shuttle. I had Maxine notify the detail to pick me up early, and she had accompanied them.
“We’re going to Fort Douglas. I have a breakfast meeting with General Guzman,” I said as I took my seat in the shuttle.
“You know General Guzman, ma’am?” Maxine asked. Most people, especially the c-agents, knew Guzman was the senior army/marine officer.
“Yes, he is a personal friend of Admiral Webb. He helped me during the kidnapping project,” I said. Actually, during the initial phases of the investigation he was a hindrance, not that I blamed him. His daughter had been kidnapped and his protective father’s instincts were driving him. But he had proved useful in the end.
We were cleared to enter Fort Douglas air space and allowed to land at the Headquarters landing pad when they found I had a meeting with General Guzman. I preferred they didn’t know specifically who I was or why I was here. Guzman had notified the lobby of my planned arrival and my security and I had no problem entering with weapons and escorted to Guzman’s office.
“Anna…or is it Director Paulus?” he said as he stood from behind his desk.
“Anna,” I said, s
miling. “I think we parted friends.”
“Patrick,” he said. “Yes, on very good terms.”
“How is Susan doing?” I asked. “She wrote me several times but I haven’t heard from her recently.”
“You were right. She’s doing remarkably well. I took your advice and let her decide what to say and what to withhold. That’s kept us close. She changed her major from mechanical engineering to biology. I think she’s debating whether to be a medical professional like a doctor or go into medical research. Sometimes I think she’s working herself too hard, but I’m following your advice and letting her set her own pace. She knows I’m there if she wants something.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Susan’s a strong woman and capable of deciding on the right path for her.”
“Thanks to you,” Guzman said. “Let’s go to breakfast and you can tell me what the Director of Committee Security wants from me.” He led me to a small dining room which had ten four-person tables with tablecloths, menus, and waiters.
“I’ve five assassins I’m attempting to cut their careers short. I believe their current homes are on Eastar and I’m in the process of identifying them. I’d like a squad of marines to monitor the passengers at the space station and to arrest any that our software facial recognition program flags.” I went on to explain what the assassins were doing and its potential impact on the UAS.
“That’s quite a clever coup. And I can understand why they want you dead.” He laughed. “Anything you want, Anna.”
After breakfast, we called our aides and discussed the details of the plan. Carlson would set up a monitoring station which would have an alarm that would sound when the software identified a potential match and the marines would detain that individual for me to question. In addition, they would monitor all passengers looking for a match to the aliases the assassins had been using. I left thinking I had done all I could do given the small amount of data we had. Even if it didn’t lead to the UnCab’s leaders, it was possible it could delay their coup and give me more time to find them.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
A Game of Guesses
“That was a fun assignment, ma’am,” Carlson said as he sat at my small table with Seth, Maxine, and Martha. “Just like on Black Water, the three used different identifications for the return trip to Eastar on the Blue Dolphin—Franks used Tucker, Bryant used Henry, and the woman Jensen used Chambers. I’ve entered them into the Eastar alert software along with better facial images. If either the names or images are detected, the marines General Guzman has monitoring the software will be notified and they can detain that person.” He smiled. “If you insert this flash drive on your Comm or tablet, you will also be notified.”
“Thank you, Commander. That was good work,” I said as I accepted the silver flash drive. I inserted it into my tablet and double clicked on the file icon that appeared. Within seconds an icon that looked like a figure in an orange prison suit and a ball and chain attached to its ankle appeared. “Excellent. Thank you, Gerry.”
“The icon will flash if the software finds a match and the name will appear as well as the spaceship he or she is arriving or departing on.” He gave me a more detailed account of his activities, returned his P1A placard, and left.
“Even if you identify the individuals, the UnCab will just hire new assassins,” Seth said. I sensed he was trying to understand my strategy.
“True. I’m trying to force them to make mistakes we can use to catch them. I suspect the original six were very experienced assassins whose specialty was to make the kill look like something it wasn’t—an accident or random robbery or whatever. My assumption is that they hope to achieve their coup this year. If I can derail their plans, it might give us more time to discover who they are. Better yet, their replacement may not be as good and make mistakes we can use to find them. Waiting for them to make a mistake isn’t a good strategy but sometimes the only one available.”
* * *
That night I sat thinking about the actions I had put in motion and realized the murders or accidents didn’t have to occur at the delegates’ home planets. If the mix was right, a murder here on Eastar would work just as well. So, what I needed to know was the system where one kill could impact the system’s vote. There was a couple of weeks before the delegates would be returning to Eastar for the start of the Committee’s fall session. I decided I needed to know immediately.
To: Commander Weaver, Director, NIA Stations
Commander Weaver, it’s imperative that I know each of the five delegates’ party affiliation for each system’s delegation. Use Crazy Numbers for all correspondence. This is an Urgent P1A request.
Director Paulus, Committee Security
If I was right, that would flag all the systems where one delegate could change the system’s party vote and therefore alter the power within the Committee. And may highlight where the vulnerability was most likely: where the death of one delegate would change the system delegation’s vote—then Eastar was a possibility; where the death of one delegate would create a tie—then the system was the only possibility; and where the death of one delegate made no change—eliminated the system as a candidate. I knew the results wouldn’t be in for a couple of days and there was nothing I could do to speed it up.
* * *
“What’s wrong, Anna? You look as nervous as a captain waiting to find out his next assignment.” Alexa smiled awaiting my response.
“More like a navigator not sure if she used the right system table for the jump the captain just executed,” I said. Alexa choked a laugh. “Because of the time restriction, I’m trying to force the UnCab into making a mistake which is just as likely to result in me making one. And I’m afraid the one that makes the first mistake will be the loser.”
“It’s like that in an encounter with an enemy cruiser,” Alexa said. “Surprise is the captain’s best advantage, consequently the winner is the one who can surprise her opponent. But when both captains are experienced, the battle frequently comes down to who has the best ship, people, or gets the luckiest breaks.”
“Since we aren’t fighting with cruisers and the UnCab isn’t stupid, I guess it will come down to who gets the luckiest breaks.”
* * *
“Ma’am, Commander Weaver has the results to your urgent request,” Maxine said as she burst into my office after a perfunctory knock. She held a silver flash drive between her thumb and forefinger. I noticed Seth and Martha followed her. “He called me early this morning and said I could pick it up for you to see.”
I waved her to my desk, plugged it into my tablet, and updated the matrix I had created depicting the results of the last four years. Unfortunately, those results were abbreviated in the form of two numbers and the delegation’s vote, i.e., 3-2C, which indicated three delegates were aligned with the Conservative group and two with the Liberal group, or 2-3L, where two were aligned with the Conservative group and three with the Liberal group. The “C” meant the Conservative delegates were in the majority and “L” that the Liberals delegates were in the majority. The final result was interesting, but I said nothing, waiting for Seth and Maxine to comment.
“It interesting,” Seth said frowning in thought, “seeing each delegate’s party affiliation in the system’s delegation. One tends to think of them as a unified group but they aren’t. For instance, Holy Cross’s delegation is IICLS—two Independents, a Conservative, a Liberal, and a Socialist, which results in a Conservative vote since the Independents are aligned with the Conservative party. But how does that help us?”
“We’re looking for systems where one death could potentially switch the current vote,” I said to clarify why I wanted the data.
“Potentially, any 2-3 or 3-2 delegation could be affected by the death of one of their delegates,” Maxine said, looking frustrated.
“True, Maxine. Let’s look at it from a party perspective. First take the Socialists. How many sites could be influenced by the death of one delegate?” I asked.<
br />
“Three, Safe Harbor, Holy Cross, and Zespa,” Seth said, with a smile.
“That would give the Socialists four votes and the Liberals four, giving the Liberal party the majority vote. Now about the Liberals?”
“Five, Sutan, Oxax, Stone Ring, Holy Cross, and Black Water,” Maxine said, smiling at being first.
“Correct. Giving the Liberals nine votes and a clear majority without any other party,” I said. “Now the Independents.”
“Five, Safe Harbor, Oxax, Holy Cross, Oasis, and Truth Star.” Maxine again.
“Giving the Independents six votes and the majority party and the Conservative group a twelve to two majority. How about the Expansionists?”
“Three,” Martha said, grinning. “New Zheng, Black Water, and Shadows Rest.”
“Right, giving the Expansionists five votes and the majority party and the Conservative group a ten to four advantage,” I said, then added, “And what about the Conservatives?”
“Six,” Maxine said. “Safe Harbor, New Zheng, Sutan, Oxax, Holy Cross, and Truth Star. That would give the Conservatives nine votes and a majority group position without any alliances.”
“Correct. So given these results, who are the big winners?”
“Looks like the Conservatives or the Liberals,” Seth said, frowning at the results. “They could each have the Majority votes without needing an alliance.”
“That’s true, Seth, but one would need five and the other six kills to reach that level of control. I wonder if they have that many known replacements available. Let’s say they are worried about our investigation and want a quick win immediately. Who would be the likely candidates?” I asked, knowing the answer but wanting them to work through the exercise in case I missed something.
“The Conservatives,” Seth said, nodding. “By changing a Liberal or Social delegate to a Conservative at any one of the six systems—Safe Harbor, New Zheng Sutan, Oxax, Holy Cross, or Truth Star.”
