by C. R. Daems
I was just lining up a chest shot to the man on the higher level, when the Committee door opened. I lowered my weapon and fired two shots at his lower legs. He screamed something and fell forward. The limping man kept coming, firing in my direction as he came. I ducked down behind the wall as multiple shots sounded. Then silence.
“Director Paulus, stay down while we clear the area.” The voice sounded like Seth.
“There are two of them,” I shouted but stayed down. The adrenaline had evaporated and I felt drained of all my energy.
“Someone get Doctor Pierce,” a voice shouted.
Sometime later, Seth stood looking down at me.
“Are you hurt?” he asked while stepping over the short wall.
“No, but if you will bring me a pillow, I think I’ll sleep here tonight,” I quipped but it was what I felt like at the moment. I doubted I could stand without help.
Doctor Pierce appeared before Seth could respond. “You hurt, Anna?” he asked as he nudged Seth aside and knelt next to me.
“How’s Howard?” I asked. Howard must have been the guard that got shot when we entered the room since his first name wasn’t Corey.
“He’s dead,” Seth said.
“Shit, shit, shit…” I cursed and banged the floor again and again. I was tired of the people protecting me dying. “What about Corey and Janis?”
“Janis is dead. We shot him as he was shooting at you. Corey might live. He looks to have several wounds but they don’t appear life threatening,” Seth said.
“Seth, he’s to remain in Committee custody until I can talk to him,” I said as two men lifted me onto a stretcher. I closed my eyes, wanting sleep to take me away. The last thing I heard was, “Doctor Renata has been notified.”
* * *
I opened my eyes to find I was in bed and Doctor Renata staring down at me.
“The good news is that you are in good condition except for some minor cuts and bruises. The bad news is you aren’t giving your body time to recover between encounters with the people who are trying to kill you. Not only the body needs rest but so does the brain. Just like the fact that you can drive a person crazy by depriving him or her of sleep, too much trauma can cause your brain to go into shock—to shut down. Oh, and before you ask, Red was uninjured.”
“I knew we had a mole but not two,” I said. “I’m lucky they weren’t both on duty at the same time.”
“Corey’s talking. Apparently, Janis was the mole. He was paid to spy on you,” Seth said from the corner of the room where he stood. “But his handler offered him a million credits to kill you and another million to anyone he could get to help. Corey volunteered when he learned he’d get a million credits for helping. They thought it a simple matter. Knock out the second guard, kill you, and then Janis would knock out Corey to make it look like it was some outside group who disabled the two guards and killed you.”
“Howard saved my life. When he was shot from behind, he pushed me into the closest booth and blocked Corey’s line of sight long enough for me to seek cover,” I said, still grieving for the young man.
“I’ve talked to the other senior c-agents and we are considering an investigation of all the—” Seth began but I interrupted.
“No. We had one bad apple who infected another. Let’s not seed the group with distrust of each other or demonstrate we don’t trust them. We knew we had a mole and we caught him. Leave it at that. If we don’t trust each other to watch our back we hired thugs not family. Howard protected my back, and I trust the others would do the same for me and each other as I would do for them.”
“Thank you, Director Paulus. I’ll make sure everyone gets the message,” he said, looking relieved.
* * *
“Well, Daughter, you’ve had an active couple of weeks,” Alexa said the next evening. I had decided to stay home for a couple of days to rest. Mostly I slept all that day and only got up to have dinner with Alexa.
“I get the feeling the UnCab is getting impatient for me to retire before the next Committee break in two months,” I said, thinking I should be feeling rested after sleeping all day but I didn’t. I couldn’t seem to focus, or maybe I didn’t want to focus.
“Would they leave you alone if you did retire?” Alexa asked, and for the millionth time I felt a pang of regret for all the pain and worry I’d caused her. She was a saint, and I loved her with all my heart.
“Probably. There would be no reason to kill me if I weren’t interfering with their great plans. I don’t get the idea that this is personal. I’m just an obstacle they want removed. I doubt they would mind me being the director if I cooperated.” The idea was actually amusing. “I could be useful if I was on their side.”
Alexa nodded. “Yes, that is what politics is all about—ideas. Each side believes their philosophy is best for the country. But democracy is all about compromise. An idea everyone supports publicly but really they want a dictatorship where they have the power to implement their philosophy without having to compromise. And you are the ideal troubleshooter in a democracy or a dictatorship.”
I sat silent for a long time, thinking about me as director in a dictatorship. Good and bad were rather subjective. The Committee defined all the things you could do and not do. Those you were not allowed to do were bad and could land you in jail. In fact, many bad things weren’t always bad. Murder was an excellent example. If I chose to kill someone I disliked or thought evil I would be a criminal. But if the government decided someone was dangerous they could have him killed without recourse. In fact, most criminal laws have an unless-condition attached either expressed or implied or only enforced so long as the unless-condition wasn’t triggered. It was against the law to kill, unless you are defending yourself or family, unless the government is defending itself, unless… I had a headache just thinking about it.
“That’s interesting. No matter who makes the laws, you’re a good citizen if you obey them and a criminal if you don’t. Whether the law is good or bad, fair or unfair doesn’t matter,” I said.
“It doesn’t take much imagination to realize that each of our major parties would implement different laws if they had total control,” Alexa said.
I laughed. “So, if the Expansionists gain power without having to kill me, they might keep me as director.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
The Eye of the Storm
I returned to work three days later, in time for my normal staff meeting and my weekly update to the Core group. I had barely sat, when Seth, Maxine, and Martha entered.
“You three look like I’m scheduled to have a bad day,” I said, looking at the unsmiling faces.
“We’re all concerned you are back to work too soon and your schedule is particularly busy on Mondays,” Seth said for the group as Maxine placed my coffee cup with the embossed Committee Security seal in front of me. I took a sip before speaking.
“I only took the time off to give the UnCab a rest. They must be exhausted and will need time to hire new help,” I quipped, which elicited smiles after the initial shock. “How’s Corey doing?
“He’s recovering. You shot him three times. Once in the shoulder, arm, and calf,” Seth said and then smiled. “Rather poor shooting.”
“True. I’m going to have Craig redesign the firing range. The targets need to move and the lights need to be off except for one ten-watt bulb,” I said, looking down with my lips pursed as if thinking. Seth laughed.
“And no one but you would qualify.” Maxine grinned.
“Let’s go talk to Corey,” I said as I rose. It turned out that the temporary holding cells were behind the shooting range barrier and access was through a door in the training area. We entered through a long corridor that paralleled the firing range. Since there was a prisoner, the door into the cell area had a guard and two c-agents were inside.
“How’s our prisoner?” I asked the two c-agents, who rose from the metal table where they had been sitting drinking coffee.
“Rec
overing and no complaints, ma’am,” the older agent said.
“Open the cell door and someone get me a chair, “ I said and waited as the younger guard opened the cell door and the older one fetched his chair and placed it inside the cell. I thought I was well rested but I seemed to get tired faster than I liked since the two incidents.
“Good morning, Corey,” I said as I sat.
“Good morning, Director Paulus. You sure are one hard bitch to kill.”
“What made you try it? I asked, wondering how much he was willing to tell me.
“Money. Truth be told, I’ve never been above doing illegal things if the price was right. And a million credits is like discovering you won the lottery. Sure, no one pays a million credits, actually two, without there being equal risks, but in this case it seems so easy. Lure you someplace quiet, shoot your security, then you, and leave. Janis said the woman who called herself Maria had promised new identities and a spaceship to transport us to Oasis.” Corey paused. “The least you could have done was kill me.”
“How did Janis meet this woman?” I asked, since he wasn’t being evasive.
“Janis ran up a lot of debt after his wife left him. First drinking, then new car and clothes, then women, and then gambling. He was on the verge of losing his job here, facing bankruptcy, and owed money to very bad people. And possibly criminal charges if you identified him as the mole. He had been on this woman’s payroll since you were appointed director. It was good pay and very little risk. Unlike me, he didn’t want any part of killing, but she had him by the balls. I don’t think he would have done it if she had just threatened to reveal his spying on you, but she offered him a million credits. But what really persuaded him was her offer of another million if he could find help. He and I have been good buddies for years and he knew I would do most anything for enough money. And the rest is history as they say.”
“Did he tell you anything about Maria?” I asked.
“Not much. Said she was good in bed, athletic and strong, and a good figure for a woman in her late thirties or early forties…she was pleasant, even sweet, but had dead eyes. He said she was one woman he would never want to have mad at him. She would slice him open with the same lack of emotion she would have opening a can of sardines.” Corey grinned. “I’ve answered your questions honestly. How about you answer one for me.”
“All right,” I said.
“I heard the marines-for-hire actually captured you and had collected one million credits. How did they do it?”
“They gassed my security and me while we were in an elevator, opened the door, and carried me away to a waiting car,” I said. “Excellent planning and carried out with perfection.”
“How did you escape?” he asked, leaning forward.
“The people he handed me over to were so confident I couldn’t escape they got careless and paid the price. They’re dead.” I rose and left the cell.
* * *
An hour later when I entered the conference room for my staff meeting, everyone stood and clapped, and I felt my face on fire. I waved them to sit.
“Thank you, but… Was C-agent Howard married?” I asked, feeling glad I survived but depressed someone had to die for me to live.
“Yes, with one child, a boy,” Ramon said.
“Is he insured?”
“Yes, we are all insured and there is a bonus if killed in the line of duty,” Becker said. “It’s a very good package, Anna.”
“Howard saved my life. As he fell from the shot to his back, he pushed me into the closest booth. Without that push, I would not have responded fast enough to avoid being shot,” I said. “He deserves a posthumous award and the bonus that goes with it. I’ll leave it to the promotion committee to decide, but I recommend the UAS Committee’s Medal of Valor. His son should be proud of his father.”
“Ma’am, can you tell us what happened? Unfortunately, there are no automatic video cameras in that room and it’s secure when the Committee's not in session. We found over sixty shell casings and you fired less than ten.”
“I received an urgent call from the Committee meeting room that…” I tried to give a brief synopsis of the encounter but they kept insisting on hearing the details. “I think we need to update our periodic exercises to include one where you are running for cover. I’m going to tell you it’s harder to hit the kill zone when you are being chased—too much adrenaline.”
* * *
I entered Bennett’s office and found the three already there with partially eaten plates of food and half empty glasses.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Bennett, Mrs. Scherer, Mr. Glaser,” I said, stopping just inside the door.
“Sit, Anna, and grab something to eat and drink if you like,” Bennett said, waving at the sideboard which had a variety of luncheon food and drinks. I mixed my coffee drink and sat. “Have you decided whether you are staying or not?”
“Was I supposed to?” I asked. I didn’t have a clue what Bennett was talking about.
We heard you weren’t injured but you were taking time off to decide if you wanted to continue working here,” Bennett said.
“No, sir. I think the incident the other day was so close to the previous incident at my home that I hadn’t had enough time to fully recover. Doctor Renata recommended I take a few days off, my mother insisted, and the UnCab and I are at a standstill until the next Committee break so I did. As I said before, I like the job and the people so I’m staying until you fire me.” I took a sip of my coffee. As I talked Red made an entrance and wrapped around my neck.
“Good, because we like you but are concerned if you can’t stop the Expansionists from achieving a hold on the Committee vote they will try and get you replaced, claiming it’s a political appointment for the president to make.” Bennett paused as if considering his next words but Scherer spoke first.
“We have all thought of the position as a reward to someone and Committee Security as applying to the building and the people on the Committee. You have shown us that Committee Security is protecting the UAS through its members. A much wider responsibility which justifies the power the position wields and means the person filling the position must transcend the Core group. Hoping you would stay or maybe as an inducement, we have drafted an unanimously approved resolution that makes the position of Director of Committee Security a ten-year tenure—you can’t be fired or replaced during that time. Given you accept, we will have it ratified by the full Committee and written into our constitutional articles.”
“I accept,” I said. The UnCab can’t fire me so they will be forced to have me killed, I mused.
“Congratulations, Anna,” Scherer said and I heard the others echo her reply. “What’s next?”
“I may have to go to one or more of the systems I believed were rigged to try and determine how…and use the power you’ve granted the director to fix it.” I grinned, which was followed by nods and smiles. I stopped by Martha’s desk when I left the meeting.
“Martha, I’m going to the training area to see how the new women c-agents are doing and to do a bit of shooting,” I said. Martha nodded approval and made a note on her tablet.
When I arrived, the women were practicing on the firing range. Craig met me at the door to the room.
“I used to think all that practice you did was unnecessary,” he said, followed by a snort. “I’m surprised you only wounded Janis and Corey. You weren’t shooting to wound, were you?”
“No, but all I could see was what looked like moving shadows. I had to guess where the shadow was going, to shoot at center mass, and hope to get lucky.”
“You may have failed to kill them, but you wounded each of them a couple of times. They had to be desperate, bleeding like they were. It wouldn’t have been long before the bleeding would have been a significant problem.” Craig laughed. “Talk about a plan going to shit. They were disabled and in pain, blood loss sapping their strength, and their prey an expert shot and loose in a dark room with a weapon.”
&
nbsp; “You arrived just in time. I think at that point they knew they weren’t going to survive. They weren’t trying to hide, hoping to draw my fire and giving the survivor a chance to kill me,” I said, thinking back on the last few minutes of the encounter. “How are the women new-hires doing,” I asked, wanting to change the topic.
“Hearing you practice every day has been a good motivator. And after hearing about your latest attack, I’ll probably have to put bunks down here for them to sleep.” He laughed. “And I’ve noticed the c-agents have been practicing more than before. They know guarding you almost guarantees a firefight and missing the assassin isn’t a good option.”
“I think qualifying once a year requires you to go through the Ready, Aim, Fire routine you develop shooting at targets only yearly. Regular practice makes it more of a muscle-mind memory act that is more automatic and therefore faster.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Wedding Bells
“Ma’am, you have a message from your friend in Stone Ring,” Maxine said, looking at her tablet. Maxine had assumed responsibility for monitoring my incoming messages and responding to many after consulting with me. I thought it a good responsibility as she was my aide to learn, not just to fetch and carry. As she spoke the message appeared on my tablet.
To: Anna Paulus
Andrea and I have picked a date for our marriage, June first, but before I make definite plans I wanted to make sure you could make it. What’s a wedding without a maid of honor?
From: Kris Sinclair
“Has she finally set a date for her wedding?” Maxine asked, not having opened the message as it was personal.
“Yes, June first,” I said, having very conflicting emotions.
