Obsidian Detective

by Michael Anderle

  “How does it feel?” Erik asked as they moved deeper into the building, passing several offices, this time both of them looking in.

  Jia glanced at him as she closed a door. “How does what feel?”

  “I’m assuming,” his voice was a bit echoey before he pulled his head back out of the office he had just stuck it in, “this is your first raid?” Erik finished. “It’s not my first. Mine typically involved a few more air or artillery strikes to soften them up.” He grinned. “A lot more explosions, for sure.”

  Jia considered the question as they passed a conference room and entered a wide hallway. Several confused employees made their way down the corridor. Their hands shot up when they spotted Erik’s TR-7.

  “No one is under arrest,” Jia told them, pointing toward the entrance. “Just make your way to the front, and the uniformed officers will show you where to stand. You will be asked a few questions, but you should be free to go soon.” She gestured with her stun pistol first and then lowered it. No reason to intimidate the poor people any more than they already were.

  The wide-eyed employees crept past, their attention focused on Erik and his weapon. The detectives kept walking down the hallway. A large sign indicated the primary loading bay lay at the end.

  “That’s why you should have brought it,” Jia hissed, her eyes pinning him with an accusation. “You’re intimidating them. This is already a problem for them.”

  “Aren’t you the one who thinks they’re a bunch of criminals?” Erik raised an eyebrow in challenge.

  She looked around. “There’s obviously something going on here, but that doesn’t mean every person here is a criminal. Innocent until proven guilty, remember?”

  Erik chuckled. “Sure, but you’re missing the point of why I brought it.”

  Jia raised an eyebrow in question. “To feel like a big man?”

  Erik shook his head. “The best way to win a battle is to frighten your enemy into submission before it even begins.”

  “This isn’t a battle. This is a police raid.” Jia stopped at the door to the loading bay.

  She tapped the open panel, but the door remained stubbornly closed. She entered an override code using her PNIU. “I appreciate that you’ve helped me convince the captain there’s something worth pursuing here, but that doesn’t mean I approve of everything you do. And I think, even if I could benefit from adopting certain attitudes, or at least part of them, from you, it doesn’t mean I think your methods are, in general, the best way to go about things.” Her fingers punched in a secondary code and the door slid open. “I think you’re stuck in a frontier mindset.”

  “Hey, my methods are about getting things done,” Erik observed. “Maybe you need more of a frontier mindset.”

  Jia shook her head. “You’re incorrigible.”

  “It wouldn’t be the first time someone said that to me.” Erik furrowed his brow, looking behind them before turning back to her. “Actually,” he corrected, “it would be. I don’t think they used such large words. Too many syllables.”

  Jia stepped into a massive loading bay for the shipping vehicles. Erik followed her.

  “So, what did they use?”

  “’Pain in the ass,’ usually.”

  Dozens of squat cargo drones were parked in neat rows in front of several lines of blue and white cargo flitters, the sail logo of the Windward company prominent on the sides. The long, rectangular vehicles lacked a driver’s compartment. The only human who might be involved in a delivery was the occasional inspector who rode in the back.

  A shrill alarm sounded. The door behind them slid shut.

  Jia raised her pistol. “What now?”

  Erik sighed, his head pivoting much more quickly. “I knew this was too easy.”

  “Warning!” called out a soft female voice. “Warning! You are trespassing in a Windward Company secure loading bay. You are to immediately leave the area, or you may be subject to interdiction by autonomous security assets.”

  Jia frowned and pressed the open panel, using the small numbers on the keyboard to issue her override code. The door didn’t move. She tried her override code a second time. Still no luck. “They want us to leave, but then they shut the door. That doesn’t make any sense.”

  Erik readied his weapon and turned off the safety; she could hear the click. “This could get bad.” The goofy grin from before was gone, replaced by the stone mask of a warrior.

  The expression chilled Jia.

  Jia turned around. “The security protocols were supposed to be turned off already as part of the warrant.” She dialed the sergeant coordinating the rest of the response.

  “Yes, Detective Lin?” Sergeant McEnroe answered.

  “The security protocols in the loading bay are still active. Do we have systems access yet?”

  “Working on it, Detective.”

  “Sooner would be better than later,” Jia called over the noise going on in the background.

  She turned off the safety of her stun pistol, not all comforted by the priming hum, then adjusted the power level. It might stop a few bots, but it was designed to take down people, not machines.

  “We’re trying!” the sergeant shouted back.

  The alarm continued to sound, the harsh noise ricocheting off the walls and parked vehicles.

  Erik ejected a magazine and pulled another one from a vest pocket. He slapped the new one in with a grunt as the first mag clattered on the ground.

  “What are you doing?” Jia asked, frustration mixed with a touch of worry lacing her tone. “You haven’t even fired anything yet. You brought an empty gun?”

  “AP might be better suited for this situation,” Erik explained. “Unless security bots have changed a lot since I left Earth.”

  “AP?” Jia shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

  “Armor-piercing rounds.” Erik lifted his weapon. “I brought a few different types of ammo. Like I said, it pays to be prepared.”

  Jia shook her head. “I’m sure this will get handled. It’s not as if we’re going to have to participate in some sort of gun battle.”

  “Detective Lin,” Sergeant McEnroe transmitted over the speaker. “There’s a problem.”

  “Problem?” Jia replied, her focus turning to her communicator, her voice cracking. “What problem?”

  “I don’t know. The computer guy says there’s some sort of malfunction in the Windward building’s security grid. He’s trying to shut it down, but it’s going to take him a few minutes.” Sergeant McEnroe audibly swallowed over the line. “They say it’s ramping up. We’re trying to get the Windward people to shut it down, but they can’t do it either. Um, any chance you could get out of there?”

  “We would if we could!” Jia snapped.

  “Warning!” the security voice announced again. “Warning! You are trespassing in a Windward Company secure loading bay. Systems indicate extreme threat to local personnel. Lethal force is authorized.”

  Erik nodded toward the cargo flitters. “We need cover.” He jogged in the direction he had pointed.

  Jia hesitated for only a split second before following him, her heart pounding. “This is insane!”

  They crouched behind one of the cargo flitters and looked for any security bots or drones, but there was nothing.

  “Lethal force will now be applied,” the security voice continued over the loudspeakers. “The authorities have been contacted. This ends your warnings.”

  Jia scoffed. “Gee, thanks.” She lifted her communicator. “McEnroe, how are we doing?”

  “We’re working on it, Detective. Just hang on.”

  “I don’t know how long we can do that,” she replied, doubt in her voice.

  Panels hissed back to reveal hidden security bots. The machines were black bulbous orbs resting on lattices of black and gray metal over trios of grav-field emitters. Two noticeable barrels stuck out of the orbs, one short and gray, the other long and black.

  The bots rose from the ground with qu
iet hums.

  Erik snapped up his TR-7, aimed, and then squeezed the trigger. The barrels came alive in a bright flash. Bullets ripped into a bot, blowing it apart in a shower of black chunks and sparks. The bot collapsed to the ground.

  “That works,” he muttered.

  Other bots opened fire, their bullets ripping into the back of the vehicle being used for cover. Erik held down the trigger and swept with his rifle, downing several more bots. Jia held down the stun button, then lifted her gun and fired. The overcharged bolt struck a bot and the white energy arced over it. It wavered for a few seconds before firing at her.

  Erik grabbed her arm and pulled her deeper into the row of parked vehicles. More hidden compartments hissed open to release more killer bots. The machines took careful shots every few seconds. Their bullets sparked as they ripped into vehicles or struck downed cargo drones. They spread out to surround the pair.

  “This is Detective Lin,” Jia shouted. “We are taking live fire. I repeat, we are taking live fire!”

  Erik popped around the corner and blew another bot to pieces. It managed one last shot before falling to the hard parking lot. The bullet whizzed by his arm. Two more drones met their fate before he retreated again.

  Jia managed to clip a bot with another stun bolt, but again, it only wobbled in place before returning fire.

  Erik’s follow-up quick bursts from his TR-7 blew out two of its grav field emitters. It fell to the ground, and his third burst blew the control orb into pieces.

  He followed up with another shot and the next bot tried to dodge by rotating to the side, but he still managed to take out an emitter. A snap-shot through the center finished the machine.

  “This is why machines are worthless in a real fight,” Erik muttered. He ejected his magazine, loaded a new one, and glanced at the vehicle before pulling his head back down a moment before two bullets tore into the hood. “An EMP would be nice about now.”

  Jia swallowed, her stomach tightening. She holstered her pistol. She wasn’t accomplishing anything. If Erik hadn’t been taking them out, she might have already taken a round. She pulled up her communicator. “We’re still taking fire, Sergeant.”

  “They’re almost into the system, Detective,” he replied, desperation soaking his words.

  The bots sped up, their flight pattern erratic as they circled and fired.

  “I’ve got an eight-count remaining,” Erik reported. “Fortunately, the AI isn’t that great on these things.” He pulled out his pistol and handed it to Jia. “I’m assuming you have no problem shooting a machine that’s trying to kill you?”

  Jia accepted the heavy pistol and flipped off the safety. She gave a shallow nod and swallowed. “They’ll disable the security system any second now. We just have to hold out.”

  Her heart raced, but she was surprised. The closest she’d previously come to death had been when the drunk had driven toward her. In her entire life, she’d never been shot at and had wondered how she would handle it.

  She now had the answer. Afraid, but not terrified.

  Erik popped up and nailed a nearby bot. Another one fired, the bullet striking his left arm. He grunted as blood seeped through the hole in his sleeve.

  Jia squeezed the trigger so quickly she’d sent six rounds at the bot before she even knew what she was doing. The first few sparked off the exterior, but the last two went in. The bot spun and fired wildly before careening into the ground.

  “Are you okay?” she asked in a near panic.

  Erik shrugged. “Fine. I’ve had a lot worse. I might have even had a lot worse this month.”

  “You’ve just been shot,” Jia shouted, as surprised as she was startled.

  Erik patted his left shoulder. “Those bots aren’t that big.” He nodded at several jagged holes in a nearby vehicle. “Note the small size of the hole.”

  “They look big enough to me,” Jia commented, looking around again.

  “I’m just saying, those bots are stocked with small amounts of small caliber ammo, and it’s not penetrating that deeply.” Erik fired a burst and ripped another bot to pieces. A counter-volley forced him down. “They don’t have a huge amount of ammo, and they’re mostly depending on using hollow-points to take down soft targets.” He patted his shoulder. “You’re not going to get through a quality cyber arm with that kind of ammo.”

  Jia gasped. “You have…a cybernetic arm? On purpose?” She tried not to let disgust seep into her voice. The man probably had his reasons, but the idea of keeping an artificial limb still made her shudder.

  “This isn’t the first time it’s saved me.” Erik took a deep breath. “On three, turn around and open fire. One, two, three.”

  Jia spun and fired without aiming. Her first shot ripped into a security bot clearing the back of a vehicle several rows down. Erik’s gun came to life as he fired in the opposite direction. They stood back to back for a moment, firing simultaneously and finishing off the last few bots.

  Acrid smoke filled the air. A few of the bots smoldered, and holes riddled the inactive cargo drones and many of the vehicles.

  The alarm died.

  “We’ve got it turned off, Detective,” McEnroe announced. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes,” Jia answered, her breath coming in gasps. “Thanks for that, but we already took care of them.” She took a deep breath and then slumped against the nearest cargo flitter. She tapped her PNIU to cut the transmission. “I…” She shook her head. “Erik, we were almost killed.”

  Erik engaged the safety on his weapon and shouldered it. He shook his left arm. “No, not really. I took one bullet in my arm, and you weren’t even hit. That wasn’t even close to being killed.”

  “I’ve…never been through anything like that.” Jia’s heart thundered in her chest, the pressure feeling like someone was banging on a drum near her ears.

  “I’ll say this for you, Jia. I’m impressed.” Erik stood there with a smile even as blood dripped from the thin flesh layer over his cybernetic arm.

  She looked at him. “You are?”

  Erik nodded. “A lot of people choke during their first real fight. The adrenaline gets pumping, and they can’t handle it. The service gets around this by spending a lot of time training people to operate automatically. Muscle memory and that sort of thing mean they don’t have to think, so it doesn’t matter if they’re scared, but you did pretty good for someone without that kind of training.” He nodded at the pistol. “Maybe next time, bring a real gun.”

  Jia glanced at her stun pistol. “I never thought I would have to fight security bots using live ammunition.”

  “You’re not bad.” Erik turned as the loading bay door opened, and several officers rushed in. “I might be able to make something of you yet.”

  “I don’t know whether to be flattered or insulted.”

  Sergeant McEnroe ran toward them. He winced as he spotted Erik’s wound. “We need to get you to the EMT.”

  “It’ll just be a quick patch job,” Erik told him.

  He looked at the bot debris littering the floor and the hole-filled vehicles and drones. “I hope Windward has good insurance.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Jia stood in front of Captain Monahan’s desk, her arms folded and her posture stiff. Erik lingered beside her, disinterest on his face. She had a hard time reading him and was half-convinced that much of the time he was putting on a show for the benefit of those around him.

  Perhaps he had the right idea, though.

  The captain heaved a sigh. “Before we begin, let me check that you’re both okay?” He focused on Erik. “I know you’ve got a cybernetic arm, but you don’t need any time off?” Slight distaste flavored his mention of the arm.

  The revelation had shocked Jia, but after that, she found she didn’t care much.

  She had her Purists tendencies, but Erik didn’t seem like the kind of man who had let augmentation rob him of his humanity. If anything, with his passion, he was too human.

&nbs
p; Erik rotated his left arm. “Yeah, they slapped a patch on it. It stung a little, but I’m fine. Sometimes not being pure has its advantages.”

  The captain shook his head. “That is why I don’t like this kind of thing. Cops get hurt. I should have never authorized the raid. I didn’t expect anything like that to happen, and if I’d had even an inkling that it would…” He stopped speaking and sighed.

  “With all due respect, Captain, you’re never going to stop real trouble without someone putting their lives on the line.” Erik shrugged. “This is also why you don’t rely on machines to guard things; they malfunction too easily. But they’re all trashed, and we’re both still alive, and we don’t have to pay for them. So there’s nothing to worry about.”

  Captain Monahan frowned. “Part of me wants to complain about you bringing that TR-7, but if you hadn’t done what you did, you’d both be dead.” He paused for a moment before answering something with his personal HUD, then focused on the two of them. “I’ll have to reach out about possible charges. Windward has already assured me they’ll be firing several people in the security and management teams over the incidents, and they’re going to do everything they can to fully cooperate going forward.”

  Erik looked at the old-time clock on the wall. “That was quick. We just got back here.”

  “The company can’t let this linger,” Jia told him. “It’s too much of a black eye, especially with law enforcement being fired on like that.” She shook her head. “Even if it was an accident, it smells too much of insurrectionists or terrorism. At a minimum, it’s antisocial.”

  The captain nodded at her. “They don’t want this incident becoming well known, and I think it’s in the best interests of this enforcement zone and the department that we don’t advertise it.”

  Erik shrugged. “Why not? We won. It might send a message to people not to screw with the 1-2-2.”

  “We’re keeping this quiet,” the captain replied crisply. “And that’s a direct order. Did I make myself clear?”