‘He what?’ Andrea responded instantly.
‘He consulted the Court just after the Second World War. We put him in touch with the Operation Paperclip people and inducted him as an inside source on US government super-soldier projects. We were not entirely pleased when he… left government employment, but we kept him on. When he linked up with Ghostfire in New Millennium City, and you moved there, we tasked Kopf with ensuring that Ghostfire did not kill you.’
‘I’m sure my premature death would have been an issue to the previous administration.’
‘Uh… yes. When he allowed Ghostfire to move ahead with your assassination, Kopf’s membership was revoked. Standard practice under those circumstances would be–’
‘Termination with extreme prejudice?’
‘Uh, yes, but Kopf seems to have developed a number of quite effective countermeasures to our methods. The adepts sent after him were unable to locate him. We are, unfortunately, still unable to locate him.’
‘Damn,’ Andrea muttered.
‘However, I did say I’d seen that name pass through my hands recently. We received some information that a Professor Blutadler has formed some sort of relationship with the Nine Kings tong. We don’t know exactly what the relationship entails, however, so I took the liberty of compiling the most likely sources of information on the Nine Kings. You may have more luck with direct action than we have with more subtle methods.’
‘Now you’re making me happier, Mister Epps. Thank you for your diligence.’
‘Uh, my duty, ma’am. I hate being unable to adequately complete an assignment. The best source of information is likely to be the Ultra, Mink. However, with her current situation, she may be less willing to speak to you than she would normally. The Nine Kings have managed to frame her for the murder of another Ultra, Snapshot. More readily available is a police detective who has continued to attempt to bring down the tong despite considerable efforts to stop him. His name is Damian Inman. The tong arranged for him to be removed from the local task force by involving him in a shooting and then hiding evidence. I put everything we have on Kopf, and all the other data, on this flash drive.’ He held out a memory stick. ‘I hope you find what you’re looking for, ma’am.’
‘Thank you, Mister Epps. So do I.’
~~~
Damian sat on his sofa in boxers and an old wrap which had seen better days eating toast while the lunchtime news played on his TV. Two nights off and, at least for the first of those, he had no idea what to do with himself. Bianca was fairly busy, but she had cleared her schedule for a date tomorrow… And Damian realised that he was starting to get really comfortable with dating a billionaire. This one anyway. When she was not free, he felt just a little at a loss. Which was kind of stupid considering that he had not had a relationship this long-lasting in a while. The job tended to get in the way.
The first sound from upstairs went unnoticed in the general noise of a building. All buildings made the occasional creak or groan and this one had a warehouse in it. The second sound, more recognisable as a footfall, made Damian look up and frown. He was about to get to his feet to get his pistol when he saw a pair of black, high-heeled boots on the stairs. There seemed to be no attempt at stealth and he watched as the legs came into view: thigh-high boots and fishnet hose?
Halfway down the stairs, the owner of the legs leaned over and flashed a smile at Damian. ‘Good afternoon, Detective. Could I have a word?’
Damian took in the high-necked, sleeveless leotard, the mask and the jet-black eyes, and the sword on her back. ‘Uh…’ What was it with attractive female Ultras and sexy costumes?
‘I’m Twilight. You are Detective Damian Inman, right?’
‘I… am, yeah.’
‘Good. I want to talk to you about the Jiu Wang tong.’ Straightening up, Twilight continued down the steps and walked over to stand beside the TV.
‘What about them?’
‘He’s a little edgy,’ Andrea said in the back of Twilight’s head. ‘Take it softly.’
‘I believe they might have linked up with someone I’m after. He goes by the name Professor Blutadler and he’s… Well, he’s a mad scientist, basically. I was hoping you could shed some light on the tong and why they might be interested in working with a nutjob like Blutadler.’
Damian’s eyes narrowed. ‘If you’ve something on the Nine Kings, you should take it to the Tong Affirmative Action Task Force.’
‘Ah, well, two problems there. I have a lot of information on them, but the source is… not really something that could be used in court.’
‘Illegal search? Coercion?’
‘Not exactly, but I can guarantee there would be problems.’
‘I’m sure.’
‘He doesn’t like Ultras,’ Andrea commented. ‘A problem with our methods, probably.’
‘What’s the other reason?’ Damian went on.
‘Your task force belongs to the tong,’ Twilight replied. ‘Pretty much every detective on the team is receiving payments. Hell, they arranged for you to be kicked out and discredited.’
Damian sat up straighter and looked into those dark eyes. ‘You’ve actual evidence of corruption on the TAATF?’ It was damn hard to judge how truthful someone was when their eyes were black orbs.
‘Yes, but I did mention the problem with the source, right?’
‘It might be enough to start a proper investigation. It–’
‘Would get you nowhere, Detective Inman. The task force isn’t the only part of the SFPD the Jiu Wang has its claws into. Now, Blutadler was working on Excelsior when he was in New Millennium City. It’s the only thing I can think of which might interest the tong.’
Damian pushed his annoyance aside, or tried to. ‘They deal in opiates pretty much exclusively, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t try something new if the profit margin looked big enough.’
‘So if Blutadler could synthesise it locally, maybe at reduced cost, and he’s the kind of man who could work something like that out, then it might be an in for him.’
‘It’s possible. The Nine Kings got really quiet recently, but they’ve suddenly picked up business again. It could be they have something new coming in. We got the bulletins on Excelsior, but it’s always been an East Coast problem. If it started turning up here, I doubt we’d recognise it.’
‘It’s not easy. It’s a vapour. They sell it in disposable inhalers, usually unmarked ones.’
Damian’s brow furrowed. ‘I can keep an eye out, but the best person to bring in on this would be Mink.’
‘Yeah, so I’ve heard.’
‘Problem there is that she’s currently wanted for murder. I’m not sure I believe–’
‘Oh, I’m pretty positive about her being innocent, but that doesn’t help me find her.’
Damian shrugged. ‘Sorry. She was never easy to find before. I met her once and then it was because she jumped in on a trafficking bust I’d found evidence on.’ His lips curled a little. ‘She wears even less than you do.’
Twilight raised an eyebrow. ‘Currently, you’re not in a position to talk. Look, if you do come up with anything on Blutadler or Excelsior, get in touch. You can contact me through UltraNet or Fullerton Technologies could probably get me a message.’
‘FTI?’
‘Yeah, I’m staying with their CEO… Wait a minute, Cygnus said Bianca was dating someone named Damian.’
‘Uh… Small world, isn’t it?’
~~~
‘So, I met your boyfriend today,’ Andrea said as they sat down to dinner.
‘Damian?’ Bianca asked, her eyebrows rising. ‘Why? He’s not working today.’
‘Because my contacts came up with something suggesting that Blutadler might be working with the Jiu Wang tong and Damian was suggested as a possible source of information on them.’
‘Oh. Was he any help?’
‘A little. He thinks the best person to talk to is Mink.’
‘Well, that’s not going to be easy,
’ June said. ‘She’s–’
‘Been framed for the murder of some guy named Snapshot. Yeah, I know.’
‘You’ve got evidence that Mink didn’t kill Snapshot?’ Bianca asked.
‘The Jiu Wang tong hired an assassin from a group called the Yin Xian. The job was killing Mink, but Mink isn’t easy to find, so the assassin may have decided to try drawing her out. The Yin Xian are noted specifically for their use of the rope dart as a preferred weapon.’
‘Then–’
‘Take it to the cops? Seems to be a theme today.’ Andrea affected a bright, happy tone and smiled. ‘“Hello, Mister Police Officer, I happen to have access to a highly secret, shadowy conspiracy organisation and they gave me all this information which they obtained via highly illegal methods. Would you please arrest these naughty people? What do you mean I’m under arrest?”’
‘Basically,’ Cygnus said, ‘we can use the information Andrea can get, but only to point us to where we can find some solid evidence. At best, a tip from there gives us probable cause for a search. Mostly it’s just information we can use to plan things.’
‘Oh,’ Bianca said. ‘I guess you’re right.’
‘Any thoughts on tracking down Mink?’
‘She’s most often seen around Chinatown and Tenderloin. Those are the higher crime areas, specifically drugs, gambling, and prostitution. I kind of doubt you’ll find her, even with your joint talents. I doubt she’s out there at the moment. She’s always been more enigmatic than most Ultras.’
‘Yeah,’ Andrea said. ‘She’s certainly a secretive one.’
~~~
‘You seeing any signs?’ Cygnus asked.
‘I found two of the locals,’ Twilight replied over Cygnus’s radio headset. ‘Bonehead and Fuego. I didn’t talk to them and they didn’t see me.’
‘But no sign of Mink?’
‘None. I’ve got imps staking out a few locations too. None of them have come back to me. I don’t think–’
‘Hold on,’ Cygnus interrupted. ‘I may have something.’
Cygnus was flying, as she often did. Mink was known to travel across the rooftops a lot and with Cygnus’s night vision, they had both thought an aerial vantage point might give them something. Now Cygnus had spotted movement, a figure running. She flew lower. Definitely a woman.
‘I have a female figure running across a rooftop west of Clay and Kearny.’
‘I’m heading that way,’ Twilight replied. She was out in Tenderloin and Cygnus figured it would take her friend a few minutes to hop across to Chinatown since Twilight did not know the area.
Cygnus swept down, closing the distance. A woman, slim, long legs, clearly very fit and skilled in what amounted to parkour. Cygnus could not see her face, but… ‘I don’t think it’s her. This woman has a ponytail I think I’d kill for, tattoos, and she’s wearing… It’s like a bikini and leggings.’
‘Oriental?’ Twilight asked.
‘Can’t see her face. And in black and white, the detail on the tattoos isn’t good enough to tell. Wait, she’s turning… Yeah, she’s Asian. Japanese or Chinese, I think. And she’s spotted me.’
The girl with the beautifully long hair had suddenly changed direction and headed off at a sprint. It did not really look like the act of someone on the side of the angels and Cygnus poured on the speed to follow.
‘That’s probably the assassin,’ Twilight said. ‘Where are you?’
‘Crossing Sacramento Street, near the Wells Fargo Museum. She’s– Fuck! Where’s she gone?’
‘Lost her?’
‘She was right ahead of me.’ Cygnus dropped down into the airspace of Halleck Street and scanned around. People on the street noticed the figure in white and looked up, surprised. ‘I have no idea how she did that, but she’s just vanished.’ She saw Twilight step out of the shadows on the street below her and dropped down to ground level.
‘She’s been trained to do that,’ Twilight said. ‘If we can catch her in a pincer or something, we might nail her. Maybe I could ambush her. She’s not the priority.’
‘No?’
‘No. If she’s out here looking, then she’s out here looking for the same person we are.’
‘Okay.’ Cygnus looked around. ‘We’re drawing a crowd.’
‘Uh-huh.’ Twilight stepped back into the shadow of the building. ‘Let’s keep looking.’ And then she was gone.
~~~
Mink wandered through Chinatown in a short skirt and a grey hoodie. Various people out on the streets knew her, some of them enough to call her Linda, but no one paid much attention to her.
There did seem to be something extra to distract them tonight. Various people could be seen looking up into the night sky. Mink had seen Cygnus up there: the woman stood out like a beacon. Mink ignored the distraction. There were other things to keep her occupied.
The dealers were out in force. So were the Nine Kings’ yuan. Yuan formed the bulk of the tong’s enforcers, their ‘boo how doy.’ They tended to carry their assumed authority like a banner, heads high, backs straight, puffing themselves out because no one who knew who they were was going to get in their way. Arrogant pricks, every last one of them.
Things were getting bad out here and there was little Mink could do to stop it. She needed to get something on the Kings. She needed to get rid of the Yin Xian assassin. Maybe, just maybe, she needed some help to do it all…
15th October.
Twilight stepped out of the shadows in the corner of the room, took off her mask, and Andrea said, ‘Bianca gone to bed?’
June looked up from the magazine she was reading and smiled. ‘Hours ago. Said she was tired. Any luck?’
‘No. Cygnus should be right behind me. You won’t have long to wait.’ Taking her sword off her back, Andrea sat down on a sofa to pull off her boots. ‘I’ll go up now too. Hopefully I won’t disturb Bianca.’
‘Cool. Couldn’t see her at all?’
‘No, I don’t think she was there. In costume anyway.’
‘You think she goes out in disguise or something.’
Andrea nodded. ‘Uh-huh, I do. I mean, in a way, I used to do it with Lena. It’s a good way to get information.’ She got to her feet again, now in just her hose. ‘See you in the morning.’
‘Sleep well.’
Slipping up the stairs and through the bedroom door, Andrea looked over at the bed before starting to undress. Bianca was curled up on the left side, almost as though she had forced herself to leave space for Andrea. Below, Andrea heard Cygnus coming in and closed the door before too much sound could follow her in.
‘Any luck?’ Bianca asked as Andrea slipped under the sheets.
‘Sorry, I was hoping not to wake you.’
‘Light sleeper. I’ll be out again quickly enough.’
‘Fair enough. No, we didn’t find her. Cygnus spotted the assassin though.’
‘Didn’t catch her?’
‘She gave us the slip. I’ll tell you about it in the morning. Night, Bianca.’
Bianca gave a soft chuckle. ‘Night, Andrea.’
~~~
‘Tall woman,’ Cygnus said. ‘Black hair down to her butt and she looked Asian. Wasn’t wearing much at all.’
‘Mink’s never been accused of covering herself,’ Bianca said, ‘but that’s not her. Mink’s hair’s like mine. My natural hair. Both Damian and Elaine said I have the same hair as Mink.’
‘Really?’ Andrea asked.
‘Yeah. Mink has brown eyes. Actually, Damian described them as amber, and he said a lot of complimentary things about the shape of her face and how it was different.’
‘Men,’ June commented. ‘This is why I prefer girls.’
‘Uh-huh,’ Cygnus said, grinning. ‘What are you going to do today, Andrea? Anything else you can chase up?’
‘We need something to chase. I’m going to spend the day thinking.’
‘Right.’
‘Probably in the hot tub.’
Cygnus grinned.
‘Right.’
~~~
‘So, the reactor is under the floor here,’ Cygnus said. ‘This one’s fully functional.’
‘That’ll be the main energy signature we’re registering,’ Elaine said. ‘The rest of this place is engines?’
‘Yeah, according to the schematics on the damage control display.’
‘That’s quite a lot of engine.’
‘She’s a fast ship. Rho was proud of her. Right now, the surge from the other reactor blew out pretty much all the power couplings. Nothing works.’
‘You think they could be replaced?’
Cygnus raised an eyebrow. ‘Do I look like an engineer?’
Elaine looked at her for a second. ‘We’ve got one woman with an engineering degree who’s a six-foot blonde with big breasts.’
‘Uh… Okay, so I do look like an engineer, but I’m not an engineer, and neither was Rho.’ She frowned. ‘I think you get to the couplings through the access panel over there. If you need to work on the engines themselves, you start having to take hull plates off.’
‘Hugh, did you hear that?’ Elaine asked.
‘I did. We’re probably going to have to do that anyway. I’ll get some engineers in to look at how to do it.’
‘See if you can get the six-foot blonde,’ Cygnus suggested. ‘Maybe people will stop looking at me for two minutes.’
Elaine shook her head. ‘See, that’s just not going to happen.’
~~~
Despite her claims of hot tub inactivity, Andrea had ended up in Bianca’s gym for a couple of hours, then she had gone out for a run, and then it was lunch and calling Roger at Radium Comics to be sure everything was okay without her. It was, which was both comforting and worrying.
‘SFPD detectives continue their search for Mink, the Ultrahuman suspected of killing Snapshot.’ Andrea looked up as the news report came up on the big TV. ‘Lead investigator, Detective Raymond Kuff, indicated that all leads were being followed and several tips had been received regarding the whereabouts of Mink.’
Andrea sniffed and pulled up a list on her laptop while the report continued. ‘Mink has always been one of the most enigmatic Ultras in the country, never giving interviews and rarely being seen, except by those she helps. While police continue to express their confidence in locating her, outside sources indicate that Mink is likely to remain at liberty unless someone who knows her is willing to reveal her secret.’
Hunting Mink Page 23
