by P. A. Piatt
“Makes sense. Stir up trouble, drop the hammer—”
“And seize control.”
They rounded a corner and spotted the walls of Fenway two blocks ahead.
“Home sweet home, sir.”
Fortis looked at his watch. “Only for another six hours.”
* * * * *
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Governor Czrk and Director Chive met Fortis and his men after they completed decontamination.
“Where’s Finkle?” Chive demanded as soon as the door opened.
“We lost him,” Fortis retorted. “The hovercopter flipped over and crashed in the middle of a rock storm—”
“An Eolian Blast,” interjected Czrk.
“Yeah, an Eolian Blast. We went down, hard. Your guy Rentz is dead, and Dolph is missing. I’ve got a man with a head injury and a couple others who require medical attention.”
“What happened to Finkle?”
Fortis threw up his hands. “Mr. Chive, didn’t you hear what I said?” He felt the blood rising in his face. “The hovercopter crashed upside-down. One of your men is dead, and the other one is missing. I don’t know where Finkle is; he might be dead, too.”
“Dolph is here. He said Finkle was with you.”
“Dolph is here?”
“He returned shortly after the storm subsided. He was thrown clear of the wreck. When he came to, you and your men were gone, along with the prisoner. Where were you?”
The lieutenant shook his head. “The storm was tearing the hovercopter apart, so we hauled ass and found a building to hide out in. Rentz is still in the wreckage, without his head.”
“So, you don’t know what happened to Finkle?” Chive stabbed an accusatory finger at Fortis and scowled. “Are you sure?”
Fortis took a step toward the mercenary leader, and Ystremski threw an arm across his chest to hold him back.
“Director Chive, if you want to accuse me of something, then accuse me. What the fuck do you think was happening out there? Have you ever been in an Eolian Blast?”
Governor Czrk stepped between the two men. “Gentlemen, please. There’s no need for this. Lieutenant, we’re all happy that you survived the crash and the storm. If your men need medical attention my staff will do our best to patch them up. As for the prisoner—” he looked at Chive, “—there will be other opportunities to apprehend him.”
“You’ll have to put in your own work,” Fortis said as he stared at Chive. “Our transport is due soon, and I won’t put any more of my men at risk this close to our extraction.”
“That’s understandable,” agreed Czrk. “I’ll arrange with Chief Schultz to have Marx and Landis transferred to your custody.”
“Thank you, Governor. There’s another matter I’d like to speak with you about in private, if you have a moment.”
“Of course. Follow me to my office.”
Fortis turned to Ystremski. “Take the men down to the dormitory and get them ready for extraction.”
“Yes, sir.”
Fortis and Chive followed Czrk to the governor’s office. Fortis resisted the urge to glance at the mercenary as they walked, but he didn’t want to acknowledge Chive’s presence. When they arrived, he stopped and blocked the mercenary from entering.
“In private.”
Chive looked past him to Governor Czrk, but the governor just waved.
“It’s okay, Director Chive. I’ll contact you later. Come on in, Lieutenant.”
Fortis entered the office and closed the door behind him before he accepted the offered seat. The governor settled into his own chair and folded his hands on his desk.
“What’s on your mind, Mr. Fortis?”
“Mikel Chive and the Kuiper Knights are manufacturing China Mike at their compound outside Boston. They hide the drug in the refurbished equipment the GRC sends to mining colonies throughout the sector. They do some local trafficking to lend credence to the idea that there is an active labor resistance movement and to foment instability here on Eros-28.”
Governor Czrk stared at Fortis for a long moment, and the Space Marine started wondering if he’d even heard what Fortis had said.
Finally, he said, “How do you know all this? Did Director Chive admit it to you?”
“No, sir, not Chive. Have you ever heard of a man named Jandahl?”
“No, the name’s not familiar. Should it be?”
“Jandahl is—or was—a GRC intelligence operative sent by corporate to investigate what was going on here. You’ve had some recent problems with production?”
Czrk nodded. “Yes. We had a work slowdown, and then the resistance blew up a garage full of equipment that was ready for transportation.”
“Jandahl approached me a couple days ago. He told me that he suspected Chive and the Kuiper Knights were up to something, but he wasn’t sure what it was. He also told me that they had murdered Chick Root at their compound and that they would likely dispose of his body to make it look like an overdose.
“The next day some colonists found Root’s body in Boston. I went to the scene with Chief Schultz, Governor. Someone did try to make it look like an overdose, but it wasn’t. That same day, Corporal Ystremski witnessed Jandahl and Chive meet in a utility room off the main passage. Immediately after that meeting, he found Jandahl dead.”
“Chive killed Jandahl?”
“It looks that way. The corporal didn’t see Chive do it, but he entered the utility room immediately after Chive left and found Jandahl’s body.”
“I’ve received no reports about a body discovered here in Fenway.”
Fortis grimaced and shook his head. “Unfortunately, Corporal Ystremski didn’t report it right away. He waited until Chief Schultz and I returned from the Chick Root crime scene, and by the time we got to the utility room Jandahl’s body was gone.”
“A corporate intelligence operative I’ve never heard of tells you that Chive and his men are ‘up to something,’ but he doesn’t know what. Then your corporal reports that Chive murdered him, but when he took you to the body it’s disappeared. Is that a fair summary of your story?” The skepticism in the governor’s voice was thick.
“Sir, Jandahl talked to me and Corporal Ystremski. Ystremski has no reason to lie about finding Jandahl’s body. There’s more, too. Dask Finkle, the resistance leader, is the one who told me that they collapsed the garage because the Kuiper Knights stuffed the equipment full of China Mike.”
“You talked to Finkle?”
“After the hovercopter crashed, Finkle led me and my men to safety in the subway. We talked while we were down there. That’s when he told me about the resistance and the reason they bombed the garage.”
“Where is Finkle now? How did he escape?”
“He didn’t. He saved my men, so I let him go.”
“You lied to Chive.”
“Damn right I did, and I’d do it again. I’m not turning anyone else over to Chive and his men. All the resistance members that we’ve turned over are dead or missing.”
Czrk shrugged but said nothing.
“He’s torturing and murdering them.”
“You’re sure about that? Why would he do it?”
“To ratchet up the pressure on the resistance and force them to act out. To ratchet up the pressure on you and destabilize Eros-28.”
Governor Czrk leaned back and steepled his fingers on his chin. “To what purpose, Mr. Fortis? What reason would Chive have to want to destabilize this colony? If he needs this place as a safe haven to manufacture his drugs, it doesn’t make sense to draw attention to it.”
Fortis took a deep breath before he answered. “He wants control of the colony, Governor. I can’t prove it, but I believe he’s attempting to take over Eros-28, either for himself or for the Kuiper Knights. I think Jandahl discovered what Chive is up to, so Chive murdered him.”
“You’ve spoken to Chief Schultz about this.” It wasn’t a question, but Fortis nodded.
“Some. Not since I put this a
ll together.”
“The chief made some pointed remarks in that meeting with me and Director Chive.”
Fortis scoffed. “I’ll say.” He leaned forward in his chair. “Chief Schultz has a complex job, sir. He’s a corporate officer with deep local roots, but I think he sees what’s happening. You need to as well.”
“Chive and his men are here at the direction of the GRC, Lieutenant Fortis. My name appears in a box above his on the organizational chart, but he operates independently.”
“If you don’t stop him, your name won’t be on the organizational chart for much longer. Governor, please, listen to me. You’re popular with the workers here. Dask Finkle told me as much, but the resistance is not going to stand by and let your director of security turn their colony into a narco-state.
“If Chive and the Kuiper Knights seize control of Eros-28, they’ll be reinforced in large numbers, and it will be impossible to get them out. I don’t think the UNT will get involved in a hostile business takeover. The GRC will be forced to negotiate with the Knights to continue Fenway operations or lose trillions of credits. Resource extraction in this sector will stop without somewhere to repair and refurbish the equipment.”
By the time he finished, the enormity of his accusations against Chive and the scope of the plot against Governor Czrk and Eros-28 astounded Fortis. When he put the pieces together, it sounded more like the plot of a blockbuster film than real life.
* * *
Chive signaled to his men to follow him as he made for the colonial police complex. They burst through the doors and rushed into the space with their weapons at the ready.
“It’s time we take control of the leverage.”
“What the hell’s going on here?” demanded Officer Upham. “You can’t do that—”
One of the black-clad mercenaries butt-stroked the burly policeman and he crashed to the deck in a heap.
Chief Schultz heard the commotion and emerged from his office.
“Chive, what the hell are you doing here?”
“We’ve come for Marx and Landis,” Chive replied. “I’m taking them with me.”
“You can’t do that—”
“Do you all read from the same script?” Chive drew his dueling sword and thrust it deep into Schultz’s chest. The chief made a surprised face, looked down at the red stain blooming across his chest, and collapsed. Three spurts of blood marked the final beats of his heart, then he was dead. Chive pointed to the sign that read HOLDING CELLS.
“Go get them.”
Even with four men per cell, the Kuiper Knights had difficulty subduing the two strength-enhanced Space Marines.
Marx knocked his first attacker out cold with a straight right, but the other three crowded too close to generate more full-power punches. Eventually, he went down under a flurry of kicks, punches, and pulse rifle jabs.
In the next cell, Landis managed to tear the leg off his chair and used it to fend off his attackers. Instead of rushing him, one of the mercenaries deployed pepper spray and then tackled him before he could land more than a couple strikes with his improvised weapon. Landis was beaten unconscious before he was dragged from his cell and dumped on the office floor.
Chive led his men to the garage, where they met Dolph at the crawler. The Space Marines were dumped into the back, the mercenaries mounted up, and the vehicle was driven out of the facility.
* * *
Back in the governor’s office, Czrk and Fortis were still deep in conversation, oblivious to the action taking place down the hall. Governor Czrk remained expressionless as Fortis talked. Finally, he sat up and placed his hands flat on his desk. “Lieutenant, I’m—”
The door slammed open, and Officer Upham staggered in with his hands clutched to his head. Blood flowed between his fingers, and he would have fallen to the floor if Fortis hadn’t caught him.
“What happened?” Czrk and Fortis demanded simultaneously.
“Chief Schultz…dead…Chive…”
“Chive? Chive what?”
“Stabbed…we fought…prisoners…” Upham’s head rolled on his shoulders as he collapsed in Fortis’ arms, unconscious.
Czrk helped Fortis lower the injured man to the carpet and Fortis inspected his wounds. He had two long gashes under his hairline that were bleeding profusely.
“Head wounds bleed a lot,” he told the governor as he wrapped Upham’s head in a towel Czrk handed to him. “Call your medics. I’ll go check on the chief and Marx and Landis.”
Fortis found Chief Schultz on the floor in front of his desk with a bloody wound in his chest. He raced to the holding cells.
The overturned and broken furniture and a bloody handprint smeared along one wall was testament to the ferocity of the battle. The faint smell of pepper spray still hung in the air. Marx and Landis were gone.
He found the governor in the passageway as medical technicians wheeled Officer Upham toward the infirmary.
“Chief Schultz is dead; Marx and Landis are gone.”
“Chive probably took them to his compound,” replied the governor. “What can we do?”
Fortis consulted his watch. “I’ve got three hours and a platoon of Space Marines. I’m going to get Marx and Landis back. And then I’m going to kill that sonofabitch.”
* * * * *
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“What the hell is going on?” Dolph asked Chive as he piloted the crawler.
Chive wiped his bloody hands with a rag and threw it to the floor. “We went to take custody of the Space Marines and Fat Schultz got in the way.”
“You killed Chief Schultz?”
“Maybe. Probably. The last time I saw him he was bleeding from a hole in his chest.”
“Fuck, Chive, are you out of your mind? You can’t just kill the chief of police.”
“Who’s going to stop me? We are the law here, not some obese freeloader and his band of half-witted plow drivers.”
“What about the Space Marines? Why did you have to grab them? You think Lieutenant Fortis is going to just forget about his men?”
“Leverage, Dolph. Forget about Fortis and the Space Marines. They won’t do a damn thing because they don’t have time. Their transport’s due to arrive, and they’ll go back where they came from and make up a story to cover their asses.”
“You’re making a mistake, Chive. Don’t underestimate them.”
“Underestimate them? You’re underestimating me.”
Dolph looked down at the bloody rag. “Obviously.”
“Remember, you’re the one who said the lieutenant was long on enthusiasm and short on smarts. Now you’re warning me not to underestimate him?”
They rode in silence as the crawler bumped over the rocky track that led to the Kuiper Knight compound.
“I think you’re moving too fast, Chive. Killing the chief is a pretty drastic step. I thought the plan was to run Czrk out of the colony and get you appointed governor.”
“It still is. Schultz had to go, anyway. I just improvised and eliminated one of our problems a little early.” Chive stared at Dolph in the lights of the console. “It sounds like you’re going soft on me. Whose side are you on, anyway?”
Dolph shook his head. “You’re in command; I just do what I’m told. All I’m saying is that picking a fight with the ISMC isn’t a good move.”
* * *
Fortis burst into the dormitory and found Ystremski and the Space Marines with their bags packed and the space gleaming.
“Get both assault teams ready to go,” Fortis ordered. “Everybody else grab our gear and head to the landing pad airlock.”
The platoon gathered around the two men.
“What’s going on, LT?”
“I met with the governor. I laid out everything we knew about Chive, the Kuiper Knights, the China Mike, and the resistance. I think I had him convinced when one of the cops came in, all bloodied up. Chive and some of his mercenaries beat this guy down, murdered Schultz, and kidnapped Marx and Landis.”
“What? Where did they go?”
“Beats me, but I’d bet they went to their compound.”
“Saddle up, lads,” Ystremski ordered the Space Marines. “I want two full assault teams; substitutes for the guys who got hurt in the crash. Move!” He turned back to Fortis. “Where’s the compound?”
Fortis waved the keys to Chief Schultz’s police cart. “I have no idea, but I think I know who does.”
The lieutenant steered the cart through Boston in search of the wrecked hovercraft. He kept the Fenway periscope behind his right shoulder as he wound his way through narrow alleys and side streets, eventually ending up at the wrecked hovercopter. The neighborhood was dark and quiet. It was hard to believe a deadly storm had raged there just hours earlier.
He flipped a switch marked Siren and turned on the flashing lights. After a few seconds he turned them off.
“Dask Finkle!” he shouted. “I need to talk to Dask Finkle.”
His voice echoed through the deserted streets.
“Dask Finkle!”
“Fuck off!” someone shouted in the distance, and several other voices laughed.
Fortis hit the siren again and let it wail for a full minute before he turned it off.
“I need to talk to Dask Finkle!”
A shadowy figure detached from a building down the street. As it approached, Fortis recognized the resistance leader.
“Take it easy, Lieutenant. I’m right here. Why have you come here?”
“Chive murdered Chief Schultz and kidnapped my men from the holding cells in Fenway. I think he’s taken them to the Kuiper Knights’ compound. I’m going to get them back, and I need your help.”
“My help? What do you want from me? I’m not a fighter, LT. I don’t have a gun.”
“You know where their compound is, and I’m pretty sure you do have something I need.”
