Chaakwa’s ears pricked up at the last item. “Not that he owns?”
Molly shook her head. “Remember how we said we’re taking them down? We’re going to physically take them down, too. And to do that, we need to know where they might be staying. We’ve got Newld holed up in her office building under heavy security. We have a suspicion where Mac might be; he has a safe house in the city. But Andus? He’s disappeared. Nothing to track; no trace. Nothing to hint at where he might be.”
Chaakwa thought for a moment, and then pulled up her holo. “You know, he owns so many properties. I have no idea how we might possibly narrow down his location…”
Molly’s brain was going a million miles a minute.
If I may intervene?
Sure.
He has a holo. We know that from learning he was in the same location as us and Garet the morning we went to pick up The Syndicate.
Hang on! You mean Garet met with them before we arrived, guns blazing, at the Senate House?
Yes. I thought you’d assumed that.
Yes, Oz, but it’s also nice to have actual evidence to back us up.
Okay. Well, I just found this out now, as I was contemplating how to solve our immediate problem.
I see. Anyway, go ahead. You were saying?
Yes. So we know he has a holo. It was registered under a random company, and to a fake name, but it must have been him, because the other two were Kerr and Newld. Then I tracked all the data from any previous holo he’s had registered under that name, assuming they were all him.
Okay, and?
Well I’ve traced his activity, and mapped his behavior over the last decade. Then I isolated the behaviors when he wasn’t under any perceived threat, and took those out. Now I’m looking at his geographical profiles for when he’s under threat. He has a few different hideouts he’s used.
Okay, so how do we narrow it down?
Well, his holo went dead between meeting Garet, and disappearing. But if we can overlay the properties he owns, plus any other building he might be associated with, we can look at what he was near — or moving in the direction of – when he killed the signal.
Molly nodded. Chaakwa looked up at her. “You’re talking to him now? Your AI?”
Molly smiled. “Yes,” she confirmed. “And he’s been doing an excellent job at solving our problem. Here’s what we need to do…”
CHAPTER TEN
Mac Kerr’s Spire Safe house
“Okay, this is the address that Maya gave us.” Sean undid his safety harness and sat forward in the pod.
Jack did the same. “Let’s hope he’s there. I’m itching to try out these new hand guns.”
Sean glanced over at her. “Anyone ever told you you’re not like most girls?”
“All the time,” Jack smiled. The pod came to a stop a couple of feet above the sidewalk. The door slid quietly open and Sean slipped out, landing gently on the ground, followed by Jack. As soon as they were clear of the pods, the pods disappeared off into the air. Barely anyone on the street noticed their arrival, or departure.
Jack looked up at the building. “Looks just like a normal apartment block,” she commented.
Sean looked over at her, and then followed her gaze up. “I guess that’s the point when one is selecting a safe house.”
Jack glanced at him sideways, and then back at the building. “Okay, let’s do this.”
Sean nodded and strode forward towards the door, and then typed something into his holo. Jack couldn’t see what. A moment later, the door clicked open.
Jack stared at the back of his head. Sean could feel her eyes on him, but pretended not to notice as he slipped his weapon from his holster.
Jack wasn’t letting it go. “How the hell did you do that?” she asked in a hushed whisper. She briefly examined the door’s access point, and the door itself, as they moved past and into the hallway.
Sean turned slightly so she could see his profile. He put a finger to his lips, and then indicated forward.
Guess that conversation’s over, Jack thought as she took her weapon out and started sweeping the area.
Sean held up three fingers and pointed upward. Jack nodded and followed him as he found the stairwell. The pair made their way up the three floors, and found number 307 as fast as they could.
As they stood on either side of the apartment door, Sean contemplated what to do. Announce or just breach? Announcement would just give Kerr a head start, he figured. And who knows what kind of armament he has on the other side of the door?
His decision came down on the side of breach.
He signaled to Jack, relieved to have someone on his team who understood his hand signals easily. Not that Joel didn’t; he just always felt like he was being a dick when he went all military with Joel, for some reason. Jack, on the other hand, was a soldier through and through. She lived for this shit. He could tell.
Like, just now, when he signaled to breach in three, her eyes lit up as if it were her birthday.
Kinda cute, in a tomboy kinda way, he thought, before putting his mind back on the job.
He tapped at his holo a few more times, and the door slid open. He was the first into the apartment, quickly followed by Jack, who was ready to cover him and lay down fire wherever it was needed. Their weapons swept the whole scene to find nothing but a sparsely furnished apartment.
They stepped farther inside, and still drew no fire.
No movement.
Sean used his hand signals to tell Jack where to search, and then he did a sweep in the other direction. Eventually, they both arrived back in the central living room, guns now lowered and shoulders slumped in mild disappointment.
“Nothing,” Sean concluded.
Jack pushed out her bottom lip. “Pooh,” she remarked.
Sean grinned. “Now you look like a girl!” he told her.
She quickly straightened her face and copied Sean’s normal pose. He couldn’t help but laugh.
Jack looked around, noticing details. She wandered back into the kitchen, looking for any signs of heat, food, or recent activity.
“I don’t think he’s been here for a while,” she called through to Sean.
Sean swiped through the living room holo, looking at recent activity. “Looks like. Most recent activity that wasn’t just the cleaner checking in was about nine months ago,” he told her as she came back into the room.
She leaned against the kitchen doorframe. “Think he’s on the run?”
Sean turned to look at her. “Probably. I mean, hopefully. According to Molly’s profile, that would be a fate worse than death.” He paused, looking around and holstering his weapon again. “Although…” he ambled over to look at a picture of the city, “Spire was his home. From what we can tell, after he left the outer system, he worked hard to not have to keep running and hiding. He went to great lengths to change his identity. My guess is he won’t be so easy to run out of the city.”
Jack went over and stood next to Sean as he inspected the picture on the wall. “You think he might change his identity again?”
Sean nodded. “He might try. If it means disappearing but keeping the comfort of his old life.”
Jack glanced up at him. “So, is there any way we can trace that? So that he can’t?”
Sean tilted his head sideways. “I’m not sure. There are a few things we could try…”
He started back towards the door. “In the meantime, he’ll be sweating it out; which is exactly what Molly wanted for him. He knows we’re onto him, and he knows we’re coming for him. It’s just a matter of time.”
He led the way back out into the hall and pulled up his holo, connecting a call with Maya. “Hey, Maya,” he said, waiting for Jack to follow him out and then closing up the apartment behind them. “Looks like the apartment is a bust. Want us to run down any more locations while we’re down here?”
Jack waited while Maya and Sean spoke over his implant. She headed back in the direction of the stairwell
, noticing everything she could about the building — imagining the people who might live here, while listening for any sounds of life. There was nothing. Just silence.
And Sean. “Okay. We’ll head back, then; but let Molly know that if she needs us, we can be with her as soon as she has a location she wants to check out.”
Sean and Maya said their goodbyes, and then Sean hung up.
Sean shrugged as he headed over to the stairwell. “Looks like it’s back to base for us. For now. There’s another possibility that Oz has flagged, but we’re going to need a different ride.”
Jack eyed him suspiciously, but already knew better than to push him to reveal. He was having way too much fun. Something told her that the next ‘ride’ was going to have big, manly guns attached to it.
And probably lots of them.
Senate House, Spire
Joel stepped back into Garet’s office. “Hotel is booked,” he told Paige.
She looked up, eyes weary and skin dull from the hard work and focus.
“You look beat,” he told her.
Paige nodded. “I am,” she sighed, closing down a holo screen and sitting back. She glanced at Garet, who was pacing by his desk, talking to another senator. “I think it’s time to call it a night. We’ve done all we can do.”
Garet finished his call and turned back around. “We’ve got another one on board,” he announced.
Paige, despite her fatigue, clapped her hands. “That’s great news!” she exclaimed brightly. Then her face changed suddenly to serious-Paige. “But we need to get some rest.”
Garet waved as if to tell them goodnight, but Paige wasn’t done. “And when I say ‘we’, I mean all of us.” She looked at him sternly as he went to make another call. “I mean it, buddy. Plenty more to do tomorrow,” she told him.
Garet looked at the time and yawned. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” He raised one eyebrow, almost playfully. “Probably,” he added.
She narrowed her eyes and started packing up. Joel stepped over to the sofas to help her.
Garet had started doing the same. “Hey, do you guys need a car to your hotel?” he asked.
Joel looked over. “No, but thank you. We’re good.” He had a glint in his eye. Paige could tell he was dying to show off the pods, but she knew he wouldn’t. They’d had this conversation about the tech they had access to. It just wasn’t worth drawing attention to it.
Joel had done all he could. “Okay, I’ll meet you outside on the steps, Paige.”
Paige smiled over at him. “Sure. Thanks,” she added.
Garet ambled over and perched on the chair next to the two sofas. “You did good today,” he told her.
She smiled. “Thanks. You weren’t bad yourself.” She glanced at the door. Part of her wanted to be here, to get some closure; the other part of her just didn’t trust him. She wasn’t concerned about her safety – she just felt a little uncomfortable around him, now.
Garet dropped the professional facade for a moment. “So, how is life up on Gaitune these days?” he asked.
She could see his eyes were fatigued with stress, and he’d started graying a little. Yet somewhere, she felt, was the same guy in there: the junior official who would flirt with her when he came by her desk to see his boss.
Paige closed her bag and stood up. “It’s great. It’s everything I didn’t have down here.”
Garet stood up with her. “Good. Hey, let me walk you out…” He motioned to her to lead the way and they headed for the door. Before they got there, though, he stopped. “You know… if you ever wanted to come back…” His voice seemed to catch in his throat.
Paige turned around to look at him properly. He seemed genuine. She paused a moment, considering.
He looked at her expectantly, like maybe without Joel around she might be different. Paige’s eyes dropped to the floor and she shook her head. “No. I don’t want to.” She forced a smile. “But thank you.”
Paige turned and stepped through the open door. Garet made it to the door and paused. He hung one hand on the door, trying to decide whether to follow her out or to stay, and escape any awkwardness.
He called after her. “You go on ahead. I’ve just remembered something I need to do.”
She turned back and waved, then carried on down the hall, feeling just a little bit stronger; feeling that her answer had allowed her to reclaim a small piece of herself.
Police Precinct, Downtown Spire
Molly sat back in her chair and stretched. “Oh my ancestors. I’m so ready for another mocha!” she declared, half-yawning, half-whining.
Chaakwa looked up, her stony police lady face breaking into a grin. “How on Sark will you sleep tonight, if you have one at this time?”
Molly shook her head. “It’s a good point, but the mocha addiction comes first.”
Chaakwa chuckled. “You’re a braver woman than I,” she smiled, looking back at the file she’d been scouring through.
Oz, we got anything new?
Closest match is a 78% probability.
“Still at 78% for that abandoned building…” she relayed to Chaakwa.
Chaakwa pursed her lips. “Damn it. Lemme see if there are traffic cams in that area. Maybe we can get lucky…”
Chaakwa opened a different screen and started identifying herself to the police system.
It was past 11pm, and most of the normal office activity outside had died down. Molly had considered trying their in-house mocha machine, but each time had talked herself out of it, knowing what a disappointment it would be.
“Let me call my team and let them know where we’re up to,” she said finally, getting up out of the chair from which she hadn’t moved for the last several hours.
Chaakwa acknowledged her statement and continued accessing the system, cross-referencing the address and cross streets they were interested in.
Molly had pulled up her holo. The call connected. “Hey, yeah, it’s me.” She paused. “Yeah, I guess Oz is routing it through the ops room, and whatever mystical tech they’re using there. Yeah, it’s on my list… anyway, Maya, listen to me.”
Molly paused, waiting for Maya to finish her apology for rambling. “It’s okay. I’m here with Detective Chaakwa; we’ve identified a building where Andus might be holed up, but we’re working on making certain he’s there. In the meantime, Oz is going to send you some other intel we’ve gathered. Detective Chaakwa had another four or five businesses, and some more properties for him that we didn’t know about. We need you and Pieter to do the same on those, alright?”
Chaakwa glanced over at Molly while her system completed a search. Molly continued talking some more. “Yes, yes. That’s fine. Okay, I’ll be back in a few hours, I think. Check in on Joel and Paige for me, and get an update.”
She paused again. “Yep. You’re point lady right now. It suits you,” she added with a little laugh. “Okay, great. Yes, see you in a little while.”
Chaakwa smiled over the top of her holoscreen. “Good team you have there,” she commented.
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