The Amtrak Wars: Blood River

by Patrick Tilley

  Delaney listened with a blank expression.

  Jodi then described what had happened after Clearwater had entered the fray at the Heron Pool. When she reached the point where Domain-Lord Hiro Yama-Shita had thrust his sword through his body eight times before falling dead at Clearwater’s feet, Jodi paused and grimaced ruefully.

  ‘I know I’m committing a Code One offence in claiming to have witnessed Mute magic but every word of that I’ve told you is true. One more violation – what difference does it make? I’m finished anyway. But I figure if you or someone could get word to the First Family and let them know what some of those lump-heads are capable of, they might be able to do something about it. At least that way, my death would serve some purpose.’

  Delaney responded with a sympathetic smile. ‘The thought does you credit even if the events, as you describe them, are totally unbelievable.’

  ‘Ma’am, if I hadn’t been there I’d’ve reacted in exactly the same way. But it’s the truth. I swear it. And there’s something else I think you ought to know. Brickman wasn’t a renegade. He was an undercover Fed.’

  Delaney looked puzzled. ‘An undercover Fed …? I don’t think I understand you.’

  ‘It’s Trail-Blazer jargon for some kind of secret agent …’

  ‘Did he tell you that?’

  ‘Yes – ’cept he didn’t use that word. And I accidentally found out Kelso was one too. As to what outfit they were working for, or who’s in charge … all that side of thing’s a mystery. They didn’t say and I didn’t ask. Officially such people don’t exist – right? But this is not something I dreamt up. This is a big deal – and the guys running it are tied in with the nips who helped us get out of Ne-Issan.’

  ‘I see …’ Delaney mulled over this latest disclosure then sat back and placed her elbows on the arm rests of her padded chair. Steepling her fingers, she said: ‘Go back to the beginning. I want to know everything that happened from when you went over the side during the storm.’

  Jodi took a deep breath and launched into her story. It took quite a time. But then it was quite a story.

  When she got to the point where she and the others had transferred to the powered inflatables just before dawn and were heading across Lake Erie towards Long Point, Delaney checked her wristwatch then leant forward and raised her hand. ‘Okay, we’re going to have to hold the rest over. Tell me – referring back to our earlier discussion – whose idea was it for you to try and get back on board The Lady?’

  ‘Mine, ma’am. Soon as I saw those white wing-tips, I knew what I had to do.’

  ‘Ye-esss, I can imagine …’

  Jodi leapt to attention with a rattle of chains as Counsellor Delaney rose from behind the desk and eyed her reproachfully.

  ‘A slow start but we may eventually get somewhere. However, I must say I’m very disappointed you had to be pressured into admitting you covered up for Brickman and his Mute friends. It seriously weakens the case I was hoping to make on your behalf. And in view of your latest claim about Brickman and Kelso I am now obliged to seek the guidance of my superiors. I leave in a less hopeful state than when we began. Perhaps you will reflect on that.’

  ‘Yes, sir-ma’am!’

  Delaney nodded curtly. ‘Good. Till tomorrow then …’ Pressing the delayed-action buzzer to call the Provo escort waiting in the next-door office to take Jodi back to the cells below, she left the room. At the end of the short corridor was an elevator that could only be operated by those carrying the very highest levels of ID-cards. The buzzer summoning the meat-loaves – by now totally bored out of their skulls – did not sound until the doors closed, concealing the identity of the exalted passenger.

  As Delaney was carried melodiously upwards in deep-pile carpeted luxury to the higher levels of the White House, she carefully removed the violet-blue contact lenses to reveal the less striking but more compelling grey-brown eyes belonging to Franklynn Delano Jefferson – one of the President-General’s favourite nieces, and controller, for the last six years, of Steve and Roz Brickman.

  The next day, when Jodi was brought up for interrogation, she found that Delaney was accompanied by a man of indeterminate age; slim build, medium height, lean angular face topped by a high forehead and dark eyes that missed nothing. He was dressed, like Delaney, in the grey uniform of AMEX’s Legal Division.

  The thin, hard mouth and jaw suggested this was a man used to getting what he wanted. But the reassuring lines that converged on the corners of the eyes and the quirky twist to his lips said this was a man who used intelligence and humour to elicit the truth instead of a blackjack and a bath-tub full of cold water.

  ‘This is a colleague of mine,’ said Delaney. ‘He has special knowledge of the, uh … areas you mentioned yesterday. You may talk freely with him of matters I’m not qualified to discuss.’ She turned towards the door.

  ‘Uh … beg pardon, sir-ma’am –’

  Delaney stopped and looked back expectantly.

  ‘Does, uh – does this mean you’re no longer going to act as my defence counsellor?’

  ‘Not necessarily …’

  Karlstrom took over as Delaney walked out. ‘Because of the complex nature of this case the full facts may have to be withheld from the Board of Assessors. In order to make sure you get a fair shake, the Department will probably modify or annul the sentence when it comes up for confirmation or … we may find a way to avoid you coming up for trial.’

  ‘I understand, sir. Thank you, sir.’

  ‘Delaney and I are here to offer whatever help we can.’ A hint of a smile. ‘There are always ways of accommodating deserving cases such as yourself – providing, of course, you tell us everything – exactly the way it happened.’

  ‘I will, sir. I don’t have anything to hide.’

  ‘Yes … well, not now perhaps. However, I should warn you, I’ve been allowed access to certain files. The First Family know a great deal more about Brickman and his friends than you might think.’

  ‘I came back in of my own free will and at the first opportunity, sir. I’m here to tell the truth.’

  ‘Good. Tell me the whole story from the beginning.’

  Jodi looked confused. ‘From when I went over the side of The Lady?’

  ‘No. From when you went over the side of that fishing smack on Lake Erie into the powered inflatable and decided to throw your lot in with Brickman and his Mute friends.’ Karlstrom’s lips tightened into a thin smile as he noted Jodi’s discomfiture. ‘Delaney told me you were having problems trying to recall certain recent events. Do you think you can remember that far back?’

  ‘Yes, sir.’ Jodi told him what happened: explaining why she changed her mind while still being held in the slave-dealer’s compound at Bu-faro, how Kelso had agreed with her, telling Steve, and the collective decision to make the break at Long Point.

  ‘You needn’t tell me how,’ said Karlstrom, ‘I’ve read a copy of the report made out by the person you know as Side-Winder.’

  Jodi picked up the story at the point where she had accidentally overheard Kelso passing a message through SkyBucket Three to someone called ‘Mother’. She had no inkling that Mother, the head of AMEXICO was standing right there in front of her.

  She went on to give details of the crash landing and the subsequent trek through driving snow, the encounter with the Mutes and the appearance of the Skyhawks from The Lady. The reassuring sight of their white-tipped wings had aroused an overwhelming desire to be reunited with her trail-mates. Brickman on the other hand, had greeted her decision to go back in with astonishment.

  ‘Astonishment …? Are you sure?’

  ‘Yes, sir. He tried to talk me out of it. Said they’d probably send me to the wall and shoot Kelso out of hand – because of his injuries.’

  ‘Did you believe him?’

  ‘Yes, sir. I’ve seen summary executions of renegades in the field whilst serving aboard The Lady and I’ve watched ’em going to the wall on Channel Nine. I told him I didn�
��t care what happened to me. It was Dave I was concerned about.’

  Karlstrom gave an understanding nod. ‘And that’s when you told Brickman that Kelso was an undercover agent …’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘How did he react? Was he surprised? Angry? Or did you get the impression you were telling him something he already knew?’

  ‘Well, sir – with Brickman it’s sometimes kinda hard to tell. He looked both surprised and upset – but it was more to do with the fact that I hadn’t told him earlier.’

  ‘But Brickman showed no sign of changing his mind and coming in with you.’

  ‘No, sir.’ Jodi fed Karlstorm the edited version. ‘He’d gotten himself tied in to some kind of deal with the two Mutes who came out of Ne-Issan with us. Don’t ask me what it was. All I know is they and Brickman had to get to Wyoming. Maybe he explained things to the big guy with the red bandana. Side-Winder.’ She spread her hands. ‘You gotta understand, sir. When you’ve got Trackers walking around – not only painted up but with lumps stuck in their faces, and others pretending to be renegades it’s kinda hard for a simple-minded dog-soldier like me to know which way is up!’

  ‘Ye-essss, it must be …’

  ‘The thing was, Brickman sorta came round to my way of thinking but I was worried that the Mutes wouldn’t let me and Kelso get back on board. That’s when I offered –’

  ‘– to lie on his behalf and say that he and his two friends were dead …’

  Jodi felt the undamaged side of her face go pink with embarrassment ‘Yes, sir. After that he was one hundred per cent behind the idea.’

  ‘I imagine he was …’

  Jodi was acutely conscious that her testimony was proving as damaging to Steve as it was to herself. This was not how she’d wanted it to go. ‘I’m sure he had a good reason, sir.’

  ‘So am I. What happened then?’

  Jodi told him about taking a midnight stroll while Steve and Kelso had their fireside chat.

  ‘Any idea what they talked about?’

  ‘No, sir. But I think it must have been something secret ‘cos Brickman wouldn’t let me listen. He said I already knew too much for my own good. They talked for about twenty minutes or so.’

  ‘More than enough time for Brickman to plant the explosives.’

  ‘No, sir! When I got back, Dave – I mean, Kelso was still conscious! And anyway, if I’m supposed to have planted the explosives in the Skyhawk and inside my shirt, how did he make me do that?’

  Karlstrom shrugged lightly. ‘Brickman’s a very persuasive fellow. He talked you into helping him get those Mutes out of Ne-Issan – and you offered to lie to save his skin even though you knew you could be sent to the wall. Blowing yourself to pieces is messier than facing a firing squad but the end result is the same. And a lot faster, too.’

  ‘No, sir!’ cried Jodi. ‘If I’d been sent to the wall only I would have died! The sole reason for coming back in was to try and save Kelso’s life!’

  ‘The sole reason …?’

  ‘No, no, uhh – I mean the main reason,’ stammered Jodi. ‘The two Mutes wanted to kill Dave! I offered to cover up for Brickman because it was the only way I could get them to cooperate!’

  ‘And once you were safely aboard, you were going to tell your commanding officer you’d been forced to lie and that Brickman was still alive …’

  ‘I never got the chance, sir.’

  ‘No. You were too busy trying to blow up The Lady.’

  ‘That wasn’t my doing, sir. I tried to explain that to the counsellor yesterday.’

  ‘Yes, she told me. It’s certainly an intriguing idea …’

  ‘That’s the way it happened, sir. Brickman didn’t have anything to do with it. It was Cadillac and Clearwater. They’re from the clan M’Call. Their turf’s in Wyoming. It was The Lady’s wingmen who fired their crops last year and strafed their warriors with napalm then when they tried to hit back, The Lady took ’em apart.

  ‘They had both motive – revenge – and opportunity.’ Jodi told Karlstrom what happened during the night prior to the pick-up, and backed up her thesis with an account of the skills and knowledge Cadillac had displayed in Ne-Issan.

  Karlstrom allowed Jodi to present her case without interruption then said: ‘Thank you. If this is true, it seems that Brickman bears a great deal of responsibility for allowing – perhaps even encouraging – this transfer of knowledge to one of the enemy. You know the official view of Mute magic but we will bear in mind the possibility that you may have been subjected to some … how shall I put it – unorthodox mind-warping techniques?

  ‘However, because of the prima facie case against you arising out of the attack on The Lady you will remain in detention for the time being –’

  Jodi shot out of her chair and stood rigidly to attention. ‘I understand, sir!’

  ‘– charged with a Code One offence …’ He gave her a narrow-eyed look. Karlstrom did not like being interrupted. ‘I don’t need to underline the seriousness of your present situation but bear in mind my opening remarks about the special nature of this case. You will undergo a thorough debriefing covering the period between your last take-off from The Lady and your return.

  ‘You’ve already gone through much of this with Delaney but I’m sure I can count on your whole-hearted cooperation.’

  ‘Yess-sirr!’

  ‘On the other hand, don’t go overboard. In your own interests and that of the Federation, I advise you to structure your replies to avoid any mention of “Mute magic”. It’s entirely up to you, of course. I’m not asking you to tell lies.’

  ‘No, sir. How d’you mean, sir?’

  ‘Just stick to the facts, don’t embellish them. Take the incident at the Heron Pool. You could describe what you thought you saw then, and on any other similar occasion where you were an eye-witness. Just take care not to make it sound too far-fetched and, above all, don’t attempt to explain it. The last thing we want is for your mental state to be called into question. D’you follow me?’

  ‘Yess-sirr!’

  ‘Good. I can’t promise anything but I’ll do my level best to see you get a fair shake.’

  The following day, Karlstrom and Fran Jefferson were summoned to the Oval Office. The President-General had already scanned the edited video-tapes and text summaries of the two interviews.

  ‘What d’you think, Ben? Have they turned him?’

  ‘This is one of those times when I don’t have a neat answer.’ The set of Karlstrom’s mouth plus a tired wave underlined his frustration. ‘We always knew Brickman was a tricky customer. But then I’ve got a naturally suspicious mind.’

  ‘We both have,’ said the P-G. ‘That’s why I’m still in the hot seat and you’re head of AMEXICO.’

  ‘It certainly helps. But we both know there’s more to it than that.’

  ‘Absolutely. But this is no time to dwell on the mysteries of natural selection and the precarious path of preferment.’ The P-G swivelled his chair a few degrees to his left and aimed a questioning glance at Fran.

  ‘I’m sticking with the Commander-General’s original reading of the runes – based on what happened at Long Point and events prior to that. I think Brickman’s still on the case,’ she said.

  ‘It’s possible. But then, as his controller, you’re going to resist, for as long as you can, the idea that he’s finally jumped the rails.’

  Fran admitted the truth of this with a smile. ‘I won’t deny I have a vested interest in maintaining an aura of infallibility.’

  ‘So do we,’ replied the P-G. ‘It was Ben and I who recruited him into AMEXICO and sent him back out there.’ He treated Karlstrom to a genial smile, enjoying his predicament. ‘Could young Brickman have outfoxed us? Me, the man who’s supposed to know everything – and you, the man who likes to think he knows everything?’

  ‘Don’t rub it in …’

  ‘Just kidding, Ben.’ Karlstrom was one of the few people the President-General could relax wit
h. ‘Okay, if you don’t yet have the facts, Fran, make an informed guess.’

  ‘Kazan is confused but her background material shows her to be a dedicated Grade A soldier. I’m inclined to believe her testimony – even though much of it is not admissible.’

  ‘Ben …?’

  ‘I agree. If Brickman had been part of the plan to cripple The Lady he’d have killed our three operatives at Long Point. We deliberately kept the reception committee small to allow him some elbow room, some flexibility. But it didn’t enter his plan of action. It was Kelso who went through the motions – and allowed Kazan to talk him out of it. The two incidents just don’t square – and whatever else he might be, our golden boy is consistent.’ Karlstrom outlined what he thought Steve’s game-plan might be.

  ‘And you think, when he discovered Kelso was a fellow Mexican, he put him in the picture …’

  ‘Let’s call him Rat-Catcher and her Jodi. That way, we’ll know which “K” was working for us. And the answer to your question is “Yes”, I think he did. Jodi says Brickman talked to him for about twenty minutes and both of them kept their voices down. Rat-Catcher was an old hand. He wouldn’t have spent time swapping case-notes and –’

  ‘– it was too early for them to be saying goodbye …’

  ‘Exactly. What is more, the two Mutes weren’t around. If their eventual fate was the subject of the conversation Brickman couldn’t have picked a better time. As to his game-plan, well – there I’m only guessing.’

  ‘But it does fit in with what we know of his character?’ The President-General aimed the question at Fran.

  ‘Oh, yes. Brickman is more than capable of that degree of deception.’

  ‘The question is – was that all Rat-Catcher was supposed to tell us? Or was there something else?’

  The P-G smiled. ‘I’ll leave you to wrestle with the imponderables, Ben.’ He stood up to indicate the meeting was over. ‘Brickman knows what will happen to his kin-sister if he steps too far out of line.’ A thought struck him. ‘Can’t she tell you what he’s up to?’