by Lewis Dually
“Just who the heck do you think you are? I’ve spent the last five weeks putting up with vulgar sexual innuendoes, grabby hands and unwanted come-on’s trying to bust this case and you waltz in here and blow the whole dang thing. Five weeks walking in these stupid high heels and shaking my fanny and for what? My suspect is in the wind and I don’t have a thing to show for it!”
“I’m sorry.” I said. “Who are you?”
“Clair White, Special Investigator with the Texas Rangers. Who are you?” She demanded.
“Navy Commander Allen Paul of the UES Dawn Rising. I replied. My name didn’t trigger any response but when I named the Dawn Rising her face lit up with instant recognition.
“Dawn Rising? The ship they’re talking about on the news, the battle at Neptune? Is all that true?”
“That’s classified but I can tell you my visit here is directly related to it. The PDA will be here soon and no doubt will want all the info you have on this business and Mr. Hoag. What are you investigating him for?”
“Wire fraud, tax evasion, money laundering and we’re looking into the disappearance of the former receptionist. That’s how I got in. She went missing and I applied for her job.”
“Lucky they hired you.” I said.
“Luck had nothing to do with. Put on a mini skirt and flirt. That’s how you get a job in this establishment.” She replied.
Off in the distance I could hear the wail of Sirens coming from two directions at once. “Sounds like the Calvary is coming. Do you have a badge?”
White reached in her clutch and pulled out a silver Texas Ranger Star and hung it around her neck with the lanyard it was attached to. Then she reached for the door handle and froze for a moment before releasing the handle and looking at me.
“Hoag had a conversation this morning on the phone. I don’t know what it was about or who he was talking to but he did mention Neptune in the conversation. I didn’t think anything about it at the time. Neptune wasn’t on our radar but the call will be recorded on our phone taps.”
“Excellent! Where can I hear the phone taps?”
“We have them on the server at our command post. You can hear them there. Did you break your nose in the battle?”
With her sudden change of topic catching me off guard I blurted out. “Yes, as a matter of fact I did. One of the enemy ships drifted into us and I slammed my head against the port window. I woke up in sickbay with our ships doctor shining a flashlight in my face.”
Oh she was good. With one simple question posed at an unexpected time she got me to divulge classified details of the battle. I guess I could give her a little info sense she had just given me some. Hoag had no reason to be talking about Neptune. There were no mining colonies on or near the gas giant and no civilians ever went near it. The only thing he could have been talking about was the battle. Maybe he heard about it on the news just moments before I entered but that wouldn’t explain his jack rabbit maneuver. He definitely recognized either my name or the Dawn Rising and it put him on the run. The question was why. What was he into?
We walked back into the lobby just as the first Siren blasting vehicle pulled to a stop in front of the office. I expected to see a Harris County Sheriffs car but instead saw a black SUV with tinted windows. Two men exited the SUV dressed in blue suits and wearing dark sun glasses. They hurried through the front door, looked around for a second and then made a beeline for me.
“Commander Paul, I’m Special Agent Larson and this is Agent Booker with the PDA.” The older of the two said.
“PDA, Texas Rangers, Navy and Houston cops. Who’s next?” I asked. “We might as well invite the FBI, INS and DEA.”
White spoke up. “Actually our investigation is a joint effort with the FBI so they will be here soon.”
“Oh goody!” I snarled. “Tell you what. Sense I came here looking into a link with this business and the coming Alien invasion and sense I’m the only one here who has actually seen an Alien, can I take the lead here and suggest we don’t do anything until all the players are on the field?”
“Alien invasion?” White gasped. “Are you serious?”
“Yes! That’s what we think and Mr. J. T. Hoag has some connection to it. I need that phone conversation.”
“You got it.” She replied. “Be right back.”
White headed for the help desk and picked up the phone while the two feds and I looked to see who was driving the second Siren blasting vehicle that just stopped in front of the office. It was a Harris county sheriff’s deputy and agent Booker headed out to meet him while agent Larson pulled me into a small unoccupied office.
“We appreciate your contribution to this investigation but we are in charge here. We will wait for the other players, as you put it, but only because I need to know the scope of their investigation before we take it over. You need to stop using words like Alien invasion and let us do the talking. I wouldn’t even allow you to remain here but my supervisor ordered me to keep you in the loop and, as you said, you are the only one who has actually seen one of the Aliens so you can stay, but if you become a liability I won’t hesitate to have you removed. Is that clear?”
“That will be the day.” I said. “All I want is to hear the phone conversation Hoag had this morning and I’ll be out of your hair.” I turned and left Larson in the office before my temper got the best of me. And I thought Dr. Shaw wasn’t a team player. One hour later all the players were gathered in the large conference room in the back of Belt Line Staffing.
“Who’s in charge of this cluster?” Merle Baca snorted in a south Texas draw that reminded me of the crusty old livery owner in a western I had recently watched. He was the Commander of the Texas Rangers and was used to being the stud duck in his very large pond. Playing second fiddle to a bunch of Feds probably wasn’t on his list of favorite things to do. When Baca first arrived I half expected to see his horse tied at a corner hitching post. The man was actually wearing spurs! Snake skin boots, Levi’s, white Stetson, nickel plated cowboy action revolver, brown leather gun belt and holster with a row of silver forty five caliber cartridges ringing his back side and spurs! I later found out he had just come from a three gun shooting match sponsored by the Texas Law Enforcement Association and Baca, like many others, like to compete in full period costume.
“You folks should communicate your intentions before you go bustin into another agency’s investigation.” He continued. He didn’t mention any names but he was looking directly at me.
Special Agent Larson spoke up. “The PDA will be taking the lead on this investigation. We are looking into ties between Belt Line Staffing and a possible human trafficking ring operating in the Belt. This is a classified operation and anything said here today should not leave this room. We expect full cooperation from all parties involved.”
“Horse hockey!” Baca snorted. “The Planetary Defense Agency don’t care about human trafficking. You’re investigating Aliens! And the Navy being here tells me it’s connected to the battle at Neptune so don’t you worry. You’ll get your full cooperation from the state of Texas. But I fully expect to be kept in the loop. I have the Governor’s number on speed dial and I ain’t afraid to use it. Comprende?”
Baca was fast becoming one of my favorite people. Agent Larson looked like he was about to explode as he tried stare down Baca but the Texas law man looked as cool as a cucumber. Finally Booker broke the silence.
“The Navy’s presence here is purely coincidental. Commander Paul just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and spooked your suspect.”
“Coincidental my foot!” I interjected. “I’ve been chasing leads from here to Neptune and back and was exactly where I wanted to be at exactly the right time. Let’s just be clear about this. There is an Alien scout group parked on the edge of the Kuiper Belt and this establishment and Mr. Hoag seem to be indirectly related to its presence in our system. Had I been anywhere else in the known universe I would have stormed in here with a company of Marine
Recon and Navy Seals. The rest of you can investigate whatever you want for as long as you want. I just want one thing. I want to hear the phone conversation Hoag had this morning when he talked about Neptune. You let me hear that conversation and I’ll be out of your hair. I have an Alien battle group to contend with and don’t have time to screw around down here.”
Larson’s face was as red as a beet and I could see the vein in his neck beating away like a jack hammer on overload. He wanted to say something but all he could manage was a burning glair directed at me. He was smart enough to know I wasn’t under his jurisdiction. The other people in the room were conspicuously quiet and no doubt were enjoying the show.
Finally Baca stepped over to me and quietly said. “Come with me and I’ll get you that conversation.”
We left the offices of Belt Line Staffing in the care of the PDA as we drove away in Merle Baca’s truck. Merle removed his gun belt before climbing in the six wheeled behemoth and laid it across the seat. The pearl handled Navy Colt gleamed at me from its holster and I had to fight the urge to touch it. Merle pulled a fresh can of snuff out of his shirt pocket and deftly cut the lid loose with a finger nail while driving with the other hand. I had managed almost three days without a dip and the smell of the fresh can was intoxicating.
“You put on quite a show in there hoss.” Merle remarked. “I’ve never seen the PDA back down like that.”
“That’s because they don’t have any authority over me. Unfortunately I don’t have any over them either. We’re more or less equals so we do a lot of head butting and don’t get much done.”
“I know how that is. I’ve been butting heads with the PDA for about two years now. My actions back there were more politics than anything else. I’m starting a new job next month and wanted to let them yahoo’s know I’d won the last battle so to speak.”
“You’re leaving the Rangers?” I asked.
“Yes I am and no I’m not.” Merle glanced heavenward. “You might say I’m moving up to loftier heights. I’ve been tapped to head up a new Law Enforcement Division. The United Earth Alliance has decided it’s time to bring law and order to the solar system and they want me to head up the newly formed Space Rangers. Apparently they think a fifty seven year old quick draw champion who speaks five languages and is SWAFS immune would be the perfect symbol of law and order in the Galaxy. I think they’re nuts but I couldn’t turn down the opportunity either.”
“Space Rangers! Sounds interesting. What’s your mandate?”
“Enforce judicial law in the system, investigate crimes, apprehend, transport and incarcerate system convicts. The same thing the Texas Rangers do but on a much bigger scale.” Merle picked up a coffee cup from the truck’s center console and spit a shot of tobacco juice in it before he continued. “As I understand it, the Navy will be my competition up there.”
“The Navy doesn’t enforce law or investigate crimes. Our function is to stand ready to defend against attack and perform search and rescue. We do ship inspections to make sure they’re up to code and we can put them out of service if they’re not but that’s the limit of our authority over civilian operations.”
“If that’s the case then why are you here investigating a civilian owned company and chasing Mr. Hoag?”
“Because Mr. Hoag has conspired with the enemy! At least I think he has. And too, because there’s no one else to investigate these kind of things off planet.”
Actually I had no proof that he conspired with the enemy. It was more of a gut feeling. The empty caskets had led me to the missing persons which led to Belt Line Staffing on one end and the Croiddan on the other. The Croiddan told me about the Krueg. Until just now I hadn’t connected the Krueg with Belt Line Staffing but Hoag’s phone conversation about Neptune was the link that connected those two. I was starting to get the uneasy feeling that the whole thing was a triangle between the Krueg the Croiddan and Belt Line Staffing. And right in the middle of that triangle were two hundred fourteen missing people.
Merle’s phone started buzzing in the center console but he ignored it. “I’ve listened to the phone call you want to hear. Hoag knew who you were and what you had done at Neptune. The person he was talking to warned him to be cautious and to hold off on the next shipment. We don’t know what that shipment was and we don’t know who he was talking to. Every time he has a conversation with that particular person we can’t trace the call and we have no idea why. I’m hoping you can help us with that but if Hoag is doing what you think then our investigation is of little consequence. Who cares about money laundering when treason is on the table?”
Merle’s phone started buzzing again. “Dang thing.” He snorted as he picked it up.
“Talk to me…..Are you sure? ….. Good. I want him alive. No screw-ups. Who have you told? ….. Good. Keep it off the air. I don’t want the wrong people to get ahold of this. You bring him in to the ranch. Do not call it in.”
Merle hung up and said. “We found your man. We’re about to take him into custody and then we’ll take him to the ranch and we’re keeping it off the books for now. I don’t want the PDA to come swooping in here and snatch him away.”
CHAPTER 19: Alien Antibody Farm.
The Ranch was just exactly that. A ranch. Setting on four hundred acres of Texas prairie about eighty miles West of Houston. It was a training facility for the Texas Rangers complete with bunk houses for the trainees and stables for the horses. Despite our mid-21st century technology there were still parts of the Lone Star state where a horse was the best form of transportation. There were also class rooms, training courses, a gun range and a heliport. Right in the middle of the complex was a small detention center and garage. Parked in front of that garage was a rollback tow truck unloading J. T.’s Star Fire Coupe.
Baca grunted and said. “It always amazes me how dumb some people are. I mean there’s only seven Star Fire’s registered in Texas and only two of that color and somehow your suspect thought he could make a getaway in that thing. He might as well have painted a sign on the roof saying here I am, arrest me. He didn’t even get rid of his phone. We just tracked his cell signal and bingo. Makes me wonder how many smart criminal never got caught.”
“Hopefully there aren’t that many smart ones.” I replied.
We parked beside the tow truck and entered through the security door next to the garage. After going through a second set of security doors and down a long hallway we entered a large room with maybe fifteen desks scattered across it. Only four of the desks were occupied with Rangers and they paid us no mind as we passed by. As we neared the end of the room, Clair White came out of one of the side offices and greeted us.
“He’s in interrogation two.” She said. “We’re letting him sweat for a while. Nice to see you again Commander.”
Merle turned to me and said. “You’ve met my daughter I take it. She’ll take you to the server room where the phone taps are stored. I’ve got to check on a few things and then we’ll see what Mr. Hoag has to say for himself.”
“Baca’s your dad?” I remarked as Clair led me to the server room.
“Yep. Don’t look so surprised Commander. Everybody has one.”
“Oh I’m not surprised, I just didn’t make the connection. White is your married name then.”
“Right again. Boy you’re on a roll. I’m actually a widow. My husband was killed four years ago. He was a Ranger too.”
“In the line of duty?” I asked.
“No. Boating accident on the Sabine River.”
“Sorry.” I said. I never really new how to respond to things like that. When I was visiting Shelton’s parents I didn’t know what to say to them either. That experience was compounded by the guilt I felt for Shelton’s death and the overwhelming feeling that his parents blamed me for it as well. On the third day of my visit they set me down and told me they didn’t blame me and I needed to quit blaming myself. Their words were more comforting than any others I’d received and not once did they use the wo
rd sorry.
“Thanks.” She replied. “I don’t know why I told you that. I don’t usually talk about it with casual acquaintances. In here.” She opened a door with her security badge and we walked into the server room.
The room was dimly lit on one end and just plain dark on the other. It was maybe ten degrees cooler than the rest of the building so as to keep the servers cool. Several rows of computer servers stretched off into the dark until all you could see was a cacophony of blinking lights. There were three people sitting at a communications console in front of the computer servers. One of them stood up and said. “I have the file queued up for you. Just hit play.”
“Thanks Lonny. We’ll take it from here.” Clair replied.
We sat down and I pulled on the head phones Clair handed me. Then she tapped the play icon on the screen and I listened to the recording of J.T.’s call.
click
“Hey. It’s me. You need to postpone the shipment. We have a situation up here and I need to take care of it.”
“What kind of situation?”
click
“A nosy do-gooder named Commander Paul. He intercepted the last shipment and destroyed it. He also inspected the Ramses and found our gold shipment. He didn’t take it but I wouldn’t recommend receiving it on the ground. He’s the Commander of the United Earth Ship Dawn Rising. I don’t know how much he knows yet but I’m working on it. As soon as I figure it out I’ll let you know. Check your boards.”
“How did the Navy get on to us? We were careful not to involve any of their personnel.”
click
“I don’t know. This one’s kind of a maverick so I think it was more him than the Navy. He just got into a fight out at Neptune and didn’t report it to the Navy for almost twenty four hours. Then he comes swooping into the station to a hero’s welcome. He seems to do his own thing and gets away with it because he has friends in high places. One in particular that we’ve had dealings with before. I’m not sure if he just happened upon us or our former partner has sent him.”
