by George Olney
The limo's doors opened and an unusual foursome emerged. At least the foursome - a large muscular man, a woman nearly as tall, and two smaller individuals - were unusual by the stogy, ultra-conservative standards of Vorter. The big man, wearing an eye patch and his long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, wore a vest over his bare chest and leather breeches with a big knife in a sheath sewn to one boot. The woman wore a brief leather leotard, a variety of straps, and her glorious shoulder length blonde hair confined by a head band. Both wore bolt pistols in belt holsters. In essence, they were in the normal costume of the Lycanthi Tribes, the only variation being that both wore Enforcement Arm badges. The two smaller individuals with them, hidden by the totally concealing cowls typical of the inhabitants of Essene, appeared normal members of that rarely seen, somewhat smaller sized, branch of humanity. All four took the grav shaft down to the ultra-private penthouse. Oddly enough, they had no problems doing so, despite standing orders for the security force to tightly screen access and notify the Chief Manager's office of any arrival. No notification was passed, omissions probably due to the black clothed woman now running the security operations center.
Barto-Colones's intercom activated. It was his personal secretary, the highly decorative and exceptionally functional Cubin-Luci-Rikki. "Fra Barto-Colones, there are several people here that say they have a report on your Lycanth operation. They also wish to speak with you about the Jona-Savonia family."
Barto-Colones was puzzled for a moment. The visitors had to be legitimate, or security wouldn't have passed them into the penthouse. In addition, Luci was totally unaware of the Lycanth operation, much less his involvement with the Jona-Savonia kidnapping. In fact, she was kept carefully ignorant of all of Barto-Colones's extralegal operations as a security measure. That meant that, whatever was happening on Lycanth, his visitors had the code words that properly signaled a need for access. Luci knew those code words and was under orders to request access to his office whenever they were used. He briefly regretted the fact that Luci heard the names "Lycanth" and "Jona-Savonia", but something important must have happened and it behooved him to know what it was as soon as possible. He would deal with Luci's unfortunate new knowledge later. "Send them in."
The door to his private office slid open and Barto-Colones stared at the large, vibrant, Junoesque blonde woman that strolled in with a dancer's smooth stride. She was well worth a stare, but not for the reasons he was staring. What the hell was she doing here?
When the big barbarically dressed man behind her followed her in, his confusion deepened for a moment. Then he noticed the badges and holstered pistols. A part of him also noted the Essenes behind the pair, but they were irrelevant for the moment, given the badges on the first two. This could be – no, was – a major problem.
If he only knew.
Barto-Colones frowned as he watched the big graceful blonde catwalk across his office floor and settle smoothly in the superbly comfortable chair facing his desk, crossing her legs in the picture of total unconcern as the other three followed to stand behind her. His frown concealed a razor sharp mind furiously working through the chain of circumstance and deduction leading to the presence of Enforcers in his private office. "There's no way you can arrest me," he said bluntly. "No legal authority on Vorter will permit it."
The blonde crossed her arms and calmly appraised him with large blue eyes. "You know," the she said thoughtfully, "you remind me of some of the poor slobs I used to see down in the pit back when I was stripping."
Barto-Colones ignored the irrelevant comment. "Get out of my office. You can't touch me."
The blonde smiled pleasantly. "Oh yes we can, buster.
"My husband and I," she nodded her head backward at the big man standing behind her, "are here to serve an extradition warrant for capital crimes committed on Lycanth, principally kidnapping, conspiracy to murder in commission of a capital crime, abuse of minors, and illegal slavery."
The smile became a small grin, but far less pleasant. "Also violation of tribal treaty agreements by illegally constructing a large facility on tribal land, not to mention the rest of the stuff."
She placed a chip on his desk. "Extradition warrant."
Barto-Colones was furious that she was ignoring his power and status, but held his anger under tight control. He had to think clearly if he was going to get out of this. He ignored the pistol in his desk drawer. Any Enforcer would kill him in an instant if he even looked like he was trying deadly resistance. The next words stopped his train of thought.
"I am Chief Inspector Grae Kwaa'kani of the Federation Enforcement Arm," the big man said in a dry voice. "That's my wife, Agent Frenchy Kwaa'kani. I've been appointed Federation Plenary Authority in this case and we are about to open an informal hearing concerning circumstances and evidence. This hearing may be informal, but it carries full authority under Federation law. Throughout this hearing, you may make statements in your defense. You will also be offered a chance to speak before I render a decision. However, anything you say can be used against you.
"The hearing is now in session. First witness."
Grae put his hand on the shoulder of one of the Essenes. "Milla."
The Essene slipped out of her cowl to reveal a slightly stocky girl about thirteen, dressed in the same fashion as the big blonde. "I was kidnapped to be raised as a slave. I was taken to a prison compound. So were a lot of other girls."
Grae fixed Barto-Colones with a look that was frightening because it held absolutely no visible emotion. "Personnel from the compound killed tribesmen while committing their crimes. The compound in which this girl was held was commanded by Plas-Cynth-Bomar. She is in custody and has given full testimony about her orders."
Barto-Colones started to deny any connection between himself and Plas-Bomar. There were enough cutouts between himself and the damned woman to make that claim at least feasible. He was stopped by the big blonde.
"We got all of the files in her safe intact," Frenchy purred. "Then we followed the evidence chain back up to the beginning. The Arm had some conversations with people every step of the way. We arrested them, not to mention getting their files. Oh, we also cleaned up a small private prison run by some seriously kinked people on Seeway. Got their office and files intact, too.
"Want to guess where all that led us?"
"Not to me!" Barto-Colones shot back.
"Right to the foot of your desk, bucko," Frenchy replied in the same purr.
Grae said formally, "Fra Barto-Colones, you have spoken on this charge. Given the witness, other testimony, and weight of evidence, I find sufficient cause for your arrest under the previously stated charges relating to an illegal slaving operation on Lycanth, as well as conspiracy to commit murder and maltreatment of minors.
"We will now consider charges relating to the disappearance of the Jona-Savonia family.
"A while back, we also cleaned out the Seelah office of a man named Alesos, the leader of a major slaving operation," Grae added. "He was apparently freelancing in other areas as well. We found a record of a large transfer of funds from you to him. The notation on the payment used the name Jona-Savonia."
Frenchy spoke one word. "Nos."
The second Essene threw off his cowl. It turned out to be a boy slightly younger than the girl, dressed in the same costume as the big man, but with a sword slung over his shoulder. He reached over his shoulder and drew his sword. "My name," he announced in a voice shaky with emotion, "is Jona-Nos-Savonia. You kidnapped my friend Milla... AND YOU KILLED MY PARENTS!"
He brought his sword down hard on the desktop, cutting a deep ruler-straight line across it and leaving the deadly tip within inches of Barto-Colones's chest. Barto-Colones froze in shock. He'd never in his life experienced or even seen deadly violence.
"Nos, honey," Frenchy said calmly, not turning her face from Barto-Colones, "please don't kill the man. If it needs to be done, it's Mother's job to do it. I can make it hurt more. Besides, we haven't legally charged him yet."
She looked Barto-Colones in the eyes. "Nos is now my adopted son. From some of the information we've gotten, you might just be looking for him. He's here in front of you.
"Another small point," she continued to a very wide-eyed Barto-Colones. "Adoption makes Nos a member of the Tribes, so Custom holds in his case. Under Tribal Custom, Milla has Cause against you. So does Nos, once we show you're involved in killing his parents and abducting him. That means we do too, as Nos's adoptive parents.
"By the way, Cause is the Tribes' way of formally saying they have a damn good reason to kill someone," she said. "Cause is accepted as valid under Federation treaty. Under Custom, also valid under Federation treaty, that also means some very bad things can happen to you. Now we don't want those things to happen right now, do we? So we're going to be very cooperative.
"Oh," she added, "all of this also means we have probable cause to search your office... and a warrant."
She gracefully set another chip, presumably the aforementioned warrant, on the desk in front of Barto-Colones then tapped a signal stud on one of her wristbands.
Four black clothed Arm operatives entered the office and began running a variety of devices over the walls and furniture.
Behind them, Luci stuck her head in through the open door. "Fra Barto-Colones, I'm resigning effective immediately. I'll be cleaning out my desk." Her head vanished.
Barto-Colones ignored the interruption, his stress level rising as he tried to watch the silently efficient actions of the Arm team as well as paying attention to the four people in front of his desk. The two adults watched the team with calm interest, while the two teenagers continued to glare in his direction. Since one of those two teenagers was pointing a very sharp sword - in addition to a really blazing glare - in his direction, Barto-Colones found his attention continuing to wander to the young man with the blade.
One of the Arm team members clucked, made an adjustment to the device in his hand, and a small door in the far wall swung silently open. Frenchy gave Barto-Colones a quick glance that seemed to totally assess him then commented, "He's suddenly worried as hell. Even more worried, I meant to say. Those are his private files at a guess. Probably a lot of stuff we want to know."
Barto-Colones felt a thrill of shock. It was like the damned woman was reading his mind!
Grae nodded. "Agreed, mistress."
One of the team members took a chip from a folder chosen at random and put it in a complicated looking reader in his hand. He mused at the reader's screen for a moment. "Interesting security code," he said, more or less to himself.
A few more such semi-mumbled comments and button pushes then the team member announced, "Okay, it's readable now and we struck pay dirt on the first try. This is a record of a contract between this guy and Alesos to take the Jona-Savonia yacht.
"Judging by the way this idiot saves incriminating evidence, he's a terminal bureaucrat. The good stuff on the Lycanth kidnapping operation is probably on a couple of the other chips. No telling what else is here, but I'm betting none of it is legal."
"We already have enough to charge him on the kidnapping operation," Grae replied. "That contract allows us to charge him for what he ordered on Nos and his parents."
Hearing Grae's statement about the contract to attack his parents' yacht, Nos's face got harder and far grimmer than any boy's his age should get. His sword's blade, still on the desk, edged even closer to Barto-Colones. It quivered a little with Nos's attempt to control his fury.
"No, son," Grae said gently to Nos, stopping the slow, shaky, forward motion of the sword's needle sharp tip. "Remember what your mother said about killing this vermin. You have Cause now, but you need to remember something."
Nos looked back at his adoptive father with a tightly over-controlled movement of his head. Grae smiled gently at him. "We aren't on Lycanth," he said. "First, we have to make this formal under Federation law. Then Milla, the other girls, and their parents all get a shot at him. They're just as entitled as you are."
"Besides, honey," Frenchy said gently, "we have his ass now. He's sunk."
"Fra Barto-Colones," Grae said grimly, "you may make any statement you wish at this time."
Gamely, Barto-Colones tried to rally. "You can't do this. I have a great deal of influence. There are people that won't let this stand."
"Meaning you own a few important cops, a judge or two, and some politicians," Frenchy said placidly. "That isn't a new situation, even where I come from.
"Sorry, pal. Federation law outweighs the crooked locals, and we're the Federation law."
Looking the now very pale Barto-Colones in the eyes, Grae continued, "Fra Barto-Colones, this hearing is now concluded. Given the weight of testimony and corroborating evidence, I find it valid to arrest you for the kidnapping of Jona-Nos-Savonia and the death of his parents, as well as the prior charges of abduction and abuse of minors, conspiracy to commit murder, and conduct of an illegal slavery operation.
"This hearing is closed," he concluded
"Now," Frenchy said briskly as she stood up, "and I've said this before to someone else, do you want to do this the hard way or just come along peacefully? Just so you know, the one I asked back then wanted to do it the hard way. She lost."
For the moment, Barto-Colones was too shaken to move. "W-what are you going to do with me?" he stammered. "You can't just take me away. As soon as it becomes known that you have the Stellar Investment Bank's Chief Manager in custody, an army of lawyers will be coming to my rescue."
He glanced at the boy, still pointing his sword at him. "Just the announcement that the Jona-Savonia boy has been found is of major importance. You can't hide any of this."
Frenchy smiled sweetly. "Oh, we aren't hiding anything, jerk. The Arm doesn't hide."
"Unless we need to," Grae's dry voice entered the conversation. "Which we don't. We simply won't say anything. The Arm has already had an extensive conversation with your Deputy Manager, Fra Atten-Bros, as well as a majority of your Board of Directors, concerning some irregularities in their business processes. Although those irregularities weren't mostly - mostly - actionable on a Federation level, everyone's proved very cooperative. Fra Atten-Bros is preparing to quietly assume the Chief Manager position since that same majority of the Board of Directors held a video conference this morning and voted to accept your resignation for family reasons. It's all being done calmly and quietly to avoid exciting the financial markets, something they all want to prevent. Something to do with everyone's stock losing a great deal of value very fast.
"Not to mention," he finished, "staying out of prison themselves."
"Nos came in as an Essene," Frenchy said, "and he'll leave as an Essene. A lot of people who really aren't nice are looking for him and they don't need to find him for a few years yet."
She glanced with pride and affection at her adopted son. "He'll be back when he's grown. He'll be a little harder to handle then. No need to tell those folks what kind of problems they're going to have down the road.
"And," she added, "Milla will leave as an Essene, too.
"Your security people are being held in isolation until the action team finishes what they need to do. Your replacement will be explaining the new facts of life to your folks once they're out, including the fact that nothing happened today.
"Everything quick, smooth, and quiet," Frenchy concluded. "Typical Arm operation. I love the way the Arm works."
Grae spoke again. "As for you, you're going to Lycanth for trial. Since your offenses concerned tribal members including Nos, treaties give the Tribes precedence in this matter. As the girls your organization kidnapped are from six different tribes and Nos is a Yellow Knife, the Intertribal Council will try your case, along with the cases of your surviving employees, principally Fre Plas-Bomar."
The look Frenchy turned on Barto-Colones was soft, sweet, and terrifying. "The parents of those girls will be there. They're looking forward to your trial."
Barto-Colones's stomach congealed
at her next words.
"I kind of doubt you've have to worry about a Federation courtroom," she continued. "Like we said, Fra Barto-Colones, those parents also have Cause."
Chapter 18
To Frenchy, it was nice to be back home after the Vorter mission, even as satisfying as it was. The trip was by Arm battlecruiser, so Barto-Colones had a very nice little jail cell to himself and thus wasn't underfoot. It made the return voyage relaxing.
Grae was now at the Port taking care of the details - read: incarceration, interrogation, and trial preparation - of Barto-Colones. Nos and Milla were also there giving full statements. That left her with some time to handle various domestic tasks. Ergo, she was on the way to visit Grete and see what sort of flabbergasting things her adopted mother had been up to while her son, daughter, and grandson were away. The fact that Dallas had been left behind in the Hold with Grete gave anyone with sense a very ominous feeling.
For a moment, her train of thought diverted onto a siding as she noticed she'd again used the word "home" to refer to the Hold. Given her life on Earth, it was a warm mellow feeling to know she actually had a home. Better than that, she had a husband and a son, too. The guys could drive her crazy, but she dearly loved them. Back on Earth, she'd heard that sentiment a time or two but never understood it, since she'd never really had a good man in her life. Now she had firsthand experience with a couple of them, grown and not, and understood the statement perfectly.
Speaking of the one not grown, Nos was developing nicely. Getting bigger each day since he was in his first real growth spurt, he was showing a little more maturity to go with his increasing physical size. She had what looked like a pretty impressive - and pretty good - young man for an adopted son.
Milla apparently thought so. Nos calling her his "friend" in Barto-Colones's office caused the girl to light up like a sunrise. Observing the pair on the way back to Lycanth, Frenchy was pretty sure the term for Milla was now "first girlfriend". Frenchy, knowing how hard the Tribes fell when they fell for someone, was reasonably sure that Milla intended for the term to become "only girlfriend ever" one of these days. Soon. More to follow.
