by Mattie Hope
Callaghan dismissed Zheng's words with an impatient wave of his hand. "I don't think you're picking up what I'm putting down," he said. "I want this murder solved."
"That's exactly what I'm trying―"
"I want it solved without pissing off People First and their supporters."
"You want me to find a fall guy," said Zheng, beak clicking before he could stop it.
"Did I say that? I don't believe I said that. You said that." He leaned forward. "But between you and me, this Jax guy? He's a hoodlum. He ought to be put away one way or another, don't you think?"
"I'd say that Jax is more of a victim of circumstance, sir," said Zheng carefully.
"How's that exactly? Everyone on 4 gets a fair shake."
"Yes, sir." He could have told Callaghan exactly what he thought, walked out, and transferred back to 1, because fuck this station. But then someone else would take over the case. Zheng didn't have a problem with any of the guards here―they were all decent―but there wasn't one of them he could be sure wouldn't buckle under pressure from the mayor and end up throwing Jax, and possibly Rita, under the bus. None except Murphy, but she was still at Zenith. "Leave it with me, sir," he said.
*~*~*
He left the mayor's office absolutely seething. Maybe Callaghan thought Zheng would roll over just because he was a splice? Well, he'd picked the wrong splice to try and intimidate, and Zheng was going to make him regret this. He was from 1; he might not exactly be well-liked by the brass, but he still had contacts there, people who wouldn't take kindly to this kind of corruption. Maybe Callaghan thought he was a bigshot around here, but to 1, he was a nobody.
One thing troubled him, though. Of course, Callaghan was just spit-balling, trying to find a way to pin it on Jax and Rita―but he'd hit on something that had got Zheng thinking. Was it possible that Rita could have ordered a hit remotely, from Earth? As he'd told Callaghan, Zheng had checked that she wasn't on the station at the time of Gershon's death. On confirming it, he had dismissed her as both a suspect and a witness, feeling that―despite the misgivings he'd shared with Murphy―People First were his priority. Maybe he'd been too hasty.
As for the Jax stuff―that was ridiculous, wasn't it? He wasn't letting his own feelings interfere with the investigation. They'd decided early on that Jax had no means or motive to commit the crime, and Murphy agreed―except Murphy was biased in Jax's favor too. But Zheng hadn't been, back then; he was sure of it. And nothing had come to light since that had made Jax's guilt seem any more likely.
No, he was sure that Jax had nothing to do with it. And he really didn't think that Rita had, either, but he'd do his due diligence and check her out anyway, just so that he was above reproach when and if he had to take this higher.
Zheng had only met Rita the day before, in the infirmary. She was a small, slight woman with a medium-brown skin tone and an English accent, whose features were almost entirely obscured by a thick pair of purple-rimmed glasses and an even thicker fringe. Whether she really couldn't afford laser surgery or if the glasses were just an affectation, he didn't know. She seemed excitable and well-meaning. He couldn't quite picture her ruthlessly hiring an assassin. Then again, he'd been reliably informed that appearances could be deceptive (though in his personal experience he'd tended to find them more informative than not).
When he first started down the path of looking into her, he'd really thought that he'd find nothing of interest―just the normal digital footprint of a young academic―and he could check this task off his to-do list. He was almost right. There certainly wasn't anything of interest. But how little there was was interesting in itself.
She had a SoMe account which was locked; all he could see was her name and a thumbnail of her profile picture, confirming it was the same Rita Qureshi. This was unusual, but not unheard of, particularly for a pretty young woman. She might have made her account private due to a stalker or harasser. Then again, she might just be a private person. While his impression of her made this seem unlikely, a person's behavior in the physical world wasn't always reflected in the digital one.
Her page at the institute's website again had a picture, confirming it was her. In fact, it was the same picture. That was a little odd, wasn't it? He ran a reverse image search, but it only brought up the same two pages, and then some 'similar images' of various other women with the same skin tone and hairstyle/glasses combo, which was a not-inconsiderable number.
The institute page listed a few articles, but when he searched for them, he couldn't find any references to them elsewhere.
Zheng clicked his beak in frustration. This was starting to seem suspicious. He was going to have to get a warrant to take a look at Rita's SoMe account. He somehow doubted there was going to be much to see.
Of course, what was more troubling was her page on the institute's site. If she had been using a false identity on 4, that would be one thing, but that page―either the institute hadn't vetted her at all, in which case they were totally incompetent, or they were in on this. Did they have some reason to want Doctor Gershon gone?
Or was Zheng reaching? Maybe her papers just hadn't made much of a splash. Usually a paper's abstract at least would be available to view, even if the paper itself were behind a paywall; but maybe the institute did things differently.
Zheng's initial instinct had been to go straight to Jax and tell him what Callaghan had said, but with his newfound suspicion of Rita, it seemed more prudent to keep his beak shut. He couldn't be sure that Jax wouldn't tell her―in fact, he was fairly sure that Jax would. He would have to tread carefully and see what he could figure out.
He had exchanged details with Rita at the hospital, and she had told him that she would stay with Jax until he was released and get him settled back into his suite. He sent her a message now: Is he home yet?
He'd go and visit Jax, if he was. He was keeping an eye on him and Rita―even Callaghan couldn't object to that. And if it meant spending time with Jax, nobody could prove that wasn't incidental.
He is, Rita sent back, but he's a bit annoyed.
Zheng tilted his head. At him? At me?
I think so. He won't tell me.
Never mind. He'd rather talk to Jax about it than Rita. Can I come over anyway?
He says yes. He wants to talk to you about something, apparently.
*~*~*
Rita let him in. "Hi," she said. "I'm just going to run to the loo, I've been waiting for you to get here, I'm bursting."
"Oh," said Zheng. "Sorry?"
Rita stepped aside and half-ran toward the bathroom.
"You," said Jax, stabbing a finger in his direction from the armchair, as Zheng closed the door behind him. He had his injured foot raised, Zheng noted with approval.
"Me," said Zheng mildly. "Hello."
"Hi," said Jax. "Hey, so, did you drug me?"
Zheng hesitated. "I turned up the drip rate on your IV a little bit," he admitted. "You seemed upset, and you needed rest."
"What, you're a doctor now, too?"
"No, but―"
"You were just trying to shut me up so you could go and talk to the mayor."
"That's not true," said Zheng. "I could have just walked out. It's not as though you were in a position to stop me."
"That's all you got to say?"
"Why is your bathroom so much bigger than mine?" asked Rita, walking in. Then she looked between them. "Um, what are we talking about?"
"Why are all the humans on this station obsessed with bathroom sizes?" asked Zheng.
"Don't try and change the subject! We're talking about how Mr. High-and-Mighty over here drugged me this morning!"
Rita turned to him, shocked. "Drugged him?"
"Well," said Zheng, "I think that's a strong way of putting it. I turned up his IV."
"You're not a medic," said Rita. "That's completely irresponsible."
"It's an IV, it's not brain surgery. I told one of the medics as I left."
"And I suppose they we
re just fine with that," said Rita, unimpressed.
"Well, she didn't seem entirely happy, but I suppose she didn't want to make trouble with the guards."
"And doesn't that strike you," said Rita, a steel in her voice he would never have predicted a few hours ago (but since looking her up, anything was possible), "as a shocking abuse of power?"
Zheng paused. He'd never thought of himself as someone who would abuse his power, but…he shouldn't have slept with Jax, and he shouldn't have messed with his IV. Was it something about Jax that made him do stupid things, or was it being on 4 that was making him crazy? Either way…
"You're right," he said. He turned to Jax. "I'm sorry. It was a long night. I was worried about you. I really did do it because I wanted you to get some rest, and because you were getting upset." He could see Jax starting to weaken. "Rita, would you mind giving us some privacy, please?"
"Not sure I'm safe alone with you," Jax muttered, but Zheng could tell his heart wasn't in it.
Rita crossed her arms. "I'm not sure either," she said, raising her chin defiantly.
"Please," said Zheng. "There's something I want to speak to you about, and it's personal. You're right; what I did was stupid. I won't do anything like that again."
Jax looked at Rita and nodded. She turned, reluctantly, and let herself out. "Buzz me if you need anything," she said over her shoulder as the door closed.
"So," said Jax, "what is it?"
"Are you still angry?"
"Shouldn't I be?"
"Well. Can we say that we've both said and done things we regret, and call it even?"
He watched Jax try to smother a smile. "I guess so," he said.
"Jax," said Zheng, "were you angling for that?"
"A little," admitted Jax. "You were out of line, though."
"Yes, we've established that," said Zheng. "Well, fine. A new start, then."
"So?" said Jax. "Were you just trying to get rid of Rita, or did you really have something to talk about?"
"Well," said Zheng, "it's not…urgent. But I was curious about something you said earlier. About Murphy."
"About Kath? Oh, man. I don't really remember that well. Did I―what did I say?"
"Well, you asked to speak to her. I managed to get hold of her, she said she'd give you a vidcall this evening."
"Aw," said Jax, "that's embarrassing. I don't need―I was all loopy from the drugs, that's all." Zheng could tell he was pleased, though.
"There's something else," said Zheng. "You told me she was your sister."
Jax didn't say anything.
"Jax, I won't tell anyone. I just wondered if you wanted to talk about it, that's all."
He watched Jax decide whether to tell him. "She's my half-sister," he said finally. Then, abruptly, he changed the subject. "Do you have parents?"
"No," said Zheng slowly. "We're sterile. Don't you know that? I thought you knew a lot about splices."
"Uh, yeah," said Jax uncomfortably. "I just meant, like, do you get put in families? Were you raised by…Fusions?"
Zheng laughed. "'Fusions'," he repeated, amused. "What do you think 'Fusions' are, exactly?"
"Shut up," said Jax. "You know what I mean."
"We weren't raised in family groups," Zheng told him. "I suppose it was more like a boarding school. We were tutored by Founders." Founders were so called because they were the synthetic species which founded the Fusion and created the splices.
"Huh," said Jax. "Was that weird?"
"I don't know. It was normal to us."
"Yeah," said Jax. "I guess so. I always felt like my life wasn't normal, though, when I was a kid."
"Why not?"
"My―my ma died, when I was little. Kath basically raised me."
"Your father wasn't around?"
Jax laughed bitterly. "He might have been. In and out. I wouldn't know."
"I'm not sure I understand," said Zheng.
"My ma was a sex worker, Zheng. That's what Kath told me to say, anyway. You might call it―"
"I call it 'sex worker,'" Zheng interrupted firmly. "Go on."
"We're all Catholics around here. No birth control, no abortions, but plenty of brothels. Funny how they don't crack down on that part. You know, I used to look around at every old sleazebag, thinking, 'Is that him? Is that my father?' Of course, even if my mother had been around, she wouldn't have been able to tell me."
"You think it's only sleazebags who use sex workers?"
"You use them?"
"No," said Zheng. "I just…he might not have been so bad. He might have been some teenager who just wanted to lose his virginity, or someone who was lonely, or…there might be all sorts of reasons."
"Most of the guys who came in seemed to be sleazebags to me," said Jax.
"Well, I suppose you'd know more about it than me."
"You never busted a brothel?"
"No," said Zheng. "They're legal on 1."
"You think it's better they're legal?"
"I don't know," sad Zheng. "I suppose you'd have to ask the women. And men. But mostly women. I did read a study that correlated illegality of sex work with the murder rate of women."
"Say that again using smaller words."
"It suggested that more women are murdered when it's illegal. If they can't advertise freely, they have to go out looking for trade. It makes them more vulnerable, more likely to get snatched―and of course, if the industry is driven underground, it gives them less legitimacy, so they're also less likely to be missed, I suppose."
"Huh," said Jax.
"I'm sorry," said Zheng, "I didn't―Your mother wasn't murdered, was she?"
"No, no," said Jax. "Got sick, couldn't afford the doctor bills, that's all."
Zheng clicked his beak angrily. "I fucking hate 4," he said. "Sorry," he added.
Jax laughed. "No, it's fine, I fucking hate 4, too," he said. "But, uh, you're not sorry you came here, right? 'Cause you met me?"
"Getting a little cocky there, Jax."
"I'll show you cocky."
"Oh, grow up."
Jax laughed.
"You have different surnames, though," said Zheng, the thought just occurring to him. "You said you didn't know who your father was? So…"
Jax looked at him sharply. "You know my real name?"
"Jax," said Zheng, "I'm a guard. Of course I know your legal name."
Jax picked at a loose stitch on his top. "So I guess you know…"
"That you got into some trouble when you were younger? I know about that. I don't care."
"Not that much younger," Jax muttered. "But I've been going straight for a while now. Honestly. Kath and me, we kinda…when she joined the Guard, it was like I had to choose between a lot of people I thought were my friends, and her. I made the wrong choice, I know that now. I've been trying to make up for it. Anyway, she changed her name before she went in. Wanted a clean start, didn't want to be associated with me, I guess. So, yeah. She's my sister, but…she told me it was better if people didn't know."
"I suppose she's right," said Zheng. "Just because of the case, I mean," he added hurriedly. Jax was obviously hurt by her rejection, even if he'd rejected her first. "This is a mess. The first lead detective was a relative and the second one slept with you. It doesn't look good." He was thinking of Callaghan, going above his head, pinning this on Jax and saying he and Murphy had conspired to cover it up.
"What do you mean?" asked Jax, alarmed. "I thought I was cleared."
"Of course," said Zheng. "I just meant…it doesn't reflect well on the department, that's all I meant."
"It's not Kath's fault she's my sister," said Jax, a little defensive. "And it's not my fault I found a goddamn body, even if everyone seems to act like it."
"You're right," said Zheng, "I'm sorry. I misspoke."
Thoughts of the case made him realize, somewhat guiltily, that his purported plan to keep an eye on Rita during this visit hadn't exactly panned out.
"I'll make it up to you,"
he said quickly.
"What? Misspeaking?"
"No, I mean―everything. I'll take you out to dinner. You and Rita."
"Rita?" said Jax.
"Well. I feel as though I need to make it up to her, too. She's obviously not very happy with me."
"I guess," said Jax.
"And anyway, she's your friend, isn't she? Don't you want her there?"
"Sure, no, of course." Jax obviously wasn't thrilled, but Zheng was just relieved that he didn't sound suspicious anymore.
"Listen," said Zheng, "this isn't―I made a mistake, before. I shouldn't have slept with you while the case was open. Kath was right about that."
"What about after?" said Jax.
Zheng hesitated. "Let's just take one thing at a time."
Chapter Nine
Speaking to Kath was a little strange.
"Sorry if I'm kind of loopy on painkillers," he said. "They're pretty strong."
"Don't worry about that," said Kath. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry I couldn't call earlier, I couldn't get out of doing this training thing." She looked really worried.
"I'm fine. I mean, my foot's all fucked up, but other than that."
"Oh God, Jax," she said. "Zheng told me what happened. What the fuck were you thinking?"
"Zheng already gave me a hard time about it, all right? Give me a break. I'm tired."
"You're tired? Dealing with you takes years off my life. Look at me. I'm going gray."
"You are not."
"Well, if I ever do, I'm blaming you." She pursed her lips. "So. About that thing I told you not to do before I left."
"I don't wanna talk about that either."
"I bet you don't."
"Look, it's not―it was a one-time thing, and―"
"Oh my God! You know what? I'm not even surprised at you. But Zheng should know better."
"Thanks a lot."
"Am I wrong?"
Jax shrugged miserably. "He knows about you and me, too," he said.
Kath blinked at him. "What," she said flatly.
"I was all doped up and my foot was killing me, okay? I wasn't thinking straight. Anyway, he's not gonna tell anyone."
"If he does it's mutually assured destruction, you can tell him that from me. Jesus Christ, Jax, I leave the station for a few weeks and all hell breaks loose. What are the medics saying about your foot?"
