Pressures equalized and the inner hatch popped open. Several men in 2M security uniforms were there, looking worried. “My God!” one said. “Who were those guys?”
“I don’t know,” I replied. I started peeling off my suit. My ears were ringing, and the voices around me sounded a bit muffled. “But I’m damned well going to find out!”
“Your ear’s bleeding,” Flint pointed out. “Let’s get you to the dispensary first.”
Turned out I’d blown an eardrum. The doc at the company dispensary was able to fix me up with a replacement, though. While I was with her, Flint used his PAD to try to trace the attackers, patching through to the 2M complex’s space traffic control to see where those two skyhoppers had come from.
No luck there. The hoppers had vanished over the horizon in the direction of Tranquility Home, taking the man Flint had shot with them. But we had one clue. Those goons had come hunting for us, for Mark Henry and me. They couldn’t have known we were there unless someone had passed on that information.
Someone inside Melange Mining.
“I’d come to 2M to find this character, actually,” Flint told me as we rode the tube-lev back to Tranquility Home. He patted Henry on the shoulder. The clone was riding with us in the lounge car, his face pale, his eyes darting around at every new sound or movement in the car’s compartment. “I was in the main lobby, waiting to talk to McNally, the guy in charge of the clones working for Melange. They have a big, anhydrous glass window up there, overlooking the lunar plain.
“Anyway, the receptionist had just told me you were already here, that you’d gone out to find Henry and bring him back. I went over to the window to look, and sure enough: there you were—at least I assumed it was you—skimming in toward the dome like the Devil was after you, and two skyhoppers on your tail. I broke records going down a level and getting to the airlock. There were emergency suits there, so I grabbed one.”
He grinned. “I just remembered to draw my piece before sealing up!”
“I’m glad you did,” I said. “Of course, I wasn’t expecting to get into a damned firefight.”
“If the bad guys did head back to Tranquility Home,” Flint said, “it’ll be tough to find them.”
“Our first responsibility,” I said, “is making sure our star witness here is kept safe. I want to get him down-Stalk and back to Earth as fast as I can.”
“Back to Earth?” Henry asked. “You’re taking me to Earth?”
“That’s right. You got a problem with that?”
“No. I don’t want to stay on the Moon,” Henry said. “Not now.”
“You really think Melange is behind the attack?” Flint asked me.
I nodded at the other side of the compartment. “Let’s step over there.”
Henry had admitted to having excellent hearing, but the tube-lev lounge car was large enough that we could speak privately on the other side of the compartment, and still keep an eye on our dejected and terrified prisoner. There were only a few others riding with us, and they didn’t appear to be interested in anything other than their newsrags and their drinks. Just to be on the safe side, I used my PAD to project a sound suppression field, a handy little app that projects precisely calculated sonic wavelengths that cancel the sound waves of a conversation as they spread out a meter or so from the speakers. It wasn’t foolproof, especially at close quarters, but it gave us a degree of privacy.
“Right now,” I said, speaking softly and keeping my eyes on Henry, “I don’t know what to think.”
Quickly, I filled Flint in on what I knew of the Dow murder. When I finished, he gave a low whistle.
“Sounds like you have more suspects than you know what to do with,” he said. He nodded at Henry. “He could have done it, you know. Him and the bioroid.”
“Yeah, he could have. But I have a hunch that he didn’t.”
“I dunno, Fish. There are a lot of rumors circulating on the street about a clone underground. A clone rising.”
“I’ve heard ’em. People have been nervous since the clone riots last year. It’s also possible those rumors are being deliberately planted.”
“You gotta consider all possibilities.”
“You want possibilities? I think his ‘Mr. Green’ was trying to set it up so Henry would do it. He was telling me about that part out on the surface, when we were interrupted.”
Flint snorted. “‘Mr. Green,’ right. Nice and generic, impossible to trace. He’s lying.”
“Maybe. And maybe he was told something that would make us think he was lying.”
“That seems a bit far-fetched, Fish.”
“If Henry’s telling the truth, Ray, someone was setting things up so that he would break in on Dow and kill him.”
“Telling him he could save Eve?”
“Right. Now, I still haven’t questioned him about this part…but I think he chickened out. And whoever was handling him had to improvise.”
“Improvise how?”
“Kill Dow themselves, and cover things up to make it look like Henry had done it.”
“You really think someone’s trying to set him up, make it look like a clone killed Roger Dow?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Okay. Who?”
“Damifino. If Vargas was involved, his murder suggests it might be someone with Humanity Labor or Human First.”
“Yeah, maybe. But maybe Vargas was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was coming back to check in with this Dow character, saw the murderer, and was killed to keep him from talking.”
“But ‘Mr. Green’ had a beard.”
“Okay. Mr. Green had a beard. But Humanity Labor? What would the motive be? Why would they kill their own lawyer?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But Humanity Labor is filled with Human Firsters, and both of them want to get rid of clones and bioroids permanently. I’m beginning to wonder if they’re setting Henry up to trigger another round of anti-clone riots, like last year.”
“Hm. Interesting idea,” Flint said. “Dow was pretty high-profile, former senator, and all that. He was working on pushing anti-clone legislation with a bunch of D.C. senators, so the murder would look like someone trying to stop the new laws going through. Someone like a clone underground.”
“Or SAM.”
“Or SAM,” he agreed, nodding.
“Or it could be Melange Mining after all. They knew I was out there. And they knew where Henry was, and that I was looking for him. They might have been keeping Henry safely on ice, but when I showed up and demanded to see him, they could have decided to kill us both.”
“Why’d they wait to kill Henry in the first place? Why not pop him the moment he gets back from the Beanstalk? Instead, they send him back to work…”
“I’m honestly not sure…but I’m beginning to think that the plan—killing Dow and pinning it on a clone and a bioroid—went wrong. Henry was supposed to be the triggerman, but he chickened and ran, so someone else stepped in to finish the job. Maybe they planned to ‘retire’ Henry later, so it wouldn’t look like someone higher up was cleaning up the mess. Maybe they planned to put him through another round of conditioning so that he thought he did do it. It would be better if they could produce a live murderer. But then you and I show up, and they decide they need to take care of loose ends.”
“Damn, Fish. This could be big. Bigger than we can handle. Whether it’s Human First, Humanity Labor, or Melange Mining, you’re talking about a major conspiracy here.”
“I know. Which is why right now I just want to get Henry back Earthside.” I considered the possibilities, then added, “But I also need to check some things on the way down-Stalk. Ray…I need to lean on you.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Couple of things. First, I want you to take charge of our friend over there. Get him to the sat station at Tranquility.”
He looked doubtful. “Fish, after what you’ve told me, I don’t think I trust the NAPD stations up her
e. Not completely, anyway. Melange has its hands in everything in Heinlein, especially at Tranquility Home. If they’re the ones behind that attack, Henry won’t be safe there.”
I sighed. “I know. But I need to poke around at the High Frontier again, and I can’t baby-sit. There’s a satellite police station at Fra Mauro, but it’s tiny compared to the one at Tranquility. Show me some options.”
“I don’t think I have any.”
“When you deliver Henry to the Tranquility sat station, put the fear of God into them for me, will you? Tell them if anything happens to him, they’re dead meat over there. I want a twenty-four hour watch on him, with class-one security. No one gets in to see him. Understand?”
“I understand.”
“After that…you can go get Eve. Have Floyd help you. They’re at the satellite station out at Fra Mauro right now, but I think they’ll be safe—safer, at least—at Tranquility Home.
“Once they’re both secure, I want you to follow up on the skyhopper attack. Check the Heinlein hospitals and clinics, see if anyone turned up with a gunshot wound.”
“The guy I capped might be dead. I know I depreshed him.”
“Then check the morgues, too.”
“You got it.”
“After that, I’ll want you and Floyd to bring Henry and Eve down-Stalk.”
“Right. Why wait, though? I could have both of them on Earth tomorrow morning by dropship.”
“It’s tempting, but I want to check something first. Besides, if Melange is behind this, they’ll have the resources to put out a hit on those two, and the best window of opportunity will be when you move them out of the sat station. Same goes for Humanity Labor, even Human First. Whoever’s behind it, they were willing to just wait and keep an eye on Henry, here, but as soon as they knew I was going out to see him, someone panicked and sent four guys in hoppers out to silence us. I’d say the stakes in the game have just punched straight through the ceiling of the pressurized dome. If they’re desperate enough, they might try anything. Okay?”
He nodded.
“I’m counting on you, Ray.” I looked at him, curious. “Why did you come back, anyway?”
He gave an easy shrug. “You were right. I was crawling into that damned bottle again. Throwing my life away. So when I sobered up, I squared myself away and went to see Dawn. I asked to be put on the case.”
“She didn’t tell me anything about it.”
“I asked her not to.”
“Why?”
“Wanted to surprise you.”
“You did do that.”
“And…well, maybe I just didn’t want to get your hopes up.”
“What do you mean?”
“Fish…Rick, I mean…the memories…they’re getting bad. Real bad. I didn’t know if I could do this. I guess I just didn’t want you relying on me, when I wasn’t sure that would be all that good of an idea.”
I clapped him on the shoulder. “You came back when it counted,” I told him. “And that’s all that matters.”
Privately, though, I was worried. If Flint stressed out and cracked while bringing our two star witnesses back to Earthside New Angeles, then everything I’d put together on this case so far would be lost.
“Look,” I added. “If you run into trouble, give me a call. And I’ll put a call through to Dawn and have her put together a squad to help you bring Eve and Henry Earthside. Okay?”
“Right, Fish.” He held out his hand a moment, flexing the fingers. “And…I feel pretty good now. You can count on me.”
“Good. I knew I could.”
But that reminded me of something. There was one last thing I wanted to check before we reached Tranquility Home. I walked back to Henry and sat next to him. “Mark? Let me see your hands.”
I motioned Flint closer and had him look, too. On Henry’s left palm just below his forefinger was a shallow cut, scabbed over, evidently several days old. “How’d you get this?” I asked him. “Looks like you might have caught your hand in something.”
“No, sir.”
“No? What happened?”
“Mr. Green…he took a sample of skin there. He told me it was for a DNA test.”
“You didn’t catch your hand while assembling the laser and battery pack?”
He looked at me as if I was crazy. “Of course not. I do know how to handle my tools.”
So “Mr. Green” had planted a bit of skin on the laser, intending that the police lab find it and link the tool to Henry. Slick. And sneaky.
“Okay, Mark. Here’s what’s happening: Detective Flint, here, is going to take charge of you. You’ll be held in protective custody for a day or two at Tranquility Home, at the NAPD satellite station there, okay?”
He nodded.
“After that, he’ll bring you and Eve back to Earthside.”
He brightened. “She is coming, too?”
“That’s right. And there’s something you can do for me.”
“Anything, Captain Harrison.”
“I want you to tell Detective Flint everything you told me out on the surface, okay? And he’s going to record it all on his PAD.” I’d been kicking myself because I didn’t have any of Henry’s testimony recorded, not a word. Like my pistol, my PAD had been sealed inside my suit…and since we’d been using a shielded intercom jack, there’d been no way to record the conversation anyway. I wanted Henry’s testimony recorded safe and secure, just in case.
“Tell him all about Mr. Green,” I went on. “About the mining laser. About him telling you to rescue Eve. Everything you can remember. Understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You know, we kind of got interrupted back there. You were telling me that Mr. Green suggested that you break in on Dow and Eve and…what did you tell me? ‘Do something about Dow.’”
“Yes, sir.”
“Tell me something. Tell me the truth. Did you break in on them with the laser?”
“No, Captain Harrison. I swear I didn’t!”
“What happened?”
“I sat there in Room Sixteen for a long time, Captain Harrison. I wanted to kill him. I did. When I’d listened at the door to Room Twelve, I’d heard her screaming!”
“Mark,” Flint said gently. “Bioroids don’t feel pain.”
“I know that. It was…a performance. Dow liked to hear her scream! And I knew he was playing those sick games with her in there! So I sat in Room Sixteen and thought about killing him…but I didn’t. Then Mr. Green showed up.”
“Oh?”
A nod. “He chimed my door, and when I answered he asked me what the hell I was doing.”
“And what did you say?”
“Nothing. I was scared. Terrified. I pushed past him and ran down the hall. By the time I got to the lobby, I was just walking, but all I could think about was getting out of there. I went to the tube-lev that took me to Farside…then I caught the next ferry back to Heinlein.”
“Did you ever see Green again?” Flint asked.
Henry shook his head. “No.”
“Okay,” I said. “You tell all of that to Detective Flint, okay?” I looked at Flint. “Get it on your PAD, then flash it to me, to Commissioner Dawn, to NAPD Evidence, everywhere you can think of. Just in case.”
“You got it, Fish.”
“Good. Then I’ll see you on Earth in a few days.”
Chapter Fourteen
Day 8
“When did she leave?”
The secretary at the Humanity Labor office on the Challenger Planetoid’s Farside shook her head. “I really don’t know, Officer. Ms. Coleman is not in the habit of sharing her schedule with me.”
“Can you tell me if her bodyguard went with her? Big guy—” I brushed at my chin. “—Beard. His name is Hodgkins.”
“I can’t tell you that, either,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
“Is Ms. Coleman up-Stalk often?”
“Not really, no. She was just here to coordinate that planned meeting with some bigwigs from
Washington the other day. When that was canceled…” She shrugged. “I guess she and her security person went back to Earth.”
I considered having her call down to the Humanity Labor offices in Earthside New Angeles and find out, but decided the news wouldn’t help me one way or the other. I was suspicious of Ms. Coleman now, and I didn’t particularly want to tip her off that I was looking for her.
“You’ve been most helpful,” I lied. “Thank you.”
“I could put a message through to her, through the corporate network,” she volunteered.
“I just have one or two minor points to clear up,” I lied again, “so that won’t be necessary. I’ll catch up with her on Earth.”
The tube-lev through the core of the planetoid took me to Nearside.
At the Beanstalk Terminal, I made my grip-slippered way to the Space Elevator Authority Security Center. Raul Guerrero was the guy in charge of security for every facility on the Challenger Planetoid, and for the upper half of the Beanstalk, as well.
“Captain Harrison,” he said, not sounding pleased to meet me. “What do you want?”
“Just a little of your time,” I told him. “I want to check out an evidence kit…and I want to make sure that Exhibit A is safe.”
“That laser tunneler? Yeah, it’s safe. In the evidence locker.”
“I’d like to see it.”
“You don’t trust us, do you?”
“I don’t trust anyone, Mr. Guerrero. Why do you ask?”
“You came down damned hard on a couple of my people,” he said. “I filed a complaint with your boss.”
“Yeah, I know. And I’m really sorry about that.” Well, I tried to sound contrite. I was doing some major tail-kissing, here, but I needed the chief elevator merc’s help.
I made a note to myself to be a little less testy in the future, even when the targets of my anger were first-order gilada, blithering idiots who couldn’t find their backsides with both hands.
“Seriously,” I added, “I was a bit stressed when I got up here. I’ll apologize in person to the two guys I chewed out if you want. What were their names?”
“Daley,” he said, “and Smethers.”
Android: Free Fall Page 19
