But it was different in the Imperial Army. And worse in the Civil Guard.
“Bitch,” the brute muttered.
“That’s Lieutenant Bitch to you,” Belinda said. “Name and rank, please.”
“Günter Hammerfest,” he muttered. “Former Private in the Civil Guard.”
Belinda nodded, resolving to read Hammerfest’s file as soon as possible. Someone like him would have been ideal for the Civil Guard, which meant there had to be a very good reason why he hadn't been allowed to remain on active service. It was quite possible that he'd been given the boot for excessive violence – which would have taken some doing in the Civil Guard – or that he’d beaten up the wrong person at the wrong time. She’d just have to keep an eye on him and hope for the best.
She collected names from the rest of her team and filed them all away for later consideration, when she had a moment to herself. The men, at least, were fighters; the woman – Bella Jackson - had been a paper-pusher before she’d retired, two years ago. Belinda honestly had no idea what Fraser had thought when he'd assigned her to the snatch squad. She didn't have any combat record at all, not even minor policing. Indeed, it was quite possible she didn't know how to use a gun. Unlike the Marines, the Imperial Army didn't train its bureaucrats in using weapons. It was a weakness that had been exploited before and no doubt would be exploited again.
“Right,” she said, firmly. “We all know each other now. Grab your kit and we will go down to the shooting range. I want to make damn sure you can all shoot.”
Hammerfest grinned. “Really?”
“Yes, really,” Belinda said. In a state of emergency, she wouldn't have to worry about the paperwork for firing off a crate or two of practice ammunition. Normally, there was so much paperwork that the army’s sergeants rarely bothered, even before a known deployment to a trouble spot. The effect it had on readiness for action was depressingly predictable. “And then we will be practicing with everything from stunners to capture nets.”
She led the way down to the shooting range, then ordered up weapons – they hadn't been issued, which made her roll her eyes in disgust – and put her team to work. None of them were even remotely up to Marine standards, she decided, after watching them clown around for five minutes. If she’d had to lead them into an actual fight, they would have been more dangerous to their allies than the enemy. But the raw material was there, if she had time to turn them into soldiers.
Don’t forget that you have other work to do, Doug warned. You can't become their leader in truth.
Belinda sighed, then nodded.
“A word with you, Bella,” she said. Bella was unquestionably the worst of the bunch, at least when it came to shooting. The gun she’d picked up the first time had nearly knocked her over with the recoil, even though they’d been using training ammunition. “Come over here.”
She led Bella into a corner, directing the men to continue shooting practice while she talked to their comrade. Up close, it was clear that Bella was utterly terrified. Belinda honestly had no idea why she’d joined the military at all, let alone returned when the state of emergency was declared. It was alarmingly clear that Bella had no loyalty to the military, let alone anything else. And there was no time to nursemaid her.
“You don’t know how to fire a gun,” Belinda said, shortly. “And you’re sloppy, very sloppy, in your uniform. What are you doing here?”
“I was called up with everyone else,” Bella said. “I expected to go back into staff work and ...”
“Yeah,” Belinda said. “I’m sure you did.”
She shook her head. “You really shouldn't be here,” she said, tartly. Given a few hours without supervision, Hammerfest would probably have attempted to force himself on Bella. Belinda had met far too many people like him in her life. He wouldn't have considered it rape, not if Bella was too scared to say no. “I want you to stay behind and do the team’s paperwork, when it arrives. In fact, I want you to start requisitioning training supplies for us, the more the better.”
Bella didn't even try to argue. That, more than anything else, proved that Belinda was right and she really didn't belong with the team.
“I will,” she said. “But what about the numbers? Snatch squads are meant to have at least seven members ...”
“Let me worry about that,” Belinda said. Five men behind her, at least one of whom had to be watched at all times ... she didn't need more problems. “I can make do with five men if necessary. You concentrate on filling out all the paperwork when it finally arrives.”
Bella nodded. “And do you want me for anything else?”
It took Belinda a moment to realise what Bella meant. When she did, she had to fight the urge to bang her head off the concrete wall. She'd known that senior officers in the Imperial Army chose their assistants for other reasons than competence – and staff officers weren't expected to have to fight, in any case – but it was still a shock. Was Bella seriously expecting Belinda to take her to bed?
Hell, yes, Pug’s voice said.
“I want you for the paperwork,” Belinda said. It was a shame there was no way to reach inside her head and strangle a little voice. “And that is all you are going to do.”
“Yes, Lieutenant,” Bella said. “I won’t let you down.”
Just think of everything you could do with her, Pug added. Girl-on-Girl is HOT!
Belinda shook her head. Hearing voices was never a good sign ... and hearing such suggestions was worse. Were they her imagination, a reflection of aspects of her own mind, or the first sign of madness? God knew she’d taken enough of a beating to leave her permanently unstable. She should have been retired after the disastrous mission on Earth.
And if they’re drawn from my impressions of my teammates, she asked herself, what does that say about me?
Chapter Twenty-Two
Indeed, even interrogating suspects could be a headache for any interstellar law enforcement official. The planet Rand, for example, forbade any form of interrogation unless there was solid evidence that a crime had been committed, while the planet Boskone permitted any form of information-gathering, up to and including torture, to retrieve information from suspects.
- Professor Leo Caesius. The Decline of Law and Order and the Rise of Anarchy.
“This is a bloody fucking awful place to live,” Hammerfest said, as the van parked outside a medium-sized house. “I wouldn't live here if you paid me.”
Belinda gave him an odd look. The house was situated within a garden, surrounded by a wall that ensured a certain amount of privacy for its inhabitants. This far from Landing City, it was relatively safe and isolated from the chaos simmering in the giant CityBlocks. It wasn't exactly as natural as the farmsteads on her homeworld, but it was far superior to a poky little apartment in a CityBlock.
And the people who live here are staggeringly wealthy, she thought. She’d had a bad feeling about this mission ever since she’d read the handful of briefing notes. They can afford to live far from the maddening crowds.
She sighed, then turned to face her team. They all carried pistols, stunners and zip-ties – and would have carried more, if she’d let them. Instead, she’d been careful to ensure they weren't overloaded if they had to drop everything and fight. She wasn’t expecting resistance, but she’d been surprised before in her life. It was better to take precautions than wind up having to improvise on the spot.
“You are not to hurt anyone unless absolutely necessary,” she said. Snatch missions in hostile territory were often dangerous, but this wasn't precisely hostile territory. “If you hurt anyone without a very good reason I will take it out of your hides afterwards. Do you understand me?”
There were nods. Like most brutal men, they followed orders from people who were clearly stronger and more capable than themselves, once the point had been proven. Belinda had won their respect by knocking Hammerfest down, then making it quite clear that she could do it again and again if necessary. But she still wouldn't sleep
comfortably near them. Bella wouldn't sleep near them at all.
Belinda opened the van, then stepped outside to admire the house. It had almost no visible security, a testament to just how secure the gated estate was. The guards had hemmed and hawed for nearly ten minutes before letting the snatch team through the wire fence without alerting anyone inside. Belinda had no doubt that they were already passing the word to their superiors, who would call their political contacts as soon as they heard. It would only make their job more complicated.
And that’s why they sent us here, she thought. We’re expendable.
She took a long breath, enjoying the taste of the countryside in the air, then led the way up to the gate. It wasn't even locked! She rolled her eyes as she pushed it open, then strode up to the doorway and rang the bell. Her enhanced senses picked up the sound of someone moving inside before the door opened, revealing a middle-aged woman wearing an apron and a long skirt that reached down to her ankles.
“Mrs Armstrong?” Belinda asked. She had no doubt of the answer. “We’re here to take you and your family into custody.”
The woman stared at her, then started to scream. Belinda had no idea what was going through her mind, nor did she care. The screaming might convince anyone else in the house to run for their lives. She pushed the woman to one side, then ran into the house, glancing into each doorway as she passed. Their primary target, Gavin Armstrong, was rising to his feet in the living room as the team crashed in, stunners at the ready.
Armstrong gaped at her. “What is the meaning of this ...?”
“Get down on the ground, hands behind your back,” Belinda snapped. The target stared at her for a long moment, then obeyed. Belinda secured his hands, searched him roughly, then picked him up and deposited him on the sofa. His wife joined him there a moment later, still screaming. “Search the rest of the house.”
Another shriek – from upstairs – caught her attention. She cursed and ran up the stairs, just in time to see Hammerfest securing a girl who couldn't be more than nineteen years old, wearing a dress that was barely there. Belinda eyed him suspiciously, but there was no evidence he’d done anything inappropriate and she knew it. Cursing under her breath, she motioned for Hammerfest to take the girl downstairs and checked the remainder of the rooms herself. According to the files, Armstrong had a teenage son as well as a daughter ...
She paused as her enhanced sensors picked up the sound of breathing on the other side of a half-opened door. Someone was waiting there, lying in wait. He’d have done better, part of her mind noted, to try to breathe normally. There was nothing so conspicuous than someone trying to remain inconspicuous.
“You may as well come out of there,” she said, softly. There was no point in dragging the young man out by force if there was any alternative. “I can shoot through the door, if necessary.”
There was a long pause, then a face peeked out at her. Belinda fought down the urge to snicker – the boy couldn't have been older than fifteen – as he put the chair down on the ground and stared up at her, nervously. At least he’d tried to fight, Belinda told herself as she secured his hands and marched him downstairs. He had more nerve in him than most children from over-rich homes. Judging by the luxury surrounding her, the family had plenty of money.
“This is an outrage,” Armstrong said. “Why are we being arrested?”
Belinda had wondered about that herself. The file hadn't been clear on who Armstrong actually was – it was hard to imagine someone like him planning the riots – but she’d looked him up afterwards and discovered that he was a political operator for one of the Governor’s political opponents. The Governor having him arrested wasn't a good sign, she suspected. If his position was under threat, after Earth’s collapse into chaos, he might start trying to secure it by taking out his potential enemies.
But he might be responsible for the riots, part of her mind offered. He would certainly benefit if his patron took power, if the Governor fell.
“On suspicion of helping to ignite the riots,” Belinda said. She looked around for a blanket, then draped it over the man’s daughter. Hammerfest had positioned her so adroitly that her bare breasts were clearly visible. “And various other charges, yet to be determined.”
She sighed, then motioned for them to stand up. “As long as you do as you are told,” she said, “you won’t be hurt.”
The team led the four prisoners to the van, doing their best to ignore the gathering crowd of people who were staring in horror, or filming the procession with their pocket communicators. Belinda thought about confiscating them, then decided it wasn't worth the effort. Instead, she kept an eye on the daughter to make sure she didn't lose her blanket as she was helped into the van. Moments later, all four were secured and the van lurched into life.
“Take us to the camp,” Belinda ordered, shortly.
“I have money,” Armstrong said. He was starting to sound desperate. Unlike most civilians, he would probably know just how far the Governor could go under the Emergency Powers Act. He would be quite within his legal rights to have the prisoners executed on the spot, if they were charged with undermining the safety and security of the Empire. “I could pay you to take us somewhere else ...”
“Not interested,” Belinda said, sharply. “And besides, where would you go?”
Armstrong looked puzzled, then alarmed. Belinda understood. He would understand how to move in high circles, but not how to keep his family hidden in the CityBlocks. And the orbital tower would be watched. He’d need contacts to get his family off-world without being caught and she rather doubted he had contacts in the right place. And even if he did, they wouldn't be so inclined to help him if he’d lost his position. There would be nothing he could do for them in return.
He may have some money stashed away in an unnumbered bank account, she thought, coldly. He might be able to get away.
She shook her head. Being in a camp would be unpleasant, but it would be relatively safe.
“We could take him up on it,” Hammerfest said. “I could do with a bonus.”
Belinda studied him, coldly. “And all of his accounts are frozen,” she said, carefully not raising the possibility of an unnumbered – and thus unknown – account. “Where is he going to get the money? And even if he did, how would you take the money without making it blatantly obvious that you’ve accepted a bribe?”
Hammerfest snorted, more impressed by the first argument than the second. Belinda kept an eye on him, resisting the urge to roll her eyes in irritation. The second argument was much more impressive, at least in her view. Bribery might be an accepted part of life as a Civil Guardsman, but if the Governor was rounding up his political enemies, he would definitely notice if one of them happened to escape after being taken into custody. From that, it wouldn't be long before an investigator worked out that the team had taken bribes and jumped on them. But Hammerfest wasn't used to thinking through the consequences of his actions.
She kept her thoughts to herself as the van drove down the long road, heading further and further into the undeveloped regions of the planet. Terra Nova would have been covered in cities by now, she was sure, if the government hadn't tried to avoid at least one of the mistakes of Earth. It said something about their determination to maintain part of the planet's environment that no one had tried to turn the landscape into a factory or yet another megacity, although it might also have been prevented by a moribund economy. The plans to produce a second orbital tower had faltered, too. It was unlikely the planet would ever manage to put it into service before it was too late.
This world is doomed, she thought, grimly. Society was starting to unravel, the economic chaos had barely begun and the infrastructure was breaking down. It might be time to urge people to leave.
But that was impossible, she knew. Even if every last ship in the Imperial Navy had been massed in one place, it couldn't have even started to evacuate the entire planet. Countless billions were going to die when the infrastructure finall
y collapsed, just like it had on Earth ...
“Here we are,” Hammerfest called. “Can I say goodbye to the little girl?”
“No,” Belinda snapped. “Stay there and keep the engine running.”
She rose to her feet as the van lurched to a halt, then opened the door and looked outside. The camp looked remarkably small for the number of prisoners she knew to have been taken over the last couple of days, but perhaps it was intended for the Governor’s political enemies. Judging from the way it was built, he wasn't expecting anyone to actually try to rescue the prisoners. She saw a handful of people inside the camp and saved their images for later analysis. It might be interesting to see who else the Governor deemed worthy of arresting and throwing into a camp.
“All right,” she said, as she beckoned Armstrong and his family out of the van. “Walk through that gate there and the guards will take care of you.”
She watched, feeling an odd twinge of guilt, as the four walked into the camp. People like Armstrong, political fixers were among her least-liked people, but his family didn't deserve to be rounded up with him. And his daughter looked weak and vulnerable, just like Bella. It was easy to imagine her going through hell in the camp, even if men and women were kept separate. And she’d been on the ground if – when – society finally collapsed.
But she will be isolated from the megacities, she thought. This part of Terra Nova might survive.
Shaking her head, Belinda climbed back into the van and glanced at the terminal. There were no new orders, so she told Hammerfest to head back to the station, which would give her a chance to check the local news channels. Unsurprisingly, there was nothing being reported about the purge; indeed, several of the more independent-minded newsreaders had vanished from the airwaves. Belinda had no great regard for newsreaders either – most of them merely read what they were told to read, without bothering to think about it – but she couldn't help thinking that it was an ominous sign. The Governor’s grip was tightening.
The Thin Blue Line (The Empire's Corps Book 9) (v5.1) Page 21
