Durq headed over to the crate that Nickie had carefully left out and half open for him. “Here we go,” he said, pulling the lid fully off.
Sean edged forward to inspect the cargo.
Aboard The Empress, Agresh Quadrant
“Erm, Crash? I do believe we have a problem.” Emma’s voice sounded through the cockpit of the Empress.
“Go ahead,” Crash responded, in his distinctive pilot’s tonality.
“It seems that we’re not dealing with Skaines at all.”
“But that is definitely a Skaine ship they just boarded?”
“Yes. I’ve managed to tap into their security camera feed. It seems that it’s being run by a human and a Yollin up on the bridge.”
Crash flicked a few switches to see what visual he could get from the outside of the ship. He turned to Brock. “We need Molly back up here stat.”
Brock flipped his holo open and connected a call to her. “She’s on her way.’
“Can we get anything on screen?” Crash asked Emma.
“Yes, I’m having a hard time getting a real-time feed, but Oz has just started grabbing a segment of recorded footage.”
The sound of boots clomping up the stairs to the cockpit distracted him for a moment. Molly appeared, closely followed by Joel.
“What’ve we got?” she asked, immediately leaning over Crash’s shoulder to see what was going on. Just then Emma managed to display the footage on the main screen. Molly straightened up to watch it.
It showed a Yollin and a human arriving in the cockpit of the ship.
Not a Skaine in sight.
Molly cocked her head. “Emma? Any chance we could get footage from the time we had the communication with them?”
“Working on it now.”
Joel stepped around Molly to get a better look at the screen. “What are we thinking? That they’re using a Skaine front to get a higher price? Or prevent people taking advantage of them?”
Molly pulled her lips to one side. “Yeah. I think maybe… But why would a human and a Yollin be teamed up, out in the middle of nowhere? And why in a Skaine ship? And how come they’re not dead already if they stole that ship? And why go up against Leath? I mean, there must be easier sales they could make… Less risky options.”
Pieter lifted his head from his collection of holos he had been working on in the back of the cockpit. “Unless it’s all a ruse?”
“For what end, though?” Joel asked.
Pieter shrugged. “We won’t know until we have all the pieces.”
Molly turned back to Crash. “Think we can get Sean a carefully worded message to let him know that there isn’t a ship full of Skaines?”
Crash nodded and relayed the message, choosing his wording carefully so as not to miscommunicate. Sean wouldn’t be able to respond if he were in the middle of the exchange.
“Sean, listen carefully but try not to respond until we have a plan. I’m here with Molly. We’ve noticed that the Skaine in front of you is likely the only Skaine on the ship. We have two other life signals in the cockpit. One human. One Yollin.”
There was quiet on the line.
Sean had zoned out holding a Zorg ZF-1 weapon, half-cocked. He glanced over at Karina, wondering how he could relay the intel. Then he saw a nervous flicker in her eyes as she glanced back, and could tell from her expression she had gotten the same message.
Good. That made things easier.
Crash’s voice continued. “Can you let me know you understand?”
Sean smiled at the Skaine and flipped the weapon onto its other side as he held it in his arms. “I understand…” he paused, “that there are custom-made versions of these available in some markets.”
“Yes. I guess,” the Skaine responded. “But I wouldn’t know much about that.”
Back on the ship Molly heard the response. She stood straight and folded her arms, thinking. “Ok. So now we have to figure out how to play this out. It’s a delicate situation, we want to tread softly. One wrong move and we risk an inter-species diplomatic crisis, and I don’t want Lance riding me for that as well as everything el—”
Her eye caught the monitor again. Sean flipped the weapon back into his normal firing arm and was pointing it at the Skaine. “You wanna tell me what’s really going on here, then?” he demanded, stepping forward toward the terrified Skaine. “Before I blow your brains out?”
His words filled the cockpit on The Empress.
Molly’s head dropped into one of her hands, hiding her face.
Joel shrugged, nonchalantly. “Guess that’s ‘treading softly’ gone out of the window.”
Brock and Pieter snorted quietly from the corner.
Clandestine Location #1
The Sark had been up for only a matter of an hour or so. Hans Duo walked briskly hunched against the biting cold of the morning. He had precise instructions for meeting his handler. Well, he assumed it was his handler at least. The coded message was from an unknown source, so technically he could be being summoned by anyone.
Odds were it was Philip.
He was way too enthusiastic about this spycraft stuff.
He had a code phrase to utter when he was approached. The subtext of the message had indicated that the person he was meeting knew what he looked like. He was instructed to wait ten yards down from the river monument and to make sure he wasn’t followed.
It could be a test, to make sure he was running anti-surveillance protocols. That’s why when he left his home in the morning he’d changed his mode of transport twice, and directions three times. He wasn’t going to fail this if it was a test. And he definitely wasn’t going to mess things up if was a real op.
He’d just done a lap of the lake to make sure that there wasn’t anything suspicious, but it was time he was at the monument. He broke into a jog, musing to himself that at least with all this exercise he could probably skip PT later.
He arrived at the meeting point and looked around. He noticed a young woman with a baby in a stroller. It was early for a young mom to be out like this. Especially if she didn’t have to be at work. He looked for any other signs. There was a mocha stand a few hundred feet away, just back from the river that came through the park. It seemed like a hive of activity for anyone suited and booted who came through the park. There was a homeless person on a bench a hundred feet to his left. And a couple of joggers he’d already seen on his walk. Nothing out of place yet.
He kept his awareness all around him. And then decided that if he needed to wait much longer he was going to have to grab a mocha in order to look less suspicious, of course.
Just then he heard someone behind him. “The Estarian flag is flying upside down today,” a familiar voice said.
Hans relaxed. He could smell mocha. His meeting had brought the mochas. And managed to approach without Hans detecting him. “It’s a fine day for a rally,” he responded, before slowly turning to face his mentor and handler.
Philip grinned, as if excited that Hans managed to get it right. He handed him the mocha. “Greetings of the day upon you,” he said. “Obviously if this were a real meet we’d be acting like we didn’t know each other.”
Hans took the mocha. “Obviously,” he agreed.
Philip took a sip of his mocha, then indicated they should walk. The pair ambled alongside the river.
“So, did I pass?” Hans asked.
“Were you followed?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Well, then you did.”
Hans thought this was too simple for one of Philip’s usual tests. “What am I missing?”
Philip chuckled lightly. “Ah. You’re onto me. Good.” He paused, looking out over the park as if admiring the beauty of the morning. “I have a job for you. Something that will tell us how your skills are coming along.”
“You mean a test?”
“Yeah, something like that. Live case though. You think you’re up to it.”
“This is what I was born for.”
/> Philip smiled at the enthusiasm. He reminded him of himself when he was a new agent. “Ok, here are the details,” he said, bumming a file over to Hans’s holo. “We need these people to remove their pressure on the Health and Safety department and get them to retract the findings of the investigation on the university.”
Hans glanced down to see the file had uploaded. He continued to stroll casually, drinking his mocha. “This is to do with the university investigation and shut down?”
“One and the same.”
“Force permitted?”
“I would prefer a more sophisticated approach. Let this be a test of finesse.”
Hans smirked over his paper cup. “Director Bates told you no force, didn’t she?”
Philip sighed. “Yes. And no bribes. And no killing.”
“Tying our hands,” Hans smiled dryly.
“From the mouths of babes,” Philip chuckled. “Yes. But also, I suspect it’s a little more nuanced than that. This is associated with Molly’s institution. Having been a part of it, you know what they stand for. You know why you went there.”
“And really, it’s how I feel,” Hans stated flatly.
“Right.”
“I wasn’t joking.”
“Course you were, son.”
“No. I wasn’t. I wouldn’t take someone out as a first option.”
Philip bobbed his head. “Well, okay then. Anyway, if you know anything about this, you’ll know that we’re on a tight timescale to make this go away. Run any moves past me before you make them, and make sure you’re not compromised in any way. Remember, this is the reputation of the institution on the line. The future of the work they do.”
“I understand, Sir. I’ll keep you in the loop.”
“Good. Ok. I’ll see you back at the office. You take the south exit. I’ll double back and use the central gate.”
“Ok, sir.” Hans raised his mocha cup as a thank you, and the two parted company to continue with the official part of their days.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Special Task Force Offices, Undisclosed location, Estaria
Alisha rocked on her console chair, flicking between lines of data on two different screens.
“I got something,” Joshua announced over the group holo connection they’d left open since the morning meeting.
Alisha finished scanning to a point where she could stop and put a marker on her place. “What is it?” she asked, glad of the distraction.
“There’s a statement in the city hall archives. A landlord reported a resident disappearing, without packing up his stuff or giving notice.”
Alisha wasn’t getting it.
“Why is that odd?” Rhodez asked over the audio feed, swivelling around in his console chair across the aisle to look at his teammates.
“It’s odd because the resident was one Mr. Robert Califray.”
“Wait,” Alisha flicked to her notes on her other screen. “That’s Beaufort’s former undersecretary.”
“It is,” Joshua confirmed, winking at Alisha. “Checked the address and date of birth. All seems legit. Except for the part where he seems to have just disappeared. No more banking transactions. No holo calls. Everything that is on an auto pay just keeps going out. No family seems to be stepping in and running his estate. No missing person’s report. Just the complaint about the rent not being paid and the court’s ruling that the items could be auctioned off and removed.”
“Shit,” Alisha hissed under her breath. “How come no one’s reported him missing?”
“Phone records seem to show he didn’t have any regular contact with any family.” Joshua flicked a few screens, “But then, it also looks like they just assumed he’d skipped town. They tried to reach him on his holo and he didn’t respond.”
“What did they say at his place of work?” Rhodez asked. He had shuffled off his console chair and was heading over to talk to the team in person.
Josh shrugged. “No report filed.”
Alisha was already on her feet. “I think we need to pay our Senator a visit.”
“You guys go ahead,” Rhodez told them. “I’m doing some digging on the previous occupant of the other position that magically got filled on Thursday.”
“Houston.”
“Yeah. Malone Houston was the previous guy.”
“Cool. We’ll keep you posted,” Joshua promised.
Rhodez ambled off back toward his console. “Hey, Grab me a bagel on your way back in!”
“Cheese and chicken?”
“Yeah! With extra chilies please.”
“Consider it done.” Joshua patted Rhodez on his shoulder as he headed in the other direction toward the door.
Alisha trotted out after him, pulling her atmojacket on as she walked.
Beaufort’s office, Senate House, Spire
“So, what can the Department of Near Space Communications do for Spire’s finest?” Beaufort stepped forward to shake the hands of the two detectives presenting themselves in his office. His slick suit and hair full of product gave him an impeccable if not overly-polished, appearance.
Joshua and Alisha shook the hand of Senator Garet Beaufort and then put away their cover ids. No investigation warranted telling their targets that they were a secret off-shoot of Estaria’s Clandestine services.
“We’re looking into the disappearance of your former employee. Robert Califray,” Joshua told him.
“Robert? I heard he went on holiday and decided not to come back.”
Alisha nodded. “We think that story was fabricated. We can’t find any record of him communicating that back to anyone here.” She paused. “How did your office receive notification of this?”
Garet shrugged and walked around his desk to sit down. “I have no idea. Hang on.” He pressed a button on his desk. “Diana, can you come in here please.”
“Yes, sir,” the intercom returned.
“Diana is the most likely to know,” he explained. “She keeps my schedule like it was a military operation, but she’s also tapped into the water cooler, as it were.
The door opened and the assistant who had let them in appeared in the room. “Yes, sir?”
“Diana, can you tell these folks how we came to find out about Robert leaving us?”
Diana thought for a moment. “Well, after a couple of days of him not showing up for work after his vacation I think his assistant tried contacting him on his holo. He didn’t get any response, he went to his apartment. Landlord said something about the rent being due and that he was going to file proceedings.”
“And then what?”
“And then a few days later we received a communication from Robert’s holo saying that he realized some things on his vacation and that he wouldn’t be coming back to town.”
“Anything else you remember?”
Diana shook her head. “You should probably talk to his assistant though. She’ll be able to tell you more.”
“Great. Let’s do that now,” Alisha suggested. “Can you introduce us?”
“Sure.” Diana led the way from the room, leaving Garet and Joshua alone.
“So… sounds a bit suspicious,” Garet said, “now that you guys have shown up.”
“You didn’t think it was odd at the time?”
“Oh of course, but what are you going to do. The guy told them that he was done with us, so we just took it at face value.”
Joshua watched and waited. His training had told him to speak only up to twenty percent of the time, and that his interviewee would fill the gaps…and end up saying more than he had intended.
Garet wiped the bottom half of his face. “You know… the thing that wasn’t widely known was that we heard that he had just got out of a bad relationship. I guess Diana was trying to spare him the humiliation just now. But I heard it ended very badly and the vacation was his way of resetting.”
Joshua nodded. “Understandable. You think it hit him hard?”
“Undoubtedly. He was different. I mean, he
was never a singing-in-the-hills kinda guy, but he turned more morose and snapped at a few people before he left. Someone even mentioned that he had alcohol on his breath in a meeting the week before.”
“Hmm. Interesting.”
“So you’re thinking it was personal problems that made him run off?”
“We’re still considering all the options,” Joshua told him. “But this has been very helpful.” Joshua stood up to go, but then he turned back to the senator.
“You don’t happen to know where he went on vacation, do you?”
Garet shook his head. “I’m not sure. Somewhere off-world, I think. Diana will probably know though.”
“Ok. I’ll find out. Thanks very much for your time Mr. Beaufort.”
“Of course,” he replied politely, getting up from his desk and walking the detective out. “And if there is anything else we can help with, please don’t hesitate.”
The two men shook hands, and Joshua headed out into the reception area of Garet’s office.
Just then the assistant returned. “Your colleague is just in the next office,” she told him helpfully.
“Thanks, Diana. Appreciate it.”
Joshua stalked out of the office with a casual wave and headed one door down. Alisha was just finishing up and the two emerged a few moments later together.
“So, find out anything interesting?” Alisha asked.
Joshua gave her a tight smile. “Not here,” he told her quietly, opening the corridor door for her and following her out.
***
Back out on the sidewalk away from other employees, they stood along the side of the building. “So you think it’s been made to look like there were personal reasons?” she asked.
“Yeah. Either that or our assassin was an opportunist. What about you? Any thoughts from the assistant?”
“Not really. She seemed genuinely concerned about him until she received the message.”
“And we’re thinking that the message was bogus.”
“Yeah. I’d say so… which is why I had her upload me a copy, complete with the tracking file.”
“Great. Let’s get that back to the team and see if we can pull a location of origin off it.”
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