by M. R. Forbes
He turned back to Wilson, holding out his wrists. “You’re right,” he said. “It’s okay. I’ll come quietly.”
Malcolm smiled. “Thank you, Hayden.”
Wilson put the cuff on his left wrist. She didn’t look happy about doing it.
He wasn’t happy about what he had to do, either.
She raised the cuff toward his right wrist. He jerked his hands back, using the momentum to swing the loose side of the cuff into his hand. He gathered his legs at the same time, springing into the off-balance deputy. She was strong, but she was unprepared, and she fell off to the side as he jumped from the bed.
Hicks fired his stunner, the charged round missing wide. He didn’t get another shot. Hayden slammed the cuff against the gun, knocking it from Hicks’ hand. Hicks tried to grab him, but he caught his punch, using his momentum to turn him to the side, bringing the metal of the cuff up and into Hicks’ stomach and knocking the wind out of him.
“Hayden,” Malcolm shouted. He had backed away from the fight. He was a politician, not a soldier.
Wilson had recovered and was pulling her weapon from her hip. Hayden reached to his side, drawing his stunner and firing in one smooth motion. The round hit her in the neck, sending a jolt of electricity through her that caused her to convulse and collapse.
“I need backup,” Malcolm said. “Governor’s Mansion.”
Hayden turned to run, making it a few steps before Hicks tackled him, bringing him to the ground.
“There’s no point resisting, Sheriff,” Hicks said, trying to climb his legs to his back. “There’s nowhere to go. We’re all trapped in here.”
Hayden bucked and kicked, catching Hicks in the chin. The officer fell off, and Hayden scrambled back to his feet.
“I’m not letting you bury me in lockup,” he said. He looked back at Malcolm. “You know I didn’t hurt her, you two-faced son of a bitch. What else do you already know?”
Malcolm was calm. “There’s nowhere to run, Hayden. Nowhere to hide.”
“What else do you know!” Hayden screamed, aiming the stunner at him.
Malcolm was silent. He had secrets.
It seemed they all did.
Hayden backed out of the bedroom, turning and running for the door. It opened ahead of him, two more of his deputies filing in.
“Hayden,” Aarho said.
He didn’t hesitate. Two pulls of the trigger, and both officers were down. He paused beside them, grabbing Aarho’s sidearm before fleeing out to the small foyer. The lift was ahead of him, the stairwell to his left.
He approached the lift, putting his wrist to the scanner.
It didn’t open, his access already revoked.
“Damn it,” Hayden said, breaking toward the stairs.
The door opened, and Hicks came charging through, reaching out to tackle him again. Hayden planted his feet and ducked, backing away, while Hicks crashed into the opposite wall. He put the stunner to his Deputy’s head.
“You know I didn’t kill her, damn it,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter what I do or don’t know Sheriff,” Hicks replied. “I have a job to do.”
“So do I. I’m going to find my wife.”
He cocked the weapon back, using it to hit Hicks in the temple and knock him to the ground.
“Stay down,” Hayden said.
He slipped into the stairwell, taking it three steps at a time. Malcolm was right. They were all right. There was nowhere for him to hide. He was trapped in Metro with them. That had never been a problem before. It was a huge problem now.
It was a good thing he knew the strands better than anyone.
14
Hayden made it out of Block One, barely clearing the building before the reinforcements from Law arrived. They were composed of off-duty deputies, officers that had been home asleep before the Governor had sent out the call. It was the only thing that had slowed them. The only thing that allowed him to escape.
He ducked into the first available strand, running down the narrow alley between the blocks. He had no doubt Law would look for him in here, so he had to put as much distance between them and him as he could.
He kept running, reaching one intersection and turning right, heading to the next. He took that down three strands and made a left, crossed a split and continued on.
To where?
That was the question. Malcolm had turned on him, ready to lock him up and forget about him in order to keep what he knew a secret. He was sure the Governor didn’t think he was responsible for Natalia’s disappearance, but there was no way in hell he was going to let him tell anyone else that someone had figured out how to get out one of the secured hatches.
Or that someone had figured out how to get in.
He shook his head as he moved. He had taken Malcolm’s suggestion and run with it, but the subsequent reaction didn’t line up with that idea. It wasn’t a bad thing if Francis had opened the hatch. Not really. If they could reach the rest of the ship, maybe they could find out where they were and if they were off course. Maybe they could do something to get themselves back on target. Unless Malcolm was afraid of what the truth might be? Maybe there was no getting back on course. Maybe their fate was die in the middle of the Universe whenever the Pilgrim died.
He didn’t believe that. He had seen the look in the Governor’s eye. He had heard the tremble in his voice. Malcolm had seen the blood. He had seen the handprint beneath the hatch. He had cleaned it up to keep the whole thing quiet, and more easily turn the focus back toward Hayden.
But there was more to it than that. He was sure of it. He didn’t know how much Malcolm knew, but he had a feeling Malcolm knew something.
His simple life had gotten damned complex in a hurry.
He crossed the next split, entering another area of the strands. The lighting was almost completely out in this one, a dim illumination coming from the interior lights of the cubes above. It was hard to see, but he didn’t need to see. He had been in the strands a thousand times. He knew the rules. Keep going in a straight line. Stay away from the conduits on the sides. Don’t damage anything.
He only saw the lump in the middle of the strand right before his foot got caught on it. He tripped, falling forward, tempted to put his hands out to brace against the impact. He forced himself not to, rolling his shoulder instead. The last thing he needed would be two broken arms. He hit the ground hard, rolling to a stop. He got to his knees, looking back at the lump.
“Shit,” he said, standing and walking back to it.
He knelt in front of it, pushing it over. The motion shifted the jacket over the resident’s head, revealing the man’s dead face. His mouth was open in a silent scream. His neck was sliced so deep the head rolled to the side, nearly detached.
Hayden fought against the sudden nausea. Another body? Another murder? This wasn’t Francis’ friend at least. This was a different resident.
But who had cut his throat? And why?
He reached to his hip for his scanner, bringing it to the man’s wrist. David Chapman, Block Nine. Married. Damn.
He reached up, closing the man’s eyes. He tapped Natalia’s badge. “Law,” he said.
“Sheriff, is that you?” Deputy Chao said.
“Yeah, it’s me,” Hayden replied. “Did the Governor tell you I might call in?”
“Sheriff, you need to come back to the Station. None of us want anything bad to happen to you. We don’t want to chase you.”
“I don’t want to be chased. But I need to find Natalia, and I can’t do that in lockup. I found a body in the strands. I can’t give you the exact coordinates for obvious reasons. David Chapman, Block Nine. You need to tell his wife, and then come and look for him.”
“Another body?” Chao said.
“What do you mean another body?” Hayden asked.
Chao didn’t respond, disconnecting the link instead.
“Sorry, David,” Hayden said to the dead man. “Someone should be along to collect you s
oon.”
He rose and continued his sprint through the strands, pausing before the next split to check the area. He had almost reached his destination. Hopefully, Malcolm or Wilson wouldn’t think to look for him there. He didn’t want to have to shoot her again.
He slipped onto the split, staying tight against the block, grateful there weren’t many residents outside. He was too recognizable, especially in his uniform.
He reached Block Ten, entering the lobby and moving to the stairwell.
“Sheriff Duke, are you okay?” a passing resident asked him.
Hayden nodded. “I’m fine. How are you?”
“Well enough. Say, those were some turbs we had earlier today, weren’t they?”
“They were,” Hayden agreed. “If you’ll excuse me.” He motioned to the stairwell door.
“Right. See you around, Sheriff.”
Hayden entered the stairwell, ascending quickly. He made his way up to the eleventh floor, already starting to feel worn out again as he peered out into the corridor. Empty. He abandoned the stairwell, hurrying to Cube 1141 and knocking on the door.
It swung open.
“Sheriff Duke,” Sarah Kaine said. “What are you doing here?” She paused, looking him over. “You look like hell.”
“Sarah,” Hayden said. “I need your help.”
15
“You need my help?” Sarah said. “I already answered all of your que- hey, Sheriff, why do you have a cuff on your wrist?”
Hayden looked down at his left wrist. The handcuff was still dangling from it. “Can I come in?”
Sarah hesitated, looking back over her shoulder. “Uh. I guess.”
He nearly shoved his way past her. “Close the door.”
She did. Hayden moved back to her cube’s small window, looking down on the strand below. There was no activity there. That didn’t mean he was safe, but he would rather take his chances in here for now.
“What’s going on?” Sarah said.
“Sarah,” a new voice said from the bedroom on the left. An older woman emerged from it. She was thin and pale. She didn’t look well. When she saw Hayden, her face twisted into a scowl. “Sheriff Duke. Did you come to arrest my daughter for trying to do the right thing again?”
Hayden would never understand how the woman thought prostitution was the right thing. Then again, he didn’t know if she had done the same in her prime.
“Gene,” Hayden said. “I don’t have time to argue with you about this right now.”
She noticed the cuff on his wrist, her eyebrows crinkling. “Trying some new kink with your wife, Sheriff?” She smiled mockingly. “Come to get a third? She’s available if you have a med chit to spare.”
It took all of Hayden’s will to bite his tongue. Everything about Gene Kaine was repulsive to him. Still… “I need her for something else. But there is a med chit in it for you, Sarah.”
Gene’s eyes lit up. Sarah was less enthusiastic.
“What. Uh. What do you need me to do?”
“Nothing like that,” Hayden said. “What kind of Sheriff would I be?”
“Like your father,” Gene said. “That’s what kind.”
Was she trying to piss him off? “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” he hissed.
“Oh, calm yourself, Sheriff. If you want to pretend your dad was a saint, you go right ahead. You’ve always seen Metro through your own idealistic filters.”
“Mom,” Sarah said. “Do we have to do this now?”
“Nope. Sheriff Duke doesn’t have time for that. What do you need my sweet Sarah for, Sheriff?”
“I’m not about to share that with you, Gene,” Hayden said. “Sarah, shall-”
He stopped speaking as a scream echoed up from the strand. He darted back to the window, looking down. The bulbs below were flickering, showing the alley in flashes of light. A dark shape was moving down the strand, faster than Hayden could believe. A woman was lying on the ground within, blood pouring from her neck.
“Bastard cut her throat,” he said absently. “Son of a bitch.”
“Oh my,” Sarah said, joining him at the window. “That’s Jane Freeman. Is she?”
“Don’t look,” Hayden said, pushing her away. She had been attacked right under his nose.
He looked down at Jane. She was already motionless. Dead. Chao had said there were other bodies. Someone in Metro was on a killing spree? That didn’t make sense. Who? The lighting made it hard to tell. Whoever it was, they weren’t that large, but they were quick.
Why were they doing it? And why now? Was it a coincidence?
He doubted it.
“What the hell is going on, Sheriff?” Sarah said. She was in tears.
“I don’t know yet,” Hayden replied. “I told you I need your help. We have to go.”
“You aren’t bringing my daughter out there,” Gene said. “Not when someone’s killing people. You’re the Sheriff. You should be telling everyone to stay inside.”
Hayden glared at her. “Why don’t you go out there, Gene?” he said. “Take a stroll in one of the strands? You’d be doing the rest of us a favor.”
Gene flinched in reaction to the comment. “Well, I-” She stared at him, her mouth snapping open and closed. “Get out of my cube, Sheriff. Right now.”
“Fine,” Hayden said. “Sarah, are you coming?”
“She’s not coming with you,” Gene said.
“Not even for a med chit?” Hayden said, challenging her.
Gene stared at him for a few seconds. He could see the war being waged in her mind, written clearly on her face. She growled under her breath.
“Fine. Sarah, go with the Sheriff.”
“I don’t want to go out there,” Sarah said.
“Sarah, you’ll be fine,” Hayden said, patting his gun to remind her he wasn’t defenseless. “I’ll protect you. Please. I need your help.”
She wiped at her eyes. “Jane Freeman is dead,” she said. “I could be next.”
“You won’t be,” Hayden said. “I promise.”
“You Sheriffs may not be good for much,” Gene said. “But you can take care of yourselves. I know that. Sarah, do you want your mommy to die?”
“No, but-”
“Then go with him.”
“Mom,” Sarah said.
“When are you going to grow up, Sarah?” Gene said. “You’re two years away from marriage. That means you have two years before you’re useless. Do you want to waste them hiding in my panties?”
Hayden clenched his fist. He didn’t know how much more of Gene he could take. Everyone knew she was a piece of work, but now he saw what kind.
“Sarah,” he said calmly. “I won’t let anything happen to you. This is important. The most important thing you’ll ever do.”
She looked at him, then at Gene, and then back at him. “Okay, Sheriff,” she said.
“Thank you,” Hayden said.
He glanced out the window one more time, looking down at Jane Freeman. A Law Officer was standing over her. Who was that? He squinted his eyes to try to get a clearer view. Not Wilson. Not Chao. By the size of them, it was probably Lahish. She had gotten there quickly.
Maybe too quickly.
“We need to go,” he said. “Now.”
Someone knocked on the door.
16
“Shit,” Hayden said.
He started toward the bedroom, putting himself right in front of Gene. The woman was tiny, her size not helped by the disease ravaging her body. Anyone sane would have gone to Medical for palliative years ago. The woman was anything but sane.
“I’m not here,” he said, staring into her eyes.
She looked amused. “No? Why not? Are you in some sort of trouble, Sheriff?”
“Two med chits,” Hayden said. “But keep your mouth shut about me.”
The knock came again.
“If you’re in trouble, how do I know you can deliver?”
“You have my word.”
“Is
it worth anything? I might be able to wring a guaranteed chit out of whoever’s on the other side of the door. Another Law Officer, if I had to guess. Not so kinky after all, are you Sheriff?”
“How about this, Gene,” Hayden said. “You give me up; I put a stunner into your head. Do you think you’ll survive that in your condition?”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“I killed a man once,” Hayden said. “It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to live with. But I’ve learned to live with it. Do you follow?”
She made an ugly face and then stepped aside. He vanished into the bedroom. There wasn’t anywhere to hide, so he closed the door and positioned himself behind it.
Sarah opened the door to the cube.
“Can I help you?” she said.
“Miss Kaine,” the visitor said.
Hayden recognized the voice. Hicks. Damn it.
“Deputy Leland Hicks,” Hicks said. “Sheriff’s Office.”
“I know you’re Law,” Sarah said. “You don’t have to announce it. You’re wearing a uniform.”
Hayden cracked a small smile. Sarah had thrown her snark at him more than once, too.
“Right,” Hicks said. “Sarah, I don’t suppose Sheriff Duke has been here?”
“Why would Sheriff Duke come here?” Gene snapped. “He let Sarah go. He said she didn’t break any laws this time.”
“We’re trying to get Sheriff Duke to come back to the Station,” Hicks said. “We need to talk to him about the disappearance of his wife, Natalia. We tried to pick him up at home, but-”
“I’ll ask you again, Deputy,” Gene said. “Why would he come here?”
Hicks was slow to answer. “Well, ma’am, he arrested your daughter last night, and-”
“He arrested her, Deputy. That’s what you Laws do, isn’t it? You arrest people for trying to make ends meet. He didn’t buy anything from her. He isn’t having an affair. If his wife is missing, it’s probably because she got bored with him. Why don’t you go do something useful for a change?”
Hayden’s smile grew a little bigger. Gene Kaine was a psychotic bitch, but at the moment she was using it to his advantage.
