Expelled (Interplanetary Spy for Hire Book 1)

by Ell Leigh Clarke

  Bill glared at Gold with his bulldog eyes and snuffed the cigarette in the palm of his own hand, an old party trick.

  Cameron dismissed the crew quickly, without revealing the nature of the meeting to Gold.

  "Detective Cameron. What are the consultants for?" he asked. "Because I have a feeling it has nothing to do with that missing person's case I gave you."

  "No, uh, actually that's pretty much wrapped up," Cameron said evasively. "Found a body. Just waiting on a positive ID and the ME to confirm suicide. But the ME is Beth Hildebrand and you know how she drags her feet on everything so it could be weeks, honestly—"

  "So then what are the consultants for?" the Captain asked again. "You working a case I don't know about?"

  Cameron pursed his lips, considering lying and saying they were for something else. But the Captain would see through him, if not immediately then as soon as the reports went in.

  "It's for Jayne," he admitted finally. "I'm paying the consultants out of pocket, I'm not using department resources—"

  "The consultants are department resources," the Captain scolded. "Your time is a department resource! Or do you think I'm just paying you for your pretty face?"

  Cameron sank a little further down into his seat, tempted to hide his face. He could feel other eyes already turning this way, wondering who was getting chewed out.

  "I heard about you clocking out before lunch yesterday too," the Captain continued. "Your new girlfriend is cute, but she isn't worth losing your job over!"

  Cameron's face turned red. "She's not… that isn't—"

  "You have a promising future in this department, Detective," Captain Gold said. "I don't want to see you throwing it away over—"

  "It's Burrett," Cameron said, just firmly enough to be heard by the Captain and not all the curious ears listening. The Captain stopped short. "She asked for my help tracking him down. Formally, the department can't do anything about this guy, I know. The jurisdiction is a mess. But he's dangerous. He's going to hurt people. And if I can, off the record, just point Jayne in the right direction, don't I have a responsibility to do what I can for the sake of the people we're supposed to protect?"

  Captain Gold frowned at him for a long moment.

  "Don't play the serve and protect card with me," he said slowly. "It's cheap."

  Cameron braced himself, waiting for punishment, but the Captain looked away, jaw working as he thought. Finally he sighed.

  "Just keep me informed," he said, leaning close and speaking softly. "And keep your hands clean. If this goes badly I don't want the department dragged into it."

  "Yes sir," Cameron said immediately, spirits lifting. "Don't worry. I've got this under control."

  "You'd better." The Captain straightened up. He wasn't sure he was making the right choice, but he’d already spoken. He glanced over to Ray settling back behind his desk. "And be careful with Ray. He feels like he needs to impress everyone. That makes a bad cop."

  "Got it," Cameron confirmed, relief sweeping through him as the Captain walked away. Now he just had to hope his consultants found something, and fast.

  +++

  The Theron Museum of Art and Culture, L55, Theron Techcropolis, Armaros

  Files and research on Burrett only revealed so much information. After learning everything the documents could tell them, Jayne asked Merry to track down any contact of Burrett’s. Burrett’s actions, from his violent past to his love of donuts, did not exactly paint a clear picture. She wanted any insight into his fractured mind that she could get.

  “Well, that was easy.” Merry had told Jayne less than two hours after beginning her hunt. “Looks like we’re not the only ones who want to stop Burrett at all costs.”

  “What have you got?”

  “Gavin Turner, definitely an alias, by the way,” she clarified to Jayne. “Says he used to be an ‘associate’ of Burrett’s. He doesn’t give us any more information on that front. Except he adds that he saw Burrett transform into the wacko that he is today. I’m paraphrasing a little bit,” she once again clarified to Jayne. “He didn’t say wacko.”

  And that was why Jayne was now standing in front of a 3D projection of a rotating smiley face. According to the informational tablet mounted beside the art piece, it was a commentary on commercialism, how it shifts the public to believe their fondness for artificially created bliss is not only necessary, but sincere.

  Jayne didn’t really get it. She’d never had much patience for art.

  “Miss Austin?” Jayne turned around. A tall, bald man in a royal blue suit leaned heavily on a cane. He reached out with his other hand, a robotic prosthetic. Jayne grasped it for a strong shake.

  “Thought provoking, isn’t it?” He said as he looked at the rotating smiley face before them. He dropped to a whisper. “To be frank, I don’t get it.”

  Jayne laughed. “Don’t ask me. I got kicked out of school. Gavin?”

  “Pleased to meet you. Shall we see if any other pieces in this gallery speak to us?”

  Jayne smiled. “What a lovely suggestion.” They began the slow shuffling journey one takes through an art museum. “Why did you want to meet here anyway?”

  “It’s an art museum. You can whisper here without anyone getting suspicious.”

  “Fair point. I can respect that, although I’m more of a meet me at midnight at the loading docks type of girl, myself.”

  “I’m afraid I’m getting a little old for a midnight rendezvous.” Gavin coughed. “Mind if I cut pleasantries down to a minimum?”

  “I like you already.”

  Gavin, as Jayne had been instructed to call him, walked the perimeter of the multi-media art gallery. Jayne slowed her pace to match his stride.

  “So, you are tracking Burrett?”

  “Yeah.”

  Gavin sighed. His worst fear had come true. “What have you found?”

  “Sorry, but I’m the one here for information. You’re not getting any from me. I trust your opinions about art, but I don’t know if I can trust you.”

  “Fair enough. Let’s start with your own questions. What do you want to know?”

  Jayne stuttered in frustration. “That… well, that’s the problem. It’s hard to ask a question about something you know nothing about. But to start… what does Burrett want?”

  “I don’t think even Burrett knows the answer to that question. He’s a creature of impulse and action alone. He plans, meticulously, but to what end? He spoke constantly of destroying everything in his path. He saw all life, and all the products of it, as his enemy.”

  “Why?”

  “The worst part about people, Miss Austin, is that everyone has their reasons.”

  They stopped at another art piece. It was a sculpture, a pyramid of kava cups.

  Jayne laughed. “Well, I can relate to this one.” She read the informational tablet. The piece was called “Exhumation.” The pyramid, measuring six feet by six feet by six feet was made from over one thousand stacked kava cups. Every cup had been fished out of the garbage. Jayne wondered if any of the cups had been thrown out by her or Merry. Chances pointed to yes. Jayne read on.

  Each cup contained one fluid ounce of donated blood that had been contaminated due to incorrect medical procedures.

  Jayne stood back from the tablet, grossed out. “Well, then again, maybe not.”

  “I could never understand or explain to you why this artist felt like this piece was necessary. I’m sure they could put it into words, though some choose not to. Many feel an explanation undoes the art. Burrett is the same. He wants his chaos to be trusted. To describe it undoes the point.”

  “It’s hard to trust a murderous psychopath.”

  Gavin nodded. “Yes, it sounds ridiculous. But he’s not a man with any compass. I don’t think any man can be when they’re driven by revenge. The more society wrongs him, at least in his eyes, the greater that revenge must be.”

  They turned away from the art piece and continued their walk throu
gh the museum. They left the modern wing and entered the Hall of 20th Century Artifacts.

  Jayne had stopped asking questions. Gavin had begun spilling his guts. She suspected he didn’t have many people to talk to. Judging by how quickly Merry had gotten ahold of him, he must have been desperate to speak to anyone. And he must surely be consumed by the thought of Burrett.

  “I knew Burrett many years ago. I knew him when he was a good man, and I let him drag me into his web of chaos as he turned into a bad man. I was lucky. I got out. I’ve done well for myself, but every night I have nightmares about what Burrett is capable of.”

  Jayne nodded. “I also have nightmares.”

  “In the beginning, we were not unlike you. We felt the academy had lost its way. We thought we were doing something right. We were vigilantes, of a sort. But after a time—” He stopped himself as a metaphor came to him. “Have you ever been to a Hyenish-hound race?”

  “No, never.” Jayne said. Hyenish-hounds were a relatively new hybrid species. Breeders crossed hyenas with greyhounds as both were approaching extinction. They were an animal built for speed and nothing else. On the upper levels, they were a very popular way to spend an afternoon and hundreds of thousands of credits. Jayne found the entire thing inhumane.

  “Every animal is chasing after a hologram rabbit. The projected rabbit runs at a faster speed than even a Hyenish-hound could match. And the rabbit continues until one of the hounds wins. The animal has no idea they will never catch the rabbit. That is how justice was for Burrett. It’s always out of reach. It’s never fully attainable. It drove him mad.”

  Jayne swallowed. She felt like Gavin was sneaking a warning in her direction.

  “His quest for justice became a desire for revenge. I left once innocent blood was spilled. That’s all I’d like to say about that.” He stopped and looked down at Jayne. In that moment, his robotic arm twitched and rotated clockwise several times. It froze, then rotated back counter-clockwise. “Will you please take my cane?” He said to Jayne.

  With his free hand, he manually shut off his prosthetic arm. “It’s been malfunctioning for the past month. I made a doctor’s appointment for early next week, but you can imagine how difficult it makes things. How difficult it’s made everything.”

  “Burrett?” Jayne asked, though she already knew the answer.

  “Let’s continue, shall we?” Gavin turned and hobbled down the older wing of the museum.

  “Mister Turner, I’m sorry. I just need to know… How do we find him?”

  “You wait.”

  “I’m tired of waiting!” Her voice rose, and other museum patrons glanced in their direction. A guard shushed her.

  “You can’t find Burrett. And Burrett, I’m sure, already knows where you are. Burrett always did have a knack of knowing the next move. He probably knows you’re here, talking to me, right now. But he’ll let you find him. And he will enjoy every minute of it. It’s a game to him. He builds traps. He’s a mechanical mastermind. He never met two pieces of scrap he didn’t like.”

  “What does he gain? Why slow himself down and leave a bigger footprint?”

  “I doubt he gains anything, really. A thrill, perhaps. Burrett once beat me at a game of chess in four moves.”

  Jayne ignored the near non-sequitur.

  “Miss Austin, if I may ask, why did you let him out?”

  “We needed his help.”

  Gavin looked away from Jayne and, for the first time, had something straightforward to say. “That was a very stupid thing to do.”

  He had led Jayne to the end of the hall, where one of the museum’s most prized artifacts was on display. A crowd of tourists, couples on dates, and children on field trips surrounded the antique portrait. Jayne had heard about the piece, but had never seen it herself. The crowd blocked her view.

  Gavin motioned for her to squeeze through and see it. “Go on. It’s quite magnificent.”

  Jayne stepped toward the crowd and began squeezing into the throng of excited art enthusiasts. Everyone blocking the artwork had their comm out, waiting in line to grab a selfie in front of the famous portrait.

  “Excuse me, thanks.” Jayne moved between a rotund tourist in a loud patterned shirt. She almost tripped over a row of primary school children. “Oh! I’m sorry. Excuse me.”

  At last Jayne emerged from the crowd. She nearly fell forward once the force she needed to shove through was no longer necessary. She took the portrait in. It was smaller than she imagined, but she was immediately under its legendary spell.

  It was roughly twelve by eighteen inches on black velvet. The subject had high, round cheekbones beneath intense eyes and a pompadour haircut. He wore a white jacket, elegantly adorned with fine jewelry. He sang soulfully into a microphone.

  The informational tablet read: Portrait of Elvis Presley on Black Velvet. Late 20th century. By mysterious earth artist Tijuana.

  Jayne turned around. She scanned above the crowd. Gavin Turner had disappeared.

  +++

  Police Station, L45, Theron Techcropolis, Amaros

  As it turned out, Cameron and his crew only needed a few days to find their man. He was waiting outside an interview room for a suspect's lawyer to arrive when he got the call.

  "Cameron," he said, answering.

  "It's Ray Taylor. I spotted him."

  "Where?" Cameron said, standing up straighter.

  "Cosmos Donuts, little local place over on thirty-first, down on level 12. I've seen him here twice now. I wasn't sure it was him at first, but I got a shot of him without his filter mask this time. Son of a bitch is seriously just sitting there eating a cruller."

  Cameron couldn't help laughing. It really was a damn donut place?

  "Stay put!" Cameron said in a rush of glee. "Record everything. See if we can't get a rough schedule for when he visits and set up an ambush."

  "You sure you don't want me to just take him out?" Ray asked. "He's right there. The guy can't be ninety pounds soaking wet, and he looks like my grandpa."

  "No. Absolutely not. You know your orders, Taylor. Stay put."

  "At least let me tail him. If I can find out where he's staying it'll be a hell of a lot easier than cornering him in a donut shop."

  "I said no, Ray," Cameron said, a threat in his voice. "We cannot risk fucking this up, you hear me?”

  “Give me a break, already!”

  “Ray. I need you to stay put. That is an order."

  Cameron didn't hang up until he had Ray's reluctant agreement. He tapped Jayne's number almost as soon as the call with the officer closed, his heart beating fast.

  "Guess what?" he said as soon as she picked up. "I've finally got some good news..."

  +++

  ISA Offices, Malicarsh Building, L45, Theron Techcropolis, Amaros

  "What kind of good news?" Jayne asked, not daring to hope it might be what she thought. She'd been lying on her back on the office couch, chucking a rubber band ball at the ceiling, half running through her mental list of Burrett's contacts, half just trying to see how many times she could bounce the ball against the ceiling before Merry tried to strangle her. As she sat up, letting the ball roll away under a filing cabinet, Merry took note of the change in mood. She leaned out from behind her computer (where she'd been hacking her favorite porn star’s browser history and pretending to research a new case) and gave her a curious look. Jayne gestured for her to wait.

  "We've sighted Burrett," Cameron said.

  "Already?" Jayne said, scrambling off the couch and trying to remember where she'd left her coat. "Where? Is he there now?"

  "One of my guys spotted him at Cosmos Donuts on level twelve," Cameron explained. "There's a good chance he visits that one regularly, and possibly a second Cosmos location on the same level."

  "Level twelve?" Jayne said, trying to put on her coat and simultaneously dig her phone out of the pocket, forgetting she currently had it pinned between her ear and her shoulder. "I can be there in fifteen."

 
; "Fifteen? Are you planning to jump off a walkway and fall thirty levels?"

  "Just meet me there in fifteen."

  "Slow down a minute, Jayne!"

  Jayne stopped, but only because she realized she was putting her coat on upside-down.

  "Why am I slowing down, Cameron?" she demanded as she tried to disentangle herself.

  "He's going to have left by the time you get there," Cameron pointed out. "At best you're just going to hurt yourself running to an empty donut shop. At worst, he'll spot you and you'll blow our shot at surprising him."

  Jayne considered this for a moment while she continued wrestling with her coat.

  "...Fine," she said at last. "But I'm joining the stakeout. I need to see him for myself."

  "Alright, we can do that," Cameron agreed. "But, uh, do me a favor and run it by Merry first?"

  "Why?" Jayne asked in genuine confusion, still half wearing her upside down coat.

  "Because you know she'll flip if you run off after Burrett without telling her. And if she thinks I encouraged you she's going to eat me alive."

  "Alright, alright," Jayne griped, finally dropping her coat on the couch and then sitting down heavily beside it. "Send me the details for the stakeout as soon as you have them, alright?"

  "Will do. You're still down for ceviche this weekend, right?"

  Jayne cracked a smile.

  "Yeah, of course."

  "Good, because I already bought the ingredients and seafood prices are absurd in this town."

  Jayne laughed, said her goodbyes, and hung up.

  As soon as she put her phone down she realized Merry was still staring at her expectantly.

  "So what the heck was that?" Merry demanded.

  Jayne, already regretting that Cameron had talked her into telling Merry everything, gave her a quick summary of the call, in the middle of which Fred showed up and had to be briefed as well.

  "I don't like it," Merry said when Jayne was done.

  Jayne paced restlessly in front of the settee where Fred sat. Merry sat on the edge of her own desk, fingers tapping on the slick surface.