An Airless Storm: Cochrane's Company: Book Two

by Peter Grant

  “Yes, sir.”

  Agim replayed the vid as the security guard turned and left the room. He scratched his jaw, thinking hard. Perhaps we should put a tracer on that van when it returns, to see where it goes every day. On the other hand, if they are enemies – although they have given no sign of that since we moved in – then they may find it, which would reveal that we suspect them. What to do?

  He was interrupted by a buzz from his comm unit. He scooped it from his belt. “Yes?”

  “Sir, would you please come to your office at once?” The voice was the head of the security detail on duty.

  Agim ran nimbly up the stairs, and arrived at his office panting only slightly. “What is it?”

  The man gestured to one of the triple-paned windows. Two guards were kneeling beside it. They had torn away the paneling beneath it, and were peering at two thin wires that ran from the window frame down between the studs. “Mirela checked the window frames with a magnifying glass. She noticed two tiny holes at the base of the frame that should not be there, between the inner and center panes. She called me, and I told them to look beneath it. We think the holes are for whisker vibration sensors. We have cut the wires, in case they are.”

  Agim’s blood ran icy cold. If the enemy had been listening to his conversations since he moved in… “What about other rooms?”

  “We are checking every window frame, sir. I –”

  Another guard appeared in the doorway. “Sir! The boardroom! We think we have found another one!”

  Agim wanted to throw back his head and scream in frustration. “How could we have missed this? Your people scanned the building in depth, before we moved in! How was it they did not detect these whiskers?”

  “I… Sir, I have no excuse. I can only say that it is almost impossible to detect such things if one does not know they are there, and looks for them specifically. You know this from your own time in the field, sir.”

  Agim breathed hard. The man was right. This was an almost foolproof setup. He had used something like it against their enemies, in years gone by. If Jehona had not raised the issue of security…

  “We shall discuss that later. Right now, we need to know who is behind this. I think the building manager can perhaps help us.”

  “Yes, sir. You wish us to secure him?”

  “At once. Make sure he is able to talk.”

  “I shall go myself, sir.”

  The man spun on his heel and ran out, shouting for some of his guards to join him.

  Abis heard the click over the line as the wires were cut, and closed his eyes as dread seeped into his very bones. How quickly today’s gone to shit! Just half an hour ago, everything was fine… and now this. They’ll be coming. Sure as hell, they’re going to come for me.

  He hurried into the anteroom. His secretary, a local woman who knew nothing of their secret activities, had asked for the afternoon off. He was suddenly grateful she would not be there to see this. He closed and locked the door leading to the corridor, then went back to his office.

  He activated his terminal, and brought up the security cameras covering the corridor outside the building manager’s offices. It was deserted. He kept a careful eye on the display as he took up his comm unit, and activated a pre-programmed routine with a single keystroke.

  The unit automatically dialed six comm codes, all set up long ago for one-time emergency use, and transmitted a three-word signal. The codes would forward it to others, where he knew recipients would be waiting for it with something of the same fear he felt right now. As soon as it had sent the message, the comm unit wiped its memory clean, using a military algorithm to ensure no data could be recovered. Abis locked it in an inconspicuous drawer, to give it time to complete the procedure before it could be interrupted.

  He knew he had no chance to escape. The guards had spread throughout the building almost as soon as Fihr had left the parking garage. He had seen them on the security cameras, and hoped against hope that this was just a routine check. Now he knew that it was not. He wasn’t religious, but was suddenly almost devoutly grateful that the younger man would be spared this. He tried to suppress the panic bubbling just below the surface of his self-control. It was too late for that now. He'd known the risks when he signed on the dotted line. Now he had to accept the consequences… and, ghastly as those consequences were, they still beat the alternative a hundred times over.

  As four men appeared in the corridor, walking briskly toward the entrance to his office suite, Abis reached into his mouth and twisted the fake tooth a quarter turn, rocking it back and forth. A small pin emerged from the crown, sticking up about a millimeter. He kept his teeth carefully apart as he watched the terminal display.

  The men tried the handle of the door. It did not open. One of them looked questioningly at another, who nodded. The first man took a device from his pocket, one Abis recognized. He held it against the lock and pressed a button. From inside his office, Abis could hear the electronic lock’s sudden ting! as the picker traced its combination and entered it. The door clicked open.

  Abis’ last thought, as he bit down hard on the pin, was of the small country house where he had grown up. As pressurized spray burst out of the tooth, he swallowed hard, twice, then inhaled deeply through his mouth to absorb the last of the vapor.

  I’m sorry, Mom and Dad. I won’t be coming home this time. If the prophets were right, I’ll be waiting for you when you arrive.

  By the time the guards, pulsers drawn, reached his desk, Abis was jerking and twitching on the floor behind it in a final spasm.

  Her comm unit rang as Jehona and her husband were eating supper. She excused herself to answer it, and frowned when she recognized Agim’s voice. “Why are you calling me?” she hissed. “Can’t you give me privacy with my husband tonight?”

  His voice was grim. “You should know that your warning was entirely correct.”

  She froze. “You mean…?”

  “Yes. There were listening devices. The building manager was part of it. He killed himself before we could take him. His employees have all vanished from their homes, except for a local secretary who knows nothing. They all destroyed their residences by fire before leaving, presumably to get rid of evidence we could use, and slagged their electronic devices to prevent any data being recovered. We presume they have a plan to get off Patos, just as our people have when they are on an enemy planet. We shall watch for them, and alert the authorities, of course.”

  “I… I see. Thank you for telling me.”

  “No, Jehona; thank you for your timely warning. But for that, they would still be listening to us.”

  “Did they learn much of importance?”

  “Of course they did!” He breathed heavily for a moment. “I apologize. I should not snap at you. Yes, they learned much. Fortunately, my two lieutenants and I discussed many issues at other places, rather than talk about them where even our own people might overhear us. That will protect us to a certain extent. Nevertheless, they will have learned a great deal.”

  “You have no idea who they were?”

  “Who else could they be but Hawkwood, or agents working on its behalf?”

  “I suppose you’re right. What now?”

  “Speak to your husband. You have my permission to tell him what I have just told you, to illustrate our peril. Let me know tomorrow what he says.”

  There was a click as Agim terminated the call.

  She laid down the comm unit, and walked slowly back to the table, her face pensive.

  “Who was it, dear?”

  “It was Agim. Darling… we need to talk. Right now.”

  “But we’re still eating!”

  “I’m sorry. It can’t wait. Will you sit down with me in the living-room?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  She told him of Agim’s request, and the reasons he had advanced for it. Pal was thunderstruck. “How dare he ask this of you? More to the point, how dare he ask it of me?”

  “He asks b
ecause our enemies are growing bolder.” She described the afternoon’s events. “He sounded really worried when he called. He told me I could tell you what had happened, so that you understood the danger we are in.”

  His face turned pensive. He thought for a long moment. She started to speak, but he held up his hand. She waited in silence.

  At last he turned to her, and gathered her into his arms. “Darling… everything in me, as a man, screams that I should forbid this. I can’t bear the thought of placing you in such danger. However, Agim is right. Our peril is great. I need to know… what do you want to do? Are you truly willing to place yourself in such peril, knowing what you risk?”

  She laid her head on his shoulder, tears trickling from her closed eyes. “Pal, I am my grandfather’s descendant. You know what he would say. How can I do otherwise?”

  He sighed, long and low. “Yes, you are; and yes, I know what he would say.” Silence. “Very well. If you see no other way, you may do this. I ask only one thing. I want a way to communicate privately with you, a channel that is ours alone, and does not go through Agim or any other part of the Brotherhood. If… if things go badly… I need you to tell me, before the end, so that I can tell our children. I cannot simply pretend that you have vanished without trace. I owe that to them.”

  Her tears came faster. “I… you know that is against all tradecraft?”

  “Yes, I know – and I don’t care. That is my condition.”

  “In that case… yes. I’ll do it. It will be for us alone.”

  He kissed her, very tenderly.

  The following morning, Agim sighed with heartfelt relief when Jehona told him her husband’s decision. “I can never thank you enough, either of you. How soon can you be ready to start refresher training?”

  “Give me a month to wind up my involvement with several groups of which I’m a member. I’ll tell them I’m going off-planet, on behalf of my husband. They will be intensely curious, but not suspicious. I shall also start exercising. I must get back in shape as quickly as I can.”

  “Good. I shall make the arrangements.” He grimaced. “I, too, should start exercising.” He heard her chuckle mischievously, and could not restrain his own rueful smile.

  He ended the conversation and sat back in his chair. His eyes fell on the torn paneling beneath his office windows, and he scowled. There was still no sign of the rest of the agents he presumed had been working with the building manager. They would continue to scour the planet for them, but if they were as good as his people, they would be hard to find.

  I must answer this affront! I must show Hawkwood that we are not afraid of them. I must show them that the discovery of their spies has made us more determined, not less. I must hurt them, in response to the hurt they have done us – but how? What should I do?

  The germ of an idea came to him. He mulled it over, examining it from all angles. It would be risky, and potentially costly too: but if it succeeded, it would cost the enemy much more.

  He called Endrit. “Meet me in the foyer. Let us go for a walk. I have a plan for a retaliation attack against Hawkwood for this spying outrage. I want to discuss it with you.”

  As he walked to the stairs, he thought to himself, I must make a habit of discussing critical issues in different locations, so that our enemies never know ahead of time where they should listen. If we keep them guessing, we gain an edge – and we need one. They have shown themselves to be just as capable as we are. We must never underestimate them again!

  10

  Next steps

  CONSTANTA

  Hui tapped at his office door. “Do you have a moment?”

  Cochrane looked up from his terminal. “Of course. Come in.”

  She walked over to the desk, holding a couple of sheets of paper. “Admiral Kwan replied to my message, approving my request to serve as your Chief of Staff temporarily. Instead of an electronic signal, he sent an old-fashioned letter, and included a personal message.”

  “He did? What was it?”

  “You’d better read it.” She handed over the papers.

  Cochrane laid them on his desk, and scanned through them. The message came in the last few paragraphs.

  You have been open and honest with me about your relationship with Commodore Cochrane. For this, I thank you, but I must also caution you. You are an officer in the Fleet of Qianjin. That is not just your primary professional loyalty; it is, or should be, your only professional loyalty. I do not fear that your relationship with him will lead you to betray us, because he is not our enemy. In fact, in terms of the threat we both face from Albanian Mafia infiltration, he is presently our de facto ally, which is why I shall allow you to serve as his interim Chief of Staff. Nevertheless, this may place you in an awkward position in the longer term.

  You are not the first person to experience this difficulty. I have come across it before, and seen the damage it can do to both parties. To avoid that, I strongly advise that you regularize your relationship with the Commodore, either by reverting to a purely professional association, or by formalizing the bond between you. If you do neither, you will continue to be torn between your conflicting loyalties. That will undoubtedly affect both your relationship and your career in the longer term.

  I suggest you discuss this with the Commodore. He sounds like a very good man, from what you and others have told me about him. I am sure he will understand your dilemma. Between you, I trust that you will resolve this conundrum. I sincerely hope you will do so as soon as possible, and I wish both of you every success.

  Cochrane nodded thoughtfully as he handed the papers back to her. “He sounds like a good man himself.”

  “He is. What do you think of his advice?”

  “I think he’s right. I’ve said as much to you, you’ll recall.”

  “Yes, you have. I know where you stand, and I love you for it. You’re so uncomplicated! Sadly, I’m not. I’m still torn between my family, and my home planet, and you. I want them all, but I can’t have them all!” Her voice was sad.

  “Surely you can have them all, but in a different way? I mean, if you and I get married, you won’t be abandoning them. We can visit your family, and they can visit us. It’s just that you’d be living somewhere else. What if your Fleet appointed you as a military attaché to, say, the United Planets? You’d be living and working on Neue Helvetica, and might not see them more often than every couple of years. Living with me would be like that in some ways.”

  “Yes, it would, but at Neue Helvetica I’d always know that sooner or later, I’d be going back. If we marry, I won’t. You’ll be my home, wherever we end up.”

  He nodded. “That’ll apply to me, too, you know,” he reminded her softly. “You’ll be my home.”

  She wiped a tear from the corner of my eye. “Now look what you’ve made me do!” she said, half-crossly. “I know, darling. I think, for a man, it’s a lot less complicated than it is for a woman. We think differently, we feel differently. I… I don’t know what to do! They talk about feeling ‘torn’. That’s exactly what I feel like right now! Part of me – a big part – wants nothing more than to ‘regularize our relationship’, as Admiral Kwan put it, and spend the rest of my life with you. Another part, though… that’s the memory of another man I once thought of in that way, and after five years, he dumped me. It’s the fear that says I’ll be burning my boats and my bridges, and there’ll be no way back. I’m sorry, darling. You don’t deserve this from me.”

  He shrugged. “Let’s at least set a term to this. You know I want you to be my wife. I know a big part of you wants that, too. Why don’t we agree that in not more than one year from today, we must make a choice? If it’s to get married, let’s not dither about it any longer. If it’s that we can’t marry, for whatever reason, then let’s cut the knot and separate, for both our sakes. Either way, we know there’ll be a limit to worrying about it. One way or another, the uncertainty will end.”

  She stared at him for a long moment. “You real
ly mean that?”

  “Hui, I love you. Nothing’s going to change that; but I can’t rest easy with the way we are now, any more than you can. I want both of us to be able to look ahead and know that there will be a solution, one way or the other. If nothing else, it’ll force us to re-evaluate our priorities and our relationship, and really work at figuring things out, instead of just drifting along, letting events dictate what happens next.”

  Her shoulders slumped slightly. “That’s… that’s not what I had in mind when I brought you this letter, but… I suppose you’re right. I guess that’s what the Admiral was getting at.”

  “I think it is.”

  “All right.” She took a deep breath. “One year.”

  A few days later, a message arrived from Mr. Kim of Kang Industries. The industrialist informed Cochrane that modifications to Bobcat were well under way, and asked him to make a choice. “We can install a row of ten tubes for cruiser-size defensive missiles, with a powered range of five million kilometers,” he wrote. “Alternatively, in the same space, we can install eighteen tubes for corvette-size defensive missiles, with a powered range of three million kilometers. The latter option would increase the ship’s defensive barrage by ten percent over the former. Please advise which option you would prefer us to install.”

  Cochrane grinned. The more defensive missiles, the better, as far as he was concerned. He began tapping out a reply, telling Kim to install the second option, and standardize on it for all future frigates if trials proved it to be satisfactory.

  He was interrupted by his secretary. “Sir, a Mr. Pentland has sent a message. He’s just arrived from Callanish, and would like to speak with you. It’s very strange, sir; he asked me to assure you that he isn’t your enemy.”

  Cochrane frowned. “Give me a moment.” He called up a list of the members of the Callanish consortium. Sure enough, Pentland was listed among its directors. Why would he want to see me? I thought the consortium was defunct, after the savaging we gave Dunsinane. He shrugged. There would probably be no harm in finding out.