Fratricide

by Craig Martelle

  Rivka pointed.

  “The worker lounge. There’s some good food up there. I think they’re throwing a party.”

  “A party?” the Magistrate wondered.

  Boran started walking, furtively glancing over his shoulder to catch glimpses of Jay, who was now carrying Floyd because the wombat was already tired.

  “It’s a morale booster, the super said, but I doubt it’ll work. The guys want to get paid. No pay, no morale.”

  “Then all the better that I get to talk with everyone. It’s nice that we have most of them, if not all, in one place.”

  “I doubt more than half are at the party.”

  “When I show up, they should feel festive because once we have the perpetrator or perps in hand, everyone can get back to work. We all want the same thing. It’s important these people understand that.”

  Boran nodded heartily. “I’ve explained until I’m blue in the face. They don’t see the forest for the trees.”

  They continued in silence until they reached the elevator. The Magistrate was skeptical about entering.

  Red walked in and started inspecting it. He removed one of Ankh’s surveillance devices from his pocket, and his lips moved as he spoke to the Crenellian using the comm chip. Lindy blocked the door with her body while Red thoroughly examined their ride.

  “I don’t see anything, and Ankh says there are no extraneous signals.”

  Rivka tried to be nonchalant about it but still found her legs heavy with each step to board the elevator. Jay casually strolled aboard, brushing heavily against the safety manager on her way in. Floyd left a clump of hair on his coveralls.

  “Time to go,” Rivka said. Red stared at Boran until he looked away. He punched the button for the fourth deck from the top and away they went. Rivka was as stiff as an I-beam until the door opened. She hurried out before any of the others despite Red trying to stop her. Lindy rushed to get in front.

  “What’s their hurry?” Boran asked.

  “No one wants to get trapped in an elevator with Red. You know the rule: smallest person gets eaten first.”

  Boran leaned back and studied Jay’s face.

  “Are you serious?” Her expression gave nothing away. He declared, “You are not serious.”

  “As long as the elevator delivers us where we’re supposed to go, you’ll never have to find out.”

  “A mind like a steel trap. You are scintillating.”

  Someone cleared their throat. Rivka and her party were staring at the safety manager, along with the workers who were milling about in the corridor outside the massive break room. It had been reserved for their use as a recreation area during construction.

  “The Great Waldini is trying to get a girlfriend!” someone called.

  “Is that what that was? By the moons of Polaris, why isn’t she running for her life?” another replied.

  Rivka raised her hands for silence. “I need everyone to join me in the recreation room, please.”

  “Fuck off!” The muffled cry came from a tightly-packed group. Boran stormed into them, grabbed a short, round alien, and dragged him into the open.

  “Apologize you twat!” Boran shook him.

  “Sorry,” the creature mumbled.

  “Get your bowling-ball ass into the room like the Magistrate told you. The more you dick around out here, the longer you’ll go without a paycheck. Help her solve these murders, you fucks!”

  “So there is a brash side to you. Using it sparingly, too, I see. That’s good. When you unleash it, they know you’re serious.” Rivka gestured for him to precede her into the room, but Red was already through the door with the last of those who had been standing in the corridor. Lindy waited. She’d go in last.

  Rivka and Boran walked through the door together, to find Workforce Administrator Ossuary Fleener waiting with arms crossed.

  “Good!” Rivka claimed. “You’re here. Line everyone up. First person here, and then a single line that can snake around the rec area. I’ll walk through and ask questions as I need.”

  Fleener didn’t move.

  “Lindy, throw him out. I’ll conduct the interviews without him.”

  “It’s my right to be here!” he stated as forcefully as he could muster.

  “Are you their lawyer?” the Magistrate asked.

  He sputtered before shaking his head. He held his ground, standing as tall as he was able.

  “Mr. Fleener. If this were a civil matter, your participation would be called for, but since this is a criminal matter, you have no right to represent these workers. This is the second time you’ve tried to interfere with my investigation. I accuse you of criminal obstruction, and since the crime that you are interfering with is murder, obstruction is a felony commensurate with aiding and abetting. I find you guilty. You’ll be incarcerated in the station brig…”

  “It’s not built yet,” Boran whispered.

  “You’ll be confined to quarters,” Rivka corrected with a curt nod. She spied two Yollins standing in a shadow against the wall. “Hey! Are you the super’s security detail?”

  One Yollin walked forward and clicked his mandibles. “We are.”

  “Take him to his quarters and secure him there.” She turned back to Fleener, who stood with his mouth open as if caught mid-scream. “If I see you set one foot out of your room, I will send you to Jhiordaan for the rest of your miserable life. You have fucked with me for the last time.”

  The crowd separated, creating a wide path for the large, carapaced creatures. They strolled through, grabbed the workforce administrator without breaking stride, and dragged him through the door. Once out of sight, he started to scream. Rivka waved at Lindy to secure the room.

  She closed the door, which cut off the noise.

  “I need you single-file. First person right here.” She physically moved a wrinkly purple worker into place. The others fell in behind, and soon, the line snaked back and forth throughout the room. Lindy positioned herself near the door, watching the crowd. Jay strolled about, drawing the eyes of many workers. Boran hovered protectively.

  “Have you never seen a woman before?” Rivka muttered.

  Boran stepped toward the Magistrate. “Construction life, ma’am. We don’t see a whole lot of civilians in our line of work. Ever. We go from job to job. Many of these people have families but don’t see them much.”

  “What kind of life is that?” Rivka asked, trying to keep her voice low. She wished she had thought to ask more background questions earlier instead of in front of the nervous workforce.

  “We like to build things. Have you ever seen something take shape through the power of your own hands? It’s the thrill of the process, problem-solving, attention to detail, and the gratification of the final product.”

  “Compelling. It takes a rare type, which means the right workers are probably hard to find.”

  “Which means the pay is good,” Boran finished her thought.

  “When we’re working,” someone mumbled from nearby.

  “Then let’s get to it.” Rivka approached the first in line. He stiffened. “There’s no reason to be concerned as long as you’re not involved. You’re not, are you?”

  She put out her hand and touched their arms as she walked past while looking from face to face.

  Gambling.

  Drinking.

  Cutting a corner on a fit-up.

  She stopped and pulled the alien female from the line. Rivka turned to Boran. “You’ll need to double-check this one’s work. She’s been cutting corners.”

  The safety manager’s surprise was mirrored by the look on the humanoid’s wide face. He took down her name and made her sit in a corner. Rivka grimaced at the public excoriation. She imagined the worker wearing a dunce cap.

  Shouldn’t have taken shortcuts, Rivka thought and dismissed her from her mind.

  “As long as you’re not involved, there’s nothing to worry about,” the Magistrate reiterated to get their minds churning before she continue
d seeing their thoughts. The workers were close together, and many of the thoughts were jumbled, but Rivka knew what she was looking for—someone trying to hide their after-hours work to set up the killing traps.

  Boran had been right about the presence of civilians. Jay, Lindy, and even the Magistrate were in the thoughts of too many.

  Most tried to hide their attraction, but it was too strong. No serial killers. Too many off-color jokes told in the shadows.

  If that was what a worker was worried about, the station was in good hands.

  Petty thievery. Rivka stopped.

  “I’m going to need to see your locker,” she told the crusty old worker. He might have been human. She couldn’t be certain.

  “Why?” he demanded, instantly defensive, anxious, and afraid.

  Rivka didn’t have time to play games. “Because you’ve been stealing from your co-workers. Turn out your pockets.”

  He tried to give her the finger, but before his hand was chest-high, Red had grabbed him and twisted his arm behind his back. The bodyguard wrapped the man’s free arm up and pulled tight enough that he started to gasp for breath. Rivka dug her fingers into his pocket. He made the mistake of trying to kick her. She kneed him in the groin, driving his head upward until it impacted with Red’s chin.

  “Enough games, fucker,” Red growled, picking the man up and slamming him face-first onto the deck.

  “I knew something wasn’t right about that asshole!” someone called, and the workers piled on with declarations of how much they hated the man.

  Rivka held up the ring she had pulled from the man’s pocket. “Looks like a wedding ring.” The inscription was alien but translated to BS+BJ. She steeled her expression at the unfortunate initials. “BS?”

  “Hey!” A tall and gangly alien who could have been related to the Keome stepped forward and tried to kick the man on the ground. Rivka stepped in front of him before he got close enough. “Yeah, that’s mine.”

  He spat toward the man, nearly hitting Red. The big man turned his face toward the alien with an expression that said he better go away unless he wanted a severe beat-down.

  “Sorry,” the tall alien grumbled before getting back in line, all the while holding his ring to his chest.

  Rivka stepped back to take it all in. Everyone had their secrets, upon which she was intruding. Some of them, like the stolen property, needed to be public, but the private thoughts of naked females, herself included, were things none of them were sharing openly. Thoughts rarely became actions, Rivka had found.

  She wasn’t looking for those who had not yet committed a crime, but those who already had. Six times trying to kill a worker, five times succeeding. The violence of murder left an indelible mark on one’s brain.

  She carried her own scars from homicides, from executions, from battles.

  Red zip-tied the thief and shoved him into the corner next to the female. He turned to face away from his fellows.

  “Let’s get this done,” the Magistrate declared. “Which one of you is comfortable with the murder of your co-workers?”

  A harsh question, but it would get their emotions churning. She hurried through the crowd. More thoughts of respect and gratitude. A barracks thief was the lowest of the low, stealing from friends. They were glad to have that resolved. They were glad someone like Rivka was on the job, accepting no bullshit. She finished her tour without finding anyone else who needed to be separated from the others.

  She made a rough count. No more than a hundred and fifty. She was missing the majority.

  “I need everyone here accounted for both manually and remotely. Have Bluto reconcile if he’s capable, and I need you, Boran, to check these people off using a physical roster.”

  The safety manager moved to one of the food processors and used his management code to access its other three-dimensional printing functions. Within a minute, he had a complete printout of everyone and a pen to check them off. He sighed at the amount of work it would take, but no one was going anywhere until they were done.

  “Let me know when you’re done, and we’ll cut these people loose. I will have to check one hundred percent of the workforce. Every single one of them.”

  Boran nodded as he went down the line, checking names off his list.

  Rivka accessed a terminal near the door to the corridor the workers were passing through once Boran had checked them off. She verified that Bluto was keeping track too, as a redundancy. Bluto was already finished.

  The Magistrate wanted to use the mystique of her technique to create fear within her perp. He wasn’t in this group, but he was somewhere and would be watching. And when Rivka approached, he’d start running. But he wasn’t going to outrun Jay, or outfight Red or Lindy, or out-wile the Magistrate.

  Ankh, do you have anything? she asked privately.

  Can you be more specific?

  The Magistrate snorted. Ankh gave her a certain stability she appreciated. Has Bluto been compromised?

  An open question, to be sure. Bluto is not an EI. He has evolved. Bluto is an Artificial Intelligence with significant untapped potential since they treat him as an EI.

  But he tells everyone he’s an EI, Rivka countered, her fingers paused over the workstation’s input device.

  Regardless, it will take more time to dig deeper into his programming without his awareness. I will say that it is like what you do, but without the physical touching.

  Only with digital fingers. Thanks, Ankh. Rivka looked blankly at the screen before her. Bluto had reported and was waiting patiently. An AI masquerading as an EI? She’d heard of that before. Who is the best judge of awareness? There was no magical line to step across. Ankh had spoken confidently. He’d left no doubt as to Bluto’s status.

  But why?

  She shook her head to clear it. She was still searching for a serial killer. She found the construction superintendent standing behind her.

  “You seemed lost in thought,” he said. “Next time you rally the workforce or arrest one of my people, could you let me know?”

  She straightened, and her eyes narrowed as she stared him down. He looked away.

  “Please?”

  “I’m conducting a criminal investigation that you delayed, which has cost us valuable evidence from the first two, and possibly the third incident as well. Negligence comes at a high cost. We’re scrubbing your records, Mr. Orbal. If there’s evidence that you tried to cover anything up, you’ll be joining Mr. Fleener in his cell. Do you understand me?”

  Rivka didn’t know why she’d gotten angry so quickly at the super. She tried to analyze her emotions, but couldn’t see past the administrator’s interference. She was painting the super with that brush.

  “I am sorry, Magistrate. I didn’t mean to interfere with your investigation.”

  Rivka’s lip twitched into a snarl. “They’re not working until I’m finished, so you don’t need to know what I’m doing. Return to your ship and stay there until I call for you.” He looked at the floor as he stepped toward the door. “No. Wait. Get me the other three hundred and fifty workers. Bring them up here in groups of one hundred. I want every single worker both on the station or any of the supporting ships. Will that satisfy your need to know what’s going on?”

  “I didn’t mean it that way.” He looked more defensive than contrite.

  “You’re the construction superintendent, which means you’re used to being in charge and knowing everything that’s going on. You let a serial killer have his way five times before you raised a red flag. That doesn’t reflect well on you, Mr. Orbal. I appreciate you finally calling in the Federation. As much as you want to believe it, you were never in control, and you still aren’t. Don’t bluster around me ever again. Get those damn people up here right fucking now.”

  The super hurried away without replying. There was nothing for him to say. Steam boiled from Rivka’s ears. At least she thought it did.

  Jay sidled up beside her and talked out the side of her mouth. “Wh
at did he do to piss you off?”

  “He tried to get in my business when I’m trying to catch a murderer.”

  “And you don’t think you’ll find him in the workforce,” Jay added. She cradled a soundly sleeping wombat in her arms.

  Rivka tipped her head back as she contemplated the words. Was she afraid she wouldn’t find the perp? “Maybe that’s it,” she admitted. What do I do if that’s it?

  She didn’t know, and that grated on her soul.

  Chapter Ten

  Federation Border Station 13 – Under Construction

  “I’m going to beat his ass,” Rivka growled.

  The super cowered in the corner.

  “He appears to be doing everything he can to avoid such a confrontation,” Jay counseled.

  Rivka tried to relax but couldn’t. They were down to the last fifty names. The first four-hundred and fifty were searching the station and slowly bringing them to the recreation room. Bluto was assisting by directing workers to various locations he’d seen them transit.

  The Magistrate crooked her finger at Red and Lindy. The two joined her and Jay. “Do you think he’s running?”

  “Running where?” Red asked. “According to Chaz, no one has left the station since we arrived, although that space includes the super’s ship. We need to thoroughly search it.”

  “Have Chaz scan the ship and see how many bodies are on board.”

  Lindy stared at a spot on the wall while she communicated with the AI.

  “Zack, can I speak with you for a moment?” Rivka asked pleasantly. Red stepped up in case he needed to insert his body between the two. He hadn’t seen Rivka act this hostile to someone who wasn’t an obvious criminal, but he didn’t know what she’d seen in the man’s mind.

  He didn’t question her, but he would rather tangle with someone than let the Magistrate do it in front of everyone.

  Take one for the team, he thought.

  “How many people are on your ship?”