Judge, Jury, & Executioner Boxed Set

by Craig Martelle

  During their brief contact, Rivka could feel the emotional turmoil within the woman, her trials, and her spirit. Rivka knew what she had to do.

  “We need to have an understanding if this has any chance of getting resolved in all our best interests. I expect that I am now your father’s mortal enemy, possibly your mother’s, and also yours. I’m not a fan of being anyone’s mortal enemy, so what do you say we get to the bottom of this, wrap it up, and we all go home? I expect that you are Jayita.”

  “Jay,” the woman corrected softly while massaging her hand. “I did it. I did it all. I saw no other way to escape. That’s all there is, so take me away.”

  Chapter Ten

  “That’s not how it works.”

  “I think it is. You’re a Magistrate. You make the ruling, and you mete out Justice. You have the authority.” Jay reached across the table and grabbed the Magistrate’s wrist. “Save me!”

  Rivka pulled her hand away and leaned back in her chair, steepling her fingers before her. “Prison sucks.”

  “How would you know?”

  “I’ve been there. It sucks. I was accused of murder. I have a temper, you see, but it was in the course of Justice, so here I am, wondering why I’m here.” Rivka leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table so she could look into Jay’s eyes. “Why am I here, Jay? This is a free universe. Walk away. Leave. Join a freighter’s crew. Take control of your life. Jail is just someone else telling you what to do, another place with no control.”

  “But they won’t let me go!” she blurted.

  Rivka accessed her datapad. Chaz had his report ready from the videos. There was no doubt; the evidence showed that Jay had damaged the shops. That, combined with the confession, was enough to convict her, but the criminal mischief charge had been manipulated by the governor. The damage reports had been amended to lesser amounts. The insurance adjusters quoted much higher figures, high enough to turn a cry for help into a felony.

  “You’ve put me in a bad position.” Rivka stood. “Jayita Flikansador, I’m charging you with Felony Misconduct and Making Terroristic Threats. You will be temporarily incarcerated on my ship while I collect more information.”

  Jay hung her head. “Jhiordaan?”

  Rivka clenched her jaw. “I haven’t determined that yet.”

  The young woman looked relieved, but Rivka didn’t know which part had caused it and she didn’t ask. The Magistrate swept up her datapad and headed for the door, crooking a finger for Jay to follow. When she opened the door, the witnesses were still in the corridor, including the governor and his red-faced lawyer.

  “I don’t need to do in-person interviews. Thank you for your patience and understanding.” Rivka addressed Red, who watched the people grumble as they shuffled away. “Take her to the ship and secure her in the holding cabin.”

  “No can do,” Red replied as he glared at the governor.

  “What’s going on? What is the ruling?” the man asked.

  “It’s still in process. I am securing the prisoner until I can make a final determination,” she replied to the governor before turning back to Red. “What do you mean, ‘no can do?’”

  “If I’m securing the prisoner, I can’t guard you. My job is to guard you, so it looks like all three of us are going to the ship.”

  Rivka appraised him before motioning for Jay to lead the way. With her head proudly in the air, the young woman marched down the corridor. Rivka followed the flowing pink hair, and Red fell in behind where he could watch in front as well as check behind them. The governor started to follow.

  “Governor is following us,” Red whispered.

  “Governor?” Rivka yelled over her shoulder. “I will meet you and your wife in your quarters. Please send directions to my ship so I can get myself there.”

  Red pointed at the governor and shook his finger, making it clear that the man wasn’t to follow. He stopped, and Red watched until they turned a corner. When they reached the next corner, Red declared them free of a tail.

  “Listen, Jay. I don’t have a cell on board my ship. I have an EI called Chaz who will answer any questions you may have. Make yourself at home, and by all that’s holy, don’t break anything.”

  “What does she want?” Flutterby demanded.

  “I don’t know. I don’t know anything. This situation has spiraled out of control. I thought we’d have a nice dinner with the Magistrate and let him put the fear of God into Jay, then he’d leave. I never imagined they’d send someone who actually would try to do the job!”

  The governor’s wife started slapping his arm and shoulder. “You moron! You think you can control everyone, but you can’t control jack shit. This was the worst gamble you’ve ever made. What’s going to happen to me when you get removed from office?”

  “What’s going to happen to us, you mean? We’ll move, start a new life elsewhere. We have friends,” he told her dismissively.

  “When you’re not governor, you’ll find that you have no friends. And I meant me, not us. I like this lifestyle, and if you have to die to keep providing it for me then you will,” she replied coldly.

  “Honestly, Flutter, I have no idea where this hostility is coming from.” The governor used his most soothing voice.

  “Don’t project your political crap on me. You’re such a dick.” She stormed away, slamming the door to their bedroom. The governor looked at the closed door for a moment before pouring himself a drink.

  “How to get out of this minor issue. Time heals all wounds, as they say, so with a few deft touches it’ll be like the Magistrate was never here. Or maybe we could offer something of value. Can Magistrates be bought? Maybe not. I better not try that, but the witnesses? We already tried once. Maybe we can pay off all the damage. No, no, no,” he argued with himself. “I’d have to take out a loan to do that. Let’s see what she has to say. You’ve always been good on your feet. Show her what you’re made of, but take care she doesn’t knee you in the balls.”

  The governor chuckled at the memory of his lawyer’s face when the Magistrate had tossed him into the hallway. Simpering fool.

  “I’ll have to play the High Chancellor card.”

  “Are you sure she’ll be okay by herself? You could cuff her to the bed.”

  “I’m not sure, but I’m not cuffing her to the bed, either. I saw into her mind, Red. In the safety of the ship I think she’ll find solace, a peace that she may never have had.”

  Red didn’t argue. “Let me enter the ship first when we return to make sure she hasn’t set any traps for you.”

  “Deal,” Rivka replied.

  They followed the map the governor had provided. His quarters were on the far side of the station, forcing the Magistrate to traverse it all on her way. She noted that there were ship berthing locations much closer to his quarters. All part of the game, she told herself.

  They continued in silence, Rivka nodding pleasantly to the people she passed. She couldn’t see the expression on Red’s face, but most people moved out of the way of a large man walking with a purpose. He had a striking beauty that drew the eye of many, and Rivka smiled to herself as she watched. Red didn’t show that he saw, but he had to notice.

  The man seemed to see everything. The more he was around, the safer she felt. She reminded herself never to take that for granted. He would use his body to shield her if need be. Rivka wondered what he would accept as a bonus. She thought about an All Guns Blazing gift card, but when would he be able to use it?

  She jerked herself back into the moment. The governor and his wife were waiting for her. When she demanded to see them, she didn’t have a plan in mind. She only wanted to touch the woman and see what was in her mind. She still needed to ask questions to make it official.

  When they arrived, they found two armed guards outside the entrance. One of them held up a hand. “You’re armed,” he declared, nodding toward Red’s jacket.

  “No shit,” Red deadpanned. “Magistrate is here to see the governor, and she
always travels with an armed guard. Announce the Magistrate and open the door.”

  “You can’t enter the governor’s presence armed.”

  “I’ve already been in the governor’s presence armed. Why don’t you guys travel with him around the station if there is such a threat to his life?”

  “We do, but you don’t see us.”

  “If I didn’t see you, it’s because you weren’t there.” Red pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. “The Magistrate is waiting.”

  “But you can’t enter while you’re armed.”

  “Who else is in there?” Red demanded, looming over the man.

  “Just the governor and his wife.” The man tried to push the bodyguard away, but he was too big.

  “Good enough. I’ll wait out here where you two can make me feel safer,” Vered said. He winked at Rivka as he studied the corridor around them. The guard clicked the buzzer, and the door popped open. The guards stepped aside, and she walked through.

  “Magistrate!” the governor called from across a large and lavish space. He put a drink down and hurried to offer his hand. “I hope we can start again on a new footing.” He smiled broadly, showing a row of perfect teeth. “What news do you have of my daughter?”

  “I’d like to talk with Flutterby, if I may.”

  As if summoned, a door opened and the governor’s wife walked out, striding gracefully in a mid-length dress and heels as if she were headed for a cocktail party. The governor wolf-whistled and she stopped to take a bow.

  Rivka stifled a gag and fought the urge to roll her eyes, deciding to smile instead. She needed to make physical contact if her gift was going to be of use. She walked forward and held her hand out, but the governor’s wife brushed past her hand.

  “We’re huggers here,” she declared before embracing Rivka. When their bare necks touched, the images started to flow. They were disparate and carried too much darkness to see clearly. The woman had a troubled soul, but was it driving her or she driving it? Rivka didn’t have enough control over the visions to know. She wondered briefly if she would ever have control over her gift.

  Flutterby suggested they sit on the overstuffed couch and matching chairs. I wonder what it cost to bring those behemoths way out here, Rivka thought as she picked a chair facing the station’s First Couple. She settled in and smiled deeply. “This is nice,” she commented graciously.

  “We get by,” the governor replied. Rivka ignored him.

  “I have some disturbing information that I hoped you could shed some light on,” she started. The governor and his wife looked at each other before turning their concerned faces toward the Magistrate. “Someone changed the official numbers in the police reports so the damage seemed less extensive. The insurance reports suggest the crime is felony misconduct, not the misdemeanor of criminal mischief.”

  Flutterby was shocked, but quickly regained control over her expression. The governor slowly adopted a look of surprise. “An overzealous aide, no doubt,” he suggested smoothly, but sweat started to bead on his forehead. “I’m sure there is a middle ground somewhere that doesn’t raise this to a capital crime.”

  “It’s not a capital crime. No one will be executed for this.”

  “Whew, what a relief. We have a jail here on the station and will immediately incarcerate the prisoner. How long is the sentence?”

  “I am still looking into extenuating circumstances.”

  “But surely you have enough already?” The governor struggled for words.

  “What I have is an incomplete report. We all answer to someone, don’t we, Governor? The High Chancellor will expect a thorough report, and I refuse to disappoint him.”

  “How is old Wyatt? We talk every week, my friend and I, but this week we’ll have so much to talk about!” The governor smiled broadly. His wife assumed an artificial smile as she sat motionless.

  Rivka didn’t take the bait. “Jay was driven to those acts by you, wasn’t she, Flutterby?”

  The smile never cracked. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

  The governor started to lose his carefully-manicured composure. “You did what?” he asked incredulously.

  “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” Flutterby reiterated.

  “I don’t need you to answer. I already know.”

  No one spoke. The governor and his wife wondered if it was a bluff. So did Rivka.

  “I should go. Thank you for your time,” Rivka said abruptly.

  “That’s it? What’s the adjudication?” the governor blurted.

  “Oh, that!” Rivka assumed the thinker’s pose as she tapped her lips with one finger. “She has already confessed to the act, which was felony misconduct, plus the videos showed her making terroristic threats, so two felonies, carry the one, subtract seven for time served already...” Rivka let it linger as she looked around the governor’s quarters. “Nice place you have here. Too bad your daughter will spend the rest of her days on Jhiordaan.”

  Rivka’s jacket swirled as she turned to head for the door.

  “Wait!” the governor yelled in a voice laced with hysteria.

  The Magistrate kept walking although she heard the slapping running feet behind her. When they got close, she dodged to the side and grabbed a lamp to use as a club. She crouched and prepared to fight. The governor and his wife pulled up short, their hands held in front of them with palms out.

  Rivka put the lamp down. “What?”

  “You can’t commit her to Jhiordaan!”

  “I most certainly can.” Rivka’s lip raised in a half-snarl.

  Flutterby screamed and broke into tears, then flopped onto the floor and held her face in her hands as she started to sob.

  “Whatever you did to her,” Rivka pointed at Flutterby and the governor, “her way of getting back at you was to destroy herself, the one person who should have brought you two closer together. Jay is coming with me, and I will personally mete out her Justice. Now, get out of my way. I have a report to write.”

  She elbowed the governor on her way past, throwing the door open and storming out. Red fell into step behind her without comment, his eyes constantly scanning the route and all access points to it.

  Chapter Eleven

  Rivka tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for Red to verify that the ship wasn’t boobytrapped. “It’s clear, but you’re not going to like it.”

  “What now?” she grumbled, walking to the bridge, then to the main room. The beginnings of a mural had been painted on the wall. She looked closer; figures were outlined for future work. “We had paint on board?”

  “I had it delivered. I hope you don’t mind,” Jay said, holding a small palette and paintbrush.

  “Chaz,” Rivka called conversationally. “Please undock the ship and take us home.”

  “I’ll wait in my room,” Jay suggested.

  “Why? You have a mural to finish.”

  The young woman perked up. “But what’s going to happen to me after I finish?”

  “I guess the mural of your life will never get to be finished then, will it? I have a report to write, and everyone is stopping me from doing it.” Rivka strolled down the corridor and entered her cabin. After she closed the door, she went to her pull-out sink to splash water on her face. Her hand had a small tremor, something she’d never had before. “What the hell is going on with me? Damn nanocytes are making me weird.”

  She sat down on her bunk and looked at the plain metal walls. You were weird before the nanos, She admitted to herself.

  Rivka remained in her cabin after the corvette passed through the Gate and returned to the station she thought of as Magistrate Central.

  “Chaz, open a secure channel to Grainger.”

  Static crackled through the speaker. Etheric-powered devices didn’t crackle like that. She assumed the EI was adding the sound so the humans knew he was doing what had been requested.

  “You’re back already?”

  “Now who’s asking the obvio
us questions?” she asked, sighing with relief at the familiar banter.

  “Not really. That was a guess, since you could have called me from anywhere and you’d still sound the same. That Ted guy is a genius when it comes to this stuff. We have it all, thanks to him.”

  “I don’t know that Ted guy, but I’ll buy him a beer for making my life easier—assuming I’m still in a position to buy him a beer.”

  “That sounds ominous. What did you do?”

  “I counted on my insight to find the real perp, and I punished her and her husband by telling them that their daughter was condemned to Jhiordaan when I simply added her to my ship’s crew.”

  “I thought it was a misdemeanor?”

  “And I thought Magistrates didn’t deal with trivial crimes.”

  “Point taken. It was a felony.” He made it sound like a question.

  “The governor, I think it was him but didn’t bother to gather evidence on it, cooked the books to make it look like a misdemeanor. Their daughter did a lot of damage to get back at her parents. There’s nothing wrong with her. She just needed a change of environment and to get away from that toxic wasteland she called home.”

  Rivka could hear Grainger breathing, but he didn’t reply.

  “I guess I’m not cut out to be a Magistrate. My first case, and I wreak havoc on a Federation member’s space station. I jacked his lawyer in the ghoulies.”

  “Lawyers are bastards! We should probably fire them all.”

  “Hey!” Rivka countered. “In any case, we’ll be docking shortly. I’ll turn in my jacket and submit myself for punishment for my original crime.”

  “Like bullshit, you will. If anyone has to apologize, it’s me. I threw you into the middle of a domestic squabble at High Chancellor Wyatt’s request. He knows that governor is a self-serving meathead.”