EMPIRE: Investigation

by Richard F. Weyand

  “Yes, Ma’am. That would be Colonel Boyle, Second Regiment.”

  “See to it, Major.”

  The APC-CV pulled up at a townhouse in flag row. Even for flag row, it was one of the bigger ones, set aside for visiting flag officers. Housekeeping was just leaving after puttering about, and a major domo stood at the door. He was in uniform.

  Turley, Gulliver, and Vincennes dismounted the APC-CV and walked up the sidewalk. Another APC pulled up behind the APC-CV, and a lieutenant got off, followed by several enlisted carrying their luggage from the hotel.

  “The bedroom is ready, Ma’am. The kitchen will be operational by noon, though we can bring in something to eat now if you wish.”

  “Noon will be fine, Master Sergeant.”

  “Very good, Ma’am. And your luggage?”

  “All to the bedroom for now, Master Sergeant.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  The major domo had staff waiting inside, and they took the luggage from the Third Platoon enlisted and bustled it upstairs.

  “I’ll have fresh uniforms for you when you get up, Ma’am,” Vincennes said as Turley and Gulliver followed their luggage into the townhouse.

  “Thank you, Lieutenant. And then get some sleep yourself.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  Once in the bedroom, and all the staff gone, Turley turned to Gulliver.

  “Sweep the room. They subverted Imperial officers somehow. Blackmail is easiest.”

  “Of course.”

  Gulliver opened his equipment trunk and pulled the electronic sweeper from behind a panel in the trunk. He tested it first against her camera-equipped hat, which had been tossed in her personal effects box from the jail when she put on her cover in the APC-CV. Then he swept the room and the bathroom methodically, despite his fatigue.

  “It’s clean, believe it or not,” he said

  “Well, that’s this one room. For now, it’s enough. To bed.”

  Once in bed, they clung to each other.

  “I was so afraid I was going to lose you,” Gulliver said.

  “Well, we’re sort of in the wrong business to become risk-averse all of a sudden.”

  “Yes. I know. I haven’t decided what to do about that.”

  He was silent for long seconds before continuing.

  “I love you. I don’t know what to do about that, either.”

  They fell asleep in each other’s arms, his questions hanging in the air about them.

  They woke at half-past eleven. They both dressed in casual civilian clothes from their luggage for now, and went downstairs to see about some food.

  The major domo greeted them at the foot of the stairs.

  “Good morning, Ma’am. Sir. Lieutenant Vincennes dropped off a large package for you this morning.”

  “Excellent, Master Sergeant. Can you have that run up to the bedroom for me? I’ll take a look after breakfast. We’re famished.”

  “Of course, Ma’am.”

  He showed them back into the dining room and seated her.

  “Breakfast, then, Ma’am, rather than lunch?”

  “Yes. Eggs over easy, bacon, some toast, maybe a cinnamon roll or something like that, orange juice, and coffee.”

  “Of course, Ma’am. And you, Sir?”

  “All that, with extra orange juice.”

  “Of course, Sir.”

  When he left, Turley spoke to Gulliver in VR: “Say nothing in here until we sweep the house.”

  “Why not ask Sergeant Major Kearsarge to sweep the house?”

  “Who knows whose side anyone is on?”

  “If Major Parnell supervises?” Gulliver asked.

  “OK, that could work. Have them sweep the whole house, then you go over it again. That would tell us a lot, especially if they don’t find anything, and you do.”

  “But if we confirm them, then maybe we need to have all the command housing on base swept.”

  “Also a good idea,” Turley said. “I’ll get Parnell on that after breakfast.”

  Breakfast was excellent, and welcome. After breakfast, they went back up to the bedroom and Turley opened the package. Two dress uniforms and four sets of MCUs, including Marine issue, socks, panties, bras, tees – everything. And, in the bottom of the box, her two lovely semi-auto pistols, none the worse for wear.

  “Of course the cops took good care of them. They had probably already drawn straws for who got them after you conveniently ended up dead in jail,” Gulliver said.

  Turley snorted. She got dressed in MCUs except for the blouse. She went over to the personal belongings box and took out the forearm rigs. She took them and the pistols and the cleaning kit from her trunk over to the desk.

  The bed had been made and the base newspaper left on the desk while they were at breakfast. Turley spread out the newspaper and cleaned the guns, then loaded them. She put on the forearm rigs and mounted the guns carefully in their holders. Then she put on her MCU blouse.

  Turley stood up and turned to Gulliver.

  “Call it.”

  He waited several seconds, then said, “Now!”

  Her hands flew up and a gun appeared in each, one pointed at the closet door, one at the bathroom door.

  “Ha! Fast as ever,” she said.

  “Why wouldn’t you be?” Gulliver asked. “You do realize it’s been less than a day since we left the hotel to go to dinner downtown, right?”

  Turley stared at him.

  “By God, you’re right,” she finally said. “That was only yesterday.”

  “Since then, you’ve personally killed five people, been imprisoned, been sprung from prison, been reactivated in the military, been inducted into the Imperial Guard, been promoted two grades, had a personal audience with the Emperor, and been made Earth Sector Governor.

  “So what’s on today’s schedule?”

  That was a really good question. Turley had so much on her plate at the moment a thousand things clamored for her attention. Time to prioritize.

  Her military duties as commander of Sixty-Fifth Division and IFB Dalnimir were low on the totem pole today. Military people, especially at that level, would carry on with the last orders they were given. The base and the division would run themselves for the moment.

  Getting an arrest list together so she could lift the suspension of access to hyperspace was high on the agenda. Disruptions to the economy had a tendency to snowball, and that made everything else harder.

  But Turley’s highest priority was likely the detention of Earth Sector Governor Bartholomew Gerber, the spider at the center of the web. He wasn’t going anywhere with the hyperspace suspension in place, but Earth was a big place to get lost in.

  Turley checked into VR and looked for news of the sector governor. She found it immediately. ‘Found dead; suicide suspected.’ OK, so that was off her agenda. Time to turn to the arrest list.

  Hayes had given her access privileges to the investigation map, and she logged into it now. She found Hayes there, napping in his chair. He woke when she appeared in the chair next to him.

  ”Oh. Good morning, Sector Governor Turley.”

  It was two o’clock in the afternoon in Stolits, and it should be around two in the morning in Imperial City.

  “Shouldn’t you be getting some sleep, Mr. Hayes?”

  “Oh, I nap in my chair here, and I have alarms set to wake me on certain conditions, such as if someone else logs into the channel or major additions are made to the investigation map. It’s a familiar mode for me in big investigations.”

  “Very well. So where are we today?”

  “Things have firmed up quite a bit since the last time you saw the map. We were only hours into the investigation then, and our first big rush of information was still being integrated. The pace of adding new suspects to the map has slowed dramatically, and we’re actually dropping people – stubbing them off, actually – as further investigation into their contacts with the guilty has proved those contacts innocuous. Generally part of their
official duties.”

  “Is that normal, Mr. Hayes?”

  “Oh, yes. It’s what we expected. At the same time, further investigation into contacts has also strengthened the case against others. Additional links were found, or more detailed data, that proved those contacts were part of the corruption conspiracy.”

  “I see. And what of an arrest list? I have suspended hyperspace travel throughout the sector pending that list, and that’s a large impediment to commercial activity.”

  “We understand that, Governor Turley. We expect to have that list soon. The Emperor will be in his office in another seven hours or so, and I expect to have a report for him at that time. That will include the arrest list. I think you could probably be the next thing on his schedule after that report.”

  “That sounds good. I wanted it to be less than twenty-four hours, and that will be well within that timeframe. That’s very nice work, Mr. Hayes.”

  “Oh, it’s not that hard once it becomes a treason investigation with Imperial authorization. It’s mostly a case of limiting the amount of information you have to look at. Otherwise you get overwhelmed. But the other part of it is you’ve picked up or neutralized the four big targets on Dalnimir, and the sector governor did us the favor of removing himself, so that’s the key players. The rest of these are mostly enablers.”

  Hayes looked at the map for several seconds.

  “Except for the other provinces. We still have provincial governors, planetary governors, and police department heads on the other provincial capitals to deal with. Some of them have probably gone to ground already.”

  “Don’t forget the Imperial commanders, Mr. Hayes. They also swore oath to the Throne. I suspect they will be a major concern of His Majesty. For my particular circumstances, knowing who can be trusted on Dalnimir is a short-term need.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  Hayes reached into the map and enlarged Dalnimir in their view.

  “We’ve preliminarily cleared Brigadier General Brendan Walsh and Vice Admiral Zhang Xiuying. The top commanders have both been corrupted, as well as others one and two levels down in certain command chains.”

  “Interesting that Walsh and Zhang are both the operational commanders. As opposed to housekeeping, records, and all the other support and administrative personnel.”

  “Yes. That’s a pattern we’re seeing, Governor Turley. The people in charge of the actual military portion, so to speak, are uncorrupted.”

  “Is that because they were less important to the conspiracy or because they were less approachable on those grounds, Mr. Hayes?”

  “Probably a bit of both, Governor Turley. In any case, it repeats across most of the provincial capitals. The desk people were more likely to be corrupted than the field people, I guess you could say in loose terms.”

  “I see. Thank you, Mr. Hayes. Most helpful.”

  “Of course, Governor Turley. I’ll copy you on my report to His Majesty in about six hours. You should have time to review it before he answers your meeting request.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Hayes.”

  “Kotov here.”

  “Hello, Admiral Kotov. Governor Turley here.”

  “Hello, Governor Turley. Do you have news for me?”

  “Yes, Admiral. I should have an arrest list for you within seven hours.”

  “Excellent, Governor Turley. As you can imagine, people aren’t too happy with me at the moment.”

  “It was my decision, Admiral.”

  “Yes, but they seem particularly put out by the fact I’m enforcing it. And since I’m not physically located there, they can’t bribe me.”

  “There are funds transfers, Admiral.”

  “Yes, and they’ve tried that. But even if I were one to accept bribes – and I’m not – I wouldn’t be doing it when His Majesty is preparing an arrest list for an official corruption conspiracy.”

  Turley chuckled.

  “Yes, that would be pretty dense, I guess. But it does mean people are more than a little aware of the culture of bribery here, and at high levels.”

  “Yes, Governor, which I find very disturbing. In any case, thanks for the heads up. I appreciate it.”

  “No problem, Admiral Kotov. Turley out.”

  Turley dropped out of VR to see Gulliver sweeping the living room of the townhouse.

  In VR, she said, “Find anything?”

  “Two so far. I’m leaving them as a test for the local team.”

  “Where?”

  “One in the dining room, one in the living room,” Gulliver said.

  “Where conversations take place.”

  “Got it in one.”

  “All right,” Turley said. “I’m going back into meetings. You OK for now?”

  “I’m good.”

  “OK. I’ll see you in a bit.”

  Turley sent a meeting request to Vice Admiral Zhang and Brigadier General Walsh. Both joined the meeting within minutes. They met in a simulated conference room around a small table. Turley was wearing her Imperial Guard uniform, with the three stars of a lieutenant general, General Walsh’s avatar was in uniform – one star – as was Admiral Zhang’s avatar – three stars.

  “Admiral. General. Thank you for coming. Have a seat.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  “Let me bring you up to speed on a remarkable series of events that began last night. You’ve probably heard quite a bit through the grapevine, but let me give you the official view.

  “The Imperial Guard has uncovered a major corruption ring in Earth Sector. It was being run by the sector governor, and penetrated well into the provincial governments, the planetary governments of the provincial capitals, and even into the upper echelons of His Majesty’s Imperial Navy and Marines.

  “Needless to say, His Majesty is not amused, a sentiment he shared with me last night. He gave me command of all planetside Imperial forces in the sector and made me Acting Sector Governor for the Earth Sector.”

  “Congratulations, Ma’am,” Zhang, as the senior, said.

  “Thanks. I think. It’s a complete mess. What we have done so far is take Stolits Police Department Chief Mosin, Dalnimir Bureau of Police Director Dennler, and Planetary Governor Knowlton into custody. They’re all in your brig at the moment, General Walsh.

  “Provincial Governor Pearson attempted to flee into space, and, under pursuit by Imperial Navy forces, attempted early transition to hyperspace. His ship broke up and he was killed. Sector Governor Gerber, aware the ring was discovered and being hunted, died at his own hand on Earth last night.”

  “That’s some story, Ma’am.”

  “Yes, and it doesn’t end there. It’s only beginning. General Daltrey and Admiral Pachner have both been implicated and have confined themselves to quarters, which I made official.

  “So I now have some holes to fill. You are the two highest-ranking members of your respective services not implicated. Therefore, Admiral Zhang, you will take command of IFB Dalnimir, and you General Walsh will take command of Sixty-Fifth Division.”

  “Uh, Ma’am,” Zhang said. ”Admiral Pachner outranks you.”

  “Yes, he does, Admiral, if one counts stars. However, I am also Acting Sector Governor, and have an Imperial Decree putting me in command of all planetside forces in the sector.”

  Turley pushed the file, crypto signed by the Emperor, to Zhang and Walsh, which the VR simulated as her handing them both an official hard-copy document.

  “You are welcome to confirm my authority with Imperial Fleet Headquarters Center.”

  Zhang looked at the Imperial Decree in her avatar’s hand.

  “That won’t be necessary, Ma’am.”

  Walsh nodded.

  “All right. So you’re in command. My first orders are to carry on your commands’ current activities. Second orders are to prepare Military Police units to effect arrests on this base this evening. Pick people you trust. I will get an arrest list from the Emperor tonight, and those individuals who betrayed the
ir oaths to the Throne will be rounded up and put in the brig while the investigation proceeds.”

  “Good,” Zhang said with emphasis.

  Turley looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

  “I’ve been aware things did not seem as they should be for some time, Ma’am, yet I couldn’t say anything. The risk was too great. What if I was wrong? What if I was right, but couldn’t get any higher authority to pay attention? The ability of a commander to destroy someone’s career out of spite is not in doubt.”

  Turley nodded. She knew all about that game.

  “That’s one thing you might add to your list of to-dos, Ma’am. Look for people whose careers were destroyed or derailed by the conspirators. Correct the damage, to the extent you can.”

  “That is a very good point, Admiral Zhang. I will bring it up with His Majesty this evening.”

  “Thank you, Ma’am.”

  “Third orders are to sweep the buildings on base to make sure they aren’t wired.”

  “Wired, Ma’am?” Walsh asked.

  “Bugged. We need all the buildings swept. You can start with my townhouse on flag row. Put together a team you trust, and get your counter-espionage people working on this. I want every single building on this base swept for electronic surveillance devices within the next several days.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  “Then see if you can track those bugs. Who are they talking to? It’s somewhere on base, and I want to know who’s on the other end.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  Arrest List

  The electronics-sweeping team showed up about an hour later. When they were done, they came back to Turley and Gulliver in the living room.

  “We did find two audio/video pickups in the house, Ma’am.”

  “Really, Sergeant.”

  “Yes, Ma’am. One in this room here.”

  The Sergeant First Class pointed out the location, in a lamp on the side table.

  “And one in the dining room, in the overhead fixture.”

  “Now what, Sergeant?”

  “We captured the frequency, Ma’am, so we know what to look for in the receiver. We’ll hand that off to another team. They’ll go looking for local oscillator emissions. We’re going to pull these, then do the rest of flag row, and then move on to the offices of the rest of the commissioned officers.”