Crusade For Vengeance (Dark Vengeance Book 2) (31 page)

“I’ll see you around.”  Valerie told her and stood.

Luisa and the other woman re-joined Quin after Valerie left.  She strolled to the corner of the playpen on the other side from the showers, opposite the corridor containing her cell.  Five other women were already there but moved off when Valerie approached.  The benches and tables were all welded into place.  Valerie sat on the cold metal floor with her back to the corner.  She looked around, studying the room.

With the walkways overhead being ten metres up, it was too high for even Valerie to get to them.  The entrance to each corridor had scanners built in.  If a prisoner tried to take anything other than clean bedding back to her cell, the nerve stimulator would be activated.  The datapads they were issued with stayed in the cell or the same thing would happen.  Many of the prisoners would go back to their cell once the automated cleaning cycle had completed.

In the playpen itself, they had access to three reasonable meals a day and a cup of water every hour.  All automated through the dispensers.  Non-electronic games were available, like the one Quin liked to play, along with decks of cards.  Valerie could see why prisoners preferred to go back to their cells and read or play games on their datapads.

The facility was set to an Olympus cycle.  Fourteen hours of ‘day’ time and sixteen of night.  The last hour of every day to be spent cleaning the playpen and returning everything to exactly the right place.  If anyone refused to do it or if everything wasn’t how the guards wanted, then everyone was punished.  The prisoners here were well into their routine when Valerie arrived and no one complained.

It all seemed strange to Valerie.  The facility was fully automated, with no doors in or out and the guards never needed to leave their safe walkways.  Why then shut prisoners away for over half of the day?  If it was a punishment, there would be more to it and not the fourteen/sixteen split.  Also, were the men kept in a completely separate facility?  If they were, why were there male guards here?

There was an idea percolating through Valerie’s brain.  She was waiting for her opportunity to get some more evidence.  It was bad luck the brawler, who Valerie since learned was named Marcie, and her gang sat at the table she wanted.  She could only sit and wait.

The time ticked by slowly, though it was only a metaphor, like the cells, there were no chronos in the playpen.  The only thing the prisoners could use to tell the time were the notification messages.  First to go to the showers, secondly, an hour later, they would announce the cells were ready to be returned to.  After that they announced, lunch, dinner, cleaning time, fifteen minute warning and lights out.

While she waited, Valerie tried to count the number of women dressed in the yellow jumpsuits.  She knew there were two hundred and sixteen cells attached to the playpen.  Prisoners were only allowed in the corridor where their cell was located, but Valerie could look down them easily enough.  Each was identical to her own, a single row of twelve cells on each side.  Twenty-four to a corridor and nine corridors came to two hundred and sixteen.  Counting women who moved about constantly, and came and went out of view into the shower area wasn’t easy, but she thought there were approximately one hundred and fifty inmates.

It wasn’t nearly enough for a prison with the Rock’s reputation, though the number of arrivals were few.  Valerie had not seen any new faces in the last week.  Some could have arrived in her first week and she wouldn’t have noticed, it took time to recognise the people.  This had to be one wing of many throughout the prison.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Marcie and her gang getting up from their table.  Valerie waited for them to clear the area, before standing and casually walking past.  Her hand brushed along the table’s edge.  She didn’t stop and continued to an empty one, taking a seat on the bench.  The tables were made of a single sheet of Polysteel, folded down around the edges and bonded to two legs. 

Polysteel was the next step up from Polycarb and made from a mixture of iron and silicon, bonded by a complex polymer.  It did not have the biodegrading life cycle built into it and was stronger than the Polycarb.  It wasn’t strong enough to prevent Valerie bending it slightly without revealing herself.  The day before, she left a slight dent in the table she just passed.  It wasn’t there anymore.

It confirmed something she had been suspecting for days.  She noticed, try as the guards might, the room was not in precisely the same state as it had been left each day.  The games gave her the first clue.  After playing solitaire, she wanted to continue her game the next day.  She gathered the cards into the deck and placed it at the back of the box they were kept in.  The following morning, her deck wasn’t there.  She was the first to the box and went through all the cards.  None of them included her game.

Her first conclusion, based on the evidence and the odd cycle the prisoners were kept to, the men’s cells were on top of or under the women’s.  While they were locked in the cells during the night cycle, the men would be let out.  It wouldn’t be difficult to raise or lower a group of cells like theirs without anyone noticing.  Once the doors were shut, the prisoners had no way of seeing outside the cell.  It would also explain the male guards.  A standard four set shift pattern could be used to cover both groups of prisoners.

Now there were two possible scenarios.  Either this was the same room and the table was repaired at some point or it was a completely different playpen.  With the compensators on a civilian aircar, it was easy to remove all sense of movement from the passengers.  Why not do it to a block of cells?  Even if the prisoners found out somehow what was beyond their area, the very next day they could be moved to the other end of the prison and be none the wiser.  It also made any external prisoner rescue much harder.  How would you know where to send your people, if the target was constantly moved?

The signal the cells were available for use again, sounded some time ago and Valerie headed back to hers.  She lay on her bunk and considered the difficulties of getting out.  It did not seem like something that could be done easily, nor could she see where to start.  If Hanna and Deni knew she was alive, the girls would do all they could to find her and rescue her.

At the thought of the girls, there was a slight wrench in her heart and Valerie worried.  They could have been taken and killed while she was unconscious and there was nothing she could do.  Shaking her head, Valerie banished the thought.  Hanna and Deni were too smart.  The three of them ensured there was nothing to lead back to the girls should Valerie be captured.

How could they find her?  Even Valerie hadn’t known the Rock’s location.  As good as Hanna was at Hacking systems, the locations of the Legion’s top bases were hard-walled away from any access Hanna would have.  The Rock would be no different and was in all probability known to far less people.  If Valerie wanted to get out of here, she had to do it herself.  Now she needed to find out how much the guards knew about her.  Had Cestari told them her full capabilities or was he confident the Rock could hold her?

The door to the white wheelie opened.   Hanna stepped out of the rear passenger seat onto the street.  Deni got out from the other side.  Flint and Calcutta were already there.  They insisted on the two girls waiting while they checked the area.

Flint nodded to Hanna.  “All clear, Boss.”

It felt like a party was going on in her stomach, one she wasn’t been invited to and she strived to keep the nervousness out of her voice.

“Thanks, Flint.  Is everyone in place?”

“Yes, Boss,” Calcutta answered.  “We’ve got people on the roofs and at every intersection for ten blocks.  Hayley’s got charge of the Green Man and it’s been cleared completely.”

“OK then,” she straightened her jacket and turned to Deni.  “Shall we?”

“I guess we better,” her friend replied and Hanna knew Deni was just as nervous as her.  Of all the things she had done, this was the most risky.

A gaudy sign glowing florescent green hung over the entrance of the Green Man.  It was the middle of the day and Hanna was grateful the effect was muted as she stepped through the swing doors.

Hayley stood just inside with three other Enforcers spread around the room.  All the tables were at the sides, with the exception of one in the centre.  Nine chairs were placed around the single circular table.

“Set up the privacy screen, Deni.  We might as well have it ready before the others arrive.”

“Good idea.”  Hanna’s auburn haired friend took the case she carried to the table and started to unpack the equipment.

Flint and Calcutta followed them in and Hanna turned to them.

“It all looks good in here, guys.  You two wait outside and com Hayley when they get here.  I know we’ll have plenty of warning from the street kids, but I want a heads up before they walk through the door.”  The two Enforcers nodded and left.  Hanna turned to Hayley.  “Good work, Hayley.”

“Thanks, Boss.”

“No problem, I’ll be in the field once we’re set up and I’ll sit opposite you.  Use the signals we arranged to let me know what’s going on.  I don’t know how Shadow Company or the Rebels are going to play this.  Either one could come in with heavy protection, but don’t move unless you have to.”

The Enforcer smiled.  “I got it, Boss.  Don’t worry.  Our people have been told.  More than once.”

Hanna smiled a bit contritely in return.  “Sorry, I know we covered it all yesterday and this morning.  It’s just this is pretty risky.”

“You deal with them the way you do us and you’ll have them eating out of the palm of your hand.”

“Thanks, Hayley,” Hanna said and meant it.  Running the gang hadn’t been easy over the past few weeks.  Without Valerie’s incredible ability to pick good people and put them in positions they enjoyed, she did not think she could have done it.  Not while also trying to develop ties with both the Rebellion and Shadow Company, two long term enemies.

Only Hayley and Hopwood knew what was happening today.  The rest of the gang believed this to be a high level parley with other gangs to negotiate territorial areas.

There was a single barwoman serving today, the owner of the Green Man, Erin Chung.

“Hi Erin,” Hanna greeted her.  “Thanks for doing this and I hope it won’t put you out too much.”

“Not a problem,” the short, dark haired, middle-aged woman replied.  “I’m happy Milicevic thought of my place for the meet.  Is she going to be here?”

“No, she’s out of town for a while.  To be honest this isn’t anything to do with us.  We were asked to mediate and Milicevic agreed.”

“Oh, that’s a shame.  I haven’t had a chance to thank her personally for the loan she gave me.”

“You know how it is, always too much to do and not enough time to do it.  I saw from our cut business is good for you.”

“Yeah it is.  There’s been a real buzz around the area since Milicevic took over.  Ripper just took too much.  I could barely afford to pay my beer suppliers, let alone spend cash on fixing basic things like the toilets.”

“Keep it up and we’ll get paid.”  Hanna said with a smile.  “Let me know what the bar bill is at the end and we’ll deduct it off the next payment.”

Holding up her hands, Erin shook her head.  “Don’t even think about it.  Today’s on me.”

“No, Erin.  We’ll pay the bill plus two hundred for use of the place.  Don’t forget the drinks Hayley and the others have had.  We do this fair and no one’s out of pocket.”  She firmed her tone at the end to show she was serious.

“Alright, Hanna.  I’ll send you the bill, I promise.”

“Good and don’t stint on the drinks.  Some of them will probably be expecting the good stuff.  Make sure that’s what you serve.”

“Understood.”

With a nod and a smile of reassurance, Hanna went over to the table.  A faint buzz barely on the edge of hearing registered when she was two metres away.

“All working OK?” she asked her friend.

“Yep and I’ve laid a cable out for you so you’ve still got access to the datanet.”  Deni pointed to one of the seats, where a port with a cable running off to one side sat.

“Excellent.”  Hanna got out her trusty Quartz and plugged it in.  The privacy screen would cut off all communications from the inside, including her datapad.  Hanna’s programs monitored the entire city and if she wanted to know what they were seeing, she needed access.  Unfortunately there wasn’t anyone in the gang who was competent enough for Hanna to trust to do it.  Most of her systems were jury-rigged and needed her intervention to get the best out of them.

A quick check showed everything was doing what it was supposed to.  There was no movement from the police divisions or Legion bases out of the ordinary.  A wave of a hand from Hayley caught her eye and the Enforcer held up her right hand, opening it wide and closing it twice.

Hanna nodded, “Shadow Company’s ten minutes out.”  She said to Deni.

“Marvellous,” she replied.  Deni’s feet were on the table and she was leaning back in her seat next to Hanna with her eyes closed.  “Unsurprisingly, they’re right on time.”

“I guess so.  How far behind do you think Julianna will be?”

“They’re rebels.  By very definition they’re not timekeepers.”

“We’re criminals.  We’re on time.”

Deni opened one eye and looked at Hanna.  “Only because you’re an obsessively compulsive pedant and wouldn’t let us be late.”

“I’m not!  Do you know what that even means?”

Shutting her eye again, Deni smirked and shrugged.  “Not really, I read it somewhere in the class notes the teachers gave us.  From your reaction, I think I might be a bit close though.”

“Humph.”  Hanna grouched, turning back to her screen to make an adjustment on a mole program in a weather satellite.  She was using it to monitor a Legion Navy troop ship getting a bit too close to Zeus for comfort.  It would be the perfect launching platform for a surprise drop onto their heads.  She watched a little worriedly until its engine’s engaged and swung away to head to the fleet base, whose orbit wasn’t far off Zeus.

A second wave, this time from Hayley’s left hand, told her Julianna wasn’t far away.  “Five minutes for Shadow Company and ten for the Rebels.”

“Five minutes?  I wouldn’t call that rebellious.”

“As long as they’re here, I don’t really care!”  Hanna said a bit more sharply than she intended.

Sitting up, Deni swung her feet off the table.  “Hey, it’s OK,” she reassured Hanna.  “We’re only talking today.  What can go wrong?  You’ve got the entire city covered and the gang has this area locked down.  No one can come crashing in without us knowing about it and these people aren’t going to start anything.  They all have too much to lose.”

“I know, I know,” Hanna said and she could feel tears forming at the corners of her eyes.  “But what if they can’t agree?  What if this doesn’t work?  We need them to find Valerie and rescue her.  We think she’s in Blaze and we think we can find her with the Spectre, but we don’t know for sure.  It’s a guess.  Even if we’re right, the Crew can’t assault a Pantheon Maximum security prison.  We need Shadow Company and we need the Rebellion to supply the transport.

“If things go wrong today we could never see Valerie again and, and...”  Hanna couldn’t bring herself to say it.

Leaning over, Deni wrapped Hanna in a hug and she caught the tears in Deni’s eyes as well.  “And she’s the mother neither of us have had,” her friend finished for her.

“Yeah, and I don’t think she even knows it.  We never told her.”

Hanna felt Deni shake her head against her shoulder.  “I think she did, Hanna.  Maybe not consciously, but deep down she knew.  You saw how she looked after us.  After Tumbler’s, she was always there for us, always helping, teaching, caring for us.  Who talked Sneaker into selling the flat to us on the cheap?  Who made sure we ate properly?”

A chuckle rose up and fought its way through Hanna’s tears.  “Made us join her training program only Enforcers had to do?”

Gently, Deni pulled back with a smile of her own.  “Exactly, who else but a mother would make us go through that for our own good?  She’s been through a lot and isn’t ready to admit it.  Who can blame her after what happened to her family, but she cares for us, Hanna, and we’re going to do anything we can to save her.”

Wiping her tears away, Hanna sniffed and nodded firmly.  “Yes we will, even if we have to kick all of their backsides to make them agree.  As two daughters should.”

“As two daughters should.”  Deni agreed and turned as something grabbed her attention.  Hanna followed her gaze.  Hayley stood by the door waving furiously.  “Which signal is that?” Deni asked.

“Oops,” Hanna said in horror, looking at the time.  “I think it means both Shadow Company and the Rebels are here and Hayley’s been covering for us while they’re waiting outside.”

“Oh, we didn’t cover that one did we?” Deni joked as she furiously tried to wipe her face.

“Nope, must remember it for next time.”  Hanna said lightly as she did the same.

As ready as the both of them could be in the time they had, Hanna waved for Hayley to let them in and stepped out from the privacy field.  The Enforcer spoke into her com and Jessica Richings led Alpha team in.  She nodded curtly to Hanna and pointed around the room, while she and Chao stayed with Hayley, Kozelek and Olivia moved off to join Hayley’s Enforcers.  All four of the Shadow Company soldiers were dressed in civilian clothes and armed with Pulse pistols at their belts.

As part of the negotiations prior to the meeting, it was agreed each group could have four armed people in the room, along with their respective delegations.  Hanna was wondering if it was really a good idea, having so many guns in one room with the owners unsure about each other.  Her people were expecting it, but not the lethality the soldiers exuded.  Hanna hadn’t noticed it the two other times she met Shadow Company, mainly because there were other things on her mind.  While each on their own didn’t come close to Valerie, four in one room was intimidating.

She looked at Chao and was relieved when he winked.  “Don’t sweat it, kid.  We may look nasty, but we won’t be the ones to start anything.”

“Erm, glad to hear it, I think.”

“Room is clear.  You are free to enter, Major.”  Jessica said into her com.

Shannon, followed by Hans and Pavel, entered next.  Hanna stepped forward to shake their hands.

“Thanks for coming, all of you please grab yourselves a drink at the bar and select your seats.  Everything is set up and ready.”

Shannon gave her hand a perfunctory  shake and nodded curtly before going straight to the table.  Pavel did the same, but Hans’ greeting was a bit warmer.

“Nice to see you again, Hanna.  All dried out I see.”

“You too, Hans.  Sorry I kept you waiting.”

“Don’t worry about it.  It’s new to all of us and we’re all finding our feet.”  He smiled again and went to the bar to order a beer.  Chao went with him while Jessica stood on watch.

With Shadow Company all in, Hanna nodded to Hayley and the Rebel security team came in next.  They reminded Hanna more of gang members who hadn’t been subjected to Valerie’s training.  The team found themselves a spot opposite the bar and stayed grouped together, leaning against some tables with a nonchalance that didn’t fool anybody.  After they were settled and presumably commed those outside, Julianna entered with the woman Hanna recognised as Arlene from their surveillance and a man she didn’t know.

“Hi, Julianna,” she greeted the tall blonde woman.  “I apologise for the delay.”  Hanna tried not to wince at the crushing hand shake.

“This isn’t the same efficiency you showed last time,” the woman pointed out.

“We were ready and then something came up, but we’re all here now.  Grab yourselves a drink and we can do the introductions together.”

“OK, sounds reasonable.”  The three rebels went to the bar and Hanna gave her friend a look and she shrugged in return.

“At least they’re all here,” Deni said.  “Come on.”

The two entered the field and took their seats.  Shannon, Pavel and Hans were already there, Chao joined them with his beer.  He had stopped to have a quick word with his cousin.  Shannon was next to Hanna and around the table sat Hans and Pavel.  Chao positioned himself between the Company and the Rebels.  Julianna sat next to her cousin, with the unknown man next to her and Arlene between him and Deni.