Edward (21 page)
The
next day’s practice went very well. People seemed both relaxed and
focused. Maybe they finally started to realize they could be having fun
and do a job at the same time. Whatever the case, there was far less
sniping, and many more sincere smiles to be found. As the day wound to a
close, Gillian and Edward’s comlinks clicked in unison. “We have a small
detour this evening. Should only take about an hour, but it may start to
explain some things,” came Trevor’s voice.
Gillian
replied earnestly, “If it starts to wrap things up, then it is an hour well
spent.”
Gillian,
Zoë, Tatiana, and Edward soon found themselves cruising to the far side of
town. It was a pleasant enough area, upper middle class if not a little
spartan. They pulled into what looked like an elegant but small
condominium with a high walled yard. In front, there were three people
waiting. Trevor was easy enough to make out. The second had on a
police uniform, in a subdued pattern, while the third was a smartly dressed
individual who could have easily passed as any average businessman off the
street.
Trevor
greeted them as they got out of the armored car. “Okay, Gillian and Tatiana you
know by the records. This is Zoë and Edward. Edward works for the 517
th
and I’ll vouch for Zoë.”
The
two nodded tersely and professionally.
“We’ll
just stick with first names over here, this is Felix from Internal Affairs and
Logan from the prefecture prosecutors office. Okay, let’s get
inside and I’ll explain a bit more.”
Edward
was immediately curious—police internal affairs and the prosecutor’s
office. Something very weird was going on. They walked into the
building and immediately Edward was impressed at its security. This wasn’t a
simple condo. Felix signed them all in at the front desk and then quickly
moved them past a large living room to a private sitting room with shades drawn
over its windows. Everyone quickly found a seat; the tension was thick.
“Okay,
as you may or may not have guessed, this is a private mental institution,”
began Felix. “As such, you all must realize that it is expected that
everyone here remains extremely discreet and respects the privacy of all the
people you see here.”
Everyone
solemnly nodded in agreement.
“About
six weeks ago,” began Logan, “the staff received a court restrain and hold
order for a patient here. As none of these people were criminally
committed, this came as a bit of a shock. More particularly, there was a
problem: along with the court order came a series of signatures of various
doctors supporting the decision. None of the doctors have seen said
patient in at least four years so that is a violation in both policy and
law. The staff questioned the validity of the order and
were threatened by the local police to comply or they would be held in
contempt. That is
not
how the system works.”
“I think
you can guess about
which
police were involved based on the earlier
arrests,” remarked Felix. “What then became the source of confusion is
the patient. Julia Ford is the name on the records, but when we did some
serious digging, that name does not fit nor do her records match.”
“Which
brings us here today,” started Trevor with a grin. “I have a
theory. Felix would you get the lights?”
Felix
quickly turned off the lights and readied himself by the blinds of one of the
windows.
“So
now, Gillian,” began Trevor as they sat in the dark,
“do you recognize Julia here?”
Felix
opened the blinds and beyond they could make out a frail but ultimately
attractive young lady in her early twenties. She was sitting in a
nightgown in a large plush chair reading a book and appeared to be fighting the
shivers.
“Oh, my word.
That is Rebecca. That is Rebecca Ravenswell! What happened?
Why is she here and why under a false name?”
“That
is what we are trying to figure out. Who had her committed and why?
She is having an entirely new battery of tests being done, but it is going to
take a few weeks to see how those all pan out. From what we can tell, she
probably has a mild panic disorder, which is consistent with the problems of
stage fright that you mentioned. However, that is
not
consistent
with the actual medication she was given.”
“Someone
was giving her the wrong medication?” asked Gillian aghast.
“Worse
than that,” began Logan, “The labels on her primary medication were
reasonable. She wasn’t responding entirely well to those, so the local
staff was augmenting them. The problem was, her
primary medication had been tampered with. It was mostly amphetamines.”
“That
would just make her worse!” exclaimed Gillian.
“Exactly.
That made sure she never left,” concurred Logan. “She was being given
amphetamines when they thought she was being given something for panic
attacks. By the time they upped her other medication to bring her under
control, she was just a mess, doomed never to leave.”
“Wait,
this is a private place,” interjected Zoë. “Who is paying for it all?”
Felix
smiled, “Sharp girl, excellent question. We know there is a large account that
pays here every month, but we are still trying to figure out who opened that
account in the first place.”
Trevor
smiled at Tatiana. “Think back, Tatiana, to your childhood. Do you
remember anyone that was around as a child that suddenly went away?”
Tatiana
shook her head, “No, not at all.”
“Would
you be willing to give a blood sample?” asked Logan.
“You
think we may be related?” asked Tatiana. “Sure, what
the heck.”
“You
don’t have to,” mothered Gillian.
“Hey,
if it’ll help sort out who that poor lady is, then why
not?”
Gillian
beamed, “Wonderful! That is very big of you.”
“It’s
not going to hurt much is it?” Tatiana asked with a little nervousness.
Trevor
shook his head, “Nah!” He went to the door and paged a nurse.
Soon
a nurse entered and took a small dab of blood from Tatiana’s left thumb.
Tatiana winced a little bit, but she smiled through it all. Logan produced
a small scanner from his coat pocket and fed the sample into it.
“That
is the entire scanner?” asked Zoë in amazement.
“Scanner, yes.
But it still sends the data to the computer downtown to analyze it,” replied
Logan with a grin. In less than a minute Logan had his
results, “Things just got complicated. Due to some very unique
markers, there is a 99.85% chance that she is your first cousin or closer.”
“Or
closer…” echoed Gillian.
“As
in she might be my sister,” finished Tatiana.
“Most
likely half-sister, but yes,” clarified Logan.
“Yes,”
agreed Edward, “things may have just gotten
very
complicated.”
Gillian
stopped Trevor on the way back to the car, “You knew they were related, didn’t
you? You don’t just ask for a blood test flippantly.”
Trevor
nodded, “I had a
very
strong supposition. Tatiana’s and Rebecca’s
faces frame perfectly. Same style ears, same style eyes
and irises. Those irises are quite piercing and are shared with
her father. Couple that with Rebecca was born right when the governor’s
political career was rising, Rebecca’s birth certificate does not list the
father, and it takes some serious political muscle to get a court order drawn
up that is patently illegal, and we have some serious red flags.”
“So
is my father behind this?” asked Tatiana more than a little worried.
“We
don’t know. This could be hiding an embarrassment, extortion, or
blackmail. It may also be that she is being held ‘in reserve’ by a
political opponent that already has some muscle of their own. This is a
tense and delicate situation. Let’s try and keep it out of the tabloids,
eh?”
Tatiana
grimaced. “I think that would be best for Rebecca! She’s going to have a
hard enough time piecing her life back together without the news hounds breathing
down her throat,” she observed.
Zoë
hugged Tatiana and grinned, “Did you hear yourself? That was awesome!”
Tatiana
looked confused, “What did I say?”
Gillian
smiled, “You expressed concern more for Rebecca than yourself.”
Tatiana
shrugged and grinned shyly, “Um, what else was I supposed to do?”
“It’s
just a side of you we haven’t seen much,” beamed Zoë. “Run with it,
girl.”
“Hey,
I just found out that I might have a sister. Half-sister or otherwise,
that is kinda cool!”
“We
are still trying to run down Rebecca’s mother, and no luck. We could ask
your father about Rebecca, but it’s possible he may not even know,” remarked
Trevor plainly. “Other options are to discreetly approach your other
relatives and compare backwards.”
“What
a mess,” murmured Gillian. “Once she is sorted out, they are going to let
her go, yes?”
Trevor
nodded, “It’s still going to be several weeks to completely detox her system,
but now that they know what was tampered with, they see no reason why she
should be there at all. In the grand scheme of things, she has a very
minor issue that ought to be able to be treated very easily. She could
use some friends when this is over.”
“Sign
me up,” volunteered Tatiana. “Oh no. Unless my current gig is going to be a sore point with her.
Hadn’t thought of that.”
“Two
points of curiosity,” began Gillian. “Was her initial therapy all those years
ago correct?”
Trevor
shrugged. “We don’t know. But we
are
going to check in on
that. And the second?” asked Trevor with a grin of anticipation.
“What
does all of this mean against the back drop of ‘the fan club’? I mean it
is absurd! If Tatiana’s concert was canceled tomorrow and you guys hadn’t
found out about Rebecca, how long would it have taken
before she would have even been capable of putting on a new concert?”
“We
don’t think that people in ‘the evil fan club,’” Trevor laughed at the
description, “are being remotely rational. They are being used. The
question, now more than ever, is ‘who?’ The backdrop has taken more of a
political/blackmail tone than before. And that is going to take result in
some tough questions.”
“Gillian,
toss me your phone. I’ll call Dad right now,” offered Tatiana.
“Things
are a bit delicate, dear,” admonished Gillian.
“That’s
my advantage,” grinned Tatiana, “I can get away with it.”
Gillian
stared at the ground for a bit and then handed over the phone.
Tatiana
quickly dialed in. “No, I will not hold. This is Tatiana. Tell
Daddy
to pick up the freaking phone,” Tatiana snarled pleasantly. “Oh, hi, Dad! No, I did not elope. Good guess
though. I have a question for you: does the name Rebecca Ravenswell or
Julia Ford ring a bell? No? Are you sure? So you wouldn’t
mind me dropping by the house and stealing your toothbrush for a quick DNA
test? I can be by in twenty minutes. That ring a bell any
better?” Tatiana listened for a minute. “The question before the
house is not, ‘Is she related to me?’ The question is, ‘Is she your kid
or uncle’s kid?’ Okay, whatever. I’ll be by the house in twenty
minutes or so. If you make it home by then it’ll give you a chance to
meet Edward and Zoë. And don’t get fresh with Gillian when we come by,
she’s engaged!” She hung up with a socialite’s snarl and tossed the phone
back to Gillian.
“That
reminds me, what time?” asked Gillian as she batted her eyes at Trevor.
“Does
eight o’clock sharp work for you?” he grinned back.
Gillian
nodded. “You want to come with us to the governor’s mansion? Not in
an official capacity, but as my fiancé.”
“It’s
up to Tatiana.”
“Sure!”
beamed Tatiana. “It’ll be fun.”
“So
combing your dad’s fur backwards and shaving it off is fun?” kidded Zoë.
“More
or less,” replied Tatiana with an evil grin.
Thirty
minutes later they pulled the armored car up to the front of the governor’s
mansion. There was more than a little confusion as the local security
suddenly felt horribly inadequate in comparison, but Tatiana was a welcome face
and soon they made it inside.
“That
was some nasty traffic out there,” remarked Gillian.
“Another
reason
not
to be on this side of town,” replied Tatiana. “You stay
here and wait for
Daddy
. I’ll be right back!” Tatiana bolted
down the hall leaving the group in the spacious living room.
“The
Grauer place is nicer than this and less tacky,” smirked
Zoë. “Someone here is trying to show off. Look at the crap-tastic
art on the walls.”
“Well,
it was a given her father had no taste, or he wouldn’t have let Gillian get
away,” kidded Trevor.
Gillian
giggled like a school girl and poked Trevor in the ribs.
Tatiana
came running back with a broad grin. “Got a hair brush and a toothbrush.”
“There
is more than one toothbrush there,” remarked Gillian.
“Eh,
didn’t know which was his, so I took ‘m all. Logan can sort them out I’m
sure.”
“Well
let’s get those in some plastic bags, but
you
get to carry those out of
the building,” replied Trevor.
“Be
right back then!” Tatiana sprinted off again.
Trevor’s
comlink chirped twice. That earned a dirty look as he slapped it, “Out of
position, but go ahead.” Trevor’s fur stood on end as he listened in on
his ear bud. That was a bad sign; Trevor was normally the ultimate poker
player. “Send the gunships to pick us up right now! This is a local
problem. If we can help, we will, but first and foremost this is a local
problem.” He quickly tapped his comlink again, “Did you get that?
Yes, bring the magnetics online and set the spaced armor. We’ll fly you
out as we go. Look alive!”
Gillian
spoke for them all, “What happened?”
Trevor
ignored her as he bellowed down the hall that Tatiana had just left down,
“Tatiana! Come back now! As in
right
now!”
He turned and looked square at Edward, “Armor online, boy, we trust no one that
is not our own.”
The
‘boy’ comment would have pissed off Edward on any other day, but he knew Trevor
was scared, and he meant it more as a worried father figure and not to be
condescending. Edward’s Live Steel armor burst out in a cascade of blue
sparks. Weapons were just a heartbeat away.
Tatiana
soon came running into view with her collection in little plastic baggies, but
her face all but melted as she saw the stern looks. Fear was the
prevailing expression and all eyes turned to Trevor.
“The
governor had a big press conference half an hour ago, the usual song and dance
about cracking down on crime and taking the motorcycle gangs down and holding
them responsible. All the standard things politicians say. Well,
apparently someone believed him. His limo was hijacked by a motorcycle
gang on the way home, and he was kidnapped under a hail of gunfire.”
Tatiana’s
fur stood on end, and she melted to the floor.
“So
what do we do?” asked Gillian, trying to be calm.
“We
wait for our gunships. Then we fly back to the flat while the locals try
and figure out what is going on. First and foremost, we make sure that
there isn’t a repeat performance with Tatiana.”
Edward
and Zoë helped Tatiana to a chair where she tried to regain control. “I’m
starting to know how you felt when Ethan was taken,” smiled Tatiana faintly to
Zoë. “Only it had to be a hundred times worse for you. You actually
liked
Ethan.”
Zoë
put on her best smile, “Eh, it’s your father. You may have had your
little arguments, but he is still family. Don’t worry; there are a lot of
good people out there who train to handle things like this.”
“And
how many of them can be trusted?” asked Tatiana as she fought back the
tears. “Every corner we turn we find another layer of subterfuge and
lies!”
“Just
hold on, girl, we’ll figure something out,” mothered Gillian.
Fifteen
minutes later, structured chaos descended on the governor’s mansion as three
light and two heavy Shukurae assault gunships descended with weapons in full
display. As one of the heavy gunships started to land, the others started
firing out a constant barrage of decoy flares along with smoke and tear gas
grenades. They were making a mess, and they didn’t care. The
gunship lowered its rear ramp and the armored car rolled neatly inside while the
group from inside quickly ran the distance over to the loading ramp. As
they ran, the other gunships hovering overhead started launching flash-bang
grenades in a wide arc around the entire compound as well as an even thicker
layer of teargas. The governor’s compound was going to be a complete and
horrid mess and they didn’t care: they had their clients. As soon as the
doors were closed, they were quickly shepherded to the restraints against the
wall. Suddenly the gunships violated any remaining noise ordinances as
they not only cranked their engines to full power, but also ignited a series of
JATO bottles to accelerate their egress. There was a high probability
that the rocket boosters were going to start the roof of the mansion on fire;
that was someone else’s problem.
“We have a 5km exclusion zone and a 3km kill zone,” remarked one of the
Shukurae to Trevor.
“At
2999 meters, kill them. Kill them all,” snarled Trevor.
“You
gave them nine more decimeters than Takru did,” replied the Shukurae with a
toothy grin.
The
Van der Grauer complex was in complete lockdown when they arrived. Any
spectators on the ground floor had been turned away and roadblocks had been set
up at a three kilometer radius. Any news craft that even thought about
turning their cameras that direction were met by high
power strobe lights blinding their optics and a quick and gruff escort
away. Takru made it clear: any pictures of the buildings, personnel,
their movements, equipment or their locations that wasn’t stale by at least 36
hours was going to be viewed as reconnaissance as a prelude to actions against
their client and would be dealt with accordingly.
The
lieutenant governor suddenly found himself in a rough position. He had
the job by means of his own political aspirations, but ultimately he was a
lackey to the governor that was routinely kept in the dark about all but the
most basic of affairs. He was just strong enough to appear important, but
malleable enough to be a puppet. Now the puppet had to pull his own strings, for better or worse.
Edward
caught the chatter back and forth between Trevor and Logan, advocating moving
quickly against the corrupt cops and judges. While it would make things
difficult, it would at least increase the trustworthiness of those the now
acting
governor would have to deal with. With no small amount of persuasion,
Gillian convinced Trevor to set up his command post there at the hotel where
they could easily keep tabs on what was going on. In less than half
an hour, there was a command post set up across the hall from them, complete
with a two meter radius holographic projector of the city beyond.
“Is
Takru coming here?” Gillian asked Edward.
He
shook his head, “They can communicate securely and quickly. This also makes
sure that if anything catastrophic happens, someone in the know is still
around.”
That made Gillian cringe.
Edward
tried to smile, “Don’t worry about Trevor. He’s locked in here with
Tatiana and this place is now quite a fortress.”
Trevor
approached them all with a stern look, “Okay, we are getting ready to go live
in here. If you want to sit in, you are welcome to. However, try
not to interfere. Gillian, you are responsible for the girls,
understand? It may get tense for both of them.”
Gillian
nodded but seemed a little confused, “Zoë?”
Zoë
nodded nervously, “I’ll be fine. I hope.”
They
all piled into the room. Already present were Kadu and Tazo. Edward
was a little surprised to see Kadu there; she still had an IV in her arm, but
she was sticking to her chair, and it was her experience not her muscle that
was being brought to bear tonight. On the far wall was a giant array of
both flat and full news displays covering channels both local and across the
colony to the far side of the planet. There were two other Shukurae there
that Edward recognized, but didn’t know their names. That was
embarrassing!
“Lt.
Governor Staton is now acting governor and has mobilized the PDF—Planetary
Defense Force to lock down the areas where the most
violent gangs have been operating. It will take at least another four
hours to get them all in place. The 1212
th
CSOG has
volunteered their services, but honestly, they are more for blowing crap
up. If we have a hot target, then they are a go.”
Trevor
suddenly got part of a feed over his ear bud and switched it to the overhead
speakers, “Go ahead, Captain Tobias.”
“We
have traced his phone to the old ship dock areas at which point he was
separated from it. More importantly, we just got a brief proof of life
from the gang in question.”
“And
they are?”
“Your
room is not secure.”
“I
trust
everyone
in this room more than I trust you, but I think you just
answered the question,” snarled Trevor.
“Hands of Redemption.
If she is a leak, it is your ass on the line, Trevor.”
“If
who is a leak?” asked Gillian.
“Me,”
replied Zoë. “That is the gang my father rides in.”
There
was an eerie calm in the room. Zoë just stared at the floor while
everyone stared at her.
“Let
me be blunt,” asked Gillian. “Where do your loyalties lie?”
Zoë
looked up at her, square in the face, “With Edward, Tatiana, and Ethan.
This whole stupid dirt ball can go up in flames for all I care. So long
as those three are safe, I don’t care. I just don’t care.”
“We
are talking about your father here.”
“We
are talking about the nut job who pimped out my sister
and got her ODed on drugs! The bastard ought to be rotting in prison some
place!”
“He
would be rotting in prison some place, but
my
father found it convenient
to have some unofficial muscle,” retorted Tatiana forcefully. “What are the
odds that the weapons that the gang has, came from
items my father’s lackeys managed to
lose
?”
“You
seem much more suspicious of your father than I would have anticipated,”
observed Captain Tobias evenly.
“I
know him better than you do,” replied Tatiana coldly. “Zoë’s with
me. Deal with it.”
Zoë
forced a smile and hugged Tatiana lightly.
“Where
is Ethan?” asked Edward suddenly.
“He’s
the blue blob on the display,” replied Trevor calmly. “Gunship number
2. Five minutes out from here.”
Zoë
smiled for the first time that evening, “Trevor, I could kiss you!”
Trevor
looked shocked, “Please don’t! Between Gillian and Edward I’d never live
it down! Besides, it was Kadu that called the shot on that one.”
Trevor shifted his tone and poise. “Okay, Captain, we’re tight on this
end. Zoë is not leaving, and all electronics here are being
monitored. But if you are still nervous, how about this: we’ll dump data
to you and let you act on it as you see fit.”
“That
seems like a good fit, indeed. We could start with what all Zoë knows
about the current state of affairs of the group.”
Trevor
nodded to Zoë, “You up for it?”
Zoë
nodded and moved her chair closer to the display and intercom system. “Well
first of all, the state’s evidence my brother gave years ago should have been
117 pages. If you don’t have all 117 pages, someone on your end is a rat
fink.”
“We
have twelve pages of your brother’s testimony…”
Tatiana
laughed, “And you complained about Zoë being a problem leak? Clean your
own fur!”
“We
have recently been made aware of our own internal problems. I guess I do
owe you an apology, Ms. Sylva,” replied the Captain.
“Darn
right you do. Oh, by the way. Hantenwiskers Bank, downtown branch,
safety deposit box 212427 has a copy of the report.
If
you have
anybody you can trust to go by and pick it up.”
Edward
cringed, and grinned. That was a little rude, but well played.
“The Illustrious Order of the Silver Hands of Redemption. They are a quasi-religious motorcycle gang.
They make money the old fashioned way: run guns, drugs, extortion, prostitution. Just like the federal government only
they don’t wear ties,” began Zoë with a sarcastic grin.
“And
they have cooler rides,” interjected Tatiana.
Edward
tried not to giggle. He couldn’t tell how much of it was that Tatiana was
mad at her father and how much of it was that she was supporting Zoë.
Either way it was fun to watch.
“There
is the so-called ‘Rector.’ He is the leader. He runs the whole show
from top to bottom. His word is law. The only catch is there are
four Deacons. At the end of every year, the Deacons evaluate the Rector
and decide if he stays or goes. If he goes, it isn’t pretty. My
father is one of the Deacons. Lucky me.
There are eight tribes. They each operate independently from each other
and each tribe is unique in how it is organized and how it chooses its
leadership. Each tribe is responsible for providing two thugs for each of
the Deacons and their best-of-the-best-brawler to the Rector himself. The
Deacons are not supposed to show favoritism to any one tribe, and usually
don’t. They usually treat them all like crap. The tribes are
fiercely loyal in that whole religious sort of way, quite scary. But they
aren’t bold enough to have attacked the governor on their own. It is
almost a given that the Rector would have told them to.”