Liquid Cool: The Cyberpunk Detective Series (33 page)

When you have a city in a region with more water than the oceans, the government wants you to waste water. "Take five showers a day." "Take a shower every hour." I still couldn't grasp the fact that there were still people in this city who showered only once a week, not even daily. I was not into soaking in some kind of body detergent, anti-bacterial, anti-germ suds. Whatever filth it dissolved off your skin, you'd be sitting right in the middle of it. I never understood the bath thing. My fave was a super shower of luke-warm water shooting out of the main floor and ceiling vents, and side nozzles blasting out waves of hot steam. My super sauna shower. I knew I'd be in my bathroom for at least 90 minutes.

Was I being a big baby? Or was the danger of the day not to be taken lightly and I was right to be unnerved? That was the internal debate I had to resolve. I was a detective now, so I had to expect to frequent bad places like Mad Heights from time to time on a case. I couldn't melt each time.

Who were those leather-suited people in the dark attacking me?

The question popped into my head. I had never experienced something so crazy. All these people standing in the dark around me. What the hell! I had to find out who or what they were, or it would bug me forever. Phishy would know.

My beautiful shower was over and I got into the nicest, cleanest, fluffiest white clothes and then I glided over to my bed. I dove in and pulled my super-fluffy comforters over me and that was it. I was in for the day. I was not leaving this bed. I was traumatized and I needed time to regenerate, as the saying goes.

Turn off the video-phone!

I jumped out of the bed and ran to it. It rang.

The call was one of Run-Time's VPs--the West Indian one. Run-Time wanted to see me. Suddenly my planned day had been re-planned.

I wouldn't know until much later that my mad time in Mad Heights put me further ahead in the story than anybody else.

At Let It Ride headquarters, Carol revealed what she revealed and Run-Time revealed what he did, especially by not saying things directly. One of Run-Time's VPs was going to take Carol home. The other was going to take me to Metro Police with part of the Run-Time entourage.

"Mr. Run-Time will meet us there," his West Indian VP said to me.

It was me, her, and four other people that ended up loading into a waiting Let It Ride Enterprises hover-limo that seemed longer than my own apartment. We got comfortable; the VP sat across from me. In fact, all of them were sitting across from me.

"Mr. Cruz, if I may, and I don't want to offend you..."

"What is it?" I asked the VP.

"If you could let Mr. Run-Time do the talking?"

"Who are we going to talk to?"

"It will be a private meeting of the Chief of Police, his top aides, and the Mayor's liaison will be there too."

"What about the police detectives handling Carol's case?"

"They won't be there."

"Why not?"

"They've briefed their superiors."

"That makes me very uncomfortable," I said. "When I was a police intern, back in the day, I quickly learned that the only thing the superiors do is sit at a desk, laugh at the Police Chief's jokes, and stand behind him when he gives a press conference. What's different today?"

The VP smiled ever so diplomatically and the other guys looked on quietly.

"The street detectives are doing the work and have the answers. Why again, won't they be there?" I asked.

"We'll relay your discomfort to Mr. Run-Time," the VP said to me as she unflipped her mobile and started typing.

"Thank you."

As soon as we walked into the swanky executive conference room of the Metro Police on their ground level, I looked for them. Not a police officer in silver and blue to be found. Only a sea of police majors, captain
s, lieutenants, and de
puties. There were even a few ranks I never saw before. I bit my lip and stayed quiet as I was led in by Run-Time's people.

Then the Feds came in, dressed in black suits, with a group as large as the waiting police. Then there was a commotion and in came in the Mayor with an even bigger entourage. I found the whole thin
g annoying.

As the three groups approached each other, I noticed Run-Time standing in the back with one of his other VPs, the Lebanese one, and a few other people. The greeting of the police, Feds, and the Mayor's group was something out of a sitcom and took forever. When they were done, the accusations could commence.

"There were no Feds on the scene," one of the federal agents said.

"We have on good authority that the identified kidnapper of this girl was purposely allowed to escape the scene," a police deputy said.

"Feds allowed a kidnapper to get away? Why would we do that? Anyways, we were not on that scene."

"Our officers in the field say there were Feds on the scene."

"We were not there?"

"So my officers are liars?"

"We're saying it wasn't the Federal Police and we don't who was there that you claim was there."

The back-and-forth was becoming more heated.

"What are we planning to do to rescue this girl?" I said out loud.

The West Indian shot a look at me and the entire conference room went quiet. Everybody was staring at me.

"Do I need to repeat the question?" I asked.

"No, you don't," said one of the police majors as he approached. "Who exactly are you and why are you here?"

"I'm the consultant on the case for the mother."

"Consultant? You mean like a pretend detective?"

"There's nothing pretend about a kidnapped child."

"Do you have any children, Mr. Cruz?"

"So you do know who I am. Then you know the answer to that question. I'm sorry, but does one have to have children to want children not to be kidnapped, or when they are, for them to be rescued."

"I got six, Mr. Cruz, so I think I can empathize with the situation a hell of a lot more than you."

"Do you empathize more than the mother who has been driving herself crazy trying to find her daughter because you are doing nothing?"

"Nothing? My officers are doing plenty!"

"Then why aren't they in this room instead of you!"

"Because I'm the boss, Mr. Cruz."

I was about to snap back at him when a hand rested on my shoulder. It was Run-Time.

"Mr. Cruz has identified the kidnapper."

The revelation caused an uproar as officers and agents drew near.

"Who is the kidnapper," a Fed asked.

"This is still our case," Chief Hub said to him and he turned to me.

"I can tell you the name, but there's a problem," I said.

"What problem is that?"

"He's a Fed C.I." I could feel Run-Time's death stare as I was playing with political fire--telling half-truths. But as long as it got them to act, I would never repeat Carol's revelation.

"What did you say? We don't have any C.I.s working that area and none that would kidnap a girl. That is a fat lie," a Fed said.

"Red Rabbit is the gang leader's name."

"Re
d Rabbit?" a police lieutenant started
laughing.

"As the law enforcement of the city of Metropolis, you surely know about animal gangs and their increasing presence and violence in parts of the city." That quieted the chuckling. "This Red Rabbit is extremely dangerous and has killed multiple people," I said. "And we know where he is."

"Chief Hub," Run-Time said calmly. "We're here because we believe this information should be given to you personally so a clear, effective attack and rescue plan can be formulated."

Chief Hub nodded. "Exactly." He turned to his deputies. "Get a white board in here." He looked at me, then at the Feds.

"We sure as hell don't have any C.I.s who are animal gang members in a rabbit masks," the lead Fed said.

"Then why did the kid say that?" a police captain asked.

"I don't know. Why don't you ask him?"

Chief Hub walked up to Run-Time, who remained at my side. "Run-Time, thank you for bringing the information to us. You can let Ms. Num know that we'll take it from here, but she shouldn't have unrealistic hopes."

"I understand."

Chief Hub looked at me. "Run-Time, this is the first time I met a friend of yours that I strongly disliked. But there is a first for everything."

I chose not to respond.

I remembered the man when we first came in because he was the only one wearing dark glasses. He was obviously some agent type from the comm-device in his ear, but he wasn't standing with the cops and was there before the Feds and the Mayor and his people came in. Who was he?

Chief Hub was getting ready to start scribbling on his white board when the room began to shake and the red emergency lights started flashing. That same lone agent man held up his hands and said, "Please be calm ladies and gentleman. There is no danger here."

No danger? The entire building was shaking. Monolith towers were the muscle-bound, steroid-fed version of skyscrapers. Earthquakes didn't shake them. They were built to withstand an asteroid hit or nuclear blast. Police One was shaking and then we all saw it from the window--a massive shape was descending from the sky.

Every cop, agent, and aide was on their mobiles as the spaceship stopped its descent to hover above the Police One and City Hall towers.

That man walked up to the Mayor and showed him what looked like a badge. He showed it to Chief Hub and the lead Fed too. Then we all waited. People were looking at each other, but the Mayor stood silent and still with his eyes fixed on the door.

They came in--Interpol.
Back in the day, the International Crime Police Organization (they dropped the Criminal from their name after a major scandal) was always handicapped by the fact that they could never supersede the authority of a given country and had to be asked in. But when humans launched off Earth to populate space stations and lunar colonies, Interpol became the Interspace Police Organization and somehow their authority superseded any local, state, or national authority. We had hover-vehicles; they had real spaceships. We had lasers; they
could vaporize your building up with a laser blast from orbit.

They were all dressed in white suit uniforms and identified themselves to the Mayor, Chief Hub, and the Fed agent-in-charge. They led Interpol man talked quietly with the three of them for a moment and then stepped back.

Chief Hub stepped forward and with a displeased look said to the room, "We have been informed by Interpol that the principals involved in this case fall into their jurisdiction and as such we will cease all operations involving this matter."

"Meaning what?" I asked out loud and all eyes were on me again.

"Meaning what I said," Hub replied, angrily.

"We have a kidnapped girl or have you forgotten!"

The Interpol man stepped up. "We have that under control, but more importantly, we're in the middle of a major operation involving thousands of agents here on Earth and Up-Top at the highest of security levels. We're dealing with the safeguarding of billions of life, not simply one person."

"Says who?" I asked.

Now the Interpol guy was mad at me. "Says the planet Earth."

"The planet Earth all convened and gave you the authority to forsake a kidnapped girl?"

"Mr. Cruz, the real world is so much more complex than black-and-white absolutists like you want to accept."

"Oh, so you know who I am, too. I wonder what that is all about, then? I know you came down here in your fancy spaceship, but on planet Earth, we don't let child kidnappers go scot-free. If you like these animal gangsters so much, take them and all the other criminal scum off the planet and they can all live with you Up-Top."

"Mr. Cruz, I'm didn't come here to debate you and I have no reason at all to acknowledge your existence."

"It is true. The Feds were right. The Red Rabbit kidnapper terrorist is not their C.I., he's yours. That's why you're here. Why are you coming down to our planet to plant kidnapping terrorists here, space man?"

My comments caused an uproar in the room.

"Terrorist, Mr. Cruz?" the Mayor jumped in. "I can see you're very passionate about this victim, but let's be respectful until the facts are in."

"The facts are in. The kidnapper is named Red Rabbit and he's an Interpol informant. That's why they're here to stop us. And the Red Rabbit is a terrorist."

"He is certainly not," the Interpol man snapped back at me.

"He certainly is."

"You have proof of that?" he asked.

"Firing at medical clinics with innocent civilians from hover-cars using laser cannons is a terrorist act." I stepped closer. "Oh, you didn't know there was a witness to that incident. Yes, I was there. What about lobbing bombs off of tower rooftops? That's terrorism too."

The Interpol man walked right up to me. "By being in this room, you are subject to the Secrets Act like everyone else. This is a classified meeting and if you reveal it to anyone...anyone...you will be arrested, convicted, and imprisoned. Unlike city and federal law, we can and will confiscate all your legacy properties. Are we making sense to you now?"