Chapter 14
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Our next mission was to inspect an enriched ore freighter. It was bound for a colony that specialized in the construction of small ship hulls. When the inspection was complete, we were to take a guest aboard the Daunte for a trip out to the edge of the Alpha sector.
Our guest was a diplomat, and our destination was a classified research facility. We would be held in standby at the facility should the diplomat’s mission be cut short. If all went well, we would have a two-day ride to the nearest security station with a portal jump back to SS5.
The inspection was swift and by the book. As we walked back to the Daunte in the freighter’s docking bay, a Human woman approached.
As she reached our position, she held out her hand. “Hello, I am Dr. Evette Wallings. I believe you are to provide me with transport?”
Joni shook her hand. “That would be us. Come on and I’ll get you settled.”
Joni looked at her with curiosity as we walked. “Hmm. I find it strange that you don’t have any luggage with you. Not that it’s any of my business, I just find it odd.”
Evette replied, “That’s OK, Miss…?”
Joni covered her mouth with her hand as if to admit her mistake. “I’m sorry, my name is Joni. And I didn’t mean to pry about the luggage.”
Evette nodded. “That’s OK, I usually travel light. My legs are prosthetics, including my hips. I rarely sweat, so if I’m on a mission that lasts for three days, I generally do not take a change of clothing other than, you know, my privates.”
Joni held up her hand. “Enough said already. So, you’re a doctor. What degree?”
As we sat down and the ramp-way of the Daunte closed, Evette replied, “Cellular biology.”
Joni shook her head. “Hmm. I don’t get the diplomatic connection there. I would think someone who was either political or in the diplomatic core would be doing this.”
Evette smiled. “I’m not at liberty to discuss the reasons for my being here, Miss…?”
Joni offered a half smile in return as she set our course for the research station. “Just Joni. I prefer to be called by that name.”
The two women continued to banter as we lifted out of the docking bay and throttled up toward our destination. After a short ride, our guest asked to use the restroom. I pointed her to a doorway back in the cabin.
When the door closed, Joni grabbed my arm and whispered, “Something doesn’t seem right with her.”
“What makes you think that?”
Joni shook her head as she looked back at the door. “First, she is traveling and has no luggage. Second, she said she had prosthetic legs and an arm. I did a scan; the arm checks out, as well as one of the legs below the knee, at least as not being biological, that is. Her other leg is her own, though. Why would you lie about something like that? And third, did you smell her? She reeks of body odor. This from a woman that says she doesn’t carry extra clothes because she doesn’t sweat.”
I nodded. “Well, I would concur on the smell. I detected that the moment she reached us, but she isn’t the first smelly Human I've encountered. As for your other reasons to be suspicious, all I can say is to keep an eye on her. Besides, Raptor seems to be OK.”
Joni shook her head. “Raptor has been watching her like a hawk. He behaves himself unless he sees someone as a threat. While I don’t know that she is a threat to us, I’m not sure about sending a smelly Human out on a diplomatic mission.”
The door to the restroom opened and Evette emerged. Joni smiled and turned back toward her holo-display. The two-day ride was filled with quiet between Joni’s attempts at soliciting an odd response from Evette Wallings. We landed in the research station docking bay and the ramp-way was lowered.
A man dressed in a white lab coat was waiting by the bay door. “Dr. Wallings?”
Evette nodded as she walked through the doorway.
As the door to the bay sealed shut behind them, Joni said, “Something isn’t right with that woman. Every one of her answers was a generality. I don’t know much about cellular biology, but I don’t think she does either.”
I laughed. “Aren’t you the suspicious one. I’ll admit that she is a bit quirky, but our job was to deliver her here. Not to screen her for being odd.”
Joni pulled up the research station port administrator. “Hey, Sergeant, what are the chances you have a supply store here at the station?”
The sergeant replied, “We have one. It’s fairly small and limited in what it carries. What are you looking for?”
Joni laughed. “Well, it’s kind of for a personal female issue, if you know what I mean.”
The sergeant nodded. “I believe you will find what you need in there. We have a number of Human female staffers here on the station. And sorry I asked.”
Joni smiled. “Is it through the door? Where do I go once I’m through?”
“You’ll come through to a security checkpoint. After that, turn to the right, and it’s about forty meters down the hall. I’ll flip the door so you can get through.”
Joni slapped me on the back as she stood. “I’ll be right back. Have to get some supplies.”
I watched as Joni Salton walked across the deck and through the bay door at a fast pace. I didn’t know a lot about the Human female anatomy, but I did recognize when a person I knew was putting on a show. I stood and walked back to her quarters, letting myself inside. After a quick search, I found what I was looking for.
I turned back to see Raptor staring up at me. “I’m not one to question her about her female issues, Raptor, but that box back there says she is not in short supply of those products. I think she's going to check up on Dr. Wallings. And I’m afraid that I’m going to have to go check up on her.”
I closed the door to her quarters and proceeded down the ramp-way. “Sergeant, I hate to ask another favor of you, but I wouldn’t mind checking out your store as well. I get a little bored sitting around here sometimes. Just looking for something to break up the monotony.”
The sergeant laughed. “No problem, Mr. Beutcher. And if I could trouble you in return, I wouldn’t mind a little tour of your ship when you get back. She looks pretty new, and we mostly just get old research clunkers out here.”
I replied as I pulled the bay door open, “I think that’s a fair trade, Sergeant. I’ll let you know when I’m ready to give you a show.”
As I came up to the checkpoint, I pulled out my security badge. The guard gestured for me to remove my weapon for safekeeping while I was on the station. I complied.
The lone guard then waved me through. “If you're looking for your partner, she headed to the store just down the hall.”
I nodded thanks as I proceeded forward and turned the corner. Joni stepped out of the store, heading in the other direction as I approached. I quickly stepped into an alcove as she gave a glance back up the hallway in my direction. She soon disappeared around a corner to the left.
I made my way into the store, stopping in front of the clerk. “The young Human that was just in here—did she ask you for any directions?”
The man behind the counter pointed back behind himself. “She was due at some conference in the main room. I told her it started about a half hour ago; I’m guessing that you're late as well? Take the first left down the hall here and then the second right. The room you're looking for will be on the left. Can't miss it.”
I thanked the clerk and headed down the hall. After peering around the first corner, I moved down the hallway to the second turn. I slowly looked around the corner to the right in time to see Joni peeking through a crack between the two conference room doors.
As she pressed her left ear to the door, I placed my hand on her shoulder.
She shuddered from the surprise and then swatted at the air in front of me as she scowled. “Shh. Something is happening.”
I shook my head as I pushed past her through the conference room door. I expected to be told to kindly leave.
Instead I was met with a moment’s hesitation. The passenger we had just brought to the station was standing behind a newly dead gentleman with a short sword through his head.
Evette quickly withdrew the sword and flashed it in my direction. “I've got no fight with you, Detective. You and your partner back away over to that corner, and I won’t have to hurt you.”
I pursed my lips. “I’m afraid I can't do that, Miss Wallings.”
I reached down and picked up a metal chair as the assassin lunged toward me with her sword. Swinging the chair in time with her lunge, I was easily able to deflect her attack, but I was unprepared for her counter.
As the short sword, which had been pulled from her prosthetic arm, passed beside my torso, she followed behind it with the remainder of her arm, which had an exposed ion conduit powered up and sparking. The jolt from the conduit knocked me from my feet.
In a seamless move, the assassin spun to the left, performing a second lunge at Joni. As I hit the ground in a cringe of pain, I could see Joni as she rolled backward, diving crossways over the table as she avoided the strike. In two long steps, the passenger we had known as Dr. Evette Wallings was quickly out the door and around the corner.
Before pushing myself back to my feet, I called the sergeant on the comm. “Sergeant! You have an assassin on the loose on your station! She just killed two of your people and is now out in your hallways. We caught her in the act in your main conference room!”
The sergeant hesitated for only a moment before the station lockdown alarm sounded.
As I got to my feet, Joni was at my side yelling, “You OK? I told you there was something wrong with her!”
I nodded. “I’ll be fine. Just a little stunned, that’s all.”
Joni pulled at my arm. “Let’s get our blasters and get after her!”
As we turned the corner toward the main hall, I caught a glimpse of the assassin as she rounded the far corner. She was headed toward the Daunte. The store clerk was just poking his head out into the hallway as we sprinted past. The lone guard at the checkpoint wasn’t so lucky. A deep slash to his left shoulder had him sprawled on the ground and bleeding profusely. We grabbed our blasters from the storage container where they had been kept.
I pushed through the door to the bay, surprised that it was open. A lockdown should have had it sealed tight. As I sprinted for the ramp-way of the Daunte, I heard a scream and saw the assassin tumbling down the ramp-way with Raptor’s jaws clenched down on her right shoulder. I dove, knocking the blade from her hand as she attempted to free herself from the seemingly crazed animal.
I slid to a stop beside her, and with a single head-butt she was knocked cold. Raptor held firm until I coaxed him to release. The assassin we had delivered to the research station was now in our custody. Joni had her restrained as the remaining security staff of the station piled through the door into the docking bay. The wailing sirens of the lockdown were switched off.
When the assassin came to, I was sitting in a chair in front of her. “That was quite the show you put on back there.”
Evette Wallings replied, “I wasn’t expecting that dog to react like that after I had been on that ship for two days.”
The security commander for the station, sitting just behind me, said, “Why did you kill Dr. Mitchell and Dr. Orongo? They have harmed no one.”
Evette looked up with an angry glare in her eye. “You people are all pawns of the families. Those doctors were working on a biological weapon to use against the Free Alliance. It will kill millions of innocents if it gets released. How can you be supportive of those monsters!”
I said, “Commander, please collect all video and audio from your recorders. I would like everything you have for the past twenty-four hours. Someone on this station was helping Miss Wallings, which is why the door to the bay remained open when the alarm was going off. Miss Salton and I will be taking the prisoner back to SS5 with us for interrogation.”
The commander protested, “She just killed two of our people! She isn’t going anywhere until she answers some questions.”
I turned to the commander. “Commander, I'm sure that you have a full understanding that as agents of SS5, we have the full authority to take her with us. I understand your desire to get the truth out of her, but that is better left to those on SS5 who are trained for this type of thing. Now, Miss Salton and I will be expecting that data by the time we board our ship. If you value your position as security commander, I'm sure you can make that happen.”
Evette Wallings scowled at Joni and said, “Salton, what a foul name for someone to have. Somewhere in your past you are probably related to those murderous thugs.”
Joni smirked. “I am. Harden Salton is my uncle.”
The assassin’s eyes grew wide and then squinted again in anger. An attempt to spit across the room was made, falling well short of its target. I took the prisoner by the arm and pulled her to her feet.
“Time to go, Miss Wallings,” I said. “I’m sure you have a lot to tell to our friends on SS5.”
I turned and looked at the commander, who was still seated in his chair. “I believe you have some data to retrieve for us?”
I glanced over at Joni with a smile. “Miss Salton may want to look that data over as we travel. Oh, and you and your other two officers here—it would be best for the three of you if there was absolutely no mention of a Salton being here. They are extremely touchy about such things, and you would be wise to prepare your reports so that the Salton name is not used. You may use ‘Mr. Beutcher and his trainee,’ if you like.
“And one last thing, there should be no idle chatter that makes use of the name. I will have an investigator, one who is unknown to you, come out to check for rumors about a Salton being here. If any such rumors are found to exist, well, I’m sure you can use your imagination on what might happen to the three of you.”
The commander looked back over his shoulder at his men. “There won’t be any mention of it, Mr. Beutcher. My report will be as you stated.”
As we walked down the hall, Evette Wallings was seething at the thought of having a Salton standing just behind her. “Your uncle, the butcher—I would slit his throat with a slow and steady hand if given the chance. It would be the best gift I could give to all humanity.”
Joni said, “My uncle is responsible for this sector’s economy still thriving while so many others have faltered. In fact, all of those living under the Salton family are in a better position now than only a few years ago. When the AMP collapsed, he made sure that justice prevailed on the worlds and colonies that are in our share of the New Alliance. There would have otherwise been chaos.”
Evette laughed. “So, you have bought into the family line of drivel! Your family, along with the other eleven families who now laud themselves over billions of others, are the very ones who corrupted the AMP and brought about its end! You yourself were born into this corruption, and in its wake of destruction is where you will die!”
Evette remained silent on the remainder of our walk to the Daunte. As we entered the docking bay, she pulled back a bit, coming to a stop.
I pulled at her arm. “Come on.”
Evette said, “You will have no further trouble out of me if you allow me one private moment of prayer.”
Joni replied, “Prayer? For someone who just murdered two men, that seems like an odd request.”
Evette dropped down to one knee. “Please, only one moment.”
She looked around the bay. “Where am I going to go? I promise I will be no further trouble on your ride back to SS5.”
I released her arm. Evette bowed her head in silence for several seconds.
Joni reached over. “Come on, you. Time is wasting.”
Evette looked up with an evil smile as Joni pulled her to her feet. “The rebellion lives and grows every day. When the Saltons are finally pulled down from their pedestal of power, the masses will walk all over them, grinding their bones into dust. I won’t be there to see it in pe
rson, but I will be there in spirit.”
Evette Wallings jerked her arm loose from Joni’s grip and ran screaming at the gravity wall. In an instant she had passed through to the other side. Death came quickly.
Joni stood with her mouth dropped open. “I can’t believe she did that.”
The station security commander was standing behind me. “Nice work, Mr. Beutcher. Let’s see how much information you get out of her now.”
I replied, “Retrieve that body for me, if you would, Commander. The information still contained in and on her person will be valuable to the investigation. Place it in a body pod and have your men bring it aboard the Daunte. And Commander, the things I said before—you would be a wise man to follow them.”
The commander again scowled as he turned and started barking orders at his staff. When the body containing Evette Wallings’ frozen remains was aboard, we lifted out of the docking bay for our long ride home to SS5.
Joni was angry with herself. “I can’t believe I let her jerk away from me like that. She should be sitting right there, answering our questions. Who's behind this rebellion? First they tried to grab a load of cesium ore, and now they're assassinating our scientists! All the while, we're trying to fight a war for them. Grrr. It just makes me so mad!”
“When we get her body back to SS5, they'll trace her prior whereabouts and get some answers. What I don’t get is why they had us pick her up in the first place. And from now on, if you say something doesn’t seem right, I will give it credence.”