Division Zero: Lex De Mortuis (24 page)

“Yes, especially men. I only glanced at Michael’s report in brief, but I remember something about her indentured to a Japanese Keiretsu from a young age. She was not treated well, I believe. Dalton was in Japan on an extraction run and she attempted to interfere. Michael, rather Icarus, let his conscience burden him into feeling bad for her. They wound up stealing her as well as extracting the defecting technician. Took a few weeks, but we eventually broke her conditioned loyalty to Nippon Shōgyō Kumiai.”

Kirsten scrunched her face. “The NSK isn’t a corporation. Why would they care about an extraction?”

“They are a facilitator allowing the fragmented, warring prefectures within Japan to continue to trade with the outside world and keep their internal battles hidden. As such, they maintain a security force available to any corporate entity for assistance, especially with outsiders. Mariko was one of their ninja.”

“Ninja?” Kirsten sighed. “I’ve never seen one; I’ll have to hope that the stories about them are pretty much exaggerated.”

“Most people think of ghosts the same way, do they not?”

Greyson had a point.

“This is the opening of a bad joke,” added Dorian. “A mercenary, a ninja, and a Special Forces dude walk into a bar…”

“Stop.” She held a hand up. “What about Icarus?”

“He used to be UCF military. His records were sealed, even from us. When he came looking for work, he claimed experience in clandestine operations, mostly wetwork. He was one of those
best of the best
types; very motivated, very physical. Health food… quinoa, wheat germ, blenders full of green ooze, his office always stank like moldy shoes.”

“It seems as if you have your work cut out…” Dorian muttered.

Kirsten shifted, gazing through the glass wall at four office-worker ghosts watching the inspection of their murder scene. “Yeah, you got that right.”

irsten slouched back in the chair, too tired to even put her feet up on the desk. Evan slurped noodles out of a take-out container, making silly faces. Giggling, she stuffed another forkful of mei fun into her mouth, glancing at Captain Eze’s empty office.
He asked me to meet him, the least he could do is show the hell up.

“How come you’re here so late? You got homework?” Evan tilted his head.

She smiled. “Don’t rush to grow up, hon. This job is nothing
but
homework.”

Kirsten’s smile faltered to a flat line as she stabbed her food.
He’s an astral, too. They’re gonna put him out on the street with me someday.
Kirsten forced the smile’s return as worry crept into his eyes.
No, they wouldn’t do that. Too awkward to have a mother/son team. They don’t even let siblings pair together.
Evan’s eyes crossed as he tried to watch a noodle slide through his puckered lips. Kirsten laughed, deciding not to worry about ten years from now.

Light split through the room from the far end of the hallway that led to motor pool, outlining Eze’s figure in a nimbus of glowing orange. The door closed, letting color and detail fill in on his face and uniform. He went by at a brisk stride, apparently not over the embarrassment of the shower call earlier in the day. Kirsten scooted forward, two quick forkfuls shoved into her mouth as she got up.

She mumbled useless sounds through it, grumbled, and swallowed. “Okay, almost time to go home. Get started on your homework; this should not be long.”

Evan nodded, digging through his backpack for a school-issued datapad. Kirsten stretched to the point her body trembled, then sagged forward. After a deep breath, she summoned up the strength to trudge across the squad room to Eze’s office.

“Sorry, sir. Evan just meant well, he didn’t―”

“It’s all right, Wren.” He turned to face her, looking a touch haggard. “I just got out of a meeting with Division 9. They wanted to ask about the death of Sergeant Marsh, and the investigation into the man responsible. Do you have any idea why they seemed to think I might have some information we were not sharing with them?”

Dorian faded through the wall, looking interested.

“Bastards walked in on me at the hospital.” She blushed.

“When I became aware of that, I conveyed our mutual displeasure.” Captain Eze sat down. “I would have been back here half an hour ago if not for the argument it caused.”

“Let me guess, they accused you of coddling women without military experience.”

“Something like that. They do not understand the unique position some of you are in, growing up here…” Eze rubbed his face, as if trying to wipe away the distrust of others.

She matched his smile, fatigue and all. “I escorted the victims at Lyris across. Only one left, has some stuff she needs to tell her brother before she’s willing to step through.”

Eze nodded. “What interest do you have in Sergeant Marsh? I noticed you were picking through his things a few weeks ago, and you paid a visit to his partner a few days ago. Did you really send in a form referring her to see Commander Ashford?”

“Yes. Rene Bollard, sir. He is the suggestive that killed Dorian. He put something in Nila’s head.” She continued, explaining how he programmed Nila to fear the police, as well as used her to facilitate his escape. “I was hoping Commander Ashford could dig a bit deeper and find out where she took him, and make sure I didn’t miss cleaning anything up.”

“You think you missed something?” Eze lifted an eyebrow.

“She called Rene to warn him after I left, after I deprogrammed her. He had to have buried it way down in the subconscious. Maybe all she did was start a vid to his NetMini without saying a word. The Sons of Charon came after me because of that call, I’m sure of it. Rene knows I want him, and I’m not planning to disappoint the son of a bitch.”

Captain Eze’s glance hardened. “It is admirable you take offense to the murder of one of our own, even though you never knew him, but I am concerned. You don’t have the combat experience or tactical training―”

“Captain, sorry to interrupt, but no one else is going after him. I’ve got a rating in suggestion; I can fight him.”

His glower softened to a patronizing smile. “Kirsten, your rating in suggestion is far short of what we believe Rene capable of. You’re not even on the watch list.” He chuckled. “Rene held six men in thrall for months, a small private army.”

“Rene is going to attack Nila again. He’s sending assassins after me. He’ll do anything to get away from us, and I owe it to Dorian to…”

“Avenge him?” Eze sighed. “Revenge is a bumpy road, Kirsten.”

The chill presence of Dorian’s hand circled around hers. “Don’t get yourself killed because of me.”

Kirsten looked at Dorian, too angry to cry like she wanted. “I’m not so smitten I’m ready to die just to be with you.”

They both laughed despite the mood.

“Are you…” Eze’s head leaned to the side, at empty air.

“Dorian is still here, sir, right in the room with us. He’s restless because Rene got away and he’s worried about Officer Assad.”

“You’ll not be rid of me so easy,” said Dorian with a wink. “I’m not going to leave you alone, even if you do get Rene.”

She grinned. “I’m not trying to get rid of you; I just want to do what is right.”

“Okay, Kirsten. Perhaps you have been working too…”

The lights flickered. Eze’s voice trailed off as he glanced at faltering LED bulbs in the ceiling. They dimmed even further before fading out to darkness. Officer Morelli trudged through the door, nose buried in a datapad of reports in hand. Just then, a coalescence of white fog hung in space, and Dorian stepped out of it; intensity upon his face as if manifesting was an act of extreme effort.

To Kirsten, the real-looking Dorian faded to transparency.

Morelli’s datapad hit the ground with a
clack
; he shrieked like a cheerleader and ran in such a panic he tumbled over a desk outside. Evan’s wild cackling was too much for Kirsten, and she joined him in laughter. Eze’s other eyebrow rose to meet the one that had gone upward at the fog. He looked Dorian up and down, and stood up, rendering a funerary salute.

“You’re getting stronger…” Kirsten gawked at him.

Dorian returned the salute. “I’m still with the team, sir.” His voice seemed to float in from the edges of the room, from no specific direction.

Speaking caused the manifestation to evaporate; the effort, a breath held to the point of bursting. Solid again in her eyes, Dorian slumped into a chair looking winded.

The lights fluttered back to life. In the distance, aluminum desks banged as Morelli scrambled back to his feet and wailed off down the hallway.

“Tom never did like me.” Dorian glanced after him.

Kirsten giggled. “Well you
were
his T.O.; your comment about him being a hothead kept him in training for an extra three months.”

“He was. Still is.” Dorian folded his arms. “Trying to chase a suspect through a crowded hover lane at 285.”

“Is
that
why you put the patrol craft through a window?”

Dorian cringed. “No, he did that trying to fight me for control. All I wanted to do was slow down to 250.”

“Well you’ve probably just sent him to psych for at least a week.”

Eyebrows fluttering, Dorian leaned back and put a hand on his chin. The thought did not seem to plague his conscience at all.

Captain Eze lowered himself into his chair, pondering, showing no outward affect from seeing Dorian. He nodded once, at something in his head. “So that’s what you meant when you said he died before you met him.”

“Yeah.”

“Kirsten, please. Be careful poking around Rene. Suggestives can be extraordinarily dangerous once they get to his level.”

“Understood, sir.” She got up to leave. “Did you get a whiff of anything from Nine? Think they’ll find him?”

“If they have anything, they aren’t sharing. You think you need another protection detail?”

“Tell him I got it. Just take the car home.” Dorian smiled.

“I think I’ll be okay. Rene doesn’t have the resources of a corporation behind him, and I got a partner who doesn’t sleep.”