I took a moment after I parked outside the Chinese restaurant to check my throat in the mirror. Blotchy purple bruises were already spreading across the front of my neck. Breathing hurt, and the frequent coughing was worse. The rain had washed the sweat off my face, but it couldn’t stop the heavy, slithering feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Shake it off, Escobar. It’s over, you’re alive. Deal with it.
I scowled at the mirror, threw open the car door, and stomped through the rain to the restaurant. Luis’s car was parked askew on the footpath outside. I shouldered through the restaurant doors and beheld the argument going on inside. Luis’ and Chiaki’s backs blocked Priya from my view, but it wasn’t hard to hear her chewing them out. The restaurant had become considerably emptier of patrons since I’d left. The two waitresses were huddled together in the corner, like if they didn’t move no one would notice them there.
“You can’t keep me here,” Priya was saying. “And I don’t care what your boss said. Tell me what’s going on, or get the fuck out of my way.”
“Language, Miss Dasari,” I said as I crossed the room.
Luis and Chiaki both turned to me, looks of relief plain on their faces. Priya took the opportunity to slip between them and head for the door.
I grabbed her arm as she tried to rush past me. “I don’t think so. We need to talk.”
She gave a roar of frustration. I ignored her struggling in my grip as I turned to my investigators. “Good work. Head back to the office. I want that report on the war as soon as you can get it to me. And I want you looking at Volkov’s role as well. And anything you can find me on the handlers.” I paused. “Well, what are you waiting for?”
“Your neck,” Chiaki said. “What happened to you?”
I waved my hand. “Get to work.” I turned my back on them and dragged Priya out to the car.
The handler struggled as I shoved her into the passenger seat.
“Do I have to get my cuffs out again?” I asked.
She sneered but grew still. “What right do you have to keep me—”
I slammed the door in her face and went around to the driver’s side. She was still shouting as I got in and buckled my seatbelt. I turned to her and snarled.
“Sweetheart, shut the fuck up. We’re taking a drive to my office. On the way, we’re going to have a talk. And you’re going to tell me everything you’ve been keeping from me.”
“What are you talking about?”
I started the engine and skidded away from the curb. “You see this?” I jabbed at my neck. “Some rhino just tried to punch my ticket. All because I interrupted him and his pals beating the shit out of your mother.”
She stared. “My…my mother?” Her eyes widened. A hand shot out and snatched hold of my coat. “What happened to my mother?”
I tore her fingers from my coat and threw her hand back at her. “A bunch of thugs just hit your mother’s house. Now, either you’re the unluckiest woman in the world, or they were trying to get to you. Why would they do that?”
Priya stared straight ahead for a moment. Then her gaze snapped back to me. “Oliver. Is my son all right?”
“They’re fine. He hid and called for help. Your mother’s hurt but she’ll be fine.” I didn’t know that for sure, but I didn’t want her getting distracted. “They’re both at the hospital.”
“I have to go to them.”
“Not now. We’re talking.”
“I have to see my family! What if someone comes for them again?” The anger left her voice. I glanced over to see her giving me puppy-dog eyes. “Please, Mr Escobar. Let me go to them.”
I shook my head and gave a mirthless smirk. “Nice try. You’re good at that. ‘Please, Mr Escobar.’”
“Fuck you.”
I grinned, showing her my teeth. “That’s more like it. Look, Security’s with them. They’ll be safe. You, on the other hand, are not safe. You can glare at me all you want. It’s not my fault your poor mother had a goon stomping on her face. That’s down to you. They wanted to get to you. If you want to protect your family, you better start talking.”
“Talking about what? What do you think I know?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “That’s why I’m asking. That’s my job.”
“Well, you’re doing a fantastic job so far.”
Fire roared inside my head. I slammed on the brakes and brought the car to a screaming halt. I jabbed a finger at her. “I nearly got killed protecting your goddamn family. Who were the thugs attacking them?”
“I don’t know.”
“What did they want from you?”
“I don’t know.”
My grip tightened on the steering wheel. Someone behind me honked their horn. I shoved open the door and stuck my head out. “Shut the fuck up!” I yelled. I slammed the door and turned my attention back to Priya. “Are you affiliated with any anti-Volkov organisations?”
“I work here. Of course not.”
“Did you kill Yllia?”
She narrowed her eyes. “No.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I don’t care what you believe,” she said.
I ran my tongue along the tips of my teeth.
“Can I go now?” she asked.
I barked a laugh. “Sweetheart, you ain’t going nowhere.”
~~~
I walked into the office, dragging Priya with me. And got hit by a roar of applause.
My investigators stood up from behind their desks. Several of the Security boys that had been at the Dasari house were lounging around as well, adding their own applause. I stood in stunned silence at the attention.
“There he is.” Lindsey Fischer appeared from behind me, carrying a box full of wrapped sandwiches from the bakery down the road. She dropped the box on a table and slapped me on the shoulder. “Dirty Harry himself.” She spread her arms, addressing the office. “So there he was, minding his own business, when he heard the scream of a damsel in distress. He kicks in the door and goes in with all three guns loaded.” She held up her fists. “Fuckin’ A, Fuckin’ B…” She grabbed her crotch. “…and this one right here.”
The office laughed. I tried to grin along, but the churning in my stomach was starting up again. I pulled at my collar; it was too tight.
“In he goes,” Lindsey continued. “Alone against three bad guys. I bet he wasn’t even afraid, were you, Boss?”
I licked my lips. “I thought I told you to stay on the geeks, Fischer.”
“They’re under control. I left Gordon and a couple of Security guys there to cover for me for half an hour.” She seemed to notice Priya for the first time. “You two sure are spending a lot of time together, huh, Boss?” She grinned.
I tugged Priya over and put her in Lindsey’s hands. “Take her to an interview room. Get her a drink if she wants, but she’s not to leave without my say so.”
Lindsey’s grin faded a little, but she nodded. “Sure. I brought sandwiches. Do you want—?”
“I’m fine,” I said. I glanced at the rest of the office. “Shouldn’t you all be working?”
The smiles slipped off everyone’s faces and their eyes turned back to their desks.
“Are you okay, Boss?” Lindsey asked. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
“I’m not embarrassed.” I looked around the room. “Is Healy back yet?”
“I think he’s down in the tank with one of the bad guys.”
“One of them?”
She nodded. “One’s being taken to hospital and the other….” She slit her throat with her thumb.
I tugged on my collar again. “All right. I’ll be back to talk to Miss Dasari.” I headed for the doors, then turned back when I thought of something. “Did Su-jin find that reporter? What’s his name? Cunningham.”
“Interview Room Two,” Lindsey said.
I waved my thanks and headed downstairs to the interview rooms. The door to room 2 was open. I knocked and entered.
Su-jin was a short woman, but she was no smaller than the man opposite her. William Cunningham had streaks of silver in his dark hair and a nose that looked like someone had bitten a chunk out of it. He was well-dressed in a thin tie and a shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Next to a small pile of folders, a mug of coffee and a vending machine cookie sat on the table in front of him, untouched.
I nodded to Su-jin, then put on my best face and rounded the interview table. “Bill,” I said, shaking his hand. “I’m Jay Escobar, Head Investigator here on the island. Thanks for agreeing to talk to us.”
The smile he gave was guarded. “I’m not sure I’ve agreed to anything yet. You’re the man investigating Yllia’s death?”
“Whose death?” I asked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
An eyebrow rose. “You may have cut communications, but people still talk, Mr Escobar.”
I waved like it didn’t matter. “Jay, please. I’m terribly sorry about the communications. I heard it was a solar flare. Knocked everything right out, if you can believe it.” I put my hand on Su-jin’s shoulder. “Thanks, Su-jin. Go upstairs and grab yourself a sandwich. I’ll take a look at what you’ve got for me in a moment.”
Su-jin didn’t buy my bullshit, but she didn’t argue. “Very well,” she said as she stood up and excused herself. I waited until she was gone, then pushed the door shut behind her and sat down in her seat.
“I’m not at liberty to discuss any possible investigations that may be underway,” I said to Cunningham. “Certainly not with such a dogged reporter as yourself.” I shrugged. “Then again, maybe if you give us a hand with something, maybe I can share a few tidbits with you when we get the phones and Internet fixed.”
“Such as who’s been strangling you?”
I smiled a smile I didn’t feel. “You know, I think you and I are on the same wavelength. You were attached to a cell of the Mayday Protection Front for a time, weren’t you?”
“That’s correct.”
“We’ve got someone in custody here. I’m about to go discuss some things with him. I wonder if maybe you’d like to watch the interview and let me know what you think.”
“What I think?”
I nodded. “Whether or not he could be a member of the MPF or a similar organisation. Any other insights you could offer.”
“You suspect the MPF of killing Yllia? Their mission is to free Maydays, not kill them.”
“Some might say death is a kind of freedom. Not me. I enjoy life too damn much.”
“There are also ethical considerations,” he said. “The MPF let me interview them with the understanding that I wouldn’t identify them to the police.”
“I’m not the police. But I understand. You have your journalistic integrity to consider. Then again, if there really was a dead Mayday on the island, I would think getting an exclusive story on it might be enough to brush aside any ethical concerns. So what do you say, Bill? Care to help us out?”
He considered the offer, but I could tell he’d already made up his mind. Cunningham and I were cut from the same cloth. He could recognise a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as well as I could.
“It would be a pleasure,” he said.
“Fantastic.” I stood. “Let me introduce you to our guest.”
~~~
The tanks were our holding cells in the basement of the building we shared with the Security Division. They were larger and cleaner than most police holding cells I’d seen back on the mainland, mostly because they were so rarely used. Occasionally a Christmas party would get out of hand and Security would put a drunk or two in the tanks until they sobered up. A few months ago one of the administrators’ husbands got thrown in here prior to deportation. The neighbours had reported that he was fond of using his fists to convey the love he had for his family. But this was the first time we’d had an honest-to-God attempted murderer locked up.
I stared at him on the security monitor. The place was wired for sound, but the Security guys told me he hadn’t said a word since they’d locked the door on him. The thug with the ears—the one who’d given me this lovely purple necklace—was in there, perched on the edge of the bunk. His hands were still cuffed behind him. My throat went dry looking at him.
“Are you all right?” Cunningham asked.
I ignored the question, steeling myself. “Do you recognise him?”
“No. But I only saw a handful of MPF members without masks in the time I was with the cell. That leaves another thousand or so more around the world.”
I figured that would be the case, but it was worth a shot. Enough procrastinating. It was time for me to show this big-eared thug who was boss.
“Buzz me in,” I said to the Security guys as I headed for the tank.
“Do you want anyone else in there with you?”
The thought was tempting, but I shook it away. “No. I’ll be fine. Just have someone outside in case it gets ugly and we need to rearrange this guy’s face for him.”
The Security guy nodded and pressed a button on his console. There was a loud buzz. I swallowed, pulled the tank door open, and stepped inside.
The thug kept his eyes firmly straight ahead. I shut the door behind me and planted myself in front of him.
“Remember me?” I asked.
The thug said nothing.
“I have to admit, you nearly had me there,” I said. “But you’re on my turf now. And I don’t take kindly to people trying to strangle me.”
The thug looked away, making a show of looking bored.
I curled my hand into a fist and gave him one across the mouth. It was like hitting a brick wall. The force of the blow sent shockwaves up my hand, all the way to my elbow. The thug dropped from the bunk and hit the ground.
“Didn’t your mum ever tell you to respect authority?” I asked as I massaged my knuckles.
“Go fuck yourself.”
I stomped on his face. Blood spurted from his nose. I wiped my shoe clean on his shirt.
“Here’s the thing,” I said as I kicked him in the gut. “I’m not a nice guy. You’ve got no rights here. You want to call a lawyer? You want Amnesty International to come along and stop me from hurting you? Tough. I’m a company man. You got my attention. That means you got the attention of Volkov Entertainment Incorporated. It’s something you’ll regret.” I put my hand in my pocket and touched my e-cigarette, but I didn’t draw it. “What’s your name, friend?”
He groaned and spluttered at the blood streaming down his face. I bent down and grabbed his broken nose between my thumb and forefinger, wiggling it back and forth.
“Wakey wakey.” I raised my voice so he’d hear me over his moaning. “Name.”
“Fuck. Craig Hall.”
I released his nose. “Well, Craig, I’ve got a few questions for you. The faster you answer them, the sooner I’ll be out of here. How’s that sound?”
He spat a glob of chunky blood onto the floor and glared at me.
“Great,” I said. “Tell me, why were you and your buddies beating up that poor woman. Did she call you names?”
“It wasn’t about her.”
“I already guessed that. You were after Priya Dasari. Why?”
He scowled. “She’s a slaver. What other reason do we need?”
“Nice try. I suppose it was a coincidence that you attacked her family on the day of Yllia’s death?”
He shrugged, or tried as best he could while handcuffed and lying on the floor.
“Not a talkative one, are you?” I said.
I lined up my shot and booted him right in the solar plexus. He pulled himself into a fetal position, eyes bugging out. As he gasped for breath that wouldn’t come, I bent back down and grabbed him by the chin. His skin was sticky with sweat and blood.
“That’s what it feels like to not be able to breathe, you piece of shit. You thought you could kill me. Me?” I snarled at him. “No. You’re mine now. You hear me? You’re mine. If you cooperate, maybe I’ll go easy on you. Maybe we can come to an arrangement. If not, well….” I slugged him in the face again. “So are you going to tell me what I want to know?”
“All right!” he gasped. “Stop. Jesus. If I tell you, will you let me go?”
“Maybe. When this is over.”
He looked unsure. But he didn’t have many options. “All right,” he said. “He told us Dasari was the key to freedom for the Maydays.”
Now we were getting somewhere. “You’re MPF?” I asked.
“Yes. Well, not anymore. Ex. There was a split.”
“How sad. Now, Craig, this is very important. Who told you to go after Dasari?”
“I don’t know his name. He wasn’t that stupid.”
“He can’t have been that smart if he hired you,” I said. “Why should I believe you?”
“It’s the truth. And he didn’t hire us. He runs our faction. But he’s careful. We’re kept separated.”
“Sleeper cells,” I said.
He nodded,. “Exactly.”
I exhaled loudly. “So what can you tell me?”
He hesitated. I raised my fist again.
“Wait,” he said. “I think he’s on the island.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Things he said. Things you couldn’t know unless you were here. Staff activities, specific details about the weather, things like that.”
Well, it was a start. “How does he contact you?”
“Email. The last message we got before the Internet went down was to destroy anything incriminating and find Dasari.”
“And do what with her?”
“Keep her under wraps until we were contacted.”
I growled. “I’ll find out if you’re lying, Craig.”
“I’m not lying.”
“What’s so special about Dasari?”
“I don’t know. He never said.”
I watched his eyes. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”
“I…I don’t know. But I think Dasari wasn’t really the important one.”
“Then who was?”
“Yllia.”
I sat back on my heels. Were they trying to get their hands on Priya to get Yllia out of Volkov’s control? Maybe they thought if they threatened Priya’s family, they could make her their own personal puppet master. But that didn’t make any sense. Why wait until Yllia was dead?
Nevertheless, it made me nervous. As soon as we were done here I’d get security boosted at Psi Division and find out what other handlers had family on the island. If there were more thugs on the island, they might try the same thing again with someone else. Imagine if they managed to get their hands on Tempest’s handler. It could be devastating.
I stood and stared at Hall. I could feel my collar scraping against the bruises on my neck. I wanted to keep going. I wanted to make him hurt some more for what he tried to do to me. But I had a job to do.
“Thanks, Craig,” I said. “You’ve been a big help. Enjoy your stay.”
It took all my strength to turn away. I opened the door and left him lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood.
~~~
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