Juliet was just finishing the rather arduous task of putting on her FlexPlate body armor, alone in her room on the gunship, when Frida called. She selected the call on her AUI, and the redhead’s face appeared in a small window. “Hey, Lucky.”
Juliet smiled. “Update already?”
“Yeah, I’m in the parking structure at the port. I emptied the locker, brought it back here, and went through it, and I just wanted to let you know I just had a long call with the boss.” Juliet’s expression must have betrayed some uncertainty because Frida waved a hand and said, “It’s good news. He’s excited and, in fact, pleased that you reached out to us for help. He wants to be a part of it.”
“Yeah?” Juliet felt some tension leaving her shoulders—she’d harbored some dread that he’d call his team home and refuse to let them get involved in the whole mess.
“Yeah. So, in the locker . . .” When she trailed off, apparently trying to choose her words carefully, Juliet frowned, noting that Frida wasn’t making eye contact.
“Spit it out, Frida.”
“Right. There were a few offline bit-lockers. None were locked, which is weird, but maybe that’s just the way these kinds of criminals operate. Maybe they didn’t want to re-encode the chips after they cracked them with the dead guy’s biometrics. Anyway, something like eighty-k bits are on ‘em.”
“Not exactly small change.”
“Nope. I also found the list of dirty corpo-sec officers—eighteen of them, along with the names of some of the businesses they’ve been shaking down in their little, off-the-books protection racket.”
“What about the other operations, like the chop shop in the industrial domes?”
Frida nodded. “Yep. Got a list of six similar operations in the city.”
Juliet could see Frida was still avoiding eye contact, still mulling her words over longer than usual. “So? Why do I feel like you’re trying to avoid saying something?”
Frida finally looked into the camera. “Well, I don’t want to insult you, all right? Just keep an open mind, yeah?”
Juliet laughed and shook her head. “Relax, Frida. Out with it!”
“Well, the boss and I had some ideas to, um, improve on your plan. I mean, I guess plan is the right word, but it’s pretty loose, wouldn’t you say? Lots of room for things to go sideways . . .”
“Ah. Got it. My plan was too half-assed.” Juliet gave Frida a half grin, tilting her head. “I guess I should be thankful you waited until after the meeting to point out the flaws.”
“This isn’t about me trying to insult you! I’m trying to say we had some ideas and wanted to run them by you. It’s not exactly your fault you don’t know about our resources, nor is it your fault you don’t have a couple of decades of experience working with creeps like this, right? Can I go ahead?”
Juliet nodded and leaned back, trying to let go of the bristling pride that, really, wasn’t something she usually felt, especially when she knew damn well she was in over her head. “Yeah, I’m listening.”
“First, we can utilize the team better than this. Hawkins and Lee are perfectly capable of nabbing that LCS lieutenant. That frees up the others, you included, for the first part of Tanaka’s idea.”
“His idea?”
“Well, you said so yourself—Luna City is dirty, just like every other city, but there’s one city where Tanaka owns dirt on most of the big-wigs in the judicial system.”
“New Atlas?”
“That’s right. Look at it this way: Your plan’s good as far as dealing with Life-Ultra goes. When we figure out who their employees are who are involved in the organ harvesting business, they’re going to put them in a deep hole and pay us nicely so they can smile for the public and say, ‘Look at how good we are, cleaning up our own mess.’ They won’t do much about the LCS officers, though, will they? Maybe they’ll try to force some prosecutions, but I promise you, it’ll just be a few low-end street cops who take the fall, guys like Evan Lopez.”
“Yeah. I mean, he deserves some jail time, Frida. He might have been pressured into this nastiness, but he still stood by while people were cut up for parts in his apartment. He still lured some of them there. I’m sure of it.”
“Sure, but don’t you want all of them to pay?”
“Like I said,” Juliet sighed, smiling in resignation, “I’m listening.”
Frida smiled, too, and Juliet could see she was trying hard to be gentle with her feedback. “If we can show that these dirty LCS employees harmed any New Atlas citizen, directly or indirectly, Tanaka believes he can get warrants and bounties issued out of New Atlas for the whole racket.”
“That . . .” Juliet’s mind jumped around from organ harvesting to business shakedowns to supporting illegal operations like the one in the industrial dome. “That shouldn’t be a problem.” She grinned at the idea. “We really are going to make a fat payday, aren’t we?”
“Depends on the evidence we can get out of the LCS lieutenant. What was his name? Walter Channing? Anyway, yeah, if we can tie him or any of the creeps on that list to things like murder or kidnapping, heck, even theft if the losses are high enough, the bounties will start to stack up.”
Juliet couldn’t help chuckling. “Kinda funny that we’re kidnapping a guy to get evidence of his crimes so we can get a bounty issued on him.”
“If we didn’t know he was a scumbag, yeah, it would be dirty of us. Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire, Lucky.”
“Damn. Just yesterday, weren’t we fighting about how it wasn’t just about money? Now you’re schooling me on how to deal with bad guys and make a killing while we’re at it. You’re a smart chick, you know that, Frida?” Juliet loved how her compliment brought a rosy hue to Frida’s cheeks.
“It’s nothing. You’d have thought of all this if you knew about Tanaka’s contacts on New Atlas.”
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“Well, I’m ready to do my part. What’s first?”
“First, we give Lee and Hawkins the go-ahead to capture Channing. They’ll bring him to the storage unit where you stowed your operator prisoners. Speaking of that, I don’t suppose you’ve got a copy of that software you put into their PAIs, do you? It’d make things a lot easier.”
Juliet rubbed her temple, suddenly feeling the exhaustion of too little sleep. After a few seconds, she nodded. “Um, I do, but it’s got a built-in self-destruct, so it’s a one-time use, all right? I can’t risk certain old friends getting ahold of that code.”
“Oh really? Well, maybe you can tell me that story someday. Anyway, that’ll help a lot. While Hawkins and Lee are handling that situation, we might as well get you and Leo in position to infiltrate Life-Ultra.”
“What? Why? Aren’t we just bringing them the dirt we get from Channing?”
“We’ll get dirt from him and maybe some evidence, but it’ll sting a lot more if we can corroborate things inside the corporate office. I’m working on IDs for you two. He’s going to be a visiting exec from their Earth-based HQ, and you’ll be his security detail. Go ahead and get geared up to look the part.” Juliet opened her mouth to ask where to meet Leo, but Frida anticipated a different question. She hurriedly added, “I would have made you the exec, but Leo’s done this role a dozen times, and I have some IDs for him that are pretty close to perfect already.”
“It’s fine. I’m happy to play the muscle.” Juliet looked at the time on her AUI. “We gonna do this tonight? Kinda weird for an exec to visit on a Saturday night, yeah?”
“Weird, but it’ll throw them off their game. Their top security will be off duty. Don’t worry; Leo will capitalize on the situation. Can you meet him downtown? He’s at our HQ. Tanaka wants to talk to you, too.”
“Yeah. Give me five minutes, then I’m en route.”
“Great. Setting up op-comms.” Juliet saw an invite to join a group communication channel and accepted it. The whole thing reminded her of her time with Grave, but she forced her mind to stay in the present. Frida spoke again, but this time, her name in the channel lit up, “Comm check.”
“Heard,” Juliet replied.
Frida nodded. “Great.”
Suddenly, Leo’s name lit up, “Yo, yo. I’m at HQ. You coming, Lucky?”
“On my way.”
“Roger.”
Frida smiled on her vid call, and this time, when she spoke, her name on the comm channel didn’t flash. “He’s so excited to be working again. You’re good with everything?”
“Yeah, I’m good.” Angel knew Juliet didn’t want her voice to go through comms, so only Frida heard her. “Just keep me updated on everything, all right?”
“Of course I will.” Frida nodded, her lips pressed in a firm line, her eyes serious. “Ending this call. I’ll be in touch.”
“Bye.” Juliet watched the window wink out, then said, “You still have eyes on her PAI, right?”
“Yes,” Angel replied, though her tone was a little hesitant.
“So, you heard her conversation with Tanaka?”
“I did, but I knew she was going to call you, so I didn’t think you’d want me to report my snooping. You told me only if something was really important . . .”
“No, that’s fine. I was just wondering if it went the way she said. Was Tanaka really ‘excited’ about the idea?”
“He truly seemed to be. I think he views this as another way to ‘help’ you, and, as you know, that seems to be the purpose he’s given his life at the moment. I believe our hope that he’ll help organize action against WBD is beginning to look like a reality.”
Juliet took a deep breath and blew it out, then she stood and started strapping on her weapons. She was going to carry her Texan, of course, a pair of vibroblades and her needler. She also figured that since she was playing escort to a “corpo exec,” she’d carry her Bosch & Royal automatic “polyblast” shotgun. She might as well look ready to take on a kill squad. With that in mind, she also put on her combat helmet, leaving it the default baby blue so the combat scars clearly showed. Everything else looked sleek enough, she figured, for a little display of style in the color of her helmet. “Well, and my quick-draw getup.”
“Hmm?” Angel asked, for once stumped by Juliet’s mutterings.
“Just trying to convince myself I look professional enough with my helmet blue like this. I guess I can ask Leo what he thinks.”
“I think you’ll look like a hired merc who’s seen plenty of action—probably something most execs would pay extra for.”
Juliet lifted her visor and laughed. “I love how you always find a way to support me, Angel.”
“What else would I do?”
“Well, for the record, I’ve got your back too.” Decked in weapons and armor, with her data deck tucked into a convenient pocket under the armor plate on her left thigh, Juliet walked out of the gunship. Bennet had been gone when she arrived to get geared up, and Aya hadn’t been around either. She figured the salvage tech was still in the city, either with Doctor Ladia or getting dinner after her appointment. In a sudden bout of paranoia, she said, “Can you get ahold of Aya? Make sure she’s all right?”
Angel projected a thumbs up on her AUI, and Juliet locked up and got into the waiting cab. “Excuse me, Operator XR713-004. Please provide licensure for the firearms currently on your person.” Juliet sighed, knowing full well that Angel would take care of it. Seconds later, the cab began moving, and the limited AI said, “Received, thank you.”
“I miss my bike.”
“It hasn’t sent any reports of anyone tampering with it. I think you’ll be in the clear to collect it on Monday.”
“Good.”
“By the way, Aya responded; she’s still with Doctor Ladia.”
“Huh. Not crazy, I guess. Maybe she’s getting the hand replacement.” Against all reason, the idea of removing a healthy limb to replace it with a cybernetic one still gave Juliet pause. Of course, she’d done so herself, but it had been a bit of an extreme case. Putting that aside, she’d recently had Angel replace her very healthy, perfectly good lungs, so she wasn’t one to talk. Almost everyone had retinal implants, which couldn’t be done without altering and sometimes removing healthy retinal cells. Plenty of other people, her included, had removed their eyes completely for full ocular implants. Nevertheless, she hoped Aya didn’t suffer any regrets. She hoped she’d drop the bits required to get a prosthetic she was happy with. “Can you message Ladia and remind her we offered to, uh, supplement Aya’s funds if she’s settling for anything less than optimal?”
“Done.”
Juliet rode quietly for a while after that, her mind reviewing everything that had happened since she ran into the industrial dome burglars that night with Aya and Bennet. Of course, that got her thinking about Sergeant Hines, and she decided to try to reach out again. To her surprise, he took the call almost immediately. “Lucky?”
Juliet sat up straight, her drowsiness rapidly fading. “Yeah, it’s me. Where the hell have you been? I thought they got you.”
“No such luck!” he laughed. “I had to smash my PAI and was dead to the net while I picked up a new one. Only got the old address forwarding through an encryption service about an hour ago. Man, I’m glad to hear from you! You know how out of the loop I am? I’m deep in a hole, kid. What’s the story? You get anything out of Lopez?”
“You could say that. You work with some dirty, dirty people, Hines.”
“Boy, do I know it! They almost got me—if I hadn’t had a security drone outside my motel, watching the stairs, I’d be hamburger. Some kind of assassin team slipped in and put a high-tech, adhesive claymore on my door. Didn’t knock or anything. Just put the bomb on the doorjamb with a smart, optical trigger on the wall opposite the door. If I’d walked through, they would’ve had to identify me by my toe prints.”
“Angel, send him pics of Asia and Comet,” Juliet subvocalized, then aloud asked, “You received those images?”
“Yeah, just a sec.” His eyes shifted to the side. “That’s them!”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about those particular killers. I’ve got ‘em locked up.” Juliet paused, wondering how much to tell him. Finally, she decided the less he knew that could mess up the operation, the better. “Listen: I’ve got an operation going to shut your dirty co-workers down. It’s going take a couple of days before you’re in the clear, so sit tight.”
“I can help, Lucky!”
Juliet shook her head. “Uh-uh. I’ve got names, I’ve got some evidence, but I’m gathering more. For now, I think it’s best you keep your head down; we’re going to need someone on the inside to finish cleaning things up after we get done taking out the bad guys.”
“Taking ‘em out? You’re not . . .”
“Not like that. We’re going to try to play this as legit as possible. I’m not gonna tell you anything, though, ‘cause as much as I like you, Hines, I’m still afraid they might get their hands on you. Probably a good idea you don’t tell me where you are, either.” Juliet wasn’t really worried that she’d give Hines up, but she figured it would help soothe his pride if he was bothered that she wouldn’t tell him what her plan was.
He frowned, and Juliet noted the dark circles under his eyes, the several days' worth of extra stubble, and the generally dog-tired look of the guy. “I guess I get it. Keep me updated as much as you can, will you? I think I’m secure in my current spot. Couldn’t believe those guys found me with my old PAI. I guess the department put trackers in it that I didn’t know about.”
Juliet snorted. “Doesn’t surprise me. I think a lot of big corps do that.”
“You really think I can poke my head out after a couple of days?”
“Yeah. I think so. We might not have everything cleaned up, but enough that you can bet the people after you will have bigger problems.” Juliet smiled and added, “Keep your chin up, Hines. You’ll be all right. I’m on this.”
“All right. Goddamn, I’m glad I met you before all this shit hit the fan.” He blew out a heavy breath and nodded. “Please keep me up to date. Hines out.” He cut the call, and Juliet smiled. He might be an old corpo-sec officer, but it felt good to remember she was helping someone. Images of the organ harvesting room in Lopez’s spare bedroom flashed through her mind, and she reminded herself that she was helping a lot more than just Hines.
She watched her mini-map as the green dot of her cab rapidly approached her destination and got ready, clipping her shotgun back to its harness. As soon as the vehicle pulled up to the elevator bank in the underground parking structure, she hopped out, scanning around like she’d just been dumped in a combat zone. Nothing moved; most of the businesses in the building above would be closed at that hour on a Saturday night. She stepped into the elevator and selected Tanaka’s floor. “I’m in the elevator,” she announced, trusting Angel to send it through comms.
Applebaum replied, “Great. I’m almost ready.”
Frida chimed in, “I have your IDs almost done. Leo’s a vice president of quality control, and he’s here to perform a surprise inspection. Tanaka called in a couple of favors Earthside, and we’ve got a fake department listing at Life-Ultra’s corporate HQ in Toronto. If the locals try to follow up on his credentials, the lines will ring through to me.”
Juliet whistled. “Seriously? Pretty impressive, Frida.”
“It’s not me! Tanaka’s got a fixer who owes him favors in about twenty-seven different cities.” Something about the specific number made the boast all the more credible to Juliet.
“Well, whatever. It's pretty cool you guys got all this set up so fast.” Juliet watched the elevator floor numbers zoom by, and when it stopped and the doors opened, she stepped out, scanning the dimly lit hallway. She walked down to Tanaka’s offices and, she supposed, his home. When she stepped into the dark reception area, Leo came out of Tanaka’s office at the same time. His eyes widened, and he turned and slammed the door. Juliet laughed, and Angel sent it through comms. A second later, he poked his head back through the door.
“Jesus Christ!” he cried, stepping out into the reception area. “Who ordered the shock trooper?”