It hadn’t taken long to get Al Driscol to turn on his boss; a few threats of serious prison time accompanied by a bit of a roughing up, and he spilled his guts. Afterward Troy and Jimmy regrouped with Sargent Hanson and the others back at the Citadel. With Al en toe, they headed back out to capture the ringleader behind the destruction of the warehouses and the theft of George’s state document. According to Al’s information, the big cheese behind it all was Karl Raven, the distinguished resistance general from the war.
Troy could hardly believe it. “If you’ve been lying to us—“
“I aint,” Al said sullenly. “I done told you it’s true.”
“We’ll see,” Jimmy said as they cruised smoothly through the night above the north district of Haven. They made sure to leave the gondola windows open to let in the cool breeze. It was a welcome relief during the hot summer.
The club was located across the road a few hundred paces from the beach, its large blue neon sign flashing. There was a white colonnade at its front and scores of fancy automobiles, half of them breezers, parked around the structure. The Blue Lady nightclub was open for patronage.
“Pretty fancy digs,” Troy said. “Too bad a criminal owns the place or else we could bring our ladies over for a shuffle. A double date, you know?”
On the terraced roof was a massive statue of Lady Haven; she was a national symbol of the Republic of Haven and a mark of freedom and opposition against the Community Collective of Cities. The Lady Haven statue protruded through the roof from the waist up, cradling the club’s bright crystalline skylight in her arms.
Jimmy let out a whistle. “You can say that again.”
Troy regarded Sargent Hanson in his tan uniform. He was a slight man with a wiry build. “You and your boys ready?”
“All set.”
“What about our reinforcements?”
“Good to go, Mr. Halloway.”
“Swell. If Raven tries to escape using that airship on the roof, let Captain Cogs handle pursuit. You just be ready to pick us up.” Hanson nodded as officer Dales made to land The Water Angel behind a thick patch of tall palm trees. If Karl Raven had any lookouts, the airship would be hard to spot silhouetted only by the blue haze of Ouna, the first of the moons to rise during this time of year, leaving the night sky still relatively dark.
#
The two PIs crossed the patch of palms and then the street where they were admitted into the night club by a door man in a fancy black jacket and white gloves. Then they were subjected to a gun search in a private room before they were allowed to enter the club proper where patrons shuffled and frolicked about to a live band on the dance floor below the robed legs of the Lady Haven statue. She looked down upon them through the skylight, her hands forming an arc at the north face.
Majestic, Troy thought, feeling a sense of pride and patriotism upon seeing the angelic lady looking down on him. He didn’t like seeing her here, though. Karl Raven, he thought. General for the resistance, fighter for freedom. Thug? Troy shook his head and sighed.
Jimmy glanced about like a tourist as they skirted around the packed dancing floor amidst trumpeters, drummers, and a pianist with a vocalist at its side. “There must be five hundred people here tonight!”
“I can’t believe I’ve never bothered coming here,” Troy said, feeling palpably excited at the spirited activity all around them. He dodged a waiter and continued toward the back of the restaurant area where a packed bar was located. Above the myriad drinks lined up on the back shelves were various paintings displaying pieces of Haven’s history during the break off from the Community Collective of Cities on both sides of the separated the bar. At its center was a wide flight of marble stairs with a red runner. It split into a double balustrade leading to a raised platform that framed the walls of the entire club where patrons commingled, laughing, conversing and having a grand old time.
“I feel like I’ve inhaled at least a cigar’s worth of smoke already,” Jimmy said.
Troy laughed as they made their way to the second level, and then to the elevator located inside the statue, her eyes alight with activity.
“So where do you think Raven’s at?”
Whether the head was a personal office for the big cheese or just a fancy lounge for the more important club members, Troy didn’t know, but he was willing to bet berries on the former. “Pretty sure he’s up there.”
After exiting the elevator, Troy and Jimmy surprised the two baby grands guarding the lobby. As they lay slumped against the wall, Troy reached into their jackets and removed their pistols. He handed one to Jimmy. “Aright, time to interrupt this blow.”
On three they kicked the doors open, lurched into the lounge with their revolvers tucked close to their chests. All conversation abruptly ceased.
The two guards at the side of Raven’s desk stirred. “Don’t even think about it!” Jimmy bellowed. “Now…hands up.” The guards complied, as well as the two guests on the sofas, but the General didn’t move a muscle. “You too, Raven, before I plug you.”
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Karl Raven, a thin man with grey-blonde hair and a clean shaven face, slowly raised his hands above the desk. “What is this about?” he asked, voice deep and gruff, though his demeanor was calm. “Do you have a warrant for this intrusion?”
So, the old boy assumed they were badges and not competition. Good indication he had criminal dealings, Troy thought. He glanced about the room, making sure everything was swell, his eyes watchful of the short unassuming fella sitting to his left. To his right was an attractive woman lounging on one of the two sofas in a striking red dress. Now that’s a billboard, he thought. “Sure do,” he said. He moved forward and slapped the warrant onto the desk. “You are hereby under arrest Mr. Raven, under charges of attempted assassination of a state official, the theft of confidential state documents, and conspiring to commit unrest and anarchy within the City of Haven.”
Karl briefly glanced at the warrant, a look of bemusement on his face as he threaded his fingers. “These are nothing more than wild accusations. Have any proof?”
“We got plenty,” Troy said. “Your boy Al ratted on you. Guess that’s what you get for sending your sandwich maker to do your dirty business.”
“He’s a material witness,” Jimmy added.
“I didn’t send him,” Karl muttered. He paused, contemplative. After a moment he glanced at the warrant and chuckled.
Troy frowned. “Somethin’ funny?”
“I employ half the people in Haven. Not to mention this city won its independence because of me. Who do you think you are, barging into my private office like this?”
“Don’t make this difficult,” Jimmy said. “You’re coming, General, whether you want to or not.”
Karl crossed his arms. “I don’t think so.”
“We got the guns, sir,” Troy said, almost feeling guilty. Everyone looked up to this man after the war, including Troy. The old boy was a damn hero. Troy had even served in his regiment, but he doubted the General remembered him.
Karl tilted his head slightly. “You look confused.”
“I was just thinkin’ you’ve come down quite a few notches since the war.”
Karl pushed his chair back, stood up firmly. “Is that what you think, Captain?”
Troy frowned. Did Karl know him?
“Yes, Captain Halloway. I recall you, son. You were a good soldier. Good leader.” He smiled, a look of paternal pride crossing his face. “I’m just surprised it’s you here, is all.” Then the General opened a drawer and slapped the file onto his desk, blowing the warrant off onto the carpet. He smirked. “You’ll never guess what’s in here.” He moved to open the folder stamped CONFIDENTIAL.
Jimmy shook his head, nudged his pistol emphatically. “Nuh-uh.”
“I’ve already seen what’s in it, idiot,” Karl said with a growl. “Do you usually keep such dim-witted company around you, Mr. Halloway?”
Troy sighed. “Just hand it over.”
Karl ignored the order, and with a raised eyebrow opened the file. “Interesting,” he said curiously, “that the Mayor would want to flood Haven with so many XuiGuani foreigners... It seems to me he’s building a demographic large enough to give him a new voter base to cling to so he can stay in office. What’s more interesting is that he plans to repeal Haven’s anti-slavery laws. Don’t you think so?”
“What is this funny business?” Jimmy said, snatching the document out of Karl’s hands. After a moment he quietly muttered a curse.
Troy leaned over his partner’s shoulder and read what the document outlined and nearly choked. There was the Mayor’s signature all right, followed by the four District Chiefs, and then the High Cleric of XuiGuan at the bottom. Realizing he had been holding his breath, Troy breathed in deeply.
“It’s actually quite ingenious,” the General said, “the Mayor, I mean…disguising his political corruption in plain sight. All under the false pretense that what he’s been doing has been some kind of charity to the XuiGuani people.”
It was a trick like Jimmy said. Had to be. “Enough. Mr. Raven, I’m taking you in.”
Karl thrust out a hand at the file. “Mayor Maveraux is a damned traitor. You’ve just seen the evidence for yourself!”
“I don’t know what this is,” Troy said coolly, “but I’m certain we’ll get to the bottom of it. After I take you in.”
Karl scoffed. “Sure, kid.” He looked past Troy, nodded toward his people.
The PI was taken aback when he realized Karl’s guests had pistols trained on him and Jimmy. The woman in the red dress was still lounging on the sofa like a cat, a silvery two-shot holdout pistol with an ivory grip directed at his stomach. Her blasé attitude was irritating. “She your moll?” Troy asked, thrusting his chin toward her. She smirked, but the General didn’t respond to the antagonism.
Troy knew he should have marched in here with a squad of officers from the get go, but he hadn’t wanted to tip the General off.
“Damn,” Jimmy said as they were disarmed. Karl walked around his desk and calmly took the file from him.
“You know as well as I do what’s going on here,” Karl said. “Why do you think I hit those warehouses?”
Troy had no answer.
“If there’s no food for the refugees, they’ll have to be sent back to their own country where they can enslave each other to their heart’s content. Surely you can understand why I’m doing this?”
Troy grit his teeth, feeling like a schoolboy being disciplined. Except the General was wrong.
The old man sighed. “Get the carpet up.” His guards exposed a hatch with a ladder leading down a narrow passage. “You remember the good old days when the Community army was hunting us down?”
It was funny how Troy remembered those days as the ‘good old days,’ too, kicking himself for not expecting this secret escape hatch. Cogs’ backup was useless now since there was no way to tell where that tunnel exited. “I should have known you’d have a way to rabbit out of here.”
Karl chuckled. “You know,” he said, a tenuous question in his tone, “you could join me. There’s a fight coming for the future of this city, and it’s not far off. You’re a good soldier. I could use you, son.”
“I’ve already been through one revolution. It seems, General, that you haven’t been able to put the good old days, behind you.”
“The Mayor has the Haven PD and the Citadel Guard in his pocket,” Karl countered. ”If he were confronted, do you think he’d just stand idly by and allow himself to be taken away for pending trial and execution?”
“So why steal the file?” Jimmy asked. “Is it your justification? Fodder for the public after your successful coup?”
Karl smiled. “Not exactly. But you might be on to something, there. Perhaps you’re not as stupid as I thought.”
“I’m not a gangster,” Troy said. “I believe in democracy.”
“Democracy,” Karl replied, looking dangerous, “doesn’t always work. You know that from personal experience, Mr. Halloway. And Maveraux is a gangster. But fine. I get it. You want the democratic freedom to vote away your freedom.” He turned to his guards. “Tie them up and make sure you seal the hatch behind you on your way down.”
The crazy old soldier was seeing enemies where there weren’t any, Troy thought. Wasn’t he? This was screwy.