Deep Yellow (17 page)

"Sergeant Ritsma,
Laser Team 2, ma'am. Any updates?"

"Hello, sergeant. No
updates. Need to send in comms and signal drones. Comms have
malfunctioned. They can be a bit tricky in the deeper levels."

"Ma'am." The sergeant
went back to the transporter from which several armoured officers
appeared, carrying the largest laser rifles Brell had seen for some
time. Sergeant Ritsma waved his hands about, and a balding, stooped
male appeared. He had short stumps for teeth, three hairs on his
head, and wore a stained blue jump suit. Not the usual type of
technician that rode with the Laser Teams. However, he immediately
threw two drones in the air, watched as they hovered, then flicked
on his display screen, all the time smiling with his toothy
grin.

"Worm. Standby."

Worm nodded his head.
The team stood by waiting for a briefing.

"Ma'am, ready to send
down the drones." Then he said, "Don't worry about Worm, he doesn't
get out much but he is our best technician."

"Thank you sergeant.
Let's do it."

Sergeant Ritsma nodded
to Worm, and the drones flew off towards the underground
entranceway. Brell took up a position behind Worm with the
sergeant. A small crowd of onlookers started to gather; an officer
told them to move away.

"Control, we are
sending in the drones, follow us through," Brell said. She knew the
control room had the ability to review the images in a calmer
environment.

Within a short time,
the drones descended the emergency stairs. They were dimly lit,
wide concrete steps, the underground floor level number appearing
at each level.

"Level 3. Place signal
booster," the sergeant said.

Worm moved his little
finger and the signal drone hovered in the top of the stairwell,
out of arm’s reach. He manoeuvred the camera drone around to check
the signal booster stayed in its position. The camera then
continued down to level 5.

"Pod 122," Brell said.
Worm nodded.

It was a long
brightly-lit corridor, punctuated by solid metal doors on each
side. A haze of smoke could be seen further along the corridor as
the drone flew past Pod 104.

"Stop. Hover and zoom.
Heat scanner," Brell said.

The images zoomed into
the smoke; the heat signal of one person lying on the ground
appeared.

"Inspector, some
verbal calls have just come through. The couple in 122 are a male
and female who often argue, believed drugs involved. They have a
child. All kicked off when the Corps arrived. Sounds of laser fire
confirmed. Announcement made for all people to stay behind their
doors for safety."

"Received," Brell
said.

The drone continued
and started entering the smoke. It slowly hovered past Pod 118,
then 120. The heat signal showed the person lying outside Pod
122.

"ID shows it as
Corpsman Drenne. No sign of Corpswoman Moyu. Check up the corridor
Worm beyond the smoke.” Sergeant Ritsma paused watching Worms
screens. “Okay, nothing there. Back to Pod 122 and wait. The door
is shut, presumed locked."

"Sergeant, get your
tech and officers ready. We're going to affect an entry as soon as
possible," Brell said.

"Yes, ma'am."

The sergeant went off
to brief his team now that they had an idea of what equipment to
take. Brell knew from previous incidents with the Laser Teams
things didn't always turn out that smoothly. They would arrive,
wander around the area posturing with their guns for a few minutes,
then run in and cause chaos. More often than not, they would have
to send someone back for more equipment. Once Brell watched,
shaking her head, as they all stood looking at each other because
someone had forgotten the door puncher.

***

"Ready, Worm,"
Sergeant Ritsma said.

Brell crouched behind
the laser team, twenty-five metres from Pod 122. As the smoke
cleared, she saw the Corpsman lying on the ground, unmoving. She
had placed the Medicos back by the sub level stairs; as they were
not combat trained.

"Worm, fire. Let's
go."

There was a sudden,
loud
p-zap
and burst of dust as the wide beam lasers emitted
from the drone fragmented the door. A Laser Team member ran up to
the prone Corpsman whilst the others stormed through the door.
Brell, seeing that emergency aid was being administered, went
inside the front door. It was a basic sub-level dwelling pod,
plastic steel construction showing signs of decay. The front door
led into a small living room with kitchenette and three closed
doors. These were for the regulation two bedrooms and privy. One of
the living room walls had a full-size display screen showing images
of sunny vistas. The architect called it “bringing the outside,
in.” There was a good chance that the architect did not choose to
live in one of these pods, five levels below ground with recycled
air.

Apart from the bloody
mess on the floor, there was an overpowering smell of scorched
human flesh from laser fire. The sergeant crouched by one of the
bedroom doors waving for his team to be quiet. Brell also saw the
bare feet of someone lying behind one of the kitchenette cupboards.
A nearby officer looked at her and shook his head; the person had
presumably been fatally injured.

The other bedroom door
was open. Glancing inside, Brell saw a young girl talking to an
officer, her face shocked and tearful. A picture of a white equus
with two foals hung on the wall. She looked up at Brell, who smiled
and waved. The girl smiled back. What must she make of us lot
running around in armour, let alone of what she has witnessed here?
It had all the signs of a domestic incident; officers called, tried
to talk to the couple, the male became stressed, cornered, and
ended up firing at everyone. Their daughter, thankfully, had run
into her bedroom. She will need to be taken outside before any
firing.

Back in the living
room, it was silent except for the drone hovering about, scanning
and capturing everything for the control room evidential
records.

"This is Sergeant
Ritsma Police Corps, put down any weapons, decease from violence,
and come to the door," the sergeant shouted at the closed door.

Brell watched as he
glanced at his wrist screen, made some secure comms, and then
glanced back at his screen. The drone should be able to scan inside
the room, as the walls were so thin. A team member moved forward,
reached for a small device from a belt pouch, and screwed it into
the wall.

Brell had no option
but to keep back; her armour and weaponry did not match the Laser
Team’s equipment. Also, tactics were best left in the hands of the
team leader. She had not seen him before, but he appeared to know
what he was doing. Makes a change.

Muffled shouting and
swearing came from inside the room.

The sergeant still
crouching, shuffled back from the bedroom door, indicating for
Brell to join him in the corridor. The Medicos were working on the
Corpsman; she was relieved when their scanners showed signs of
life.

"Ma'am. We placed a
small probe in the wall to double check. One male and the
Corpswoman inside. They are sitting on the bed, backs against the
wall facing forwards towards the door. He has an arm around her
neck in a tight grip, whilst holding a laser pistol with his free
hand. She is subdued, possibly unconscious, blood running from her
nose.”

"Tactical options?"
Brell said.

"Wait it out, storm
in, bang pellets, etc."

"He's seriously
injured a Corpsman, the woman in the living room is probably dead,
and he's not going to want to come out, is he?"

The sergeant paused.
Brell knew that he wanted the reassurance of an Inspector's
authority before committing his team. She knew the sergeant's look;
she used to do it herself, to see if the Inspector was capable of
making a decision. If she had not been there, there may have been a
quick comms conversation with the control room Inspector. Whether
he or she would have been given a correct situation report was
another matter. However, Brell was there, time was of the essence,
and she felt the weight of rank on her shoulders. Soon it would all
be over, one way or another and when back in her quarters, she
could have a cool intox just to settle herself. She snapped back to
it.

"Corpswoman safety is
our first priority. The male is secondary," she said.

Glancing down, she
watched the Medicos puffing something into the Corpsman's face and
laser spraying a wound. She scratched the back of her head, aware
the sergeant still sized her up and was getting an alternative
ready if she dithered. A thought came to her.

"Do you have a thin
laser zapper?"

"Yes, we don't use it
much. What are you thinking?" The sergeant wrinkled his brow.

"Can you connect it to
your wall probe?"

"Subtle," the sergeant
said, "I'll ask Worm." He spoke into a secure comm link. "Worm
says, yes."

"Any other weapons
inside the bedroom?"

"No, scanners show
only one in his hand."

"Three quarter laser
zap to his weapon forearm, then storm in."

"Fatal laser to
forehead?"

"No, I've seen that go
wrong. One millimetre in the wrong place, still able to twitch
their weapon hand."

"Yes, I agree. Too
near to the Corpswoman."

"Also, get the young
girl out, take her up to a Medico van."

"Yes, ma'am."

Brell noted that the
sergeant's eyes softened; he was impressed with her thinking. Well,
he didn't know much about her career and experience, she wasn't a
desk serving officer moving up the ranks by just getting involved
in community charity events.

"Let's do it, then,
sergeant."

"Ma'am."

There was not much
Brell could do now, just keep up her professional composure. She
couldn't run around wringing her hands worrying about the
Corpswoman. She was doing that internally, of course, but an intox
would help later. Perhaps a Deep at the weekend? No, try and stay
off it for a bit longer.

Within moments, a
small laser pistol was connected to the end of the wall probe. The
sergeant relayed instructions to Worm, after which the drone
hovered into position. It became silent as the team waited for the
officer with the laser to get ready. After a few hand movements,
the officer gave a nod.

"Ready. It's going to
be ‘zap, door, then in’."

The team members stood
back slightly from the door, tensed up and crouched forward, ready
to move.

"Do you want anything
to drink?" Sergeant Ritsma shouted and banged on the door.

A mumbled, “Frag off”
followed by other language came from inside.

"Zap." The sergeant
shouted out.

There was a buzz and a
loud screech.

"Door." The door
imploded.

"In." The team rushed
inside.

Brell watched as four
team members ran in; there were shouts and then it went quiet.

"Medicos into
bedroom."

One of the Medicos
disappeared inside. Brell felt tense; there was still no news.

"Scene is safe,"
Sergeant Ritsma announced.

Brell took it as her
cue and walked past other team members, who had visibly relaxed and
were chatting. It was crowded inside the room, which smelt of
dissipated electrical charge and burnt flesh, but the Corpswoman
was safe and alive. As for the male, his hand and forearm had been
blown all over the bed sheets, on his face, and the wall behind
him. It was a bloody black mess. The Medico had sprayed the male
unconscious whilst he went about attaching a stauncher. The
Corpswoman sat on the side of the bed talking to a team member who
cleaned up her face. Brell left the room, she was just an observer
and getting in the way. She went into the girl’s bedroom and looked
at the pictures on the wall.

The sergeant came in,
a recording device in his hand.

"Good job sergeant. If
you could start the scene scans, I will get a detective down to
take over and deal with the ongoing investigation. I'll go up and
check that the girl is okay.”

"Ma'am."

***

The young girl sat in
the back of the Medico’s van, a blanket around her shoulders,
sipping at some water. Brell jumped in and sat opposite her.

"Hello, how are you?"
Brell said.

"You're blue."

"Yes, that's right,
been blue all my life. See it doesn't come off." Brell wiped a
finger down her cheek.

"How's my mummy and
daddy?"

"Well, we have some
medical people looking at them now. They are not very well."

"Daddy was very angry,
he just lost his job. Mummy said he drinks too much."

"Some people are going
to take care of you. You'll make some new friends."

"Can I stay with you?"
The girl reached forward and held Brell's hand.

"That's not going to
be easy. You'll be fine, promise."

The sergeant appeared
at the van door. Brell smiled at the girl and climbed out.

"We'll get this one to
local services," she said.

"Okay, ma'am. Both
officers will be okay. Grateful for that these days."

Brell looked him up
and down.

"I haven't seen you
before, are you new to the area?"

"Been on the Laser
Teams for a year. Just transferred over, needed a change of
scenery."

"Well, good to see you
..."

"Gorst, its Sergeant
Gorst Ritsma."

“Welcome, Kellsa.” Argenta waved to the
cheering audience.

"Love you,
Kellsa."

"You already have a
fan."

"Yes. I'm getting a
lot of zaps through." Kellsa said.

"I've got one here.
It's from a girl on your home planet, Colony 09. She writes, ‘I
like your tattoos, which gang should I join?’"