DusktoDust_Final3 (3 page)

This room wasn
’
t as welcoming as the terminal had been. It was a small box. There were no spacious viewports. Illumination came from a single bulb in the ceiling. There were three pieces of furniture, a table and two chairs; clearly an interrogation room. The walls were black except for one which had the Peacekeeper Emblem emblazoned on it; a silver shield with a lightning bolt striking across its face against a field of stars, the words
Ad Astra Per Aspera
written above it.
To the stars through difficulty
, David translated from memory.
More like
causing
difficulties
.

He and Alana had been handcuffed at the customs checkpoint and led off the main concourse by a handful of PKs. Now he sat in this room. He assumed she was nearby in an identical one.

It had been a least an hour. He couldn
’
t say for sure because they had confiscated his watch. They were letting him stew, letting his brain wander. Well, it was working.

What did they find?
David was still mystified as to why they were being held. At first he had thought it was the passports, that Windcorp had screwed them. But that couldn
’
t be right. David had inspected them. They looked like top quality fakes to him. And they had been scanned when they had left Earth.
Then what else?

In all the times David and Alana had come to Prospect they had gone to great lengths to avoid being documented. They had never gone through customs before, and when on planet they had did everything possible to avoid the Peacekeepers. They only used cash and went out of their way to avoid surveillance cameras. They should be ghosts. There should be no records of people matching David and Alana
’
s descriptions having ever set foot on Prospect.

David was still deep in thought when the single door to the room hissed open. Two individuals walked in, one in a Peacekeeper officer
’
s uniform, the other in black PK armor wearing staff sergeant chevrons.

“
Good morning. I
’
m Captain Burleigh.
”
The officer had an American accent. He took a seat across from David, setting a tablet down in front of him. The staff sergeant took up a position next to the door.

David met the Captain
’
s eyes but said nothing. He was not going to volunteer any information. This man was going to have to work for his report. And he wasn
’
t going to find anything. David- or Mike- was sticking to his story.

After a few seconds, Captain Burleigh spoke.
“
Please state your name for the record.
”

“
Michael Lawrence Dominguez.
”

Burleigh made notes on his tablet.
“
What is your business on Prospect, Mister Dominguez?
”

David stuck to the plan.
“
My wife and I have come here in search of work, sir. We saw an ad for Gaalto Base while we were on Earth. It promised a new life. We thought that we had nothing to lose. This can
’
t be any worse than life in the slums.
”

Their eyes locked. Burleigh stared David down. He was looking for anything to raise doubt. David kept his cool.

Burleigh finally broke the tension.
“
I
’
m sure you are wondering why we stopped you, Mister Dominguez- if that is your real name.
”
He tapped a few buttons on his tablet and then spun it around so David could see. On it was a snapshot from what appeared to be a security camera. It was of a figure sitting at a bar. He wore a black shirt with a brown jacket over it. The camera angle provided an excellent view of the figure
’
s face.

“
Look familiar.
”
David looked up but said nothing. He remembered that day. It had been two runs ago the night before he took off. He had gone out for a quiet drink in the Sony-Tero Sector. The night had been uneventful. He
’
d had a couple lagers and then headed back to get some rest.
Since when do corporate bars have Peak
surveillance cameras?
he thought.

“
This photo was taken two months ago at a bar planet side.
”
Burleigh
’
s eyes bore into David.
“
Our facial recognition servers didn
’
t find any matches from customs or immigration. Which means that whoever this person is should not be on Prospect. This person came here illegally. Prospect immigrations laws are some of the most lenient in the galaxy, so I doubt this person is an immigrant. That brings me to the conclusion that this person is involved in some type of illegal industry.
”
He waited for David to respond. David remained silent.
“
If you say nothing, it will be perceived as an admission of guilt.
”

David pushed the tablet back to the Captain.
“
I don
’
t know who this is, but it
’
s not me. This is the first time my wife and I have ever been off of Earth, let alone to Prospect.
”

Burleigh sighed.
“
I find that hard to believe.
”

“
We are only here to find work, settle down, and drift into the background. We are not illegal immigrants, and we are not involved with criminals. I give you my word.
”

“
Your word? And why should I believe you?
”

“
Because I
’
m just a simple, honest citizen, sir.
”

With surprising speed, Captain Burleigh reached across the table and grabbed David
’
s right arm. He slid David
’
s jacket sleeve back, revealing a tattoo.
“
Yes, a simple, honest citizen. A citizen who, according to your passport, has never done any military service.
”
He let go of David
’
s arm.
“
Would you mind explaining to me why a man who has never served in the military has a tattoo of the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor, the crest of the former United States Marine Corps, on his arm.
”

Burleigh waited for a response but David had none. He cursed himself for not having the ink lasered off when he had the chance. Any explanation he gave now would sound like a phony excuse.

“
Well if you
’
re not going to talk, I
’
ll tell you what I think.
”
Burleigh got up and walked around to David
’
s side of the table.
“
I think your name is not Michael Dominguez. Your companion is not Shannon Dominguez and is likely your partner, not your wife. I think you two were in the Marine Corps together until a few years ago when the U.S. Congress disbanded it. Since then you have been doing whatever work you can find, mostly of the illegal kind. I think this is not your first time on Prospect. In fact, I think Prospect is like a second home to you. I think that
was
you in the security photo and you are kicking yourself right now for making such a rookie mistake. I think you two are
smugglers!
”

By this time Captain Burleigh
’
s face was inches away from David
’
s. David reached up and wiped the spit from his cheek. The whole time his eyes were locked on Burleigh
’
s. He didn
’
t blink and he didn
’
t betray anything.

Burleigh stepped back to his side of the table, adjusting his uniform and regaining his composure.
“
So tell me, am I correct?
”

David calmed himself.
“
Sir, my name is Michael Dominguez. I have come here with my wife looking for work. Whoever that is in the photo you showed me, I
’
m pretty sure the resolution is not clear enough to prove anything in court. I have done nothing wrong. I have nothing to hide. And unless you are going to charge me with something, I don
’
t think you can hold me here anymore.
”
He moved to get up.

“
Sit down.
”
Burleigh
’
s voice was level but stern. The staff sergeant stepped in front of the door. David took the hint and returned to his seat.

Burleigh spoke.
“
Mr. Dominguez, or whoever you are, I may not be able to hold you here, but I am going to give you some advice. I advise you and your companion to continue to Prospect and take those jobs that you have the advertisement for. I advise you to start a life here. I advise you to live the life that the Dominguez
’
s should be living.

“
Should you decide to pursue an illicit line of work, planet side there are over five thousand Peacekeepers to deal with you. My troops will find you, they will capture you, and you will be punished to the full extent of the law. If you decide to make a smuggling run off planet, your attempts will be thwarted. In orbit I have seven interdictors and three cruisers. All of them carry interceptors that are faster and more maneuverable than any smuggling ship out there. My pilots will find you and they will shoot you out of the sky.

“
So this is your final warning. Stay on the straight and narrow while you are here on Prospect or you will find yourself in the brig of one of my cruisers or worse, floating in space, dead.
”

David was released. A PK led him from the interrogation room, through a labyrinth of administrative offices, and back out to the terminal concourse. Alana was there waiting with both of their bags as well as their pistols.

“
You okay?
”
David asked as he stuck his HK back in its skeleton holster.

“
Yeah,
”
she said, picking up her bag.
“
They just kept asking me the same questions. Why did they stop us? I thought the passports were clean.
”

David picked up his own bag.
“
I
’
ll tell you later. Let
’
s get out here.
”

He looked around for a directory. They needed to get to the turbolift lobby and then get planet side. While the Peacekeepers still had a presence down there, it would be easier for them to disappear. Captain Burleigh had been right on the money with his speculation, and that scared David. They had to be careful. The PKs would try to keep a close eye on them. The sooner he and Alana disappeared the better. This mission had just gotten a lot harder.

Staff Sergeant Nic Letsego watched on the surveillance screen as Mr. and Mrs. Dominguez boarded turbolift 165 bound for Skylift Base. They were good, but Letsego had extensive counterespionage training and could see through their ruse. They were up to something. They were definitely not here to get minimum wage jobs and settle on Prospect.

Letsego had been in the intelligence and counterintelligence business a long time so he could sense when something just didn
’
t add up. He had joined the South African Army when he was sixteen. He had walked into the Johannesburg recruiting station an eager and naive orphan boy from the bush. Now, fourteen years later, and a transfer to the United Nation Peacekeeper Force, he had multiple combat and covert deployments under his belt. In that time he had learned many lessons, not the least of which being to never take anything at face value.

“
What do you think, Staff Sergeant?
”
Captain Burleigh said from beside him.

“
They are definitely not who they say they are, sir,
”
Letsego said.
“
I don
’
t know why you let them go. There must be some charge you could hold them on. Or at least deny them entry. Those smugglers are who are destroying the civilized galaxy. They run guns, narc, slaves, anything that will undermine UNEC.
”

Burleigh nodded.
“
Your concerns are noted, Staff Sergeant. But this is bigger than a couple of petty smugglers. If I wanted to I would have flushed them out the airlock without thinking twice. But we are after bigger fish. We need to stop the smuggling at its source. We need to find out who is hiring them.
”

Letsego knew where this was going. Windham Corporation. Everyone knew they were behind the majority of the smuggling activities on Prospect. They cut corners everywhere and were part of nearly every criminal enterprise on the planet. Gun running, trivi manufacturing, human trafficking. Windcorp had its hands in everything. But there was no proof. Whenever a case went to court the witnesses always ended up dead or missing.

Windcorp was what kept Captain Burleigh awake at night. Letsego hadn
’
t known him long but he knew that was what his commander wanted, Windcorp shut down for good.

“
So you want us to follow the smugglers then, sir? I already have men in place to do so. Five are waiting at Base to begin tailing them.
”

“
No,
”
Burleigh said, deep in thought.
“
This operation is too important. We
’
ve never had this chance before, to follow the smugglers before they make their pickup. We can
’
t waste it.
”

Letsego didn
’
t know where this was going.
“
What do you want us to do then, sir? I have my best men down there.
”

“
I don
’
t want your best men down there. I want you.
”