Loyalty to the Cause (TCOTU, Book 4) (This Corner of the Universe) (3 page)

Vernay
cringed slightly as she thought,
Actually, I don’t
.  “Simple, Viv.  Those
who served aboard Anelace on her final mission have knowledge of the illegal
operations originating in Skathi.  Pirates manufacture drugs in the asteroid
fields and transport them out of Skathi on large freighters.  Erriapius is
where those freighters go to divide their product to smaller, tramp
freighters.  We assume they then use the small freighters to distribute their
drugs around the sector.  When Kite transited Skathi a few weeks ago, it was
obvious the pirate activity is ongoing and we doubt they’ve changed their
shipping patterns.” 
We hope.

“Why
wouldn’t they change them?  Won’t the Republic just shut them down again?” May
questioned.

Vernay
swallowed bitter frustration before answering in an even tone.  “Our guess is
that this part of the Republic doesn’t want them shut down… luckily for us.” 
To her mind, it was poetically elegant.  They would escape Brevic “justice”
using the very tools provided by the same corrupt government chasing them. 
“We’ll commandeer the most suitable freighter and return to Anthe immediately.”

“Why?”
Brown asked.

Brace
for it
, Vernay
thought as she prepared to recite her carefully practiced statement.  “Captain
Heskan is going to fulfill our promise to the Hollarans.  We’re going to free
them and take them home on the freighter we secure.”

Muted
astonishment filled the room and Vernay seized upon it to press the plan
forward.  “Freeing them will be taken care of while we seize our freighter. 
That’s why Captain Heskan remained in Anthe.”  She pressed even further while
watching heads begin to shake in disbelief.  “We’ll just simply dock at the
Anthe orbital, load them and then set our course out of the system.”

“How
is he going to break them out single-handedly?” a doubt-filled voice asked.

Vernay
judged the crowd’s demeanor and chose her escape response.  “I’m not allowed to
share that information, for our protection and yours.  I still don’t know how
many of you are going to help keep our promise and how many of you want to go
your own way.”  She looked at each crewmember.  “I won’t lie to you.  This plan
is dangerous and punishment will be swift and severe if it fails.  The safest
bet is probably to take a cred-stick and run.  In fact, that’s what Captain
Heskan recommends you do.”

Agreement
rippled through the crowd.

“But we do need you,”
Vernay improvised.  “The captain needs you.  Before last night, he was a hero
to the Republic, one of the Navy’s shining stars.  Now, he’s risking everything
to ensure that the people who battled alongside us in Junction-Two have a
chance at the freedom they fought for.  He’s freed you from imprisonment or
worse and he can save the Hollarans, too, but he can’t do it without your help.” 
She waited several beats before asking, “Is anyone here going to let him down?”

*  *  *

In a
hotel room on Pallene, the volume of Commander Garrett Heskan’s datapad chime increased
gradually to ease him out of a sound sleep.  So deep had his slumber been, he
suffered momentarily from a hazy disorientation before rolling over and reaching
across his bed to the table next to it.  His datapad chimed impatiently again,
louder, before Heskan touched “Accept.”

“Heskan
here,” he slurred sleepily.

Secretary
Brewer’s face appeared instantly.  “Commander, the prisoners aboard Kite have
escaped.”

“Huh?”
Heskan both questioned and acknowledged.

“They
were led by Lieutenant Jack Truesworth and Chief Andrew Brown.”

“What?”
Heskan exclaimed as he shot upright on his bed.  “Brown?  Are you sure?  How?”

“We
have them recorded from Kite’s airlock camera.  Brown led them right off of the
ship and onto the orbital,” Brewer explained.  “I’ve put the orbital security
forces on alert and have patrols of agents searching the station.”

Heskan
was staring blankly at the datapad as he mumbled to himself, “That doesn’t make
sense.  What could have happened?”  He finally focused on Brewer.  “I need to
see the recording.  Have you stopped departures from the orbital?”

“Not
yet,” Brewer replied.  “We’re finishing our sweep first but, personally, I think
they’ve had ample time to flee the station.”  Brewer’s eyes narrowed
considerably.  “These men worked for you for quite a while, Commander.  Did you
have any suspicion of their treasonous propensities?”

Heskan
remained silent for the exact amount of time he had planned when anticipating
this question.  Finally, he slowly shook his head with a pained expression
before letting his eyes drop, again practiced countless times in front of a
mirror although he improvised his verbal response.  “I cannot, for the life of
me, think of any reason why Chief Brown would betray the Republic… after thirty
years of service...”  He looked up at Brewer and asked, “Why would he throw all
that away?”

Brewer
replied with an equally measured response.  “I would like to know that very
answer, Commander.  I’m sending a shuttle down to collect you.  I’m afraid your
vacation is cancelled.  I want you on Envoy-Three as soon as possible.”

Heskan saw Brewer’s
hand reach toward the camera to terminate the conversation, returning his hotel
room to relative darkness.  The wall screen, set to window mode, foretold of
dawn as slivers of orange-red light bathed the horizon with a faint glow. 
After several minutes, he moved toward the sonic shower.

*  *  *

Immediately
after his conversation with Heskan, Brewer’s eyes snapped to the two men on the
opposite side of his conference table on
Envoy-3
.  “Analysis,” he demanded.

Field
Supervisor Aaron Jennings pointed at his datapad and answered, “The spikes
here, here and here are genuine.  Voice analysis combined with facial pattern
analysis confirm candid surprise when you told him the details of the escape.”

“His
first reaction was an honest one, then?” Neal asked.

Jennings
nodded but hedged.  “Well, his very first response was ‘huh’ and I’m getting
inconclusive results from the analysis program on that but I attribute that to
him being half asleep.  His first real reaction, once fully awake, reflects
genuine surprise at the news.  I’m almost certain of that.”

“How
certain?” Brewer asked.

“Ninety-three
point three percent, sir.  If you look here,” Jennings directed as he pointed
to analysis waves overlaid on the transcript of the recent conversation,
“you’ll see that his answer regarding Brown’s involvement is authentic.  Even
though he dropped his eyes, the program estimates over a ninety-five percent
chance of truthfulness.”

“He
didn’t know, then,” Neal summarized.

“That’s
my assessment, Assistant Secretary,” Jennings concluded.  “The software isn’t
foolproof but it’s very difficult to beat.  It would be even harder just
rousing from a deep sleep.”

Brewer
gave the penultimate judgment.  “This matches what I know of the man.  The
apple does not fall far from the tree.  Besides, Garrett Heskan would have to
have nerves of steel to be in on this and still stay in contact with us.” 
Brewer paused briefly before announcing to Jennings, “I’m going to attach him
to you, Aaron, as an advisor during your investigation.  We’re short on
manpower because of the botched attempt on Phoenix, and he knows these men
better than anyone else.  He might be able to provide insight that we don’t
have.”

An
eyebrow arched inquisitively over Neal’s eye.  “You won’t be handling this
investigation directly, Mr. Secretary?”

Brewer
shook his head.  “There are far too many strings to be plucked for me to become
bound to a single thread.”

Jennings
reset his datapad.  “Who is next?” he asked.

“Lieutenant Spencer,
although I want his interview to be in person.  As it is, he’s looking at
dereliction of duty for gross incompetence as Kite’s captain.  Send two agents
to collect him and the enlisted man responsible for the airlock that night.”

*  *  *

Hours
later, Heskan’s eyes were sweeping over Jack Truesworth’s living quarters on
Kite
.

The
man standing next to Heskan remained silent for some time before finally
breaking the tranquility.  “Your first impressions?” Jennings asked.

Heskan
walked to the small closet and glanced in.  “He didn’t pack, or at least he
didn’t take extra uniforms.”  He moved to a small desk and pointed to its
docking station.  “No datapad.  He may have taken it with him.  The question is
will he be stupid enough to use it?”

Jennings
nodded.  “He already used it to conduct a large transaction with a Pallene
public transportation shuttle the night of the escape.”

Heskan’s
eyes shot toward Jennings.  “They fled to the planet’s surface?”

“Yes,
straight to the capital, unless it was misdirection,” Jennings replied.  “Which
is more in character for Truesworth?”

Heskan
paused in consideration.  “Jack is no strategist.  To be perfectly honest, he
was a fine sensorman but he lacked the ability to think about the long game.”

“That’s
consistent with someone who waited until the night of the escape to buy shuttle
tickets,” Jennings agreed.  “However, I would have expected more foresight from
a senior chief.”

Heskan
gestured in exasperation, his first truthful emotional demonstration since his
conversation with Brewer hours ago.  “Yeah, Chief Brown is a planner.”  He
shook his head and began to speak but stopped.  Finally, he stated, “I really
don’t understand his involvement.”

Jennings
moved to the neatly made bed in the sterile room and stared at it.  The bed
sheets were drawn tightly into perfect hospital corners.  The entire room
reminded him of the quarters of a first-year security cadet.  Time spent
searching these quarters would be time wasted.  “This place has been
sanitized,” he judged.  “We’re probably not going to discover anything here or
in the other rooms.  Our best chance is working backwards with each traitor’s signature
left by his datapad actions.  I’ve only had a short time to study Truesworth’s trail
but already I see anomalies.  He left and boarded Kite multiple times over the
last week and he has a charge at an orbital restaurant that was clearly with a
group of people… probably co-conspirators.”

Heskan
felt his heart skip a beat but asked calmly, “Do you want me to run that down?”

Jennings
shook his head.  “No, I have another agent working that angle.  I want you to
go over these rooms with a fine-tooth comb and find me something.  Ideally,
you’ll find me an actual datapad.  Failing that, think about what you know of
each of these fugitives and give me insight into what their next move might
be.”

“Will
do,” Heskan acknowledged.  “I’ll do my best for Secretary Brewer.”

“That’s
what he’ll expect… and so will I.”  Jennings scowled at Heskan.  “The secretary
is not the only man that should concern you.”  The warning given, the internal
security agent retreated from the room, leaving Heskan alone.

Heskan
watched the door slide shut before exhaling loudly.  He clenched and unclenched
his fists to work the nervous energy from them. 
All things considered
,
he thought,
this is going quite well.
 The optimistic feeling plummeted
when his thoughts returned to Jennings’ comment about the bar tab that he, Vernay
and Truesworth had placed on the sensorman’s datapad. 
If that restaurant
has surveillance videos and we’re caught sitting together, the game is over.
 
I need to give him something more attractive to chase.

Heskan
had such a distraction in mind but had intentionally made its discovery impossible
for several more days.  He remained deeply paranoid that his own involvement in
the escape was suspected and that his performance earlier when learning of the breakout
had been unconvincing.  He had dreaded the first encounter with Brewer, but the
conversation had been remarkably quick and one-sided.  Helping matters greatly,
Heskan had been genuinely gob-smacked at Brown’s collusion.  The old chief had
pointedly refused to help when Heskan and Vernay had privately enlisted his
support days earlier. 
What happened?
Heskan wondered. 
What changed
to have Brown throw away his entire career and loyalty to the Republic?

He
glanced at the wall chronometer. 
To make it look good, I can’t leave Kite
for at least a couple more hours,
he estimated.  Jennings was correct; the quarters
of each conspirator had been meticulously cleaned to provide no evidence of the
group’s future movements.  The only clue to their whereabouts would originate on
Pallene.  The evidence was a message sent a day earlier but not scheduled to
arrive on Heskan’s datapad until later.  Although risky, the missive was designed
to ensure Brewer would include Heskan in the investigation.

Heskan
walked back to the closet and smiled at his good fortune. 
Turns out it wasn’t
even necessary
, he reflected
.  I thought it would be difficult to gain
access to their circle but they took me right in on their own volition.
  He
set to work clearing space inside the small storage compartment, which would
save him time when he returned to
Kite
.  Finished with the closet, he placed
the room in disarray, ostensibly to create the appearance that he had
thoroughly searched its contents but in reality to help hide the object he
would stash during his final visit.  The fact that Jennings had ordered each
conspirator’s room sealed to anyone not directly involved in the investigation
only bolstered Heskan’s belief that his tampering would rest in anonymity until
needed.