Red Shift: The Odds (Censored version)
Chapter 26
Jack put down the cell phone. Blake was looking at him, if he was concerned, he didn’t show it.
“What’s new Jacko?”
“Tyrol wants to meet me at sunset, alone.”
“Cute, bit of a date then?”
“Somehow I don’t think he’s the dating type. I think sociopaths prefer to bind and gag their victims, not buy them dinner.”
“Yeah, well there won’t be any gagging tonight, we’ve got your back.” He winked and made a gun shape with his hand. “Hey, Sin,” he shouted across the floor, “meeting with Tyrol this evening, you think the Beast will be back together?”
“Sure, as long as you stop screwing about and get that cladding finished,” she shouted back.
Blake looked at Jack and rolled his eyes. “Damn, these female bosses are real ball breakers! So what does he want?”
“Didn’t say, I’m guessing it’s this target he has. He mentioned Solice. That’s the same guy your boss mentioned isn’t it?”
“The one and same. He’s a popular boy all of a sudden, isn’t he? I’ll get Ping to search out what he can before your meeting. I’m going to let Ox know he’s a person of interest.”
“Is that a good idea?”
“We’re going to need all the help we can get if we want to clear this mess up, and if he can give us resources or keep the Feds off our back for a bit, we have to give him something to make it worth his while. He seemed pretty keen on the Peiter Solice guy, maybe this will help the cause.”
Blake walked upstairs to call Ox. He sat on the couch looking out over the vista. It was a clear afternoon and the sky had a blue-green tingle to it. A flock of birds rushed across the front of the window, startling him. When all this business was over, he promised himself he would find Holly and take her to some place just like this. Without the weapons and attack vehicles in the basement, of course.
He punched Ox into the comm. “Jules Oricks here.”
“Jules, it’s Blake.”
“Ohhh, hi sweetie. I didn’t recognise the comm clearance, new device?”
Blake took the hint that he was not alone. “So I take it you’re busy then?”
“Yes, yes. Just in a meeting with the team. Sorry I haven’t been home, we’ve got a big op starting, so won’t be in till late.”
“OK, well Tyrol wants a meeting. He’s mentioned a hit, and mentioned your man Solice. We aren’t going to hit him, but need to meet with this turkey to find out as much as we can.”
“OK, hun, that’s no problem. See you tonight.”
Ox stopped his comm and looked over to Peiter. “She’s sixteen now, but still daddy’s girl.” He gave a big smile, not letting anything on.
Peiter paused for a moment, looking at his facial expressions. Was he going to give something away? Not today. “Very good. I have children of my own. Not here, of course, they are safe in Finland.”
“Well, Aussie is no more dangerous than Finland these days.”
“No, but I am.” He gave a short smile, and then turned to the holo on the desk. “So, let’s go over this strategy in detail. I think I can tweak your search patterns and methods to be a little more efficient.”
“Be my guest.”
Ox handed him a small silver rod, which Peiter began to move around a map of the twin cities, marking points in green, red and blue. They knew that Tyrol was probably involved with the attempts to get the Biotronics from Wing’Tan, but had been thwarted, he would continue to try and get it. They also knew that Blake was with Jack, who was a known runner, and they had at least some tech. The goal was to get as much of the tech back as possible, find the killer of Senator Mac, and make solid grounds for charging anyone involved, even if it was an Alpha.
The main thread that kept getting woven into the story was the use of Autohacking runners, Jack was one of them. There was a reported attack of a group recently not far from the Fed lab where the tech was lifted, and Tyrol was an associate of Xan, who controlled most of the Autohacking. So they now knew this would be the place to find information. Of course it wouldn’t be easy as it was a fairly closed system, and although the Feds knew all about how it worked and who ran it, there was no evidence and even less witnesses.
This led to a difficult situation, as there weren’t enough resources available for a blanket raid, and anyone who slipped through the net would let on that it was a Fed operation, causing everyone to go to ground. There was extensive use of the now redundant tunnel systems in the city by the runners, so without plenty of support they were likely to evade an under-resourced team.
“So Jules, I feel we need to orchestrate an organised search that looks random. We need to use street cops, Feds and Osiris agents. The longer these guys are unaware of what we are doing the better. It will also give us a better spread of the city.”
“Makes sense. Covert operations are more time consuming though, there is a balance.”
“I agree. I think we should try and channel the activity towards main routes. Do some busts on a few of the known runner routes to move them into less well known territory.”
“So how are we going to shake these guys down? Autohackers are notorious for keeping their mouths shut.”
“Let’s just say I have slightly different methods of motivation.” He smiled in a way that made Ox feel awkward. He repositioned himself on his seat.
“Look, we’re not on a witch-hunt here, and we’re not above the law.”
“No, but you are at the top of it. And we must do all that is required to get that Biotronics tech back in front of us.”
“And find the killer of John Mac, right?”
“Of course, Jules. The closure of this heinous crime is a priority. But make no qualms about it, if the Biotronics tech is on-sold and we lose the scent, it is not known how much havoc it may wreak. It has the potential to be used for great destruction.”
“Well, let’s hope that we find it. And if we don’t, that the people who do have it, use it for more noble causes.”
“Ahhh Jules, a true romantic. If only there were more of you left, you are sadly a dying breed.”
Ox was unsure how to take Peiter’s last comment. He didn’t let his slight anxiety show, instead he nodded, and headed out to the main floor to address the team and get them on task. In the short walk down the corridor a thought dawned on him. What if Peiter wasn’t after the tech for himself, what if he was somehow in a deal with the Alphas? It seemed too coincidental that he turns up just after the assassination of Senator Mac, knew about Biotronics in a reasonable level of detail, and had been assigned to the team that was investigating the very people that had been developing the tech.
When he arrived in the briefing room, most of the staff were already there, standing around, talking about why they were there no doubt. There was a definite sense of anxiety about, which Ox would have to quash if he wanted his agents to perform to their potential.
“Hello everyone. Welcome back to Osiris. I can understand there will be a little confusion about the events of the last day and why you were all sent away. Some of it I can answer, some of it I cannot. Rest assured, I would not have you all here if I did not trust each and every one of you.” He paused to take a drink.
“We have a situation that contains multiple strands, and we need to put this jigsaw together fast. First, Blake Corten is officially AWOL, he is wanted for questioning by the Agency and the Secretary. If anyone makes contact, he is not to be harmed unless posing an imminent threat.
“Second, runner activity has increased significantly in the last two hours. We are not sure yet if it is a smoke screen for an underlying activity, or someone has them scrambling to find something, or someone. We need to discretely find out exactly what is going on Downtown.
“We presently believe Senator Mac’s attacker to be a runner known as Jack. He is ex-military, but not especially decorated. It is possible that Blake is with
him; we are unsure of the validity or status of that relationship.” Ox didn’t want to leave that door shut in case Blake could make it out without being dead, or behind bars.
“A Fed laboratory up coast was attacked, with some experimental hardware stolen. Those that are involved with operation Evolution will know what this is related to. We need to find out the location of the device, or the perpetrators who took it. Unfortunately the hit was by professionals. There is no DNA, no video surveillance, no bio recorders. Everything was jammed by someone who had access to Government systems.” He paused again, letting the information sink in for the operatives.
“Our two main objectives are to find the true events surrounding the Senator’s death, detain the perpetrator, and find the stolen device before we lose a trail.
“Lastly, we have a consultant assisting us with this phase of our operations. Peiter Solice is here under request of the Secretary. Any request by him should be taken as my own request. He has extensive knowledge of international politics, trade and gang networks. I will give the floor to him to introduce himself and outline the next few hours.”
Ox took his drink and went to sit with his team. He was sweating slightly, and hoped no one had noticed. Of course Sophie had, she whispered he must need a work-out if just talking got him into a sweat. Ox tried to keep a straight face, but gave a slight smile.
“Good day people, I am Peiter Solice. As Jules mentioned, I specialise in international trade, of all kinds. I believe I can be of help to you in finding this stolen device. I also believe that all of these events are tied. It is not well known, but John Mac halted a group of socialites you call Alphas from colluding with the Government on the development of a certain technology.”
There was some murmuring on the floor. He waited until he had their attention again. “We have no proof yet, but find it hard to believe a lone runner decided to kill a senator. Someone is behind it. Mac being taken at the time a device for the new technology was being regulated was no coincidence. It is imperative that this device is found; it is a key component to a new technology that could help all of humanity to develop a truly sustainable future. It could equally be used for more nefarious purposes, of which many of us would not be able to imagine.
“While it is in Australia, there is a chance we can catch it. If it is to get offshore, the deep criminal networks will almost certainly make it disappear for good. There are people out there that want to create anarchy of the remaining free world, and Australia is the top of that list.”
Peiter paused to load the holo with his latest data, and brought up a projection of the twin cities. Ox had a fair idea that Peiter knew exactly the type of people that would pay a premium for Biotronics. He realised that even though when they’d recovered the device it would be in Fed custody, Peiter would at least know where it was, and that would give him an opportunity to take it.
“So, we don’t want to scare the pigeons and have them scatter. We are going to have three groups operating. Street cops, Feds and Osiris agents. They will all be co-ordinated from here. The street cops will have most of the old city. They know the beat and the people. Also a heavy uniform presence up town will arouse suspicion.
“The Feds and Osiris agents will handle up-town. We need to shake a few trees lightly, lift a couple of runners for interrogation, pull favours with contacts, whatever you need to do to find out the chatter. The device must be moving soon, and with the Senators attack, there must be people on the street that know something. It’s old-school, but the perpetrators here are proving to be very elusive, and are very well resourced
“Start choking the usual runners’ routes to force them to the main highways. They will be using the tunnels, and have a far better knowledge of the network than most people now. Some are flooded, some are not, some can be on demand so take care.”
There was a lot more murmuring from the floor. “Look, I know most of you already know this, so I’m teaching how to ‘suck eggs’, as you put it. But, the fact is they have been getting the upper hand lately, so we need to make sure we are prepared for anything. When we have lock on key persons or hardware, it will be easier to pick them out of their comfort zone.”
Ox got up out of his chair and addressed the team. “Briefing over folks, get to work.”