ABC - Penance

January 21st V27 (2047AD)

We left Unity and Camp One behind us, driving up out of the mist filled valley towards the higher ground of the central highlands. I was seated in the rear of a Police Auxiliary Carrier, accompanied by a pair of fresh faced recruits and two impassive Sentinels. The two humans watched me covertly, presumably in awe of the stories already circulating about my exploits in Camp One. The mechanicals ignored me, running on minimal power until they were needed.

I glanced out of the rear vision port, the Ceramiglass insert letting me see Ghost following us on his hybrid bike. He was in a new suit of Tactical armour, donated by Trixie from the armoury aboard their VTOL. It was Guard issue but painted flat black, which pleased my partner immensely I could tell. He must have seen my face at the narrow window as he raised his hand in acknowledgement. I waved back, then resettled myself in the sparsely padded seat.

“Ah, Sir, can you tell us where we are going?” asked one of the Officers, a dark skinned man in his early twenties. His nametag identified him as Officer Masane and I knew he was on his first deployment outside of Spitfield since he graduated from the Academy.

The other officer was a woman called Jin Toh, of mixed Asian ancestry that was common here in the Zone. She had served for less than six months, but that made her a veteran compared to Masane. Her dark eyes observed me closely, waiting to hear why I had insisted on such a large escort for my return to Spitfield.

“I have some unfinished business here in the North” I explained. “It wasn’t something I had time to resolve before, but I can’t let it slide”

“Where is this business?” Jin Toh asked me.

“A little harbour called Iron Gully” I answered, then leaned into my seat and closed my eyes. “Wake me up when we get there”

=====

Iron Gully township, East Coast of the Zone

Officer Masane woke me as we approached the outskirts of Iron Gully, our Carrier rolling steadily on the road as it sloped down towards the sea. My eyes fluttered open, the momentary look of panic as I tried to remember where I was covered by my low cap and sunglasses. At least I hoped that was the case.

“We’re nearly there, Sir” he told me and shuffled into his seat. While I had slept the two officers had strapped on blue armour vests over their uniforms and added clear visored helmets. Bright white lettering on their chests declared them as POLICE AUX, which I always hated as I reckoned it gave the bad guys an aiming point.

My old Captain had scoffed at such thoughts, reminding me that if they aimed at the heaviest piece of armour you were wearing it paid to be grateful. It was the hopeless shooters who plugged you in the kneecaps or inside leg that were the real worry.

“Thanks Masane” I answered. I got to my feet, bracing myself against the shifts and sways of the moving vehicle to strap on my own vest. It was standard issue, blue with white lettering like the two officers, snuggly protecting me from neck to groin in armour weave with inset Ceramite plates. I made sure my newly acquired pistol and Shock Rod were accessible and not hindered by the armour, then sat down again.

“Do you need a helmet, Inspector?” asked Jin Toh, nodding her head at the storage locker over our seats.

“No thanks” I replied easily. “I want these pricks to see my face” I checked a datapad supplied by the Carrier driver, using the network connection that was fed through the high speed wireless modem. The datapad had its own modem but the Carrier had a higher transmission speed, mostly to allow downloads to the Sentinels it carried onboard.

I had already located the Idents of the inhabitants of Iron Gully that I was looking for. As I expected, they had not submitted themselves to a Police Auxiliary Post for arrest. To be fair, I hadn’t lodged the Arrest Warrants until late last night, once I sobered up from Bobbi’s impromptu wake.

The Carrier driver signalled we had arrived at the first drop point, slowing the big vehicle to a stop. I opened the rear hatch and climbed down onto the cracked and worn road, breathing in the salt laden air from the nearby sea and shaking my ams and legs.

Ghost idled his bike behind the Carrier, his helmet visor lifted to show his impassive face.

“You sure you want to go in alone, Alvarez?” he asked me. “The advance recon drones show at least three of them in the station”

“Yeah, I need to work out some anger issues before I get home. I figured these assholes were the perfect choice of target”

My partner gave me one of his looks, where nothing changed in his expression or stance yet I could feel the disapproval radiating from him like a palpable wave of energy.

“At least take one of the kids as backup” he insisted. “Masane is green but Jin Toh should give you covering fire if needed”

His mention of kids brought back a surge of memories, when Bingo and Clancy had backed me up through so many engagements. He knew what those words would mean to me, the sneaky bastard.

I turned and looked into the waiting Carrier, seeing Masane and Jin Toh watching me with expectant eyes. My right hand pointed to Masane, which elicited a groan of barely concealed despair from the other officer.

“Okay, Masane, you’re with me” I ordered. “Jin Toh, you’ll back up Detective Gaunt at the suspected holding house”

Ghost gave me a raised eyebrow when I faced him, giving room for an eager Officer Masane to climb out of the hatch.

“You’re going to need someone with a bit of street experience under their belt” I told my partner. “I don’t think the house is going to be very pleasant”

“Ahh” he replied, adding a slight inflection to his usually flat tone. He knew what I meant and nodded agreement. “Okay, take care of the suspects here and I’ll report in as soon as we secure the second premises”

“Copy that” I agreed. I motioned Masane to follow me and we stood clear of the Carrier. At a signal from Ghost the rear hatch closed and the six wheeled machine rolled away with a whine of electrics and a tang of ozone. My partner gave a final wave and followed before accelerating past and taking the lead.

“Follow me and do exactly what I tell you, Officer Masane” I spoke quietly to the younger man. We were about fifty meters short of the refuelling station that squatted on the outskirts of Iron Gully. It was where Ghost and I had recharged our bikes last time and seemed to be the place the local Wreckers looked for their prey.

The Carrier and Ghost had driven past into the main townsite by the time Masane and I reached the tarmac covered refuelling area. A lone electric sedan was hooked up to the rechargers, with no-one visible inside the car.

“When we get into the station, I need you to escort any civilians out of there immediately” I told Masane. He had seen the Ident images for the suspects so there should be no confusion about who was who. We ran the last twenty meters to the entry doors and I burst through them first, Shock Rod in my hands.

“Police!” I screamed in the deepest voice I could manage. “Everybody stay where you are!”

Which should have worked fine if the only guilty people in there were the local Wreckers. This would explain my complete surprise when some six foot tall behemoth roared upright from where he had been sitting, drinking a coffee and eating a sandwich, pulling an enormous hand gun from under his jacket.

“Who the fuck are you?” I asked then he shot me. Right in the tits, the bastard.

=====

The fact that Captain Zoranis had been right was not a lot of consolation as I fell backwards through the safety glass that fronted the service area. It exploded into a million tiny cubes of glass, falling around me like a shower of diamonds as I hit the concrete landing outside.

I used my favourite swear word about five times in a row, gasping them out while my lungs struggled to suck enough air back in to keep me conscious. A glance at my chest showed a ragged hole in the outer weave, right between the L and I printed over my left boob. Dull grey Ceramite showed in the gap, the squashed lead shape of the bullet still wedged in place.

More gunshots echoed from inside, some the big fat boom of the unknown shooter and others the crisp bark of a standard Police issue ten millimeter. I searched around and found my Shock Rod then got back to my feet, bloody murder in my eyes I am sure.

Masane was visible behind the serving counter, using the heavy plastic and chrome furniture as cover while he traded shots with the other guy. I could see the cook hiding in his kitchen and beside him was one of my targets, Dylan Redmane.

“Inspector! Are you Okay?” yelled Masane, ducking as a heavy bullet punched a hole through the candy bar display on the counter. Assorted chocolate bar fragments and pieces of brightly coloured wrapper filled the air, raining down on the officer like an explosion at the Wonka factory.

He popped up and fired twice, sending his Suppression rounds zipping like angry wasps into the eating area. His helmet visor had pieces of almond bar sticking to one side, giving him a kind of bad acne look.

“I’m fine!” I lied to the officer. “Keep your head down and wait for my signal”

He risked a quick glance in my direction, his expression far less terror filled than I had expected.

“What signal?” he asked, cringing only a little as a big bullet caromed off some metal work and slammed into the tiles near his feet.

“You’ll know it when you see it. Keep that big prick busy until I’m ready!”

I scampered into the covered recharging area, getting some distance from the front of the building. Like I remembered, the entire side of the eating area had big glass windows overlooking the recharging stations. Inside I could see the big shooter, trading shots with Masane, completely focussed on the young officer like I had hoped.

The floor level where the windows began was about a half meter above the tarmac, with a narrow garden bed filled with stunted shrubs and straggly weeds forming a low barrier. A half meter jump is not much for most people, but I am shorter than most.

“You can do this, Punchy” I told myself and gripped my Shock Rod firmly. I kicked off from next to the parked sedan, gaining speed as I ran full tilt at the windows. Big shooter guy must have glimpsed me from the corner of his eye, turning towards me in stunned surprise as I jumped.

I led with the Shock Rod like a battering ram, channelling my Kinetic Enhancer into the sturdy weapon. Its tip hit the window and shattered the massive pane of glass a bare second before the rest of me followed, re-entering the service station the same way I had left it.

Shards of safety glass sprayed like confetti ahead of me as I tumbled into the seating area, sending a couple of chairs flying and rolling like a thrown grenade into the centre aisle. My target was recovering fast, flinging glass pieces from his head as he roared and tried to line his pistol up with my lunging form.

Luck was with me for once, my half-assed roll throwing me back onto my feet as I completed a rotation. I swung the Shock Rod with all of my body strength and connected with his wrist, right behind the big gun. There was a sharp and meaty crack as his forearm bones shattered, sending the pistol spinning away under the tables.

The big guy screamed in agony and pulled his arm back, cradling it against his chest as I skidded to a stop in front of him. I looked at his pain contorted face, his eyes wide with adrenalin and took pity on him.

“I don’t know who the hell you are, but you are under arrest” I told him, then poked the tip of the Shock Rod into his chest and gave him a full charge. His eyes rolled up in his head, he shook twice, then collapsed unconscious to the floor.

In the silence that followed, the metal clink as that big hand gun was lifted from the tiled floor sounded as loud to me as a gunshot.

“So you really are a Police Auxiliary Officer” Kelly Redmane said from the back of the room. I hadn’t noticed her before, but I had expected her to be close by. She was holding the big guy’s pistol two handed, aiming it calmly at my head.

“You and your brother are under arrest, Ms Redmane” I responded to her. “Plus whoever this is” I added and lightly prodded the passed out giant at my feet. “So drop the gun, come over here and let me cuff you”

“I’m aiming a gun at your head, you stupid bitch” she snarled. “I’ll be the one giving orders”

“You really want to do it this way?” I asked her, getting frustrated with not being taken seriously. “Fine! Officer Masane, shoot her brother in the head!”

From the counter area, Masane had been covering me with his pistol extended out in front, using the same kind of two handed grip that Kelly was using.

“Um? Are you sure about that, Sir?” he gulped, but I was pleased to see him turn and aim into the kitchen area. A young man’s squeal of anguish proved that Dylan was still hiding back there.

“Yep!” I answered confidently. “On a count of three, blow that little fuck’s head open”

“Roger, Inspector” he dutifully answered and out of my peripheral vision I saw him squint down the sights of his pistol, aiming at Kelly’s brother.

“You can’t do that!” Kelly shouted, flicking anxious glances between me and Masane. Her pistol barrel was wavering as her loyalty to herself or her brother was tested.

“Watch us!” I snarled back. “One!”

Kelly’s eyes were wild, her pupils dilated as she couldn’t help looking at my partner.

“Two!” I shouted and adjusted my grip ever so slightly on the Shock Rod.

Kelly screamed angrily as I was about to say “Three” and twisted her body, lining that big gun up on the exposed torso of Masane. Which is what I had been waiting for as I flung the Shock Rod tip first at her head, propelling it with as much power from my Kinetic Enhancer as I could channel into the throw.

It hit her jaw with a solid crunch and she toppled backwards, my own charging body impacting with her a moment later as I knocked her arms upwards. The gun fired once, sending a bee sized bullet into the ceiling tiles. Then both of us hit the floor with me on top and the fight was over.

A loud bang echoed through the service station and I threw a hurried glance in Masane’s direction. He looked into the kitchen, then over at me on the floor with a guilty expression.

“Sorry Sir, did you say Three?” he wondered aloud, his gun still pointed at Dylan I assumed.

“Hey!” yelled the young man’s voice. “You nearly shot me you fucker!”

I sat myself on the recumbent form of Kelly Redmane and gave the young Officer a disparaging look.

“This is not going to look good on your performance evaluation” I chided the officer with a grin. “You disobeyed my orders twice”

“Twice, Sir?”

“Yes. You fired before I said Three”

“Oh, I see” he admitted sullenly. “What was the second time?”

“You didn’t shoot the little turd in the head like I told you to”

“Hey, I can hear you!” shouted Dylan from the kitchen.

“Shut up, Dylan!” I shouted back. “You are under arrest, same as your sister. Officer Masane, get him in handcuffs”

“Copy that, Inspector” he called in reply and marched into the kitchen to follow my orders. “What about the cook?”

“He’s clean as far as I know” I yelled back, getting my own cuffs out for Kelly. “The kitchen’s closed so tell him to piss off home”

=====

Ghost rode up on his bike a couple of hours later, the Carrier still in the townsite with Jin Toh and the Sentinels. I was sitting on one of the stools I had taken from the eating area, chewing on fragments of candy bars out of the broken box. I had placed my seat in the middle of the covered recharging area, with my three prisoners leaning against a recharger all slumped in a row.

“Where’s Masane?” he asked me as soon as he powered down his bike.

“Making me coffee” I replied. “I didn’t trust the cook not to spit in it” I had already gotten his preliminary report over our comms link, called in after we had secured this site. “So we saved five people?”

“Affirmative” Ghost answered. “There are three more out on a fishing boat right now, so the Coastal Patrol are moving to intercept them. We should have drone contact in twenty minutes to make sure they don’t do anything stupid with the captives”

“That’s great news” I told him. “I’m glad the orbital images had identified the holding house before we got here”

“In a small settlement like this, the details were easy to identify once we knew what we were looking for” Ghost answered. He was definitely getting more talkative, at least around me I noticed. I took that as a positive sign.

“Many bodies?” I asked quietly, thinking about young Jin Toh and the effect it would have had on her.

“Three grave sites were located” he admitted. “Nothing recent but we’ll interrogate all the suspects to make sure we find everyone. Port August are sending up a Forensics squad plus a medical team to treat the rescued ones”

“Good, good” I replied, feeling tired all of a sudden as my adrenalin rush began to wear off. Masane appeared from within the busted doorway of the station, carrying two recyclable cups of steaming coffee. “Hey, right on time, Masane. If it’s any good I’ll write you up a commendation”

“Err, thanks Sir” he responded and handed me a coffee cup. I gave it a sip and nodded my appreciation. “That’s actually pretty good. Have a candy bar as a thank you”

I handed him one of the split wrappers, with a half bar still nestled in the interior. He took it, examined it then politely handed it back to me.

“Thanks but I don’t eat those things” he declared with a faint look of disgust on his face.

“What do you mean, Officer?” I demanded. “Everyone likes candy bars!”

“Sorry Sir, but look at the wrappers. Those are Wonder Bars. I heard from a friend they make those using recycled poop!”

I gave the wrappers a close look and recognised the distinctive colours and logos I had seen at the Wonder Bar factory. They made twenty eight different varieties and I think I had just eaten four of them!

“Shit!” I exclaimed and dropped the box onto the ground. I took a big chug of coffee and swirled it around, then spat the lot onto the fallen box.

“Exactly, Sir” Officer Masane said in agreement.

=====

It was late afternoon before we were back on the central highway, the big Carrier eating up the klicks that lead home like a Hole Dweller at a buffet. Officers Masane and Jin Toh were with me in the passenger section once more, both a lot more experienced than when they had left Unity.

“How does stuff like that happen here?” Jin Toh demanded, her expression troubled and a bit nauseous. “This is the Zone, one of the smallest nations on Earth, watched over by Great Archimedes!”

“Well, first off Archimedes isn’t that great” I told the pair of them. “Even an AI as powerful as him has limitations. Out here, even around Spitfield and Port August, the camera network is patchy at best. The further you are from Pan City, the more shit you can get away with”

“That’s not right!” declared Masane. I nodded my head in agreement.

“It’s not” I said. “Which is why you and I are employed to root this stuff out and bring the perps to justice”

“What’s the second point, Inspector?” Jin Toh asked me thoughtfully.

“Crime of any sort involves people” I said. “Archimedes can predict outcomes and events to a high degree of probability, but people are chaotic variables in any calculation. They commit crimes for no sensible reason, driven by wild emotions or unrealistic goals. An AI wields logic like a scalpel, but humans are often blunt instruments. Things happen that the best intelligences in the world could never expect, which is where we come in”

“So we are the blunt instruments working for the Governors, busting up the crimes that Archimedes can’t see?” suggested Masane eagerly.

“Yep” I told him and drew my Shock Rod, holding it lightly. “That’s why every Police force in the world still carries variations of the old truncheon. It reminds us that we are the blunt instruments of the Law!”

Masane nodded and smiled but Jin Toh frowned at my simplistic explanation.

“I don’t think that’s right, Inspector” she said carefully.

“Maybe so” I acknowledged. “There is another reason I have heard about how crimes still happen in the Zone”

“Oh, what’s that?” Jin Toh wondered.

“Archimedes lets the humans do all this shit to each other as part of his grand experiment”

“That’s an awful suggestion, Inspector Alvarez!” she chastised me and folded her arms crossly.

“Isn’t it though?” I replied. “Thank god it’s not true”

I leaned back into my chair, replacing my Shock Rod in its holster. With a soft sigh I closed my eyes, settling myself to get some sleep before we arrived at Spitfield. There was going to be lots of reports to fill in before I could head to my own apartment.

“Do you really think Archimedes is running an experiment on humanity here in the Zone?” Masane asked me from across the passenger section. I cracked an eye open and regarded his worried expression. The young officer had done well today and I shouldn’t be messing with his head like this.

“No, he’s not” I said flatly and closed my eye again.

Archimedes was too big headed to play games with just the Zone. From what little I knew of the AI, he was running his experiments on all of us across the entire world and interplanetary colonies.

The only real question was whether those experiments were for our benefit or his?