Stephanie Steele

An hour after they’d arrived at Freddy’s secret hideaway Steele was patched up and looking like new. She stood watching Freddy at a computer screen typing codes and doing his tech geek thing.

“Everything I do at the apartment automatically gets sent here so I have a backup of all my work.” He told her.

She had to give him credit. He was a genius.

“So let’s see what we have here.” He said, flicking through files from Nixon’s drive. “These encrypted files are curious. Why would she have those?” He scratched his chin as if thinking. “Give me a moment.”

He did a techy thing and numbers started scrolling up the screen. “Sorry, can’t resist a challenge.” The numbers stopped whizzing up the screen. He opened a file. “Jeez! There’s all sorts of shit here about you and every other cop on the force by the look of it. Did you know that Detective Frater had a fetish for fat girls?”

“Get to the important stuff.” Steele was testy. She wanted answers not gossip.

Freddy wished she would lighten up sometimes. And sometimes he asked himself why he put up with her shit. Because his life would be mundane without her in it, that’s why. He looked forward to her coming to see him. She always had a problem for him to solve and that was what he liked doing the most, solving problems, and right now another problem had presented itself.

“Some of the files are corrupted. Must have been when I cloned the drive. Damn it!” He tapped in more commands. “Wait, these are not her files!” He turned to look at Steele to make sure she was getting this. “Someone was using her remotely. She probably didn’t even know these files were there. How better to infiltrate the police department and gather all the information needed to blackmail cops.” He turned back to the screen, excited but shocked. “There’s a list of names here. Thelma Ericson, Edie Ramone, Keeley Dawson, Uma Singh, Heather Gomez . . .”

Steele stepped closer to the screen. “It’s a list of Leon’s victims.”

“You think Nixon was part of Leon’s set up?”

“Before today I would have said no.”

“There’s another file here. Ordo Templi Orientis. What’s that, Latin? It’s one of the corrupted files. Hold on.” He tapped the keyboard, searching the net. “Ordo Templi Orientis means Order of the Temple of the East . . . and look at this.”

Steele was looking at an image the search had brought up. An eye within a triangle. The same as Nixon’s tattoo. The same as the female android who attacked her in the alley.

They both read the text together. The All Seeing Eye or Eye of Providence was a symbol used in many religions and interpreted as representing the eye of God watching over mankind. The Egyptians first used a similar symbol which was called the Eye of Horus. In 1782 the Eye of Providence was adopted as part of the United States of America’s Great Seal and even appeared on the American $1 bill. Later it was used by the secret society of the Masons as part of their iconography.

The Ordo Templi Orientis was a fraternal and religious organisation founded at the beginning of the twentieth century and was organised around the law of Thelema. This law was expressed as Do what thou wilt and Love is the Law, Love under will. The original organisers were famed for sadomasochistic rituals and promoted sex with multiple male and female partners.

Someone had resurrected this organisation and raised it to a new level. Or perhaps it had been kept going through the centuries. A secret cult, passed down generations of sadists, evolving and growing into its current form.

“It’s a sex cult!” Freddy cried. “Holy shit! Is this it? Is this what you’ve been looking for? Is this what Leon is part of?”

Steele turned and paced. The deeper she probed the more she found out, and it wasn’t good stuff. With every step nearer, the danger level went up a notch. Perhaps she wasn’t dealing with one killer. Perhaps this was a whole group. This would explain mayor Leonard’s involvement, his brother’s, Edwards. How many more were there? She could be dealing with hundreds here. They could be in every part of society. Filling high positions of authority like a mayor or a chief of police for Christ’s sake. How was she going to stop something like that?

Her mind returned to Archie’s Bar and the manager’s last words, He has more power in this city than you can imagine. More than you. More than the police chief. More than the mayor. No one can touch him. He. Him. This implied he was one man. Maybe the leader. Maybe Leon was the leader of this Ordo Templi Orientis who thought they could do what they wanted. Thought they could take young girls from the street, rape them and kill them because they thought it was their right. Edwards had proved they had infiltrated the PD. How many more cops in the precinct were part of it? There was no one in the entire city she could trust. Not one person, except the guy with flaming hair and a super hero t-shirt. If she was going to get through this she would have to become a super hero herself.

She felt sick to her core. The level of what she had got herself into was just processing. Right now she could do with a drink, several in fact. But that would have to wait. She had a case to crack and if it meant she would be turned into drainage pipes or her head mounted on someone’s office wall, then so be it. She had children to protect and she was going to go down fighting to protect them. She turned back to Freddy with a renewed and fierce determination.

“I need to know what’s in that file.”

“The only way would be to get hold of the original hard drive. Where is it?”

“Someone bought Nixon from the salvage yard.” Steele sighed. “I want to speak to her.”

“Just a second.” Freddy turned back to the screen and did his techy thing. “There, speak to her.”

Steele looked from the screen to Freddy and back to the screen. Freddy urged her to get on with it. She shuffled uncomfortably.

“Nixon?”

“Steph? Is that you?” Nixon’s sweet voice came out of the computer speakers like she was standing there in the room. “I can’t see. Where am I?”

Steele’s abdominal cavity seemed to shrink. Her whole body tensed. She tightened a fist against her thigh. This was hard. The last time she’d heard this voice was just before Nixon was torn in two by Edwards’s cruiser after she’d spent the best evening of her life since Uma. A girl she thought she’d like to spend some serious time getting to know better. Now she was just another victim of him, them, whoever. She tried to steady her voice, tried not to sound upset. “Yeah it’s me, Rachel.”

“What’s going on? I can’t feel anything.” She sounded scared.

“You remember Freddy?”

“Hi.” Freddy threw in, just to make her aware he was actually there.

Steele continued. “Well, he cloned your drive and it’s your cloned drive we’re talking to right now.” There was a silence during which Steele and Freddy exchanged a look. A look of, what now? “Rachel?” Steele ventured softly.

“I’m here.” Nixon’s voice sounded sad. Then she said. “Am I dead Steph?”

Steele shifted uneasily from one foot to the other. Freddy gave her a look of encouragement. She was sure there were tears in his eyes but she didn’t dwell on it. “Yes.” She confirmed, in a reverent voice. More silence followed. “Rachel?”

“At least I spent my last night with you. I enjoyed every second of it by the way.” Nixon said, and there was laughter in her voice.

“I can imagine.” Freddy added. “I just wish she’d spend . . . a . . . night with . . .” His voice trailed off as Steele’s eyes fixed on him. A look that told him to shut the fuck up!

Nixon laughed. “I never kiss and tell . . . Much.”

“Me too.” Steele said with sincerity.

“So what have you been getting up to since my death? Did you get him?”

“Oh yeah she got him. Blew him the fuck up and we’re on the most wanted list and the cops think I’m Leon and these kick ass ninjas attacked us but Steele kicked their sorry butts. She got run through with a sword but I fixed her. Again.” He laughed and saw Steele giving him a dead pan stare.

“I’m missing all the fun. Wait, I’m confused. I thought we thought the mayor was Leon?” Nixon said.

“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later.” Steele said. “Right now we have something more important to deal with. There’s some encrypted files buried deep in your drive. Do you know what they are?”

“Are there? I don’t know Steph. Who put them there?”

“You don’t know?” Steele said.

“No.”

Freddy urged her to get to the point. Steele wafted her hand in the air to tell him to shut up, again.

“Are you guys fighting?” Nixon had sensed it.

“No, no.” Steele assured her. “Erm, does the phrase Ordo Templi Orientis or Order of the Temple of the East mean anything?”

“No, what is that?” Nixon replied, sounding puzzled.

“The tattoo on your arm . . .”

“Which I don’t have any more.” She chuckled. “Sorry, carry on.”

“It’s the symbol associated with them. Where did you get it?” Steele finished.

“I can’t remember. Why can’t I remember? I’ve always had it. Is it relevant?”

“Rachel were you working for anyone to infiltrate the PD?” Freddy interjected.

“Hey, I’m not a bent cop if that’s what you’re implying.” She seemed annoyed.

“I changed your setting so you could lie. Do you remember that?” Freddy threw back at her.

Nixon’s tone got mad. “I’m not lying you son-of-a-bitch. Slap him for me Steph.”

Freddy leaned away from Steele in a defensive posture. She was tempted to slap him just as Nixon had wanted.

“Have you ever met a man called Noel Chandler?” Steele asked her.

“Who’s he?”

“President of Global Enterprises. Their subsidiary company manufactures droids.”

Freddy realised something. “We were going to check those dates to see if they corresponded with the mayor’s backhanders. Hold on.” He started a search on the net.

“I could help you.” Nixon piped up. “I can access and cross reference whatever you’re looking for quicker.”

“Of course. You’re tapped into the system.” Said Freddy, throwing up his hands.

“Rachel we know that the mayor received large payments from Global Enterprises.” Steele started. “Cross reference the payment dates in his bank account with the dates that Global subsidiary company Cyber Corp got awarded any city contracts to provide droids on a large scale to any companies.”

Files on the holo screen were accessed at lightning speed.

“One moment.” Nixon said. “Interesting. Mayor Leonard received six payments over a two year period. Each time within two days of Cyber Corp winning contracts worth an average of three million each.”

Freddy looked puzzled. “But I still don’t see how any of this is connected.”

“That’s why I’m the detective.” Steele told him with relish. “Time to pay Noel Chandler a visit.”

Freddy stood to leave. “Let’s go.”

“This is something I have to do on my own Freddy.”

Freddy was disappointed. Now that she didn’t need him he was cast aside like a used condom. Nobody wanted to touch it.

“You got a spare wrist comm?” Steele asked.

Freddy searched a drawer, found one and handed it to her. She saw his disappointment.

“If he’s who we think he is then this could be dangerous. I need you here to track me. If I don’t come back then you’ll be able to find me like you did before. You can stay here and keep Rachel company.”

“So, what you’re saying is that you do need me?” He raised an expectant eye brow. “Just wanted to clarify that.”

Steele shook her head in disbelief. “Get me the number of Chandler’s office.”

Freddy smirked. He knew that was as good an answer he was going to get. He searched the web for Chandler’s number and found it easily.

“Rachel?” Said Steele, and fastened the wrist communicator to her arm.

“Yes, Steph?”

“Keep an eye out for any reports detailing missing kids. Specifically girls aged nine to sixteen.”

“Will do Steph.”

Freddy stood back from the holo screen to present the number to Steele. She tapped it into the wrist communicator. A polite sounding receptionist answered.