Justice (5 page)

Walking behind
President Geron Feders, and out of the spotlight, was a woman. She
was past middle-age with brown hair that bounced around her
shoulders without a single sign of greying. Nova wasn’t surprised -
almost all rich women had their hair replaced before any grey began
to show. The woman wore makeup that glistened in the bright lights
of the hall and her arms were weighed down with shiny
jewellery.

Nova
recognised the woman as Meaghan Feders, Geron’s wife. The woman
walked with stiff formality and didn’t look at the crowd as she
strode across the stage and took a seat next to Geron. Geron
continued to smile and wave at the crowd.

The next
figure to emerge from the side door was a younger man, the elusive
Dustin Feders. Nova recognised him straight away as Geron’s son.
They had the same jet black hair, although Dustin’s had no hint of
grey. Dustin’s face was serious, with a slight sneer curling his
lips. Unlike his father, Dustin did not sport a formal suit, but
wore tattered jeans and shirt. The boy sauntered across the stage,
ignoring the crowd. He took a seat on the other side of Geron, as
far from Meaghan as he could. During Nova’s research for the
mission it had become clear that Dustin was no fan of his
step-mother and the feeling was mutual.

When the
family was seated, Geron stood up and walked to the centre of the
stage.

“
Good evening friends and colleagues,” Geron’s voice projected
across the room thanks to the tiny microphone attached to the back
of his teeth.

There was a
massive cheer from the crowd, clearly President Feders had many
fans already on Drigoon. It was no surprise really; his
terraforming project had made many of those gathered here today
rich.

“
I would like to welcome you all to the new and improved
Drigoon.”

Another cheer
went up.

“
I’m sure you’ll all agree that life inside the dome is
nothing but pleasant.”

A lot of
clapping accompanied this statement and he had to wave his hand to
quieten the crowd again.

“
There are many people I need to thank for the success of the
terraforming project.”

Geron’s voice
continued to drone on but Nova paid it little attention, instead
she gazed out at the crowd. Mostly they seemed fixated on his words
and there were no suspicious movements amongst the ranks.

The sound of a
thunderstorm outside the dome became louder, thunder rolling across
the sky. Through a small window, Nova watched trees get torn from
the ground and tossed through the air. Inside, the dome remained
still. The howling could only just be made out over the crowd, but
it was there, just at the edge of Nova’s hearing. She could picture
the rain pelting down on the green mass which made up most of
Drigoon. A part of her wondered what the bile-spitting plants did
when the storms came.

Her gaze slid
back to the President just as the lights flickered. They were off
for barely a second but Nova was already poised, knees bent and
hand resting on the gun at her waist.

She glared
around the room. Everyone else seemed just as surprised. The small
disturbance didn’t distract Geron. He continued with his
speech.

“
Never mind the storms; they come and go like a plague on this
planet, but our generators will—”

An almighty
crash of lighting sounded overhead and the room plunged into
darkness.

In the
extended darkness, panic erupted. Nova’s hand closed around her gun
and she pulled it from the holster at her hip, pointing it down
beside her leg she flicked a switch on the side. A pool of light
spread out from the gun and lit a circle of floor at her feet.

She didn’t
hesitate as she moved through the crowd. She felt people bumping
into her in their rush to get past. She hurried to the stage and
lifted herself up onto the raised platform, levelling her gun so
that the light shone out in front of her. The stage was empty.
Geron, his wife, and his son were nowhere to be seen.

Nova jumped
down from the stage and made her way back through the crowd. Over
the din of voices and yelling she could hear the hired Hunters
trying to maintain control of the crowd. She spotted other pools of
light where other Hunters were stationed. She nodded to herself as
she felt the crowd begin to calm.

Moans of pain
rose over the din as injured people who were trampled in the
initial stampede called out for help. For the moment she ignored
them; she was hired to protect the President, so that’s what she
would do.

She weaved her
way to the main exit as her mind raced over the few moments before
the lights went out. Geron had been talking; his wife and son were
seated behind him. Who else was there? There had been the large
security guard, Bruce, and a thinner man who had glared down at the
crowd.

Maybe the
security guard had taken Geron and his family out to safety as soon
as the lights went out? The more Nova considered the possibility,
the more likely it seemed. There had been no cries of alarm or pain
from the stage; the President had disappeared quietly and
quickly.

“
We’ve got a few injured but nothing too serious. No sign of
the President,” a voice crackled over the communication device at
Nova’s waist.

“
Moving out into the corridor now,” Nova replied.

To the chip
embedded in her brain, Nova sent other thoughts. “Cal! What’s going
on with the power in here?”

The familiar
voice kicked in. “Some kind of electrical activity. The circuits
were fried but it looks like maintenance bots are fixing it now.
They predict full power within five minutes.”

“
Good,” Nova said, mostly to herself, and continued her sweep
down the corridor.

Silence filled
the dark passageway and the light from Nova’s gun didn’t seem to
quite reach all of the corners. She turned from side to side, wary
of every noise, but she encountered no one as she moved along.

She followed
the path she had memorised; from the main hall to the President’s
quarters. Surely if the security personnel had led the President to
safety they would take him there.

Nova
encountered no one as she walked down the unlit passageways, and in
a way that was worse than the mad panic of the hall. She could
almost feel eyes watching her as she moved down the corridor and
goose-bumps ran down her arms. She shook the feelings off.

In a sudden
flash of brilliance the overhead lights came on. She jumped at the
sudden glow and held her hands over her eyes, temporarily blinded.
She rested her hand against the wall and flicked off the light on
her gun. It took a while for her eyes to adjust to the new
brightness. After that, her passage was easy.

She moved at a
fast pace, turning left, left again, and then right, on her way to
the President’s quarters.

10 Minutes
after Power-Out…

“
Ah, Nova. We’ve got a problem,” Jack’s voice came over her
communicator.

“
Tell me about it,” Nova agreed.

“
No one can find Geron,” Jack said. “And there’s blood on the
floor. The medbot says it’s a match to the President.”

Nova stopped
in her tracks. “Grishnak! What do you know?”

“
No one has seen him. I’ve got his family here, but they
haven’t seen him since he was giving the speech. There’s no sign of
him in the living quarters either.”

“
Dammit!” Nova said, slamming her fist against the nearest
wall. This was the last thing she needed, a President going missing
on her watch? It was enough to cause an intergalactic
disaster.

“
We need to put this place on shut down right now,” Nova said.
“Send your two best men to hold the shipping bay. I don’t want
anyone coming or going.”

“
Already done,” Jack said.

“
Good. I’ll meet you at the family quarters.”

Nova hurried
down the corridor to the Presidential Suite. Jack stood outside
next to a cordoned section of corridor where three drops of blood
stood out against the metal floor. She grimaced at him before
opening the door to find a group of people that couldn’t have
looked more dissimilar. She recognised Meagan Feders from the
ceremony; she’d already changed into a sleek black dress and
mascara ran down her cheeks.

She rushed to
her feet as Nova entered, her wide eyes swooping over Nova’s
shoulder as if expecting to see Geron. “Have you found my
husband?”

“
No, I haven’t,” Nova said. Meagan wailed. “But, that’s no
reason to panic. It’s a big place. He’s probably just having a
drink or something.”

Meaghan
sniffed and nodded, her eyes rimmed with red.

Dustin
sprawled across an armchair playing on a hand-held computer. He
looked to have barely heard the conversation as he mashed his thumb
against the buttons.

“
Thank you for all the help you and your Hunters
haven’t
done,” a gruff
voice said from beside the door. “But I think we’ll take it over
from here.”

Nova turned
and came face to face with Bruce, Geron’s burly head of security.
He crossed his arms over his chest as he sneered down at her.

Rage simmered
in Nova’s stomach, but she was more than happy to hand the case to
the authorities and get the hell off the planet.

“
Actually,” a thin man in a tight suit stood up from a stool
and pulled a projector from his pocket.

“
What do you want, Leon?” Bruce growled.

Leon frowned
at Bruce, his red eyes glaring. “I have Geron’s will.”

“
His will!” Meagan trilled, alarmed. “He’s not dead! Why would
you mention his will?”

Leon glared at
Meagan and turned away so that he was speaking solely to Nova.
“Because it clearly states that if he goes missing or is killed
under suspicious circumstances, that he wants an external security
team to take care of it.”

“
Whoa, who are you?” Nova asked.

“
Leon Statin, President Feders’ personal assistant,” the man
said with a sniff.

“
The Confederacy team is already on their way,” Bruce
said.

“
No.” Leon said, shaking his head. “It clearly states ‘not
Confederacy’. I don’t think he trusted all of his people. Why else
would he hire Hunters to run security?”

Nova bit her
lip. Things were rolling out of control far faster than she would
have liked.

“
That’s ridiculous!” Bruce threw his arms wide. “I think we
all know that if Geron’s not here it has something to do with that
brute business partner of his; June, or whatever his name
is.”

“
Piero June,” Meaghan whispered.

“
Yeah, they’ve been fighting for weeks. I’ll get my people to
round him up now,” Bruce said, turning for the door.

Leon stomped
his foot. “No! Geron’s will clearly states that he wants external
people on it. That means it’s up to you,” he said, jutting his chin
at Nova.

Nova held up
her hands. “As much as the prospect thrills me, I’ve got better
things to do than solve a murder case.”

“
He included a reward in his will.”

Nova paused in
her march for the door and turned back. “How much?”

“
Typical Hunter,” Leon said. Bruce grunted.

“
Hey, you get paid for your time; I want to be paid for
mine.”

“
Five thousand.”

Nova pursed
her lips to stop the sudden grin from spreading across her
face.

“
He set aside five thousand credits in case he got bumped off,
but I can’t go to Haven Minor?” Dustin said, looking up from his
computer for the first time since Nova entered the room. “Stingy
bastard. Can that maid of his at least bring me a beer? What’s her
name? Mary, or something?”

He pressed a
red intercom button by the side of the couch. “Oi, can I get a
beer?”

“
Right away Mister Feders,” a quiet voice replied.

Meagan
collapsed into the nearest chair and held her head in her hands,
her body shaking. Everyone else ignored Dustin and stared at the
walls.

A moment later
a thin blonde woman scurried into the room carrying a cold beer
balanced on a tray. She kept her head lowered as she hurried to
Dustin and held out the tray. She sniffed as Dustin snatched the
bottle and her red eyes flew to Nova before she darted back
outside.

Nova frowned
after the woman, making a mental note to find out who she was.

“
Looks like I’m staying around,” Nova said. “You’d best get
comfortable. No one is leaving until Geron’s found.”

She hurried
out of the room. There was a lot of unhappiness clinging to the
walls and she suspected that it hadn’t just started today. She
found Jack waiting on the other side.

“
I assume you heard all that.”

“
Five thousand! I don’t suppose you’ll be sharing it
around?”

“
We’ll see,” Nova said, winking. “I’m sure there are other
Hunters here who would like to get their hands on this job. I can’t
just claim top spot.”

“
Actually,” said Jack. “I think you can. You saw the other
Hunters, they’re mostly rookies. And those of us that aren’t, are
already in personal security. We couldn’t take a lead role even if
we wanted to.”