SHIAM Conspiracy- Book 1 (32 page)

“Frag you!” She cursed in Aragne this time
and hurled the alarm clock at him.

Zak turned to avoid the flying clock. As he
did, it caught him directly on his bandaged wound and he went to
his knees with a cry of pain.

“Oi, I did not mean it!” Megan was at his
side in an instant. “Let me see.”

“No, leave it alone.” He groaned, attempting
to roll away from her.

“Zak, let me see your side,” she said.

“No!” He was doubled up on the floor now,
clutching at his side. The wound throbbed, the pain felt deep and
sharp.

“Do not be such a spoiled child!” She took
hold of him and forced him to roll over so she could examine the
wound. Once he was on his back, he stopped fighting her.

He tried to ignore her as she removed the
bandage and checked the wound. But her nakedness was a distraction,
reminding him of the night before and the pleasure they had shared.
Things had all turned into such a mess and he had just spent the
last few minutes making it worse.

“Some of the stitches have torn. It is
bleeding again,” she said. “Wait here. I will get the medical
kit.”

She got up from the floor and went to the
bathroom. Zak considered leaving while she was gone, but couldn’t
bring himself to do it. In a few minutes she returned with what she
needed. She insisted on him taking more of the Elvish concoction
that he’d taken the night before for the pain and then began
tending his wound. Her hands were gentle upon him. She worked
carefully and silently. It wasn’t long before she had the wound
cleaned, stitched and bandaged once again.

When she finished, she simply stood and
walked to her closet. “Now get out,” she said as she began
selecting her wardrobe for the day.

. . .

An hour later Zak was perched upon the
cluttered desk in Captain Mashkkha’s small office. The crowded
precinct buzzed with activity beyond the plate glass window. “So,
what’s with all the commotion?”

“One of our beat cops came across a multiple
homicide,” Mashkkha said, watching the activity beyond his window.
“Found the bodies in a dumpster behind an abandoned building down
on Jarvis Road.”

“Inside the Zone.”

“Yeah, the officer was on foot patrol when he
noticed blood that had drained from the bin where the bodies had
been dumped. Six victims...all butchered like livestock.”

“Cannibalism?”

“That’s what it looks like,” Mashkkha said.
“The strange thing is, there were also bite marks on the bodies,
like the bastard couldn’t wait to start his feast, but there were
no traces of DNA on the wounds. In fact, forensic didn’t find
anything at all so far.”

“Orks?” Zak asked. He found the lack of DNA
or other evidence strange. “They always did have a taste for Human
flesh.”

“So did the Goblins.” Mashkkha shook his
head. “I don’t know. Both the Orkensha and the Goblinesh
governments made cannibalism illegal years ago.”

“That was only so they could join the World
Federation,” Zak said. “There are regions in both countries that
still practice it.”

“Yeah well, there are also plenty of nut bars
running around in Human form that make good candidates for this as
well.” Mashkkha sighed. “I just can’t understand how anyone can be
so barbaric. When the homicide team assigned to the case canvassed
the area, they found another five victims less than three blocks
away from the first sight.”

Zak was glad he wasn’t a part of the
investigation. He’d seen enough horrific acts of violence in his
lifetime. “How come you’re not on it?”

“I’m rather glad I’m not,” Mashkkha grunted.
“But the reason is I’m being reprimanded for being disrespectful to
an ASID agent.”

“Shouldn’t you be standing in the corner
then?”

“Funny!” Mashkkha said, and then changed the
direction of the conversation. “So, when are you going to tell me
what the frag is going on with this portal thing?”

“Can’t. Client confidentiality.” Zak absently
picked up a picture frame from the desk. It contained a photo of
Mashkkha’s wife. Adrianna Mashkkha was a good looking woman. He
could never understand the absolute devotion she had towards
Mashkkha. And, in his own gruff way, the Captain returned that
devotion in kind.

“Client confidentiality my ass!” Mashkkha
leaned forward and grabbed the frame out of Zak’s hand. Putting it
back in its place he said, “I ran a check on your friend, Vennhim.
Seems that he retired from ASID rather abruptly. He now works for
Grimrok Corporation. I take it from the discussion between you two
yesterday that Grimrok is your client?”

Zak simply shrugged without admitting
anything. He wanted to confide in Mashkkha. He knew he could trust
him, but it was a matter of ethics. Zak was bound by the
confidentiality agreement he’d signed and Mashkkha, as a captain of
the Sol Kappur police department, was bound by a different set of
rules that didn’t have confidentiality as a priority. Mashkkha was
duty bound to follow certain procedures which offered little leeway
when it came to secrecy. Zak didn’t want to put the captain in an
awkward situation, not that he hadn’t done so in the past.

But then, he asked himself why he should care
about any of it. He was no longer on the Grimrok case. As he left
Megan’s he had received a call from Vennhim on his cellular comm.
It seemed that Tobias Grimrok was displeased that both the local
police and ASID had been drawn into the case. Vennhim told Zak that
Grimrok blamed him for the mess and that his services would no
longer be required.

In spite of being dismissed from the case,
Zak had come to the precinct directly from Megan’s looking for
information. After Vennhim relayed Grimrok’s message, Zak had
called Kam Shower, the cabbie he’d met two days earlier. Kam had
been relieved to hear that they were going no further into the Zone
than the Third Precinct and agreed to take him there.

“What did you find on the dead Ork?” Zak slid
off the desk even though his side still throbbed when he moved
around. He clutched at the wound as he walked to the window that
looked out into the heart of the precinct. The commotion beyond the
glass was organized into several groups of animated conversations,
although the individual voices were no more than a low buzz behind
the closed door.

Mashkkha got out of his chair and went to the
file cabinet in the corner of the room. “I’m off the case,
remember?”

“Yeah, sure. What did you find out?”

“Nothing!” Mashkkha grunted. He was browsing
through several files as he spoke. “Prints didn’t come up anywhere.
Had to be discreet about running them.”

“So, you could have missed something
then.”

“No, I didn’t miss anything,” Mashkkha said.
“I called in a couple favors. The searches were thorough...went
through criminal records, birth records, citizenship Id’s,
immigration, the whole lot. Nothing came back.”

“What about international records?”

“Nada.”

Zak turned toward Mashkkha. “I could try to
get them run through ASID. I have a friend there...”

“You have a friend. Well, ain’t you special!”
Mashkkha provided Zak with a heavily sarcastic smile, cocking his
head in exaggerated annoyance. “Do you think you are the only one
with a friend? How do you think I got the prints run through
international records?”

“So sorry, I didn’t realize you had any
friends.” Zak grinned back at him.

“Smart ass!” Mashkkha mumbled as he turned
back to the file drawer. More clearly he said, “Anyway, my contact
at ASID ran them through the Ork database. Apparently they have a
hack into the Orkensha’s government computers. Again, nothing.”

“No trace of this guy at all?” Zak frowned.
“Everyone has a finger print record somewhere. All governments
maintain print files these days. This guy was taken off the
books.”

“Yeah, that’s what I figured, but whose
books?” Mashkkha returned to his desk, carrying several files.
“With the influx of Ork immigrants over the years, he could be
Aragne born just as easily as Orkensha.”

As he sat back down in his chair, Mashkkha
studied Zak for a time and then said, “Look, you know that I have
always respected your client confidentiality, even when it wasn’t
exactly police policy to do so. But we are looking at some pretty
potent magic that, if Ms. Teranika is correct, has been conjured to
do some pretty unconventional stuff. I got to know if my city is in
danger on this one!”

“I wish I could tell you.”

“So then tell me!”

“I can’t!” Zak cursed and shook his head in
frustration. He walked to the chair in front of Mashkkha’s desk and
eased himself into it, wincing from a stab of pain in his side.
“Look, I don’t even know myself. Everything about this case stinks.
I’m sorry I ever got sucked into it!”

“So you’re not sucked into it anymore,”
Mashkkha said. “Are you going to let it go at that?”

Zak didn’t answer his friend’s question.
Instead he said, “Is it just me, or is it a little too coincidental
that both Metro and ASID got anonymous calls to Tanner’s Warehouse
the very next morning after I come across the place?”

“Yeah, I was thinking about that, too. The
call to the precinct was from a pay phone in the Zone...corner of
Jarvis and Krune Street.”

“Did you get anything on the Elves?”

“Yeah.” Mashkkha leaned back in his chair and
studied Zak for a long moment. “You aren’t going to leave this
alone are you?”

Zak flexed his good shoulder slightly in a
lazy shrug. “Just curious.”

“You know interfering with a federal
investigation is frowned upon.”

“I’ve heard that somewhere.”

Mashkkha was silent. Finally he said, “They
all belonged to EAST Group.”

“I figured that much.”

“You do realize that I can’t give you much
support on this.” Mashkkha leaned forward with a heavy sigh. “My
ass is already in a sling and just running those prints and
background checks could get me suspended...or worse.”

“It’s cool. I’m not looking for anything from
you that would cause you problems.” Zak gingerly got up from his
seat and headed for the door. Before he opened it, he turned back
to Mashkkha. “Unless you’re willing to get me the low down on who
called the feds in on this?”

“Damn,” Mashkkha said shaking his head in
disbelief. “I just know you’re going to suck me into this over my
head!”

Zak gave him a huge grin. “Thanks,
Tieget.”

Mashkkha grunted his displeasure. Just then a
slash of lightning cut through the window near his desk. He looked
from the window back to Zak. “The weather is getting worse.”

“
...
W
ith the elections only days
away, the battle for Prime Minister is heating up. Senator Jayme
Donovan slipped further down in the approval polls, now trailing
Prime Minister Sarte by nineteen points. The Senator doesn’t seem
to be deterred by his slide in popularity and today he had some
rather strong words of criticism for the Prime Minister. Here’s
what he had to say:

‘
As Prime Minister, Mr. Sarte has an
obligation to ensure the strength and stability of the Aragne
Commonwealth. He has failed to do this!

‘
The Orkensha evil is building upon our
eastern border. They are making claim to all of the Akkasson
Mountain Ranges. They are launching terrorist attacks against our
citizens. Hostilities between our two nations have not been at this
current level since the Border Wars
.

‘
We must put down this Orkensha
aggression! If we allow them to occupy the Akkasson Mountains, it
will not be long until they are marching across our lands,
destroying our cities, murdering our citizens! The Orkensha of
today are no different than those who were our enemies of old! The
so-called peace we have had with them over the years has been
incongruous at best. Make no mistake about it. They remain our
enemy. They lack the values we believe in. They choose the dark
path. They display open hatred toward us. And what does our Prime
Minister do? He allows them to immigrate to our great country. He
allows them to infiltrate our peaceful neighborhoods. He allows
their evil beliefs to corrupt our children!

‘
But I say, no more! Now is the time for
us to brave this evil, to stand up for what is good. Now is the
time for us to take back our country and to protect our
lands!’

Senator Donovan went on to say...”

Donovan’s words pulled Zak in two directions,
as he sat quietly in the back seat listening to the newscast on the
cab’s comm. His old hatred for the Orks was roused by the Senator’s
words in spite of his dislike for the man. A part of him would very
much like to kill more Orks, to continue retribution for his
mother’s death. But he also knew first-hand the horrors of war.
Everyone had called him a hero during the invasion of the Drekne
Province. Like his father, they said. But he hadn’t felt like a
hero. And he sure as hell wasn’t anything like his father!

“Man, this storm is like the end of the
world’s coming!” Kam said, squinting to see the street through the
sheets of rain rolling down the cab’s windshield.

Zak’s thoughts were pulled back to the
weather. The storm had become notably worse. That could only mean
that containment of the portal was weakening further. A wave of
frustration washed over him, mixed with more than a little fear.
According to Dr. Raghnall, if the portal remained open it could
lead to the destruction of the city, if not the entire world. And
it was up to Zak and Megan to do something about it. Save the
planet. What kind of thing is that to lay on someone!

“Do you believe in destiny?” He suddenly
asked Kam.

“What, you mean like fate?” Kam looked
surprised by the question as he glanced over his shoulder at Zak.
“Nah, I believe you make your own destiny. I mean, you have
choices, right. And each choice you make can turn you in a totally
different direction than the others would have taken you. Free
will, baby, that’s what it’s all about.”