The Lost Command (Lost Starship Series Book 2) (6 page)

“Are you certain, sir?” Riker asked.

“When I believe myself hard of hearing or indecisive, Sergeant, you shall be the first to learn of it.”

There was a moment’s pause before Riker asked, “Would an indecisive man make such a declaration, sir?”

“I suppose not,” Maddox admitted.

Paris scowled, and she made a critical blunder. She waved the needler at Maddox, no doubt implying that he quit talking to the sergeant.

Reaction times were interesting things. Maddox’s reflexes and ability to decide bordered on the miraculous, at least to those who had never witnessed them before. Before the call, he had already begun to suspect the chief security officer. The video hadn’t shown Meta leaving her apartment. The lingering perfume and the shock rod discharge meant she couldn’t have left two hours ago. It had to be within the last hour, and this video hadn’t shown that.

In any case, Maddox’s suspicion allowed him to react faster than he would have otherwise to Paris. The first time she waved the needler, Maddox made his decision to go for it. The second jerk to the left caused his right hand to come down faster than a striking rattlesnake. He released the comm-unit and caught the woman’s gun-hand. At the same time, she pulled the trigger. Maddox twisted his wrist and yanked hers hard. The first steel needle punctured the muscle and fat of what should have been a love handle. Maddox was steely lean and lacked those, but his side still had a small deposit of fat there. The second and third needles missed his body and stuck the wall behind him.

Then, Paris screamed. Maddox twisted the weapon, catching her trigger finger in the trigger guard. He twisted hard until a distinct
snap
told of a broken finger bone.

A moment later, he pulled, taking the needler from her weakened grasp.

“Captain Maddox!” Riker shouted from the comm-unit on the floor.

Beth Paris, if that was her real name, didn’t bother with her injury. Instead, she launched herself at Maddox. He was ready for that and thrust a knee against her chest. She grunted and flew backward. In the moment of contact, Maddox learned that Paris had the consistency of toughened leather and sinew. She was anything but normal. Her back struck the wall hard. Most people would have slid down at the blow. She remained standing. And, with her injured hand, she reached into an inner pocket of her Dempsey Tower blazer.

Maddox had no idea what she planned to pull out, nor did he intend to let her surprise him. He struck with precision, using his stiffened fingers to jab her in the throat.

Her eyes widened. She gagged, and purified hatred shined in her eyes. It’s possible she would have spoken if she could. Instead, with great deliberation and unbelievable concentration, she sucked down air. Then, her jaw muscles tightened as she bit down on something in her mouth. There was a distinctive
cracking
sound.

Maddox struck harder than he had earlier. With full force, he hit her in the face. Likely, that saved his life. It seemed that Paris had planned to exhale sharply, spewing the air in her mouth. A vicious poison floated in there, released a second ago from the hollow tooth where she had kept it. Instead of blowing the substance at Maddox, she swallowed reflexively.

Maddox was already scrambling back, lunging for the door, hurling it open to escape the enclosed chamber.

As he did, the chief security officer of Dempsey Tower slumped dead onto the tiles, killed by the toxins released from her false tooth.

-5-

Maddox slammed the door shut, sealing the dead security officer inside. The problem was that he left the comm-unit in there as well.

Riker would have to make do for a few minutes. Yet, it meant that Maddox had cut himself off from his link to Star Watch Intelligence.

Maddox stood indecisively for several seconds. If Paris had planned to spew poison at him, had she intended to die no matter what the outcome? That had ominous implications. Rubbing his forehead, Maddox wondered if some of the toxin had seeped into his skin, slowing his reactions.

I have to reach the security monitors. I can’t let them destroy the real recordings of Meta’s apartment camera
.

Right. Where was the recording chamber? He’d have to find another security agent and ask.

As if they had read his mind, two Dempsey Tower security personnel appeared. A man and a woman ran into sight, their faces contorted with anguish and determination. Each wore a red blazer with the tower crest on the right side. Each aimed a powerful stun gun at Maddox.

“I’m with Star Watch Intelligence,” he said. “We have a situation on our hands.”

“Do you have any ID?” the woman snapped. She had a buzz cut, a skewed nose and was too thin.

“I do,” Maddox said, reaching into his uniform.

“Do it slowly,” the woman warned. “We’ll shoot you at the first sign of something odd.”

“I understand.” The captain slowly removed his official ID, flipping it open and holding it toward the Dempsey security people.

The man looked first while the woman continued to aim the stun gun at him. “It seems legit,” the man said. He had thick shoulders and a scar on his broad forehead.

“I want to see it,” the woman said.

The man shrugged, stepping back, aiming his stun gun at Maddox. “Sorry, sir, we have to be careful these days. The scare with the New Men—”

“No problem,” Maddox said, wondering what they would do if they knew he might be part New Man himself.

The woman studied the ID, finally frowning at Maddox.

“The monitors called us,” she said. “They said you struck our security chief.”

“I did,” Maddox said. “She’s dead in there.” He pointed at the closed door.

The woman lurched toward it, reaching for the knob.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Maddox said.

“Why not?” the woman snapped, angry again.

“Because your security chief just cracked a hollow tooth and tried to spew poison into my face,” Maddox said.

“What?” the woman asked. “That’s crazy. Spew poison? That would be suicide.”

“Exactly,” Maddox said. He waved his ID at them. “What Star Watch wants to know is who she is.”

“Beth Paris,” the woman said. She cocked her head. “Paris used to work for Star Watch Intelligence.”

Maddox smiled faintly.

“What’s so funny?” the woman demanded.

“I doubt very much she worked for the Iron Lady.”

“Who?”

“Never mind,” Maddox said. “Take me to the monitors, the video chamber. It’s time to see if we can begin to unravel this mess.”

He didn’t say anything about Meta yet. Maddox wasn’t sure how deep the rot went in Dempsey Security. He wanted a Star Watch combat team on the scene before he revealed his hand.

“Do you have a communicator?” Maddox asked.

“Where’s yours?” the woman demanded.

“In there with Paris. Do you want to get it?”

“Here,” the man said, pulling out his comm-unit. “You can use mine.”

Maddox took it, wondering if either of them would do something. He doubted it. If they were part of the rot, wouldn’t they have done something already? He placed a call to Riker. Once he heard the sergeant’s voice, and saw the thin security woman relax, he decided that maybe these two were exactly who they said they were. But who exactly was Beth Paris?

***

Two hours later, Maddox sat at a secured Dempsey Tower computer terminal as Riker guarded his back.

The Star Watch Old Guard had stuck the sergeant on him some time ago; the captain understood some upstairs in Intelligence wanted to temper what they considered as his
reckless impulses
. What the Old Guard didn’t understand was the so-called impulses were part of his…
difference
from them. Maddox didn’t want to think of it as his superiority. That would be thinking too much like a New Man.

In any case, to Maddox’s chagrin, Riker had saved his life several times in the past few years. It seemed as if the sergeant enjoyed wedging himself into a quiet corner, with his gun on his lap. After everyone had forgotten about him,
bam
, Riker fired the critical shot that saved the day one more time.

Maddox and Riker had checked the Dempsey Tower monitors and their videos. The seeming originals didn’t show Meta leaving her apartment. It appeared that Beth Paris had worked alone, which Maddox doubted.

A surface computer search had shown Maddox that the records indicated Beth Paris used to work for Star Watch Intelligence. Digging deeper, he found that was a lie. Beth Paris had actually worked for Maxwell Enterprises, a steel manufacturing company. Paris had run security over there. Before that, she’d worked for the Chabot Mining Consortium.

“Chabot,” Maddox whispered, sitting up.

“Sir?” Riker asked.

“Nothing,” the captain said at the terminal. “Carry on.”

Thoughtfully, Maddox rubbed his lower lip. Meta had worked in the Rouen Colony mines. The Chabot Consortium owned the entire planet. Meta had assassinated
Baron
Chabot in her youth. Had the Chabot Consortium kidnapped Meta? Would they have sent agents all the way to Earth to do that? That seemed highly unlikely. How would they have known where to find Meta?

Maddox sat forward, using the terminal to keep digging. Time passed. He went from site to site, searching. Wait a minute. This was interesting. The consortium had a connection to Earth: the Cestus Space Hauling Company.

For the first time at the terminal, Maddox felt his pulse quicken. Two nights ago, the enemy agent he’d shot had used the
Cestus 9
Hauler to reach New York City. That would indicate a possible link with the Chabot Consortium.

Who owned the Cestus Space Hauling Company? Maddox clicked away, searching. Hello. He sat up, surprised. The Nerva Conglomerate owned the Cestus Space Hauling Company.

“Octavian Nerva,” Maddox said to himself.

The captain quietly mulled that over. Before his voyage into the Beyond, he had fought a viper stick duel with
Caius
Nerva, Octavian’s heir. Octavian just happened to be the richest man on Earth, one of the wealthiest in the Commonwealth. Caius had cheated during the duel by wearing a body suit. Worse, he’d attacked while Maddox’s back had been turned. Riker had shot the heir with a stunner. Riker’s blow had caused Caius to fall down, and his viper stick had landed on his face. The proton discharge had accidently killed Caius Nerva.

That night, Nerva man-hunters had almost kidnapped Maddox in his apartment. Octavian’s revengeful nature was well known. Maddox’s departure from Earth as he left on the mission into the Beyond had cut short any further repercussions concerning Caius’ death. Had that now resurfaced to haunt him?

The captain pondered the Chabot-Nerva connection. Could Octavian have ordered Meta’s kidnapping in order to get to him?

With a start, Maddox began to type. He searched for an hour before he found what he was looking for. He couldn’t believe such an obvious clue.

It appeared Octavian had planted Beth Paris into Dempsey Tower security. The interesting thing was Octavian had done it two years ago. That would eliminate the possibly of Paris’s posting in the Tower to grab Meta.

Why would Octavian plant an operative in the Dempsey Building? The answer was simple. Many of his major competitors lived in or used Dempsey Tower while vacationing in New York City.

Was this about industrial espionage? Maddox didn’t think so. Octavian clearly had connections with the New Men. Nerva Conglomerate actions against him over a year ago made perfect sense now. Nerva hunters had not only tried to snatch him, but in orbit a conglomerate
Ventra
-class shuttle had launched drones at the
Geronimo
.

Naturally, on his return to Earth, Maddox had spoken with Nerva representatives concerning the shuttle. They had reported it missing weeks in advance of the assault. That held up under scrutiny. It looked now as if Octavian carefully covered his tracks.

Maddox sat back, trying to piece this together. Had Octavian only recently learned of Meta’s stay in Dempsey Tower? With the enemy’s secret service order to begin Operation Odysseus, had the tycoon decided to act? If Octavian had captured Meta and the man worked for the New Men…

Maddox nodded. That meant he had to act fast to save Meta. One of the enemy’s greatest powers was the speed at which he moved. They would hurt Meta sooner rather than later in order to extract her usefulness.

If the New Men were involved, the enemy would have covered his tracks well. Notice how there wasn’t any video evidence of Meta or her captors. That pointed to the enemy’s secret service.

Maddox’s eyes narrowed. If there was no way to track Meta…how could he rescue her? Maybe he could negotiate directly with Octavian Nerva. Clearly, the tycoon would deny all knowledge of this. Yet…

Shaking his head, Maddox knew what Brigadier O’Hara would say to his idea. He could hear her voice in his head.

“
No, Captain, you’re quite wrong about the link between Octavian and the New Men. It’s all circumstantial evidence. We need concrete proof of their cooperation. Octavian has too many powerful friends in the government and the Star Watch for us to act in any other manner. We will have to move softly, searching for implicating clues. Just because Paris used to work for him won’t sway any judges
.”

“Sergeant,” Maddox said, standing. The captain had come to a decision. He would risk dealing directly with Octavian. “Is the air-car ready?”

“It’s on the roof, sir,” Riker told him.

“Then let’s go. We have a long drive ahead of us.”

“Where are we headed for, sir?” Riker asked.

“Monte Carlo,” Maddox said.

“Sir?” Riker asked, surprised.

“Let’s hurry, Sergeant. We have to move before they take Meta off Earth.”