Justice Keepers Saga--Books 10-12, page 53
“No.”
“But we can’t be seen in public.”
Sora removed her coat and hung it on a peg on the wall. His heart broke when she looked at him with those sad eyes. “I’m afraid not,” she said. “But…Well, if we employ a little discretion.”
Despite himself, Harry was laughing. “You want to sneak around.” That brought up memories of the early days of his relationship with Della. Her parents had not approved of the young cop in training who courted their daughter.
“I wouldn’t put it so crassly,” she said, sitting next to him. Her hand on his leg took some of the edge off his anxiety. There was still affection in her touch. “But it would be best to keep a low profile.”
Harry turned to her, cupping her face with both hands, and then kissed her on the lips. She moaned, falling back onto the couch, and then he was on top of her. She pulled off his coat, tossing it aside and then her deft hands were undoing the buttons of his shirt. He had to be honest…Sneaking around did make this hotter.
His multi-tool chirped.
He would have ignored it, but that specific trill meant that Melissa was calling, and she wouldn’t do that without good reason. Good God, were Slade’s people attacking the house? Was she in trouble? He trusted his daughter to defend herself, but not when she couldn’t stand.
Harry answered the call without thinking.
His daughter’s face appeared on the screen, and she snorted when she saw him. “Good to see you’re having a good afternoon!” Harry noticed that his top-four buttons were undone.
A blush set his face on fire, but he cleared his throat and forced himself to speak in a level voice. “What’s wrong?”
“Turn on the news,” Melissa said.
Harry got off the couch, and Sora sat up. “Computer,” she said. “News.”
The SmartGlass screen on the wall lit up with footage of people in black tactical gear running up to a house with guns in their hands. Two men stood on either side of the front door. They kicked it open, and a pale woman with blonde hair came running out.
Before she could say one word, the men each grabbed one of her arms and dragged her off the porch. “Protector teams began making sweeps this morning,” a news-anchor said in voiceover. “Rounding up those immigrants who are suspected of planning subversive actions against the Leyrian government. The woman pictured here, Charlene O’Connell of Earth, is a radical who has been fomenting discontent online.”
The image switched to a closeup of a woman with fair skin and curly, red hair who stared intently into the camera. “Initial sweeps have focused on the capitol,” she said. “But the Office of Planetary Security has gone on record, stating that the program will be expanded soon.”
“God in Heaven,” Harry whispered. “They couldn’t.”
“They have,” Melissa said through his multi-tool. “And we might be next.”
9
When she pushed open the door to Bil Hendrel’s office, Anna found him sitting behind his desk. He looked up when she came in. “Operative Lenai,” he said. “It’s good to see you.”
Striding across the room at a brisk pace, Anna smiled for the man. “Director,” she said with a nod. “What are we doing about this?”
“This?”
Anna stood over him with her arms crossed, a tight frown on her face. “This latest assault against immigrants,” she said. “Don’t tell me you haven’t heard.”
The chief director studied her for a long moment and then offered the tiniest grunt. “I’ve heard,” he said almost reluctantly. “At the moment, we’re not doing anything.”
“Is this a joke?”
“If it is, I’m not laughing.”
With a heavy sigh, Anna sat down across from him, hands gripping the armrests. She never took her eyes off him. “Perhaps you’re unfamiliar with our organization,” she said. “This is exactly the kind of human rights violation that the Justice Keepers exist to prevent.”
Bil stood up slowly with a sharp intake of breath. He leaned over the desk with his hands on its surface. “Thank you for clarifying that, Operative Lenai,” he replied. “Now, let me make something clear. The Office of Planetary security has every right to pursue projects aimed at making this planet safer.”
Lifting her chin, Anna stared down her nose at him. “I see,” she muttered. “You realize that there are ways to fight this legally. The chief director has the authority to go to the Supreme Court itself and request an injunction.”
“I am aware.”
Anger flared up hot within Anna. Oh, how she ached to chew this guy’s head off. Seth was pissed too, and that was saying something. Her Nassai was usually as cool as a cucumber. “But you’re not going to do it.”
Turning his back on her, Bil looked out the window at the glittering skyline of Denabria. “If I go to the Supreme Court,” he began, “it will mean the end of my tenure as chief director. I have to choose my battles, Anna. So do you.”
Clenching her teeth, Anna seethed with barely-restrained fury. “You know,” she said, practically leaping to her feet. “If government agents rounding up innocent people isn’t a battle worth fighting, then I don’t know what is.”
Anna turned on her heel, marching out of the room. “If you’re not going to do your job…” She paused in the doorway. “I’ll petition the court myself.”
“Operative Lenai.”
“Yes, Chief Director?”
Bil was standing behind the desk with his eyes closed, visibly calming himself. “At this point,” he said, “I’m going to have to order you not to approach the court.”
“Thank you for making that clear, sir,” she said. “I choose to disobey.”
And then she left before he could say another word. What else did the man expect? Justice Keepers were chosen for their willingness to challenge authority, to make the hard choice and be a pariah if it was right.
Jack was leaning against the wall with one hand on his stomach, shaking with bitter laughter. “Let me guess,” he said. “It didn’t go well.”
Wincing, Anna shook her head. “Not at all,” she said, striding past him. “Bil’s plan is to ignore the situation.”
Jack fell in beside her with a grim expression. She could tell that her boyfriend had not expected to find any help from their superiors. That saddened her and stoked her rage at the same time. “What’s our next move?” he asked.
“I petition the Supreme Court.”
“Will they listen to you?”
Anna whirled around to put herself in front of him, looking up into his eyes. “I will make them listen,” she said. “Come on. We should get back before the trial resumes.”
The morning had been spent going through opening statements and the prosecution’s first witnesses. People from Alios who had been in the auditorium when Cassi shot Dusep. Anna recognized one of them.
The testimony was the same in all three cases. It was horrible; it was terrifying. To see a Justice Keeper turn on one of the people she was supposed to protect was nothing short of traumatic. Anna’s heart went out to them. She believed every word of all three stories, but it seemed to her that this was a ploy by the prosecutor to bias the case more than it was an attempt to establish the facts.
Sitting in the gallery, Anna frowned as she watched the jury filing in. “This is gonna be painful.”
Jack was next to her, hunched over with his hands on his knees, squinting at the prosecutor. “Probably,” he agreed. “But it’s only the beginning. Things might turn around when Devarin presents his witnesses.”
Chief Arbiter Conol Drin stood up behind his desk. “All rise,” he declared. And everyone got to their feet. “Court is once again in session. Mr. Tolmane, please call your next witness.”
“Thank you, Arbiter,” the prosecutor said. “The state calls Larani Tal to the stand.”
Everyone gasped.
Anna caught a glimpse of Larani walking through the aisle between benches. The former chief director wore unrelieved black – pants and a short-sleeved blouse – as if she had come from a funeral. She met Anna’s eyes and shook her head.
Now, what was that about?
It wasn’t as if Anna was planning to cause a disturbance. But then maybe Larani thought that she was. Either way, it was heartbreaking to think that the other woman’s testimony would be used against Cassi
Larani stood on the crest before the Arbiters’ dais, then turned to face the gallery. Her face was as stern as it had ever been. In fact, she looked like a revolutionary who was about to face a firing squad.
“Please state your name,” Arbiter Vin-Shari said.
Closing her eyes, Larani took a moment to centre herself. “I am Larani Mayleen Tal,” she replied. “Former chief director of the Justice Keepers.”
“And do you certify that your testimony is true with no omissions?”
“I do.”
“So noted.”
Roderon Tolmane stood up behind his table. Anna could only see the back of his head, but she imagined that he had one of those ingratiating smiles that lawyers used to put a witness at ease. “Ms. Tal, please recount the events of Baran thirtieth.”
Larani stood there with stiff posture, frowning at the man. “My Justice Keepers had received good intelligence that Grecken Slade would attack the original debate site at the Ladarian Centre,” she said. “As such, the debate was moved to an auditorium at Thaleen University.”
“And did Grecken Slade attack?”
“He did.”
Mr. Tolmane used a tablet to check his notes and then looked up at Larani again. “Ms. Tal,” he said. “At this point, Ms. Seyrus has already admitted to having shot the Prime Council. I don’t think we need another retelling of those events.”
Anna thanked the Companion for that.
“Tell me,” Tolmane went on. “Did you spend a year grooming Special Agent Jack Hunter in the ways of politics?”
“Objection, Mr. Arbiter!” Cassi’s lawyer shouted. “I fail to see the relevance of this line of questioning.”
“If the Arbitration Panel will give me a little leeway,” Tolmane interjected, “the relevance will become clear momentarily.”
Conol Drin looked skeptical, but he stood up behind his desk and nodded once. “Very well,” he said. “Objection overruled. Answer the question, Ms. Tal.”
Larani cast a glance over her shoulder as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but she quickly returned her attention to the prosecutor. “Yes,” she answered. “I trained Agent Hunter as my assistant in the hopes that he might one day take my place as chief director.”
Jack flinched.
“And is it not true that much of this training involved watching then Councilor Dusep and devising methods to thwart his rise to the office of Prime Council?”
“That’s an oversimplification.”
“Then, by all means, clarify.”
Larani bowed her head, gathering courage, and when she looked up again, her eyes were sharp. “Councilor Dusep was building a mass movement based on fascistic talking points,” she said. “I believed that his followers were a hate movement. The goal of our observation was to prevent the emergence of stochastic terrorism.”
“I’m sorry, and that is?”
“Stochastic terrorism is political violence that arises as a consequence of a culture that normalizes hate speech and ethnic scapegoating. In this case, turning the population against immigrants. History has demonstrated that such violence – while ostensibly unintended – is an almost inevitable consequence of such movements.”
“Would you say that Agent Hunter feels disdain for the Prime Council?”
“Objection,” Charl Devarin shouted. “The witness cannot testify to Agent Hunter’s state of mind.”
“Sustained,” Conol Drin boomed. “Please refrain from such questions, Mr. Tolmane.”
In response, the prosecutor only shrugged. “I intend to play Agent Hunter’s stand up comedy routine for the jury,” he said. “Though I imagine many of them have seen it. I can even call Jack Hunter to this stand and ask him directly. Ms. Tal?”
Larani’s gaze settled onto Jack for half a second. “I have no comment on Agent Hunter’s state of mind.”
“Did you assign Ms. Seyrus to be Agent Hunter’s partner?”
“I did.”
“And their assignment?”
Heaving out a sigh, Larani shook her head in frustration. “To locate and expose traitors among the Justice Keepers,” she said. “Those secretly working for former Chief Director Grecken Slade.”
“Did Agent Hunter and Ms. Seyrus have a romantic relationship?”
“I don’t know.”
“Thank you, Ms. Tal. No further questions.”
Mr. Devarin rose from his chair in one smooth motion, bracing hands on the table as he leaned forward to study Larani. “It’s interesting that you chose my client for the specific purpose of hunting traitors,” he said. “Why did you do that?”
“Because her character is beyond reproach.”
“So, you trusted her.”
“With my life.”
Devarin nodded and then sat down again. “No further questions.”
As soon as his butt landed in the chair, Tolmane was on his feet again, standing with his fingers splayed on the table. “Ms. Tal,” he said. “How did you feel when this woman whom you claim to trust with your life shot Councilor Dusep?”
Larani’s face was as hard as stone, her eyes trying to bore a hole in the prosecutor’s head. “Shocked to the core,” she answered. “I had not expected it.”
“No further questions.”
“The witness is excused.”
As Larani marched down the aisle, she paused for a moment to share a look with Anna. Her lips curled into the smallest smile, and then she was on her way again.
Anna closed her eyes, breathing slowly to calm herself. “That did not go well,” she murmured, shaking her head. “Not at all.”
Jack was slouching with his head thrown back, peering through the skylight. He blinked as he considered it. “I don’t think it was that bad,” he said. “Larani’s word still carries a lot of weight with some people, and she trusts Cassi.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Hobbling through the kitchen with a cane in hand, Melissa hissed air through her teeth. “Still hurts,” she grumbled, making her way around the table. Every step brought with it a sharp sting.
Keli sat with her back to the patio door, watching Melissa with a tight frown. “You don’t have to push yourself so hard,” she said. “I would be happy to retrieve anything you wanted. Or the robot could.”
Melissa went to the sink and ran the water, filling a tall glass. She shook her head vigorously. “This is good for me,” she said. “It’ll be healed in a few days, but a little bit of exercise is helpful.”
“So, why are we here?”
Lifting her glass to her lips, Melissa took a long pull. She cleared her throat. “Give it a moment,” she said. “I invited someone else.”
“Who?”
As if in answer to Keli’s question, the doorbell rang. Melissa heard the whirring of Michael’s mechanical legs and then the sound of the door opening. “Hello, Mr. Aydrius,” the robot said. “Please come in.”
A moment later, Rajel emerged from the hallway, dressed in black pants and a white button-up shirt with a high collar. Light glinted off the dark-blue lenses of his sunglasses. “Ladies,” he said.
“Is this some sort of conspiracy meeting?” Keli inquired.
“Just a small meeting.” Melissa set a glass of water down in front of Keli. Then she gestured to the chair across from her, and Rajel took the hint.
“What sort of meeting,” he asked.
Melissa grunted as she made her way to the head of the table. Sitting down brought with it a new flare of pain. Luckily, it faded in a few seconds. “The three of us all share something in common.”
“And what might that be?”
“We’re all immigrants to this planet.”
Keli snatched up her glass and downed its contents in one long gulp. She slammed it back down on the table. “I knew it!” she growled. “How did I know it?”
“You can read minds,” Rajel suggested.
“Not hers,” Keli said. “Or yours. Not without considerable effort.”
“It’s only a matter of time before they come for us,” Melissa said. “Rajel and I might be safe since our status as Keepers makes us Leyrian citizens. But you won’t be so lucky, Keli. And neither will my father.”
“And what do you want to do about that?”
“Well, that’s the point,” Melissa said. “I want us to decide that together.”
Keli bent over, covering her face with one hand. A low groan escaped her. “You know that you’re insane, right?” She looked up, blinking. “Please tell me you know that. The three of us cannot take on the entire Leyrian government.”
Rajel nodded in reluctant agreement. “She’s probably right,” he said. “Don’t go poking this bear, kid.”
“We have to do something.”
“The Keepers will do something,” he countered. “I don’t mean to be rude, Melissa, but you’re an agent who’s worn a badge for less than three months. You might want to check with your superiors before you upend the apple cart.”
Melissa sat there with her mouth hanging open, staring at him in disbelief. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing,” she said. “You’re saying do nothing?”
“I’m saying trust the process.”
“The process,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “Do we even know where they’re taking the people they round up?”
“I imagine we’ll find out soon enough.”
Grunting, Melissa shut her eyes and worked through the frustration. “Then let me ask you this,” she said. “Do we even know that the people they rounded up are still alive?”
“That’s ridiculous!” Rajel snapped. “The Leyrian government wouldn’t just execute people without trial.”
“Two days ago, we would have said they wouldn’t arrest people without cause. And now look what they’re doing. Who’s to say how far they’ll go?”
