The Chronicles Ser2 (6-10)

now is a Syndicate Turf war. You remember what happened the last time in ’99 don’t you
Krank?” he said looking deeply into his mug.

“Only too well; it sparked an internal bout of in-fighting in the Force. Whole divisions were
involved in some cases. We had six high ranking Officers turn sides and shoot some of their
own men, because of family ties to the Syndicates. I hope we can get a lid on this before it
all blows up in our faces” Krank responded, then turning to Dreck continued “Your Father
was on the frontline in Vertigo District when two of his own men, both with family ties to
two warring Syndicates, set upon each other with knives. He stepped in to intervene and got
his lung punctured. The two fighters were then shot by the Commanding Officer of a Black
Guard squad that were there to assist in the taking of the Warehouses at the Vishtaan
Wharf. Messy day for all of us that. The Battelle Syndicate had managed to smuggle a half
ton of Trinite Explosives into the buildings. I was just a Junior Inspector then; I lost a lot of
good friends when they detonated the stuff. That’s why that area is nicknamed “The Fallen
Comrades Yards”” He finished saying and waited for Dreck to say something.

“That explains the whole “Silent Car” routine when Patrols go by the area. I didn’t realise
that was where that happened till now. I had thought it was over Bedlam Bronx! I’m sorry
now that I teased my “watcher” when I was undergoing my Rookie Training when he’d go
silent even when we were responding to a shout there.” Dreck said quietly. “Why didn’t he
just tell me?” he added. Lomax interrupted

“Many of those involved were traumatised by the events. They found it difficult to speak
about what they experienced. I think your “watcher” was trying to protect you from the
worst of it, and by keeping it from you he was helping himself to cope. I lost three family
members that day; I still get the odd nightmare!” Lomax revealed “Now; back to current
affairs. I’ve asked Central records to send over the files on The Vasilly Triplets. I also had
customs tighten border controls just in case they head across borders” He continued. He’d
just finished speaking when their Chronometers buzzed to let them know that HQ wanted
them there as quickly as possible. They finished their drinks and paid their bill. Lomax and
Dreck headed for their car, Krank for his. They all turned on their lights and sirens and sped
back to Force HQ…

After his meeting with Glass; Telford was driven back to their office building by
Gaston and Herne. They let him out of the Limousine and he shakily entered the front door.
His guts were so tightly knotted he was having difficulty in keeping the Brandy down. He
headed for a pot plant in the corner and wretched, Shirley gurned her face. Wiping his
mouth on his handkerchief he asked Shirley for a glass of water and headed into Splitt’s
room. She followed him in, handed him the water, and hurriedly left closing the door behind
her. Splitt was about to speak but Hagron signed him to shut up and listen.

“The Kinray Group has “merged” The Battelle Syndicate into their business portfolio. I’ve
just had that Glass… man; NO! Creature, give me the lowdown on how the “hostile
takeover” panned out in every gory detail. He seemed to take great delight in doing so. In
short we now have them as major clients. The Force will not let this go unnoticed. We’d
better make plans to move business to one of our Unity holdings and quickly, but as
surreptitiously as possible” Hagron gulped the water trying to calm his shredded nerves.
“That Man is pure evil. Wait till you find out what his goons did to Luis. We must arouse no

suspicion and our moves must look like they are for legitimate reasons” he continued, and
then he went on to relay what Glass had said in the same gory detail he had been told…

Shirley; realising something bad was afoot prepared herself for the worst. Expecting
to find herself unemployed she had begun to clear her desk. Splitt popped his head round
the door. He was looking odd; Shirley expected the worst, but was about to be surprised.

“Shirley; leave that and come in here a moment. Mr Hagron and I would like a word about
the future.” He said. Shirley stopped clearing her desk and did as she was told. They asked
her to sit down then Hagron told her of his meeting. He left out the more gory details but
from her expression he could tell she had figured it out. He then laid out what there next
moves were going to be.

“Splitt and I will be taking a sabbatical to our Unity subsidiary offices on Ferisa in the
Achenazi sector. Ostensibly it will be to organise the Unity side of the business to bring it in
line with the arrangements here. It was always going to be money laundering exercise for
our Syndicate front here, but this way it will be a way of making it look a more legitimate
venture. To get the heat off you, we want you to take a holiday break. It will all look official;
a sort of rest period prior to joining us on Ferisa to help organise the staff there. If Glass and
the Kinray Group get even the slightest whiff that we are bailing to safer climes, I dare say
that our remains will probably surface in a number of Pet food cans on sale in the discount
aisle. If I’m not mistaken this “takeover” that Glass and his goons have done is going to
spark a Syndicate Turf war, the sooner we get our move organised the better. Do you have
any place in mind you can go and with whom?” he finally asked. Shirley was always good at
thinking on the spot and replied quickly

“I have a Cousin on Mira who’s wanted us to get together ever since she got married and set
up a business there. That’s the destination sorted; she has a lovely place out in the hills. Also
a secure Hive-Net service link so if you need to contact me or vice versa that’s possible. How
long are you thinking this to be for?” she asked.

“Oh; at least a month maybe two and you do have two months accrued holidays with pay
and bonuses, remember to take any expense money out of the company petty cash. There’s
plenty in there, I saw to it only this morning. Make sure that you use the legit Visa’s and
Permits along with border passes with your maiden name. It’s not uncommon these days for
widowed women to revert their names. That way if Customs do stop you you’ll have proper
documents. We’ll leave later in about two weeks’ time, spreading the word that we will be
closing these offices temporarily but contact can still be made with us through to the offices
on Ferisa. That way anyone who does contact us would have to make it for legitimate
reasons so as not to alert the Unity Patrol. I think that covers all the bases” Splitt said to
them but Shirley interrupted.

“What about the meetings you two had this afternoon and tomorrow morning. Those
clients are among our most lucrative, besides young Master Leroy likes me. He even
proposed.” She said coyly.

“Damn! I hadn’t thought of that. The meetings were with him and his Father to discuss a
legal contract over custody of the Business in the event Magnus divorced Leroy’s mother.
Can you arrange to have them meet me for lunch at Alexandros’ I’ll get them to sign the

papers there and then. I’ll need you as a distraction. NO! Better still, were you intending to
go alone to Mira Shirley?” Hagron asked

“I was, but I see where you’re going. I do fancy Leroy, what girl wouldn’t. Yeah! I can’t wait
to see Jeannie’s face when I arrive with Leroy on my arm! Oh this is gonna be good” She
squealed with delight.

“Good then it’s settled Operation Fly-by-night is underway!” he went to the drinks cabinet
and returned with a bottle of Mescal Rubén and three glasses. He poured them each a
generous serving. “To Ferisa and our health!” Splitt made in toast. They clicked their glasses
and drank to the toast. Shirley coughed “Wow! That’s smooth… Whoof!” she gasped not
being used to the strong liquor.

Disarray and Mayhem at HQ

Lomax, Dreck and Krank arrived to find HQ in a state of rampant manic activity and
not its usual oasis of calm efficiency. The Chief was at his desk in his office; his head was
resting in his hands and it appeared he was sobbing. The room looked like a bomb had gone
off inside. Mark Wiggins the Custody Sargent stopped them entering and pointed them to
the holding cells. They wandered along the corridor. The cells had been set up as a
makeshift trauma room. Injured Officers were scattered around the place and Doc
Harrigan’s team were there as were the Medical officer and his assistant. They were tending
to the men and women who’d obviously been hurt in some incident. In one of the cells, two
forms lay on gurneys draped in sheets. “There was an explosion down by Clinker Mansions
in the Kabor district,” Mark said as he came up behind them “The Chief’s two sons with Juke
and Nancy Ferris were responding to a routine suspicious persons loitering report when the
front of the Casino erupted. The injured here and in Division 6 were hit by a second blast
when they and the emergency services arrived that was probably due to leaking gas
supplies. Frankie’s over at Mercy in a critical condition but young David…” he nodded in the
direction of the left gurney “The other one’s Juke Ferris. They were all in the same car. It’s a
wonder we have their bodies; the force of the first blast wiped out twenty civilians who
were in the vicinity too the second blast collapsed the Hotel above onto the Parking area at
the rear. The Emergency Recovery crews are still pulling dead from the rubble.” Mark said.
He was visibly shaken. “I’ve sent a car for Evelyn the Chief’s missus. I’d go easy on him. He
asked for you Krank, something about repaying a debt?” he added. Krank went to the
Chief’s office.

“Any idea who’s responsible yet?” asked Lomax. Dreck headed to Ops.

“Not yet; though Forensics found traces of Trinite and Helix 7 residue!” Mark replied
“Marcia and I are acting as coordinators for any information. Does the explosive mean
anything to you?”

“Possibly; though it’s common in the mining industry it’s too unstable for general use. The
Helix 7 is a new one on me; it’s normally used to shield genetic samples from radiation.
Krank said that he expected retaliation and a possible Turf war between the Syndicates. If
this is any indication of what to expect then we’ll need all the help we can get. Who’s down
on the scene we can trust among the media Circus?” Lomax asked.

“Jinny Tibers of Channel 12 and that Anchor from Network 6, Corrigan Williamson; want me
set up a link?”

“No I think I’ll go down and meet in person. The Chief need’s a spokesman. Krank’s the
senior; but he’s going to have his hands full so I might as well take the job. I’ll need a driver I
want Dreck to help out here, no need to lose any more juniors today. Who’s free?” Lomax
responded

“Lucy Hurden and Jason Mugabe are the only two with protection detail qualifications; if
that’s what you mean?” said Mark

“I’ll take Lucy, she’s not so well known down there might put whoever’s behind this on an
unsteady footing. What’s her marksmanship figure?” he asked

“She’s got a 120 point average. Good choice and she has bomb work experience too” Mark
replied… Lomax went to his desk and retrieved his weapon; a Five Sixty Karson, and shield
generator. He clipped the generator to his belt and switched it to auto. He was about to
leave but went back to the drawer and picked up two extra charge packs…

Marven Vasilly was walking away from the ruins of the Casino. He had seen a blue
Sedan leave the rear of the Casino about six minutes before the explosion heading to
Beldam Bronx area. He’d been in the Casino only an hour before; collecting protection
money for “Mr” Glass’s goon Herne. Herne would have been recognised by the beat Force
Officer in the pay of the Lucerne Family so when Herne had seen Marven he’d paid him a
couple hundred to do the job for him. Marven walked away slowly and headed to where
Herne had parked up.

“You must be the luckiest beggar alive! That blast would soon have the place crawling with
Force and god knows who and what. Any idea as to who planted the bomb?” Herne asked

“Here’s the package I collected” Marven said and thrust a bag into Herne’s lap. “I saw a blue
Sedan with Hedebar plates come out from behind the place just before the shit hit the fan.
You owe me a favour when I’m back in town. My brothers and I are heading over to the
Gynax System to do another “accident on purpose” for a wealthy client. Tell your Sis I said
hello will you. I just hope Morden doesn’t find out about me and her. I’m giving you the two
hundred back for Marxie, his birthday’s coming up. Tell her to get something nice for the
kid” Mundey replied and hailed a cab. Herne was gobsmacked; he had always wondered
who Marxie’s Father was, but he never suspected Marven Vasilly! He headed back to Glass’s
apartment smiling. Wait till the boss hears about that Sedan; Gaston and he would be
paying a certain old comrade an unwelcome visit.

Lomax and Hurden arrived at the scene and Lomax singled out Jinny and Corrigan
and pulled them aside.

“Some of what I’m about to say is off the record and not to be used in your reports in the
current circumstances. You will have an exclusive when I am able to give you more. Do I
have your cooperation or do I have to take your broadcast licences?” The pair nodded. “I’ll
be fronting a Media Conference in two hours. As you know this Casino was a joint venture
between the City Council and the Vergon Gaming Commission. Their representatives here

are the Morgaine family. None of the family were present today, they are on vacation; so no
speculation on who might have been targeted” he was saying when Corrigan interrupted

“Was this a Syndicate hit?” he asked

“I can’t say for certain, we’re waiting on Forensics to determine the type
of explosives used, when we know that we’ll let you two know first. Four
Force officers were called out to a disturbance in the Casino by staff; and
were responding when the explosion happened. Two of those officers are
dead, two are in critical condition. This is where I want your discretion.
Two of the male Force men were The Chief’s sons, Frankie and David,
David is dead, Frankie is in a critical condition at Mercy Creek. You can
imagine how the Chief is right now, so I will be your point of contact for reports on that
matter. Jenny I’d like you to cover the hospital and public side of reporting; the female
officer that was in the car when the explosion happened was shielded from the bulk of the
blast. That’s Nancy Ferris, you two went to school together, and you can probably bring in a
personal angle there. Here’s the rub though. She was due to go on Maternity leave; the
hospital hasn’t said if she’ll lose the baby. You know her husband Manny too; her brother
Juke is the other dead officer.” Jenny nodded approval but you could tell this had shocked
her. “Corrigan I want you to cover the investigation side of things, you’re good at the in
depth interview. There’ll be the usual political cronies jumping on the bandwagon, that’s
your best quarter. I’d like you to start with the Black Guard, they’re going to handle any
further incidents of this kind, and their expertise in the explosives field is greater than
Forensics. Now; here’s the stuff I need you to keep a lid on till we know more. I’ll give you
the head’s up when we know. It’s possible this bombing might be related to a murder that
happened this morning. I can tell you that the Assassins Foundation is involved. Corrigan
you might want to take an investigation report later on this as we have reason to believe the
Caveat Brigade are involved” Corrigan smiled. Jenny asked

“Who was the victim this morning?”

“Jaden Whelks” Lomax replied “I was married to his Granddaughter until two weeks ago
when our divorce became final. Krank and the Chief want a Media block on that incident
still. If it’s as we suspect, we may have a Syndicate push going on. I trust you two to keep a
lid on things; we don’t want any Media speculation to spark an escalation. We can ill afford
a repeat of the Turf War of ’99. So if you get wind of any of the other Media vultures poking
their noses where they shouldn’t let us know”

“Have you had word with your Ex yet Steve?” Jenny asked

“Not yet, but if she wants to talk with me she’ll get in touch. That’s all for now; one other
thing that might help with this Casino investigation. We’ve already contacted the weather
service as they had one of their drones over the area around the time. Could you ask your
operators and the other media teams to send us footage from around the time? It could be
something was caught that would help. As I said I’ll be giving a Conference
in two hours. And don’t be afraid to ask for protection. I know the Black
Guard would help there. I’m going back to HQ. Krank’s handling anything
to do with the Chief Jenny, so after the Hospital see him”. A shout came
from behind them they turned to see a Guardsman carrying out the body

of a child. The man’s eyes were flowing with tears; the crumpled tiny form limp in his arms.
“I found her in the area where the street vendors’ carts were” he was shaking. Jenny and
Corrigan signalled their crews to start filming. An Emergency worker took the child’s body
and put it on a gurney. Lomax felt his stomach churn. Lucy nudged him and they went back
to their car.

At HQ; Dreck was going through the vid and Data footage the Weather service had
sent. Most of it was just general shots with embedded data streams. So far nothing seemed
to stand out. The resolution was extremely high as they’d just taken delivery of some ex-
military units. The vid footage of the explosion was shaky where the shock wave hit; even as
far away as the drone was. It gave an indication of how fierce the blast was; watching it in
slow motion only made its impact worse. Bodies and debris seemed to scatter like leaves in
a gust of wind. He felt sick, a sensation that was made worse when Mark Wiggins came over
eating a sandwich made from a particularly smelly cheese. He missed the footage after the
explosion so rewound to just before and stepped through the footage again. That was when
he spotted the Force car parking up and a figure coming out of the Casino that Frankie and
David nearly bumped into. He was sure he recognised the man’s body stance and gait, but
couldn’t be certain. From this angle the man’s face wasn’t visible. He made a note to talk
with Frankie when he was capable of giving his account of what happened, maybe it might
jog his memory. He took an edited section from the footage and saved it to a storage
crystal. He whizzed the footage forward to the end of the explosion sequence and ran it on
in slow motion. The footage showed that moment where those nearby momentarily froze
before rushing in to give assistance. One car, a blue Sedan was traveling away from the
incident apparently unaware of what had occurred just a few blocks behind them. He
passed the plate details on to traffic. He was unaware at that time he had probably solved
an important part of this investigation. The footage ended there because the drone had
been ordered to move to another location. If it had lingered in the area for a few more
minutes it would have recorded Marven’s meeting with Herne. It turned out that this was
the only footage of the bombers to surface as the News crews had been covering local
charity fundraising events. He packed up the evidence and headed to the Incident Support
room. The phone on the Incident desk rang and Mark answered it; he signalled Dreck over
to take the call.

“Female caller from Bedlam Bronx area” Mark said as he handed Dreck the receiver.

“Hello; Detective Inspector Dreck speaking how can I be of assistance?” he asked

“I think my boyfriend did something really stupid. I think he planted the bomb…” the shaky
voice said. She went on to explain that she wanted to remain anonymous as her family had
ties to City Hall. Her and her boyfriend had worked at the Casino until early this morning.
There had been some discrepancy in takings from the Tambla Tables she was Pit Boss for
and he’d stepped in to defend her. He’d told Mr Cordeaux to check the vid footage, but the
Boss wasn’t having any of it. He fired them both on the spot. His thug Vernon then escorted
them out of the rear entrance so as not to upset customers. Danny Spinks, her boyfriend
was Pit Boss for the upper room tables. Before he was escorted off the premises he’d made
a copy of the vid data and they’d looked it over that morning. They’d discovered a team
working a scam; one of them Danny had recognised as working for the Carnegie Syndicate
over in Hedebar.

“I told him to leave it, but he went over to the Casino about an hour before the blast. I saw
he had something tucked under his overcoat; He also had another copy of the footage. I
tried his comms when I heard about the explosion; but he didn’t answer. I think he might
have had something to do with it.” She ended the conversation and Dreck took her details.
He signalled Mark over handed them to him and told him to send an unmarked unit to bring
her to HQ. He told her what he was doing and then asked
“Cindy; does your boyfriend drive a blue Sedan with Hedebar plates?”

“No, officer Dreck, he uses a hover-scoot. His family are from Hedebar that’s how he
recognised the guy” she answered

“Ok; now I want you to prepare yourself in case Danny was still inside when the bomb went
off. I’ll get the car that’s coming for you to bring you in by a secure route to the rear of the
building. When you feel up to it I’ll take you through some mug shots. Is there anybody you
want me to call?” She gave him her Father’s name; when he heard it, he understood why
she wanted anonymity. Just then Lomax and Lucy returned he filled them in with what he’d
found in the drone footage and who was coming in. Lomax went to the Chief’s office he and
his wife were hugging each other crying like kids. Krank intercepted him and took him to
one side. Lomax relayed what they had so far and even Krank’s eyes opened wide when he
heard about Cindy. She was none other than the Mayor’s youngest daughter…

A shrewd Business move

Keeping up the appearance that it was business as usual Hagron met with Magnus
and his son Leroy. He had the paperwork with him and they were going through the fine
details when, as arranged, Shirley turned up with a message that Splitt couldn’t get him on
his comms, something about interference with the network from the bombing. That
incident had been a godsend; it had made the incessant demands from Glass and other
Syndicate members dip to almost a whisper. They knew that the Force would be increasing
their activity, probably roping in the Black Guard too. It gave them breathing space to do
what they’d got planned.

“Splitt should have changed networks long ago” He said to Magnus, who like the three of
them had stood up when Shirley arrived; observing the usual protocol for a female
presence. Leroy immediately homed in on Shirley, just as she said he would. With him
distracted he’d sign away his rights to his name and social security number. Everything could
not have been going better. Meanwhile Splitt had set about contacting all their business
clients about the move to Ferisa and the why’s and wherefores. As it happened a small crisis
of sorts had occurred with the business on Ferisa, there’d been a sudden death of a board
member. Nothing suspicious, but it meant He and Hagron had a legitimate excuse for the
trip.

When Shirley had the chance she told Leroy about the holiday trip she had planned.
He was ecstatic, so enthusiastic in fact he insisted they take his private Transport. Hagron
winked at Magnus who winked back, Magnus knew his son very well. Besides it meant
Shirley would have a few more extra credits to spend, plus whatever Leroy lavished on her.
That girl really knew how to work the system, and men. Leroy and Shirley made there

excuses and Magnus gave his son a set of keys saying. “If you need it; the Hacienda is free I’ll
let the staff know, just give me a call beforehand don’t just turn up” The two youngsters
went off in Leroy’s sports car. Magnus returned to Hagron and continued “Ah; young love...
I’m satisfied with the wording, Barbra will be peeved, but she was the one who cheated on
me with my business partner. The two of them deserve each other. He’ll get only the shares
he deserves in the dissolution of the firm. Thanks Telford for doing that research by the way;
you were right he had been dealing behind my back with a Caveat Brigade accountancy
outfit. I checked out that business partnership you recommended in the Unity, they are just
the investment I need, thanks again” he signed the “Agreement” papers and shook Hagron
firmly by the hand. “It’s a shame about Carstairs pegging out, my condolences. I might see
you some time while you sort out the business on Ferisa. I’m looking at a property deal on
nearby Nuria in a couple of months’ time”. He got into his Limousine and Hagron put the
papers in his brief case. He signalled for the waiter to charge the bill to Magnus’ account as
agreed. He had a distinct spring in his step as he walked back to the office. The first stage of
the plan had gone smoothly. He had to divert his path around the Force road blocks because
of the Casino blast, but walked into the office with a broad smile on his face.

Splitt was also in a happy mood; Hagron had heard him whistling like that before
when something had gone very right. Splitt was watching a copy of some Vid footage.

“Take a look at this Telford. Things are looking up see if you recognise anyone. My girl in the
Force HQ retrieved the Vid footage of the interior prior and during the Casino blasts. She
sent us a copy by special delivery.”

Telford watched the scene unfold in the upper room. The Casino Boss Cordeaux was having
a “private” game with some business partners. He recognised Danny Spinks the boyfriend of
the Mayor’s youngest daughter; Cindy, who was probably working the ground floor. A figure
walked into the room and Hagron whooped!

“That’s Tom Hasperand’s youngest brother Harry “Houdini”. He works for the Carnegie
Syndicate over in Hedebar. Well; that’s going to cause a stir. He’s their explosives guy; he
may well be the bomber the force is looking for. We couldn’t have asked for a better
distraction!” Splitt hushed him and bid him to continue watching. Harry finished his business
with Cordeaux, who had left his friends to continue playing, and left. That’s when Cindy was
dragged in and into Cordeaux’s office. There was no sound but it was obvious Cordeaux was
fuming at what his thug Vernon was saying about Cindy. He watched the ensuing arguments
with Danny and him and the two love birds being dragged out, but not before Danny had
retrieved the very Vid footage they were watching.

“She’s being accused of fiddling the takings. Harry had a Syndicate crew working the
Tambala scam downstairs by all accounts. They all left, Harry minus his brief case, just
before the explosion which happens just around thirty-five minutes from this point. The
carnage is sickening and the vid breaks up around then. The bomb was a special it kicked out
an E.M.P that fried the security circuits before the blast took out the building, that kind of
equipment don’t come cheap. Whoever Carnegie was in cahoots with has a lot of clout. The
second blast from the gas destroyed the rest of the security recordings” Splitt commented.

“Whoever they are they just gave us the break we need to clear out and get safe. You
should give that cousin of yours a few extra notes for this. Don’t leave that copy lying

around, find a secure hiding place in the luggage and we’ll take it with us.” He got the
Mescal out for a second celebratory shot. As they drank Hagron recounted how the meeting
had gone. Sometime later they’d drunk half the bottle before closing up shop and heading
back to their apartments to start their packing. Splitt taking the Vid footage copy with him.
He’d keep it in his shielded money belt while they travelled. Customs at the border where
they were going to cross were not too keen on body searches so all should go well.

We three kings…

The Vasilly Triplets new client had given them a substantial advance to help them
create the necessary cover they needed for their departure to the Unity. They would,
ostensibly, be Entrepreneurs from the Gildar Colony seeking to invest in the Unity markets.
Thanks to Mundey’s forgery skills all their papers and documents would fool even the most
sophisticated detection equipment. An education at The Assassins Foundation was a well-
rounded one. Morden had sorted out a decent Speeder for their flight and Marven was busy
finishing up settling their Hotel bills and expenses. They had packed with just the right
amount of luggage to make the cover look right. Most of it was the spoils from the hit and
linen scrounged from the Hotel’s outgoing laundry. The items they’d taken from Whelks
would not arouse suspicion, and the linen was plain with no Hotel identifying logos. No one
would notice until they were long gone. Why waste money on trivial things that they
wouldn’t actually need. They were meeting up just past the border with a rogue Buraxin
Trader they’d used before. He would then take them and their speeder close to their
destination. It was all going well. They didn’t know who’d arranged the Casino bombing but
it gave them the perfect distraction for their departure. Morden was checking the
ownership documents of the Speeder he’d just got from the dealer.

“These may be legit, but I think your work would have sufficed brother” he grinned at
Mundey “But we can’t take chances with what we’ve got to do, and whom we are going to
dehume!” he said when the dealer’s courier droid had left. He went over the plan with them
one more time. Making sure they knew all their false identity details off by heart. They were
the Kings of Leon Investment Bureau Limited. They would be using their own first names,
but their surname would now be Jorgensen. A Thule family name and legitimate as it was a
distant cousins. They had their histories ingrained and they even had the accent exact. They
would depart for the Spaceport around noon tomorrow; taking things easy. There they’d get
their Speeder and make their way to the Border Hyperspace Gateway. All being well they
should be through customs investigation and in Unity space by around three in the
afternoon.

As they had expected the Hotel staff didn’t take any notice of the discrepancy in the
amount of luggage they had with them. It was a busy day, a load of college fraternity boys
checking in, and they were short staffed.

“I’ve been doing my research of our two target’s habits and I think I’ve found the ideal chink
in their armour!” Marven said quietly as they waited in the lobby for their lift to the
Spaceport. “He’s a victim of his need for speed and she is a fashionista. Both are extremely
wealthy, but it’s all rifled from their Cartel friends. It was they who ordered the hit” he
added.

Normally they wouldn’t ask the names of their clients but in this case they were offered
voluntarily. It was an impressive list. Their cab arrived and the busboy loaded their luggage.
Morden tipped him and they got in. The ride to the Spaceport took them past the road
blocks around the Casino. The Forensic teams and the Emergency services were winding
down and the clear up squads were moving in. They made a sign of the Order to add weight
to their cover. The cab driver noted this and nodded. Since the blast all the Cab companies
had vowed to “go silent” past the scene until a decent time had passed. So their cabby was
observing the move as a mark of respect. As they left the urban area of the City and headed
out to the open road to the Spaceport he struck up conversation. The four of them chatted
about trivial matters till they got to the Spaceport. He helped them with their luggage and
left.

Originally named The Nelix Aeronautical Geo dome; Hellion Spaceport was really just
a complex transporter hub for the huge docking orbiter. There were some trading
establishments for travellers, toilet facilities and, for some reason that only the designers
knew, an indoor zero gravity swimming pool? That was currently the focal distraction of a
group of school children going on a field trip to some other world in the Trust territories.
The pool was undergoing maintenance on the gravity nullifiers. The technicians were
adjusting the field strengths of the generators. This was causing the normally spherical pool
to change shape in a way the kids found highly amusing. One of the teachers was taking a
vid of the proceedings. The distraction helped alleviate the boredom of the wait to be
processed and transported to the orbiter. The triplets turn came around and they handed
their passes and other paperwork to the staff. They did a cursory check and cleared them to
proceed. Morden had been right about the level of security here, what awaited them at the
orbiter was a little more complex.

On the orbiter; since they had their own space side arrangements, their luggage was
taken to a loading bay by direct Trans mat. They had further security checks and sweeps to
go through. All went well, the forgeries stood up to scrutiny. They were given their passes
and other documents and a boarding pass each. These electronic cards emitted an identity
code that would be needed for access to the Hyperspace Gateway of the Border. One would
be fixed to the hull of the Speeder. They would keep one and the other had to be with any
cargo or belongings. They also functioned as “Black Boxes” in the event of a mishap. They
went through the procedures of confirming the luggage was stored correctly and signing the
baggage crew’s dockets. On board and strapped in position they turned on the Speeder’s
guidance systems and locked them onto their assigned frequency. The procedure of filtering
into the traffic stream to the Border Gate was automatic. They just had to relax and let the
whole thing take place.

Two ships, one from the Unity Patrol and the other from The Black Guard were
monitoring proceedings checking all traffic in the stream. In front of the Speeder there were
three vessels, two Buraxin Trader luggers and a Tourist Cruiser, to their rear was another
Speeder and a little distant a slow Cryo carrier. These ships were generally used for
transporting seeding materials for Terraformers and Farm Colonies. It seemed to be having
some difficulty with its engines. They were close to the gate now and they changed their
beam to take them to a private Hyperspace corridor. Suddenly and silently an explosion
blossomed from the Cryo Ship. The effect was eerie; then they felt the field wave give them
a push. It took Marven all his strength to wrestle with the controls that had dropped into

manual automatically. They had drifted off beam and he fought to get them back on track.
He made it just in time and the auto control cut back in and they were plunged into the
corridor. Another vessel had joined them from a nearby stream; a private cruiser. On board
were Leroy, Shirley and a half dozen crew.

Chapter 3

Evil does as Evil can

Mortimer Glass was taking a shower having had his way with his young bed partner.
The body of who was currently lying in the bedroom in a pool of blood on a plastic sheet.
The boy was a waif, a stray that would not be noticed missing. He’d have Renworth remove
it and the maid can clean the room. The blood streamed of his lithe body as he washed
himself he hummed a popular tune. He had also “graduated” from the Assassins
Foundation, but unlike the Vasilly triplets, he had not done so with honours. In fact; he’d
bribed his way to a graduation. The Foundation’s board had found it unusually difficult to
train a sense of composure into him. He would do the most disturbing things to a body, “No
grace, no poise, crude” his tutors had said. He’d shown them all. He’d never been caught
despite, as they would say, leaving a trace “that even the most incompetent Force man
could follow”. He dried himself slowly, looking over his work with a critical eye. He had
taken great pleasure, after they’d had sex, in first killing the boy then disfiguring him. He
had carefully cut flaps of skin from areas of the body, peeling them back and sewing them

down revealing the veins, muscle and other tissues. The corpse
looked like some bizarre anatomy study. He had taken
holographs of his “work” for his private journal. He was
particularly proud of the work on the skull, removing the dome
to reveal the brain underneath. The precision of the laser cuts,
the glistening grey lump showed up well in the Holographs, and
the stiletto plunged through to protrude from the lower jaw – Magnificent! He thought. As
Telford had said; he wasn’t a man, he was an evil creature. But in Mortimer’s mind he was
an artist. He called Renworth, dressed and left the garret he kept as his “studio”.

Before the changes that were occurring in the Dark Empire when The Dark Lord and
his Son were in rule, evil had reign. Lucifer and Baal took great pleasure in feeding from the
negative emotions that this generated. So the gang wars, conquests etc. were a means by
which they could sustain themselves. This only goes so far to explain the situation, but
suffices enough to give the reason why organizations like the Syndicates held sway over
large territories, the viciousness of The Black Guard the human underlings of the Nephel
Guardians and to the morals of the peoples of the Dark Empire. This tentative reaching out
to a saner form of rule would take a long time to bring true change. In the meantime the
Syndicates and others continued their reign, but in secret, adopting only the sections of the
Articles of Unity that would reap some benefit to their respective groups The Sonoran Trust
was the way forward into the Light, but at their pace not one that was forced upon them.
Mortimer Glass however; was a hangover from darker times.

After the Foundation; Glass had done a few killings for local gang bosses. This had
gotten him noticed by the then Head of The Kinray Group. He was accepted into the
Syndicate as a foot soldier, but quickly advanced to lieutenant, mostly by the standard
practice of betrayal, or stitching up a superior and , where necessary, promotion by murder.

He found he was very adept at it; so much so, he soon became a member of The Head’s
elite guard, the Honoria Max, the name was a humorous play on words, referring to the
more honourable Ancient Roman Imperial Guard. In this position he was privy to
information that could make or break contracts, liaisons and partnerships. He soon became
one of the most feared of the Honoria Max; having a place in the Leader’s personal
protection team. It was this position that had afforded him, one day quite by chance, the
delicious opportunity to take his place as the Head of the group. He made it look like one of
his lieutenants had turned against the Syndicate and had killed the Leader. He was originally
appointed Leader pro-tem. But had since carefully eliminated all who would have posed
any threat. Above all he had enjoyed his killing spree. Under his reign the Kinray Group had
bested many smaller groups and gangs. With the most recent takeover they had increased
their presence considerably. These little peccadillos of Mortimer’s were a means for him to
ease his blood lust while maintaining some form of front as to “public” decency.

He arrived back at his office and started into the legitimate side of upper
management duties. His in-tray was light. Mainly reports on their import/export business,
some accountancy remarks on spending and then he noticed a pink form. It was a legal
expenses form with a covering letter from Hagron & Splitt. The form showed a projected
example of standard business charges for the services they would provide. Any enquiries
would have to be relayed to their offices in the Unity sector as they were responding to a
minor internal crisis there. They couldn’t give an exact date as to when they’d be able to
resume normal operations in Hellion City, as to the nature of the problem. He dismissed the
letter and went on to the form. They’d been very thorough and even offered a quite
generous discount for their services. He put it to one side and went over to his drinks
cabinet took out a glass and the bottle of Singorian Brandy and poured himself a generous
shot. He picked up the glass and warmed it in his cupped palm. Brining the glass rim to his
nose he sniffed. He slammed the glass down on his desk and called Gaston into the room.
He had recognised the faint smell of a poison he knew. She had been here. Gaston came
into the room.

“When did that witch Morgana come here?” he cursed

“She must have arrived while I was out. Herne would have let her in, he’s out on an “errand”
shall I call him back?” Gaston asked then shuddered as he saw the look in Glass’s eyes.

“She polluted my brandy with Engiri toxin! The…!” he restrained himself from using the
crude explicative “She may be my stepsister, but sometimes I wish she’d disappear into a
black hole. That brandy was my last bottle of ’99” He yelled and added “Yes! Get Herne back
and have him come straight here to my office.” Gaston hurried out. Morgana was his
Stepmother’s child from her first marriage; she was a year younger than he was, but was
just as ruthless, in her own way. She would have known that he would recognise the odour
of the toxin, so why did she do it. To annoy him perhaps - that had worked, no, it must be
for another reason. He would need to think this through. The toxin is not fatal; it just causes
temporary peripheral paralysis. The anti-toxin is colourless, odourless and leaves no
aftertaste, so she must know he’d keep a supply of every anti-toxin, anti-venin and emetics
to hand. Why what possible… AH! No, it couldn’t be that simple, there had to be another
reason. He went over to the hidden Vid recorder and pulled out the crystal. She hadn’t
found it and he downloaded the recordings, wiped the crystal and put it back.

Gaston sent a silent message to Herne’s communicator. Herne was in the alley
behind Filigree Street in the “Red Light” district relieving his tight bladder. He finished
quickly and read the message. Before returning, he entered the rear of one of the buildings.
A woman was finishing the bookkeeping for the establishment. She looked up at Herne and
in total silence; she reached into the desk drawer, retrieved a large paper bag, and handed it
to Herne. He took it looked inside raised his eyebrows and looked at the woman for some
kind of explanation.

“We’ve had an exceptional week! A load of Unity tourists, college fraternity boys, they paid
well as you can see. That’s the Syndicates percentage to the tenth of a credit. I hope Mr
Glass will be pleased and tell him I think he’ll like the added bonus inside” she said. Gaston
examined the contents closer and found a folded note with an address and a name written
in green ink. He recognised it as that of a member of the “Boys Cartel”.

“Don’t worry he’s clean, but has a lot of gossip about the Carnegie Syndicate that Mr Glass
might find of more use than just let it slip into the hands of the Force” she added. Gaston
smiled and winked at the woman before taking his leave and heading back to Mr Glass’s
office. He took a different route back to the mansion to avoid the Force patrols.

Glass was watching the vid footage when Herne arrived back; he paused the playback just
before Herne had let Morgana into his office. Herne handed over the take and the letter
saying, “Caroline Jenkins from The Blue Scarab also sent this name and address. He’s a “Boys
Cartel” member with some special information. She said you might want to meet the lad in
person” he finished and sat down when Glass motioned him to do so. “Oh; they’ve had a
generous week, some College Fraternity guys paid handsomely” Glass indicated him to shut
up.

“When you let my stepsister in here did she say why she was here?” Mortimer asked

“Only that she wanted to know when you’d be back. I told her you were busy with a patron
of the arts and could be a while. She insisted that she’d stay and talk with you in person. I
hung around until Gaston got back and then went to get the cut from The Blue Scarab. As
far as I know she never left the office, unless Gaston let her out,” He replied. Mortimer
thumbed his chin; pressed the call button on the intercom and asked Gaston when his
stepsister had left. Gaston replied that she had given up waiting about an hour after he’d
gotten back from his errand saying that she couldn’t hang around all day. That was around
twenty minutes before Mr Glass had come back.

“She left me a very unpleasant message; one of her little mind games. Watch the office vid
footage with me I think you’ll find this interesting” Glass put the playback on the office’s
large monitor screen. It showed Herne letting Morgana into Glass’s office and him leaving to
the outer room. Morgana waited until she heard Herne settle and then went to the filing
cabinet. She deftly picked the lock and opened the third drawer down, Mortimer smiled,
“clever skills” he thought. She removed a folder from around the middle of the drawer
looked through the contents and removed a single sheet. She put the folder back and went
over to the computer terminal. She created a modified version of the sheet and put it in
Mortimer’s out tray after forging his signature. She then folded the original and placed it
under the potted plant in the corner next to the door. She took a small vial from her
handbag and went over to the drinks cabinet. She took out the Singorian Brandy emptied

the vial into the bottle and swirled the bottle to mix in the toxin. She returned the bottle
and went over to Mortimer’s desk. Picked up his favourite pen and replaced it with what
looked like a perfect copy. She put the original pen in the plant pot where she’d left the
folded sheet. She left making the comments she had to Gaston.

Mortimer retrieved the folded sheet and pen, and examined the replacement pen. It
was an excellent copy, but had been modified to inject a tracker Nano device. He then went
through the out tray and retrieved the modified sheet. He dismissed Herne and sat down to
study the two sheets. Morgana had pulled out an invoice sheet for Feebler Demolition. The
original had been for thirty tons of Vulvanite explosives and the requisite remote
detonators. The modified sheet was ostensibly another order for 4 Kilos of Trinite and delay
fuses with timers, made out to look as though the order was an addition to the original. The
delivery address was to a construction site in Hedebar. Feebler were doing work on that
site, one of the group’s recent land grabs had acquired the property. He went to the filing
cabinet and back to the folder. There had been several deliveries to the site in the last two
months all materials that would not be out of place, but the Trinite was another matter it
was not used in the demolition industry, as it was too unstable. Four kilos could demolish a
military grade blockhouse leaving nothing but a cloud of dust. What did Morgana have
herself into, and with whom? Her clumsy attempt to poison him was some sort of cry for
help, obviously.

Duty, Diligence and Service

There had been one piece of good news back at Force HQ; the
Chief’s son Frankie had made it through surgery safely, and was
conscious. Krank had rushed the Chief and his wife down to Mercy
Creek when the news arrived. Lomax, Hurden and Dreck were going
through the footage that Cindy had supplied. She’d been taken to her
Father’s summer residence, and was in the company of Danny. He was
found unconscious in an alleyway near the Casino. He had been struck
by flying debris and it had made him lose control of his Hover-scoot.
Cordeaux had refused to see him so he’d been on his way to Force HQ
with the Vid footage when the first blast went off; debris from the second had knocked him
out. He only had concussion injuries and a cut where the object had hit him, so the Force
Medical Officer had given him some painkillers and let him go with Cindy and told him to
rest for a couple of days before making his statement.

Lomax and Lucy had been able to identify Cordeaux’s “friends”, but the real juicy
find was the presence of Harry Hasperand, that linked the Blue Sedan from the weather
drone footage and the Carnegie Syndicate to the bombing. The crew Harry used to pull the
Tambala scam must have been the passengers in the Sedan.

“Harry left without his briefcase, so that must have been where the bomb was, but I didn’t
see where he put it. Mark get onto Forensics to see if they found any remains of a man’s
briefcase. I want to know how the bomb was detonated,” Lomax asked

“Are you thinking it could have been remotely detonated? If so; that’s put a twist on the
why of this” Hurden commented “it means the whole Casino visit was stage managed,” she
added

“Old man Silas Carnegie stepped down to “retire” last year, the Syndicate has been run by
his Nephew Robin Holloway since. It could be he sees an opportunity to make his mark and
get a reputation for zero tolerance. Cordeaux had been shooting his mouth off about
Syndicates muscling in on legitimate business territory” Dreck said “We know Jaden Whelks
was one of their money men when it came to trade in the Unity. Perhaps it was a way of
making the others notice as sort of a reprisal for Whelks’ murder. You could be right about a
Turf War approaching.” He added. Lomax didn’t like the way this investigation was heading.
He decided to let Tibers and Williamson “leak” some of this to the public.

“Krank is going to take Frankie’s statement. Dreck you see if there’s any connection with
Hagron & Splitt, My gut tells me those two are mixed up in this somehow. Lucy; I want you
to use your connections at City Hall. See if you can pull up the plans for the Casino and the
nearby buildings. I have a vague hunch there’s a clue there somewhere.” Lomax ordered
and they parted ways; Lomax headed to records; something about all this was niggling at
him, something lurking in the past.

Krank found Frankie’s recollection of the events remarkably clear and helpful. He
had recalled the incident with the man that had almost bumped into him and had given
Krank a very detailed description of the man. Something about that irked Krank, he
recognised the description of the man’s face, and the scar above the left eye rang a bell. He
got HQ to send him the details of the Vasilly Triplets to him via vid link. There were no
holographs of the brothers; but the description matched that of the one called Marven. He
too would need to go through past cases, he was sure he had come across the Assassin
before in his first year as a Detective Inspector. He left The Chief and his wife with Frankie
and headed back to HQ. Lomax would be fielding things and sorting the Media. He probably
had a tight lid on things, but something about all this just stank of manipulation, but by
whom?

Lomax had held the Media Conference; it left him drained. He went to the HQ
canteen. Lucy was there ordering a Klipka and a Holiday Cake. He decided to have just the
Klipka. He joined her at a table. She was talking with someone on her communicator. She
finished and smiled wryly.

“That was my ex-boyfriend Dave Teller, the City Architect. He has had three requests
recently for the plans of certain buildings. The Casino was the latest, the Hall of Records in
Hedebar another and then the oddest one. Remember that old recycling plant down by
Grindor Acres?” He nodded and let her continue, “It had to be demolished because one of
the construction materials turned out to be carcinogenic. The Company hired for the job by
City Hall was Feebler Demolition, now part of the Kinray Group, but originally owned by…”

“The Carnegie Corporation Property Trust!” he interrupted “Yes I remember now. That was
in the days before the Zoning Commission changed the regulations about the use of Sintivar
Multi-Crete. It was hyped as the building material of the future. Fireproof, waterproof, and
resistant to twisting stress etc. until it was found that the principle ingredient was mined
from a planet in the Dixar System. It would leech out and be absorbed through the skin and
into the blood stream. It caused lymphatic cancer and induced deformities in the foetus in
pregnant women. The company that made it went bust with all the compensation
payments. The CEO committed suicide, supposedly, but it was rumoured that Old Man
Carnegies daughter lost her first child because of the stuff. The brother of the CEO swore

that Carnegie had him assassinated. But nothing was ever proven.” Lomax recanted. They
sipped their drinks and chatted for a while before returning to the incident room.

Dreck was at the Incident desk when the documents from City Hall arrived, along
with some related material concerning the Sintivar scandal. He was sifting through it when
Krank arrived.

“I’m going look into past cases. I think I’ve come across one of the Vasilly brothers before, in
my first year as Detective Inspector. Can you and Lomax hold the fort? I may be some time”
he said heading to the basement file room.

“We‘ve had a stroke of luck we think we have a bead on the bomber. Harry Hasperand, he
was in the Casino before the blasts running a Tambla scam with a crew” Dreck said and
stopped Krank in his tracks.

“Put together a profile of the case so far, I’ll be as quick as I can. We all need to get our
heads around this. The Chief’s in no state to cope. I left them with Frankie in Mercy Creek.
Tell Lomax where I am.” And he went downstairs. Dreck put together a running order of the
investigations; Whelks Murder, The Casino Bombing and something that had just recently
surfaced. There had been a report of a youth gang rumble in Bedlam Bronx that had
hospitalised ten teenagers. The fight had been sparked by claims of Syndicate alliances. It
may not be related, but in the current climate of Syndicate posturing, it could end up being
important. He had most of the materials and information ready when Lomax walked in.
Following him was Corrigan Williamson, on his own with no crew. He was holding a file
folder and a Vid crystal.

“Corrigan has found something in the Network Archives that might be connected with the
enquiries made recently at City Hall.” Lomax said. Dreck informed him of where Krank was.

“Krank may be onto something. He was probably just promoted when this incident
happened. It’s got to do with the Sintivar scandal. I was a Rookie reporter back then so no
snide comments on my dress sense.” Corrigan added. He handed Dreck the file and crystal.
Dreck put the crystal into the projection player, and while they waited for Krank they went
through the contents of the file. It was in relation to a Speight of Gang battles leading up to
the Syndicate Turf War of ’99. The vid footage showed Corrigan talking to camera and a
number of youths behind taunting each other. Lomax froze the scene; clearly visible were
two youths, younger versions of the now heads of the Carnegie Syndicate and the then
Bedlam Bronx Brawlers, latterly incorporated into the Kinray Gecko’s. The youths were
protesting about the demolition of the Recycling Plant. The demo was obviously being
staged, but what was of more interest was the owner of the plant. Lomax signalled Krank to
look at the screen as he came in. Krank gasped.

“I knew I’d seen that face before, he’s older now and is wheel chair bound. That’s Marchant
Lucerne. Oh; I found the case that first brought the Vasilly brothers to the attention of the
Force. They used to be youth gang members of the Hedebar Rangers. Look at the report I
filed back then” he said and handed the file to Lomax. Corrigan looked at it over Lomax’s
shoulder.

“That’s Jim Pleasant the Jinderball champ’s signature. I’d recognise it anywhere. This must
be when the land was being cleared for the new stadium. The locals didn’t want to lose the

jobs that went with the recycling plant. That whole area is houses and parkland now; it was
redeveloped when the Stadium was relocated over by Hedebar. And; if I’m not mistaken I
recognise another face from those mug shots. I covered the story.” Corrigan said with a
broad grin on his face.

“I do too; I arrested him two days into my first year as Detective inspector. Michael Hoyden,
low level thug then. He’s over in Hedebar working for the Carnegie Syndicate. Have you any
footage of that story in the Network Archive Corrigan?”

“I was with Dell Tyson’s OB unit, there could be. Do you think these old cases have a
connection with the current situation?” Corrigan asked in reply

Krank nodded and started the vid footage again. “You were pretty quick on your feet back
then Corrigan; that rock just missed you” He said as they watched. The riot that ensued
suddenly stopped when a loud explosion resounded. The camera swung to the source and
everyone in shot froze. Explosives at the base of a tower in the plant had somehow been
triggered and the structure tipped over falling squarely on some of the demolition
equipment. The camera captured the look of glee on the face of the perpetrator, a young
Morden Vasilly.

“There’s one more link in the chain. Current events are connected to this incident, we need
to find out how, and before the person doing this makes his final move. A full scale Turf
War” Krank said the others nodding in agreement.

Trouble brewing

Robin Holloway; the current Head of the Carnegie Syndicate was a worried man. His
sources at City Hall had given him reports about the access to Archives of the City Planning
department. Adding to that; Harry had come back from the Casino job just before the
explosion. He insisted he’d known nothing about the bomb in his briefcase. He’d simply
forgotten it. He’d been due to go Hall of Records to file the Carnegie Archive for old Mr Silas
after the Tambla scam. And his visit to Cordeaux offering the help of the Syndicate had gone
as planned. Cordeaux had also had a rival offer which he also refused. It was inevitable since
his open disdain for the Syndicates had been made public.

“You do realise; Harry, that this looks like we had something to do with the bombing, what
with your speciality expertise. What was supposed to be in the briefcase anyway?” Holloway
asked

“The payoff bribe to sweeten the deal, I don’t know how a bomb got in there, Honest Mr
Holloway. Somehow the brief case got switched or summat” Harry pleaded “I did bump into
a Business type carrying the same kind of case. He must have picked up mine by mistake.
Gee you don’t think that was the real bomber do ya?” he continued slow to realise how
stupid he sounded, Harry had not been the brightest of the Hasperand family.

Mortimer Glass was angry. Mainly at himself for not realising it; but also his
stepsister for dealing behind his back, whoever she’d been working for was stirring up
trouble. His “spy” in the Hedebar camp had relayed the news that the Carnegie Syndicate
were blaming the Kinray Group for killing Jaden Whelks. He knew they’d done nothing of the
sort. Being the Assassin he was he could tell a set-up a mile away. Someone was going to an

awful lot of trouble to start a war. He got a low level employee to monitor Morgana to see
who she met with, discreetly of course. He’d had Gaston and Herne make “gentle” enquiries
as to whether any other Syndicates had been “inconvenienced” by recent attacks. So far
they had found two other groups had been implicated in thefts or killings. He’d also
managed to find out that Whelks had been “dehumed” by the Vasilly triplets. That also
annoyed him as it meant there was no way he’d be able to uncover who had ordered the
“hit”. The acquirement list in front of him was disturbing too. Some of the materials could
make a very nasty bomb; others looked like they were for some electronic apparatus,
probably an E.M.P, or some kind of communications jammer. When he’d checked, all the
ordered items had never arrived at their final destination. They had “disappeared” enroute
with no trace. It looked as whoever was behind this had also very cleverly misdirected the
Force too. He secretly admired them.

Hagron & Splitt were enroute to Ferisa having passed through the cordon at the
border without trouble. They were on a commercial cruiser in business class enjoying a very
large brandy each. The Force had enquired about any dealings with The Assassins
Foundation and Splitt, quite truthfully, had told them that their receptionist had noticed
that some letter headed sheets had gone missing from her desk. From this the Force had
concluded that someone must have used the papers to implicate them in a murder. Hagron
feigned shock at this and explained about their minor crisis on Ferisa. The Force officer had
just taken their contact details of the Offices on Ferisa and left it at that. Now they were
relaxed they had had time to think about it.

“I wonder if we should let Glass know about this, he doesn’t like anyone “muscling” in on his
turf. It might keep him off our backs and give him someone new to get his teeth into” Splitt
said

“Wait till we’re secure on Ferisa and let the news slip. That distances us
from the situation, literally, and gives us the breathing space we need.
Have you had any thoughts about who the board might choose as a
replacement for Carstairs?” Hagron asked in response. A steward
topped up their drinks and left.

“Cyrus Bellingham possibly; He has an excellent business head on him and he’s young. He
could take the firm into a new direction easily, he’s also very likeable” Splitt replied. They
chinked their glasses and took a hearty swig. They suddenly felt numb in their extremities.
Behind them a Female hand deposited a couple of two hundred credit notes discretely into
the hand of the Steward along with a vial of antidote. She stood and walked along the aisle
toward first class. Those two would be unable to move for the rest of the trip and the
Steward would give them the antidote after she had left. She met up with a middle aged
man in the First class lounge. The two smiled and she kissed him. She didn’t notice the
young girl watching the two of them closely. The girl was a typical “plain Jane” type so was
easily forgettable. The girl went to the facilities and pulled a communicator from her purse.
She typed a message in code and sent it back to her controller on Kelgar. After making sure
that no one would see her leave, the girl went back to the business class compartment and
sat down in a vacant seat.

In the Force HQ; a situation akin to controlled panic was underway. A Cyber crisis;
the main Hive and its power systems had become unstable and the archaic server system

was struggling to cope on its own with even the everyday demands. The Techs from Central
Services were doing their best, but the Hive, a partly organic system, was infected and
running hot. Usually the auto repair system linked the electronic side to the backup server
as the biologics regenerated, but something had gone wrong and the systems wouldn’t
disengage.

“I wish we had a Bio-electronics expert; or a Medic, the nearest is on the
Moon of Jetra in the Synobia system” Borden, the chief engineer was
saying. “Doc Harrigan has diagnosed the infectious agent, but until we
can disconnect the two systems along with the Crystal memory banks,
she can’t do a thing” he continued. He was talking to Lomax.

“Was this a deliberate act or are we just looking at an old, rundown
system?” He asked

“From what the Doc says it looks like sabotage, it’s not a common virus. It appears to be an
engineered one left over from the Gantrax invasion. We are trying to contact the Osir
outpost for help, but subspace coms are also playing up, they’re all linked.” The distraught
Engineer replied. Doc Harrigan came over a serious look on
her face.

“Any ideas Mary” Lomax asked

“One possibility, a remote one, but… Back pre Economy
war era on old Terra; they used to have a creature called a
Horse; a descendant animal exists today thanks to the
Achenazi. The ancestral animals had doctors called Veterinarians. They used to treat
common infections with old antibiotics and pain with Ketamine. We have Nano tech to treat
most infections and pain these days, but these are not working. I had my lab look up the
composition of the drugs. Apparently some humans used to take Ketamine as a form of
recreational drug, despite the dangers. I’m getting some of the stuff synthesised and sent
over. At this stage; without specialist help, it’s worth trying it. The biologics are behaving as
though they are delirious. If we wait till help arrives we could lose everything.” She said as
Krank joined them.

“My old Great Grandfather used to keep Equines, he swore by the stuff. “Better than they
fancy Nanny Thingies” he used to say. It’s worth a try. I think I still have some of his old
medical journals Mary; you could borrow them if you wish. On other matters, Dreck’s
informants have heard a whisper from the Kinray camp. You might find this interesting
Steve”. He handed Lomax the message pad. He read the message and his eyes widened, he
read further and he frowned.

“This puts a whole new perspective on things. If this informant’s got this right; then
someone outside of the Syndicate is playing both sides. Remember those archive clips and
the Sintivar business. I’m going to look over them again. You take Hurden and Dreck down
to City Hall and quiz the Archivists about the Lucerne dynasty. I have a hunch you might find
the clues we need to crack this whole business wide open.” He said finally.

Lies, deceit and damnation, all in the name of love

Morgana and her elder suitor departed the vessel and headed to the waiting Buraxin
Trader ship that was their connecting flight to Unity territory out by the Rim. They were
headed for a remote system called Viridiana 9. This was one of the earliest Rim colonies and
home of a race of amphibian humans. Genetically modified to survive on the main planetary
body, a water world called Jenaxa. Its moon; Forbia, was habitable by air breathing life
forms from all over the galaxy. It had become a vast trading hub. Many of the former Terran
Dynasties had made it their home. The Lucerne family, however, were not among these.
Their ancestors had been among a handful of former Dark Empire Syndicates that had
broken free of that particular reign of tyranny. But old habits die hard. And it was a tradition
among these families to take life partners from their old pastures. Josiah Lucerne was the
last of his line of the family to carry the old name. Most of his siblings had changed the
family name to break ties with their past. But his father had been a “traditionalist” so he
kept the name alive. He had wooed and taken Morgana as his intended. It was this
attraction that had finally made him to take a fateful decision, to sever all ties with the
family business on Kelgar and start afresh. He knew how devious Morgana was, and that
made her a shrewd business woman also. It had been her idea to spark a Turf War between
the Syndicates, as a distraction. He’d carefully erased all records of his birth etc. and
liquidated his “assets” into many hedge funds. He would transfer all these to his new central
account here on Forbia. Morgana had wanted to be free of her “family ties” so they
developed a mutual arrangement. Neither of them had expected love to flourish in this, but
as is always the way of fickle fate, it had.

He had struck up a side business relationship with an intermediary, Jaden Whelks,
who had brokered a deal with the Caveat Brigade’s legal division for a marriage permit. That
would be a severed link now, with all the blame carefully misdirected. He had to admit that
tampering with the Force Hive was a stroke of genius. If the authorities managed to revive
the Hive, he and Morgana would be non-existent as far as all records would show. His line of
the family would have appeared to end with his eldest half-brother. Who; incidentally,
would end up taking the blame for the bombing. Korin never knew about his fathers
“illegitimate” family. That was one thing he really appreciated about good old Dad. His
mother had passed away some ten years ago. He had always used his mother’s maiden
name as his surname in all his business affairs. He had learned many skills from his time in
the youth gangs on Kelgar and elsewhere, Explosives and electronics being key ones and all
the time using a false identity that would lead to some other poor soul whose identity he
had taken. Disguise was his special art. His flirtations with the business markets had netted
him his first fortune. Most of that had been used to acquire shares of Syndicate interests on
a temporary basis. Why not profit from the deceit of others? He had also studied the legal
systems of many of the Unity and Sonoran Trust worlds. He knew how to work the system.
How, in many cases, a few well-placed lies, backed with circumstantial evidence, could lead
to the damnation of an intended target without them knowing it was you who had
conceived their downfall. Even “legitimate” business was just as ruthless as crime.

Morgana believed she had finally found a sort of peace. By now her hateful step-
brother would be under suspicion by the Force if they had read the many clues she had
placed for them to find. Mortimer’s little vixen had not gone unnoticed by her, quite the
contrary; she had played that card well. For what Mortimer had never known was Kirsty was

a double agent. She also leaked information to the Force. That little titbit had come from
one of her liaisons. He had been one of the Kinray Group lieutenants, until that unfortunate
business with a client’s son. Mortimer had been, not only jealous, but frighteningly efficient
with his disposal. She had hated him for denying her the pleasure. Novar had been a snitch
to the Force and had recruited Kirsty to help him and possibly be a scapegoat should that be
required. Morgana had used her knowledge of indigenous herbs to create a form of truth
serum. It loosened the tongue at the same time as acting as an aphrodisiac. Thank you Great
Grandmamma Lysisa. She had kept the knowledge of Kirsty to herself without letting it slip
and that had made it easy to deceive the poor girl. She had spotted her long before the
flight; so had made sure that Josiah was kept out of the picture until the very end. She
would never get back to make any further reports. After all she didn’t know who Josiah was
as they’d used false documents and identities on the flight manifest. So when Kirsty
reported that Morgana had met with a certain middle-aged business man from the Hedebar
district… The lead would eventually fall back to Korin, as that was who Josiah looked like,
thanks to a very accurate disguise. With luck they would be free to live their lives anew.
Kirsty on the other hand would meet a more “explosive” fate. Josiah had tampered with the
isolation fields of the engine compartment of the girl’s flight back. It would only take effect
when the craft went into hyperspace. This had all been planned well in advance in case
Mortimer or one of the others had managed to set a spy on them. The effect could also be
triggered remotely. She fingered the controller in her jacket pocket.

Lomax was going over the footage of the Gang fights, pausing when individuals he
vaguely remembered showed their faces to camera. He had the visual recognition software
on his portable computer do a reference check for each of them with the records back at
City hall. At least the portable equipment was unaffected. Two individual’s names kept
cropping up, Korin Lucerne and Robin Holloway. Supposedly Korin had gone legitimate in his
mid-twenties, according to records. Robin was now 52 and Korin 47. Their respective
families had always been at odds with each other and the Syndicates, until Robin’s
ascendance to the head of the Carnegie Syndicate. That was when the Lucerne Family went
outside the Dark Empire to make a legitimate name for themselves in the Unity as Brokers.
He copied what he had onto a pad and went to the Incident Room. There he cornered Dreck
and Krank.

“It’s beginning to look like our “outside influence” might be Korin Lucerne. He’s the only
member of the family I can find who still has interests here on Kelgar, he even “holidays” in
the family mansion in Grindor Heights, the development that replaced the Sintivar and
recycling plants in Grindor Acres. He’s looking more and more likely a suspect in the
bombing of the Casino. He’d been refused a partnership in the original Franchise
agreements.” He said after giving details of what he’d found.

“Is he still on Kelgar?” Dreck asked

“According to Border Patrol, his private cruiser is still docked and the Captain says Mr
Lucerne has not given him any orders to make the ship ready for departure” Lomax replied

“He must have made up with Cordeaux; he’s on the footage of the Casino before the
bombing having a leisurely drink with him. That was two hours before; he left long before
the explosion, so I can’t see how it was done unless he did it remotely. Besides that still
leaves Harry Hasperand, how do he and the Carnegie Syndicate fit in?” Krank asked

“Footage from the outside of the Casino taken by the Weather drone shows Harry bumping
into a business type around the time Lucerne left carrying the same kind of brief case. He
must have switched cases implicating Harry and the Carnegie Syndicate, very clever!” Lomax
replied. “Oh and Forensics have identified the source of the explosives. It seems they were
spirited away from the Kinray’s Feebler deliveries. Our sources in the know, say that
Mortimer Glass even signed all the dockets. That must have been a forgery signature,
though, without the proper documents we can’t be certain.” Lomax continued.

“I’ve checked up on Hagron and Splitt’s claim about those letter headed sheets. The story is
right, some sheets were stolen. So that means he had the materials to make it look as if the
Hit on Whelks was done in the name of The Kinray group. We can rule Hagron and Splitt out
as innocent dupes, as much as that sticks in the craw. It seems that for reasons best known
to Korin himself; he wanted to start a Turf War. He must have thought we’d not be able to
discover his connection to all this. The fact that Splitt was once married to one of his sister’s,
Adoria Lucerne, made it easy for the connection to them possible. The theft of the sheets
was icing on the cake. There’s no vid footage of the offices so we can only assume it was
done while either of them were out or when their receptionist was distracted.” Dreck added
then Hurden intervened.

“We only have circumstantial evidence, no real direct connection to Lucerne that would
stand up in court. Oh we have trace DNA evidence at the Casino, but from outside, any that
was inside was obliterated in the bombing. The fact that the Casino footage shows him
there before the first blast could be dismissed as hearsay as he shows no sign of deceit. But
that could be very clever acting.” She said. Just then Mark popped his head in the doorway.

“We’ve had a call from the Captain of Lucerne’s cruiser. He’s just had word from the
Mansion that Mr Lucerne is dead, suicide apparently. I’ve sent Forensics and the Doc over
there. They’re waiting for one of you to direct the investigation” He said. Lomax looked at
Dreck and Krank. Hurden shrugged and said she’d tag along with anyone who went. It was
decided as Krank was the senior he’d be the one to go.

In Bedlam Bronx Carlo Perkin had overheard something that got his spine tingling. He
double checked with a couple of his neighbours who he trusted. They confirmed the same
conversation among the chatter over the “Grape Vine”. He went back to his apartment and
took a communicator from a drawer and typed in Lomax’s private access number. When
Lomax asked the code question he replied with the answer for that month.

“Steve; I’ve found… er… something. I don’t even trust this secure channel with this, is it
possible for you to meet me at the usual place?” Carlo asked.

“Sure Carlo; see you in around twenty OK?” Lomax replied

“I’ll be there. Bring that Lady reporter; it concerns her Old Man” Carlo added and cut the
connection. Lomax was unsure but if Carlo had something on Jinny’s Dad it was likely to be
interesting. He called Jinny on the Force line and told her to bring a fruit bowl. Carlo liked
Franken berries, Blue Hispas and Grimpsoles. Carlo had enough money set aside so
foodstuffs were a tastier alternative. He’d known another snitch with odd tastes; Norrie
Klank, boy was he a strange coot, wouldn’t take cash in notes only scrap metal. He told
Mark and Marcie he was going to Meadow Park to meet with an informant. He could see

Mark had realised who. He picked Jinny up in Main Street and they headed to the parking
spot outside Meadow Park. Carlo was sitting at a Glika Board table. Glika was a form of
chess that used an octagonal board. Pieces could be moved in various ways around a circuit,
but only moved between circuits on either the throw of a dice landing on a six or to
“eliminate” an opponent’s piece of equal stature. He had a game in progress with someone
Lomax didn’t recognise. Jinny gasped; tears came to her eyes. Carlo had found her Father;
he looked older more haggard but it was Him. She looked at Lomax who was dumbfounded.
Max Tibers had been declared missing, possibly dead while on a remote survey mission.
How had Carlo found him when hundreds of authority investigators hadn’t? Jinny and
Lomax approached slowly. Carlo nudged the old man and the figure turned around to see
them. He was up quick and racing toward Jinny. Lomax left the two of them and took the
fruit bowl over to Carlo.

“How in Valen’s name did you pull this one off?” Lomax asked

“I heard a couple of snippets on the “Grape Vine” and managed to put two and two
together. If the Casino hadn’t been bombed the guys holding him would have probably
killed him but they were killed in the explosions. He’s been imprisoned, tortured and made
to do some nasty kind of experimenting for a group of mercenaries. They found him
unconscious on a moon in the Jibidar system. The survey ship had been attacked by a
Gantrax patrol. They barely made the landing. The Gantrax followed them down and
slaughtered most of them. Bet you didn’t know those buggers were meat eaters? He and
two female crew members were the only ones they left alive. The Gantrax ransacked the
ship for any removable parts and marooned them. That’s when the Moon’s natives found
them. The females were taken and he was left to wander and fend for himself. He must
have collapsed and the Mercenaries took him.” Carlo revealed. He then went on to say that
Max had been effectively a slave. The Hittai as they called themselves; were in the employ
of a drugs baron out on Mixlar 4. As Max was also trained as a chemist, they used him to
synthesise their stuff, and test them on the natives and young women.

They seem to have been looking for a sex specific drug that would only affect women. The
day he was brought here he was put in a back water garret in the Shiloh Ghetto. Two of
them watched over him till he was needed. He’d planned his escape for years. The bombing
gave him the opportunity.” They always had a third guard somewhere, he’d been called in
to babysit while they had gone out on a meet. It seemed they were inside the place when
the Bomb went off. Max heard the ruckus and managed to overpower the guard. He’d been
in Shiloh years ago so knew how to evade capture. I came across him in an alley behind a
brothel I sometimes frequent. I recognised him from the holographs that were circulated, as
had my two compatriots. They only needed me to confirm who he was. I called you as to
keep them out of it; some Syndicate types are watching them. He was carrying a sample of
the product.” Carlo continued and handed Lomax a vial with a pale blue-white powder
inside.

“I’ll have the Lab examine this. But it looks like a form of “Hooky Mary” The Kolos region has
been having trouble with date raping lately, this might be the cause. It’s pretty potent stuff
from all accounts and expensive. I can see why they’d want to protect Max if he’s been
making the stuff. That fruit bowl doesn’t seem reward enough” Lomax said

“Aw; just let me know how this situation turns out. She’s gonna be OK, it’s Max I’m worried
about. Torture can change a man”. Carlo added wincing, and not for effect.

“I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime…” he pulled a wad of
notes from his pocket he handed it to Carlo who looked shocked
“It’s to spread among the listeners and make sure your two friends
get the biggest share” he winked. “And please take a little for
yourself. Your “nest egg” has been hit lately judging by that fancy
suit you’re wearing” Carlo winked back

“I’ve got a date of my own! And no; I don’t need any of that stuff either. I still have the
moves” He laughed. He departed in the direction of The Auto Cab rank and Lomax took
Jinny and her Father back to HQ.

Hurden and Krank turned up at the Lucerne Mansion to get the preliminary report from Doc
Harrigan.

“Looks like suicide, the vial contained a Cytotoxin. It’s similar to Gantrax Venom but a heck
of a lot stronger. He would have died quick but in agony and unable to breath. That would
explain why nobody heard anything. Forensics says only his prints are on the vial and the
glass of Singorian Brandy. Apart from DNA of the deceased and the staff, there are no other
signs that it’s anything but suicide… However the note on the desk in front of him is printed
and unsigned and there’s no sign of the Brandy bottle” she said “I’ll know more after the
autopsy” she finished and was about to go when she whispered to Krank “Check the right
jacket pocket before we take him Denton spotted it” . Krank went over to the body and
using his pen, opened the pocket and looked inside. There was a rolled up wad of Unity
Credits and a 100 Groat note.

“Take the body Doc, we’ll do a thorough final sweep, I’m sure we haven’t missed anything
but you can never tell. Denton; do we know who saw him last?”

“That would be Jenkinson his man servant; I’ll get him for you” Denton replied and the
young officer left.

“You can’t think the Butler did it” Hurden joked

“Of course not, but he might have a clue that he doesn’t realise he’s seen. Besides He might
know where the Brandy bottle is. I want you to contact Lomax and tell him that there’s a
Caveat Brigade link”

“How did you…?? Oh; that’s what Doc was whispering about! I’ll go outside, call Lomax then
I’ll interview the female staff.”

The butler was a tall, skinny looking middle aged man with the snooty attitude that
went with his position, but as Krank questioned him, he could tell the guy was genuinely
disturbed by the events. He confirmed that there had been a Bottle of brandy, but there
was only a shot left in it. When he came back to hand the master a letter that had arrived
he’d taken the waste bin to empty it. The bottle was inside along with a torn piece of paper.

“I haven’t disposed of them yet Detective Inspector; they’re in the scullery awaiting one of
the boys to dispose of them. I’ll have them brought to you” Jenkinson signalled one of the

young men in the staff retinue and whispered his order; the boy left and came back a few
minutes later with the waste bin. All the male staff wore gloves as part of their uniform, so
that explained why there were only Lucerne’s prints and the female staff’s around. Only his
prints were on the vial and the glass. The bottle had Lucerne’s only; but the bottle was
greasy where it had been held. Krank dismissed the Butler and the staff. He did a second
sweep of the room and was about to leave when something caught his eye. He called for
Hurden. When she came into Lucerne’s office she saw Krank crouched by a bureau.

“What does that look like to you?” he asked pointing to a mark on the carpet.

“Looks as if someone spilled something.” She crouched down and soon smelled the distinct
odour of musk, citrus and Oleander oil. “That’s Odirian Aftershave. Expensive stuff to spill,
it’s over 500 a small bottle.” She said. The Aftershave had stained the carpet where it had
dripped. The cream coloured fibres had turned blue.

“Wonder why the staff didn’t see it?” puzzled Krank “Quiz one of the maids, and ask that
Butler if there’s a key to this bureau.” He saw a light coming from behind a door and went
over and opened it. “Well, we have a washroom and an half empty bottle of Odirian. He
may have had company.” Hurden questioned a young brunette and came back to Krank.

“You’re going to love this. Lucerne had a visitor earlier, a young man from the “Boys Cartel”,
one Marco Lydissian, from Bedlam Bronx. He’s a regular visitor when Lucerne’s not here
with his wife. I suppose that should be widow now.”

“What time did he leave?” Krank asked

“About an hour before Lucerne ordered a sandwich as a snack. One of the boy servants
delivered it, Lucerne was alive then. That was around 11-30. The butler found him dead at
12-30. If this was murder it’s a tight timeframe” Hurden replied. Krank asked the local Force
officers to find Marco and have him “delivered” to HQ. The two of them went back to
Krank’s car.

“If it was suicide, it’s a bloody strange time to happen, too coincidental. My gut tells me
there is more to this. Let’s get back to Lomax with what we’ve got. But I’m going to make a
detour to the Chief’s place. I think he needs to be brought in the loop”. He said and the got
into the car and sped off in the direction of Grover District of Grindor where the Chief had
an apartment.

Mortimer Glass had agreed to meet with the boy that Caroline Jenkins had supplied
the name and address for, he was in his “Studio” garret. The young man was called Marco
Lydissian; and very friendly with Lucerne. He had always wanted to get something on
Lucerne this could be the very opportunity he was looking for. Renworth showed the young
man in and Mortimer signed him to sit down.

“Mrs Jenkins tells me you have some juicy information on offer. I would rather you told me
than the Force, at least for now. It may be that I would let you tell them also… later. You’re
“Boys Cartel” aren’t you?”

“I am Mr Glass. So you can see that I could be of further use should the time come you need
me. We of the “Boys Cartel” get to hear things we shouldn’t, but by our terms of service, we
do not tell, unless it’s for the right price.” Marco said in response smiling.

“You can leave us Renworth, the young man and I have things to discuss” Mortimer
dismissed Renworth and eyed Marco up and down. Marco was of slim build, and as was the
fashion, had his raven locks slicked close to his scalp. He was dusky skinned and lithe of
musculature. Mortimer could see himself falling for this young lothario. He could see
potential in the boy and he was the right age.

“I don’t know if you have heard, but I graduated from the Assassins Foundation. One of the
directives a graduate must, at some time, adhere to is that they should surrender the name
of a possible student. Would you be interested in such an enterprise Marco?” Glass asked
with a sly look in his face.

“Tempting, I do have a vicious streak, some of my “clients” like to be hurt … very well, if you
would arrange it. Now as to business, the information is about City Hall…”

Lomax and Dreck had acquired some files from City Hall including blueprints for the
redevelopment of the area that included Grindor Acres. Some of the designs were never
used and had simply been shelved. But they did show that the area where the Stadium was
originally to be built had been reclaimed from a silted up lake and river bed. It would have
meant a considerable expense in complicated foundations. So the whole development was
re-sited. The reclaimed area now formed part of the parkland. But had also once been the
site of a Chemical works, The Lucerne Family joint owned the Kirov Industries plant that had
refined the base materials for Sintivar Multi-Crete. The Spaceport was to have been built
nearby, but ended being moved out to the site of the old aerodrome.

“What did our man want with these plans I wonder” Lomax said absentmindedly out lout.

“I’ve been looking at earlier layouts of the site. That region of the Sintivar plant had a
settling reservoir. Back then they used de-mineralised water to wash out the impurities of
the mined material. Before that there had been a waterway to the docks at Hedebar and
Bedlam, which then extended to the river. During the war with the northern territory
separatists it became a loading dock for the delivery barges carrying the explosives down to
the Munitions works in Hedebar.” Dreck read from the notes he’d made while in the
Archives.

“The Sintivar process could have caused a pollution hazard, but it didn’t. The owner of the
Kirov works also had a partnership with The Carnegie Corporation in the Sintivar plant. The
Chemical plant also made some of the compounds used in Trinite and Vulvanite. At one time
a member of the Lucerne family was married to Silas Carnegie. What happened to her?”
Lomax queried. Krank and Hurden came back in just at that point and related the findings at
the Lucerne Mansion

“I can answer your question Steve. Her name was Fiona Christina Lucerne. She wasn’t
married to Silas but his brother. She was found dead after the failure of the Sintivar business
it was ruled a suicide. She’d had a good part of her fortune tied up in the place, he was
supposedly killed when the Vishtaan Wharf was bombed. He shouldn’t have been there
apparently. Silas was taking his revenge on the other Syndicate boss; he didn’t know his

brother was trying to broker peace terms. As far as Silas knew his brother was on the party
world Velgas 3, he being the playboy of the family and all that. His presence was identified
by dental records it was barely recognisable as being human after that massive blast.
Rumour has it he was the illegitimate son of Hiram Lucerne, though that was never proven.”
Krank related.

“What was his name? I don’t have any records of that line of the family. There was a fire
that wiped out the old Records Office back then” Dreck asked

“Josiah; but he never used the Carnegie surname; he used a surname from a related line of
the family… Veritonse” Krank replied. If you need to know more about that time and that
side of Fiona’s line of the Lucerne family; talk to the chief’s wife Emily. She’s related to The
Lucerne’s, a distant cousin.”

Josiah and Morgana had spent the night in one of the outposts many Hotels, one of
the more upmarket joints. Josiah was preparing to meet with a broker from the Caveat
Brigade. The Brigade was the shadier side of the Order’s banking system. It was how the
Order gained a substantial amount of their funding, by taking a small percentage of the
interest on accounts or brokerage deals, the Order could supplement its other funding from
tax exempt donations, and from its produce farms etc. In his case; Josiah had contacted a
broker to arrange a placement in a “protectorate” of the Order. These outlying settlements
were an ideal place for “displaced” persons of a particular requisite – in other words,
criminals on the run. A “protectorate” claim was the Order’s equivalent of Sanctuary of the
Church. In exchange for some reciprocation, either by labour or by fiscal payment, the Order
protected the claimant from all forms of Law and Jurisdiction enforcements. The
Protectorates were usual situated on outlying systems out of the more general space
routes. Josiah had asked to be re-located to a Protectorate in one of the Rim systems as the
“monastery” had a factory for the manufacture of Bio-electronics. Josiah had some
experience of this as had Morgana. This would; in effect, pay their way. This particular
Protectorate specialised in Bio-electronic Nano-weaponry. Military microscopic drones, that
could kill then dissolve and leave no trace. The Assassins Foundation was probably their
biggest customer. He’d even used some of them to clean up some loose ends. As always;
with his more clever schemes, he’d done his research. Morgana joined him in the Hotel bar,
she was dressed to kill, literally, and he had asked her to be ready in case the deal went
sour.

“Have you taken care of our little “Miss”?” He asked as she slid into an empty armchair.

“Yes; there seems to have been a shuttle accident in one of the Sonoran Hyperspace
corridors. There seem to be no survivors. What a pity” she allowed herself a small smirk
then continued “Our plant in the “Boys Cartel” is doing his job as instructed. My “brother”
will no doubt be handing him to the Force tomorrow; after he’s had his way with him” she
giggled “Your idea would appear to have grown fruit. By the time we are established in the
Protectorate the Force will be following so many false trails they’ll tie themselves in knots. I
knew there was a reason I fell in love with you; we complement each other so perfectly.
Now to business; the Broker we are to meet is one Hardy Amis XV. He’s sort of descended
from some royal dynasty in the Galliard Dictatorship. He has a weakness for dusky ladies of
a sinister disposition” she winked” And a rampant gambling habit that the Order are
attempting to keep in check with a constant “monitor”. He needs the commission he’ll get

from brokering this deal. I hope I can distract him just enough to get the best arrangement
for us.” She managed to whisper the last part just as Amis arrived and approached them.
She put on her best false demur attitude and greeted him. These negotiations would be
interesting; the report had not said anything about this man’s looks, or charm. Morgana
almost wished she might not have to kill him if things didn’t go their way. Josiah opened
negotiations while Morgana did her best to help by distracting the young man.

Chapter 4

The mistake of cutting off a Hydra’s head

Marco had played his part well. He’d even got away with using his real name. He was
Morgana’s son from an illicit encounter some eighteen years ago. Morgana had made sure
he’d been fostered well with Mary and Hugo Lydissian, paying for a “decent” education in
the finer arts of espionage, deception and other nefarious practices. The fact that he was bi-
sexual helped him gain a commanding position in the “Boys Cartel”. After telling Glass all
he’d managed to wheedle out of Lucerne and other “connected” clientele relating to the
interest in certain records and files in the City Hall archive, he and Mr Glass had “slept on
the matter”. At this moment Mortimer Glass was sleeping soundly. Marco admired the man
for the way he operated, but would never let himself trust him, besides; he had to get close
to him to arrange for his downfall. His mother would be pleased that; so far, things had
gone smoothly. He got out of bed, dressed and slipped silently out of the room. He went
down to the garret’s kitchen where Renworth was having a mug of Klipka.

“He’s fast asleep Uncle John. What did you use this time?” Marco asked Renworth
Merriweather

“Oh; just something your foster mum came up with. I must say; when you turned
up here I nearly let the cat out of the bag. I take it your real Mum sent you.”
Renworth replied.

“Well; sort of. By the way; the info I gave is legit, that’s part of the plan. Mum, sorry,
Morgana wants to see her “brother” as humiliated as much as possible before he’s done in.
Here’s the device with instructions. It’s the same as the one I used on Lucerne. It will leave
no trace as to how he was poisoned, and it will be swift. This is one villain among many this
world could do without. I saw what he did to Michael; poor sod, I’m to go with him to Force
HQ tomorrow and tell them about Lucerne’s dealings with a corrupt member of the Council.
You know who I mean; he gives us common folk a real bad name. Now; I have “Boys Cartel”
business to attend to, can you make my excuses to his nibs?” Marco revealed handing the
Nano Killer laced with Cytotoxin and a degradable set of instructions. His uncle took them
and said

“Sure; you take care of yourself out there tonight. There’s a rumour going around that
there’s a rumble to happen between the Brawlers and the Huguenots. I don’t want to find
you slashed to ribbons in an alley somewhere. Here’s Glass’s payment for “services
rendered” Renworth said handing him a wad of Groats. Marco departed by the rear of the
garret and disappeared into the afternoon crowds. Meanwhile; in The Blue Scarab, another
member of the “Boys Cartel”, Jason D’Hubree, was finishing his session with his client, she
was the leader of the Cortez Syndicate from the Junta Delficio Province in the nearby city

state of Juaneras. He had been given orders by an anonymous patron, and handsomely paid
to boot, to see to it that she met with an “interesting conclusion”. He had slipped a sedative
into her drink and had placed a Caspar’s Viper on the bed. It too was currently sedated, but
its sedative would wear off sooner than the one he’d given Minora. Caspar’s Vipers were
easily angered and their venom caused its victims cellular structure to dissolve in minutes
while they were paralysed. The process was extremely painful from just one bite. The Viper
would then “drink” its victim. The process would take about twenty to thirty minutes. He
left the room and paid Caroline Jenkins to call the local Force precinct when she heard the
screams.

“She deserves this for what she did to those Boys last year. Keep my presence here out of it
and I’ll pay you more if you destroy the Vid footage” he said

“No need to, the systems been on the fritz for months, it’s always self-erasing the crystals.
The Techs can’t seem to track down the problem” she replied winking. The Boys that Jason
was referring to were Boys Cartel elite, members of the Hydra Consort. Minora had seen to
it that their leader had been beheaded in plain sight of the border patrols. Her presence
here in the city would spark a feud between the ruling families in the Cortez Syndicate, just
as his patron wanted and that also satisfied the revenge requirements of the Boys Cartel. He
left into the afternoon crowds headed for a meeting with the new head of the Hydras. In the
room the Viper slowly woke from its sleep and finding itself in strange surroundings quickly
became furious. Nearby a form started to move. It struck out in reaction. The form
screamed; this infuriated it further and it struck again and again. The form went limp and
whimpered for a moment them silently began to melt. At least it would have a decent meal
from its ordeal. Marco waited for his lieutenant to arrive; it was not like Jason to be this
late. He was in Maxims and as Jason arrived he signalled a waitress to fetch another Klipka.

“I take it you managed to satisfy the requirements” he said as Jason sat down.

“Easily; and you sir, did your meeting go as planned?”

“All is in place. Have two of the younger boys ready to escort me back from Force HQ. Glass
and his Goons will no doubt not stay long. Remember we’re in this for the long game” and
the two sipped their drinks.

Back at Force HQ; the Hive situation was showing signs of recovery. The Auto
disengage had operated and the server had taken over the functions of the Bio-logics. All
seemed to be going well. The Antibiotics had an effect and the regeneration processes were
now taking over. Regeneration should take about an hour; so Doc Harrigan had returned to
the Coroner’s office to complete work on Lucerne’s body. The toxin had still not been
identified. And there was something odd about the blood work. The detectives were going
over what they had when a commotion from Booking caught their attention. Mark Wiggins
came in with a puzzled look on his face.

“Mortimer Glass has just come in with Marco Lydissian in tow. He’s asking for you Lomax”
Mark said. The three detectives looked at each other and Lomax followed Wiggins back to
Booking.

“What can I do for you Mr Glass?” Lomax asked not knowing just what to expect.

“I believe my young friend here has important information that might help your case. You
understand of course; he does this of his own volition and offers the information freely. I
must say that I was surprised with what he told me, and I thought, in the interests of
cooperation and to avoid any misunderstandings. I thought it best he gave you this
information also. In light of this news I have urgent business matters to attend to if we are
to avoid a Speight of “unfortunate incidents” that we could both do without. I therefore
leave this young man in your capable hands. I trust also that he will be dealt with fairly”
Mortimer announced and he and his goons departed. Marco stood there looking apologetic.

“Well Marco; we had been wanting to talk with you about Mr Lucerne’s suicide as you were
most likely the last person to see him alive, but now you’re here…” Lomax started to say but
Marco interrupted

“I can assure you that Korin Lucerne was alive and well when I left; though you would no
doubt know that from the staff. My news is about recent events at City Hall, my second in
the “Boys Cartel” works as a retriever there. He says there have been a number of odd
requests for plans and other details of various premises from the archive” Marco said

“We know about some requests made by The Carnegie Syndicate. Should we take this to a
less public place” Lomax interrupted and pointed to a free interview room. When they had
settled in Marco continued.

“I don’t want to compromise my friend’s position so I’ll leave his name out of the equation.
What he found is there have been a number of enquiries from at least six Syndicates and
two “outside” interests. One of which related to the Kinray Group’s recent acquirements;
hence my turning to Mr Glass. It was he who decided that the information could help you
with your current investigations.” He went on to list all the archive enquiries and the source
of the enquiries. It was an interesting list. One surprise in the list was an enquiry by the
Helicosian Industry Consortium; they were a recent development by way of an alternative
investment opportunity for the Buraxin sector to gain a foothold in Sonoran Trust markets.
Mainly concerned with money markets, the H.I.C. as they preferred to call themselves,
allowed Buraxin Traders a source to local banking establishments. Just why they had taken
an interest in the City Hall archives was a puzzle. As the detectives were now finding, the
local interest seemed to have a less than legitimate interest.

“Mr Lydissian; you have given us a source of information we were starting to take an
interest in, but what you have supplied has greatly expanded that line of enquiry. Is there a
reason of self-interest here? You are the erstwhile head of the “Boys Cartel” after all. We
could arrange for a protection detail if that may be necessary.” Lomax said after Marco
finished.

“It may not come to that. We are quite capable of looking out for ourselves; it goes with the
territory. But I would ask that you consider calling on our services in the “information
gathering” business. We tend to hear things most others don’t” Marco said coyly in reply

“Point taken” Lomax laughed” Thank you for this, do you need a lift back to the centre of
town?” Lomax asked

“That won’t be necessary I have two of my associates waiting for me. Oh there is one more
thing. Another friend of mine was recently the victim of a nasty attack, the killer disfigured

his body. Word has come to me that there could be a connection with Syndicate member’s
activity. If I find out who was responsible I will be certain to let you know. Take into account
also that a certain Councillor is a suspect in all these enquiries” Marco dropped the name
and he left the HQ into the waiting car of his two underlings. Lomax headed back to the
incident room and relayed what Marco had told him.

“That explains a lot of these requests. There is a common theme to all of them. All the plans
date to about a decade before the Turf War of ‘99” Krank said “There are some just before
and some just after. The spread is around 25 years in total. Many of the structures have
undergone rebuilding or substantial changes, the areas themselves have undergone
boundary changes too. One building in particular has not changed” He added only to be
interrupted by Dreck

“The Hedebar State Penitentiary, though back then it was the regional seat of governance.
That all changed after ’99 and the change of use legislation signed and sealed for by a
certain currently serving Councillor. It was rumoured that he was receiving kickbacks to
allow planning permissions through, but nothing was proven. What references do we have
to those permissions, and for which buildings?” Dreck interjected. The four of them went
through the microfiche files again. It took about an hour, but a common thread was showing
up. All the permissions related to contractors in the ownership of the four main Syndicates.
Closer inspections of the plans showed they all had substantial foundations built by one
contractor with The Sintivar Multi-Crete works supplying the materials.

“Good grief; they were hiding the fact that there’s a massive amount of the stuff right under
the city centre. Our outside influence was probably telling each Syndicate where to look to
get an edge to blackmail the others into submission. What was the name of that
Councillor?” Hurden asked

“He’s wheelchair bound, but under the regulations he can still serve. It’s Marchant Lucerne!
That’s where his fortune came from. He must have fed the kickbacks into the market using
proxy trading partners, feeding the returns back into the Lucerne estate. I could see where
that would be a useful lever. If our outside influence was trying to set one faction against
another, offering this titbit would give the boss of one Syndicate leverage
over the others; Marchant could be blackmailed into pitting the others
against each other leaving the field open for that last Syndicate to clean up
and rule supreme. By offering all the Syndicates the information the
outsider starts a turf war and keeps us and The Black Guard busy.” Dreck
concluded.

“It still leaves us without a clue as to who that outsider is; or why he’s doing this, what’s his
motivation” Hurden asked adding “Revenge, but for what?”

“I got Marco Lydissian to keep his “Boys Cartel” fishing around. They do tend to “hear
things” even our best informants miss, because of the “intimate” nature of their service. He
did give me a clue about those disfigurement murders we had recently. He didn’t do it
intentionally, but he fingered Mortimer Glass! Maybe we should get Homicide to try finding
out what Glass’s activities are, they do have some sophisticated surveillance, thanks to The
Coundon Institute.” Lomax said then looked distracted.

“I know that look; what’re you thinking Steve?” Krank asked

“I’m going to see that retired Nephel Guardian in Folor sector. He’s the oldest of them, he
might know more of the history of Kelgar, and it was his charge after all. You three keep
things on track and keep the Chief up to speed; he’s got two funeral arrangements to sort
out, a full Force service I think. I’ll try to be as quick as possible… Mark, Marcie, could you
make travel arrangements for me to Folor.” He replied and made preparations for his trip.

The Protectorate of Asgard

Josiah and Morgana were on the outer rim colony world of Asgard; named after
some mythical place of the Norse Gods, ironically perhaps as the planet’s surface was
mostly desert with huge outcroppings of long dead volcanoes. Seismic activity had ceased
near the surface long ago, only a spinning core and magma shell were all that remained of
the planet’s fiery past. The order’s facility here was chosen because the indigenous life
forms were exceptionally tolerant of extremes. Temperatures rose to a peak in the high 80’s
during midday, only to swing to minus that during the night. It had seasons because of its
erratic elliptical orbit around its Blue star. Two summers where the sun would be directly
over the equator and blast the planet with vast amounts of ultraviolet radiation, and two
winters, where the sun was distant enough that the daytime temperatures were not that far
above a tropical winter. The planets water supplies were from vast underground water
tables, covering almost four fifths of the planet. The atmosphere did have some water
content, but this never really precipitated more than an early mist and a nigh time frost.
Most life was underground and sightless. There were no life forms higher than basic
vertebrates, but all were poisonous. The facility had used the shores of one vast
underground lake to create an enclosed Hydroponics Farm to provide their food. The waters
of these rivers and lakes were rich in minerals, so a filtration and distillation facility purified
it and gave up the minerals for production and export. The planet’s Spaceport was about

five miles from the facility and covered roads lead to and from it.
The shifting dunes would sometimes cover these enclosures up to
twelve feet deep; so they were designed to resist weights of 1000
tonnes or more. The Spaceport was a vast transporter hub
feeding a huge orbital space platform for distribution. The
“residents” of the facility tested some of the more dangerous and
devious weapons in the desert. Power was from two sources; as
the day was around 40hrs and the planet’s year around ten Terran year’s solar power and
solar furnaces were used during the day. Hydro-Electric systems; obtaining power from
flowing rivers, supplemented this for night time and winter use. Underground the
temperature was a stable 25-30 degrees Celsius all the time. Artificial sunlight and solar light
tunnels regulated to a 24hr cycle provided the light necessary for the Hydroponic Farm and
to help keep circadian biorhythms in sync.

The couple were given quarters that would not be amiss in any luxury housing
complex. They had set about their work orders quickly and efficiently. Josiah had brought
with him some concealed plans for Nano weapons that would have been developed by the
Military of several worlds in the Sonoran Trust, had he not intercepted them from going to
patent and “eliminating” the inventors. He claimed them as “new” innovations, profits from
which to be shared with the Order. They had; hopefully, “disappeared” from everyone’s

radar by now. Morgana had used her knowledge of Herbs’ medicinal and other plants and
biochemistry to come up with new toxic agents for deployment by Nano Killers. They could
live here quite comfortably for a considerable length of time. However; their long term
plans followed a different agenda. Day to day they kept up appearances, but they were
secretly making plans that would give them power on a whole different order.

“I think I have the Abbot here wrapped around my finger” Morgana said over lunch “he will
do anything to get his hands on one of my “special” brews, he would seem to be having
marital difficulties” she chuckled.

“The Marketer is becoming a reliable chap too. He’s interested in expanding into the
Intergalactic routes. There are worlds in the other Galaxy that would benefit from the
product made here. Our Broker friend has managed to secure me access on a private
channel with your son. His last report is looking favourable. I must say; I didn’t think he’d be
so resourceful, it must be a genetic trait” he commented back and winced at the look that
Morgana gave him before she laughed.

“He looks nothing like his Father, that’s for sure. I chose well with his adopters, they
schooled him well in all forms of Vice. He made them pretty rich too; before he left to go
into the big wild world on his own. Has my devious streak to perfection. I suppose you could
legally adopt him as we were married enroute. Nice of the Abbot don’t you think”

“I might just do that if we can secure his passage out of Kelgar before the trouble that’s
going to happen. I’ve been looking over the prospectus of the system we were intending to
“retire” to. They have some pretty exclusive estates on offer, here take a look” He handed
her a pad with the holographs and details. “With the interest from our investments alone
we could secure any of them and live in luxury for the rest of our lives”. She scanned
through the images and stopped on one in particular.

“I like the look of this place; it’s in the Arani sector. 100 acres of vineyard attached and
House winery. Hmmm; I thought grapes were extinct though?” She looked to Josiah for an
answer. He took back the pad and looked up the historical records.

“Ah: these are a variety that survived on one of the first seed bank ships sent out to supply
the Terraforming of Venus but were never used, they were kept in Cryo-stasis, back before
The End, they crossed the plants with a variety the Anasazi took with them. Their wine is
said to have a flowery bouquet, and is pretty robust, the vine grows in weak soils as well as
strong. I think the Abbot has a bottle or two from this vineyard. Perhaps you could persuade
him to let us sample it” He winked. She laughed so hard she nearly choked on a morsel of
food.

Although designated as a Monastery, and the Order representatives designated as
Monks, the whole shebang was run as a business, with all the privileges that entailed,
coupled with the Tax relief from being a Religious establishment. In many respects the
Order styled itself as a modern day version of The Knights Templar. As long as a member
recanted their sins before death, like the long extinct Cathars, the members could live a full
and happy life, even to the point of debauchery. Many of the “Monks” even took wives and
had families, all looked after by the Order. So it’s no surprise that some were only too happy
to work with the “Criminal element”. Acolytes often spent their latter study years in a

Protectorate; it “prepared them for life outside the confines of the Order”. Unlike many
belief systems; The Order did not automatically take you in to permanent servitude after
your training, you could choose to leave the Order and become a free agent. Younger
Acolytes might choose to take a “sabbatical” before returning to the Order at a later date;
that too was also approved. So Josiah and Morgana soon fitted into the way of things. They
quickly settled into their “temporary” new life.

The Ancient

Aurelius was the oldest known Nephel; he
had been around since the Dark Lord first entered
the galaxy from his own dimension. He had been
privy to many secrets, actions and miscreant
diversions. He was virtually a living fossil record of
the Dark Empire. His great knowledge was asked
upon by all and sundry. To that end; he had chosen
to have his entire memory downloaded into a new
device that would become a form of A.I. entity
version of him. He was on Terra Prime on this occasion and the being before him was a
Force Officer of high rank, from the “gangster” world of Kelgar. He listened to the words it
said and the questions it asked. He was so old now he couldn’t distinguish between the
sexes anymore. Ah; it said it was a male that was that sorted.

“Great Aurelius, having told you of what we now believe, could I please ask if you know of
any other Lucerne family line?” Lomax asked

“Let me think; there was one other family line, an illegitimate or bastard line if you will.
They went by a slightly different spelling of that surname… Lusern I believe, though many of
them were short lived, a genetic flaw. The last one I heard of was a Josiah Lusern from
Barbarossa a planet in the Gildar system on the border between the Empire and the Unity. I
thought he’d died when undergoing genetic re-sequencing. The process was tricky and
unstable back then.” Aurelius answered, walking as they talked.

“Could he have survived in any way?” Lomax queried

“I’m not sure, and my memory of those days is muddled, we were undergoing an attack by
the Gantrax Advance Horde so, you’ll forgive me if my memory is sketchy about those times.
I had to concentrate hard on keeping the sector together. Infighting and rivalries were
difficult for the Nephel under my command to handle without bloodshed on a massive
scale. We were under orders to maintain the Empire. It was around the time that Baal had
his son Lucifer when the two family lines split. If the boy Josiah did survive he’d be middle
aged by now. He’d be a misguided child at best; or a twisted cynical individual more likely.”
The aged Nephel replied.

“A lot of the records were lost or destroyed around the time of our Syndicate Turf War of
’99. Though what you have told me has given me hope that we might track down this

outsider that has been trying to spark another War. I know that your time is drawing to an
end so I’ll trouble you no further. I thank you for what insight you have been able to give.”
Lomax concluded his conversation

“Think nothing of it. If future historians want my knowledge it will be available on the Hive-
net, I’m having my memories downloaded into one of the new Bio-Hive Artificial Intelligence
units. Apparently it will have my personality too. Good luck with your quest young man”
Aurelius replied. Lomax made his goodbyes and headed to the Contessa’d Largo Central
Exchange Transport hub. He stopped himself short and realised he was only a short distance
from the home of an old friend and former archivist Jason Ludar-Hallaran. He would be at
least fifty by now; but unlike most of his line, had become an engineer, Nano tech being his
speciality. Something that Forensics had said about the Singorian Brandy had sparked this
idea. He sent Jason a message via his communicator and awaited a reply. He did not have
long to wait; the communicator buzzed he answered the call.

“Steve; It’s been a long time. Wait where you are I’ll be with you shortly. I was just going to
lunch at a new Achenazi place in town, join me and we’ll catch up a little. I’m just stepping
into the pod at Julian Clarey Mansions now. You anywhere near Hendon and Fifth
Insurance?” Jason asked

“I’m near their offices the transporter pod’s undergoing maintenance so you could be re-
routed to the down town service. If I remember my Geography right I’ll meet you at Queens
and twelfth. It’s only a couple of minutes’ walk. If you mean that restaurant opposite Helga’s
Gymnasium, I hadn’t realised it had changed hands” Lomax replied

“No; the new place is just along from there, nearer the park entrance. Transporting now”
Jason said and the communicator hissed at the channel disconnected. Lomax set off walking
in the direction he’d said to meet Jason at. Jason was there waiting as he arrived. He was his
usual ebullient self. He gave Lomax a hearty man hug and pointed the way to the restaurant.
They set of at a pace that almost had Lomax breathless.

“Why are you rushing around, are they that busy?” Lomax asked as they slowed their pace a
little.

“They are always busy around this time, it quietens a little, but I want to get a table in the
rotunda” he replied pointing to a structure beside the Park entrance.

“The old Spaceport tower, when did they ship that thing out here. I see what you were
getting at now” Lomax said excitedly and they ran the rest of the way. They had always
been competitive even when going through the Thule Academy. They made it in time to get
a window seat overlooking most of the midtown area and the Central Park. Jason asked for
two menus and a Drinks list. The Waitress was a pretty young Achenazi girl and she had a
very attractive smile. Jason ordered a starter for each of them and let Lomax choose what
he wanted from the main meal menu; he ordered Haravad Pancakes
with salad, a meat filling and rich gravy. Jason ordered the Lupka Grill,
lava bread and suggested they drink Shebra an herbal brew and
ordered a pot. While they waited for their order to arrive; Lomax filled
Jason in on the recent events, leaving no details out.

“I’m surprised that the Caveat Brigade even considered working with Whelks, his reputation
here is less than favourable after a “misunderstanding” with a Buraxin trade emissary. But;
they must have seen some kind of potential. They are under scrutiny from the Central
revenue. Something not quite right about their recent Tax returns apparently. That toxin
that was used on Lucerne is interesting. I’ll contact my Mech buddy in the Central Patrol,
you remember Maxel Hersch don’t you? He might have some idea where it came from, but
if it’s a Protectorate substance you may be out of luck tracking the source” Jason finished
saying as their starters arrived. Between savouring mouthfuls; they reminisced and caught
up on each other’s news. The main courses when they arrived seemed to be generous
portions, and the Shebra smelled sweet and fragrant. The taste was new to Lomax, he was
expecting something like Camomile, but got something more like a sweet Sage with a hint of
something citrusy. It cleaned the palate exceptionally well. Sometime later; after returning
to Jason’s home, the two of them contacted their respective agencies. Jason got through to
Maxel and gave him the details of the Toxin and what little evidence of the delivery device
Lomax had brought with him. Lomax in the meantime; contacted Force HQ on Kelgar, letting
his team know what he’d discovered from Aurelius. It felt good the two of them working
together. He’d felt lost for a while when Jason’s family had left for the Unity. His work
colleagues didn’t quite make up for the interplay he and Jason had, still had it would seem.
Lomax finished and set his communicator to receive a data stream from the Archive on
Nibura, a Sonoran Trust colony that was primarily a vast global data store. This data store
specialised in toxins, venoms and other dangerous elements.

“I’ve asked the Archive on Nibura to send me the data they have on known Toxins etc. from
the Sonoran Trust; you and your friends here might find the data useful I know that the
Unity Archives don’t have much in the way of data on the Trust, but, as we are working well
together, I thought our data might shed some light on those cases that the Patrol here have
unsolved.” Lomax said as he linked his communicator into the local hive-Net.

“Thanks; we don’t have a great deal available to us as yet, diplomatic proceedings being
long, and what they are. When are you heading back? I have some leave due to me, I could
take it as a sabbatical, work with you and the Force, see the methods and practices first
hand” Jason asked

“Oh the Hyperspace Conduit is suffering interference from an Ion Storm near the Border
Interchange, so it could be a few days. But yes; by all means, at least I’ll have a friendly face
to work with; you think Jenna would be interested too?” Lomax replied. Jenna was Jason’s
youngest sister; a bright Tech student in her final year at Thule Academy. She was
specialising in Nano tech and Bio-electronics in particular’ of which there was a substantial
amount more in the Sonoran Trust than in the Terra Prime sector of the Unity.

“She’d be ecstatic. I’ll give her a call. Where are you staying here? I could easily put you up; I
have all this space since Lydia passed on.” Jason responded as he loaded the data Maxel had
sent him to his local terminal. He collated the streams and punched the output to the large
screen in his study. Lydia had been Jason’s second wife; she had died in a radiation accident
while on a survey mission. The shield generators on the ship had weakened around a Blue
giant and the radiation caused cellular damage that could not be reversed.

“I’m staying at the Grindon Plaza over by the Manfred Marina. The waterfront reminds me
of your Dad’s place on Mirodon, before the Gantrax levelled the place to make way for a

weapons gantry. You got out of there just in time; the Nephel fried the place with heavy
bombardment. The water here is bluer, but just as pleasant” Lomax answered. They
watched the screen as a Vid of an experiment was played. The scientist explained that he
was conducting toxicity tests of a neuro toxin from a lizard, recently found in a remote
system of the Buraxin sector. The Vid was some fifty years old. An animal had been exposed
to a spray of the toxin. The results were not pretty and very spectacular, the animal
screamed in pain just before it appeared to melt before them.

“That’s like a faster version of Caspar’s Viper venom. What happened to the rest of the
research of this man - Dr Belkin Harrig?” Lomax asked

“Not known; he went missing not long after this. No trace of him was ever found, no DNA
trace, no residue if he’d been exposed to the toxin, he just seemed to have vanished. It was
rumoured at the time the Order might have sequestered him away to a Protectorate
somewhere, but nothing was ever proven. The neuro toxin here matches slightly the stuff
used on Lucerne. It could have been derived from this venom as it would seem from the
autopsy toxins report that Lucerne’s lungs appeared to have some “melted” tissue” Jason
replied. The two friends watched more of the data that Maxel had sent, and Jason arranged
for Lomax’s things to be transferred from the Grindon to his house and he contacted Jenna,
who whooped at the mention of her joining them “FIELD TRIP!! AWSOME” she had yelled in
excitement.

A debt repaid, freedom for some

Mortimer Glass was a worried man. He had returned from the Force HQ with Gaston
and Herne to find his office had been broken into. He quickly recovered the hidden Vid
recorder and removed its crystal. The three of them watched the footage on the office large
screen. The two individuals seemed to know what they were looking for, and had carefully
worn cover all suits to avoid visual identification. They opened the filing cabinets and rifled
through the contents. They were being methodical in their search; and Herne recognised a
Chronometer that one of them was wearing

“That’s a Vanquist Chronometer, very expensive, that guy has breeding. If you can focus on
the face you can find the serial number. It’s in a Barcode incorporated into the back display.
The serial will lead to the owner.” Herne said, thankful for his Grandfather’s Knowledge of
quality timepieces. Glass focused on a still of the Chronometer; the barcode was hidden in a
cartouche in the faceplate design. A quick cross-reference to the manufacturer’s database
and the owner displayed as Louis Cranchant-Habel

“Louie the Swipe! Then the other one must be Herb Gaffner, Herb’s a burglar by trade Louis
is a data broker. Really likes to dress sharp hence the Chronometer” Gaston said and
continued “They are rumoured to be the ones responsible for the theft of Old man Silas
Carnegie’s pocketbook. The one he kept all his underworld contacts in. What’d they get
from us boss?” he asked

Mortimer started the footage again and watched the pair’s activity. They seemed to
be taking certain documents and copying them to a data recorder. Mortimer noted the files
and documents copied and retrieved the originals. They were an eclectic lot; mostly

transaction details for the legitimate side of the Kinray Group activities. At first sight there
appeared to be no connection between the files.

“I’m not just worried now, I’m baffled. Gaston see what you can find out on the street about
who hired these two. Herne, I’m going to give you a client list, quiz them about any recent
activity of this nature, you might want to get your brother Tom to give you a hand. I knew
that young man would be useful one day” Glass handed Herne a hurriedly written note.
Herne squinted then smiled. He’d be going to The Blue Scarab at some point. He and Gaston
left. Mortimer continued watching the rest of the footage. Louis seemed to be using sign
language to issue commands to Herb. Herb replied likewise when they had finished their
copying they spotted the bottle of Brandy Mortimer had “forgotten” to put back after
Marco and he went to Force HQ. Marco hadn’t noticed that Glass had slipped a powder into
the bottle. They two of them took a hefty swig each and took the bottle with them “Those
two are going to turn up somewhere with a mighty rush to get to a toilet.” He thought to
himself and chuckled. The sensor on the recorder had kept it running so what happened
next gave Mortimer quite a shock. A figure shimmered into appearance in front of the desk,
a well-dressed middle aged man Glass didn’t recognise at first. When he did he nearly
choked on the fresh Brandy he’d poured himself from the bottle he’d hidden prior to his
meeting with Marco. “Josiah Lusern!! But he’s dead. I had him killed by the Fredrick Twins
years ago. They went to Hedebar before being hung for murder. How??” he suddenly felt
strange, his eyes began to defocus and…A searing pain shot through his body, he couldn’t
breathe. His body slumped forwards in the chair and a pale blue discharge dribbled from his
parted lips. Mortimer Glass who had dehumed so many was now dehumed himself. Slowly
the Brandy bottle began to dissolve into a pool then quickly to a vapour. Even the glass with
the Brandy in it began the same procedure. No trace would remain. Renworth came out
from where he’d been hiding and methodically removed the last part of the recording as
he’d been instructed by Marco. He was free of the man at last. Oh; he’d act the part of the
shocked loyal servant, but the money deposited in a special off world account would more
than pay for his silence. Let those petty thieves be caught and explain themselves. Marco
had finally freed him from Glass and his tyranny. He left by the hidden route to the alleyway
and then re-emerged to enter the building by the front to set the stage for the arrival of the
Force by re-entering Glass’s office and calling them about Mr Glass’s death.

Lomax was confronted by a giggling young woman, Jenna had rushed over to her
Dad’s house and was shaking Lomax so hard by the hand he nearly got a cramp.

“Hi; I’m so glad to meet you, Dad’s always going on about you and him during your years at
the Academy. I was at a loss as to what to do for half term when he rang. If my expertise can
be of use I’ll be more than willing to help” she said excitedly

“Now; Jenna, we aren’t leaving just yet, You’d best introduce yourself properly and fill Mr
Lomax in on your course work, over lunch I think” then to Lomax “Same place or
somewhere more private?” Jason asked.

“Same place is fine. Jenna, the last time I saw you it was when you were entered in the
school Kinder Olympiad. We have a lot to catch up on, but take your time I’m not as young
as I used to be. Now to lunch; have you ever had Hasperat?” Lomax asked to stop Jenna in
mid-stream.

“Once; the canteen had an Achenazi day special, and Honeymoon Pancakes for desert with
Hanuba syrup. I chose the sweet Hasperat, I had intended to follow up with the salty
version, but the chef got called up to do service and none of us got the chance. If you are
going where I think you are, Dad, then put me down for a serving of Hasperat Salva. Not

sure what starter, we’ll see what they have when we get there” Jenna
responded. The three of them left for the Tower Diner in Jenna’s new car.
Lomax recollected the life he’d lead before the separation. Jenna would
have fitted in well with his ex, but that was all gone. They obtained a table
with a window seat as before and Lomax chose Hemble loaf, a sourdough
bun in rich syrupy gravy, Jenna a house special of Hasperat Salva and Bean soup and Jason
his favourite Haravad Pancakes. They ordered the same drinks as before and Jenna filled
Lomax in on her history since the separation to the Unity sector as they ate…

Hurden was the first to arrive at Mortimer Glass’s office, then forensics and Doc
Harrigan. She let them do their work while she noted and recorded the scene for her
records and the other Detectives. The elderly manservant was quite distraught looking and
cooperating as best he could. She’d take his statement later. She looked the scene over; it
was similar to the Lucerne crime scene. The corpse showed signs of sudden departure and
there were no signs other than the broken door lock that anything had been disturbed. The

blue discharge from the lips was something different, but Doc Harrigan and
Forensics would have an answer to that later. She was about to end her
recording when something caught her attention from the corner of her eye’ a
slight shift of the threads of the carpet pile. They looked like scuff marks from a
dragged shoe; as if someone walked a short distance dragging their right foot,
like a disabled person might when unsteady on foot. She went to question the Manservant;
Renworth Meriwether. She took his statement then asked about the marks in the pile of the
carpet. He replied that there had been a visit earlier by an old acquaintance of Mr Glass who
had a slight paralysis in his right leg. The marks could be from that visit. His statement didn’t
offer any further clues, so she’d have to wait for Forensics findings. Whoever did this to
Mortimer Glass was very careful not to leave any incriminating evidence that was
immediately obvious. She interviewed the rest of the staff and returned to HQ.

She gave the team her account of the scene and added something that the staff, Gaston and
Herne, and the secretary Mulan Waters had mentioned.

“The Kinray Group had taken over ownership of the business of Luis Lisette Bordeja, the pet
Food King. One of their board members; Mason Kestrelle visited Glass only about an hour
before he was discovered dead at his desk. The secretary noted the man had a distinct limp.
She had been away from her desk when he’d left so didn’t see him leave. I’m going over
there later to see what he has to say. But from what you say your informants are telling us,
Glass was an evil piece of work” she concluded

“That explains the marks you spotted in the carpet pile. I know that name from somewhere
else” Dreck said shuffling through some papers on the incident desk. “Ah; here we are. He
was involved in another takeover a couple of months before Kinray Group made their move.
There were rumours that he was involved in some insider trading scheme, but that fizzled
out. He’s currently serving on the boards of six companies in an “advisory” role. Two of

which are involved with rival Syndicates” Dreck added. Krank finished a call with the Chief
and approached them…

“That was the Chief; he’s finalised the detail for the funerals, Lomax. Dreck and I, Frankie
and two others from David’s squad will be Pall Bearers, D’Souza and Mantille will be honour
guard, the rest is on this list I’m posting on the main notice board. Lomax called me earlier,
he’s got some news that might have a bearing on our case, and He’s bringing in a couple of
“experts” too, what is the latest on Glass?” he asked. Hurden brought him up to speed.
Dreck went to dispatch to tell Macie to have one of the Grindon Heights patrols bring
Kestrelle in for questioning. Anything he noticed during his visit to Glass might be relevant.
In the meantime he would go back to the Hall of Records to see what he could drag up on
the rest of the Lucerne family and relations, there seemed to be some connection with all
the recent activity. While he was there a call came in from the Mayor’s Office. “Could one of
the senior officers attend as soon as was convenient?” was all the caller would say. Krank
said he’d answer the call and left Hurden and Dreck to interview Kestrelle when he came in.

Krank had a shrewd idea what this call to the Mayor’s Office might be all about.
They’d ruled out the Mayor’s daughter and her boyfriend over the Casino business so that
left The Chief and the civic duty of the Funeral service. He just hoped this was not political
gesturing on the Mayor’s part, although he wouldn’t put it past the wily old goat. It was
more than likely because of a family connection with Nancy Ferris. He was an uncle by
marriage. He pulled up at City Hall and was met on the steps of the building by Henrietta,
the Mayor’s aide.

“His nib is in a right tiswas, he has received a death threat by courier about ten minutes ago.
There was a note attached to the object delivered.” She handed him the card which simply
read “BOOM! Happy Birthday” it was in red ink, or perhaps blood, and in a spidery hand. “If
this is some form of sick joke, it’s in incredibly bad taste Felix.” She added and they hurried
to the Mayor’s Office on the thirteenth floor. As soon as Krank entered the room a stench
invaded his nostrils, the “object” was the head of a Gantrax with two sticks of fake
explosives sticking out of its eyes and it was covered in Hadra slime. That’s what was
stinking. The mayor himself was white as a sheet and throwing up into an ornate plant pot
holder.

“Ah; Felix old chap, what do you make of… of…” he couldn’t speak and just pointed at the
head on his desk. The canister and its lid that it had arrived in were on the floor where they
had landed when the contents had fallen onto the desk. On closer inspection the head
proved to be a sophisticated facsimile, not a genuine Gantrax head, but convincing enough.
“I would say it’s somebody’s idea of a very sick practical joke. It’s not a real head; I’ve seen
plenty of the real kind before. The skull shape is too rounded. Your Birthday isn’t for two
months, so I would put this out of your mind, and concentrate on the Funeral for the Force
Officers who died in the Casino bombing. I’ll have Forensics check it over, but I’m very much
afraid the perpetrator has not left any clues as to their identity. The courier was probably in
on it or even the guy himself in disguise” Krank said confidently.

“Thank you Felix, I thought it might have been one of those Syndicate threats, word has
travelled fast about Lucerne, and I hear that we also have Mortimer Glass dehumed too.”
The poor man was still visibly shaken. It was not well known that the Mayor had been an
officer in The Black Guard outpost patrol that had encountered the first Gantrax wave on

Jedburgh a moon in the Calufrax system. They had captured and tortured many of his men,
sending back their headless corpses by catapult. After the battle was over he and what was
left of the contingent were treated for post-traumatic stress disorder. Seeing this head must
have brought it all back.

“I understand, you and I saw active service against them buggers” and he pointed at the
head. “So; your response is duly noted. Will you be bringing any guests to the service; I
might as well take details while I’m here”. He looked at Henrietta who was staring at the
head. She snapped out of the fascination and quickly drew up a list with the Mayor’s help.
That had worked a treat; he summoned a Forensic officer to collect the head and its
container. He spotted some paperwork on the Mayor’s desk it was invoices for the
Partnership in the Casino. The signatures caught his eye, Cordeaux, Mancine a cousin of the
Mayor, and one other, a spidery hand that read Silas Carnegie. He collected the list when
the Forensics guy arrived and made his departure. He fed his suspicions to the other
detectives and Dreck and Hurden went to the care home in Grindor Vistas to have a chat
with “Old Silas”.

The flight back to the Border Hyperspace Corridor was uneventful; however there
appeared to be some disturbance going on at the entrance to the Hyperspace Corridor.
Lomax asked the cabin crew what the problem was.

“A Buraxin freighter has developed a leak from one of its engine nacelles. The radiation is
destabilising the entrance to the corridor, they are trying to move it out of the way so other
traffic can pass, but using only impulse drive is making it laborious” The co-pilot said.

“Fine; just keep me and the other passengers updated. Have you the facility to connect
communications with the Force HQ on Kelgar from on board?” Lomax asked

“You can try from business class; I’ll get one of the stewards to take you to a private booth
sir. Now if you would please return, the Captain and I will have our hands full doing the
manoeuvring the Border patrol require us to do” the co-pilot continued and signalled one of
the stewardesses to assist Lomax with setting up his link. On the way to Business Class he
stopped off at his seat and picked up his portable pad telling Jenna and Jason what the
holdup was. He went with the stewardess and connected his communicator and pad to a
terminal in a private booth. Making sure he wouldn’t be disturbed he set about making the
link. He quickly caught up with events on Kelgar and when he heard about the paperwork
and Silas Carnegie’s signature said he’d look into it further when he arrived.

“Old Silas was always a practical joker, but even this is sick by his standards. He probably
knew of the Mayor’s service as he and the family were gunrunning between rival systems at
the time. But to send this sort of thing and get the dates wrong is out of character.” Krank
said toward the end of the transmission “And such an obvious fake too. Not his style” Krank
finished

“You would probably be better off talking with the Chief when the funeral’s over; he was a
lieutenant back then. And speaking of the funeral, I’ll need some quick alterations to my
dress uniform. You know where I keep it. The waist of the trousers will need taking in about
five centimetres, could you see to it. I’ve lost weight since I last wore it.” He ended the
conversation and closed down the link. His pad had Dreck’s notes on the case in full. He

went back to his seat with Jenna and Jason. He gave Jason his Pad and left him reading the
notes. He mentioned the incident with the Mayor and Jason stopped and looked up

“I remember old Silas’s practical jokes only too well. One scared the living bejeebers out of
you sis, remember the Haalgra tongue business?” Jason said to Jenna

“Oh; please don’t remind me. I was seven at the time. I couldn’t face Haalgra meat for
months. Silas had wrapped a whole freshly severed tongue in a bunch of Peligonia blooms.
Mum gave them to me to smell and my hands slipped. Silas laughed so wickedly at the look
of horror on my face Mum set about him with a rolling pin, she was baking Kaloomi Biscuits,
he and Dad thought it highly amusing. I was creeped out by the whole thing for months.”
Jenna said shuddering.

“Well from what Krank described, I don’t think Silas was the perpetrator, the head would
never have stood up to close scrutiny, so why bother, and getting the dates wrong. Silas is
still sharp minded even at his age, so this has to be a calling card from one of the other
Syndicate heads or our mysterious outsider, just an embellishment to taunt us” Lomax
responded. The blockage was cleared and their flight continued without further incident.

Krank met them at the Spaceport Lomax’s Dress Uniform in a suit bag. He noted the
two “guests” and smiled when he saw Jenna. Lomax took the suit and headed to the Men’s
room to change. The funeral was in an hour and they both needed to be in place long
before, to go through the running order. He chatted with Jenna and Jason while they
awaited Lomax’s return.

“I haven’t seen both of you since the exodus from Mirodon, you’ve grown into a fine young
woman Jenna, and Jason… You’ll never change. You still play the occasional game of
Jinderball I take it?” Krank asked

“Now and then, I developed a hip problem after a climbing accident a couple of years back.
This toxin you’ve got here looks mighty interesting. Jenna want’s a look at the Nano tech in
the Trust, and she had some “fee time” so I let her tag along” Jason replied and Jenna
elbowed him in the side of his ribcage

“Don’t listen to him Uncle Felix, he’s being his usual self. You look amazing for your age too.
I’m studying Nano tech as part of my Engineering studies at Thule Academy, it’s my final
year and didn’t know what to do with my summer break. This will be a “busman’s” holiday
and hope I can hone my skills while I’m here. I understand your Hive’s here use Bio-Tech in
their primary cores, it could prove interesting research” Jenna added in a more professional
manner. Lomax returned looking a little stiff.

“I think the tailors have used a little too much starch in the gusset area” he quipped and the
three of them set off to the Force HQ. Jason and Jenna would stop off at the Kelgar Hilton to
unpack while Krank and Lomax would go on to meet up with the Funeral Party.

The ceremony went off as planned, there were some late
additions to the honour guard, six other former colleagues of David and
Juke, from their Force Academy days. Jinny Tibers and Corrigan
Williamson and their respective crews were given exclusive access to
cover the service in depth. In a way this was sending out a message that

the Force would stand firm and deliver the perpetrators into the hands of the Justice
system. Cop killers would never be tolerated. The Chief’s Eulogy was masterpiece, Krank had
helped there. And the Honour guard paid their respects with due diligence and solemnity.
The Mayor gave a speech after the event vowing to make the city safe and woe betide any
Syndicate that broke any agreement to keep the peace out of respect. Not that City Hall
could really do anything if a Turf War did break out. But it looked good for the press.
Secretly the Mayor would be seeing the setting up of a “special duties” squad comprising
members who all had a grudge of one form or other against the various Syndicates. The
Blind Justice Squad as it would later be called would have unprecedented powers and could
act “outside the Law” when it deemed it needed to. But for now; Lomax, Hurden, Krank and
Dreck were the best people to handle the criminal element’s activities. Dreck would
eventually, further down the line, head the Blind Justice Squad.

After the service the respective families gathered for a joint farewell wake. Nancy
was in a wheel chair, still weak from her ordeal; thankfully no harm had come to the tiny life
growing inside her womb. Their Patrol car had taken the brunt of the force, but she had
been left with burns, bruises and cracked bones in her left leg, hip and ribs. One of the other
younger officers in Jake’s shift had been in the Honour Guard at the service; he had
promised her that he’d do everything he could to live up to her brother’s standards and
reputation. He was one of the few Achenazi members of the Force and a recent recruit. He
had admired Jake’s dedication and would also try to emulate Jake in his role in the Force
Jinderball team in his memory. She felt sorrier for Chief Wilson and his family, David was the
youngest serving from that distinguished line. There was one surprise in the attendees to
the wake; Old Man Silas Carnegie had been at the service and had asked if he might see the
families after the wake was over. He offered to help with any investigation into the bombing
purely as a concerned citizen,

“My time and life with the Syndicates and crime are well and truly over. I have little time left
to me and I want to repay my debt in some way. Although my body may be weak, my mind
is as sharp and as bright as ever. The perpetrators of this crime are little more than animals,
no decency behind the thought of the action. I want to put things as right as I can” he said in
an interview later that evening broadcast over many of the Networks. When Dreck and
Hurden had a “chat” with him about the practical joke, he had been furious “Sounds like
someone taking the Mickey at my expense. If I had done such a prank you can bet it would
have been done with style. I have a shrewd idea who might be behind it though. He’s a
young whippersnapper from the Gildar system who thinks too much of himself. He was
probably trying to make a name in the crime circuit. No style, no… panache! He goes by the
“business” name of Danny the Vamp, my old colleagues keep me informed on the business,
but these days I’ve had my fill of crime. Danny’s into that old Goth syndrome thing. He’s
over in Pelador Plaza, taken control of the illicit substance trade there. I would love to see
his face, but my Doc says I have to take it easy or I’d put the young whelp over my knee and
spank him hard, he’s nothing more than a “poor little rich boy” playing at being a gangster.
Do me a favour and give him what for” Silas told them before he had a coughing fit. It was
obvious that Carnegie was not capable of the prank, and the courier had been a young man.
The two detectives left, but not before Silas managed to show them the latest gag in his
arsenal of pranks he used on the staff at the Care Home. He’d caught out more than a few
young nurses with it. Hurden thought it a bit cruel, but Dreck found it amusing.

Jason and Jenna were true to their word. Jason worked closely with Forensics and
Doc Harrigan on the toxin side of things and Jenna took a look at what remained of the
Nano killer left in the Brandy bottle. The Brandy had somehow prevented the device from
completely dissolving itself into basic compounds.

“Interesting construction method and choice of materials; the bulk of it appears to be
metallic mineral salts. The Nano Circuitry is based on a similar crystal structure to the Krall
data crystals only in a liquid crystal form. It’s not that common anywhere in this region or
this Galaxy. The nearest equivalent tech I can think of is used on a Rim World near the edge
of the Osir Domain. I’ve only seen one other example of this circuitry and that was in a
device used to repair nerve tissue. The Osir only used it on occasion relying more on
regenerative techniques that worked at a genetic level, they are far more reliable” Jenna
stated when she’d examined the remains. “Its form is reminiscent of some micro organic life
found in the swamps of Flutvar. So whoever made this is familiar with both territories. I’d
start by looking at which suspects travelled a great deal and could have come into contact
with the locales” she concluded.

Dreck scanned through the database and two names came up. Marco Lydissian, had
grown up on a Rim World, so might have been exposed to the tech, and Morgana Binder-
Glass, step sister to our deceased gangster. Her first marriage had ended with a bang when
the family mansion exploded and the second in a boating accident on Fula Lake. “We know
where Marco is, but Morgana seems to have disappeared without trace, the last anyone has
on her was a credit transfer to an Order account. Perhaps she’s joined the Sisterhood of
Endurance, the female division of the Order” he said jokingly

“Stranger things have happened” Jason said entering so quietly he made them all jump.
“I’ve found a strange component to that toxin, it’s an Herb sap from a plant on that swamp
moon with the regular rainstorms, oh what’s it called?” he was flustered for a moment “Ah;
Lambert’s paradise. Weird sense of humour the Genovans” he continued. Hurden chuckled
and added “My first boyfriend was a Genovan, the first time we had sex I ended up in the
infirmary for a week” Lomax was drinking Klipka and spluttered, Dreck winced and Krank
looked at Jenna. Who just shrugged then whispered something into Hurden’s ear and the
two of them giggled. Jason looked at his sister with a shocked look on his face.

“Oh brother of mine, you didn’t think… Oh you did; I’ve been dating a young Biology
graduate from Genova for ten months now. So I’ve learned how to handle Genovan men”
and she smirked. That sent a ripple of laughter around the room. He looked at her then
burst into laughter himself. With the levity aside they began to piece together what they
had. Jason had been a boost to the team, his wide range of knowledge had helped to give
some sort of order to the events and incidents over a two month period prior to the killing
of Jaden Whelks to the recent two murders, and more of Glass’s “victims” had also been
categorised too. Lomax felt a little self-satisfaction at his choice in deciding to get his
childhood friend involved.

Of Fire and Ice

Marco had only just made it across the territorial border to the Independent regime
of Dalutar Province, to the relative safety of the regime’s sanctuary. No extradition order
with other Kelgar States and Provinces existed here. He had gotten wind of the Force’s

interest in him and Morgana, his biological mother. He had promoted his second in
command Jason to temporary head in his absence. The Dalutar Province had ties to the
Order and he used this to obtain passage to the Protectorate on Jadunar, a world in the
Untharan sector. He was hoping to offer his services to the Abbot, who was known to take
catamites to satisfy his carnal urges. From there he could arrange passage to the Asgard
Protectorate. He’d been able to get a message through to Josiah before he left. Morgana
was shocked that the Force had made a link so soon, but the fact that they didn’t know
where she had disappeared to meant that she’d made the right decision to fake her own
death so convincingly. The body she’d chosen would be too badly decomposed that only the
replaced dental records that Josiah had planted would be means to identify the female
remains. It would look as if she had been a victim of one of her “Herbal” concoctions. She
had wished Marco a safe journey and hoped that the three of them would be together soon.

As a precaution Josiah had also arranged for a duplicate “cloned” body to turn up at
the appropriate time, this was a more sophisticated deception as it involved genetic re-
sequencing of the bodies DNA to a fine level of detail. But it was worth the effort.

“I’m beginning to like your boy more and more Morgana. He does seem to have your
devious streak and a wonderful sense of the dramatic. Perhaps the Council on Tregar can
arrange the formal adoption papers. You have a contact there Brother Mansard do you
not?” Josiah directed the last remark to the Protectorate’s Marketer who had benefited
from Josiah’s expertise in playing the markets so well they had let him in on their plans. He
too was thinking of “retiring” from the Order and liked the look of the Delevan System as a
place to “rest his weary bones”.

“Yes; the local Registrar is a former Acolyte of the Order and I’m sure I can persuade him to
prepare the necessary documents, he is due here on a sabbatical, so it shouldn’t be a
problem. Oh and thanks for that tip on Hisbar shares, I made quite a profit on the side from
that transaction and I managed to get the Abbot the funding he needed for the new
“additions” to the Herbal products division.” Mansard replied as he smoked one of
Morgana’s “special” cigars. A few of the workers had also taken a liking to the “herb” and it
had meant a more relaxed atmosphere in the factory too. Morgana looked distracted.

“What is it my love, are you worried about Marco?” Josiah asked

“No; I’ve just notice something in this Journal. Do you remember the “good” Dr Belkin? He’s
been found on a moon in the Flutvarn region in a severely dismembered state. It seems he
got on the wrong side of a local tribe, when he had experimented on their livestock with a
derivative of that drug you found on Kevanis 3. What a pity, he showed such promise.
Though I suppose that’s another thread cut to our past.” she said in reply.

“It wasn’t Hunter’s Moon by any chance? If so I’m not surprised the locals reacted the way
they did. They nearly did the same to a cousin of mine when he had a “one night stand”
with the Leader’s daughter. He escaped by the skin of his teeth. He’s no longer welcome in
the Flutvarn sector so Uncle Maxim sent him packing to Thoth in the Ice world system of
Hellas. From the fire of the frying pan to the chill of the Ice house. You could say he’s
“cooling his heels”” and he laughed sarcastically. Morgana and Mansard just looked at each
other and shook their heads.

Forensics had unearthed some more remains in a lock-up in Mid-Town. They were
female and had been there some time. Dreck went this time. He arrived as Doc Harrigan was
carefully bagging the remains.

“You guys sure know how to keep a gal busy. This one’s nasty; been here a while, from the
height and the bone structure I’d say female in her mid-thirties to early forties. I’ll be unable
to give you an ID until we match dental records. This decay is not natural. We did find one
item that might give you a clue, an inscribed bracelet.” Doc said and handed him an
evidence bag with the bracelet inside. He could just about read the inscription.

“My dearest Fey; the Guy who gave her this didn’t know how to spell” Dreck said

“You misunderstand the word; Fey was the ancient Celtic term for a witch. The most famous
of the Fey was one Morgana le Fey” Doc corrected him. Dreck had a sudden inspiration

“I’d bet you a ten note this is Morgana Binder-Glass, we’ve been looking for
her, looks like she met a nasty end. Let us know what you find Doc. Hang on; is
that a bottle over there on the workbench?” Dreck went over and put on a
pair of gloves. He used a pencil to pick up the small vial and had it put in an
evidence bag.

“There’s some sort of liquid residue inside Doc; could be what did her in.” he handed the
bag to Doc Harrigan.

“You’re right and there’s enough to send a small sample to analyse and leave the rest as
evidence. Well spotted.” Doc beamed at him. He left to go back to HQ when he noticed
something else behind the door. He squatted down and looked closely at the lock. It had
been forced, not only on the outside but damage could be seen on the inside too.

“It looks as if she tried to get out but that stuff got her first just as she’ bust the lock. Must
be very fast acting to stop her dead so quick. I’d take some precautions Doc; we’ve got
enough dead bodies in this case already.” He stood back up and went out to his car. He
messaged in his preliminary report and headed back to HQ.

When he arrived back he informed the rest of them of who he suspected the body
was. It would be a while before Forensics confirmed his suspicions; so in the meantime
they’d try and find Marco as he was the only other link in the chain that had either not
expired or who was unable to do any of the crimes. Marchant Lucerne was questioned, but
from his physical state he too would not have been able to commit any of the crimes and
was elsewhere, and provably so, when the murders were committed. He admitted to
covering up some of the “dealings” with the Sintivar business, but he wasn’t the only
Council Official in the pay of the Syndicates, back then many things went “under the table”
for a small “consideration”. He’d named some of those involved. Krank gave those details on
to Vice. Marchant did have one thing to say on the “alternate” family line

“Josiah Lusern was taken to a Protectorate world for neuro-surgery and some gene
manipulation. I came across the papers shortly before the firebombing that destroyed the
old Hall of Records. I wish I’d hung onto them, your hunch that Josiah may still be alive could
be true Detective Lomax.” He said. Lomax allowed himself a satisfied smirk. He’d been right
to see Aurelius. Jason had made strides in identifying the toxin further

“I noticed a marker that looked familiar; so I asked Doc Harrigan to see if her cousin at the
Thule Biology research facility over in Hedebar could see if they had any specimens of the
Lander’s Skink. It is rare here, but common in the Flutvarn sector. Its skin produces a toxic
waxy secretion. The compound I found in this toxin is close enough to have been
synthesised to match it. Only a few places have the equipment to make a synthetic copy,
none in the Sonoran Trust, but two are in the Buraxin sector, both are Order Protectorates”
he said, smiling broadly.

“There’s that Order connection again. The Caveat Brigade is linked to The Order, and Caveat
style payments were found at two of the murders. It’s extremely unlikely that the Order
would want to start a Turf War here, but someone needing their protection might do to
cover their tracks. I’d lay ten to one odds that Josiah Lusern is still alive and he’s behind all
of this in some way” Hurden said. Lomax and the others agreed. Jenna spoke up.

“We don’t have any clues to where he is and Dispatch has just informed us that there has
been a change of Leadership in the “Boys Cartel”; Marco has gone missing too. Wonder if
we’ll find his body in an alley somewhere. That leaves us with only one line of enquiry”
Jenna added then thought for a moment and continues hesitantly “Bro’ correct me if I’m
wrong, but synthesisers like the one’s needed to make that compound always include a
molecular signature do they not?” she asked Jason

“Why yes; I hadn’t thought of that. It indicates the manufacturer and serial number of the
machine…” Jason started to say when Lomax interrupted him

“So we can track its invoices and find not only the supplier but the purchaser and its
destination. I’m glad I brought you two back with me” he whooped and he kissed Jenna on
the cheek and rushed out to dispatch”

A “family” reunion

Marco had turned up at Asgard Protectorate as a passenger aboard the Buraxin
freighter H’N’ Frae that was there to collect surplus foodstuffs from the Monastery for trade
in the Markets of Hibernia. He looked rather pleased with himself. Morgana, Josiah and the
Abbot greeted him. He drew his mother to one side and whispered in her ear

“I think I did right by “father”; It will take some getting used to that, I found the only
records left of his existence, the Medical records. Instead of destroying them, I created
replacements that show he passed away on Thoth about six years ago and his body
cremated. I hope he likes the idea. I’ve also heard your “body” was found as planned” he
went over to meet the Abbot and Jason, introduced himself and explained about his
relationship , his past and that he was willing to do whatever the Abbot thought would be
the best work for him while he was here. Josiah took Marco firmly by the hand

“I know you’ll find this strange; I certainly do, but I greet you now, not as a stranger, but as
my son. Since the adoption was approved without reservation. Your mother and I are truly
happy to welcome you into the fold” and he hugged Marco with tears streaming from his
eyes. Marco waited until they were in their quarters before telling Josiah what he had done
to secure Josiah’s anonymity.

“You really are like your Mother; always thinking one step ahead. You were right of course,
but I did have a contingency plan. I’d love to see the faces of the detectives when that
bombshell hits.” Josiah said and he laughed continuing “Have you sorted your
disappearance yet?” he asked

“I’ve made arrangements to have it look like I was killed in an explosion at the docks in
Hedebar; it will also take out Jason’s main rival too. I made sure that enough DNA evidence
and other items show I was present. I also had Jason alter my dental records like Mother, so
that the corpse” can be identified. Better not to leave anything to chance. Oh, I also found a
Geno-surgeon near to where you and mother are “retiring”. She’s discreet as she was
“struck off” for doing something nasty to a celebrity, but like us, she “disappeared” some
time ago and has a private Clinic under a new identity. I’m going to have my DNA re-
sequenced just to be certain I never show up again as me” Marco replied

“I think I’m going to be proud to call you son, but don’t call me Pop, Dad or Father will
suffice” Josiah said in response and they both laughed.

Morgana stood watching the pair getting along. She had longed for a family for so
long it now scared her, but she was determined to make this work. It may not have been the
most auspicious of beginnings and may still go awry, but she was determined to see it
through, however it went. The Abbot and the “monks” had been a surrogate for the loss of
her Father, and she appreciated their efforts. “We will make this work” she thought and left
the two “boys” to heir tales of bravado. For some time now, she had been working on a
plant-based formula she had found in an old Herbal Companion book. Notes were scribbled
in the borders of several pages. The Book had been one that was placed in a reinforced

“Time Capsule” dating back to a time before the Economy Wars. It had
been preserved because the Capsule had been in a spacecraft isolated on
Earth’s Moon. She had come across the book on one of her trips to the
Archive on Terra Prime. Quite why she had “borrowed” the book she
couldn’t say, and since nobody noticed it was missing, she had never
bothered to return it. The formula had been written down in an old
language and had taken some time to translate. The concoction used Herbs and plants that
were extinct, but current species on various worlds appeared to have the same or similar
properties. By trial and error, she had eventually managed to create the recipe to a close
approximation. It was to be consumed as an infusion in Alcohol; she had chosen a colourless
drink from the Achenazi sector, a filtered form of Mescal for this purpose. Not knowing just
what the results would be, she had refrained from testing the stuff herself. The Bio Labs
were available to her so she decided to see what the results would be on a volunteer. When
she eventually plucked up the courage to ask the Abbot he said that one of the elder
patrons was looking for an easier way to end his suffering, his disease being degenerative
and persistent. He would ask the man if he was willing to try the “witches brew”.

“The old Apothecaries of the time would try all sorts of mixtures on themselves. More often
than not the results would either kill or affect some sort of change, very rarely a cure was
found by this method. I’ve looked over the notes and, as near as I can tell, the stuff should
promote a dumbing down of the pain, one or two of these plants are mildly toxic, but
nothing that Nano meds can correct. So you have my blessing. At the very least it could
prove an interesting addition to our fortified wine range” were the Abbot’s comments. She

met with the old man in the Arboretum. He was frail and wheelchair bound. His attendant
was a young acolyte from Nova Thule on Sabbatical. He was also trained in Medical therapy;
hence he was placed in charge of the Old Man’s care. He had been reluctant to allow the
procedure, but had been overruled by the Abbot and the Old Man himself. Morgana had
prepared a sample of the concoction and offered it to the patron. He sipped the drink
smiled and downed the whole glass “I always liked Pure Mescal, thank you young lady…” His
eyes glazed over and he slumped forward in his chair. At first they though he was dead; but
he sat up and it was obvious that the brew was having a hallucinatory effect. His pupils were
dilated and his demeanour one of relaxed bemusement “Wow!” was all he kept saying. The
Acolyte called the Abbot and the three of them quizzed the Patron as to what he was
experiencing.

“I haven’t felt this good since I accidentally got stung by a Visma Spider, only this is much
better. I’m not worried about the tripping, what’s more amazing is the pain, my constant
pain is gone.” And he giggled. The three others looked at each other bewildered. Then the
Acolyte noticed something else.

“Look at his skin and his legs!” the young man yelled. The old man’s wrinkles seemed to
soften before their eyes, his leg muscles seemed to swell and firm up. The Abbot grabbed
the glass and drank what was left of the brew. He coughed and he too slumped down onto a
nearby bench.

“Morgana If my hunch is right we have a rejuvenating brew that could make us millions!” he
said followed by the same “Wow” that the Old Man had said. Morgana took out her
communicator and called Marco and Josiah to the Bio Lab.

Back in Force HQ; the investigators had narrowed down the invoice trail, but had
come to a dead end at the Unity Border Control the machine had been loaded onto a
freighter headed for the Delos System, unfortunately though, the freighter had been
destroyed enroute, or so the records that they could access said. The records they couldn’t
access were in the possession of The Order and they were sealed to outsiders.

“Damn! That means we have no way of knowing where the heck it went or
even if the thing was on the freighter. The Order and their Secrecy Accord”
Krank pounded the desk and went for a Klipka.

“There has to be a way to finds out more. I really thought we were on to a route to clear this
investigation” Hurden voiced what the others were thinking. Krank had got his Klipka and
was in the Chief’s office bringing him up to speed. The Chief looked like a thundercloud
about to explode, then he calmed and smiled. He said something to Krank and the Detective
nearly dropped his Klipka. Krank turned and headed to Dispatch. The others looked at each
other in stunned silence. Jason and Jenna arrived back from lunch and the others filled them
in as to the current state of affairs.

“Isn’t the Chief’s nephew an Acolyte in the Order?” Jenna asked

“Oh yes: though what can an Acolyte do he isn’t…” Dreck answered but Lomax interrupted

“He works in their central register offices and is only in the order on a “Freelance” licence.
He’s not bound by the Order’s Secrecy Accord. And the records he’d access would be done

as a matter of routine… if an inventory is called for. Clever thinking. That’s why he’s the
Chief.” Lomax smiled and Krank re-entered the room

“I take it from your smile Lomax you’ve worked it out. We have a route back in. If we find
that Machine; we find the source of the Toxin and a possible trace for our suspect. That
freighter exploded after it had made its first drop so we’ll start there. Where was the first
drop Hurden?” Krank asked smiling

“It was in the Buraxin Trade territories in the Trust, in the outer colonies by the rim… A
Protectorate called Praxia, one of two out there. The other is a closed world, only Buraxin
traders have any contact. It says it’s an Oh! It’s a colony of contagion respite. Most species
would not be allowed access. Buraxin immune systems can handle every known pathogen.
They must have ordered the machine to synthesise medications. It wouldn’t take much to
change its use to make toxins.” Hurden replied.

“Those machines are almost like factories and are usually shipped in a modular form.” Jason
added “they must have engineers to assemble them. If we can find out more about the
colony we could get a better idea as to what they are capable of. I hope the Chief’s Nephew
is good at his job” He concluded. Mark Wiggins came in with a report from dispatch shaking
his head

“Forensics has identified that corpse as Morgana Binder-Glass! Looks Like I owe you a Ten
spot” and handed the report to Dreck who smiled.

“Well that’s another suspect accounted for. Looks like our outsider is cleaning up his loose
ends” Dreck said handing Jason the report he added “Take a look at the contents of that vial
I found” Jason looked at the breakdown of the vials contents and whistled. It had no fewer
that twelve compounds all plant based and highly toxic

“Whoever came up with this brew really wanted to make sure whoever took it died quickly.
Even a drop in a scratch would kill in a matter of an hour maximum and the victim would be
delirious.” He said. Jenna took the report from him and read the other details

“Now that’s interesting. Traces of a type of silica in a scratch on her hand. Nothing in the
lock-up matches. But I have seen that before. Dreck can you hand me the Forensic reports
on the victim by the Docks” she asked. Dreck rummaged through the papers on the desk
and handed Jenna the folder. She took it and read the report. “Aha! I was right its sand from
a desert on Gildar. Were any of our suspects there in, say the last two months?” she asked.

“Morgana, Marco and Korin have all been there in the last months of their lives. I forgot to
add Marco as he’s just missing, but his travel records show he was there a week or so before
the body turned up at the docks.” Hurden replied. Lomax and Krank looked at each other

“Are you up for a trip to Bedlam Bronx Krank?” Krank nodded and
Lomax added “You four go back through this lot and see if there are
other correlations we are going to see a Song Bird” he said grinning.
The two of them left the HQ in Krank’s Vintage car leaving the others
looking perplexed.