Sunday, March 18, 2018

Small Buisness Bites Scene 6

And the aftermath... or at least the first one...


****

            I waited in an interview room.   It was a drab room with bare concrete block walls, generic carpeting,  and a stout metal table bolted to the floor.  Everything in the room was standard colony grade equipment.  There was actually a company, in Armstrong I believe, that sold kits.  They provided a cargo container of fittings,  a set of blueprints, and directions on how to fab and assemble the simple parts.
            It was an economical way that meant one only had to pay to ship out what could not be built locally.   It did mean that many municipal buildings out here followed the same drab functional lines.
            That said,  governmental buildings on earth also followed the same lines.
            I straightened my shoulders and folded my hands on the table. This was a civilized place at least.  I had time to get medical attention, make a couple calls, see that Camille was squared away and then wait with a supply of water and a bowl of some type of dried fruit.
            I had worked on colonies where the proper response to an incident was to go back to the office, fort up, and then make delicate inquiries as to the level of bribes the constables and town councilmen were expecting.
            Waiting seemed to be a part of civilization.
            It gave me more time to think and clear my head.  I would have slept but despite the post adrenalin crash my apprehension as up.  Might have been for the best, a recording of me soundly sleeping before being interviewed might be suspicious.
            The door opened and a stout, strong man with a trimmed beard stepped in.  He wore dark blue pants, a buttoned own shirt, and a long dark grey coat.  A  badge was on the left side of his belt; his gun on the right.
            "Marshal Vallhun." I nodded my head.
            "Victoria." He took the seat across from me and took out a battered department issue tablet.  It was an older model that had been specifically hobbled in its capabilities to provide, at least the attempt of, a secure provenance of any evidentiary data.  "You gave quite the statement."
            "We were attacked."  I took a sip of water.
            "Yes you two really faced some nasty figures," he put the tablet down.   "Between you and me, you and your friend did a lot to clean up this city. Almost a shame you let two of them run away. If I were in your shoes I'm not sure I could have held back."
            I gave a polite note. If he were there he would have had a duty to pursue a fleeing suspect.  He would also have qualified immunity protecting his actions.  He would also not be immediately talking with an investigator about his use of force.
            "Thank you Marshal.   You have my full cooperation,  once my legal counsel arrives." I gave him a business-like smile.
             He nodded  "I've just got a few basic questions." He paged through the tablet. "Camille said the first perp was 30 feet away and that he shot first.   But he only shot her seven times.  Does that sound right to you?"
            I folded my hands.  Even for me, the urge to help, to answer a person's question, especially an authority figure's questions was strong.  However, I was familiar with these tactics.  Moreso, I knew  Camille would be even more recalcitrant than I.  But most importantly, Camille would never use "feet",  when she learned human units she learned metric.
            "Well,  we'll have quite the conversation once my attorney shows up. I'm sure we can get things straightened up."
            Vallhun sighed.  "Ma'am, I've have a busy night."
            I thought that was a bit churlish given I was the one who had to use lethal force against multiple deadly opponents.
            He turned the tablet off. Or at least he blanked the display. "A drunk sailor in a brothel hit a girl. She bit him in a tender place. He drew a gun started shooting and,  the other girls tore him apart.  at least that's what the girls say,  conveniently there's no recording devices allowed on premises and they do a sweep of any visitors."
            I sipped some water.
            "A drug shack on the north side of the island burned down we pulled out three bodies, and we're not sure if it was the owners covering their tracks, and it burned too fast for them, rivals taking them out, or a local arsonist having fun."
            "Busy night?" I asked letting my mind think on the future.  If I presumed my legal representation would get this sorted out, the next few weeks were going to have a mess of extra workload as even a justified  use of lethal force could be quite expensive and time consuming.
           I would also have to go to my replacement weapons, as my nicest holster and gun were now evidence.  Longer term, I doubted Hans had only one lickspittle remaining. I further doubted that he would hop on the next submarine off-world.
            "Above average," he dryly noted. "Two bodies  were found floating in the harbor."
            I did not respond to that.  Bodies in the harbor was a regrettably common thing.  Like Camille and I had hypothesized, someone could get the occasional source of meat in this city simply enough.  It was if someone tried to get a regular supply that it would get noticed.
            " A poor suicidal girl tied back her wings and jumped off  the observatory railing on the summit of the island's peak,  but the tie off didn't go well and her wings came undone. Retarded her fall just enough that she didn't die clean. It looks like a suicide case, but the girl's mothers said she wasn't acting strange and there's no record of her having suicidal statements."
            "And compared to that a bar brawl that spilled out and with one guy with a crushed neck and the other shot in the stomach is normal. The guy shot in the stomach claims it was self defense but camera take's not so clear."
            He gave me a grim smile.  "And then there's your escapade.  A high ranking company girl,  who she filed the intent for personal protection beforehand.   Who ended up accosted and killing half a dozen known low-lifes.  So, I'd really like to be able to put one of tonight's cases to bed early."
            The marshal flicked the screen to his tablet back on. "That way I can get to the cases where the actual items are dead and not being suck in my interview rooms."
            He had been understating things, that was a very busy night for Mooring.   Vallhun and his men did have a jurisdiction of about half a million souls. Violence was not uncommon out here,  but that was more like the overnight toll of a city on Earth, or one of the Inner Colonies,  cities that were two orders of magnitude larger.
            I leaned in, and gave a bright smile. "In that case Sir, you will certainly have my full cooperation."
            Vallhun looked up, waited for a beat.  "Once your attorney shows up?" he asked morosely.
            I ate some of the dried fruit. "As you say."

****


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