Simoom Rising

Chapter Twenty-four

WAVE Orbiting Station
Now

DORIC

The implications of that touch registered with me, and Mac must have seen that on my face because he cut the sound and said: "Why so shocked? I told you Caraq was compromised. I told you he had fallen for her."

You did link with Caraq, Ann. Every time I begin to trust you, I find you've lied again.

Turn on the mike, Vestra. Turn on the mike. I want this on record. I reached across and punched the sound.

"It was barely a lie, Vestra," she told us. "And it didn't matter at that point. It was almost over."

"What was a lie?" Mac asked, but we ignored him.

"But what about making sure Caraq didn't know about the tunnels in and out of the Plat through the main bunker?" I asked.

"WAVE Sec already knew about the tunnels," she said. "Don't you see, Mancy had told them the night before."

I felt a twinge in my gut. Is that coming from you Ann?

No, but I feel it too.

"What does this have to do with the aid workers?" asked Mac.

"Everything," replied Ann.

I felt a rise in blood pressure.

There—did you feel that, Vestra?

Yes, what's going on?

"Wait...wait..." On camera, I saw Ann brush her hair from her face and rub her forehead. Her eyes widened. "Oh, my God, it was you—it was you all along."

Me? What are you saying?

"I didn't know...I never knew for sure, but I had my suspicions that Mancy had talked to someone from the Pit Pats that night—the night he disappeared on me. I thought maybe he had gone through the tunnels and out onto the Plat and talked to someone higher up in WAVE Sec, but we were all in the bunker that night; we would have seen him or felt him for sure, and he couldn't risk that. Now I know he walked up to the main gate."

"So, he talked to Caraq?" I asked, because that wasn't in Caraq's report.

"No, no. Mancy had lived in the Pit for years before I knew him—he was an expert at shielding his thoughts for long periods of time, but it was all new to Caraq. He had no defenses against the mind link. Within hours of touching his hand, I knew what he knew. He never spoke to Mancy. He wasn't even at the barricade that night."

My gut twisted again. "Then who was?"

Harmony ignored my question, and on the screen, I saw her turn her head to look at the bare wall in front of her, as if she could see through it and into the control room on the other side. "What's the matter Detective MacAndrew? Is your stomach giving you problems this afternoon? Too many mochas or maybe you're feeling a little guilty?"

"Mac?" I looked at my partner. "Mac? What is she talking about?"

"How the hell do I know?" he said, but my lurching stomach told me otherwise.

Are we...feeling what Mac is feeling, Ann?

I think it's an echo—through my link with Mancy.

But that would mean... Another puzzle piece dropped into place. "Were you at the barricades that night, Mac? Did you see Mancy?" I asked my partner.

Mac's face had closed in on itself. "This isn't about me, Girlie," he said, then barked into the mic: "Who gave the order to kill the aid workers?"

But Harmony was smiling now, laughing. "What did Mancy want in exchange for telling you about the tunnels, Detective MacAndrew? No, let me guess: a job with a large salary, a penthouse suite?"

Before I could react, Mac cut the sound. I looked at him, but he avoided my eyes. "WAVE-Sec," I said to the computer. "We're taking a break. Stop recording." The WAVE-Sec light went out. "Mac, what's happening?"

He didn't answer, but looked as if he was about to bolt out of the control room. "Mac, talk to me." Without thinking, I reached out a hand to him.

He recoiled. "Mancy tried to take off my glove and grab my hand that night too—said it would be easier to explain if he did—but he was filthy. I wouldn't let him," he said.

"Are you sure he didn't touch you?" I asked.

"I'm sure, Girlie. I'm absolutely sure."

And I'm absolutely sure he did, whispered Ann in my head.

I wasn't as sure, but I also wasn't about to argue with Mac. Instead, I nodded my head. "You were at the main gate that night?"

"I was the officer on duty."

"Why isn't there a record of Mancy's visit?"

Mac shrugged. "Mancy refused to be vacuumed, so I wouldn't let him into the break room. I came down and met him on the ground just inside the barricades. I had my body-cam on, but the dust..."

A convenient excuse—though I suppose it's possible. "That damn dust again, eh? It seems to hide a whole lot of shit."

He bristled. "What the hell are you implying, Girlie?"

"Nothing. So Mancy told you about the tunnels, about the whole smuggling operation?"

Of course he did, Vestra, he would sell out his mother to get back into WAVE.

Mac confirmed Ann's opinion. "He told me everything. Couldn't wait to tell me. He went on and on, trying to justify himself and his actions—trying to make it clear that he did this not in the hope of any personal gain—though, of course, any compensation offered would be gratefully, humbly accepted—but because he was trying to do the right thing to resolve the situation. He had always been a company man, he said."

I laughed. "But at that point the intel was irrelevant. Everybody knew the aid workers were on their way—hell, we were about to give the Pitters food and water, so why would WAVE Corp. care about a few stolen cans of beans?"

"I cared." Mac almost spat at me. "The Rats stole supplies from us, laughed at us, month after month after month. I needed to know how. Mancy told me exactly where the tunnel entrance was along the Breezeway at Sampanthar Station and where it came out in the Pit through the latrine."

"And?" I prompted him.

"Like she said, he wanted a deal. I told him I'd take it up with the bosses and get back to him."

"And?"

"I sent him on his way."

"That's it? There's no record of any of this. Did you tell Caraq?"

"Hell no. I couldn't trust him. I went over his head."

"To the VP of Security?" I guessed. Mac nodded. "Well, what happened?"

Mac shrugged. "They said thank you for the intel and that was it."

Interesting, whispered Ann. There's that "they" again. I wonder if it's the same "they".

The "they" Caraq was talking about?

Perhaps. Start recording, Vestra. Turn on the sound. Let's finish this.