The Descent

Chapter 14 - The Invitation

The Sergeant looked up with a frown at the incoming call on his terminal screen. He immediately recognized the caller. Tanner. What does he want? He was tempted to ignore the call but thought better of it and accepted it. Tanner's image appeared, hovering over his desk, his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth a thin, terse line.

"Tanner?" the Sergeant said as he returned his attention to the pile of papers on his desk. "Make it quick, alright? I'm buried over here."

"Sergeant, we've got a problem."

"Tell me something I don't already know."

"Denton's gone off the grid."

The Sergeant looked up, his eyebrows raised. "He's gone off the grid? What do you mean, gone off the grid?"

"Ok, so after he discovered Gabi had been let go..." Tanner started.

"Wait, hold on." The Sergeant sat straight up in his chair and leaned forward. "Gabi was let go? By spaceport security? Are you serious?"

"She claimed diplomatic immunity. They had to let her go."

The sergeant shook his head and took a deep breath as he rubbed his face. There were times when he wished he had never allowed Denton to continue with the case. It was turning into a nightmare.

"Diplomatic immunity through what entity?"

"The Terran Embassy."

"Earth?"

"It seems that way."

"Fantastic. We'll never get her now. I don't get what that has to do with Denton going off the grid though?"

"He disappeared shortly after he spoke with the commander on scene. He's refusing my calls and disconnected the transponder on his quad. He even turned off the location service on his comm device."

"Can't you override it, somehow? Find him? Hack him? "

"Not if he doesn't want to be seen. Remember, all personnel at his level can turn the location services off just in case they need to for the sake of a case."

"I know, I know, but it's not supposed to be used in these circumstances."

"There is some good news though. I've spotted him on surveillance video throughout the city."

The sergeant looked back at the image of Tanner's head. "So you do know where he is? Why are we having this conversation then?"

"Kind of. Analyzing the video feeds to find him, even based on approximate heading, takes time. It's not exactly as easy as putting my finger on his location and calling it a day."

"Get to the point, Tanner. Where is he?"

"Based on several data collection points and taking into account the information we just learned about Gabi, I've made some calculations..."

"Yes?"

"He's likely on his way to the Terran Embassy."

The Sergeant looked at the screen, his mouth wide open, his face turning white. He disconnected Tanner without another word and slammed his fist on the table. He then dialed another number, tapping his fingers impatiently on his desk until the call was connected.

~~~

Denton ignored the incoming call as he parked the quad in the visitor parking lot intended for motorized ground-based vehicles. He knew he would be making a scene parking in an area not designated for airborne crafts, but it couldn't be helped. He was in a hurry.