Star Law: A Marshal Cole Series

Chapter 30 (a)

Volks was on the main level of Central Plaza a table alongside a pillar. He was near but not in the line of sight of Diaz, the man he was following. The security office with Champion at the helm had video from several directions and was feeding to his padd. The man was good and had his own line of sight the big pressure doors and the service entrance that Miguel had entered a short time ago. The young steward had no idea he was being followed by a pro.

If Diaz had some sort of psi ability, he hadn't revealed it yet. The whole idea of this still troubled the security chief but he was forced to reconcile what he had experienced himself. He couldn't be sure what to expect but just to be sure he had his pulse pistol in a shoulder holster. It was a Megra Constant Heavy 7 with an energy cartridge in the handle that could be fired repeatedly for hours before needing re-charging. It was a little dangerous for a pulse weapon as it could puncture the hull but in stun phase had a whopper of a range without spreading out and dissipating. He did not have it on stun presently. If he fired, it was because danger was preeminent and extreme force was needed.

It was only minutes before the closure of the pressure doors at the opposite end of Central Plaza. The flow of pedestrian traffic would then come from the doors that Volks was now facing.

Aside from the smell, there was little evidence that Central Plaza had experienced death and destruction. Only the smell of the fire remained. Truth be told, the far side had experienced only minor damage from the incident with Singh. A robotic cleaner had been crushed between the pressure doors causing one to crack. A new pressure door has already been nanufactured and could be installed in hours but Captain Cutler had announced the bow side entrance would be closed for two days. This was all in support of the trap being laid at the stern.

A lot of moving parts were coming together. While Volks was in position in Central Plaza, his deputy Champion was at the security office monitoring the feeds with a fully staffed team. Patrols were bolstered with ship crew who were part of fire prevention units on the ship. This was thought wise after the last encounter with someone with psi. Those people were nearby and would be on the scene when needed. Also on the comm was the ship's captain waiting to hear ift hings went bad; real bad.

Volks had promises from both Champion and Cutler that they would abide by his decision-making on the ground regarding security as it pertained to the man he was following. The deputy chief and ship's captain begrudgingly said that if the ship was in danger they would let him direct the suspect to a chosen location, shut the pressure doors and vent him and the suspect out into space if need be. He assured both men that he was not suicidal and if there were a way tosafely diffuse the situation, he would do so.

The only thing left to do was inform the Marshal of where and what he was doing. He keyed his comm. The voice of J. Garner Cole came on immediately. "Cole, here."

"It's Volks," the security chief said. "I tracked my person of interest here to Central Plaza. He was following Miguel and now his positioned near the stern doors about to open."

There was a grumbling tinged with surprise on the other end. "The man is here?"

"Yes. And so am I just not in sight line," replied Volks. "There are a number of other civilians milling about here as well. Most likely waiting for the doors to open."

"Could any of them be linked to our operation now," asked Cole.

"Possibly," said Volks. "I recognize some as off-duty crew members, a few regular casino-goers and others. However, none of them stands out like the man we tracked here."

Cole paused before responding. "This is good work, Volks. It really is. This guy was not even on our radar. We're going to be pretty vulnerable if this operation doesn't go as planned. No telling how your suspect will respond but I know you'll have it covered."

Volks was so gobsmacked that he didn't know what to say. Cole's compliment had him tongue-tied. "Um, my team is standing by just out of view. I have eyes on the subject right now. Good luck with your operation, Marshal."

"Good luck to you as well, Chief," replied Cole. "Hope we get some answer soon about what is happening on this ship."

And with that the Marshal signed off leaving Volks still a little shocked and surprised. It left him even more determined to do his duty to protect the ship, passengers and crew.