Chapter Nineteen Corrina
“You did it?” I ask Jameel the following day.
Curran is still running background checks for the rest of the team, but Jameel has been hard at work overnight cracking into Lianov’s systems. She sent me a notification moments ago that she had broken through.
The timing couldn’t be better – I’m due in front of the council in twenty minutes.
“I did it,” she replies. She looks exhausted but proud, and I squeeze her shoulder.
“What have you got?” I ask.
“It will still take some time to figure out exactly what I’m looking at here. But there are definitely lists of names, dates, and locations.”
“Excellent. Whatever you need, you let your security team know.”
I leave Jameel to her work and head back to my office.
Finally, I feel like things are starting to break my way.
I was initially a little nervous about the security team – finding out one or more of my Fixers were sabotaging the team’s efforts unsettled me.
But Curran handpicked the guards, so I feel as confident about them as I can given the circumstances.
“You’ve got the council meeting in ten,” Liu says when he sees me.
I nod. “I know. I just needed to check on something before heading in there.” I haven’t mentioned to Jameel that I expect at least one councilor to be implicated in Lianov’s files, though Curran is aware of my suspicions.
We’ve been working on getting some security measures in place before I notify the council of our breakthrough or of the results.
I can’t quite decide if Vertage will be the kind to run or fight, but I want to be prepared for either option.
Lianov may have paid for his actions with his life, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t others who deserve to face justice.
And yes, maybe getting to know Krish, Davix, and Zann has made this a little more personal than it might have been otherwise.
But I’d want to see this through no matter what.
It’s with that thought in mind that I step into the chamber where the council hearings are being held.
I nod to a few of the members and then take a seat.
It doesn’t take long before I’m being called upon to speak.
“Unfortunately, we had an unforeseen mechanical issue with the ventilation to the Fixer workroom yesterday,” I say calmly.
“Which has unfortunately delayed their efforts.” I notice Vertage nod out of the corner of my eye and wonder if he had already heard about it from someone else.
“But I anticipate having a report on Lianov’s system this week. ”
That statement gets Vertage’s attention. He shifts nervously in his seat. “We’ve heard these kinds of promises before,” he says casually.
“To be clear, I have never provided a clear timeframe,” I say, interrupting him. “I merely shared that my team was getting close. I am now confident that this council will have information directly from Lianov’s own files this week. Possibly within two or three days.”
“Given this new information, perhaps we should reconvene after that information is available,” one of the councilors says.
“I agree,” adds another voice. “We have effectively exhausted all other information, and it doesn’t make sense to continue to meet without new information.”
There is general agreement around the table.
As the meeting breaks up, most of the councilors file out of the room chatting about visiting the rest of the station or taking time to catch up on other responsibilities.
Vertage, however, hurries from the room in silence.
I don’t pay much attention to the direction he’s going because Curran is waiting for me as I exit the chamber.
“Got ‘em,” he says simply. I stare at my sergeant in surprise and then hurry to follow him as he sets off down the hallway at a brisk pace. We end up in a largely deserted hallway. I vaguely remember this section being closed off for maintenance or renovation at some point. From the looks of it, it’s still waiting for whatever that next step is.
Curran nods to the soldier standing outside a door, and then we step inside.
Another guard stands near the center of the room next to a single chair in which a thin, young man sits.
His medium brown hair is disheveled, and a pair of glasses sits crookedly on his face.
He glances up at us as we enter. As I get closer, I take in his red-rimmed eyes and watch as he wipes his nose against his uniform sleeve.
“This is Wilkes,” Curran says, gesturing at the young man.
“Two days after we returned to Kapoor, Wilkes’ reported his little brother missing.
The alert was canceled a few hours later, when the younger Wilkes lad turned up with his uncle.
Oddly enough, both Wilkes boys were declared orphans and wards of the state nearly six years ago when all of their parents were killed in a shuttle accident. No living next of kin.”
Wilkes stares up at me with resignation in his face. “I didn’t want to do it, Commander. You have to believe me. I love this job. All I ever wanted to do was serve in the IPC. But Tiron, he’s only eleven. And the guy said if I didn’t,” his voice cracks at the end, and I let out a heavy sigh.
“Fucking Lianov and his cronies,” I mutter. I turn my attention back to my sergeant. “We can get the brother out safely?”
“I have a team standing by,” Curran says, glancing at the young man in the chair. “Wilkes has said he’s eager to cooperate, if we can safeguard his brother.”
“Yes,” Wilkes says, leaning forward. “I’ll do anything. Please, I’m so sorry but my little brother is the only family I have left.”
“Give the team the go-ahead. I want Wilkes’ brother retrieved and secured as soon as possible,” I tell Curran. He steps into the hallway to communicate my orders.
“I’ll let you know as soon as we’ve got him,” I say softly. “In the meantime, what can you tell me about how you were approached?”
Wilkes swallows nervously. “Tiron wasn’t home when I got off my shift.
We have a little apartment in the southeast quadrant.
Our neighbor said Tiron got dropped off as usual at the building.
I freaked out when I couldn’t find him, and then this guy comes strolling up with Tiron in tow.
I don’t think Tiron realized anything was wrong thankfully.
He believed the guy’s story that he was a relative that Tiron didn’t know.
But the guy made it clear that the price of Tiron’s safety was for me to sabotage the Fixer team.
I didn’t know what else to do,” he mumbles.
“The unraveler, it doesn’t do any permanent damage, and fortunately the guy didn’t know enough about hacking systems to question me.
” Wilkes lets out a heavy sigh. “I kept thinking that if I could stall the guy a little longer then I could figure out a way to get my brother safely away from him, but the guy never leaves the house. He’s even kept Tiron home from school so that there’s never a moment when Tiron is out of his sight.
” Wilkes stares up at me with watery eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Commander. I know it’s not an excuse, but I didn’t know what else to do. ”
I let out a sigh and straighten my shoulders when I address him. “From now until this is over, you don’t go anywhere or do anything without a guard. Your team will be notified that you’ve contracted an illness and are in isolation. There will be consequences for your actions. Do you understand?”
Wilkes nods resignedly. “As long as Tiron is safe, I’ll take whatever is coming to me. Thank you, Commander.”
I nod at him and step back into the hallway with Curran. “Your impression?” I ask quietly.
“That kid is scared shitless about his brother. It’s stupid that he didn’t try to notify anyone, but that’s always the first rule of threatening someone – tell them it will be worse if they try to get help.
” Curran puts a hand to his ear and asks for a repeat of the last message.
He nods at me. “They’ve got the brother and are on their way. ”
I let out a relieved breath. “And the mysterious uncle?” I ask.
Curran frowns. “Injured during extraction. Also en route.”
I nod. “What do you think I should do with Wilkes?” I ask.
Curran sighs. “I don’t know. On the scale of things he could have done with his access, all Wilkes really did was slow the team down. I’m not sure that’s worth his career, but it’s also not nothing.”
“Yeah,” I say with a sigh. “I’ll have to consider options.”
Curran claps me on the shoulder. “I don’t envy you, but that’s why you’re the boss.”
I glance back at the room. “I want both Wilkes and the little brother wrapped up tight. No one talks to him and no one knows where they are without clearance from me”
“You got it,” Curran assures me.