NOVEL NEXT 5.37 Tape
Tape
(Starspeak)
“Lawyer.”
Cadrune Pothi knew what they were about.
The door to the interrogation room opened even a crack, and the otter began squawking.
“Lawyer. Lawyer. Laaawwwyyyeeerrr!”
I fished out my handbook and recorded a short video.
“[Now remember kids, never talk to the police.]”
I was thumbing through the psionics to share it with the crew—half as a gag—when Nai elbowed me.
“Don’t say that…”
“No, he’s right,” Jordan said. “Barring critically time-sensitive circumstances where lives are at risk?”
“Always wait for a lawyer,” I nodded. “Hate to say it, but Junior’s smart.
“And guilty,” Nai snorted. “No doubt which is why they’re so desperate for a lawyer.”
“Now, on the one hand, I feel compelled to point out that ‘anything you say can and will be used against you’ is one big flashing sign for innocent people to [shut the hell up] until representation arrives—super reassuring to learn that aliens came up with [Miranda] rights too, by the way. But on the other hand…” I said.
“On the other hand, there is all that damning evidence against them?” Jordan pointed out.
“Yes. There is that,” I agreed.
“Well they’re going to need a good lawyer, even just with what we’ve seen. No civilization looks kindly on highly public violence, even a city as purportedly corrupt as this one. And if this place has any laws like the rest of Kraknor? Violent use of Adeptry in public is going to be punished severely,” Nai said.
We were emphatically told to wait in the observation room, and soon enough a rak joined us.
“They said anything?” Macoru asked, sliding in.
“Just what everyone should,” I said. “Wait, what are you even doing here?”
“Left Vo with medics downstairs. They got cut by some of the falling glass—nothing too severe,” Macoru said. “What about your guy?”
“Donnie is still having to fill out the paperwork involved with a ‘citizen’s arrest’, since the technicalities of our help are a bit murky, formally speaking,” I said. “His sacrifice will be remembered and rewarded for years to come.”
Jordan snorted.
“You should at least think about promoting him or something. All the Puppies have worked really hard.”
“It’s on my list,” I said. “Hey Macoru, you command dozens of soldiers, right? Which would you rather oversee, a hundred of your marines, or eight of my munchkins?”
“The children on your crew, no question,” she said. “Not that your ‘munchkins’ aren’t capable of wreaking the same kind of havoc as mine when unsupervised, it’s just a numbers game.”
“Kinda surprised Mashoj let us be here unsupervised,” I admitted.
“We’re trustworthy,” Nai said serenely. You didn’t have to have my insider information on her psyche to know the shit-eating grin she was wearing in her heart.
Macoru might not have picked up on it though.
“Yes. You are.”
Ah. So she had the same disarming honesty in her arsenal as her brother.
“And you should do well to keep it that way. Agent Mashoj is proving to be a very valuable contact for us too,” Macoru said. “They’re intelligent, driven, and—most importantly—honest, and therefore despised by almost perfectly half of their colleagues. You said Agent Avi put you in touch?”
“They did,” I said.
Macoru nodded. “You were wise to start with contacts outside the city and work your way in,” she said.
It was, I thought, ultimately a consequence of Peudra’s efforts. They’d done most of the vetting for our trip, and considering how many speedbumps we could have run into in a city like this, we’d progressed smoothly enough that my impression of the city’s ‘corruption’ was still somewhat in question.
The more I thought about it, the more likely it seemed that questionability wasn’t because the city was less corrupt than advertised, but because Peudra was just that good at finding us the right people…and I didn’t appreciate that enough.
Cadrune Jr. on the other hand, definitely did not know the right people.
Despite their correct commitment to silence and insistence upon a lawyer, the rak through the glass did not strike me as a hardened criminal.
They were nervous and bothered, staring too much at the reflection they thought must have contained the one-way mirror for observation. In a rather neat display of exotic materials, we weren’t observing through a one-way mirror, but through a one-way wall.
I got a headache trying to puzzle out how light actually interacted with the material, but it was pretty funny to watch Cadrune Jr. constantly adjust the angle of their head while keeping their eyes locked on the conspicuously reflective bronze panel covering most of one wall.
Even funnier though was the knowledge that such a misdirection wouldn’t actually work against anyone of even middling psionic skills. You didn’t need an advanced radar or detection construct to feel the direction of the closest minds. Not at these distances. It was something of a point against their psionic expertise. Surprising, considering the genius behind the surveillance constructs embedded into the appliances at their office.
I supposed it was possible that Cadrune Jr. was simply an excellent liar with an immaculate ability to feign weakness…
But I doubted it.
They ticked every box for ‘scared, and trying not to show it’.
Another Vorak slipped into the room, giving a small start seeing four of us already inside.
“Mashoj told us to wait here,” Jordan said.
The poor rak looked on dumbfounded.
“Mashoj said to wait here,” Macoru tried, this time in Tarassin.
There we go. The clerk(?) looked a smidge relieved and made their way over to a desk station with monitoring equipment.
Mashoj gave us a small psionic ‘heads up’ ping before sliding into the room, all business.
“Lawyer!” was once again the first word out of Junior’s mouth.
Mashoj, however, didn’t say anything. Without a single word, they sat across the table, placed a folder on the table, and simply stared right into Junior’s skull.
Mashoj wasn’t an Adept. Cadrune Jr. was.
For a sickening second, I wondered if Mashoj hadn’t just put themselves in grave danger of an outburst. From our vantage point, we could see them both in profile, Junior flexing their hand like a claw, like any second they might…
But Mashoj kept their cool, and just stared the rak down.
‘I dare you’.
Junior did not dare.
“You can’t ask me questions without an advocate,” Junior insisted.
That was even true.
“I have only statements,” Mashoj said. “Feel free to react however you like.”
They opened their folder, showing a number of familiar photos.
“You are Cadrune Pothi, twenty-two years old. You are currently employed by ‘Opal Biomanufacturing’ arranging the firms finances. That firm sold highly illicit contraband over the last two years—counterfeit alien corpses. These photos are just some of the proof that’s been discovered. You can peruse them at your leisure—the accused does have the right to see the evidence against them, after all. You are also accused of Adept-assault, both against the officers involved in your apprehension and at least one dignitary of an alien diplomatic party understandably interested in these counterfeit corpses. Given these interested parties, I’d like to inform you that there is possible clemency. If you were to become a cooperating witness, it’s possible you could avoid prison time—”
Oh? What’s this?
Junior hid their reaction well, but it was pretty pointless when all four of the Adepts in the observation room were good enough to simply detect their psionic response.
they quietly replied while Mashoj continued to lay on the pressure.
Yet another psionic signal interrupted.
I noticed Junior explicitly swat down that connection, showing frustration on their face. They cut off both lawyers, withdrawing on themselves for a moment.
“Like you said, I’m not entitled to ask you any questions without your attorney present. However, I feel it would be irresponsible of me to not inform you that not one, but two lawyers are here claiming to represent you. So before we can allow you talk to a lawyer, I need to be completely assured that the person we send you is, in fact, your counsel. It would reflect very badly on this agency if we were to accidentally allow a witness to be killed in our custody by some assassin under the guise of an advocate. But as morbid as such a statement is, I should mention that our agency’s interest in your case is time sensitive. So, I actually brought a third option: public counsel. A public defender has already been—erroneously, I assure you—informed of your case, and therefore with their counsel, you would be able to become a cooperating witness far quicker than if you took your other two choices for counsel…and therefore you would be put into protective custody faster too. So, it’s decision time. You have your right to representation. Would you like public representation, or should I allow one of the other counselors up here? Whoops. I said I wasn’t going to ask any questions, but I guess I just couldn’t help myself.”
Mashoj stood up, as laid back as a jellyfish, and strolled for the door.
Quiet as a mouse, Junior whispered, “send in the public defender.”
Jesus.
This rak was more scared than I thought. Aiming my psionic senses somewhere below us, I nudged Jordan and Nai to do something similar. I wanted to take note of the two lawyers. Could one of them really have been here to kill Junior?
Maybe?
Mashoj actually let the public defender into the observation room first, to confirm that the one-way window was shuttered for their meeting.
A couple minutes later, the lawyer reemerged, beckoning Mashoj back into the room.
“First things first, did you kill anyone?” they asked. “Or are you involved in any killings, even tangentially?”
“…No,” Junior answered. Not before glancing at their lawyer though.
“My client has no knowledge of any killings,” the lawyer confirmed. “Their information is nonetheless extremely damaging to a number of high-profile city officials and public figures.”
“Good,” Mashoj said. “Then I am not wasting my time. First, tell me about your father.”
Junior actually recoiled.
“My father? What about them?”
“You expect me to believe your surname is just a coincidence in all this?”
“Cadrune Hovi is meaningless to this,” Junior scoffed. “Believe me, I’d love for them to be up to their neck in it. But the most contact I’ve had with my father in the last year is the lawyer they just tried to force on me.”
“Forced?” Mashoj asked, pretending to be unaware of the psionic exchange. “That you should be so lucky for your parent to be so ready to come to your aid.”
“My father is a monster,” Junior said quietly.
I held off on asking Mashoj to pursue that line of inquiry.
“If your parent isn’t involved in Opal or the counterfeit corpses, who is? The firm took in the money, but from whom?”
“…I don’t know,” Junior admitted.
Mashoj played up their anger well.
“Really? Counselor, if your client doesn’t have any information to offer—”
“I mean I don’t know—can’t know for sure. They kept their distance and I only handled their money remotely…but I’m not an idiot. I looked into the accounts the money came from, and who was placing the deposits, and I did speak to them on the phone once. No names, just their voice, but…I recognized it.>
Junior went on outlining exactly why their conclusion was both strong and not strictly certain.
“Zashiton?” I asked.
“Big technology and manufacturing group,” Macoru said. “Mmm…oh, you know Salt & Stone Computing?”
“Yeah, the moon corp? They bought some of the licenses we sold for Earth computer specs,” I said.
“Salt & Stone is Zashiton’s main competitor,” Macoru explained. “But the more interesting bit is who’s at the top of that corporation.”
“Who?” I asked.
She simply nodded to the interrogation.
“I recognized their voice,” Junior insisted. “I know because I heard that voice every day for almost two and a half years when I was a whelp. It was Turoi Ray.”
“Turoi has been the chief executive at Zashiton for more than twenty years,” Macoru explained.
“Okay, let me make sure I have this right,” Mashoj said, poring over their notes. “You’re saying that your father’s ex commissioned your bio-mat firm to sculpt alien corpses, and they never recognized you?”
“Oh no, I’m sure they recognized me. They called me by name. I just…don’t think they knew I’d recognize them. We were never close even when they were living in our house,” Junior said. “And…”
They glanced at their lawyer again, who only nodded.
“…And I leaned into it when I put together who they were.”
“Why? You just said you weren’t close.”
“Because Turoi Ray is the only person who I’m sure hates my father even more than I do. I have no idea how, but if I’m right and Turoi hired us? Some part of it will be intended to ruin my father,” Junior said.
“Just what did your parent do to you?” Mashoj marveled.
“How is that question relevant?” the lawyer interrupted.
“Your client has defined themselves as being singularly motivated by their parent’s suffering. I’d like to understand that motivation, especially if it’s so keenly shared by the purported target of our investigation.”
The lawyer gave a nod, prompting Junior to answer the question.
“My father killed at least two of my siblings,” Pothi said, deathly quiet. “I know exactly what happened to them, and there isn’t a lick of proof.”
“What happened?”
“Two of my siblings, one older one younger, got in a fight when I was a whelp. My father encouraged it. Kelbi—the younger, pinned down Mofi. My father told her to tear out his throat. To prove herself. Afterwards, Father would insist they didn’t mean it, and that Kelbi misunderstood, but there was a dead kid in his basement and a kid who wouldn’t keep their mouth shut. My father killed Kelbi himself just for the peace of mind, and disposed of their bodies in a corrosive tank. Boiled their bodies down to sludge and just…”
“Why didn’t your father kill you then?”
“He didn’t know I saw the whole thing. He thought I’d gone out to the sporting hall that morning. But I stayed in, curled under a blanket. I froze when I saw the blood.”
“Even then, there would have been an investigation. A case of some kind,” Mashoj said.
“There was. My siblings were reported missing, just like any dutiful parent would. It was all the rage in the news. But from then on, I knew what kind of rak my father was: a monster. You wouldn’t believe what I found out about his holdings business. The literal skeletons under some of the properties?”
Mashoj held up a hand.
“If you really have relevant testimony that might put someone like your father behind bars, we’ll be more than eager to hear it. However, for now…?”
The lawyer leaned closer.
“Testimony in this case should be strictly limited to this case: the corpses, their manufacture, and the one to solicit the crime itself.”
Junior nodded.
“Right. Right. Well Turoi’s a monster too. More about the money. Doesn’t care as much for appearances, only the bottom line. I’ll tell you whatever you need to know. I…didn’t mean…I mean, I know I shouldn’t have gotten caught up in this. I just…”
Those of us in the observation room were deathly quiet. Even the Vorak handling the monitoring equipment was in shock.
“…I’m going to get Ingrid,” I said finally.
“I’m coming with,” Macoru said.
For everyone else, it didn’t even need to be said.
·····
Cadrune’s estate was quiet unless you were looking through an infrared scope. Laser tripwires topped the wall surrounding the manor. The grounds looked peaceful aside from the quiet patrol of rak that were armed to the teeth.
Six guards on duty tonight. It would have been easy as pie to roll right through them, but this called for a subtler approach.
“[Jesus!]” I cried out, dropping my binoculars.
My own start had given everyone else a jolt too.
“What?” Macoru asked.
I couldn’t speak because my jaw was clenching involuntarily, but I motioned toward one end of the house.
Jordan found what I saw first, but Nai was the one who understood.
“Ah. Uyakar,” she noticed.
“They’re just [dogs] aren’t they?” Johnny snorted. “I mean, be wary, sure. But come on. You’re you.”
“Caleb had a rather unfortunate encounter with some Uyakar when he and I first met,” Nai said. “He had to fight one with no training and almost no Adeptry.”
“I blew it’s throat out from the inside,” I said, “because it almost ate my arm.”
“I thought you first met in C2,” Macoru frowned. “What were Uyakar doing there?”
“Red Sails had them,” Nai shrugged. “We didn’t exactly stop to ask.”
“Sorry,” I apologized. “Just wasn’t ready to flashback there.”
“All the more reason for us to try the quiet way,” Nai said. “It’s been a long day, and it’s already dark. Meanwhile these guards are fresh on shift.”
“I agree,” Macoru said.
All eyes turned to me. I was the one with the direct line to her.
“Yeah, yeah,” I said, warming up the psionics magic.
<[Ingrid,]> I called.
Sleepily, she mumbled a response.
<[Caleb? Dude, it’s late. What do you want?]>
<[Urgent business, time sensitive,]> I said honestly. Getting her away from Cadrune ASAP qualified as time sensitive in my book.
<[Seriously?]> she sighed. <[What do you need from me?]>
<[Need to talk in person,]> I said. <[Think you can meet at the gate? Or by the path to the airfield?]>
<[Dude…it’s really late. I don’t want to have to deal with the stupid night security. Can this really not wait 'til morning?]>
<…Okay.>
My heart unclenched one stage. Half of me had expected her to brush us off again. It was a strange thing to be grateful for, but thank God we could still scare her. It meant she still cared.
Ingrid opted for the front gate. Better for us. It would be quicker to drive away.
Much to my relief, she actually slipped overtop of the gate with her Adeptry rather than contact the security crew to open it and let her out.
Johnny drove our car within a stone’s throw of the gate, and Ingrid picked her way over to us.
“Get in,” Jordan said, throwing open a rear door.
“Six people? [Jeez] is there even enough room?” she said. “What is the big deal?”
As soon as Ingrid was inside, Johnny peeled us away.
“Look at this,” I said, handing Ingrid a psionic copy of Junior’s interrogation. “All of it.”
She frowned.
That was bad.
I’d expected a more extreme response. She should have had a more extreme response.
Ingrid looked between us, actually showing more worry about our own worry than the actual contents of the file.
“Okay, so I know how this seems urgent to you guys…” she said delicately, “but you do know that Pothi has a long history of mental illness—especially hallucination and false-repressed memories?”
“I’d have issues too if my dad killed two of my siblings too,” Johnny said.
“The point is, Cadrune doesn’t kill people!” Ingrid said. “I know they’re pretty sketchy. I know they bribe people on a regular basis because this city is [fucked up]. But this is like four or five steps too removed. These statements wouldn’t even be admissible. It’s hearsay.”
“No it isn’t,” I frowned. “Impeachable, maybe. But none of that is hearsay, and what’s more? We aren’t a courtroom.”
“[I know. And honestly? I appreciate that you guys are this gung-ho about getting me out of a situation where you think I’m in the clutches of a murderer,]” she said. “[But Cadrune isn’t an evil mastermind—but Pothi’s right about Turoi. There’s a real life supervillain. They hate Cadrune, and it definitely goes both ways. If you wanted to convince me that Cadrune was a bad guy, looking at what they might do to Turoi would be a lot better angle.”
“Well Turoi probably commissioned the corpses,” I said.
“Pothi themselves said Cadrune wasn’t involved,” Ingrid pointed out. “Now are you going to turn this car around? I was just about to go to bed.”
“Sorry,” I said. “You can dig in your heels about wanting to stay on this planet and die, but I’m digging in my heels on this: Cadrune is bad, and you shouldn’t be anywhere near that creep.”
“You realize I’m just going to call a taxi back in the morning, right? Even you aren’t going to hold me against my will,” Ingrid said.
“…I don’t think he’ll have to,” Macoru said. “
Macoru manipulated a local channel, sharing the feed she was just getting from her brother.
“
He tied a video feed into the comm, and I pulled out my handbook. Strictly speaking, Ingrid could just look at the video feed inside her own mind. But I parsed what we were looking at quicker than she did, and I wanted the full emotional weight of it to land before her very eyes.
Pulled out from a wall cooler was yet another human corpse. Only the other four we’d found were relatively pristine. Unlike those, this one had a very roughly sewn up chest cavity.
Someone had gone digging through this one’s organs.
“
She nodded, on the verge of becoming pale.
“
“You mean dig into everything about their life?” she said.
“Yep,” Jordan said simply.
“…And what happens if everything checks out? What if there really is a ‘reasonable explanation’?” she asked. “Are you actually going to let me go back? Or is this just thinly veiled kidnapping?”
“Dunno,” I said. “What rises to ‘unreasonable’ in your mind? Just how bad does Cadrune have to be before you won’t go back?”
Ingrid didn’t answer. Couldn’t.
I’d stung her there.
“Tell you what,” I said. “The Jack’s got eight kids eighth grade and younger. We’ll call it a sleepover. You all will love it.”
In the morning, we’d catch some very alarmed phone calls from Cadrune’s estate…but only one or two from Cadrune himself. Funnily enough, the old rak seemed a little preoccupied with some head scratching, very inconclusive signs of a late-night break-in at their Kaleidoscope tower.
How curious.