“Well?” Peabody wondered, impatient and a bit insistent.
“Mm?” The other man looked up.
“Aren’t you going to go fetch Chief Ashton?”
“I’m afraid there’s been a little misunderstanding, Mr. Peabody. I am Chief Ashton.”
Peabody rocked back in the chair. This young man was in charge of Investigations? Well, maybe he was older than he looked.
“No,” Ashton said with a slight smile, apparently reading Peabody’s features, “you were correct the first time, Mr. Peabody. According to your personnel files, I’m about ten years younger than you are, though I do look a bit younger than my actual age. Nevertheless, I assure you, I am Chief of Investigations, at least for the time being.”
“But – how?! You’re not nearly old enough to be...”
“No, I’m not,” Ashton admitted, “and once Headquarters is properly rebuilt and restructured, I fully expect – even hope – to go back to being a detective and let someone with more qualifications run it, because believe me, it isn’t as much fun as you’d think, especially these days. But for now, Chief Carter trusts me to do the things that need doing to get the Investigations division up and running. Properly, this time.”
Peabody knew what that codicil meant: without corruption. Without determining the conclusion of the case before even seeing the crime scene. Without taking bribes and payments to reach a given conclusion on a case. Peabody hadn’t ever besmirched himself so much as to accept bribes, but he had had to stand by on numerous occasions and offer up the conclusion that higher-ups had desired, or else die for his stubbornness. It was one reason why he had chosen not to marry, years ago when he had had the chance, to keep the woman he loved safe from potential blackmail or other such repercussions.
But that, he realized with some pain, meant that he was now untrustworthy in the eyes of the new leadership of the Imperial Police, otherwise it would have been him sitting in Ashton’s seat. And that spelled bad news for him.
“Yes,” Ashton said quietly, as if in response to his thoughts. “I’m afraid so, Mr. Peabody.”
“I’ll say it again, Detective Ashton – it’s Colonel Peabody.”
“No, it’s not,” Ashton said, keeping his voice low and calm. “Not now. And that’s per Chief Carter. It’s not my call. You are now a sergeant investigator.”
“But I was an inspector!”
“I know, and I’m sorry,” Ashton said, and his face did depict what looked like sincere sympathy. “But you cooperated with the old police regime, and thus have some trust issues, if you understand me.”
“But it was cooperate, or be killed!”
“Which is why I transferred over to ICPD for the duration,” Ashton pointed out. “And they still tried to kill me. I do understand, but you had options; you simply chose not to avail yourself of them. However, please hear me out.”
“Do I have a choice?” Peabody asked, bitter.
“That’s what I want to present to you. Your choices.”
At that, Peabody’s startled gaze focused on Ashton’s face.
“I really am sympathetic,” Ashton told the older man, and meant every word. “And while I had no real call in the reduction in rank, I did do a couple of things there.”
“Like what?” The tone was mildly surly, but Ashton chalked that up to disappointment.
“I talked Carter out of firing you outright, for one thing. And I also talked him out of breaking you down to the level of a new inductee. You’d have been the equivalent of a rookie beat cop otherwise.”
“…Damn.”
“Yes. You see, I worked the Medved murder case, and saw the perps’ interrogations… and subsequent executions,” Ashton explained. “As well as rounding up a few of their ‘enforcers’… one of whom, I might add, resisted arrest… rather to his permanent detriment. And since the Guard knew and trusted me from that case, it was no trouble asking for additional records. So I have been provided the Imperial Guard’s files and recordings on your involvement, including your interview showing how, when the full nature of the case was laid out for you, you decided to cooperate, and did so completely and to the best of your ability. And how you – in distinct contrast to the perps, I might add – showed all due respect and allegiance to the Empress.”
“Well, yes,” Peabody noted, shrugging and seeming mildly confused. “It was a case of treason against the Throne. I’d never been involved in something like that before, thank God… and I hope I never am, again. And sure, I was scared for my own skin – the Throne would execute me if I didn’t cooperate, and my old supervisors would have had me killed if I did – but there are some things that are more important than one’s skin. And when they’re presented to you, frank and up front, you just… know. And that was one of ‘em. So… I cooperated.”
“And you didn’t know the nature or importance of the case when you were sent to ‘investigate’ it for your superiors?” Ashton pressed.
“No,” Peabody said, firm. “I’d swear to you on the Throne itself, right this instant – I had no idea. And probably wouldn’t have done, even at the scene, because I doubt there was anything there to tell me the importance of what Medved was working on. I didn’t realize that until the Empress herself told me. The more I’ve thought about that, the madder it makes me, to tell you the truth. And once I realized this was in the High Court, I kind of said, ‘Shit with what the bosses want. The Empress is The Boss,’ capital letters, you know?”
“I do indeed. What do you make of Emperor Trajan?”
“I think he’s cut from an even sterner mold than his sister was, if what I saw of him was anything
