Angels of Vengeance

Downing returned the smile as though he were a kindly and benevolent uncle.

‘I am sure my client will give the matter due consideration,’ he said. ‘Of course, it defies belief that two men with a common history - friends, indeed - should be targeted in such a fashion in what for them, remember, remains a foreign city, even if they have chosen to make it their new home. I assure you, Detectives, that if Mr Shah is able to make such a connection, you will find out about it. But as you would appreciate, he works in an industry which, while crucial to maintaining the security and even the good governance of the city and the Territory, is nonetheless plagued by any number of unscrupulous operators, many of whom would not hesitate to step well beyond the boundaries of decency and law to achieve an advantage for themselves.’

Jules wrote down on the notepad: Shah targeted by rivals?? She circled the question three times. She didn’t believe for a second that that was the case, but the Nepali himself had folded his massive arms and nodded once, grunting in approval. When she’d sought him out after arriving in Darwin, Shah’s assumption about the bombing was that rival security operators, most likely one of the big mercenary companies like Sandline, had lost patience with his refusal to accept their buyout offers. But she knew he didn’t think that now. He agreed with her, that the most likely attacker was Henry Cesky. The construction magnate had means, motive and form.

‘Have you received any threats?’ Palmer asked. ‘From business rivals, I mean.’ He seemed highly sceptical.

‘These are not people who are foolish enough to make threats,’ replied Shah, before his legal mouthpiece could answer. ‘They decide. They act.’

Neither of the detectives was comfortable with the idea of a turf war breaking out between rival military companies in their city. For one thing, the police would be completely overmatched in any such scenario. Shah Security was relatively small, but some of the bigger operators, who provided border control and interdiction services, ran to some serious heavy metal in their inventories. Helicopter gunships, light armoured vehicles, even jet fighters operating out of private airfields in Papua New Guinea and on a couple of islands throughout the Indonesian archipelago, where they usually protected giant mining operations. The mercs weren’t allowed to deploy anything like that here. And even if they were, they themselves would’ve been completely outclassed by the huge military presence in and around Darwin.

Nevertheless, the large PMCs still had thousands of personnel stationed throughout the city and the Northern Territory, almost all of them ex-military with combat experience. Their declared role in Australia was to provide ‘aid to the civil power’, a conveniently ambiguous mission statement. These duties encompassed everything from running the giant government farms down on the Ord River - prison farms, really, for hundreds of thousands of refugees from countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines, but not, curiously enough, the US - to anti-piracy patrols and even search-and-destroy missions throughout the remnants of the Indonesian state. The long chain of thousands of Indonesian islands, fanning out north and north-west of Australia, had fallen into anarchy and an impossible confusion of internecine revolt.

Shah’s lawyer lazily tapped at a sheaf of notepaper with an expensive-looking fountain pen. Jules was almost certain it was a Mont Blanc. ‘So perhaps,’ he said, ‘you officers might consider focusing your initial investigative efforts on some of the PMCs that have made it quite clear to my client that they seek a hostile takeover of his operation, should he not be disposed to entertaining thoughts of a more amenable arrangement.’

‘Amenable to Sandline and Blackwater,’ added Shah.

It was difficult to tell whether Palmer was uncomfortable, disgusted or utterly pissed off. Jules put her money on all three.

‘You stated before that you had no idea who might be involved in this,’ he said through gritted teeth. ‘And I don’t see how the attack at the marina fits into this bullshit idea that one of the merc operators is responsible. What the fuck would they get out of blowing up an old drunk on a boat?’

She bristled at the insult to her friend but managed to control her reaction with a breathing exercise. Shah was not the only one who could swallow his rage.

‘Nothing,’ the former Gurkha replied with a shrug. ‘This is why I do not speculate for you, Detective. Until the attack on Mr Ross, I had my reasons for believing that my rivals may have made the attempt on my family. I even believed the bombing at my house was bungled as a warning - that shoddy operators were used, and possibly even sacrificed, simply to send a message. You cannot deny there is much manoeuvring and ill-feeling in my industry at the moment. There has been blood, and there will be more. So it is natural for me to suspect a rival, in my own case. For Mr Ross, however, I have no explanation. That is why I do not answer your question, Detective Palmer. I truly have no idea.’

It seemed that everyone in this room was acting out a role of some sort. Jules knew Shah was lying, but not why. While Cesky may have been able to hire men to do his bidding all the way down here, she didn’t imagine he had any real influence in this city. His power base was in Seattle. There may have been a huge American presence in Darwin, because of the local expatriate population and the recent porting of the Combined Fleet, but American power was not what it used to be. She’d only been here a day, but already she could tell that Darwin was one of those cities feted by history to be a place in which rising empires and falling giants contended for dominance. Cesky might operate here, from a distance, but he was not important to the city or the powers that had gathered here. There would be a good reason, Jules was sure, that Shah and his lawyer hadn’t thrown his name on the table during this interview.

‘Well, I think that probably concludes our business, Detectives,’ Downing announced, calmly returning the lid to his expensive pen. ‘And really, I can’t reiterate it enough, my client has an obvious personal interest in seeing this matter resolved. But this is not the way to go about it. This is merely wasting everybody’s time. We are more than happy to make ourselves available for interview whenever necessary, for good reason. But next time, perhaps, a phone call might suffice. Now, if that’s all?’

Detective Dennis began shaking hands and saying farewells before Palmer could further poison the atmosphere.

‘Mr Downing … Mr Shah … and Ms …?’

‘Julianne,’ she answered with what she hoped was a pleasant, distracting smile. ‘Jules, if you like.’

‘Jules then,’ said Dennis before turning back to the other two. ‘I’m sorry if this is all a bit difficult, gentlemen. But it’s important we chase down every possibility. I’m sure you understand.’

‘Of course,’ gushed Downing. ‘But do feel free to simply call next time.’

Palmer grunted something and excused himself from the room as Mr Shah and his legal team prepared to leave.

‘You’re English,’ said Dennis while Jules was gathering up her notes. ‘Been in town very long?’

‘No.’ She shook her head.

‘Julianne is our newest associate,’ Downing interjected, in something of a rush. ‘She’s very new in town.’

‘Oh, okay then. Maybe I’ll see you around again, Jules?’

Was he trying to pick her up? Jules retreated into character.

‘Well, I’m just filling in on this case. Short-handed at the office, you know.’ She threw her supposed boss a look that cried, Help me!

‘Short-handed indeed,’ agreed Downing. ‘But I’m afraid it’s back to conveyancing and land titles for you, young lady, when you’ve typed up these notes. This job can’t all be about bloody murder and intrigue now, can it, eh?’

‘We live in hope,’ said Jules.

29

NORTH KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI

She set her alarm to wake her after two sleep cycles. Three hours. It wasn’t ideal, going into the first day of an infiltration already fatigued, after a two-day crunch of briefings, presentations, liaising and general immersion in all things Blackstone.

‘Life is pain, princess. Suck it up,’ she groaned after forcing herself out of bed as the clock radio came on.

The room’s previous occupant had tuned the radio to the Armed Forces Heartland Network, on which a newsreader was now ticking off the overnight items. The US Navy was continuing to scale back its anti-piracy