chairs had been set out before a crackling fire. Two men stood together by the
chairs, facing Hawk and Burns with determined casualness. They looked
embarrassed, and perhaps just a little frightened. Hawk studied them both,
letting the silent moment stretch uncomfortably. Burns stirred at his side, but
made no move to intervene. The man to their left coughed nervously.
'Good evening, Captains. It's good of you to visit us. It's not often the Guard
takes an interest in our work. I'm Nicholas Linden, the lawyer. Perhaps you've
heard of me… And this is my associate, Michael Shire, once a Captain in the
Guard, now retired.'
Hawk nodded politely. Burns had already filled him in on who he'd be meeting,
and he had no trouble recognizing these two from Burns's descriptions. Nicholas
Linden was tall and fashionably slender, with watchful eyes and a practiced
smile. He'd started out as a meat-wagon chaser specializing in insurance cases,
and had graduated through a series of well-publicized cases and well-bribed
juries to a fairly successful practice in Low Tory. At which point he suddenly
developed a civic conscience, and started agitating to put an end to the kind of
sharp practices that had got him where he was. His fellow lawyers had persuaded
him to join the Guard Advisory Council, in the hope of distracting him from
things best left alone. To no one's surprise, it worked.
Michael Shire had been a Captain in the Guard for twenty years, before taking
early retirement to go into business for himself as a private security
consultant. He'd done well for himself over the past few years, and was now
responsible for most of the hired muscle in the Westside. He was a large,
squarish man in his late forties, wearing fashionably garish clothes that didn't
suit him. He had a calm, self-satisfied face, with cold, expressionless eyes.
And these were two of the people who'd set themselves up as the Guard's
conscience.
'Will any of the others be joining us?' Hawk said finally, his voice flat and
cold.
'I'm afraid not, Captain,' said Linden, perhaps just a little too quickly. 'You
must understand, we all lead very busy lives outside the Advisory Council, and
it isn't always possible for all of us to attend meetings called at such short
notice. However, your message did say your business was both urgent and
important, so Michael and I agreed to… represent the others. Do please sit down,
Captains. And help yourselves to some wine, if you will.'
Hawk shook his head shortly, and sat down. Burns also declined the wine, and he
and the Advisors joined Hawk in the chairs before the fire. Linden and Shire
looked at Hawk and Burns expectantly. Hawk set out the situation as clearly and
concisely as he could, taking it from the raid on Morgan's factory to his
growing belief that Morgan must be bribing someone fairly high up in the Guard.
There was a pause, and then Shire snorted loudly.
'Don't see what all the fuss is about,' he said gruffly, meeting Hawk's gaze
unflinchingly. 'There's always been a certain amount of… private enterprise in
the Guard. It's only natural for Guards to augment their income on occasion,
given the low wages. Everyone takes a special payment now and again; it's a sort
of unofficial tax. If people want real protection, they've got to be prepared to
pay for it. After all, a contented Guard is much more likely to look out for
you, isn't he? I think you're taking this too seriously, Captain Hawk.'
'I'm not talking about half-arsed protection rackets,' said Hawk. 'I'm talking
about a high-ranking Guard who's been bought and paid for by one of the city's
biggest drug barons.'
'So what?' said Shire flatly. 'This is Haven, remember? There are people here it
doesn't pay to cross, and Morgan is very definitely one of them. It's not in the
Guard's interest to start a war it couldn't win.'
'This time it's different,' snapped Hawk. 'Morgan's new drug is too dangerous to
be ignored. And whoever's helping him in the Guard is putting the whole damned
city at risk, just to earn himself a nice little bonus. This isn't just
corruption anymore; it's treason. I want this bastard, and you're going to help
me identify him. You're both in a position to hear things, know things; people
will talk to you who wouldn't talk to me. I want to know what they've been
saying. I want the name.'
Shire and Linden glanced at each other, and then Linden leaned forward. He fixed
Hawk with an earnest gaze, and chose his words carefully. 'You must understand,
Captain, that my associate and I are taking a not inconsiderable risk in seeing
you at all. You've made yourself dangerous to know. You've been making enemies,
the wrong sort of enemies. The word is that Morgan has important friends, very
well-connected people, who aren't taking kindly to your enquiries. Anyone who
openly helped you would be putting his own neck in the noose.'
'Refusing to talk to me can be pretty risky too,' said Hawk calmly. 'I'm not
playing by the rules anymore. I don't have the time.'
Shire sniffed. 'Threats won't get you anywhere. To put it bluntly, Morgan is
connected to people who are scarier than you'll ever be.'
'Then why are you talking to us at all?' asked Burns.
'Because I was a Captain in the Guard for twenty years…' said Shire slowly, '…
and there are some things I won't stand for. I might have taken the odd gratuity
in my time, and looked the other way when I was told, but I was always my own
man. No one tells me to roll over on my back and play dead, like a good dog. Not
then or now. Linden came to see me earlier today. He was scared. He overheard
something he shouldn't have, from one of Morgan's people, and he knew he
wouldn't be safe as long as he was the only one who knew it. So he told me, and
now he's going to tell you. There's no doubt that Morgan, or the people he's
associated with, have infiltrated the Guard at practically every level. From the
bottom right to the top. But for once, we have a name. Morgan's bought himself a
Guard Captain, someone so loyal and honorable as to be above suspicion.'
'Tell me the name,' said Hawk.
Linden swallowed hard, and looked briefly at Shire for support. 'You're not
going to like this, Hawk. I don't have any proof or evidence; this is just what
I heard. I could be wrong.'
'Just tell me the bloody name!'
'Fisher,' said Linden. 'Captain Isobel Fisher.'
Hawk launched himself out of his chair, both hands reaching for Linden. Burns
grabbed at him, but Hawk shook him off. He took two handfuls of Linden's shirt
and lifted him up into the air. The lawyer's face lost all its color, and his
mouth worked soundlessly. Shire and Burns pulled at Hawk's arms, but he ignored
them, thrusting his face close to Linden's.
'You're lying, you bastard. They put you up to this, didn't they? Didn't they!
Tell me the name, you bastard. Tell me the real name!'
Linden struggled to get his breath, his eyes wide and staring. 'Please… please
don't hurt me. I'm sorry…'
