"I'm listening."
Smith outline his plan. "Got it?"
"Sure. Easy."
"Then get on with it. I don't want that damned robot showing up again. Make sure, this time!"
"What about our people?"
"You mean your people. Mine are already on board."
"Is that how you want to play this? Really?"
"Just get the job done, all right? After that, call everyone to the spaceport. And tell them to hurry, or I'll leave them on this horrible little planet."
"What about the guy watching the Peace Force office?"
"Oh yes, bring him back," Smith's tone was chilly. "Especially him. I want to have words."
— ♦ —
"Trainee Harriet, I fear I have let the Peace Force down."
Harriet had been on her way back to the station, and Bernie had called to warn her about the ambush. Far too late, as it turned out, and Harriet had never heard Bernie so despondent. "Come on, it's not that bad!"
"It's worse! I had numerous suspects in custody, but my battery failed. When I regained consciousness, they'd all fled."
Harriet pursed her lips. She expected bad, but this was even worse. "Are you charging now?"
"I am using power from my cab. It is not happy about the damage to its wiring, but in cases of emergency the Peace Force comes before all." Bernie hesitated. "Trainee Harriet, this may already be apparent to you, but it seems we are being targeted."
You think? Harriet almost said it aloud, but Bernie was suffering enough. It had taken ages for Harriet's heartbeat to return to normal after her near-miss, but her nerves would take a lot longer. She'd been playing and re-playing the encounter in her mind, and she realised just how incredibly lucky she'd been to get away. Living on Dismolle, dealing with insignificant matters, even the community policing … it had made her soft and careless.
Well, lesson learned, and she was determined never to get caught like that again.
Now Bernie was reporting a similar incident, but even more dangerous. From the way the robot had described events, it was certain Smith's people were trying to get their hands on Alice, and that made protecting her sister a top priority. "Steve, faster please. And let's have the lights and sirens."
"Are you sure?" asked the car. "We're not on a call, and the last time you broke with protocol—"
"Just do it," said Harriet quickly, before Bernie heard about Foster and the traffic stop.
"Trainee Harriet is correct," said Bernie, through the dashboard speaker. "Please do as she wishes."
"Complying," said Steve, and Harriet saw red and blue lights reflected off nearby buildings as they tore by. The siren was a quiet wail, partly muffled by the well-insulated interior, but mostly drowned out by the roar of the cruiser's powerful engines.
"Bernie, the targeting," said Harriet. "We both know it's Smith. Can't we arrest him, or shoot him or something?"
"Even the Peace Force needs proof, Trainee, no matter how tenuous."
"What about his people? Did you identify any of them?"
"I was about to, but—"
"Pity. Get them into the interrogation room and you'd crack them like rotten eggs." Harriet pictured an angry Bernie alone in the cells with the suspects … people who'd tried to harm her precious trainees. "Not literally," she added hastily.
"They ran down alleys and hid in buildings, and I decided it would be a waste of time. Not to mention I was unable to give chase."
"Have you warned Alice?"
"She is at the school, about to give her speech."
"Well tell her to stay there afterwards. Plus, if she stays long enough she might learn something." Harriet realised she was being waspish. "Look, I know I argued against sending her there, but … you were right, Bernie. It probably saved her from Smith's people."
Bernie was silent.
"Hello? I was just saying you're right. There's no need to go silent."
Nothing.
Harriet cursed. Had the robot gone flat, or was Bernie's comms system playing up? The robot had a big appetite for spares, and not all of them were direct replacements for the original parts. "Steve, have we lost her?"
"Negative. The line is active but there is no audio."
At that moment there was a click. "Apologies, Trainee Harriet," said Bernie. "I am dealing with a fresh emergency call."
"Smith again?"
"Most likely."
"All right, call me back afterwards."
"Why?" asked Bernie, sounding puzzled.
"So we can discuss it, of course."
"Why not discuss it now?"
"I thought you said you were dealing with another call?"
"I am. They are reporting a suspicious package at the spaceport."
"Well don't waste time talking to me. Deal with them first."
"Oh, I understand your confusion. I am dealing with both of you simultaneously, Trainee Harriet. There is no need for me to delay."
"Wait, you're talking to them as well? What a neat trick!"
"That's what simultaneously means," said the robot drily. "They have just given me the landing pad number, and apparently their so-called package has wires, and here I must quote them, 'sticking out all over the place.' I have reassured them an officer will be despatched post-haste."
"Did they ask for Alice?"
"No, that would be a little too obvious. I did, however, give them the impression that the only officer available was a young trainee. I may have actually mentioned Alice's name."
Harriet grinned. For a walking, talking computer, Bernie was pretty cunning. "So they'll be expecting her again, but this time you and I will both show up."
"I'm not sure that's wise. I think maybe I should handle this call myself."
"You can't chase anyone. I can."
"But the danger—"
Harriet remembered the three men with their wooden clubs and metal bars, and shivered. "No, they're after Alice, Bernie. We'll stand together on this one."
"Very well, Trainee." Bernie hesitated. "Apparently the package is now ticking. And buzzing."
"They're really going to town, aren't they?"
"No, they're at the spaceport. As is the so-called bomb."
Harriet sighed. Expressions were a waste of time with Bernie - both verbal and facial. "Wait, do they know who they're talking to?"
"Of course not. I am using one of my other voices. They think I'm a receptionist at the station, and are unaware that
