"Tyron Smith?" The Commander stared down at Teresa. "Is that the woman who assisted with his capture?"
"Yeah, but she switched sides."
"Is she alive?"
Harriet nodded.
"Well, at least I won't have to book you two with murder." Welness glanced at Alice. "You're just a kid. Why did this woman want to kill you?"
"I'm not a kid," said Alice, drawing herself up. "I'm a trainee with the Dismolle Peace Force."
"Yeah, I heard they start brainwashing you from a young age. I didn't realise they got you before puberty."
"That's out of line," said Harriet, with a frown. "Alice is a valuable member of my team."
"Where are the rest? Still in childcare?" Welness shook her head. "I don't know what you think you're doing, but I'm not having the Peace Force running around my planet with guns, putting the lives of my residents in danger.
Alice gestured at Teresa. "She had a gun too, and hers was bigger. And she's not Peace Force, she's a dirty, double-crossing murderer." Then, in a belated attempt to be impartial. "Attempted murderer."
"What were you doing in this area?" demanded Welness.
"It was deserted," explained Harriet. "We thought it would be safer to confront her out here, away from the, er, residents of Vasquez."
"So why didn't you interrogate her back on Dismolle? That would have been safer still."
Harriet wasn't sure what to say to that, but eventually she managed an incisive "Um."
"You should call the super," suggested Alice. "He'll straighten this out."
"He?" Harriet glanced at her, confused, and then she realised what Alice was hinting at. Dave had already impersonated a Peace Force officer once, and he'd surely have another go if she asked nicely. "Yes, that's a great idea. I'll call the super right now."
She reached into her pocket, but Welness grabbed her wrist. "Let me get that."
"Seriously?" demanded Harriet. "You think we're going to shoot our way out of this?"
"It's the Peace Force who turned my hair grey in the first place," growled Welness. She reached into Harriet's pocket and took out the commset. Then, with a shrug, she handed it to her.
Harriet called the office, and after a lengthy delay she heard Bernie's voice. Keeping the commset pressed to her ear, so the conversation wouldn't travel, Harriet spoke rapidly. "Bernie, it's Harriet. I'm with Commander Welness of the Vasquez security detail, and she's, er, unhappy about our presence on her planet. I wondered if you could ask the Superintendent to have a word?"
Fortunately, Bernie was quick on the uptake. "The Superintendent? I will see if he's free."
Harriet gave Welness a smile, while simultaneously tapping her foot with impatience. However aggrieved the Commander was at the unexpected Peace Force presence, Bernie would be ten times more upset at the unexpected cost of another interplanetary call. Then a strange voice spoke in her ear, and she nearly dropped the commset. It was a deep male voice, smooth and buttery like a professional voice-over artist. "This is Superintendent Bernie. How may I help you?"
"Superintendent Bernie?"
The robot switched back to her regular voice. "If you don't play along with this farce, Trainee Harriet, I fear you will be incarcerated. And you will address me as sir."
"Um, yes. G-good afternoon, sir. I wondered whether you might speak to Commander Welness? She's a little upset at our being here, and—"
"Of course," said Bernie, using the male voice again. "Please put her on."
Harriet passed her commset over, and the change in Welness's manner was abrupt. She lost the angry frown, and as Bernie apologised profusely, promising to contact her in future over anything to do with Vasquez, she even managed a smile. "That is acceptable, Superintendent. I trust our two planets can move forwards with a spirit of mutual cooperation."
Bernie signed off, and Welness handed the commset back. Harriet was on the point of offering her Teresa's ship as a final apology when she realised Alice had been right. The pair of them had busted two crooks in as many days, and why shouldn't the Dismolle Peace Force keep the fighter jet? Alice learning to fly the thing was out of the question, but they could probably raise some much-needed funds by selling it off. So, she tucked the commset away and gave the commander her best salute, then turned to Alice. "Back to the spaceport?"
"Yes sir," said Alice smartly.
Harriet turned to the Commander. "We'll need to borrow one of your pilots."
Welness looked thoughtful. "As a matter of fact, I have a license myself. It's been a while since I visited Dismolle, and I really should meet your Superintendent in person."
"You want to … meet? In person?"
"Certainly. We could do a lot of good if we pool our resources and cooperate on future missions."
"Y-yes," said Harriet. "You know, we can probably find a pilot at the spaceport. There's no need to trouble you."
"Nonsense." Welness signalled to one of the waiting officers. "Take the other two cars back to the station, and I'll escort these two to the spaceport and fly them home."
"Yes sir."
Welness indicated Teresa. "Take this one with you. Put her in a cell, and get someone to check her over. I'll send through the charge sheet later, once I've sorted out exactly what it is she's done."
The officer nodded.
"And you'd better tell Lester he's in command … temporarily. I should be back by six."
The officer saluted, and then Harriet heard a buzz. Welness took out her own commset, inspected the screen and cursed under her breath.
"Problem?" said Harriet.
"Message from headquarters. We've got a hostage situation at the local settlement. Major incident, from the sound of it." Welness hesitated, then shook her head. "I've got to deal with it. Lester's a good guy, but … I've got to deal with this."
"We understand," said Alice. "Don't worry, we'll get home. You go and deal with the incident."
Welness glanced at her and nodded. Then she addressed her officers. "One car to the station, two of you can take the prisoner in. The other car leaves now with you, you and … you. Spaceport, and
