"Birch called us. He said you needed some things."
With a grin, Harriet operated the door controls. The heavy glass doors slid open, and the couple gathered up all their packages and staggered into the office. Harriet sealed the doors behind them, then took a couple of boxes and led the elderly couple into the station.
"Birchy!" shouted the woman, as she saw Dave. "You haven't changed a bit!"
"Sticks McCluskey, you old warhorse," exclaimed Birch. "How's the leg these days? And Duke! You don't look a day over eighty."
They all shook hands, and Birch nodded at the crates they'd brought with them. "What's that lot, then?"
"Supplies," said Sticks. She looked at the camping stove Birch had been trying to light. "You can toss that thing, I brought a real one."
Birch introduced the arrivals as Henry Banville and Maggy McCluskey. The elderly couple nodded at Harriet and Alice before setting about their things. Within minutes they'd organised camp beds, set up a four-burner stove and had a kettle of water boiling away.
The atmosphere changed completely with the newcomers there. They were excited, and their enthusiasm infected everyone. Suddenly there was an air of purpose, and Harriet was glad they'd stayed.
"Did you get hold of anyone else?" McCluskey asked.
Birch shook his head. "Left a few messages, though. They might show up."
"Don't bet on it. Damned telemarketers are making everyone's life hell. Health insurance, denture clinics … and those damned ads for cut-price coffins! You name it, they're desperate to flog it. It's so bad most of us don't answer the phone any more, and if we do get messages, we just delete the lot."
"So how come you came?"
"I was bored, so I listened to my calls," said McCluskey. "And Duke here, he lives on the same floor so I dragged him along."
"We really appreciate you coming," said Harriet, "but when you learn why we're here, you might not want to hang around."
"I'm guessing it's these thugs and their extortion racket." McCluskey smiled at her reaction. "Am I right?"
"How did you know?"
"Well, first off, I like to keep myself informed. And second, Birch said so in his message … which was buried amongst a hundred others."
"I wish we could bury those telemarketers," growled Banville.
"Are they really that bad?" asked Harriet.
"They call day and night. Some people are thinking of going off the grid completely."
Harriet gestured at Birch. "You got my commset?"
"Sure."
He handed it over, and Harriet called Bernie. "I've found evidence of criminal behaviour. They're masquerading as telemarketers, but they're really trying to con the residents of Chirless."
"That is disturbing. Are you sure?"
"I'm certain," said Harriet. "Can you bring up the local call logs, and find any company which is pushing health insurance, denture clinics … that kind of thing? You're looking for a pattern, multiple calls to the same locations. Day and night, apparently."
"I have found what you are looking for. There are three companies currently running campaigns."
"Good. Can you erase all their data?"
"You want me to delete their call records?"
"No, I want you to erase everything they have. Every disk, every piece of memory, and every backup. Can you do that?"
"Of course. I have zeroed their data, their offsite backups … and their bank accounts."
"Thanks Bernie!" Harriet disconnected, and turned to see the others staring at her in silence. "Hey, one good turn deserves another," she said, and she tucked the commset away.
"I wouldn't want to get on your bad side," said Banville, with a laugh. "You don't mess around, do you?"
Harriet shook her head.
"All right," said the old man, waving his spatula. "Who's for sausages and fried eggs?"
Chapter 9
It was around nine p.m. when there was another knock on the front door of the Peace Force station. The evening meal had just been cleared away, Birch was reminiscing with his old colleagues, Alice was tinkering with a broken terminal and Harriet was working out her plans for the next day.
Harriet went to answer the door, and through the glass she saw a tall, grey-haired woman with two large men. The men wore ill-fitting suits with bulges at their sides, clearly concealing weapons, but the woman looked far more dangerous. She was wearing a long white coat, the collar turned up and almost concealing her severe face, and her eyes reminded Harriet of a snake's.
She had no doubt who the woman was. It had to be Anita Darting, Birch's old foe, the woman who intended to rule Chirless. When Darting saw Harriet she motioned at the doors. "I'd like to enter, thanks," she called through the glass.
"I can't do that," said Harriet.
Darting spoke to her men in a low voice, and they each reached into their jackets, withdrawing their blasters. Harriet reached for her own gun, thinking they were going to shoot their way in, but instead the men held their weapons by the barrel, then placed them carefully on the ground.
"I just want to talk," said Darting. "I'm sure we can resolve this peacefully."
Harriet thought of Arthur Rose, lying in a hospital bed, and her expression tightened. Still, there were others involved, and if a compromise could be hashed out it could save more bloodshed. Mindful the whole thing might be a trick, Harriet withdrew her own gun and held it on the trio. Then she reached for the door controls. "One move and you're all going down," she called.
Darting smiled, looking wolfish in the dim light. "I'm here to talk, not fight," she said, her words belying her expression.
Harriet's mind made up, she reached for the door controls … then hesitated. "Tell your men to move away from their weapons. And they're not coming in with you."
Darting spoke to the pair, and they obeyed. Harriet opened the door, standing back with her gun levelled to dissuade any threat of violence.
"It still smells the same," said Darting, with a sniff. "Funny, I thought it would have mellowed after all
