"Got it."
Harriet disconnected. The van was still moving slowly, and as she watched it she had an idea. She held up her commset and recorded the vehicle, bracing her arm against the parapet as she zoomed in to keep the camera as steady as possible. The darkened windows filled her screen, and she squinted at the image, trying to make out any sign of the driver or passengers. Moments later the van's lights came on, flooding the road, and the vehicle drove off. Had they spotted her, or had they seen everything they needed? Harriet accessed a menu in her commset, and transmitted the recording to Bernie. The robot called her back within seconds.
"Trainee Harriet?"
"Hi Bernie. I need you to analyse that capture for me."
"What do you hope to obtain?"
"A picture of the driver would be good. Something we can ID them by."
"Impossible. The windows are tinted and the image is far too grainy."
"Can't you punch in on it?"
"Not now, not ever," growled Bernie. "Indeed, whenever someone asks me that, I want to punch them instead."
Harriet remembered the robot's massive fists and decided not to ask again. "What about the van? Any chance you can identify the owner from what I've sent you?"
"Certainly, if you send me a scan of their registration papers."
"Is that the best you can do?"
"I can tell you the owner is driving a black van with four wheels. Does that help?"
"No, of course not."
"Then stop asking for miracles."
Harriet paused. "Bernie, things are looking dicey here. We've rounded up a few ex-coppers to help, but we only have two weapons, a few pieces of armour, and —"
"Trainee Harriet, you have something the enemy does not possess. Something which will see you through any perilous situation."
"Really?" Harriet's spirits rose. "What is it?"
"A Peace Force badge."
"Right. Excellent. Thanks for that, Bernie."
"Dismolle out."
Harriet put her commset away, feeling crushed. What use was a damned badge against a van full of thugs? She could wave it around until her arm fell off, and they'd still shoot her. With a dour expression, she crossed to the opposite side of the roof and leaned on the parapet. There was no sign of the van, and after letting Dave know it had left, she settled down for a lengthy stint on watch.
Chapter 14
It was early next morning, and the office was quiet. Most people were still sleeping, huddled in their blankets against the chill. Harriet had only managed four or five hours sleep, and she was battling a headache.
She found Birch and Alice in the canteen, the former cooking breakfast and the latter tucking into a plate of eggs.
"Who's on watch?" Harriet asked them.
"Martin's robot went up earlier," said Birch. "He'll have to come down soon, though. He gets antsy when he's separated from his patient."
"Anything happen overnight?"
"You mean during the two or three hours you were actually sleeping?" Birch shook his head. "Nothing."
"Well, they know we're here. We have to be ready."
Alice gestured at a stainless steel urn, which was just starting to boil. "I'm making a gallon of industrial strength brew. That'll get them up."
"What's industrial strength brew?"
"Dave wrote down the recipe. It's very strong coffee. And sugar. Lots of sugar." She got a tray of mugs and started filling them with a dark, evil-looking brew. It didn't so much pour from the urn as ooze out. "See?" said Alice. "They'll be turbo-charged once I get this into them."
Birch saw Harriet's expression, and laughed. "Don't worry, it's typical Peace Force coffee. They'll love it."
"If it doesn't kill them," muttered Harriet.
Once Alice finished with the mugs, the three of them returned to the main office and distributed the pick-me-ups. To Harriet's surprise nobody keeled over, and in fact most of them asked for a second mug. All except Timms, who went to make herself a nice cup of tea.
Once everyone was alert, Harriet addressed them all. "As you probably know by now, the enemy sent someone to scout the building last night, and I believe it's only a matter of time before they send a bigger force."
There was a low grumble from her audience, and a hand went up. "Why don't we wipe them out first? We know where their base is, don't we?"
"Yes, Alice found it yesterday. She was patrolling when they took a shot at her. She spotted half a dozen vans and several cars, and if they need that many vehicles, we could be facing upwards of twenty people. If they all drive here at once—"
"They'll have to catch cabs," remarked Alice.
Harriet frowned. "What do you mean?"
Alice was about to explain, but Birch's commset rang. It was loud, and when he took it out to look at the screen it rang louder still. He answered the call, and Harriet saw his expression harden. "What the hell do you want?" he demanded. There was a pause. "No, don't waste my time. Pack up your stuff and leave, or we'll throw the lot of you in jail." He hung up and frowned at his commset. "That was Anita Darting. She said she's got a message for us."
"What is it?" asked Harriet.
Birch shook his head. "She didn't say."
"Next time, let me speak to her. I want to—"
Harriet never finished her sentence, because at that moment there was a roar overhead, quickly growing louder. "Everyone down!" shouted Harriet, as she recognised the sound. "That's a ship! Down! Take cover!"
The roar became a thundering cacophony of sound, so loud it shook the building to its foundations. Then there was a tremendous crash from the roof, and another from the front of the building. The ground shook with the impact, and debris rained down from the ceiling. Then the roar tailed off as the ship flew away, and Harriet looked around to see the others peering out from shelter.
"What the hell
