“Somehow,” Nick said.
“Dinner’s ready!” Cally sang out cheerfully. “You two, have a seat, and let’s eat!”
“But I,” Adrian began.
“Sit,” Nick reiterated. “We don’t mind having a friend over for dinner.”
Adrian sat, and the trio chatted and laughed through a lovely four-course meal.
When they were done, Adrian escorted Nick safely to his own apartment.
First Blood to the Council
“HEADS UP, PEOPLE!” Colonel Peterson called as she came into the investigator bullpen, late in the afternoon of the next day. “We have a situation! Briefing room in two!”
Everyone scrambled for the door to the briefing room, and Peterson took the podium in just over a minute.
“All right,” she said. “We’ve had a murder of one of the Palace staffers, in one of the apartment buildings in Imperial Park West, over near the IUS campus. You’ll note that Detective Gorski isn’t here, because he was here when the call came in about five or ten minutes ago, and I sent him off to handle it with a couple of squad cars, coded. That means, Nick, that you’ll be involved with it pretty directly, one way or another. But to some extent, we all will…because this is top-level. I expect you all to help.”
“Who was it, how was it done, and why?” Rassmussen, who had recently been promoted to Detective, asked.
“Vasilisa ‘Vash’ Medved,” Peterson noted, “advisor – and personal friend – to the Empress. The Throne is gonna be involved on this one, people, so keep your wits about you. When I said top-level, I meant it.”
“Aw, IPD will grab it,” Weyand grumbled. “It’s almost not worth taking notes on it.”
“No, they won’t,” Peterson announced. “In fact, they tried already. Stefan called me a couple minutes ago to verify that for me; it’s the only reason I waited as long as I did to call you all together. It’s our understanding that the investigator and team from IPD were met by an Imperial Guard contingent… and taken into custody by same.” She paused, as gasps went around the room. “Yes, kiddies, the Empress is pissed. And apparently has reason to believe IPD may have been involved.”
“What in hell brought this on?” Ashton asked.
“Well, given it appears to be a professional hit – a double-tap to the back of the head, while she was in the elevator and almost home, after working all day as a Palace staffer and confidential advisor to the Empress,” Peterson added, meeting Ashton’s shocked look with a knowing glance, “chances are, it had to do with the work Medved was doing for the Throne. I’m sure you’ve all followed some of the subtle little back-and-forth stuff that’s cropped up in the news feeds in the last few years with increasing frequency. Let alone the big investigation on military weapons quality control and manufacturing.”
Nods went around the room.
“It seems that Ms. Medved was the point on that effort. I’m not in the know, so I don’t know details, at least not yet. But it would be my bet that, since Ms. Medved once worked in that industry, specifically in the quality assurance testing, more than likely she was feeding information to the Empress – or at least, the Empress’ effort – that somebody didn’t want her providing…and they took her out as a result. So at the very least…” Peterson broke off. “John, shut the door and everyone, initiate silent protocols.”
Smith stood, closed the briefing room door, and sat back down. Immediately everyone’s face went blank, as they entered full-immersion VR and met in a classified and highly secure channel – one that only those people in ICPD Investigations could access.
“All right. Now that we’re all here,” Peterson continued, from the podium in a virtual conference room, nearly identical to the physical one, “at the very least, since it was almost certainly a political assassination, targeted against the Empress’ reform efforts, then the Council was in the know about it. More likely, the Council – or someone on the Council – ordered it. Directly. And since the Council’s enforcers are the local IPD, you can guess who saw it was arranged.”
“Damn,” Ames murmured.
“From what Stefan has fed me, the IPD had an ‘investigatory’ team on site far too quickly, and as I mentioned a moment ago, that team has been taken into custody…with the authority of the Throne behind it. He saw it happen as he was pulling up, himself. Per his contact on the Imperial Guard, they are not in an ICPD lockdown; they are being held, incommunicado, by no less than the Imperial Guard, and their whereabouts are unknown and secure. That is classified information, kiddies, and not to leave this VR channel. Sound off and let me know you understand this.”
One by one, each investigator acknowledged the security classification.
“Now to action items. Stefan has gone to meet with a representative of the Imperial Guard, to look at the crime scene, along with an Imperial Guard forensics team,” Peterson went on, “and he left instructions for Nick, and in turn for as many of the rest of you as Nick decides he needs: dig into Medved’s past employment records, find out who her boss was when she was working weapons quality control, and bring him or her in for questioning. It’s likely that, if the former boss wasn’t involved directly, he may know who was. Nick, as Stefan is our point of contact at the Palace, you’re taking point on team ops. People, treat him like he was a detective already, please, because that’s what we need. Given he’s not far off that rank, and he’s been working damn close with Stefan for a few years now, Stefan and I felt that that’s how we should play it. Does anyone have any objections – including the other detectives in the
