“I bet I do,” Peabody said.
“Let’s hear it, Win.”
“I’m betting either Carr or Bradly did it, by way of bringing on a new ‘enforcer.’”
“And had no clue the man was an embedded spy?!”
“Or didn’t care,” Peabody noted, face twisting in disgust.
“Well, there would have to be some sort of record of the procurement,” Carter pointed out. “Dig.”
“Will do, sir.”
Within an hour, a horrified Procurement division in the Administrative branch of New Headquarters verified that Carr had arranged for the acquisition of four of the then-new interactive credentials. And two of the four had been returned, found in Carr’s desk after his execution. Those two had had the names Peter Brandt and Joseph Hennig on them – the two ‘enforcers’ that had tried to kill Carter, Ashton, and their ICPD wives, as well as Winston Peabody. Another of the procured-but-not-found credentials – all of which had to be customized manufacture – did indeed have the name Joseph Gardenia, but the fourth had the name Corey Weeber inscribed on it.
“And I know exactly who that is,” Peabody declared. “That’s one of Gorecki’s goons. I had him foisted on me for one case, and hated every moment of it, back in the day.”
“Did he survive the destruction of the original Headquarters?” Carter asked.
“I remember hearing Carr say he did, but he was up to his eyeballs with dodging the Marines, and didn’t want to come out of hiding just yet, back when we were taking down the last of the old guard,” Winston said.
“Do you know where he’d be?”
“Yes!”
“Take a team and go round him up. Make sure you find the damn ID. I want those fakes destroyed. Preferably melted down to slag.”
“All over that one, Lee.”
“Good man. Go.”
In two more hours, Weeber was in custody, and the illegally-procured ID was in the hands of Procurement for destruction.
Take Down
Carter and Ashton were only waiting for the message from General Daggert. When it finally arrived, they were in Carter’s office, discussing the matter, and read it simultaneously in the lower half of their respective vision.
To: DirLCarter, DXA
From: General Brian Daggert
Subj: [none]
Get Kendig. Do it overnight, per HMT.
~B. Daggert
“All right, then,” Carter murmured. “Nick?”
“On top of it, Lee.”
“Go, then.”
“Gone.”
Detective Rick Honda, along with colleague Johnson Burke, got the message from their division lead.
To: RHonda, JBurke
From: DXA
Subj: [none]
Tonight. After work. Go.
~DXA
“This’ll work,” Burke decided. “Figure as he’s closing up shop?”
“That’s as good as any,” Honda agreed with a shrug. “Given he likely won’t come out until after nominal closing time around there, the place should be pretty deserted. And if we look like we’re headed outbound too, we won’t attract any attention. Which you wanna?”
“Can I try the knockout?”
“Sure. I got no problems, either way.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
“You’re cert’ed, right?”
“Yup. Got the latest training ‘bout six months back.”
“Good. Let’s get set up.”
Burke sauntered down the nearly-empty street on the mall level near Kendig’s gift shop, his hands in his pockets, and just ‘happened’ to be nearby as the man walked out. As Burke neared, Kendig turned to try the door, ensuring it was locked. Burke pulled a stun gun out of his pocket and hit Kendig squarely in the upper back, in the meaty part of the trapezius to the right of the spine, then dropped the weapon back into his pocket in time to catch the man as his body crumpled, twisting slightly as it went down. Had the targeted area been lower on the body, it would simply have rendered Kendig unable to use his legs; as it was, so near the head and spine, it left him temporarily unconscious... though he would likely have the mother of all headaches when he woke.
Just as Burke hit Kendig with the stunner, Honda ducked out of an alley up the street, pushing a wheelchair. He timed it perfectly to arrive beside Burke as Kendig collapsed; he quickly locked the wheels. Together, the two men eased Kendig around and into the wheelchair. Honda strapped Kendig’s upper body in position with the same restraints often used on partially-paralyzed patients, while Burke eased Kendig’s feet onto the footrest platforms.
Then Burke turned and walked with Honda, who trundled Kendig before them, down the street to the nearest elevator. They rode the elevator to street level, then headed straight for a small, unmarked van equipped for handicapped access, its rear doors open and waiting. They maneuvered the wheelchair up the short ramp onto the lift, then activated the lift.
The lift moved upward and swiveled forward, and someone inside – a pretty little brunette nurse, by the quick glimpse that was all a potential observer might get – took charge of the wheelchair and rolled it forward, beginning to strap it down. Honda and Burke hopped into the rear of the van. Honda helped ‘Nurse Nailly’ secure their erstwhile patient, while Burke closed the rear doors.
“Okay, Pete,” Investigator Level Three Nailly told the driver, Peter Stone, “we got him. Head out. The Imperial Guard wants this guy right away.”
“All over it,” Stone said cheerfully.
The van pulled away from the curb, headed in the general direction of Imperial Park.
In the interrogation observing room – a place all too familiar to him – Inspector Ashton waited with Director Carter and General Daggert, as well as the IPD New Headquarters physician George Withers and Imperial Guard Captain Walt Hegen. Hegen and Withers were manning the instrumentation for the lie detector chair.
In the interrogation room, already strapped into the lie detector chair, Kendig began to stir.
“Here we go again,” Ashton murmured to Carter.
“Yup,”
