“Section Six,” Dunham said.
Two days later, Dunham received a message notification. He dropped into VR channel 22 and invited the sender to join him there.
Nick Ashton, his avatar clad in IPD’s full dress uniform, complete with three medals on the chest, appeared across the desk from him.
“Good day to you, Inspector Ashton,” Dunham said, as Ashton bowed.
“Your Majesty. Thank you for seeing me on short notice; I thought this would be easier to schedule and execute than an actual visit.”
“You thought correctly, but for you, Inspector, I would have found time.”
“My wife, Inspector Callista Ames, and I have a special private VR channel for discussing matters that need to be kept quiet,” Ashton explained. “It’s outfitted like a home office. We’ve been in there, discussing your offer, a good bit in the days since you made it.”
“And?”
Ashton flashed a smile at Dunham.
“It seems that an old injury has flared up, Sire,” he said, his expression devilish. “I was once hit in the chest by a bullet on a case years ago, back before you ascended the Throne. I was wearing protective armor, but not shock plates, and it seems that there was damage to my heart that wasn’t detected at the time. It will likely necessitate my retiring from detective work, as any further impact to the chest could kill me.”
“I see, Inspector,” Dunham said, feeling his lips twitch at the mischievous expression on Ashton’s face. “And will you need any… assistance… with that diagnosis?”
“Oh. Um, can you, Sire?” Ashton wondered, taken off guard by the offer. “I mean, we were going to just run with it as a fait accompli, but certainly an actual diagnosis would be extremely useful in backing things up, should anyone go nosing about…”
“Indeed. I think we can manage that, Inspector,” Dunham said, allowing his expression to morph into a full grin. “There are physicians on my staff, after all. And no one in particular needs to know where the diagnosis came from, do they?”
“Well, Director Carter might, possibly…”
“Ah. And yes, I expect he could be trusted to know where it came from. Though I want no one else knowing why.”
“Understood, Sire.”
“I take it, you’ve decided to accept the position?”
“I – we – have, Your Majesty. Cally and I, that is – my wife, I mean. I was rather hoping…”
“Yes?”
“…That she might become my assistant, of sorts.” Ashton offered a hand, palm up. “Putting together an organization like this is more work than one man can handle. But a partnership could do it. And she’s hardly an unskilled investigator her own self. It’s how we met, actually. And as you apparently know already, she’s recently obtained her own promotion to inspector – out of zone, as it were. She’s truly and without bias, very good at it, so I think she’d be great as my assistant in this endeavor.” He bowed his head. “If His Majesty approves, of course.”
“I definitely understand your feelings on the matter, Inspector,” Dunham said, sobering. “Milady Empress has been invaluable to me and to the Thone in her own right. Yes, I think that is certainly doable. And makes eminent sense, as she’d have to leave her own position to move with you…”
“Exactly. Thank you, Sire. Do you require matters to be headquartered here, in Imperial City? Or just somewhere on Center? What did you have in mind for location, and I’ll see about getting started around finishing up at IPD New Headquarters…”
“No, the decision has been made that there shall be no physical headquarters, Inspector Ashton. It will all be handled in VR, to maintain as much anonymity as possible.”
“Oh. That makes a great deal of sense. And I think I have a few tools of my own which I can apply to the matter.”
“Very good, then,” Dunham said with a smile. “I considered matters carefully. And, while the original five sections do indeed report to Director Carter, who reports directly to me, Section Six will not report through him, or even be known to him. You will, instead, report directly to me, as he does. Therefore, that makes you a director. Now, we do not need to inadvertently confuse matters with too many overall directors. Therefore, while your salary will be commensurate, I don’t think we’ll be calling you Director Ashton, as such. But it will be a very nice salary.”
“O-oh,” Ashton murmured. “I… had no idea. Um, thank you, Sire.”
“Quite all right, Inspector. I think I had not considered the matter at the time you and I last talked. But I should like to know how you would like to be addressed, in the circumstances. Mr. Ashton? Inspector Ashton? You have earned that title, without doubt, several times over, I should say.”
“Um, either one would do, Sire,” a mildly flustered Ashton noted. “I’m inclined toward Inspector, just because I’m used to it now. But for purposes of this new assignment, Mr. Ashton is probably a little more… discreet.” He paused and considered. “Actually, it might be a good idea to come up with a different surname altogether, an alias as it were.”
“That is, indeed, an excellent idea, Inspector,” Dunham agreed. “But I think that should, perhaps, be your decision, your choice. So when you have one – if you decide to use one – just let me know.”
“I will. But please, Sire, continue. The, um, Section Six will have no physical headquarters, you said?”
“Exactly, Inspector Ashton. It will exist solely in virtual space. You may ‘retire’ wherever you like.” Dunham paused, then added, “Though may I suggest, the farther you are from Center and Imperial City, the more believable your ‘retirement’ becomes.”
“That’s something Inspector Ames and I had been considering, as well, Sire,” Ashton admitted. “And so to that end, I expect we’ll go back to my homeworld of Flanders, and find a nice little
