“Aye, we’d all love to see the network extended but getting the approval, and the funding, for it is another matter entirely.” He gave me a reproving little shake of the head. “I know this case is eating you up laddie, but you need to learn to enjoy your wins too or you’ll burn yourself out before you reach fifty, let alone sixty.” I met his stare evenly.
“I’m sorry, James, but catching a gang of car thieves just doesn’t feel significant at the moment. Does Angela Arnold know about our fears?”
“Lord, no! It’s bad enough her husband’s missing without adding to her anxiety. She knows we suspect he may have been abducted, that’s all. You’re forgetting, Conall, we have no definitive proof that he even was. For all we know he could have got into that van voluntarily. He wouldn’t be the first man to abandon his family or to run off with a new partner.”
“That’s an odd thing to find myself wishing to be true, but your people must have gone through the Arnolds’ social media accounts by now, as well as checking with co-workers and friends of the family. I’m sure they’ve given you the same picture that Shay’s given me. There’s not the slightest hint of anything like that going on.”
“No. The Arnolds appear to be a happy, devoted couple, by all accounts. All marriages have their ups and downs but a partnership that can survive the armed forces for so long has to be a strong one, with him away from home so often. Besides, you’d think he’d at least have packed a bag if he intended to run off.” He gave me a final nod. “You have your list. I’d best get back to Burnett Road. Keep me updated, Conall.”
“Of course. Thanks for dropping by, Sir.” He’d opened the door by then and I still wouldn’t use his first name in front of junior officers, even if I’d finally yielded on doing so when we were alone.
After he’d left, I found myself wondering what Shay might really be doing. I knew my cousin. There wasn’t a chance in hell he’d gone back to whatever his current assignment might be, at least not without setting some more searches in motion first. He mustn’t be holding out much hope of any of them paying off or he’d have told me about them. Shay didn’t like to raise false hopes or mention slim chances.
Still, I couldn’t help hoping that he might still pull off a miracle and help us find Chris Arnold before it was too late.
Twelve
The Ally
This one was strong. It chose not to act as pathetically as the last one had. Even though it was just sitting there quietly he could tell it was calculating, plotting. The aura this time was red, throbbing, menacing.
“They do like to use killers when they can. A willingness to take human lives makes it so much easier for our enemies to get in and destroy them. You needn’t worry about it getting loose though. You’re safe.”
He knew he was. It wouldn’t be able to get out of those restraints. He’d been startled to find it with a hand loose on Tuesday morning but that had been easy enough to deal with. A good jolt from the taser through the bars before entering the cell and it had been helpless to prevent him from securing it in a way that wouldn’t allow that to happen again. He didn’t know what it had hoped to gain by breaking its thumb like that. Even if it had managed to free both hands, the ankles were another matter entirely, and it didn’t have any tools to work with.
It had stopped trying to talk to him, again, although he didn’t expect that to last. Now it was just listening intently.
“Yes, I know you can hear me,” The Companion told it. “You’ll have realised by now, what we are and what that means. This planet is interdicted and what you are trying to achieve here is an abomination.”
“You’re hallucinating and delusional, you do realise that, don’t you? Having conversations with yourself, ranting about aliens.” It stared up at me, faking concern. The man who used to live in that body had had a nice, friendly face. “Son, you need medical help. A doctor could make it all stop, believe me. Just get yourself to the hospital.” It raised an arm slightly making the chain clink. “What have you got to lose? I’m not going anywhere, am I?”
Bastard! I felt a first lick of warning fire flick lightly through my head and flinched, expecting worse to come.
“You shut the fuck up,” I warned it. “I know what you’re trying to do.” I snatched up the taser and pointed it threateningly. “Forbidden means forbidden!”
“Okay, okay, calm down, son. I’m just trying to help you out here.” Its voice sounded raspy. The body it was wearing must be getting pretty thirsty by now, despite the odd mouthfuls of water it had managed to sneak in when I hosed it down. It ought to be weaker too. Five days without food should have affected it more than it had. “It’s hard to understand, though. I mean, let’s face it, if either of us was being controlled by a hostile alien intelligence, it would have to be you, right? And it’s making you kidnap people? Kill them?”
“Ignore it. It’s not a person.”
“Only why, if these aliens are battling each other, would they pick guys like us to fight through? Wouldn’t it make more sense for the hostile ones to target people with real power and for the friendly ones to give us the technology to spot them with? Why don’t you ask your friend to teach you how to build a machine that can show us what you see?”
Oh! That would be amazing! The Companions wouldn’t need people like me then. Anyone could
