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The Thief and the Commander : 13
Chapter 13: Freedom
Next day:
Rasa felt groggy that morning since she had been staring at a holograph full of numbers for most of the evening with only short coffee breaks in between to keep her going. Beatriu had taught her how to set up and run the multi-filter program. That had taken most of the night, but by the time morning came the Naturian string had resolved itself neatly into a clear and readable time signature.
"I don't believe it," Beatriu said to Rasa as they stood staring at the screen, surveying their work.
"I have to admit that I wasn't sure the anomaly was a time signature. I just assumed it was a Naturian ship that accidentally dropped out of hyperspace or something explainable, but this..." She shook her head. "Somebody should have caught this before now."
"I'm sorry," Rasa said. "I still have a lot to learn."
"No, no," Beatriu said. "I meant you shouldn't have been alone in here doing this. There was an anomaly..."
Rasa yawned.
"They shut the case before anybody had a chance to look at it. I did my best," she said.
"It's a good job." Beatriu patted her shoulder. "Look, I just meant the case shouldn't have been shut."
"Yes, I know," she said. "I'm sorry. Thank you, Lieutenant-Commander. Thanks for helping me instead of arresting me or something."
"Now, it's not enough to exonerate Feliu, but we can get the case reopened," Beatriu said. "I have to say, I'm kind of relieved. Feliu never did seem like the type."
"Yeah, I didn't know him, but Ehren..."
She was interrupted by the sound of the door sliding open and Ehren himself stomping into the room.
"I hate these fucking doors!" He declared as he strode forward with his head down. "They're all over the place, and I fucking want to slam something so bad right now. Isn't there a pantry with a hinge somewhe..."
He trailed off as he finally glanced up and caught sight of Beatriu standing there next to Rasa. They wore dual expressions of shock on their faces at his cursing.
"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I didn't know you were here, Lieutenant-Commander."
He glared at Rasa who shrugged at him sheepishly.
"I had to tell her, Ehrenfried," she said. "But I..."
He waved his hand at her in a gesture of dismissal and began to plead his case to Beatriu.
"Look, it's not her fault," he said. "I convinced her to do it, and it was a stupid idea. Just forget about it, okay? Forget about Feliu. He can rot in prison forever for all I care, and Robin can go with him!"
"Uh..." Rasa glanced sideways at Beatriu. "He's really not going to like what we have to tell him is he?"
"What?" He grumbled. "What now?"
"We found the time signatures," Beatriu said. "There were other people there. We can get the case reopened."
"Fuck the case," Ehren said. "Just forget about it. It doesn't mean he isn't lying because someone else was there! Men lie, okay?"
"Look," Beatriu said. "This isn't something that we can just sit on, Ehrenfried. You have heard by now that the Utopian military is mobilizing against Dysprosia. If there is any chance at all that this assassination wasn't perpetrated by the Dysprosians..."
"Who cares?" he muttered.
"I care." Rasa took a step forward and touched him on the arm in hopes of getting him to calm down, but Ehren only shrugged her off.
"Fuck Utopia, Fuck Dysprosia, Fuck..."
He was interrupted by the sound of Rasa smacking him as hard as she could with her open hand. He was in shock as he righted himself and stared at her with his hand against his reddened cheek.
"What..."
"Look, Earthian, I don't know what it's like out there on that lonely rock you call home in that empty ass galaxy of yours, but out here there are people and I don't think you understand how devastating a galactic war is."
"We've had wars," he murmured.
"Yeah, well multipy that horror by about a billion, Ehrenfried. If Utopia declares war then people are going to die. Innocent people are going to die. My people, Lieutenant-Commander David's people; so many people, and I don't want that to happen if it's at all possible to stop it. I'm not going to sit on my hands because you got in a fight with your boyfriend, and neither is Beatriu, I should think!"
"How..."
"Oh, please." Rasa rolled her eyes at him. "Everybody in the squadron knows you've been sleeping together. The only point of contention is when exactly you started doing it. There's a pool."
"He's not my boyfriend," Ehren muttered. "Never was, never will be. Ever. I'm sorry. You're absolutely right. I'm being selfish."
"Okay!" Beatriu clapped her hands together and stepped into the middle of the room in an authoritative stance.
"Now that's settled, let's get started. Rasa, you make multiple copies of what we just found so that we can send it to all the proper authorities. I'll liaise with the Utopian government and get the paperwork started to reopen the investigation, and Ehrenfried..."
"Yes ma'am," he said with his head bowed, feeling guilty for his outburst.
"Ehrenfried," she said as she placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "You have my permission to take the remainder of the day to rest and calm the hell down, okay?"
"Yes, Ma'am," he said.
*****
Feliu sat in an interrogation room at the Utopian detention center where he had been imprisoned. He was happy to have gotten out of his cell for once since it seemed that he had been left there in solitary confinement to atrophy while the powers that be dawdled over his ultimate fate. Even though he wasn't sure exactly what was going on, he was glad to have some respite from the unrelenting boredom. For a man who had spent most of his life traveling throughout time and space, being locked in a cell with nobody to talk to was only slightly more bearable then getting the death penalty.
He had spent his day in that room telling his story to representatives of every law enforcement agency that he knew of in that sector of space and some he had never even heard of, until he was met at the very end of the day by a time detective.
"So, are you going to be the one who tells me what exactly is going on here, or are you going to dodge my questions too? " he asked as soon as the detective took his seat across the interrogation table.
"What do you mean?" the detctive replied as he pushed his spectacles up on his nose. "We are conducting an investigation."
"That has been closed for weeks now," Feliu replied. "I have to admit that I don't really get why you're believing me now."
"There has been some new evidence brought to light that corroborates your story,” he said. "We're interested in what you have to say."
"I see," Feliu replied. "So does that mean you think I'm not guilty now, because I said that too if I recall?"
"Don't get me wrong," the detective said. "This doesn't mean that you're exonerated. Absolutely not. Understand that, and even if it comes to light that you were not behind this, that does not absolve you of your past crimes. You are a wanted man still, so I would just make yourself comfortable, Viernes."
"Okay," Feliu said. "How many people know about this proof that you have?"
"It is on a need to know basis as of right now," the detective replied.
"Right, good, good," Feliu said. "Well, I think it might be a good idea to search Izar Llaqué's home, his office, his person...at least before word gets around that you're actually in the business of believing what I have to say now."
"And please tell me why in the galaxies we would want to do that to a trusted council member?" The detective said. "You'd better have a very compelling reason."
"Compelling like he's been dealing arms in conjunction with my father for years?" Feliu said.
"Proof?"
"Search him and I'm sure you'll find it," Feliu said. "Or lean on him just a little bit. He doesn't stand up to the pressure. The man will fold like a deck of cards if he thinks you've got his number."
"Feliu, I'm sure you are aware that is a very serious accusation," the detective said. "If nothing turns up you are in for a..."
"Oh, please!" Feliu snorted laughter. "Honestly? What have I got to lose? I can't possibly get the population of this planet to hate me more than they already do even if I go to all their houses personally and spit on their mothers or fathers! I'm already stuck in jail for infinity. I can't be any more in jail than I already am, and I'm not scared of the death penalty either. Because I'm not wrong."
"I see," the detective said. "Even if you're right. There are still your other crimes..."
Feliu laughed at him then and leaned back in his chair.
"Oh, the things I know about my father's operation," he said. "I'm am just a small inconsequential little nothing in the scheme of intergalactic and intertemporal crime. My father on the other hand..."
The detective narrowed his eyes at Feliu and regarded him suspiciously.
"What do you want?" He said.
Feliu leaned forward and rapped on the table. "I want a deal."
"Why now, Feliu?" the detective replied. "Why turn on your family now after all these years?"
"You mean the family that framed me for murder? I don't see why I would protect them when they sold me up the river for a war," Feliu said.
"You could have told us this weeks ago," the detective said.
"Hah!" Feliu jumped up and began pacing. "You mean weeks ago when nobody gave a crap what words came out of my mouth? Not even the man I most trusted in the world believed me, so why would I waste my breath? Now you seem to be interested in the truth instead of scapegoating, so I'm going to give it to you! The truth comes at a price though. Why don't you get someone of authority in here so we can make a binding deal?"
"That all depends on what you have to say," the detective said. "And what Izar has to say about all this."
"Trust me." Feliu flopped back into his chair and grinned at the detective. "You are going to love what Izar has to say. He's like a medium sized fish in a big pond. He'll make his deals behind closed doors and think he's safe, but just you watch. Put him out in the open, he'll go belly up, and they'll all fall like dominoes."
He made a flicking motion to demonstrate and watched as the detective clucked to himself and pushed away from the table.
"We'll see, Viernes," he said.
Feliu's grin did not waver. He licked his lips and laughed.
"Do you taste that, Detective?" he said.
The detective grunted and shook his head with a frown.
Feliu laughed again.
"I taste freedom, sir," he said. "And it is delicious."
Previous || Next
Next day:
Rasa felt groggy that morning since she had been staring at a holograph full of numbers for most of the evening with only short coffee breaks in between to keep her going. Beatriu had taught her how to set up and run the multi-filter program. That had taken most of the night, but by the time morning came the Naturian string had resolved itself neatly into a clear and readable time signature.
"I don't believe it," Beatriu said to Rasa as they stood staring at the screen, surveying their work.
"I have to admit that I wasn't sure the anomaly was a time signature. I just assumed it was a Naturian ship that accidentally dropped out of hyperspace or something explainable, but this..." She shook her head. "Somebody should have caught this before now."
"I'm sorry," Rasa said. "I still have a lot to learn."
"No, no," Beatriu said. "I meant you shouldn't have been alone in here doing this. There was an anomaly..."
Rasa yawned.
"They shut the case before anybody had a chance to look at it. I did my best," she said.
"It's a good job." Beatriu patted her shoulder. "Look, I just meant the case shouldn't have been shut."
"Yes, I know," she said. "I'm sorry. Thank you, Lieutenant-Commander. Thanks for helping me instead of arresting me or something."
"Now, it's not enough to exonerate Feliu, but we can get the case reopened," Beatriu said. "I have to say, I'm kind of relieved. Feliu never did seem like the type."
"Yeah, I didn't know him, but Ehren..."
She was interrupted by the sound of the door sliding open and Ehren himself stomping into the room.
"I hate these fucking doors!" He declared as he strode forward with his head down. "They're all over the place, and I fucking want to slam something so bad right now. Isn't there a pantry with a hinge somewhe..."
He trailed off as he finally glanced up and caught sight of Beatriu standing there next to Rasa. They wore dual expressions of shock on their faces at his cursing.
"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I didn't know you were here, Lieutenant-Commander."
He glared at Rasa who shrugged at him sheepishly.
"I had to tell her, Ehrenfried," she said. "But I..."
He waved his hand at her in a gesture of dismissal and began to plead his case to Beatriu.
"Look, it's not her fault," he said. "I convinced her to do it, and it was a stupid idea. Just forget about it, okay? Forget about Feliu. He can rot in prison forever for all I care, and Robin can go with him!"
"Uh..." Rasa glanced sideways at Beatriu. "He's really not going to like what we have to tell him is he?"
"What?" He grumbled. "What now?"
"We found the time signatures," Beatriu said. "There were other people there. We can get the case reopened."
"Fuck the case," Ehren said. "Just forget about it. It doesn't mean he isn't lying because someone else was there! Men lie, okay?"
"Look," Beatriu said. "This isn't something that we can just sit on, Ehrenfried. You have heard by now that the Utopian military is mobilizing against Dysprosia. If there is any chance at all that this assassination wasn't perpetrated by the Dysprosians..."
"Who cares?" he muttered.
"I care." Rasa took a step forward and touched him on the arm in hopes of getting him to calm down, but Ehren only shrugged her off.
"Fuck Utopia, Fuck Dysprosia, Fuck..."
He was interrupted by the sound of Rasa smacking him as hard as she could with her open hand. He was in shock as he righted himself and stared at her with his hand against his reddened cheek.
"What..."
"Look, Earthian, I don't know what it's like out there on that lonely rock you call home in that empty ass galaxy of yours, but out here there are people and I don't think you understand how devastating a galactic war is."
"We've had wars," he murmured.
"Yeah, well multipy that horror by about a billion, Ehrenfried. If Utopia declares war then people are going to die. Innocent people are going to die. My people, Lieutenant-Commander David's people; so many people, and I don't want that to happen if it's at all possible to stop it. I'm not going to sit on my hands because you got in a fight with your boyfriend, and neither is Beatriu, I should think!"
"How..."
"Oh, please." Rasa rolled her eyes at him. "Everybody in the squadron knows you've been sleeping together. The only point of contention is when exactly you started doing it. There's a pool."
"He's not my boyfriend," Ehren muttered. "Never was, never will be. Ever. I'm sorry. You're absolutely right. I'm being selfish."
"Okay!" Beatriu clapped her hands together and stepped into the middle of the room in an authoritative stance.
"Now that's settled, let's get started. Rasa, you make multiple copies of what we just found so that we can send it to all the proper authorities. I'll liaise with the Utopian government and get the paperwork started to reopen the investigation, and Ehrenfried..."
"Yes ma'am," he said with his head bowed, feeling guilty for his outburst.
"Ehrenfried," she said as she placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "You have my permission to take the remainder of the day to rest and calm the hell down, okay?"
"Yes, Ma'am," he said.
*****
Feliu sat in an interrogation room at the Utopian detention center where he had been imprisoned. He was happy to have gotten out of his cell for once since it seemed that he had been left there in solitary confinement to atrophy while the powers that be dawdled over his ultimate fate. Even though he wasn't sure exactly what was going on, he was glad to have some respite from the unrelenting boredom. For a man who had spent most of his life traveling throughout time and space, being locked in a cell with nobody to talk to was only slightly more bearable then getting the death penalty.
He had spent his day in that room telling his story to representatives of every law enforcement agency that he knew of in that sector of space and some he had never even heard of, until he was met at the very end of the day by a time detective.
"So, are you going to be the one who tells me what exactly is going on here, or are you going to dodge my questions too? " he asked as soon as the detective took his seat across the interrogation table.
"What do you mean?" the detctive replied as he pushed his spectacles up on his nose. "We are conducting an investigation."
"That has been closed for weeks now," Feliu replied. "I have to admit that I don't really get why you're believing me now."
"There has been some new evidence brought to light that corroborates your story,” he said. "We're interested in what you have to say."
"I see," Feliu replied. "So does that mean you think I'm not guilty now, because I said that too if I recall?"
"Don't get me wrong," the detective said. "This doesn't mean that you're exonerated. Absolutely not. Understand that, and even if it comes to light that you were not behind this, that does not absolve you of your past crimes. You are a wanted man still, so I would just make yourself comfortable, Viernes."
"Okay," Feliu said. "How many people know about this proof that you have?"
"It is on a need to know basis as of right now," the detective replied.
"Right, good, good," Feliu said. "Well, I think it might be a good idea to search Izar Llaqué's home, his office, his person...at least before word gets around that you're actually in the business of believing what I have to say now."
"And please tell me why in the galaxies we would want to do that to a trusted council member?" The detective said. "You'd better have a very compelling reason."
"Compelling like he's been dealing arms in conjunction with my father for years?" Feliu said.
"Proof?"
"Search him and I'm sure you'll find it," Feliu said. "Or lean on him just a little bit. He doesn't stand up to the pressure. The man will fold like a deck of cards if he thinks you've got his number."
"Feliu, I'm sure you are aware that is a very serious accusation," the detective said. "If nothing turns up you are in for a..."
"Oh, please!" Feliu snorted laughter. "Honestly? What have I got to lose? I can't possibly get the population of this planet to hate me more than they already do even if I go to all their houses personally and spit on their mothers or fathers! I'm already stuck in jail for infinity. I can't be any more in jail than I already am, and I'm not scared of the death penalty either. Because I'm not wrong."
"I see," the detective said. "Even if you're right. There are still your other crimes..."
Feliu laughed at him then and leaned back in his chair.
"Oh, the things I know about my father's operation," he said. "I'm am just a small inconsequential little nothing in the scheme of intergalactic and intertemporal crime. My father on the other hand..."
The detective narrowed his eyes at Feliu and regarded him suspiciously.
"What do you want?" He said.
Feliu leaned forward and rapped on the table. "I want a deal."
"Why now, Feliu?" the detective replied. "Why turn on your family now after all these years?"
"You mean the family that framed me for murder? I don't see why I would protect them when they sold me up the river for a war," Feliu said.
"You could have told us this weeks ago," the detective said.
"Hah!" Feliu jumped up and began pacing. "You mean weeks ago when nobody gave a crap what words came out of my mouth? Not even the man I most trusted in the world believed me, so why would I waste my breath? Now you seem to be interested in the truth instead of scapegoating, so I'm going to give it to you! The truth comes at a price though. Why don't you get someone of authority in here so we can make a binding deal?"
"That all depends on what you have to say," the detective said. "And what Izar has to say about all this."
"Trust me." Feliu flopped back into his chair and grinned at the detective. "You are going to love what Izar has to say. He's like a medium sized fish in a big pond. He'll make his deals behind closed doors and think he's safe, but just you watch. Put him out in the open, he'll go belly up, and they'll all fall like dominoes."
He made a flicking motion to demonstrate and watched as the detective clucked to himself and pushed away from the table.
"We'll see, Viernes," he said.
Feliu's grin did not waver. He licked his lips and laughed.
"Do you taste that, Detective?" he said.
The detective grunted and shook his head with a frown.
Feliu laughed again.
"I taste freedom, sir," he said. "And it is delicious."
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