Inspection

Security is always going to be a cat and mouse game.

- Kevin Mitnick

A few hours later I was sitting in a local restaurant in Acora village, sorting through the stack of documents that Mrs. McTavish had given me. There were a few reports describing the movements of some packages between the station and earth, probably in an effort to build this shuttle that I had already known about.

The subsidiary company that 3p was using to work through their designs was Planetary and Asteroid Propulsion Engineering, also known as Planet APE. They were taking the lead on converting the sketches Leena and her partners had provided, along with the interpretations and corrections provided by Mr. Jones' team, and turning them into a working prototype.

I looked down at Darwin while I sipped the last of my coffee.

"Well, buddy. How would you feel about going on a bit of a field trip?"

Darwin had just finished a bowl of cream, a ridiculously expensive habit he had formed recently, and was lying comfortably under the table. The wait staff were a little wild eyed at his presence. No one dared object though. It wasn't worth the risk.

I checked the address once again and paid the bill using the corporate card that Mrs. McTavish had passed me. She assured me that it was standard procedure for consultants to expense their work directly to 3p. It saved on paperwork later. She didn't say so, but I suspected that Mr. Jones had neglected giving me my own card to hobble my investigation.

With my investments and holdings, however, I could probably afford to pay their salaries for several years, but I wasn't telling anyone that. Ok, so I am frugal. Deal with it.

We left the restaurant and I hailed a transport. Now that 3p was paying we were going to be travelling in style.

The Planet APE research and construction site was in Space Alley, an area reserved for the launching of rockets and other bothersome devices. It is also where this region's space elevator was, so it saw a lot of traffic.

We arrived after regular working hours so the administration staff was already gone for the night, though there would likely be some of the construction and design crews working in shifts around the clock. In the distance, I could hear the private shuttles taking off from the 'port.

Mrs. McTavish had provided me with a Director level pass. I thought it might be best if I didn't ask where it had come from, though I doubted that she had used any backhanded means of procuring it. There was a lot more to that woman than she let on, and I wasn't about to pry.

The building that the notes had guided me to was non-descript, which by now was a sure sign of Three Planets Mining and Refining's misguided efforts to go unnoticed. Which failed. Again.

It was a large flat box of a building, easily high enough to house the biggest shuttle, and I was sure the rear wall basically pulled away to allow whatever they were working on to be dragged out to the nearby spaceport.

I decided to get the lay of the land before committing myself to a course of action, Darwin slinking along beside me.

"I think we have our winner," I said turning to Darwin. Who was gone. Again. I whipped around peering through the scrub brush and wild grass that grew away from the manicured lawn at the front.

"Darwin," I whispered hoarsely. "Darwin! Where the hell are you?" Stupidly, I kept looking around the side of the building for him. Why was that stupid? Here I was, looking for what was possibly the best domestic hunter that nature and technology could create. Peering at grass wasn't going to do much. Darwin was going to appear when he was damned good and ready.

I sounded the entrance buzzer. The direct approach always works better. People expect you to sneak into places, so they set alarms and such. The front door is the easiest way to get in, especially if someone opens it for you. After a few minutes, a guard appeared at the door.

"The facility is closed. Go away."

Pleasant, I thought. I grabbed Mrs. McTavish's pass and waved it over the scanner. The light turned from a defensive red to a cheery green, and the doors slid open. The guard standing behind them was frozen somewhere between smugness and shock. It's not a good look.

He looked as his panel and read my name.

"S-sorry, Director Friedman!" he stuttered. "I didn't know you were coming!"

"That is why it is called a surprise inspection," I said. "And you are?"

"Security specialist Clarke, Arthur Charles, sir!"

"Well security specialist Clarke, Arthur Charles, do you think we could get on with it?"

"'It,' sir?"

"The inspection, Mr. Clarke. Remember?" I waved my hands a little. "Surprise?"

Clarke had the intelligence to look embarrassed and mumbled a 'follow me, please' as we entered the facility.

There was still no sign of Darwin. I only hoped he would be ready when the time came. That being said, he was never actually 'late' for anything, it was just that his timing and mine were sometimes at odds.

"Let's do a review of the personnel who are present. Who is here besides you?" Might as well find out what I was in for.

"Uh, no-one sir. Not since the shut-down a week ago."

"Good, let's head to the main floor, I want to see how things were wrapped up for the shut-down."

He led me down the corridor to a set of double doors that opened to a vast interior cavern. The roof was so high that clouds and mists were forming in the ceiling. Even though it had only been inactive for a week, the smell of lubricant mixed with settling dust was powerful.

Many of the lights were off, but I could see that the floor was littered with piles of equipment and parts, each one covered with cloths or with well coiled cords. This was an organized exodus, and it looked like the entire crew had been shipped out or sent home.

In the center of the main hangar was a massive shuttle, bigger by half than anything I had seen before. Its design was familiar, but it had some strange, incongruous bulges and hemispheres spoiling its clean lines. It was incomplete, with many of the panels yet to be installed.

I walked up to it and slid my hand along the surface. It was inscribed with a network of shallow diagonal lines that seemed to run the length of the fuselage. I had never seen anything like it before, and wondered at its purpose.

A movement in the darkness at the back loading bay doors caught my eye. It was brief, but I was sure I had found Darwin again. Near the rear entrance where he was scouting were several pallets wrapped in commercial plastic. They had all the hallmarks of unopened packages; unbroken seals, labels and bills of lading still attached.

I made a show of inspecting various machines and supplies, ostensibly ensuring that they were properly shut down and stored, working my way back to Darwin. He had found something, and I wanted to see what it was.

I finally reached the packages. Darwin was hiding somewhere amongst the boxes, trying to keep out of sight from Clarke. I looked over the packaging, ensuring that it was well sealed, which unfortunately it was. I tried to read the labelling, but it was just imprinted scan code that any good inspector would know on sight. I was not a good inspector.

It was time for another shot in the dark.

"Is this the delivery from Paradise Station?" I said casually as I continued to review the inscrutable paperwork.

Instead of an answer, a shot rang out, echoing around the inside of the vast hangar. I instinctively ducked behind some of the boxes, and saw Darwin come slinking out to position himself in my direct line of sight. A crate stood between Clarke and him, but I could see Clarke well. His gun was out and he was swiveling professionally, scanning the floor. Darwin was pinned.

"REPORT!" I shouted.

"It's a cat, sir," he said, forgetting himself. "I swear it's a cat, but if it is, it is the biggest damned cat I have ever seen. That mangy thing looks mean as all hell."

Darwin gave me a hurt look. Honestly, he seemed offended. The black cat is very proud of his appearance, and doesn't take aspersions lightly. I guess it would be up to me to defend his honor.

"A CAT Clarke?"

"I swear it sir!" He said without relaxing. "I saw it clear as day! Damn stinking cat! Filthy creatures, deserve nothing but to be put down. They run wild in my village. The bloody things are a menace."

I stood up slowly, my arms raised. "I am sure it is just your imagination, Clarke." That was the wrong thing to say.

He swerved on me, gun still raised. "You have NO idea sir! These things raid our farms and gang up on the weakest animals. They have taken to attacking the children in the village, and the more we shoot, the more there are."

"Would you mind terribly...?" I looked meaningfully at the gun he still had pointed at my chest.

"What?" Then he noticed his gun. "Oh." Then he registered that he was pointing at me. "OH!" He lowered it rapidly. "I am so sorry sir. It's those damned cats, I guess I can't help myself. I see one, I just have to shoot it!"

"I see." I walked over to him, holding out my hand. He hesitantly handed his weapon over to me. "I guess we can't be friends after all then. I can't abide a man who doesn't like cats." He looked confused. I raised his weapon and pointed it at his head.

"If you wouldn't mind dropping to your knees and lacing your hands behind your head, Mr. Clarke, I would be very grateful." The young guard was still trying to figure out what was going on. "Do it Clarke, now." He still hesitated, so I fired a shot past his left ear. The wind of its passing ruffled his short hair.

Clarke practically collapsed to the floor.

"Darwin, keep an eye on him, if you would be so kind."

Darwin leapt up on some crates and stalked towards Clarke. He was in full hunt mode. Just a friendly bit of advice. Don't insult a cat's appearance, they have no sense of humor with regards to their appearance.

Perched above Clarke, Darwin extended his claws and growled, exposing his fangs. Clarke's eyes were bulging. If the cat problem in his village was as bad as he said it was, I was pretty sure that Mr. Clarke was going to be having several sleepless nights just to avoid the nightmares of being overrun by a pride of Darwins. I was sure the nightmares would come regardless.

I relieved him of his com and mobile.

Clarke's shoulder slumped in resignation. He knew he was caught, and probably out of work. I grabbed some wiring and bound his hands behind him, then slung another small coil over my arm. I found a rag and stuffed it into his mouth binding it in with more wiring.

I had a hunch I wanted to follow up on, so I nudged Clarke back towards the hallway that had brought us here. "Let's go Mr. Clarke. I have a call to make." Darwin leapt down and circling behind Clarke, swiped his left calf with his claws. They weren't deep or particularly dangerous cuts, just painful. Clarke let out a muffled yelp, of course.

I looked sternly at Darwin for attacking a defenseless man, but the stare he returned dared me to say something. I decided to let the matter drop.

Darwin's contribution at least got the guard moving in the right direction, and in a few minutes, we were in the control room, the status light glowing a bright friendly green.

I put Clarke back into his control chair and bound him there. He was glaring at Darwin, who was returning his stare unblinkingly. Clarke finally looked away shuddering. He now knew how it felt to be seen as prey.

Since my mobile had been destroyed in the lake incident, I resorted to the console com to make my call. The signal beeped for a minute or so, and I was worried that I had called too late.

"This had better be good, Hangar one. Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Hello, Mrs. McTavish."

"Mr. Friedman! How are you dear! It is quite the surprise to see you calling from this number. I take it you found something useful?"

I looked over to Clarke who was listening to the whole thing. Oh, well, it couldn't be helped. By the time his relief came in, I would be long gone, if my guess was right.

"I hate to trouble you, Mrs. McTavish, but I think I may have found a lead. I will, however need one more bit of information to confirm it, and I believe you are uniquely positioned to supply it." I don't know why, but talking to Mrs. McTavish made me want to lay on the superlatives.

"Anything for you, dear. I have to treat the future boss well, don't I?" So do I, I thought, but didn't say it.

"Markham and Joy took to space as soon as they had got the job. I suspect that they were given an expense card, which would mean that 3p would be tracking their purchases. Would you be able to find out where their tickets took them?"

"Nothing would be easier, dear. Just a moment.... here it is. Two tickets to Paradise station."

"Thank you Mrs. McTavish. That is what I needed to know."

"Just a moment dear... Alright, then, you have two passes to Paradise, taking off from Hangar 16 right down the road. You have a direct twenty-four hour flight. They are waiting for you."

"Mrs. McTavish, you are a treasure. Thank you, and I hope to see you again."

"Oh don't be maudlin, dear. You'll be back. Give Darwin a scratch for me." The line cut off.

It all made sense, of course. Imanda's missing ticket, the shipments tied to the shuttle program, and Markham and Joy's destination. They may not have been directly related, but since everything is interconnected, who was I to ignore the signs? I decided to leave the gun, as it was probably tagged.

I delivered the scratches to Darwin's head, and picking up my bag, we headed out side by side to Hanger 16. Perhaps the answer the mystery of Leena was hidden in Space, after all.