Serial Killer: A Space Opera Adventure Legal Thriller (Judge, Jury, & Executioner Book 3) Read online

  “I’d say that was a good effort,” Jael offered. A few crusts remained from the twenty pizzas. It hadn’t been a formal challenge to finish them, but the group had acted as if it were. Competitive to the last, they forced it down and then reclined in the oversized lounge of Grainger’s frigate. A crew of four ran the ship, but they remained on the bridge or in engineering, leaving the Magistrates to themselves.

  “It must get lonely,” Rivka remarked softly. Grainger forced his eyes open since he’d started to drift off.

  “I don’t know what you mean.” His voice was sleepy, but he was focused intently on Rivka. She reached toward him, and he crossed his arms. “Don’t be zombieing me.”

  She bit her tongue, but the answer was clear in his expression. Theirs was a lonely profession. No one welcomed the Magistrates. Finish the case, mete out Justice, if warranted, and move on. Like in the movies about the Old West that had been brought from Earth. Tombstone was one of her favorite videos and although she knew it was fiction, she embraced it as a real representation. The Marshals had been a select few, just like the Magistrates.

  There was only the inner circle. Everyone else was on the outside, held at arm’s length.

  By giving her a bodyguard and a crew of friends, he had spared her. She expected it was intentional. The others had all been Rangers first, as far as she knew. They had been operating independently for most of their very long lives.

  But not her. “Thank you,” she mouthed to Grainger. He looked uncomfortable with the gratitude.

  Red excused himself to go to the bathroom, but his nefarious reason was revealed with a ship-shaking belch. When he returned, everyone was looking at him. “You heard that?” he asked, looking sheepishly away. “When do we land? Or a better question is, can I get some rack time before we leave the ship?”

  Rivka nodded her approval. Red had been paying attention while she tried to shape questions that would give her the answer she was looking for.

  “You have plenty of time, Red. We can’t Gate too close to the planet. We’ll be in the Opheramin system momentarily, but it’ll take a while to navigate their traffic control system. Sleep fast. We’ll let you know when we’re getting ready to go,” Grainger answered.

  Lindy left with Red to find their cabin.

  “You have number twelve,” Grainger called after them.

  “You may want to turn on some background music,” Rivka suggested.

  “Why?”

  “Their relationship is young, and they act like newlyweds.”

  “Ah. Yes. That. Beau, please play my rock opera playlist.” Guitars screamed, a lilting soprano wove her voice into the complex melody, and drums hammered at a high rate of speed. “Reduce the volume by ninety percent!”

  The music dissolved into the background.

  “I think I shall be forever scarred, emotionally and physically, from having heard that,” Jael declared.

  “Better than the alternative. Trust me,” Rivka suggested.

  “Back to the mission—”

  “Case,” Rivka corrected.

  “Back to the case,” Grainger continued without missing a beat. “Opheramin is not a new addition to the Federation, but we have little interaction. Our case is one of cloning.”

  “As distasteful as that is,” Rivka chimed in, “it’s not illegal, unfortunately.”

  “Humans.”

  “Oh. That would be a violation of Federation Law, Title 11, Section 10, Sentient Experimentation. I believe the punishment is five years’ incarceration, a steep fine, forfeit and destruction of all materials, and name struck from professional registers. The purveyors become broke nobodies five years behind current technology.”

  Buster tried to lean forward, but his stomach fought him. He patted it happily and leaned back instead. “Are we supposed to have shit like that memorized?”

  Grainger snickered and shook his head. He tapped his temple. “That’s why we have these devices, so our AIs and EIs can tell us. Are you up to date?”

  Rivka smiled. “Upgraded to the latest military comm package. My whole team is. We have yet to practice with them, though, since someone whisked us away at the beginning of our two weeks of downtime.” Rivka stabbed her finger at Grainger.

  “Training is training, even though this is a real case. I don’t have the answer, so we’ll look at it together. Go through the thought process of how this is or is not a criminal violation, and who gets punished? There are four clones from a single human. They are identical. There may be five clones and no human, but two of them have been murdered. What do we do, and to whom?”

  “DNA?” Chi suggested.

  “Already done. Identical.” Grainger crossed his arms again and looked at the Magistrates. They were lost in thought.

  “I could do my thing on them,” Rivka said softly.

  “I’m okay with shortcuts, but this is training. No one would learn anything if you did that. I’ll need you to wear gloves throughout.”

  “I can still sense emotions without touching, but they have to be strong, and they’re usually unclear.”

  “If you get something, don’t tell us. No cheating, so you’ll be more on the outside looking in, Rivka.”

  The thought of a clone’s mind was intriguing. Could she tell it was a clone? “I need to see if I can tell a clone from the real thing.”

  “After we’ve tried it the hard way.”

  “Entering Opheramin space. There is less traffic than usual, which means we’ll be landing in under two hours,” Beau reported.

  “Prepare yourselves,” Grainger said. “We hit the ground running.”

  Red and Lindy were first off the frigate. They carried railguns, wore their ballistic vests, and carried small backpacks with additional security equipment in the form of reloads and weapons.

  Grainger was next out, feeling weird about following someone else out of his own ship. The others fell in behind, with Rivka bringing up the rear, and they proceeded to where a small bus was waiting. The efficiency of the AIs in coordinating air traffic control, ground services, transportation, and meetings was unrivaled. None of the Magistrates could imagine doing it themselves.

  The outer hatch closed after Rivka passed through, and she paused to watch the ship seal itself. She took in the azure sky, and the sun’s morning warmth. Green trees lined the small spaceport, making it look more like a park than a monument to interstellar travel.

  Maybe that was the intent. Welcome the travelers home and show them what they were missing. Rivka agreed; it felt like home.

  She’d fallen behind, leaving Red and Lindy in the open, their eyes in constant motion as they searched for threats to their charge. Grainger waved to get her attention, and she hurried to join the others.

  Red and Lindy were last on the bus. She sat up front and Red took the back.

  Rivka sat behind Lindy. “Thanks for joining the team, Lindy,” Rivka told her. The young woman turned in her seat to face the Magistrate.

  “Thank you for having me. I was doubtful about the Pod-doc, especially after it added twenty-freaking-kilos! But as long as the weight stays distributed like it’s supposed to, I guess it’ll be okay. Red likes it.” She waved to the big man in the back, and his cheeks flushed. “I had to buy a whole new wardrobe, which blew all the money I had. I’m embarrassed to ask, but can I maybe get an advance?”

  Rivka looked pointedly at Grainger. “We changed her body so much she has to buy new clothes, and then we make her pay for them? That’s unconscionable.”

  Grainger’s expression never changed.

  “Wait a minute, did I forget to transfer your cut from Red’s fight on S’Korr?” Rivka didn’t wait for an answer, just pulled out her datapad and started tapping. “Dammit!”

  “You bet on your bodyguard?” Jael wondered loudly enough for everyone to hear.

  “No shit I bet on him. You want me to bet against him?”

  “That’s not what I meant. You served up your man in a fight to the death to m
ake some extra money?”

  “To the untrained eye it might appear that way, but it was really the Federation standing up for human decency. And Red won, pulling in an extra eighteen grand that we split evenly amongst the crew.” Rivka ducked her head. “It was evenly split until I forgot to send out everyone’s cut. To make myself feel better, I’m throwing my cut into the kitty. Six thousand credits each. And there you are.” Rivka pointed at Grainger. “And the Federation should pay for her new wardrobe, or at least give her a clothing allowance. We tend to get blaster scorching, cuts, and blood on our stuff.”

  Rivka displayed her Magistrate’s jacket to highlight the blaster scoring that she carried like a badge of honor. Grainger stuck his finger through a hole in the chest of his jacket. “An old-time slug. Hurt like hell; went right through my heart.”

  “You never mentioned that part when you were trying to recruit me...”

  Chi and Buster choked as they laughed, bent nearly double. Jael chuckled and shook her head.

  “’Recruited.’ What an interesting word choice! I think what you meant to say we saved you from Jhiordaan. Yes, that is what ‘recruited’ meant. Getting shot in the heart is less traumatic than the prison planet.” Grainger didn’t look happy.

  “High Chancellor Wyatt has seen me in my underwear,” Lindy interjected, instantly stopping the degenerating conversation. Jael fell into the aisle between the seats, joining Chi and Buster in not being able to speak. Red was wide-eyed in disbelief.

  Grainger tried to maintain his scowl, but failed. He had to look away as Lindy smiled beatifically.

  Rivka winked at her.

  “Got your back, Magistrate,” Lindy whispered.

  When the vehicle arrived, Red hurried to the front, resting a gentle hand on his girlfriend’s shoulder while he looked out the front window to assess their surroundings before disembarking. “The building’s entrance is right in front of us. No dawdling. Follow Lindy straight into the building. I’ll be to the right between you and the nearest location where shooters could hide.”

  Red was first off the bus and took his position, railgun at the ready. Lindy led the Magistrates toward the door. Rivka stayed close behind, but the others drifted. A statue with a plaque drew Jael’s attention. A small kiosk demanded Chi and Buster’s attention. When Grainger, the last off the bus, saw the statue, he joined Jael in reading the dedication to the planet’s first governor, Beilton Opher.

  Red signaled for them to go, but no one was watching. Lindy went through the doors while Rivka looked over her shoulder, discovering that the others weren’t following. She walked back into the open area.

  Red, can you hear me? Rivka asked using her implanted comm chip.

  Roger, he replied. She sensed that he was unhappy. I know I’m supposed to protect the Magistrate no matter where she goes or what she does. It’s not my position to tell you that you can’t do something. That being said, can you get these people inside?

  I’ll do what I can. Rivka smiled at her bodyguard’s exasperation.

  “Guys,” Rivka called when she got to the kiosk. “I’m pretty sure there’s nothing you need.”

  Chi looked up, his hand full of trinkets and candy. “Need? No. Want? Yes. Buying? Yes.” He dropped his treasures on the small counter, and an automated system dragged them one by one into a bag. He waved his chip at the unit and a green light signaled that the transaction was complete. A mechanical arm handed him the bag.

  Buster bought a physical magazine. “What are you getting that for, a museum display?”

  “The bathroom,” he replied with a smile.

  Rivka stared open-mouthed. For a moment, she was one with Red’s frustration. “In the building, please. You’re killing my bodyguards slowly, like the old water torture—one drip of intransigence at a time.”

  “Ooh! A statue.” Buster started walking that way, but Rivka grabbed his arm and steered him toward the door. Chi removed a piece of candy and took a tentative bite, then chewed happily.

  Grainger and Jael strolled through the open area, not in a hurry, but at least they were headed toward the building where they’d meet with the local law enforcement and judicial team.

  Rivka gave the guys a friendly shove. “Don’t make me kick your asses in front of the entire planet. Imagine the embarrassment. Come on, you’re going to give Red heart failure, and where would that leave me?”

  “Six thousand credits richer?” Chi suggested, still chewing. His smile had disappeared as he fought with the gooeyness in his mouth that threatened to remove all his teeth.

  “Serves you right.” Rivka punched him in the arm and nodded to Red. He hustled to meet her at the door, holding it open while his eyes continued to scan the area. He walked through, letting the door close on the lollygagging Magistrates. Lindy was over to the side talking with three uniformed locals.

  Grainger approached.

  “Magistrate,” an older female said, “we’ll escort you upstairs. I’m sorry, but no one can be armed around the holding cells so your personal security will have to remain behind.”

  Rivka joined them. “Are you familiar with Federation Law, Appendix D, Chapter Seven, Section 1 as it relates to armed guards for heads of state? That law applies to Magistrates as well. Wherever we go, we will be armed for our defense. As a Federation signatory, Opheramin will comply with this law. It supersedes planetary or local law.”

  “But if no one is armed, we’re all safer,” the guard countered.

  “If we’re the only ones armed, we’ll be safest,” Grainger suggested.

  “But if the detainees break out, they could take your weapons.”

  “If the detainees break out, then the very last day of their existence will be filled with much pain. Have you ever heard the saying that in the land of the blind, a one-eyed man is king?”

  “I have not.”

  “We’re not going to let this delay us. We’ll be heading upstairs now. The tenth floor, I believe?”

  “You can’t go armed,” the guard said, interposing his body between the Magistrates and the elevator.

  Grainger held up one finger while he removed his datapad from his jacket. “Beau, connect me to the governor’s office, please.”

  “I have the executive assistant on the line,” the EI replied after a few moments.

  “This is Magistrate Grainger. I’d like to speak with the governor, please.”

  “He’s not available,” came a cold reply. Grainger’s nostrils flared.

  Rivka stepped to the side and accessed her datapad. The security personnel started to fidget, and Red appeared at Lindy’s side.

  “By Federation Law, we are permitted armed access anywhere on Opheramin. We need the governor to let the people here know that. You understand what ‘failure to comply’ means?”

  “The governor is not available,” the voice reiterated. “Why is it so important to be armed?”

  Grainger thought his head was going to explode.

  “No one is armed on Opheramin. We are a peaceful society. We have very little violent crime.”

  “’Very little’ is still more than zero, and Magistrates tend to bring out the worst in people,” Grainger argued.

  The elevator door opened and an old female appeared. She shuffled out, waving and smiling as if she were greeting old friends.

  “Magistrates?” she asked, even though she knew the answer. Grainger nodded and closed the link to the governor’s office. He wasn’t going to get anywhere using that approach, but before he closed the pad, he told Beau to report the violation and levy the maximum fine against the government, pending a final review by the High Chancellor.

  “I’m Rivka Anoa, and this is Grainger,” Rivka said, reaching for the female’s hand. The thoughts and emotions the Magistrate picked up were of the case, the nice weather, and how attractive Grainger was. Rivka couldn’t help but smile. Grainger picked up on Rivka’s positive impression.

  “I’m Senior Jurist Pasifa. Titles! I’m sorry. Call me ‘
Pass,’ please.”

  Grainger shook the female’s hand. She held onto it for far longer than she’d held Rivka’s hand. Grainger didn’t seem to notice.

  “When I saw this case appear, I knew we had to come,” Grainger started. “It is unique in many ways. It could set a new precedent regarding how we, the Federation, deal with...” he stopped himself before he started discussing case details in an open area.

  “Come with me and let’s get started.” Pass turned toward the elevators, but the local guard stopped her.

  “They are armed, and I’m sorry, Senior Jurist, but they can’t enter the building with weapons.”

  “On my personal authority—” she started, but was stopped by a shake of the guard’s head.

  Grainger bit his lip. He wasn’t worried about their security, and had already started the process of fining the government. He wondered why he was being so difficult about getting Red and Lindy approved to go with them.

  “Will you guarantee our weapons will remain secure if we leave them with you?” Grainger asked. Red clenched his teeth, and Lindy narrowed her eyes.

  “Yes, of course.”

  Grainger tipped his chin to Red., and Rivka nodded without saying anything. Red drew a full breath before removing his pack and stuffing his railgun in. He added other weapons from around his body. Lindy put her weapons in as well until the pack was overflowing. Red shoved it at the local guard, who struggled with the weight of it.

  “Don’t lose our stuff,” Red growled.

  “Now, you’re the king,” Grainger said in a low voice before motioning for the senior jurist to lead on.

  Chapter Three

  Before the elevator reached the top floor, Rivka handed Red her neutron pulse weapon. “Take care of this for me, will you?”

  He grinned. “Of course.” He tucked the small flashlight-looking weapon into his pocket. In his other pocket, he had an oversized folding knife.

  Lindy had one, too. They had no intention of giving up all their weapons and were pleased to see that Rivka hadn’t submitted either.

  One team. One fight. The bad guys were out there somewhere, watching for the opportunity to strike. Red could never be off his game.