Final Inquiries (13 page)

The one exception was a most unlikely one: a garden, by the looks of it growing both vegetables and decorative flowers, directly in front of the main building.

But everything else was built to be ready for trouble. It wasn't just the complete absence of people outside. Hannah's practiced eye spotted the closed steel shutters, the portable barriers in place, and half a dozen other signs that the place was under lockdown. Everything down there shouted out that they weren't just
ready
for trouble. Trouble had arrived.

She turned back to the Kendari compound, and, now that she was looking for it, spotted what had to be their embassy ship, likewise connected to adjacent buildings--in what looked like a more planned and rational manner than was true on the human side.

"I call your attention to the building that straddles--or more accurately breaks through--the wall between the two compounds," said Brox. "That is our area of interest. Our crime scene."

Hannah nodded. "Now I see. I was reading that as
two
buildings, one on each side, each backing up against the wall. It seemed odd."

"Seems a lot odder to me that you'd bash a hole through the wall between you and your biggest competitor," said Jamie. "I take it you can enter that building from either compound?"

"Yes," said Brox. "But the security system is configured so that Kendari can only open the Kendari-side door, and humans can only open the human-side door. Furthermore, an interlock system allows only one set of doors--human or Kendari--to be used at a time."

"So, assuming everything is working right, everyone can meet in the middle, but no one can charge through to the other species' compound," said Hannah.

"Precisely." Brox looked down at the ground a moment more. "I think that tells you as much about the layout as we can learn from up here. Unless one of you wants to see more, or ask a question, of course."

"Yeah," said Jamie. "I've got a question. Who are they, and what are they doing here?" He pointed up the road to the north, back in the direction of the central city. There was a group of marchers--more like a mob, really--headed straight for the human and Kendari compounds.

And the marchers were
humans.
Hundreds of humans. Shouting, waving signs, kicking up a cloud of red dust, tussling with each other. "Where the hell did
they
come from?" Hannah asked. "And how did they show up, right on cue, when we arrive?"

Brox muttered something under his breath in his own language. "You met one of their leaders already. Our noble friend Zamprohna. Our Vixan hosts invited observer groups from both human and Kendari organizations. They are housed in temporary accommodations, in empty former embassies nearby. And somehow, they knew we were coming." He gestured toward another cloud of dust on the far side of the two compounds. "As did some of my compatriots."

A somewhat larger group of Kendari was coming down the road paralleling the one being used by the humans, moving along in quiet, orderly ranks, without any show or shouting or bluster. Somehow, that was even more unnerving than the shouts of the human mob. Hannah didn't understand why the two groups didn't try to get at each other, until she spotted the barriers that had been set up in all the cross streets between the two roads--and the Vixa with what appeared to be riot-control weapons who had suddenly appeared behind those barriers.

"This is as choreographed as a ballet," Hannah said flatly. "It's a setup. A riot--or at least a near riot--staged for our benefit."

"What are they in favor of?" Jamie asked. "Or what are they against?"

"I don't know," said Brox. "I left here--oh, in your measure, something like fourteen hours ago. There was no sign, no inkling, of anything like this. My guess is that it is not much more sophisticated than each species demanding that its own side win, and the other side lose, in the broadest and most general sense. As to how and why they are allowed to do this, I have no more information than you do," said Brox, "but I agree. Our hosts have all off-worlders, especially us Younger Races, under very tight control. At the very least, this could not possibly happen without the host government's tacit permission. I would regard it as much more likely that the Vixa in some way actively cooperated in the arrangements, or even organized the affair."

Jamie looked from the human mob to the Kendari marchers--then at the Vixan security forces separating them. "Okay," he said, "we get the message,"

"We do?" said Hannah. "What
is
the message? Who is telling us what?"

"I didn't mean to say we
understood
the message," said Jamie. "Just that we had received it. So far, I don't understand anything because I don't know anything."

"And it is time for you to learn more," said Brox. "Time for you to learn everything that I know." He spoke in a louder voice. "Take us in for a landing now, SubPilot Greveltra. In the Kendari compound, near the entrance to the joint operations building, if you please. As per the authority delegated to me by our Diplomatic Xenologist Flexdal 2092, I hereby grant permission for you to enter Kendari-embassy airspace, and land in the compound."

The aircar immediately moved sideways until it was directly over an empty spot of land in the Kendari compound, then translated straight down. Hannah could see a set of spindly-looking landing legs sprouting from the bottom of the craft. They set down almost before the legs were locked in place.

Then came the odd, shimmery sense of vibration as the command sphere's acceleration compensators shut down. Almost at the same moment, the humanoid and Kendarian sims, the two half-forgotten rag dolls, suddenly came back to life, straightening up and looking around alertly. It was instantly obvious that the humanoid sim's movements had become smoother and much more human-like than they had been only a few hours ago. And it didn't just look like a generic humanoid doll anymore. He--and Hannah decided she might as well think of the simulant as a "he" instead of an "it"--he now bore a noticeable, if sketchy, resemblance to Jamie.

"We are animated and ready for duty at our primary duty station," the two of them said in unison.

"Gee, we're glad to hear that," muttered Jamie. "That's what we're most worried about right now." His eyes were on the hatch, and Hannah spotted his hand twitching just a trifle, reaching for where his sidearm would be if he were carrying one. She couldn't blame him. She was just as jumpy herself.

The hatch opened, a ramp extruded, and they walked down to the ground. "Don't worry about your bags," said Brox. "The cargo floaters will follow with your luggage and equipment in a moment."

Hannah could hear the shouting and chanting from the demonstrators outside the walls, and even see the clouds of dust that both sides had kicked up. A volley of rocks came over the wall from the side where the humans were. The simulants didn't react, but Brox and the humans did, ducking, flinching, and shielding their heads with their hands. However, all of the rocks fell far short of the platform and landed harmlessly within a few meters of the wall.

"Nice welcoming committee," said Hannah.

Brox stepped away from the ramp, with Hannah, Jamie, and the simulants right behind him. "Come," said Brox. "This way."

Jamie started to follow, but Hannah didn't move and held up her hand, signaling Jamie to wait. "No," said Hannah. "We have to do this right. If we're headed to a crime scene, we need our crime scene kits first. We have to get them out of the gear on the cargo floaters."

Brox blinked in surprise. "My apologies. You are quite right. I will not say I am
eager
to get to the crime scene, but I am so
anxious
to do so that I am not thinking clearly." He turned to the simulants. "Request Greveltra to send down all the cargo and equipment the humans brought on board immediately."

"It has been done," both simulants said in unison.

Almost instantly, the cargo floaters emerged from the hatch and eased themselves to the ground--to the accompaniment of another badly aimed volley of rocks.

"What about all our other gear and supplies?" Jamie asked as he pulled out one of the two bright orange duffel bags that held the field-forensics kits.

"Leave them here, for the time being, I suppose," said Hannah.

"Right," said Jamie. He looked to Brox, slung the strap of the forensics kit over his shoulder, and patted it. "This kit should have everything we need to perform a two-agent examination of a crime scene. The other one is a spare. We won't need it. I hope. But I'd just as soon get it and ourselves out of this dust--and away from our rock-throwing friends--before we unpack and set up. Can we do that inside without disturbing the crime scene?"

"Yes," Brox replied. "There is a sort of anteroom just inside here where you can make your preparations without the dangers of dust or rocks, while not disturbing the scene of the crime itself."

"And what about you?" Hannah asked. "Do have the forensics gear you'll need?"

Brox gestured toward the entrance of the joint operations center. "I placed my equipment in the anteroom I just mentioned immediately before I sealed the building," he said.

"So
you
sealed this building--or at least this side of it--before you took off with Greveltra to come get us?" Hannah asked.

"Correct. I also placed tamper indicators on the Kendari-side exterior entrances of the building. If anyone tried to open or pass through those doors, it would be impossible for them to do so without leaving obvious traces and telltales."

"Good," said Jamie. "Next question--what goes on in this building? What
sort
of joint operations?"

Brox looked surprised once again. "How foolish of me. I have been so very careful not to tell you anything at all, and yet I am assuming that you are aware of all the local common knowledge. Joint security operations, conducted by Inquirists of the Kendari Inquiries Service and agents of the human Bureau of Special Investigations. Pooling information, coordinating travel routes and times for journeys back and forth to the negotiation site, monitoring troublemaking groups on both sides, that sort of thing. The prime mission of the operation was to prevent--well, exactly the sort of unrest that is going on right now, just outside the compound walls. I have no idea if it is by chance or by design that this disturbance is taking place immediately after the operations center was shut down."

"You're implying some sort of conspiracy there," said Hannah.

"So I am--and I should not be doing that. I have no information on that point at all, and I should not speculate about anything--especially before you have viewed the crime scene. I do not wish to prejudice you in any way."

Except you just did,
thought Hannah. Was that accidental, an unintended hint at Brox's view of the case--or was he deliberately planting an idea, even as he denied having any such intent? "We'll do our best to remain uninfluenced," said Hannah, not even sure herself if she were being sarcastic.

"Excellent. Then let me get the door open." It was a sliding door, a big heavy slab of what looked like steel plating that rolled back and forth on a track. Someone with a powerful energy weapon, or a good-sized amount of heavy explosive, might be able to get through it, or blow it off its track, but it looked to be secure against anything less than a full-scale military assault. Brox examined some strips of elaborately patterned bright purple adhesive material that had been slapped over the door and the doorframe. "I call upon you both to witness and confirm that these tamper-indicator seals appear to be undisturbed."

Hannah got the distinct impression that Brox was speaking for the benefit of some sort of recording system. She couldn't see any sign of microphones or cameras, but that didn't mean they weren't there. She stepped forward and examined the seals, and tested one by pulling on it. It instantly turned from purple to orange, and the outline of her fingers, showing where she had touched it and pulled on it, appeared in screaming-bright green.

"We so witness and confirm," said Jamie.

Brox gave them the Kendari equivalent of a nod, and then pulled off the rest of the seals. Each of them turned a different garishly bright color as he removed it. Brox did not attempt to explain the lock system, and they did not inquire. Whatever he did caused a panel next to the door to throb blue for a minute, which seemed to satisfy Brox. He grabbed at a handle set into the door a bit lower than would be comfortable for a human and pulled it hard to the left.

The blast door rumbled back along its track, and Hannah was not the least surprised to see another door, identical to the first one, but hung so it rolled open from the opposite side. The space between the inner and outer doors formed an antechamber about two meters wide.

Brox gestured for them to step through, and they did so, the two simulants right behind them. He immediately pulled the outer door shut and locked it from the outside. Hannah tried not to think too hard about the fact that Brox knew how to get out, but they didn't. Either they trusted him, or they didn't--and they were in so deep that, if he decided to betray them, it wouldn't much matter what side of the door they were on.

Brox went immediately to a container that sat in the middle of the chamber, opened it, and began pulling out Kendari forensics equipment.

It was obvious that Brox was extremely anxious to get on with the job at hand. The endless delays, the long hours, the incredibly long round-trip that had been required of him--all of that must have been far more of a strain than he had admitted. Now, just a few meters and a few moments from the end of all that, he was allowing himself the luxury of letting the mask slip, just a little.

But even so, Hannah observed, he did not let himself rush. His preparations were deliberate, organized, carefully thought-out in advance. He opened the container, laid out his equipment, extracted his isolation suit, stepped into it, and sealed it up without a single wasted motion, and even got the suit's awkward hood over his head and ears, and the breathing filter slid down over his muzzle, with something approaching grace.