Mina Cortez: From Bouquets to Bullets (22 page)

“Exceptions, Ma'am?”

“We kept everyone who responded on site, and
started a live sweep for the missing chips, since we had the
testing center right there at the University. In addition to the
two rogue FBI agents from before, one additional agent and two
police officers were found to possess the counter-chips. We
thankfully managed to have enough attention on it that they weren't
able to get away, nor interfere overmuch with the investigation,
though we caught the agent in particular trying to be sure she was
the one taking possession of Harper's records. Both the local FBI
offices and all local police precincts are undergoing an extensive
sweep in our search for the remaining chips, or someone who can
shed some light on the mole’s location.”

Mina took all of this in, but found she had
nothing to add this time. “So you're going to put out the emergency
request, and have me sign off on it?”

“Right after we talk to Miss Lasko,” the
Director agreed. “She's preparing the paperwork, at my request, and
assures me she'll deal with the political fallout. We need to
replace our own population, and make sure we have every possible
resource to address the threat.”

“Understood, and I totally agree. I mean, not
that it necessarily matters that much, but this is way beyond me,”
Mina admitted.

“Don't be too hard on yourself, Miss Cortez,”
the Director answered. “That's my job,” she added, with a
completely straight expression. “Besides, this has gone well beyond
what any of us could have expected.”

“So, before we go speak to Miss Lasko, what
happens with Scott and Miko now?” Mina asked.

The Director looked over the other two, so
far standing quietly just a bit behind Mina. “Mr. Szach isn't a
problem. His security clearance is more than sufficient. He'll have
a few questions to answer regarding some University records, but I
don't think that will ultimately be a problem. For now, we're
retaining his services as a consultant.”

“Well ... that's something. What about
Miko?”

“Miss Kimura is a different matter entirely.
Thankfully, while it always gets plenty of unpleasant questions,
the situation isn't without precedent. There is also the matter
that her father works with University and historical records, which
includes some sensitive information at times. That's not saying
there won't be a lot of scrutiny for a while, but I think it can be
dealt with. In any case, she's still part of the process for now,
as Miss Lasko wanted to debrief her as well.”

“Kinky.” Mina heard Miko mumbling under her
breath.

* * * *

Miss Lasko was settled behind her desk when
the four entered. Though she offered them a seat, the Director
declined, apparently feeling it more official to deliver reports
standing, as she'd had Mina doing when Director Richter was the one
on the other side of the desk. Despite the hints of pain and
remaining numbness in her leg, Mina followed suit. As soon as she
entered the room, Mina paused, trying to figure out what was
different about Miss Lasko, and quickly ascribed the unease to the
total change of atmosphere. Where before, the office had been
welcoming and the woman friendly, now, Miss Lasko was all business.
“What do we know?”

“We've accounted for all but two of the chips
and locked down the University's computers. Raymond Harper seemed
to have been heading things up at the University, but someone was
feeding him his marching orders,” the Director explained.

“I received reports of corrupt FBI agents?”
Miss Lasko asked.

“Unfortunately, correct,” The Director
confirmed. “Three FBI agents, two police officers, and one
inquisitor.”

Mina fidgeted at the last bit, shifting a
little uneasily on her leg. She glanced back to Miko and Scott,
both of whom seemed to be trying to be quiet and out of the way,
difficult as that was.

“An AIA Agent? That's a serious problem,”
Miss Lasko continued. “You're positive? That should be virtually
impossible.”

“Virtually,” The Director said. “We have
Agent Victor Hall linked to Raymond Harper, and his reports stated
that the University computer and programming center had been
checked end to end, and was clear. That was obviously not the
case.”

“You have no idea what an agent would stand
to gain from such associations?”

“None. His accounts were under observation,
like all agents. His psychological profile was solid. His profile
and record to that point showed an absolute dedication to the
ideals the AIA was founded under. He'd even had family in the
service,” the Director explained.

A lot like herself. Mina couldn't help
thinking, and the thought made her that much more uncomfortable.
She didn't care for every detail of her current job, perhaps, but
she couldn't imagine betraying national—international—security. The
line of thought continued to add to her unease. The conversation
continued as she tried to place what was bothering her.

Her attention was briefly dragged back by the
commentary. “Agent Cortez has agreed to sign off on the emergency
order,” the Director was explaining. “I hesitate to do it, given
the amount of attention and expense, but until those chips are
located, we have a massive threat to every asset in the agency.
“

“If you're certain it's necessary, I'll do my
part,” Miss Lasko agreed. “You don't serve as a Deputy Mayor for
this long without knowing how to muster the bureaucracy so people
can do their job. What kind of numbers are we talking?”

“It's a matter of international security at
this point,” The Director answered. “As many as it takes to follow
every lead, crack down on every black market outlet we have traces
on, interrogation specialists to talk to the captured FBI agents
and police officers. We simply cannot afford to give them any time
to figure out duplication of the chips, or we're going to start
losing more agents.”

Mina focused on that a moment, something in
the words sticking out. The word security, in particular hit her
oddly, then was accompanied by the smell of expensive cologne and
gun oil.

Mina started to twitch, then forced herself
to be still, glancing at Miko instead, as she'd done moments
before. In this glance, she took note of Miss Lasko's two
bodyguards, the broad-shouldered giant, and the smaller Japanese
man she'd seen on her first visit to this office.

For a moment, it made perfect sense they'd be
there. It was a dangerous situation, after all. Someone with Miss
Lasko's history and ties to the AIA would be very vulnerable. Then
it began to hit her. She knew the men were armed. They still
smelled the same. Previously, even Miko had noted that the big man
stood out as someone who could handle himself. Despite which, she'd
overlooked their presence.

Mina lightly nudged Miko, not saying a word,
nor gesturing, just making sure her friend was alert.

Miss Lasko glanced at Mina curiously. Mina
had been distracted enough to lose track of if she was still being
discussed, or if she'd missed something. “I'm sorry,” she
started.

“Quite all right. Injured in the line of
duty, I understand. I will be looking forward to reading the
reports in more detail. It seems maybe we made a good decision
bringing you in after all,” Miss Lasko said, smiling warmly at
Mina. “I'm sorry your introduction to the job has been so
rough.”

“I understand I have you to thank for getting
me in on this case,” Mina answered.

“I'm not certain whether to say you're
welcome or I'm sorry, but I am glad we got your friend and the rest
of the programmers back safe and sound.”

“Oh, no question. So am I,” Mina said. “You
know, it’s just one of those things. I've been shot, had people
chasing me, wasn't sure who to trust. It's just been kind of a
rough few days. I don't mean to sound ungrateful,” Mina meandered,
looking to the Director as she continued. “I do appreciate what you
guys have done for me. On the other hand, I could have been in
Russia dancing the Nutcracker right now.”

The room burst into motion.

Chapter
Twenty-One

Mina's shifts and twitchiness, it seems, had
already registered to the security detail. Both went for their
guns, but the Director picked up on the hint faster, and activated
the EMP pulse in her cyber-arm. There was an electrical crackle and
a pop. The next instant, Mina nearly lost her balance as the whole
world seemed to shift into confusing rapid motion. She had trouble
tracking movement; she was nauseous, and a crushing headache spread
from the base of her neck up the back of her head. She was glad the
Director had caught the "Nutcracker" hint, and even more glad that
everyone else in the room, aside from Miko, was having just as much
trouble as Mina.

The bigger man stumbled forward, drawing a
gun despite the pulse, probably having some actual combat training
entirely outside of his chip. Still, his motions were
uncoordinated. Miko caught his gun hand, disarming him even as she
translated the momentum from his stumbling rush into an aikido
throw, slamming his head into Miss Lasko's desk, cracking the thick
wooden surface.

The smaller man on the security detail was
too far away for Miko to reach easily. He had his gun out, pointing
it in Mina's direction, since she was the one who'd originally
drawn their notice. The Director managed to crash into him despite
her dead weight cybernetics, throwing his aim off enough that the
bullet whistled past Mina's face. With both working without chips,
and the Director hindered by the weight of her limb, the man was
able to crack his pistol across her face, dropping her to the
floor. Mina was able to cross the space in that time, grabbing for
his gun arm. She caught it, managing to force another shot wide.
Scott joined her in grappling with the man, finally catching up
enough with what was going on to react. Even with both of them
together, he managed to struggle free, knocking Scott down and
shoving Mina back towards the front door.

The struggles had bought Miko enough time to
get close. He swung at her, Miko ducked under the punch, then came
up with a punch to his throat. He gagged and staggered. When his
hand came up to try and defend himself from another strike, she
grabbed his hand, putting him in a wristlock before sweeping his
feet. “I've got this one, don't let her escape!” Miko called, still
continuing to track the movement of the world better than anyone
else in the room.

Mina glanced up, seeing Miss Lasko coming at
her, trying to get to the door. Mina almost failed to react in
time, still feeling like she was moving through molasses compared
to the perceptions she'd grown used to. She managed to grab Miss
Lasko's hair, dragging her back through the doorway and setting her
staggering back. Miss Lasko swung wild, telegraphing her punch
enough that even in her current state, Mina was able to duck her
head back. She cocked her fist back and swung as hard as she could.
Mina's fist connected, and Lasko dropped to the floor, not
moving.

Mina barely noticed, clutching at her hand.
“Ow! Damnit.”

“Wow, that might have been the worst punch
I've ever seen,” Miko said, looking up from where she was keeping
the bodyguard trapped in the wristlock. “Dude, quit struggling,
you're going to—” there was a pop. “—Break your wrist. Now hold
still.” The struggling stopped.

The Director was slowly pulling herself to
her feet. “Miss Cortez, I do hope you have an excellent explanation
for what just happened, or we will have a lot of explaining to
do.”

“No,” Mina answered, gesturing to the
bodyguard Miko had in the wristlock, then the man unconscious,
draped over Lasko's broken desk. “We have our final two chips,
which means Miss Lasko has a lot of explaining to do.”

* * * *

Miss Lasko came to not long after. By that
point, Director Richter had managed to get more FBI agents on the
scene. Their confusion made Mina very glad that the Director was
the first one speaking to them. Had Miss Lasko gotten to the same
agents first, everything might have gone very differently. The two
bodyguards were taken down to be tested to verify the presence of
the missing chips, though Mina had no doubt. As she saw Lasko
stirring, she had just one question. “Why?” The how, when, who and
the rest would come out in time. Mina just had to know what had
been worth all the lives.

Miss Lasko looked around, as if considering a
few moments. She glanced to her computer, which Scott was already
heading towards, with no one making any effort to stop him. With a
sigh, amidst efforts to drag herself back to her feet, Lasko
replied.

“I'm sure you think I'm a terrible, callous
person. Maybe you're right, but it was never for me. The AIA is
important
. You won't remember it, Miss Cortez, but the
Director will. All of its agents do good, necessary work. The world
is safer for their presence. Everything is changing, though. In
your grandfather's time, Seattle alone had—”

“Like a dozen Inquisitors, yeah, I know. I
wasn't there, but I can read. But I don't get what that has to
do—”

“With more than a dozen on call. The regions
shared resources. When I was first made liaison between the
Inquisition and the bureaucracy, I had hundreds of people I could
call for any emergency. Politicians, agencies, police
commissioners, anything. Whatever it took to get the work
done.”

Mina looked to the Director, who nodded, with
a frown. She gestured for Miss Lasko to continue.

“The world is no less dangerous than before.
The bad guys are still out there, from the black market to human
trafficking. The agency with the best record for dealing with them
has been being nickeled and dimed to death year after year. Do you
know much hemming and hawing there was over whether we should bring
in a new agent when we were down to three?”