Onekka - The Tragedy of Jaqui Fennet (8 page)

"I ran over, but she was bleeding from everywhere. There was nothing I
could do. Her last words to me, choked through a throat full of blood, were
'get away from me'. I don't remember much after that. I know I called the
police and went back indoors to wait for them. The driver must have been trying
to talk to me; he was still there when the police arrived, but I don't remember
even acknowledging him. It all became a numb blur."
Back in the interrogation room, DePennier was still looking at her impassively.
He'd listened quietly, letting her words run on until they were an unstoppable
stream. "And what did you do?"
Jaq giggled, hating herself but unable to stop. "I told the police my mum
killed my dad, and then committed suicide." Fresh tears slid down her
face. "I didn't want to go to prison!"
DePennier let her stew in her own tears for a while. He offered her another
single tissue, which she accepted. Then he sat back and watched until she
recovered, which took a very long time. Jaq kept an eye on him in her
peripheral vision while she snuffled and tried to figure out why she'd confided
in him. Beyond that, why had he felt the need to bring her parents up in the
first place? Trapped in a maelstrom of desolation, Jaq simply couldn't think
straight enough to order her thoughts or figure out her best move.
Eventually, he leaned forward, his fingers steepled under his chin.
"You're a killer, Ms Fennet, with an instinct for lying to protect
yourself. You have the gene within you. It's a behaviour pattern that repeats
when you are under extreme stress. Whereas most people become victims,
something inside you takes charge. You don't consciously intend it, but in
situations where deadly violence is the expedient choice, your instincts take
over."
He breathed out expansively. "You knew your father had to die, it was the
only way to protect your mother. You couldn't have known how she would react.
You saw the need and acted on it." Jaq's heart sank as he continued, and
she realised where this was going. Not because she'd been tricked, but because
she knew he was right. "Just like, when Garret confronted you in his
office, you had no choice but to kill him. It wasn't premeditated, but it was
the best solution to the situation, the only clean way out of there with what
you needed."
"No..."
"Yes." His voice had that hard edge once again.
Please don't shout
at me anymore.
"I know it was you, Ms Fennet, and I know why. I would
have done the same. But it's over now. The game is up - I caught you. It's
alright, I understand, but now it's time to come clean." He studied her
intently for a few moments, and then raised his wrist to his mouth. "The
subject is ready to confess. Please bring in the witnesses."
Three sets of feet came into view, but Jaq couldn't bring herself to look up at
the accompanying faces. Each shallow breath she drew in hurt her throat and
felt like acid in her lungs. She could feel snot mingling with tears in the
well of her lips, but she no longer cared.
"These witnesses have been drawn from a random pool," said DePennier.
"They are here to ratify the following conversation. Ms Jaqui
Fennet?"
"Yes?" she mumbled.
"Did you kill Dane Garret, your manager in the Administration
department?"
Did I? Yes. Do I admit it? I don't know! I did it, and he knows. I'm caught
anyway. I'm going nowhere from here...
She drew another painful breath that
ached. "Y-"
A commotion outside the door caused her to halt. Raised voices floated through
the portal, dominated by a single voice; not louder than the others, but
penetrating.
DePennier's head snapped up. "What's going on?"
The door burst open and Jaq saw several new pairs of feet stride in. The shoes
were shiny, immaculate, and uniform. The three witnesses were ushered from the
room. Then a set of boots clanked in, metal-bottomed if she was any judge. They
stopped in front of the clean shoes.
"I'm putting a stop to this interview," said that voice that had
penetrated the door. There was something sharp about it, but still deep enough
to be clearly male. "Under article four of the international justice code,
I hereby claim custody of this prisoner. I think you'll find, if you are
particularly interested, that my, err, jurisdiction extends to this
station."
"Who the hell are you?" growled DePennier at the newcomer.
"My name is Detective Inspector Henrickson. This is, erm, this is my case,
and you will kindly remove yourself from this room."
The special
detective - the one they said was flying up from Earth!
To Jaq's
astonishment, DePennier stalked from the interrogation room without further
complaint. She looked up at her saviour; a handsome man, perhaps mid-forties,
with a mousey brown crew-cut and steely grey eyes.
He studied her for a moment before speaking. "I'm sorry I didn't get
here... get here sooner, Ms Fennet. This facility can be ... baffling, to a
first timer."
"Did you come to rescue me?" Jaq's voice sounded tiny in her ears. If
she'd had a soft toy to hand, she would have clutched it to her breast.
He seemed slightly taken aback. "I wish I could say yes to that, Ms
Fennet, but I'm not here to rescue you." He pulled a badge from the inside
pocket of his floor-length beige trench coat, holding it before her face.
"I'm, erm, here to arrest you."

Henrickson
let her go to her bunk on the basis there was nowhere to run. He explained that
her access had been stripped to the barest of levels. She could go home, and
visit the arboretum, but would be unable to enter any of the lab areas,
administration, or - most significantly - the shuttle bays. Her comm units
would be monitored, as would her comp, and she would be expected to come in for
interview as soon as he asked.
Jaq readily accepted the terms, and headed straight to bed. Her bunk had been
thoroughly ransacked by DePennier's men, including her locker and stasis
chamber, but she knew they hadn't found anything. All the incriminating items
were safely ensconced with Helen, who mercifully hadn't wanted to know what was
in the bags she took custody of.
Shoving the mess into one heap on the floor, she collapsed on her mattress and thought
about the interview.
That evil bastard!
With fresh eyes, given time to
recover, Jaq could see exactly what he'd been doing, getting under her skin to
play on her guilt. A new slew of tears slipped down her face. The memories held
astonishing power, even years after the event. Just reliving it made her doubt
herself all over again
What worried her was how easily she'd broken. It was like she'd been eager to
talk about her family; desperate, even, to tell the story that had plagued her
for so long. He'd known exactly which buttons to push, and she realised now
that he'd only known a little information, but had used it to draw her out.
She'd filled in the rest with her emotional responses - so clear to his
augmented vision - and by feeding him details like a fool. Jaq sighed,
realising she'd almost shot herself in the foot, ending the whole adventure
because she let a bully get to her..
As she drifted off to slumber, she wondered what her next move was, or even if
there were any moves to make.
*
Exercise took her to a place of quiet contemplation. It was just after Work
Hour, and Onekka, whilst bustling in the labs and offices, was quiet elsewhere.
With the rota shuttles controlling the workforce and very few settled long-term
on board, it was rare to find somebody not at work during the day. As Jaq ran
circuits of Central Park, her strides smooth and even and the world no more
than a blur around her, she was able to think.
The shock of her revelation to DePennier the day before was starting to wear
off. Jaq still wasn't certain exactly why she'd confided, but she did decide
the augmented man was best avoided. She thought about the comforting words of
her dream companions - that she should stay her course, and no living being
could harm her. Did that protection extend to psychological pain? The evidence
said not, but it didn't stop Jaq wishing she'd remembered her dreams while
DePennier was grilling her.
After the incident with her parents, she'd spent two years sulking; at least,
that's how she thought of it now. It felt like the whole of her existence to
that point had been for nothing. With her parents gone, regardless the pain
she'd felt in their presence over the years, there was nobody to boast to of
success, no bar of pride against which to measure herself. The world steadily
lost all sense of charm.
It wasn't long before Jaq nurtured a bitter hatred of the planet she felt
confined to. Earth came to represent oppression and routine, serving only as a
reminder both to the memories that taunted her and her own complicity in their
power. The moment Jaq saw the advert for Onekka, she knew she was going to work
there. What better place for a disaffected soul but the new frontier of space?
A fellow runner shouted a greeting, breaking her from the reverie. She called a
late reply, and resumed her exercise. Henrickson would be looking over the
crime scene today and compiling a list of other suspects. Jaq was pretty sure
he'd give DePennier some more trouble, which was fine with her, but she was equally
convinced the augmented agent would miraculously come up with a corroborated
cover story.
Jaq had no idea how long she had before Henrickson called her for interview, or
whether she'd get out of that meeting without manacles on every limb. This might
be her last slice of freedom, and the only chance she had to break into Sector
5. She had no idea what she might be looking for. What had started out as
concern over the fate of a corporate delegation had turned into something far
scarier. Jaq only knew that, if DePennier was so intent on keeping her out of
there, she wanted in. Her life had become a quest for answers, and she didn't
much care what questions they went against.
There were only two physical people she had available to turn to - Helen and
Derek. Helen was a flake. It wasn't her fault, but she was unreliable at best,
and seemed to Jaq more a motivation than a help. As for Derek, he confused her.
When he was a convenient erection with access to helpful materials, she knew
where she stood with him. Now he'd shown a tender side and - worse - a genuine
emotional attachment to her, it all seemed way too complicated.
He'd left several messages for her since tucking her in after that slightly mad
date. All of them held a tone of true concern. If only he knew what was really
going on in her life!
Maybe he should.
No! She didn't even know how to
go about starting that conversation.
At this juncture, what do you have to
lose?
Jaq stopped in her tracks and bent over, hands braced on knees, breathing
heavily. Her tracker told her she'd run just over five miles - not a bad
workout, and it almost felt like enough. As she panted, she thought. Could she
trust Derek?
*
"You can trust me, Babes," he said, that broad grin of his causing
flutters in her stomach. "Whatever it is, you can tell me." He was
sitting opposite her in a quiet bar, excitement in his face. The eagerness with
which he'd agreed to meet was both irksome and a relief.
"How can I trust you, Derek? The whole time we've been fooling around,
your wife's been planet-side, waiting for your return with love."
His face fell so hard, she was actually shocked. "It's not quite that
simple." The air went quiet and he looked down at his hands for a while.
"Please just tell me."
He sighed. "My marriage was dead before I ever came to Onekka. She'd been
cheating on me for months before I found out. I offered to take her back, but
she laughed at me. She thought I was weak, Jaq, and by not yelling at her, I
think I just proved it more. She didn't want me, she just couldn't be bothered
to end our marriage before she stuck the knife in my back. I took the job up
here, figuring we'd both have time to cool off, that she'd come around when I
was away. I thought maybe she'd miss what we had as much as I did."
Jaq had no idea what to say to that. Shrugging internally, she settled for,
"I'm sorry, Derek. I didn't realise."
"That's just it, Babes," he said, looking at her. "We have
something that's nothing to do with my past back on Earth. That's what I treasure
about it. Being with you makes me realise I don't love her anymore, that I can
move on. I filed for divorce a month ago - it's all going through at the
moment. I want to move on with you, Jaq."
She gave him a tiny smile. "That might be a bit of a non-starter."
"What do you mean?" The vulnerability in his voice was
heart-wrenching. He thought she meant he wasn't good enough for her. He might
have been right, but that wasn't what she'd intended.
"It's not you. I saw a side of you the other night I'd never expected,
perhaps because of my own expectations and motives. I'm sorry I was so rude to
you; you caught me off guard and I felt stupid. I thought you were rejecting
me, not caring for me. But that's not why I wanted to meet." She took a deep
breath. "I'm in a lot of trouble."
His brow furrowed. "How can I help?"
"Don't be so quick to offer," she said with a smile.
"Why? What kind of trouble are you in?"
"The kind that ends with prison terms and a lifetime of guilt." When
his gaze became intense, she continued quickly. "I got suspicious about
some people at work that went missing. I'd made what I thought was an innocent
comment in a meeting, and then got palmed off on other work. Then the people
from the meeting disappeared. I wanted to know what happened to them."
She could see the thoughts churning behind his eyes. "Is this why you got
me to look up shuttle manifests for anyone from Armcorp? Fuck's sake, Babes,
what have I been involved in?"
"Don't worry!" She held up her hands to head him off. "There's
nothing that traces back to you. I just needed to know whether they'd actually
left the station." Jaq fumbled in her purse for her cigarette, but then
realised she didn't want it. In fact, the very thought of inhaling the pheromones
turned her stomach. "I got caught prying and this enhanced guy called
DePennier's been on my back ever since. I think he works upstairs, but I
haven't a clue for whom."
Derek buried his face in his hands and let out an expansive breath before
replying. "There's probably nothing going on. I'm sure those guys were
just living it up at the station's expense."
"They're dead, Derek."
"What?"
"I found them, or at least bits of them, in the Administration boardroom.
They were torn to pieces with air cannons - splashed all over the walls.
Someone did a proper number on those guys. From the mess I saw, there's no way
anyone survived."
He was staring at her, head propped sideways on one hand, supported by his
elbow on the bar. "No wonder you've been acting strange. They can't expect
to get away with that!"
"I don't intend to let them," she said, "but exactly who 'they'
are is part of the problem. The other part is this DI Henrickson who flew up
from Earth to look into things." She couldn't bring herself to tell him it
was her killing of Garret that was specifically being investigated. "He's
certain I'm involved somehow, so he's revoked all my accesses and kept me on
open arrest. I just don't know what to do, Derek. I feel like I just walked
into a dead end alleyway and bricked up the exit."
He took a long time to answer, and they both sipped from their drinks. Jaq
looked around the near-deserted bar. Derek was on a refs break - the nature of
his work meant he had strange times off, and few people wanted a drink at this
stage of the day. She fought to stop herself from shaking, aware that she'd
just placed herself in an extremely vulnerable situation. Her instincts said
she needed someone to know, even if it turned out they couldn't help.
"I can smuggle you off," he said quietly. "If you want me to,
that is. Course, we'd have to hide ourselves afterwards. We'd be outlaws."
Jaq thought about what he was offering - to give up his own freedom in order to
help her. The contrast between his treatment of her and the interview with
DePennier yesterday was not lost on her. But Derek didn't know the whole story.
There was no way she could let him do that for her.
"You don't know how much that means to me," she said quietly,
suppressing the strength of emotions that welled up inside her, "but I
can't ask you to do that." She held up a hand when he started to object.
"Besides, I want to find out what's been going on. May as well be hanged
for a sheep as a lamb."
He nodded. "I thought you'd say that. In that case, tell me what I can do
to help. I still have full access - they don't even know we're involved with
each other."
"Trust me; DePennier knows. The man can smell a secret from the next
galaxy. He's like my own personal devil; always there, lurking in my shadow. I
swear, if ever there was a person I'd describe as actually being evil, he's the
closest candidate. Fortunately, he's keeping a low profile right now, thanks to
Henrickson. If you're really willing to help, we have some breathing
space."
"Babes," he said with a grin, "I was born willing. Nothing
happens round here. I'm ready for a little excitement."
Jaq smiled with genuine mirth for what felt like the first time in months.
"I'll hold you to that."
*
"Remember the three signs, Jaqui. They will protect you when we
cannot."
In darkness and solitude is the greatest comfort, she thought. Solitude from
physical beings, that was. The dream felt as liberating as always, freeing her
to see events through objective eyes.
"I came so close, Thirty Seven. I was half a breath from telling him, and
then I'd have been thrown in the lock-up to wait for a prison ship back to
Earth."
There was that sense of conference again for several minutes, and Jaq felt a
pulsing pain in her mind. "It was not your fault," said the joined
voice eventually. "We have studied the memory, and your only mistake was
forgetting about us. If you find yourself in a similar situation, remember us,
and the words we bear. He could not hurt you, Jaqui, but you allowed him
to."
"What should I do now?" She sighed. "I feel so lost, as though
everything that's happened has been for nothing."
"No, it has not been for nothing. It was your preparation. Now it is time
to act. You know where you must go to seek your answers. We will help. You cannot
fail, Jaqui, if you heed the signs."
"No living being can harm me," she recited, not entirely sure what
made her want to say it.
"That is correct. Act soon, Jaqui Fennet. Time runs short."
*
Jaq spent a day preparing, all the time dreading that comm call from
Henrickson. Mercifully, he left her alone. No doubt there was much to do,
pulling together the threads and leads from the various station security
personnel. Jaq liked to think there were some interesting conversations with
DePennier taking place as well. As afternoon approached, Derek arranged to meet
Henrickson with some invented evidence he'd remembered about a strange
character. This hopefully ensured the Detective Inspector wouldn't bother Jaq
while she was in possession of some more suspect items.
It felt remarkably easy to go about her business, which would have looked
suspicious to any switched-on observer, whilst remaining under open arrest. It
seemed, having taken away all her technological capabilities, it just didn't
occur to the authorities that a suspect might actually walk around and talk to
people face to face.