Murder Inc.: A Sci-fi Thriller: Book 1 (42 page)

Tabby screamed and scrambled onto her knees. “LEAVE HIM ALONE!” Samantha released her father’s legs and they struck with a thump.

Tabby stumbled to full height, barreling at her nemesis. It was if the pent up rage of all the injustices had found an outlet. Samantha braced herself as Tabby struck—not some particular taekwondo technique, but a straightforward tackle, shoulder forward, hitting Samantha in the chest.

They flew backwards and landed in a knot six feet from the shaft. Samantha clawed at her eyes, scratching the soft flesh of Tabby’s cheek under her left socket. Grunts and screams filled the area as they tested each other’s strength. Tabby deflected Samantha’s strong hands and made a short jab to her throat, causing Samantha to hack for air. But the woman was powerful in close, pushing Tabby’s hands aside. Samantha twisted her wrist and countered with a backhanded fist into Tabby’s cheekbone. She fell sideways, and Samantha rolled away. Tabby coiled, and made to spring up, but Samantha was on her feet like a cat and took fistfuls of Tabby’s hair and began dragging her towards the shaft. Tabby spun her arms and legs seeking traction, but she fell on her behind and shrieked at the pain in her scalp as Samantha hauled her across the floor. Cold air from the empty space hit her and then Samantha slid her into the doorway of the elevator shaft. Tabby threw her hands out and caught the metal doors, then thrust herself back into the foyer. But her escape was short lived. Samantha dropped over her, knees on either side of Tabby’s ribcage, dug her hands underneath her arms and pushed; her face twisted with effort. Tabby slid several inches closer to the shaft before she clamped her fingers on the doorway again. It was a battle of strength; Samantha pushing, Tabby holding. If Tabby let go, she’d end up at the bottom of the shaft. She thought about her father and all she had fought to be here now.

With a cry, Tabby kicked out at the back of Samantha’s head. Her foot struck the top of Samantha’s skull and knocked her off balance, her grip faltering. Tabby let go of the doors and with teeth gritted, thrust her hands upwards, pushing Samantha over the top of her. Samantha clawed for Tabby's arms, trying to avoid ending up in the elevator shaft. Their hands and arms tangled, but Tabby yanked hers free, and Samantha sailed past and down the side of the shaft.

Tabby twisted around, expecting to see Samantha falling to her death. Instead, she found four fingers clinging to the steel edge, fighting for purchase.

She waited, hoping they would disappear. When they didn't, she crept forward and peered over the edge.

Samantha dangled by one arm like a piece of clothing hanging on a single peg.

“Help me,” she croaked.

The irony of it all, Tabby thought. Samantha had stuffed the pills down Dom Curwood’s throat to make it look like a suicide. She thought of sweet Charlie and his innocent love for this woman, who had not deserved it. What would Samantha have done in the reverse situation? But Gutterson’s voice flashed through her mind. Justice. We can bring her to justice. Would that really happen; given all she now knew about the company’s tangled web of connections and power? What if she saved this woman only to see her set free? Their eyes met and Samantha read it all in Tabby’s mind.

Samantha’s fingers slipped off the edge and she plummeted into the blackness, arms pin-wheeling, legs kicking, a look of horrified surprise stretched across her face.

Tabby crawled away from the edge to where her father lay. He remained unconscious, but his pulse was strong. She wondered how it wasn’t her at the bottom of the shaft.

∞

After announcing the details of the search warrant to the two receptionists, the ladies—one redhead, the other a burly brunette—attempted to locate the CEO, Bryan Fox.

“He’s not inside the building,” Gutterson said.

The redhead woman looked at him. “How do you know?”

Gutterson pointed out through the door. “He’s lying on the pavement outside along with the Robert Jennings, the VP of Operations.”

The woman flinched and then stared at him for a long time before swiping over the screen to another name. “Johanna Pirez then.”

But Johanna Pirez wasn’t answering. “I need the most senior person on site.” Gutterson fought to keep his frustration down. The group of officers bounced about in the lobby, waiting for their instructions. Every moment wasted was a moment he couldn't get back.

“That would be Tom Bright then,” the other receptionist said.

“Yes. What level is he on?”

“Thirty-two.”

Gutterson led one team and Camilleri the other. The DHS waited outside. Gutterson insisted on following strict protocol which meant delivering the warrant to the most senior person on site. They found Tom on thirty-two—Tabitha had mentioned him before so Gutterson felt somewhat acquainted.

Gutterson produced the warrant and Tom obliged. “It’s all on the servers. Lower ground level, but you’ll need access to the rooms.”

Tom led them to the elevators and directed the carriage to the IT department below ground, where multitudes of computer servers controlled the flow of data to, from, and within the company. Gutterson had had specifically requested officers versed in data management and computer functionality—a core competence of any modern police officer. They would be able to quickly analyze the information and determine valuable data and records.

At the steel outer door leading to the IT room, Tom scanned them through. Grigori Hucker, a stocky powerhouse of attitude greeted them.

Tom stepped into the room and Hucker put a meaty hand up, blocking his way. “Move aside, Grigori,” Tom said without looking up at him.

“I’m under strict instructions from the boss not to let anyone in.”

“Fox is dead. I’m acting CEO for the moment.”

Hucker smirked. “Not Fox. Jennings.”

“Nice to know where your loyalties were.” Tom brushed his arm away and stepped past. “He’s dead too.” Hucker’s arrogance liquefied. “And you’ll help these gentlemen find what they’re looking for. Refusal to do so will see you prosecuted.” The stout man looked doubtful. “Any assurances of immunity from people in the past are now obsolete.”

Hucker sneered. He walked over to one of the floating chairs and sat. “Fine.” He wore a knowing smile. “But you won’t find anything.”

Gutterson didn’t like the look of that smile, but he pushed on. “Let’s do this. I want all the servers checked. Run the word and description algorithms.” He opened a blue holographic board in the middle of the room, on which was printed the information Tabby had revealed. “This is what we’re looking for. And we’re not leaving until we have something.”

∞

Gutterson threw the empty case against the row of terminals. It clattered off the glass screen and onto the floor. He started pacing again, hands dug deep into the pockets of his suit pants. The IT server room was empty, save for Camilleri, who sat on the edge of a desk with her arms folded, and Martinez' distinct blue-green holographic image hovering in the center of the room.

“Take it easy, John,"” Martinez said.

Gutterson had asked for a moment alone with Captain Martinez and Camilleri. The DHS agents had reluctantly stepped out. His frustrations had boiled over then.

“There's nothing, Cap. Not one damn piece of fucking evidence. We’ve spent the last ten hours going through every terminal and server in this place. It’s empty.”

Martinez cleared his throat. “Don't look at it that way. We've made such progress.”

“We're no further than we were yesterday, though. This was supposed to be the big bust and we've come up with nothing.”

“That's not true,” Camilleri said; speaking for the first time since the room had cleared. She stood and walked over to one of the terminals. “We have an audit trail of the file dumps. The information went somewhere.”

Gutterson threw his hands up. He was sick and tired of chasing leads. He wanted tangible evidence in his hands, something with which they could prosecute these bastards and uncover the full extent of their murderous ways. Once again, he felt like he'd failed Carolyn and the kids by not getting a decisive conclusion. “We can't seem to get any further than that. It's always the same—we know what's happening, but we can't pin it on them.”

“What about that drive you were talking about?”

“We don’t know. Tabitha hasn’t said yet. I’ll find out.” But there was no hope in his voice. If the drive had still been around, Tabby would have handed it over.

“Talk to the DHS. But John?” Gutterson looked up slowly. “Don't take this as a failure. You've brought us closer to these people than anybody ever has before.”

“Not only that,” Camilleri said, “But a month ago, none of us even knew they existed. When we put them away—and we will—you will have been the driving force behind it.”

“Keep looking,” Martinez said. “The information is out there. Talk to the DHS guys; they'll have a plan.”

Gutterson waved acknowledgment. Martinez' image disappeared. Camilleri approached. She took Gutterson by the hand. “Don't give up on us, now. The world needs you to be strong on this.
I
need you to be strong for it.”

“You?”

“You've taught me a lot about integrity and perseverance. No matter how much resistance you've faced, you always step back up to the plate.”

Gutterson thought for a moment and then smiled. “You're right. Don't worry. I'm not done yet.”

∞

Tabitha sat in the boardroom on level thirty, head in her hands, waiting for Tom and Gutterson to return from IT. The police had used the room as a kind of central command center for most of the afternoon and evening though there were fewer of them now, the last remaining officers packing stacks of paper and computer terminals into boxes.

Darkness pressed in against the windows, well after the usual finishing time, and she felt the ache of a long, eventful day in her eyes. Sleep. That’s what she needed. Just to lie down on her bed at home and sleep it off, to forget this nightmare and find a way to get on with her life. At this point, Tabby had no idea how she was going to do that.

Her father had been taken by ambulance to Bellevue hospital.
Just for observation
, the paramedics assured her. Tabitha had wanted to accompany him, but Gutterson wouldn’t allow it. After the fight with Samantha, she had eventually gathered her strength and found her way down to the reception area where she had discovered the police search underway.

Fox was dead. The feeling of sadness at this had surprised Tabby. Yesterday, she had barely known the man and wouldn’t have felt much more than a fleeting interest in his death—probably because he was the CEO. But now, after their discussion earlier in the day, Tabby felt like she had lost something in his passing, a connection to her past, specifically, her mother. Her father had only ever given her snacks of information and would mostly lapse into long silences when quizzed about her, except for their meeting at the cemetery. And how much longer he would last she did not know. Fox had provided a unique insight and Tabby was grateful for that. She would cherish it, but did not know how to handle the news that her mother had been an influential player in the Janefield saga. Part of her didn’t quite believe it.

She sipped water for a time, lost in her thoughts, and then Tom appeared, hands deep in the pockets of his dark suit. He smiled, and in it she saw her own tiredness reflected. Once, she would have given anything for that smile. Now, it was the last thing on her mind. “How’s your father? Any word?”

“He’s okay. Keeping him in overnight.” Tom nodded. “How are you?”

He removed his hands and pulled a chair close to her. “I’ve had enough of this place, let me tell you.”

“Yeah. Can’t wait to see the back of it. How long before we can leave?”

“Detective Gutterson is on his way up. He was with the other detective for a while, then Homeland Security. He was getting quite animated.”

“What’s the score? Did he get what he wanted?”

Tom shook his head. “Nope. Nothing.”

Tabby sat forward. “Nothing? I don’t believe that.”

“Looks like they cleaned all the servers right before the police arrived.”

“Everything?”

Tom shrugged. “Did you see the faces of the employees on the lower levels? They had no idea what was happening.”

Detective Gutterson entered with a lovely, dark haired woman Tabby hadn’t seen before. “Tabitha, this is Detective Camilleri.” They shook hands, both offering tired smiles. “And you’re right, Tom. Based on the description of activities you’ve both given us, we have to assume there was some kind of mechanism to clear the servers of incriminating files.”

Tom raised his eyebrows. “I was never briefed about such a thing.”

“There’s nothing left except all the standard files relating to a credible investment firm: quotations, statements of holdings, client records, invoices, and so forth.”

“So what now?”

“We keep searching,” Gutterson said. “We have our techs checking the back door to see where the information has gone.” He turned to Tabby. “Where did you last see that drive?”