The Storm Maker (12 page)

       “We
are still at peace, aren’t we?” Shotgun Syk asked.

       “The
treaty holds,” Saltvyk said. “We didn’t know you fellas were going to be here.”

       “Great,
because I don’t see either of us winning here, but all of us dying,” Syk said.

       Saltvyk
nodded and then said, “Syk, let’s talk in private for a minute, in that
corner.” He pointed to an empty corner to their left with no one standing close
by.

       As
they walked over to the corner, they turned to their men. They did not want
some overeager gunman to start a battle. Saltvyk issued an order, “take it easy
men,” and Shotgun Syk nodded his agreement to his side; slowly men from both
sides pointed their guns to the ground while they still stared at each other.
Syk and Saltvyk started talking in whispers.

       “SPASI
cracking down hard on you, too?” Saltvyk asked.

       “Yeah,
some big time detective visited Mr. Barryvk,” Shotgun Syk said. “Why, you too?”

       “Maybe
it was the same detective who came to meet father,” Saltvyk said, “wanted
information about these foreign bank robbers.”

       “Same
here,” Syk said. “Now who the fuck are these bastards trying to muscle in on
both of our turfs. If they weren’t already in SPASI’s crosshairs I would have
said let’s team up this one time and bump off those roaches.”

       “That
would be something,” Saltvyk chuckled. “And they are fools enough to do
daylight bank robberies. Now Syk I have a proposal for you.”

       “Shoot,”
Syk said then laughed. “I don’t mean it that way, but go ahead.”

       “Whatever
we get out of the Broker, let’s split it in half,” Saltvyk said. “You give
SPASI half, we will give the other half. If both of us give them the same
information, they will play us off against each other and deny the favor we did
them.”

       “Right,
I get it,” Syk said. “Let’s get something out of him first. He is really going
to sweat bullets now that both us will unload on him.”

       They
walked over to the Broker who was sheepishly eyeing them. A big, rough man in
his own right, with a gruff and deep voice and a rude demeanor, wearing an
expensive silver watch and a gold chain, with round beady eyes, he was no
pushover, but even the Broker was afraid of the big syndicates.

       Shotgun
Syk walked to the left of the Broker and Saltvyk stood to his right. Both of
them simultaneously pointed their weapons at him.

       “Things
just got a lot worse for you Broker,” Shotgun Syk said, “The only men who could
have plausibly saved you from us, the Ragfelvyk’s, want the same information
out of you, about those foreign bank robbers.”

       “Mr.
Barryvk can shut down half of your business,” Saltvyk said. “And Duke can close
down the other half. So you better talk now.”

       Shotgun
Syk physically touched his shotgun barrel to Broker’s side temple and gave a
slight shove. “Talk you dumb fucking mute or Saltvyk will be cleaning your
brains off his hands.”

       Saltvyk
guffawed and all the men in the room let loose a rip roaring laughter.

       The
Broker swallowed hard and composed himself. He took a gulp of water from the
glass on his table.

       “Take
it easy, Shotgun Syk. I will tell you what I know. Just take it easy.”

       Saltvyk
lowered his pistol and Syk put his shotgun back on his shoulder. Broker took a
sigh of relief and sat up straight in the chair. He began talking while staring
at the floor in front of him.

       “You
will understand my reluctance to rat out my customers,” the Broker said. “My
business depends on discretion. The only reason anyone would pay my fat
commissions is because they can get their hands on goods without anyone else
knowing about it. If the news gets out that I ratted on even one client, the
rest will evaporate like a water drop under hot sun. I bet Mr. Barryvk or Duke
would not be happy if I talked about their deals with someone else.”

       He
looked up at them in turn, but they were listening to him silently. Rest of the
gunmen were also standing and hanging onto his every word.

       “So
about more than a year ago, I get this deal with these Ranxian bank robbers,”
he said. “Well, I didn’t know they were bank robbers back then. This rich
Ranxian businessman comes to me and wants forty-million stars in currency. He
was referred to me by small time underworld dealmakers, like this gambler in
Red Beach, a smuggler up north and a car fence in Korrwyn’s Junction. They
couldn’t handle such a large amount. However, there is no way I can do that
deal either, the most I have done is twelve million stars in foreign currency conversion.
Who has that kind of cash lying around? I bet even the King would not be able
to come up with forty million in cash quickly.”

       He
took a gulp from the water glass and waited a few seconds.

       “First
the amount is too much, second the Ranx currency he was is offering is not very
valuable and can’t be easily disposed of,” the Broker said. “I would have to
convert it to some other currency and then back to stars to make profit on it.
Ranx Nation has mediocre commerce, although I didn’t tell him that, and they
barely export anything of value. Who wants their currency?”

       “So
what did you do with him?” Saltvyk asked.

       “Oh,
I did the deal alright, but for a much smaller sum—fifteen million stars,” the
Broker said, “I charged a hefty commission, biggest I have charged on illegal
currency conversion. I am still trying to dispose of the last of the Ranx
currency.”

       “And
just what did you just think those fellas were up to?” Shotgun Syk asked.

       “I
had no clue they were planning bank robberies,” Broker said. “He was a rich
businessman, I had him checked out. No connections to underworld before this
deal. I figured he wanted to buy industrial machinery from our country, for his
factories and mills and he wanted to import them back to Ranx, but that he
wanted to do it without paying customs tax on it to his country. The way to
avoid that would be for him to get our currency without any records so he could
import machinery in secret. That is what I figured.”

       “Who
else was with him?” Saltvyk asked.

       “A
couple of tough guys came with him as his bodyguards,” the Broker said. “Not
underworld types, but more like the army types.”

       “Those
must be the bank robbers,” Saltvyk said. “How did they get into Starfire
Nation? Our border checks are supposed to be thorough.”

       “Now,
I am going to tell you a lot more,” Broker said looking at both of them in
turn. “But promise to leave me alone after this.”

       “You
got it,” Saltvyk said. Shotgun Syk smiled slyly but then nodded.

       “They
paid off this smuggling racket up north to smuggle in men and automatic
rifles,” Broker said. “They also took my help to buy a plot of land down south,
more like southwest, even beyond Southstar, but I don’t know for what purpose.”

       “Where
exactly?” Syk demanded to know.

       “I
guided them to a land broker,” the Broker said, “a legitimate broker, so I
don’t have any contact with him.”

       Saltvyk
and Shotgun Syk looked at each other for a few moments.

       “I
think he has told us everything he knows,” Saltvyk said.

       “He
better have,” Shotgun Syk said.

       “Duke
will call Mr. Barryvk to discuss splitting up the information,” Saltvyk said.
“Don’t have him call SPASI before my father’s call.”

       “Count
on it,” Syk replied.

       Without
any further talk, Saltvyk walked back to his men. They slowly went back out
first as they were the closest to the door, their guns still drawn and backing
to the door, their eyes to Black Star’s men. They got in their cars and headed
back down south to the Gold Harbor. Shotgun Syk and his men left right after
they heard the cars speed away on the road. They headed north towards the
junction that would take them out east. The Broker and his bodyguards gave big
sighs of relief and the Broker momentarily collapsed on his desk in exhaustion.

09/02/958

The
personal office of the Constellar Dvyet Zook was on the third floor of the C
Constellation building. There was his personal room along with the meeting room
and a small reception room. The rooms were painted in metallic gray, bestowing
on them an aura of formality and seriousness. Today, the House of Banks was
meeting to discuss the recent spate of armed bank robberies. Constellar Dvyet
was setting up the projector on the center table just in case anybody decided
to give a presentation. Ten chairs were uniformly arranged around the table and
another was set at the front; that was his chair as the head of this House.

       Dvyet
was in his early sixty’s, his hair had all turned white long ago and the
wrinkles on his face showed the toll that age and politics had taken on him.
His eyes were large and round above a slightly crooked nose. His features and
manners were well suited for his high position. He was the Head of the House of
Banks, which was responsible for supervising the entire banking industry of the
Starfire Nation as well as the money circulation.

       The
newspapers were having a field day with the bank robberies, and solving the
case had become very important for the House. Usually bank robberies were town
police matters, but the scale and scope had gotten the attention at the highest
level of politics. The bankers as well as the public were paying great
attention and the matter had to be resolved as fast as possible.

       Just
as he finished preparing the projector, there was a knock on his door.

       “Come
in,” he said.

       Constellar
Slyntya walked in wearing a purple sweater over a full length black round skirt
with a big, black belt around her waist and black high heels. Her hair came
down slightly below her shoulders and was wavy and tussled.

       “You
wanted me to come early?” she asked as she walked in the meeting room. “We have
half an hour before the session begins.”

       “Yes,
take a seat,” he said and himself sat down on his chair up front, opened his
bag, took out a folder and placed it in front of him. Slyntya took a chair that
was nearly on the opposite end of the table and put her black leather purse on
the table.

       “Slyntya,
I know you were not very keen on being placed on the House of Banks,” Dvyet
said, “I just want you to know that it had nothing to do with your originally
being from the Karaln Nation. We do not place first term Constellars on Houses
that are of strategic importance.”

       “I
understand that,” she said, “It’s just I would have been a natural fit for the
House of Atom since Atomic Science is what I studied and worked in.”

       “If
you get selected for the second term, I will see to it that you get placed in
the House of Atom.”

       “Looking
forward,” she said with a wide smile.

       “But
I called you here early to give you your first real work as a political
leader,” Dvyet said. “You had told me that you found the regular work of the
House of Banks fairly dull and I can understand that for someone who was not in
this field. I had been a banker for more than twenty years before I entered
politics; I find this work interesting, but that's just me and my past
profession. Now I have a task for you that you will find a lot more exciting to
supervise, and you are also the perfect match for this role.”

       “Something
to do with the bank robberies?” she asked.

       “Sharp.
You guessed right.” Dvyet smiled as he pushed the folder from in front of him
across the table to her. “Read through it after today’s meeting—that explains
it all. But to summarize, all you have to do is supervise the SPASI detectives
investigating this and regularly report to this House on their progress.”

       “I
like it,” she said with a half-smile opening the folder and flipping through
the pages. “But why did you say I was a ‘perfect match’ for this role? I don’t
know anything about detective work.”

       “But
you know the man who is leading the case,” Dvyet said. “He is a good friend of
your husband, that is Chief Detective Sayett.”

       “I
know him well,” she said. “Sthykar and I have dined with his family a few
times.”

       “That’s
why,” Dvyet said. “Sometimes SPASI detectives huff and puff and develop a bad
attitude when a Constellar is assigned to supervise them on a case that is
politically important. They say they want operational independence and not
somebody looking over their shoulder. I understand their point of view, but
they are a state department and it is only natural for the state leaders to
supervise them.”

       “I
will get along well with Sayett,” Slyntya said. “I am not someone to pester
over petty matters.”

       “Good,
that’s what I thought. But don’t forget you are the political boss. They have
to tell you everything they do and know.”

       She
nodded in affirmative then put the folder in her purse. A moment later there
was a knock on the door and a couple of other members of the House of Banks
entered and took their seat. During the next ten minutes, all the rest arrived
and they began their discussion of banking matters with a particular focus on
the bank robberies.

* * *

       Slyntya
left the Constellation after an hour-long meeting. She walked over to one of
the official cars that ferried the Constellars and climbed in. “To the House of
Banks please,” she said.

       “Yes,
Ma’am.” The driver smiled and nodded before he started the engine.

       Slyntya
always got smiles and head nods from the Constellar men and drivers were no
different. She believed they actually liked chauffeuring her rather than the
male Constellars who were older and billowing cigar smoke. These drivers were
also all ex-army soldiers and thus doubled as guards. The car went out of the
inner and outer gates and then it was a short drive to the House of Banks.

       The
House of Banks was a seven floor building located within the same general area.
It was built with maroon-red stone for its walls with dark-gray sparkling stone
for its four corners. The windows had white marble decorations on all four
sides of their exterior. It was surrounded by a ten-foot tall steel fence with
one single gate for entry and exit. Slyntya got out of the car and walked to
the gate. The policeman standing there knew her and let her in without asking
for her identification.

       She
walked up to the main door where another policeman stood. He opened the door
for her with a big smile and she took the elevator to the fifth floor. This is
where Dvyet had indicated that Sayett would meet her. She walked into the main
conference room—which was usually used by the House of Banks for their
meetings—and put her purse on the table as she relaxed back in the middle chair.
There was no one around, so she decided to read through the report she had been
given earlier. Just as she had finished reading half of it, three men walked
into the room.

       “Hello
Slyntya,” Sayett said. “I was delighted to hear that you were assigned as the
supervising Constellar.”

       “I
am excited to work on this.” She smiled widely. “I could have come to the SPASI
Headquarters.”

       “We
have to pick up some files,” he said and then turned to the two junior
detectives with him. “Boys, go grab everything from our lists. Constellar Dvyet
said it would be in the room behind this.” He pointed to a large wooden door
behind Slyntya. The two junior detectives went to that room to collect the
material.

       “How
is the colonel?” Sayett asked as he pulled himself a chair.

       “Sthykar
went down south to buy some forest land and enjoy a hunting trip with some of
his friends,” she replied. “The Constellation is in full session now and I was
going to be busy with the House of Banks work, so he decided to take half of
his vacation days from Army last week and next and join his friends for the
hunt.”

       “Great,”
Sayett said, “Now, have you read through that report much?” He pointed to the
folder on the table in front of her.

       “A
few pages. Sayett, how did you end up on a bank robbery case? You had told us
that you were the Chief Detective for Narducat Empire matters.”

       “Still
am; just taking a hiatus. The Nardi’s are behaving these days, a lull there;
and then a group of eight bankers along with the head of House of Banks, your Constellar
Dvyet, met my boss SPASI Chief Yucker over lunch a while back. They requested
me to take over the case.”

       “I
am sure they said something like ‘put your best detective on the case’ and
Yucker assigned you.” She laughed.

       “Well,
I have a decent record,” he replied modestly. “Those eight bankers are owners
or head managers of eight of the top twenty biggest banks in this country. You
don’t say ‘no’ to that kind of a group. The bank robberies are police
jurisdiction, but since the bankers themselves wanted the SPASI to take over,
it is now under our jurisdiction.”

       “What
is with assigning a Constellar like me to this?”

       “Constellation
likes to watch over our shoulders sometimes,” Sayett chuckled. “In cases of
political importance. They think we might hide stuff, or that we are not
particularly forthcoming. They don’t understand that we can no more spend time
explaining nitty-gritty details of spy or detective work to them than a doctor
can spend time explaining chemical reactions to his patients. You take the
medicine and you evaluate the doctor based on the result. Same with us, all we
ask is, let us do our work and then judge us based on our results.”

       “Well,
I have no intentions of looking over your shoulders or getting in your way.”

       “But,
don’t feel hesitant to ask questions whenever and get answers. You are our
political boss. SPASI detectives and supervising Constellars don’t always get
along. That is why they put you here because your husband is a good friend of
mine and they know that we will work well together.”

       “Well,
I am glad I do not have to sit on those House of Banks meetings. They talk
about tedious details of finance and money, argue over minor changes in the
interest rates or the loan default rates. I am poring over bank balance sheets
while Colonel Sthykar is running around living an adventurous life; finally I
get to have my adventure, too.”

       “I
hope this will be more exciting for you than the bank supervision,” Sayett
said. “You did not want to be on the House of Banks, did you?”

       “No
way. As you know I am an atomic scientist and wanted to be on the House of
Atom; but they said that was too strategically important for a new Constellar
because it involved creating procedures for the approval of the use of atomics
in war.”

       The
two junior detectives returned, each carrying a large wooden cardboard box with
stacks of files piled in them.

       “Alright,
let go to the SPASI headquarters,” Sayett said getting up. “We will talk on the
way.”

       Sayett
and Slyntya followed the junior detectives out of the building. They had parked
their car right outside the door. The two detectives put the boxes in the
trunk, and then got in the front seats. Sayett and Slyntya sat in the back as
they took off to the headquarters.

       “Getting
back to what we were talking about,” Sayett began, “that is how the
Constellation assigns its first time Constellars. You will have your pick the
second time around. It most likely has nothing to do with your being from the
Karaln Nation; that would not matter for the wife of our national hero.”

       “Speaking
of Sthykar,” she said looking out of the window. “One of the Constellars said
that Sthykar himself would have to make phone calls to powerful Constellars or
to the King if I really wanted to get on the House of Atom this year. But I did
not feel that was right and Sthykar himself had told me that he was not going
to help me in any dishonorable manner and that I had to make it on my own.”

       “That’s
Colonel Sthykar for you,” Sayett said smiling. “But if the second time around,
you don’t get on the House of Atom, let me know. I don’t have the same name and
fame as Sthykar, but I do have lots of high level political contacts. I may not
be able to call the King directly on the phone like Sthykar could, but I can
still reach him. You sure have the qualifications and I will make the phone
calls for you if needed.”

       “Grateful,
though I hope I won’t need it.” She turned around and smiled. They arrived at
the SPASI headquarters just as they had finished their conversation. The junior
detective driving the car showed his card to the guards and then drove the car
into the parking basement below the headquarters building.