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+ GNU AFFERO GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
+ Version 3, 19 November 2007
+
+ Copyright (C) 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc. <https://fsf.org/>
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+ How to Apply These Terms to Your New Programs
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--- /dev/null
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2022 Jason Self <j@jxself.org>
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later
+#
+# You can redistribute and/or modify this story under the terms of the
+# GNU Affero General Public License as published by the Free Software
+# Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any
+# later version.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public
+# License along with this story. If not, see
+# <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+==== Harlan: Thief ====
+
+Harlan had been sitting on the edge of the roof for the past hour,
+waiting for Mellie. She always walked this way after she got off work
+and he could keep an eye on her. The streets and especially the alleys
+were dangerous away from APD headquarters. This was about as close as
+he dared come to the headquarters complex. Too many cameras, too many
+infrared imagers seeking live sources.
+
+Those few blocks to the complex were safe, particularly for
+detectives. Mellie was one of the best. She could take down four or
+five attackers. But sometimes there were more, hiding in the crevasses
+of the alleys, crouching behind trash disposals, hanging from second
+floor windows. That's why Harlan waited. He would not allow anyone to
+harm her.
+
+Dark brown eyes thoughtful, he sucked on a dopestick, peppermint
+flavored, while he waited. The mild euphoria helped the time pass. His
+sneaker clad feet hung over the edge, three stories up. He glanced up
+at the sky where a myriad of stars twinkled in the night. There wasn't
+much light pollution since electricity was a precious commodity on
+this planet. Neither of the two tiny moons were in the sky tonight.
+
+Rapid footsteps, soft, but firm, came down the alley. Mellie passed
+underneath his position as he slid back onto the roof. Her head turned
+right to left as her eyes scanned the area on both sides and in front.
+She spun suddenly, walking backward, so that she could scrutinize the
+section behind her. Harlan hugged the shadows, holding his breath. Her
+eyes flicked over him and went on.
+
+Facing forward again, she continued her walk. An Agalderan rodent, a
+puvu, which looked a lot more reptilian than mammalian, scurried
+across the alley in front of her. She ignored it. The animal turned to
+face the human, its shape a little odd. Harlan moved before he
+thought, swinging down from the roof to a balcony and from there to
+the ground in front of Mellie. He kicked the puvu up through the air,
+pivoted, and threw Mellie to the ground, his body covering hers. The
+puvu exploded with a loud bang and a hail of nails and staples. Harlan
+grunted.
+
+Mellie pushed him off and examined his back. There were several holes
+in his tunic, all becoming bloodier by the second. He tried to get up
+but didn't make it.
+
+"You complete idiot!" she snapped. "Now what am I going to do with
+you?"
+
+"Marry me?" he asked.
+
+She got him to his feet and with an arm draped over her shoulder, they
+started down the alley again.
+
+Her condo was on the 36th floor. They could take the elevator to the
+35th floor but had to walk up to the 36th. Elevators only stopped
+every 5 floors. Harlan was thankful that it was only one floor.
+
+She had a great view from one of the windows. The other windows looked
+out on the walls of the adjacent apartment complexes with their myriad
+windows. Sometimes a person would appear in one of the windows, but
+most of the time, the windows were closed and shaded.
+
+She made Harlan lie down on the sofa and got his shirt off. He had six
+holes in the skin of his back. She could see the metal shards sticking
+out from three of them. Taking out the shrapnel was punctuated by
+swearing and groans from Harlan. She cleaned the wounds and wrapped
+his chest. Then she made him a drink.
+
+As she sat beside him, her bright blue eyes evaluated him. She said "I
+suppose I should thank you for saving my life. But I'm just so mad at
+you for risking your own life and my cover that I can hardly speak."
+She took a gulp of her own drink.
+
+He rolled on his side and looked at her. She was staring out over the
+lights of the city, avoiding his gaze.
+
+"You have risked everything we've worked for. If I had been killed, it
+wouldn't have interfered with the plan. But if someone was watching,
+if someone saw your incredible theatrics, they will be adding two and
+two and getting 144." Her voice was rising in volume. "You're an
+idiot!"
+
+Harlan looked up at her and sighed. "I love you." Gently pushing her
+off the sofa, he managed to sit up with a lot of groaning. "There is
+no way I could stay on that roof and watch you be blown apart." He
+started to pull his bloody shirt back on. "So deal with it."
+
+She took the shirt from him and opened a closet. Pulling out a bag,
+she handed it to him. "I bought this for you a while ago. It should
+fit you."
+
+He put on the shirt. Looking in a mirror, he nodded. "I have to go.
+Thanks for patching me up." He walked to the door. "Oh. You never
+answered my question. Will you marry me?"
+
+She threw a pillow at him.
+
+Heading back to the same alley where the explosion took place, he came
+to a stop a block away. There were cops all over the place. He took to
+the roofs, approaching silently. Lt. Marks, Mellie's boss was standing
+by the burn scars on the building. He was speaking softly, but
+Harlan's hearing was excellent.
+
+"...know she was here." He waved a hand at the alley. "She came down
+from there. She must have been no more than twenty feet from the
+explosion. We should be looking at her body. But we aren't." He looked
+at his sergeant. "I want to know what happened here and I want to know
+tonight. Understand?"
+
+The sergeant nodded with a weary expression on his face and turned
+away. "Yessir."
+
+Harlan moved away, heading back to the streets and Emerald Hall.
+Santori, the head of the Resistance, needed to know about this. They
+might want to pull Mellie back to the Hall. Her cover might be broken.
+Mellie was right. The plans of the Resistance for reunification of the
+planet were more important than any one life. Except Mellie's.
+
+==== Mellie: Detective ====
+
+Melandra Kaminsky was the lowest of the low on the totem pole of
+detectives. At least in Homicide Division. She probably ranked a
+little higher than a few in Robbery or Vice. But she was new and young
+and had been naive at times. Harlan had helped her claw her way up the
+ladder in the department. He was the best man she had ever known.
+That's why she had taken Harlan back to her condo. That's why she was
+in love with him.
+
+She cursed herself frequently. Why had she picked a damn thief to fall
+for? Why not one of the detectives? Because the detectives were a
+bunch of crooked, arrogant losers and she hated them, one and all. For
+crying out loud, Harlan was the most ethical, moral man she had ever
+met. Except for the stealing, of course. He was also the bravest,
+smartest, and most impossible human being she knew.
+
+She had run across him when she was part of Robbery Division. He was
+supposed to be the best cat burglar in town. He had even robbed the
+Mayor! So when she showed up for the weekly, sometimes irregular,
+Resistance meeting, she was shocked to see Harlan drinking a mug of
+coffee and talking to Santori, the Head of the Resistance, usually
+called "Boss". Although she knew there were thieves, even servants and
+homeless in the group, she had thought Harlan would think himself
+above the petty politics of Agalder.
+
+She cornered him after the meeting and told him that his position in
+the Resistance made no difference. She was going to put him away. He
+just grinned at her and told her she was free to try. Boss came up to
+them at that point and told her that she was to lay off Harlan. He was
+too important to the Resistance. Harlan and Mellie both began
+complaining that she had to do her job or raise suspicions.
+
+Santori raised his eyebrow and asked "You want her to chase you?"
+
+Harlan grinned "She couldn't catch a hen in a chicken coop."
+
+Mellie had begun yelling at the thief when the "Boss" silently folded
+his tents and slipped away. Harlan seemed to enjoy the tirade. When
+she slowed down, he commented "You have a hell of a vocabulary." and
+walked away. And all she could do was sputter.
+
+She continued to try to trap the thief, but every plan she developed
+fell through. She'd see him grinning at her from across the air shafts
+between tenements or from the other side of the river.
+
+Then she caught him. Actually he caught her. He was sitting in a
+chair, waiting for her when she burst into the apartment. She heard a
+click as the door locked behind her. He ignored her gun and poured her
+a glass of wine. When she got over being furious, they talked, really
+talked, for hours. He let her go after kissing her thoroughly. She
+found that she couldn't think of anything else than Harlan, much to
+her annoyance.
+
+She dropped her obsession with the thief and started piling up
+arrests. Her case clearance rate climbed until it beat everyone
+else's. The Mayor gave her a commendation (and groped a feel at the
+same time). She appeared to be the darling of the department. And now
+somebody wanted her dead.
+
+When her partner, John Behan, a fiftyish balding man with a paunchy
+stomach, and two other detectives showed up at her apartment, she
+admitted to having been at the site of the explosion. She had come up
+with a story that fit the facts although it was a bit farfetched.
+Noting the raised eyebrows, she simply told them she'd see them at
+headquarters and shoved them out of her apartment. They couldn't
+exactly arrest her for not being murdered, so they left.
+
+The next morning, she got to headquarters very early, took the first
+case to come in, and got out before day shift showed up. When she
+brought in her catch of the day, a wife killer, the other shift had
+gone home. She kept this up for several days until her colleagues gave
+up trying to pin something on her for not being killed.
+
+Mellie ignored her partner and his buddies. She wasn't part of the
+'old boys' network' and never would be. She did her work and did it
+well. The Captain seemed to happy with her. And as she walked the
+grimy streets of Crater City, she felt a presence at her back and knew
+it was Harlan. She also felt the ghosts of the hundreds of thousands
+of people who had died on this planet. It was for those uneasy spirits
+that she had joined the Resistance. It was for them that she sought
+justice.
+
+==== Captain Tavis: Chief, Agalder Police Department (APD) ====
+
+Sam Tavis was an honest cop and had been amazed when he had progressed
+up the ranks so rapidly. He had expected his stubborn ethics would
+cause trouble and hold him back at some point. But his immediate
+superior had been a brilliant man and recognized the importance of
+having a totally trustworthy subordinate who could be duped into
+thinking that the Crater City Police Department was free of
+corruption. That had worked well until the time came when Tavis was
+faced with an untenable situation: support his boss or let a dozen
+innocent people die. He had saved the potential victims and his boss
+had died. The police force was turned inside out to find corrupt cops.
+Now he had a good group. He was pretty sure most of them were honest.
+
+He was almost totally certain about Mellie Kaminsky. She was as
+straight an arrow as he had ever seen. But there was something she
+hadn't told him. Now she was dodging any questions about what happened
+in the alley three nights ago. It wasn't like her and he was worried.
+
+He walked the same route she had that night through the safe zone
+around the headquarters, then into the dark alleys of Hollowtown, the
+area to the west of APD headquarters. He knew he was crazy to wander
+these alleys alone, but he had to see for himself. Garbage was piled
+high along the sides of the buildings. Some people just threw their
+refuse at the disposal openings and walked away, even if the noisome
+waste splattered against the side of the building. The openings to the
+trash disposals weren't all covered. He shuddered as he thought what
+could happen if a child climbed in there.
+
+Movement to his right caught his attention and he turned, drawing his
+laser gun. A shadow appeared farther down the alley. He had started in
+that direction, moving slowly and carefully when the knife entered his
+back silently and sliced through his spinal cord. He dropped like a
+discarded puppet, regretting that he wouldn't have time to finish his
+work. He looked at the shoes next to him as a hand reached over him
+and twisted the knife. Then his eyes only saw eternity.
+
+==== Harlan: Thief ====
+
+Harlan was the one who found him. He was heading to his rooftop
+guarding position the following morning when he saw the body. Thieves
+had made off with his gun, identification, badge, and wallet, but
+Harlan knew Sam Tavis. He sat on the ground, legs splayed out, back
+against the wall and didn't move for a long time.
+
+Mellie found him in the same position forty minutes later as she
+walked to work. At first she thought they both were dead. Then she saw
+the tears on Harlan's face. He didn't respond at first when she knelt
+beside him. Finally his eyes flicked to hers. He leaned forward and
+stood up.
+
+Looking down at her, he said "Put in the call. Don't mention me.
+They'll know I was here, but say I was gone when you got here." He
+didn't touch her, just turned and fled into the warren of alleys. She
+watched him go with eyes that were also brimming with tears.
+
+==== Lt. Marks - Chief of Detectives ====
+
+Looking down at the body of Sam Tavis, Jason Marks felt a deep sorrow.
+His naturally dark eyes were even darker than usual. His thinning hair
+was blowing in the cold wind that prowled this place. He'd been
+expecting this for years. Tavis had been an honest cop. And a stubborn
+one. The man had stood up to mafia bosses and leaders of cartels, to
+politicians and other cops. He'd never bent. Marks had known this
+would happen eventually. There were too many bad guys in the world.
+
+He knelt beside his friend and carefully removed the pendant around
+Tavis' neck. The chain was gold as was the rim around the stone, a
+dark brown, clear quartz from the Cairngorm Mountains in Scotland on
+Earth. He was surprised the thieves who had taken everything else,
+including his shoes and tie, hadn't stolen this. But he was glad to
+see it. Tavis and he had talked about death and the talisman that he
+now held no more than a couple of months ago. Sam had told him to give
+it to Mellie in case of his death and to tell her to pass it on to the
+one she loved. It belonged to her lover, the captain had said. Her
+lover would be next in line, but he refused to say who the man was or
+what he was in line for. He did say to pass it on with his blessing
+and his love, which confused Marks even more.
+
+Mellie was standing by a carryall, a self-operating vehicle that could
+carry either people or cargo. It would carry Sam Tavis to the morgue.
+
+He walked over to her and in a few brief sentences, told her what
+Tavis had charged him to do. He gave her the pendant and turned away
+to a group of detectives, examining a spot next to the body. The men
+were bent over, talking very softly with each other, looking at
+recorders that they held in their hands.
+
+"What have you found?" he asked. They looked up and spread out, making
+room for him. He realized that Mellie had followed him and noticed
+that they did not make enough room for her. He reached back and drew
+her into the circle, the others stepping back grudgingly.
+
+John Behan glanced at Mellie, then addressed Marks. "Someone was
+sitting here for quite a while. Close to an hour. Didn't move. Just
+sat there."
+
+Marks raised an eyebrow. "Do we have an identification?"
+
+"No, sir." another detective said. "But we should be able to come up
+with a name within the next couple of hours."
+
+Marks looked at Millie. "Was there anyone here when you arrived?"
+
+She shook her head. "I thought I heard footsteps running off, but by
+the time I checked for a pulse, I had no idea which alley to check."
+
+They all looked at the alleys. Five met in a conjunction, making a
+space larger than a couple of condos put together. Each of the alleys
+led off into darkness, three curving away, two leading straight out.
+
+Alex Biggers slammed his fist into a tossed away piece of sheetrock.
+"Why in hell was he down here by himself?"
+
+Marks looked down at his dead friend, then glanced at Mellie. "I want
+a name on my desk in the morning." he said as he stomped off down the
+alley.
+
+==== John Behan: Detective ====
+
+John Behan used to be the rising star of the Homicide Division. He had
+been young, buff, and ambitious. Before Agalder and especially Crater
+City had been forcibly returned to the Paleozoic Era, he had been
+optimistic about his future. He married a wonderful woman and they had
+talked of having children. But then this world, his world, fell apart.
+Alys was killed. An accident they said. But she was gone. Nothing left
+of her but pictures and memories.
+
+One of those memories crossed his mind and he smiled for just a
+moment. Biggers dropped a file in front of him and Alys disappeared
+into the recesses at the back of his mind.
+
+Biggers was only in his thirties, while Behan was forty-five now.
+
+"Don't strain yourself with this one, John." he said as he swaggered
+off.
+
+The younger guys considered Behan the 'Old Man'. Cocky bastard. he
+thought as he opened the file on his computer. The white screen went
+black for at least twenty seconds before it stabilized. He grimaced,
+mumbling "Piece of crap."
+
+A vid appeared on the screen. A young man with dark hair and dark eyes
+looked back over his shoulder as he raced up a fire escape that was
+missing several rungs. He practically flew up to the roof. Dressed in
+black tunic and jeans, he blended well with the dark building. But
+Behan knew that face. Harlan. The thief Mellie had been so obsessed
+with - until she wasn't. He wondered what had changed her mind.
+
+On the screen, a drone followed Harlan as he ran across roofs, jumped
+between buildings, slid down pipes, and scaled ladders. The drone was
+the only cop to keep up with him. Behan wondered why they hadn't
+turned loose the robots. Those hounds could have caught him. Of
+course, they were likely to tear him apart when they caught him. Maybe
+the bosses wanted him alive and undamaged.
+
+The drone dived and tried to hit Harlan on the back of the head.
+Harlan, however, wasn't cooperative. He ducked at the last moment and
+swung something black. The drone went offline.
+
+Behan leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. That man was just
+too smart and too fast. He knew the city well and rarely ventured into
+the suburbs. Except that time that he had robbed the Mayor. The thief
+had stolen a statuette, reported to have been brought from Earth, a
+fat little guy with his belly button showing, sitting cross-legged
+with a silly smile on his face. The statue was supposed to be made of
+gold with jewels in the little guy's clothes and a big, fat diamond in
+his hands. Behan's lips curled upwards. The Mayor had been hopping
+mad. But the Mayor was an asshole. Most of the force had thought the
+episode funny, especially since Harlan had been so careful not to hurt
+anyone.
+
+The Mayor had tripled the security at his mansion. You'd think that
+when Harlan returned the statue without tripping any alarms, the Mayor
+would be grateful. No. The asshole went berserk. He'd come screaming
+into Sam Travis' office and thrown his hat at the Chief. Behan had
+been close by and he'd opened the Chief's door, causing the apoplectic
+Mayor to turn and stare at him. Behan had ignored the Mayor, asking
+the Chief. "Problem, Captain?"
+
+Tavis had grinned. "No. But thanks, John."
+
+Even now, with Tavis gone, that memory brought a feeling of pride.
+
+Biggers came back, a big grin on his face. "I knew it!" he crowed,
+waving a fax sheet. "The sitter, the person who spent nearly an hour
+sitting next to the Chief's body, was Harlan." He tossed the sheet on
+Behan's desk. "I had a feeling that thief was the one. He musta killed
+the chief. You think?"
+
+Behan ignored the question. The vibration report definitely identified
+Harlan as the individual who had sat, unmoving, next to Sam Tavis. He
+spoke without realizing it. "Like he was keeping vigil."
+
+"What?" asked Biggers. "What's a vigil?"
+
+"A time spent in prayer or grief, watching over something or someone."
+answered Behan. He stood up.
+
+Biggers backed off. "But why would that punk Harlan keep this vigil
+thing over the Chief?"
+
+Behan ignored him as he headed for the door.
+
+He found Melanie at her condo. He could see that she had been crying
+when she let him in.
+
+He took off his coat and put it on the couch, then sat beside it.
+"Mellie. We've got to talk. It's this Harlan guy, isn't it? You're in
+love with him. Are you helping him?"
+
+Mellie's head whipped around and she stared at her partner, face pale,
+eyes wide.
+
+Behan watched her. "You know, babe. I've got a lot more experience
+catching out liars than you have. You're not particularly good at
+this. You lied when you said no one was there when you found Captain
+Tavis. Harlan was there."
+
+He stood up, towering over her. "Wasn't he?!" he yelled in her face.
+
+Mellie backed up, looking frightened. Her hand came up to her mouth,
+and for a horrible moment, Behan thought she had a suicide pill. But
+she was just frightened and he took a deep breath.
+
+His voice dropped to a gentle whisper. "You love him, don't you?"
+
+Her eyes were full of tears as she nodded.
+
+"Why did he sit by the Chief's body for nearly an hour this morning?
+And where is he now?" Behan asked.
+
+"I don't know. All I know is that he was sitting by the Chief, holding
+his hand, crying. They had some sort of relationship and Harlan
+clearly loved him. He saw me and stood up, told me to call for help,
+and left. I don't know where he is or where he lives." She walked to
+the window, looking out at the city. "I know almost nothing about him
+except his beliefs. We've talked about morality and ethics." She
+turned back to him. "He's a good man, John. And, yes. I love him."
+
+Behan nodded. "Give him a message for me. Tell him that we need to
+talk. Soon. And set it up." He reached out, patted her on the
+shoulder, and left.
+
+==== Harlan: Thief ====
+
+He ran the roofs blindly. The world blurred past as the tears kept
+coming. He had never felt pain like this and he couldn't outrun it.
+His chest was tight and his breath came in short gasps, intermixed
+with sobs. It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair. They hadn't had enough
+time together, not nearly enough, not since they had started playing
+their parts in this goddamn drama. His father the Chief of Police, he
+a common thief. Well, not common. His lips quirked.
+
+It had been nearly nine years since they had been father and son,
+except for stolen minutes now and again. Harlan sometimes surprised
+his father in the middle of the night, waking him from sleep for a ten
+minute chat. Usually scared the hell out of his dad, especially since
+the Chief lived on the eighteenth floor. But there was a balcony and
+that made it easy for Harlan, although his father never understood.
+
+He reached his home, an abandoned house on the north side of the city.
+He had managed to find a bed and a chair and a table. Home was always
+a temporary abode. He moved his residence frequently and kept it
+simple. Now he sat at the table and stared at a wall, not thinking,
+mind totally blank.
+
+It was hours later when he woke up. He had laid his head on the table
+and fallen asleep. The pain came crashing back down and he grunted.
+But it was time to find out what happened. In a little while he would
+sudz, depilate, and change clothes. There were people to visit.
+
+==== Alfie Gallagher: Thief and general all around thug ====
+
+Alfie Gallagher didn't have a lot of friends. Not necessarily because
+of his job, his work for the Syndicate. It was mainly because Alfie
+was a miserable excuse for a human being. He was a not too bright
+psychopath, a man who would have slit his mother's throat for a ten
+spot. In fact, he had done exactly that. In addition, he didn't wash
+very often.
+
+Sitting alone in the Rusty Blade, a rundown bar not very far from
+Harlan's temporary lair, Alfie was surprised when Diego Farley sat
+down across from him. Diego was a runner for the Syndicate.
+
+"Cassidy wants to see you." said the slim young man. The violaceous
+scar that ruined his right face twitched. "He's got a job for you."
+
+Farley started to rise from his chair, but Alfie grabbed his arm.
+"What kind of job?"
+
+Farley yanked his arm away, wiping it on his jacket as if something
+dirty had gotten on it. "How should I know? The big ones don't exactly
+consult me, now do they?" and he turned away.
+
+Alfie sat for another twenty minutes, then he dropped a coin on the
+table and left.
+
+The job was not to his liking. Cassidy was second-in-command to the
+Syndicate's Number One, Chas Hawkins. He had given Alfie his
+assignment and started back toward the big house when Alfie sputtered
+"But how am I gonna kill this guy if nobody knows where he is, where
+he lives. Nobody knows nothin'. I need some help."
+
+Cassidy looked back at the unshaven man with hair hanging in his eyes
+and the same clothes he'd been wearing for four days. "If you want to
+obtain information, take a sudz, clean up, shave, cut your disgusting
+hair, and then ask. No one wants to talk to a streetie." and he
+disappeared into the crowd.
+
+Alfie cleaned up. He rented a hole at the spaceport where passengers
+could sudz and sleep. He had stolen some clothes from the mission
+store. When he looked in the mirror after he shaved, he could barely
+recognize himself. He even brushed his teeth.
+
+He returned to the big house that served as Hawkins' headquarters here
+in the city. He found Cassidy in a large room overlooking what used to
+be a rose garden. The blackened plants were being removed by a couple
+of men in dark green one piece uniforms. Cassidy glanced at the two
+men sitting with him and they stood and left. Alfie sat down across a
+small table from the Second. "Okay. Now I'm clean and pretty. Tell
+me."
+
+Cassidy's lips quirked. "You can find him two houses down from the
+Blind Rat Tavern toward the dock. I think he is holed up in the
+attic." He waved dismissal at Alfie, who stood and started toward the
+door.
+
+"And, Alfie." Cassidy's voice stopped him. "If you want to be part of
+this organization, you will stay clean and pretty."
+
+==== Harlan: Thief ====
+
+The very soft sound of glass breaking far below woke him. He stood up
+from the table where he had fallen asleep again. A loose board below
+the shuttered window allowed him a small view of the street. His
+eyebrows rose. There were at least a dozen black clothed figures
+starting to enter the house. They must really want him this time.
+
+He reached over the table and pulled on a cord. A loud crashing
+followed by screams and loud cursing came from the first floor as a
+large part of the ceiling collapsed. Harlan smiled. He pushed a button
+next to the door. More yelling and cursing. A kitchen timer sat on the
+table. Harlan set it for three minutes, replaced it, and slipped out a
+trap door that led to the roof. He disappeared into the dusk as the
+third trap was sprung.
+
+==== Lt. Marks: Chief of Detectives ====
+
+Exasperated wasn't nearly a strong enough word, Jason Marks thought.
+Perhaps infuriated would cover it. He stood looking at the filthy,
+dust covered, bruised and scraped squad he had sent to pick up Harlan.
+They'd gotten his location and put the op together in a hurry. There
+was no way the thief could have known they were coming. Yet he had
+thwarted them and was gone.
+
+No one was seriously hurt. Harlan was like that, careful. He
+apparently didn't want to cause harm to anyone. But he was probably
+laughing on his way out the window.
+
+==== Alfie Gallagher: Thief, Apprentice Assassin ====
+
+Alfie got to the house in time to see a squad of the APD Elites going
+in the door. He watched for a while and heard the ceiling collapse in
+the hallway and the stairs crumple as they started to climb. He had to
+grin even as he thought that he might have been the one buried under
+the dust and dirt and what passed for spiders and bugs on this world.
+A cloud of dust spewed forth from the door and Alfie slid into the
+darkness.
+
+==== Mellie: Detective ====
+
+When Mellie opened the door and found Harlan leaning against the wall
+outside, eyes swollen and red, she said nothing. She simply took his
+arm and brought him inside. After steering him to the couch, she
+programmed drinks for both of them and then sat beside him.
+
+"He was your father, wasn't he?" she said softly.
+
+Harlan turned to her, eyes widening. "How did you find out?"
+
+Mellie smiled. "Just a good guess. You look alike in some ways. And
+you share his world view."
+
+He looked down into his drink, swirling the liquid around in the
+glass. "He was the best man I ever knew. We argued a lot, but he
+always kept it friendly, even humorous." His voice broke. "God, I
+loved him."
+
+She put her hand on his arm and leaned into him. "I loved him, too. He
+helped me so many times."
+
+Harlan turned and gathered her into his arms and they sat that way for
+a long time, sharing their grief.
+
+Harlan left early in the morning before dawn. He had to find Santorini
+and report. Mellie watched him go, the tears still on her cheeks.
+
+==== Santorini: "Boss" of the Resistance ====
+
+Santorini was still asleep when Harlan bypassed his security detail
+and shook him awake.
+
+"What the fuck?!" yelled the Boss. Three guards exploded through the
+door, guns raised. They grabbed Harlan and started to hustle him out
+of the room when Santorini stopped them.
+
+"But, Boss. He's an intruder. We have to..."
+
+"You have to figure out how he got in here. But leave him alone. He
+was just showing off."
+
+The Boss and Harlan watched the disgruntled guards leave before they
+spoke.
+
+"How the flaming Hell did you get in here?" Santorini hissed.
+
+Ignoring the question, Harlan continued staring at the door. Silently
+he stepped closer and yanked the door open. One of the guards stood,
+hunched over, an eavesdropper attached to the wood, extending to his
+ears. Harlan tore the device out of the man's ears, eliciting a yell
+of pain, ripped it off the wood, and slammed the door in the guard's
+face.
+
+He turned to the Boss. "I would change my guard detail if I were you."
+he said.
+
+But Santorini was already throwing the door open. The guards were
+backing off, blood running from the ears of one.
+
+"Jackson!" he bellowed. In seconds another guard appeared in a
+sleepfit, with a dart gun in his hand, two others behind him.
+
+"Take these three into custody. I will question them later." the Boss
+snarled and closed the door.
+
+"How?" he asked, looking at Harlan.
+
+"One guard asleep. Another alert but looking in the wrong direction
+for a couple seconds too long. And I'm just skinny enough to fit
+through the air vents." Harlan shrugged. "It was easy."
+
+Santorini ran his hand through his thinning hair. "You will drive me
+crazy eventually."
+
+He stood and walked to the window. He stood looking out for a full
+minute. When he spoke, his voice was soft. "I'm so sorry about your
+father, Harlan. He wasn't just one of the best men I've ever met, he
+was my friend."
+
+He turned and Harlan saw that his eyes were shining with unshed tears.
+"Do you have any ideas why he was killed?"
+
+Harlan shook his head. "He certainly had enemies enough. The Syndicate
+is probably celebrating tonight because of his death. The Hideout 12
+group are another possibility. We may have found their lair, but we
+still don't know much about them. We need to take members of that
+group alive to gather information. I have heard rumors of the thieves
+organizing as well." He frowned and rubbed his hands over his face.
+"Something big is going on and I haven't heard anything that lets me
+get a handle on it."
+
+He looked at the Boss. "The APD Elites paid me a visit tonight. I got
+out only because I had set up the traps."
+
+Santorini smiled. "I heard about that. Apparently Marks came close to
+having a stroke when the squad came stumbling back in, bruised and
+covered in dust. The Elites are going to have to work a lot in order
+to recover their shining reputation."
+
+The two men shared an amused grin.
+
+Harlan sat down on the edge of the bed. There were no chairs in the
+room. It was too small. Santorini refused to accept the ostentatious
+display of the previous 'Boss'.
+
+"Tell me about the raid on Hideout 12." said Harlan. "Do we know whose
+stronghold it was?"
+
+Santorini shook his shaggy head. "There are so many of the survivor
+gangs out in the wilds, it could be any one of them. We got lucky.
+This group was pretty sophisticated. They carved that place out of the
+obsidian formed during the Iron Wars. It means the tunnels wander up
+and down and the rooms are odd shapes, but the camouflage is great."
+
+Harlan leaned forward. "Why can't we turn that place into a trap for
+the Syndicate? We could drop a few hints about our new fortress where
+we keep our arsenal. I bet we could pick up a few Syndicate rats
+pretty easily."
+
+The Boss looked down at his hands. "Maybe. The idea has some merit.
+Let me think about it."
+
+==== Alfie: Thief, Would-be Assassin ====
+
+Everyone knew the approximate location of the Emerald Palace, the
+headquarters for the Resistance. So Alfie just wandered down the
+nearest street and set himself up when he had a good view of the
+undulating roof.
+
+Three hours later a figure appeared on the roof. Using his monoc,
+Alfie could see that it was Harlan. He lined up the shot as the best
+of the thieves looked around and then pulled his collar up. Gently,
+gently Alfie squeezed the trigger. The ancient sharpshooter rifle
+bucked into Alfie's shoulder and spat forth a bullet. The sound was
+deafening. Harlan dropped like a puppet whose strings have been cut.
+
+==== Alfie: Thief, Assassin ====
+
+Alfie broke down the rifle and packed it in a bag of groceries. He put
+the wig and scarf back on and within three minutes, as the Resistance
+fighters poured out onto the street, an overweight grandmother passed
+by, staring at them with open curiosity.
+
+When he reached the little trail into the park, he disappeared along a
+faint trail that led to a clearing. By the time Alfie reached the
+clearing, he had discarded his female disguise, turning the raincoat
+inside out and ripping off the lower half to form a leather jacket.
+His wig turned inside out to become a leather cap and the scarf went
+around his neck. The grocery bag and every other scrap of material
+went into sacks on either side of an air runner with lots of chrome.
+He looked like every other air rider. Totally forgettable. He walked
+the machine out to the street, waited until the road was clear both
+ways and slipped out of the woods and down the lane unseen.
+
+==== Santorini: Boss of the Resistance ====
+
+Jackson burst into Santorini's office about fifteen minutes after
+Harlan left. "Harlan's been shot!" he yelled.
+
+Santorini knocked over the lamp as he rushed from the room. "Where is
+he?"
+
+"They're bringing him down from the roof now." was the answer.
+
+The Boss skidded to a stop and turned around, facing Jackson. "Is he
+alive?" he asked in a softer voice.
+
+Jackson shook his head, his face somber, saying "I don't know."
+
+Santorini caught up with the medics as they reached the ground floor
+and started running down the corridors. The Boss raced alongside.
+Harlan had a breathing tube in his pharynx and a machine was assisting
+his respirations. His face was almost as pale as the white sheets and
+sweat dripped off him. His eyes were closed.
+
+The Boss called out to the head medic. "Mason. Did he say anything?"
+
+Mason didn't slow his pace or turn around. He called out over his
+shoulder. "He was unconscious when we got there, Boss. He wasn't even
+breathing. Sorry."
+
+Santorini dropped out and watched the group careen around the corner
+into the corridor that opened out into the clinic. He stood catching
+his breath for a minute and then turned back to his office. Getting
+his assistant on his wrist phone, he called for all the surveillance
+recordings in the area as well as overhead satellite and traffic cams.
+He also ordered teams of investigators, including robot cops, to start
+canvassing the neighborhood.
+
+An hour later they found footage of what happened on the roof. But all
+they saw was the muzzle flash. They triangulated it and found the spot
+the shooter had chosen for the ambush. Vibration evidence was sketchy
+since the spot was in a little garden and the plants interfered with
+the detectors. However, a preliminary id was consistent with the
+readings from a known thief named Alfie Gallagher. The word went out
+that the Boss wanted to 'speak' to this Alfie Gallagher.
+
+==== Alfie: Thief ====
+
+Alfie reported to Cassidy after shooting Harlan, but the man wanted
+proof of death. Alfie's description of the exceptional thief's demise
+wasn't sufficient. Alfie was seething. He stomped out of the big house
+and returned to his condo where he threw the wig/cap across the room.
+He was furious but not stupid. He wanted to get drunk but knew it
+would be counterproductive.
+
+The place to start would be the place he used for the shot, but when
+he got close, the area was crawling with Resistance techs. He backed
+off quietly and hurried down the hill. The fact that the Resistance
+had a forensic team scouring the area where he had been was evidence
+in itself that Harlan was dead. He was fairly sure that Cassidy
+wouldn't accept that conclusion, but he sent a coded message to the
+Second-in-Command.
+
+He worked his way back around the Emerald Palace to a house where he
+could watch the activity from a rooftop. Like some other houses still
+in use, this one had a makeshift chimney, added when the Iron Wars
+destroyed the energy net that had surrounded the planet, Alfie climbed
+a lattice slowly and quietly to the roof. He cursed under his breath
+as he climbed, muttering. "You'd think they'd make roses thornless
+after all these centuries." Then as he pulled up onto the roof, a
+slightly louder "Ouch!"
+
+Settling behind the chimney, he put on his monoc and prepared to wait.
+The wait was short. In fifteen minutes, a small woman in a forensics
+smock walked up to the house and activated the bell. Alfie could hear
+voices from below but couldn't make out the words. But the result was
+that a man came out of the house with an expanding ladder and leaned
+it against the edge of the roof. The ladder flowed upward, gripping
+the roof tightly, Alfie heard the woman thank the householder, who
+replied that he would be inside if she needed anything. Then there was
+silence as the woman climbed up to the roof.
+
+She stood up when she reached the top and began scanning the area with
+a high tech binoc. The appliance limited her near vision. Alfie
+slipped out of hiding and applied a drug spray gun to her exposed
+neck, then eased her down as she lost consciousness.
+
+To Alfie, it seemed that she weighed almost nothing. He threw her over
+his shoulder, collected his gear, and carefully walked to the opposite
+side of the roof. The roof of the neighboring home was only two meters
+away. He threw his gear bag across the gap, then tossed the woman
+over. She landed with a heavy 'thunk'. Alarmed, he waited several
+minutes before crossing over himself. From that roof, he was able to
+drop down three feet to a small garden behind the house. Using alleys
+and back gardens, he made his way to the edge of the wilderness. Then,
+having sent a second message to Cassidy, he sat and waited. Cassidy
+would want to talk to the forensics woman.
\ No newline at end of file
projects / universe.git / commitdiff