Dirty Work: Volume 2

Story Three - Speed Demon - 5

I knew that something was rotten from the start, but not this rotten. Someone that far underground (pun intended) now working for Halo was either a large change of morals or corruption right to the core. I was betting more heavily on the latter.

I ducked into one of the garages, mostly empty, and waited for Berwhal to leave out the back of the building. I wanted to have a nose around in his lair if I could, without him knowing. There were several Zoomus' propped up, spanners and washers lying on workbenches nearby. A pair of rubber gloves propped up against the wall waved at me. Got to get some humour into a high-stress pit box.

A woman in oily overalls and a screwdriver tucked behind her ear walked in. 'Who are you?'

I flashed the ID I'd been given. She looked carefully, and then nodded. 'And what're you doin', muckin' up my garage?'

'Trying to find a missing Zoomus for the big man,' I said casually.

The woman scoffed, taking the screwdriver from behind her ear and gesturing to the Zoomus'. 'Well they ain't gonna be hidden in here, mate. All these babies got their numbers logged, printed, registered to the big servers. You want to take a look? Be my guest.' She paused. 'But don' go putting your paws on 'em, ya hear?'

'Loud and clear,' I said. I knelt to inspect the Zoomus'. They were really beautifully crafted machines, wings and farings specially modified for aerodynamic efficiency. The anti-grav gen was housed tight and snug in the belly of the beast to aid weight distribution and require less wiring to the anti-grav floor-pan, where the energy pushed against the ground. The handlebars were polished and sleek, and looking at the chrome for too long gave the impression that it was burning under the clinical white.

At the back of the room the mechanic was going through the cabinets, organising her tools, checking the amounts of oil and grease in the cans, making a checklist on a Halo-Core as to what needed to be picked up. 'You the head mechanic?' I asked.

She laughed. 'Lords, no. Jus' in charge of this box. But there's a little rivalry between all the boxes, extra bonus from the head for the best-kept garage.'

'And are you winning?'

She scoffed again. 'I was winning,' she said, turning to face the wall, 'until that bastard near the end went and lost his damn Zoomus and everyone took pity on him. That one that he's going round on? Fully replaced by Halo. Said that their lock on the garage failed, no punishment on him, getting all the attention now, isn't he?'

Something told me that there was a link here somewhere that was beginning to be forged.

'Yeah,' she said to herself. 'Roddy Berwhal. Never liked him, a bit of a creep. Friends are assholes, as well; he only got the job because they paid Draddas to hire him.'

Here was when I started to think, started to see the faint outlines of jigsaw pieces. All you needed to know was the kind of person Berwhal was, his connections, and the information given just now by this woman, and you could begin to see everything trying to slot in together. Maybe the cog's teeth weren't exactly aligned yet, but they were coming together closely, trying to mesh.

'Can I ask your name?' I asked.

'Kerra,' she said.

'Kerra, thank you. May I ask about the Zoomus'?'

She smiled. 'Ask away.'

I crouched by the side faring. 'Right here,' I said, 'is a serial number, yes?'

'Every part has one,' she said. 'Every nut and bolt is catalogued and filed. If it ever ends up in the market somewhere, you just tap in the number and the system'll tell you if it's been nicked or not.'

'So someone that had stolen it, trying to sell it off for scraps, would get hit instantly, because anyone with half a brain would check the numbers?'

'You catch on quick,' she said. 'Nobody sells these things for parts, now.'

I frowned. 'So what if they're not selling the parts off?' I looked over at the racks and drawers, full of spanners and spare parts. 'What if it goes straight back into the system?'

'I'm not following.'

'Berwhal's paid to be here, right? So what if Draddas struck a deal with him? One night, some friends of Berwhal's with some decent hacking skills, sets off the alarm. Goes in, finds the thing missing. No Zoomus. Celestrian police would be scanning the markets, even the black markets, like hawks.'

'Ok, so what's your point?'

'Anyone trying to get away with a Zoomus would be seen instantly,' I said, 'but they weren't. The thing just vanished.

'But what if it didn't vanish? What if, knowing they'd get compensated for the missing thing with a new Zoomus and a massive influx of cash to stop a court case, they hid it in plain sight? In the garage itself?'

Her eyes lit up. 'No way.'

'Think about it. If this thing vanishes, they'll get the cash, even if they don't sell off the parts, because Halo will want to keep it all quiet before the grand opening. So they double their money by keeping it around. The night before, they dismantle the thing, subtly change the parts numbers so that they can't be traced, and put them away, each nut and bolt into their crates out back. Go home. Someone sets off the alarm. No Zoomus. Get the money. Free parts, and who the hell is going to check the numbers of parts in that garage anyway?'

'It's a scam,' she said.

'A magic trick,' I amended.

'I'm calling the police,' she said, picking up her Halo-Core off the side. I put her hand down.

'We need proof. We need to find those parts.'

She considered, put the Core in her pocket. 'Follow me,' she said.