Kovak Remand Center, city of Kovak, planet of Jamuda
“How are you today?”
“Bored shitless,” Michael replied. “You guys have the worst holovids.”
Francois Hammel smiled. “True enough,” he said. The smile vanished. “I have news, and not good news, I’m afraid.”
“Add it to all the rest,” Michael muttered. “Come on; tell me.”
Hammel pushed a piece of paper across the table at Michael. “This is a warrant for your arrest pending a formal extradition request from the government of the Hammer of Kraa Worlds.”
A hand reached into Michael’s chest and squeezed his heart hard. “Fuck,” he whispered; his head dropped into his hands. “The Hammers never give up.” He looked up at his lawyer. “Same old bullshit. The charges, I mean.”
“Let me see. On December 17, 2399, Universal Date, in the town of Barkersville, Commitment Planet, Hammer of Kraa Worlds, you murdered Detective Sergeant Kalkov, Commitment Planetary Police Service, and Trooper Askali, Hammer of Kraa Doctrinal Security Service, both in the course of their duties.”
“Like I said,” Michael muttered, “the same old bullshit.”
“Maybe, but this-” Hammel poked the piece of paper. “-means the Feds will have to wait to get their hands on you. I know, I know,” he said, putting up a hand to preempt Michael’s response. “It’s crap, but the court needs to agree that it’s crap before it gets thrown out.”
“Which it will, right?”
“Jamuda has never extradited anyone to the Hammer of Kraa, because it is a well-established fact that they use torture as a matter of routine …”
“Tell me about it,” Michael said.
“… but even the Hammers are entitled to due legal process, and that will add to the time it all takes. We’ll go through the Hammer request in detail as soon as I get it from Justice. I’ll be back as soon as I’ve had a chance to look at the Hammer’s paperwork.”
Back in his cell, Michael lay on his bunk, hands behind his head, and stared up at the ceiling. The Hammers’ extradition request was a worry. Not because of the request itself-Hammel’s assessment of its chances was probably correct-but because of what it said about the Hammers’ determination to get their hands on him.
Michael felt very uncomfortable. Once back on the Federated Worlds, he would be safe. Here on Jamuda, he was not, and that meant the Hammers would be coming for him and soon. He’d never been more certain of anything in his life.
He banged the button on the wall-mounted intercom.
“Yes?” a disembodied man’s voice said.
“I need to talk to my lawyer. It’s urgent.”
The guard closed the door of the booth; Michael flicked on the privacy screen and waited in patient silence until the earnest face of his lawyer appeared on the holovid screen. “Hi, Francois.”
“What can I do for you?”
“I want to see someone from the Fed embassy.”
Hammel frowned. “That won’t be easy. You’re not their favorite person. Can I ask why?”
“The Hammers aren’t serious about extraditing me. They-”
“Hold on. I don’t think you can say that.”
“I can. Like you said, they’ve never extradited anyone from Jamuda, ever, which means they’re wasting their time, and they know it.”
“I’m sure they do, but that shouldn’t stop them from following legal process.”
“Legal process?” Michael rolled his eyes. “Oh, Francois, give me a break,” he said. “This is the fucking Hammers we are talking about. Like they give a damn about due legal process. Come on! They’re just trying to slow things down, that’s all.”
“Eh? Why would they do that?”
“So they can kidnap me and take me back to Commitment for a show trial, that’s why. Though why they’d bother, I don’t know. They’re going to kill me anyway.”
“Not sure I’d agree with that.” Hammel sounded skeptical.
“Ever been to the Hammer Worlds, Francois?”
A look of horror crossed the lawyer’s face. “Hell, no!”
“Ever met a Hammer?”
“No.”
“Heard of Doctrinal Security?”
“Of course. Who hasn’t?”
“Well, I’ve been to the Hammer Worlds.” Michael’s voice sharpened as anger took over. “I’ve met lots of Hammers, I’ve been a prisoner, I’ve been tortured by DocSec, and I still carry the scars to prove it. So you should believe me when I tell you that those bastards will come after me, and it won’t be to read me bedtime stories.”
“All right, all right,” Hammel said, his hands up, “I believe you. But what can your embassy do?”
“Maybe nothing, but it’s worth asking them to lean on the Jamudans to beef up security around here. From what I’ve seen, a Hammer hit team would have no trouble getting into this place.”
“Fine,” Hammel said with a sigh. “I’ll contact the embassy. You want to talk to them direct?”
“I think that would be best.”
“It won’t be easy, but leave it to me.”
The cell door swung open, and a guard stuck his head in. “Let’s go, Helfort. You have a visitor.”
“About bloody time,” Michael muttered. He got to his feet and followed the man out of the cell and down the corridor to the interview room, a cramped space cut in half by a floor-to-ceiling plasglass divider.
A woman was waiting for him; she looked unhappy. “I’m Colonel K’zekaa,” she said once Michael had sat down. “You asked to see me?”
“I did, sir. Thanks for coming.”
“Not my decision, Helfort,” K’zekaa said, her voice tight, controlled.
“I’m still glad to see you,” Michael said. He wondered just who had leaned on K’zekaa; the woman’s body language screamed her protest. “Did my lawyer give you the background?”
“He did, and I am not convinced that you are at any risk from the Hammers … or anyone else, come to that. Jamuda is a neutral system, Helfort, and I am sure the Hammers will respect that. They’re not complete animals, you know,” K’zekaa added with a condescending curl of the lip.
Michael stared wide-eyed at the woman. “Not complete animals?” he snarled. “You are fucking joking.”
“I am not in the habit of saying things I do not mean, Helfort. And watch your language.”
You are such a pompous asshole, Michael thought, all his good intentions flying out the window. If the woman wanted a fight, he’d give her a fight. “You’re a colonel in planetary defense, am I right?” he asked.
K’zekaa frowned, clearly puzzled by Michael’s sudden change of tack. “Yes, I am. But I don’t see what that’s-”
“I’ll tell you what it’s got to do with things … sir,” he said, using the pause to make certain K’zekaa did not miss the calculated insult.
K’zekaa didn’t; her face flushed with anger.
“So far as I know,” Michael continued, “planetary defense has not seen much combat against the Hammers, so I’m guessing that means you haven’t either.”
“I don’t like your tone, Helfort.”
“Like I give a shit, Colonel. You are yet another rear-echelon motherfucker, so don’t talk to me about the Hammers. I know them, I’ve fought them, I’ve been wounded by them, I’ve been tortured by them, so you can trust me when I tell you that you are wrong. They are animals, and they will come for me. So you can either get off your ass and do something to help keep me alive or piss off and leave me to take my chances. Your call. Which is it to be?”
K’zekaa sat staring at Michael, her mouth working as his angry tirade washed over her. It was a while before she could speak.
“I will ignore all that. You are in enough trouble as it is, so I will put it down to the stress you must be under …”
“Thank you so much,” Michael muttered, his voice all acid.
“… but it does not change my view. The chances of the Hammers coming for you are remote, so you have nothing to worry about. And that’s not just my opinion. It’s the embassy’s opinion as well. But I will do one thing, Helfort: I will pass your concerns on to the people responsible for security around here. Provided they are not insulted by your lack of faith in their ability to protect you-and I wouldn’t blame them if they were-maybe they will take steps to address those concerns, however ill considered they might be.” K’zekaa stood and pushed her chair back. “And don’t talk to me about what I have and have not done, Helfort, because I have always done my duty … which is more than I can say for you.”
With that, K’zekaa turned, banged on the door to be let out, and was gone the instant the door opened.
I do like it when things go well, Michael thought, the anger-pumped adrenaline in his system ebbing fast. Now what would he do? The Hammers would come-of that he was certain-and he did not want to find himself alone and cornered in his cell like a rat when they did.
But just how he could avoid that fate, he had no idea.