Captain Vorpatril's alliance

“Theo Vormercier has blindsided me,” said By bitterly. “When my hired goons didn’t produce you, instead of turning to me for my next solution, he implemented his very own brilliant idea, or so he thinks. He turned your identities and descriptions over to Komarran Immigration Services as illegal entries. He figured to let them do the legwork of locating you, and then snatch you somehow from incarceration after your arrests.”

Tej’s eyes grew big. Rish just went very, very still.

“So?” said Ivan. “They’re hidden for now. No way for Immigration to know they’re here…is there?”

“Unfortunately, Immigration shares databases with the dome cops, and your name, which you so thoughtfully supplied them, came up. The Immigration people will be on their way to check you first thing today.”

“They’ll have to catch me at work again. Nobody home here, right?”

“What if they break in to search?” asked Tej uneasily. “There’s no place to hide.” Her gaze shifted to the balcony door, where the first faint color in the sky was beginning to mute the city lights, and she swallowed.

“They have to have some sort of warrant,” said Ivan, beginning to share her unease. “I would think.”

“Ivan, those people issue warrants,” said By impatiently. “They don’t have the broad powers ImpSec does, but they’ve plenty enough for this. Probably more than they used to have back when Komarr was an independent polity. They don’t even have to break anything‑they can make the building manager open the door.”

“We have to get out,” said Tej. “We can’t let ourselves be trapped in here.”

Ivan had some sympathy for that sentiment. Even though the flat wasn’t dark, or constricted, or wet. Also, they weren’t alone…Maybe they were overreacting, really.

“That’s what I came to tell you,” said By.

“Wait, no,” said Ivan. Once they got away, and lost themselves, how would he ever find Tej again? The women had to be pretty good at hiding, or they wouldn’t have evaded their determined pursuers across four systems for what, seven months? Or maybe By had a plan‑he wouldn’t have come boiling in here without one, would he? Some way to keep a string on them‑

“You’ll have to get your things together‑” By began, but was interrupted by the door buzzer. Two stern blats. Tej jumped and Rish tensed. By wheeled. “What the hell? They can’t be here already.”

Ivan nipped out to the short hallway and checked the security viewer. Unfortunately, he recognized his visitors. Detective Fano and Detective‑patroller Sulmona, up bright and early, or dark and late, whichever. Fano leaned on the buzzer again, and Sulmona, after another moment, pounded on the door. “Vorpatril?” she shouted through it. “Answer your door.”

No polite please with that, Ivan noted as By and the women came up to peer anxiously around his shoulders.

“That’s not Immigration,” said By.

“No, it’s the dome cops. Same pair I talked to t’other day. Would Immigration have sent them?”

“No, they have their own uniformed squads for this sort of thing. There are procedures. This must be something else.”

Another buzz, longer. Sulmona pounded again. “Vorpatril? We know you’re in there. Open up.”

Ivan hit the com and called, “Why?”

By winced.

Fano drew a long breath. “We have a felony warrant for your arrest. That gives us the right to break down this door if you don’t open it.”

“Arrest! What the hell for? I haven’t done anything!”

“Kidnapping.”

“ What? ” said Ivan, outraged.

Fano’s jaw jutted. “We know you lied. The security vids from the Crater Lake bubble‑car platform finally surfaced. They clearly show you and an unknown person escorting the missing Nanja Brindis into a bubble car. She hasn’t been heard from since. The abduction charge is enough to get us in your door, but the one I’m really after is murder. But you know that, don’t you, Captain?”

Ivan was struck nearly speechless, except for the wheeze of his hyperventilation.

“Don’t open it!” whispered Tej. Truly, Ivan didn’t want to. By and Rish dragged him back to the living room for a hissed conference.

“But I have to let them in,” said Ivan, harried. “In the first place, it’s another felony not to, and in the second place, Tej, you can make the kidnapping charge go away by telling them I didn’t abduct you, I just invited you. Not to mention murder, good God!”

Tej said, “We can’t let them in, they’ll take us.”

“Tell them through the intercom,” Ivan suggested. Would that work?

“How would they know you weren’t holding a weapon to her back?” asked By, unhelpfully.

“And don’t you believe for a minute that Prestene’s agents can’t whip us out of their custody before you can get back with help, and anyway, your help is worse,” said Tej. “ImpSec! I’d almost rather take my chances with Prestene!”

“Hey!” Byerly protested.

Rish turned in a complete circle, gold eyes dilated, reaching as if for some rope that wasn’t there. “We can’t get out. There’s no way out!”

Tej grabbed her hands, stopping her rotation. “It’ll have to be the balcony after all. Oh, Rish, I’m so sorry I led you into this!”