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Detective Jansen twirled his pen in surprisingly dexterous fingers. \u201cI understand your contract granted you extraordinary powers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo more than regular police,\u201d Greenwald said, \u201conly for matters related to this case, and only because Mr. Lee is an accredited private peace officer in the employ of Lithsman Kinetics.\u201d<\/p>\n
Distaste crawled across the troll\u2019s face. \u201cA bounty hunter, in other words. Tell me, Mr. Lee, do you consider yourself above the police?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExcuse me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you feel you have a higher status than the police? That you are entitled to special privileges?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDetective!\u201d Greenwald interjected. \u201cWhat\u2019s the relevance?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRKC Biosoft. They pulled strings and got you into the morgue.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re making baseless accusations!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBaseless? The ME has a two-week backlog on autopsies, but the Chief Medical Examiner got an autopsy held just for you. And he told me a rep from RKC called him. How did that happen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t go to RKC,\u201d I said. \u201cRKC came to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leaving Kantun behind, I called my contacts in the NHPD, trying to wheedle out more information about the case. No joy. Cops don\u2019t like independents muscling into their turf. With no other leads, I returned to my office, where paperwork awaited.<\/p>\n
Lithsman Kinetics occupies the upper floor of a sturdy two-story building. The lower floor is given over to Lithsman Arms and Supplies. A steady stream of customers were checking out the long guns and pistol cabinets, while others inspected shelves of ammo and assorted kit. More than a few of them have The Look, earned by spilling blood in righteous combat.<\/p>\n
I went around the back and made my way upstairs. Alex Hanson, my partner and the owner of both Lithsman companies, was standing at the conference table in the middle of the room, conferring with an elf. Alex looked up and saw me coming.<\/p>\n
\u201cYo!\u201d Alex said, raising his hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey,\u201d I replied, and gestured at the elf. \u201cClient?\u201d<\/p>\n
The elf turned to face me. Alex smirked behind his back. \u201cYup,\u201d Alex said. \u201cThis is Mr. Johnson from RKC\u2019s legal department.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson had perfectly coiffed silver hair, pale skin and a sharp black suit. No signs of a weapon, but it didn\u2019t mean he didn\u2019t have one. Or need one.<\/p>\n
I extended my hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cDominic Lee,\u201d I said. \u201cNice to meet you.\u201d<\/p>\n
He grasped my hand and shook. Once, firm.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood to meet you.\u201d His voice had a melodious lilt. \u201cI understand you\u2019ve been retained to look into Mr. Gerald Vandemeer\u2019s untimely demise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s correct.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Vandemeer was an important asset to our company. I\u2019m here to assist your investigation.\u201d
\n\u201cYou should be holding this conversation with the police. I\u2019m just helping them out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alex blinked twice, very deliberately, very firmly. Then he brought his left hand up and scratched his ear. That meant he was recording the conversation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are on my appointment list, yes,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cBut unlike them, you are not necessarily encumbered by red tape.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe apprehension of the criminals.\u201d<\/p>\n
I raised my eyebrow. \u201cReally.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d he said mildly. \u201cSurely the legal system would be sufficient, even if they happen to be members of an organized crime syndicate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOrganized crime? Could you share with us what you know about the murder?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRKC Biosoft is a leading developer of cybernetic enhancement technologies, and unfortunately this has encouraged theft of our intellectual property. In recent years, we have noticed a large number of counterfeit RKC products flooding the market. Without proper quality control or competent medical supervision, these counterfeits have claimed many lives in many low-income areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur security department has determined that the chief source of these counterfeits is the Gramzin crime syndicate. They illegally obtain our design documents and \u2018license\u2019 them to their franchisees for manufacture, sale and implantation.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Vandemeer was in charge of a team working on a sensitive contract for certain government agencies. The clients require low-profile implants for high-risk operations. The Gramzins attempted to blackmail Mr. Vandemeer into giving up the project data, but he refused and informed our security chief. Three days later, he was murdered.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Vandemeer stored the project data on his laptop and neural chip. The laptop holds the data, and the neural chip the passwords needed to decrypt it. Both items have not been accounted for. My company is prepared to offer payment for their discreet recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n
RKC was the premier supplier of biomechatronics to the government and military. They couldn\u2019t let a disaster like this affect their bottom line. Public health was, naturally, an afterthought.<\/p>\n
Alex cut in. \u201cWhat kind of payment are we talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty-five thousand dollars, cash, on delivery. Non-negotiable. We know you are already receiving generous payment for your existing contract.\u201d<\/p>\n
With terms like that, it went without saying that they did not want the police involved.<\/p>\n
Alex\u2019s eyes widened. \u201cSounds reasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI specialize in tracking people, not stolen goods,\u201d I said. \u201cBut the killers might know where they are.\u201d<\/p>\n
The elf smiled. \u201cExactly. Our interests converge.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you have any leads?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe laptop\u2019s internal tracker was disabled. As for the neural chip, we don\u2019t know if it\u2019s still in Mr Vandemeer\u2019s brain. If it\u2019s missing, I recommend a s\u00e9ance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll be weeks before the autopsy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson smiled again. \u201cI can expedite matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
I glanced at Alex, eyebrow raised. \u201cI\u2019ll need backup for this.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded. \u201cMy calendar\u2019s clear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we\u2019ll see what we can do, Mr. Johnson.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExcellent. Pleasure doing business with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
We shook on it.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
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