the government, was the exact opposite?
At the side of the marksmen, a team of army engineers wielding hammers and wrenches swarmed over one of those new-fangled Bock Industries reciprocating engines, although how they’d gotten their hands on one given the turmoil at Bock Industries, I couldn’t be sure. The engineers lifted and banged and cranked as they attached the engine’s drive shaft to what looked to my eyes like a ballista, except the implement of death in question had a large wooden drum sticking out of its backside.
I nudged Steele. “What do you suppose that is?”
My partner glanced at the contraption sadly. “I think that’s what the military would call ‘progress.’ Let’s hope we don’t see too much of it too fast.”
I blinked, but I think I got the gist of what she meant. And for my brother’s sake, I hoped she was right.
We turned at the parade grounds, which looked as if they’d been trimmed by the army barbers, and walked until we found ourselves at the MP offices—a squat, boxy building slathered with several coats of the ubiquitous olive green army paint.
I pushed open the front doors and stepped inside. Corridors stretched out in three directions, but a low desk before me blocked my path. Behind it sat a pair of GIs, one male and one female. Both wore the same tan fatigues as the regular foot soldiers, but each had a white armband around their left arm, and on their right, an insignia patch with a prominently displayed pair of scales. It reminded me of my own badge, but instead of a soaring eagle holding the scales, a pair of swords crossed over them.
The woman looked up from her desk. “May I…help you?”
“I hope so,” I said. “I’m Detective Daggers, and this is my partner, Detective Steele. NWPD. We’re here to retrieve the suspects you stole from us.”
The woman sat up and clasped her hands. “Excuse me?”
“Daggers…” said Steele, in that ‘let me take it from here’ tone of voice of hers.
I ignored her and kept going. I had a plan. “Three of them. Sergeant Tim Holmes. PFC Kelly Chavez. Private Drake Delvesdeep. Heavy drinkers. Look like they hit a rough patch this morning. Surely you saw them come through here. They’d be hard to miss.”
“I’m sorry, detective,” said the woman, “but I’m not familiar with any of those three individuals, and even if I were, I’m not at liberty to discuss such matters without prior authorization.”
“Right, right,” I said. “Nobody keeps you abreast of anything. I get it. Your job is to sit here and make life miserable for people who walk in the door.” I leaned to my side to get a better look down the corridor behind the pair of desk jockeys. “Is that the sergeant major’s office back there?”
The man stood. “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to take a seat while we—”
“It is, isn’t it?” I said. “Really, there’s no need for you to get up. I can show myself in.”
I took a step to the side, and the young man moved to block my way.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, sir.”
“And why not?” I asked. “What have you got back there? My suspects? Illicit hooch? Racy pinup mags?”
The scowl he wore on his face said he didn’t care for my antics. Nor did he care who I was or what I thought I had the right to know. It did, however, tell me he’d be happy to put me down with excessive force should I be dumb enough to lay hands on him.
I gulped. My strategy of being an asshole to force someone to come deal with me wasn’t going as planned. Or so I thought…
A strong, smooth voice made me turn. “I’ll take it from here, Jenkins.”
10
A pure blood elf, roughly my height, stood at the mouth of one of the corridors to my side. A crisp, clean uniform fit snugly over his lean, muscular frame. His pointed ears stood out sharply over the ultra-short stubble at the sides of his head, but the hair at his crown had been given a little more leeway. Dark brown and swept to
At the side of the marksmen, a team of army engineers wielding hammers and wrenches swarmed over one of those new-fangled Bock Industries reciprocating engines, although how they’d gotten their hands on one given the turmoil at Bock Industries, I couldn’t be sure. The engineers lifted and banged and cranked as they attached the engine’s drive shaft to what looked to my eyes like a ballista, except the implement of death in question had a large wooden drum sticking out of its backside.
I nudged Steele. “What do you suppose that is?”
My partner glanced at the contraption sadly. “I think that’s what the military would call ‘progress.’ Let’s hope we don’t see too much of it too fast.”
I blinked, but I think I got the gist of what she meant. And for my brother’s sake, I hoped she was right.
We turned at the parade grounds, which looked as if they’d been trimmed by the army barbers, and walked until we found ourselves at the MP offices—a squat, boxy building slathered with several coats of the ubiquitous olive green army paint.
I pushed open the front doors and stepped inside. Corridors stretched out in three directions, but a low desk before me blocked my path. Behind it sat a pair of GIs, one male and one female. Both wore the same tan fatigues as the regular foot soldiers, but each had a white armband around their left arm, and on their right, an insignia patch with a prominently displayed pair of scales. It reminded me of my own badge, but instead of a soaring eagle holding the scales, a pair of swords crossed over them.
The woman looked up from her desk. “May I…help you?”
“I hope so,” I said. “I’m Detective Daggers, and this is my partner, Detective Steele. NWPD. We’re here to retrieve the suspects you stole from us.”
The woman sat up and clasped her hands. “Excuse me?”
“Daggers…” said Steele, in that ‘let me take it from here’ tone of voice of hers.
I ignored her and kept going. I had a plan. “Three of them. Sergeant Tim Holmes. PFC Kelly Chavez. Private Drake Delvesdeep. Heavy drinkers. Look like they hit a rough patch this morning. Surely you saw them come through here. They’d be hard to miss.”
“I’m sorry, detective,” said the woman, “but I’m not familiar with any of those three individuals, and even if I were, I’m not at liberty to discuss such matters without prior authorization.”
“Right, right,” I said. “Nobody keeps you abreast of anything. I get it. Your job is to sit here and make life miserable for people who walk in the door.” I leaned to my side to get a better look down the corridor behind the pair of desk jockeys. “Is that the sergeant major’s office back there?”
The man stood. “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to take a seat while we—”
“It is, isn’t it?” I said. “Really, there’s no need for you to get up. I can show myself in.”
I took a step to the side, and the young man moved to block my way.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, sir.”
“And why not?” I asked. “What have you got back there? My suspects? Illicit hooch? Racy pinup mags?”
The scowl he wore on his face said he didn’t care for my antics. Nor did he care who I was or what I thought I had the right to know. It did, however, tell me he’d be happy to put me down with excessive force should I be dumb enough to lay hands on him.
I gulped. My strategy of being an asshole to force someone to come deal with me wasn’t going as planned. Or so I thought…
A strong, smooth voice made me turn. “I’ll take it from here, Jenkins.”
10
A pure blood elf, roughly my height, stood at the mouth of one of the corridors to my side. A crisp, clean uniform fit snugly over his lean, muscular frame. His pointed ears stood out sharply over the ultra-short stubble at the sides of his head, but the hair at his crown had been given a little more leeway. Dark brown and swept to
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