Metal Fatigue by Sean Williams Page B

'mishaps' kept me busy all morning."
    Wiggs raised an eyebrow. "That makes two of us."
    "Oh? Who this time?"
    "Jessica Yhoman of the Mayor's office."
    Keen to pursue the distraction from his own misery, Roads encouraged the conversation. "How does this one fit in? She sounds pretty unremarkable."
    "Outwardly, yes. Privately, no. She is — was — Senior Councillor Norris' personal adviser. He might back down at the last minute, without her."
    "Really?" Norris was a mainstay of the Reassimilationist movement, not renowned for retreating from difficult situations. "It's a little late to change his mind, I would've thought."
    "Maybe." Wiggs glanced at DeKurzak. "It's never too late in politics."
    "If you say so." Roads took a sip of bitter coffee and pulled a face. "Agh. So she fits. The killer is sticking to his demographic. When did it happen?"
    "One-thirty this morning. Yhoman's de facto came home not long after and discovered the body. Her neck was broken, like the others; a swift, smooth, and very clean job." Roads heard a note of awe in the man's voice; one professional admiring the work of another, he supposed. Although he had worked with Wiggs long enough to call him a friend, he still found his fellow officer's fascination with homicide unnerving.
    Chappel pointedly cleared her throat. "Phil, I was telling Antoni about the lead you're pursuing, the latest break-in. It's not one of ours, is it?"
    "That's right," Roads said, turning to face her. "One of my contacts tipped me off that a cowboy outfit had been done over shortly after two this morning. We're going over the scene at the moment, looking for anything new. If we find anything, we'll let you know."
    "How do you rate your chances?" asked DeKurzak.
    Roads thought of the man he had chased from Old North Street, and decided not to mention it. This wasn't the time to air hunches. "Not good, I'll admit, judging from previous experience. But we're doing our best."
    "Do you believe that will be sufficient? It has been over a month, after all, and still these matters have not been dealt with."
    Roads felt the hackles on the back of his neck rise. "What exactly are you suggesting?"
    DeKurzak held up both hands placatingly. "I'm not questioning your capability, Officer Roads — or yours, Officer Wiggs. These are difficult cases that standard operating procedure has thus far failed to bring to light, and no-one is necessarily to blame. I am merely expressing the concerns of those above me that your methods might be at fault." DeKurzak looked from Wiggs to Roads to emphasise the point. "Perhaps SOP is no longer equal to the task."
    "That's easy for you to say," Roads snapped. "Got any suggestions?"
    "Phil." Chappel cast him a cautionary glance. "Let's look at what we have before we go any further."
    "About the Mole?" Roads took a deep breath, tried to dispel the exhaustion that was making him so irritable. DeKurzak was talking sense, as much as Roads didn't want to hear it. "Almost nothing. He doesn't leave genetic fingerprints or identifying marks of any kind. He follows no fixed m.o., except that he works at night. He only sets off alarms when he wants to. And the one description we have is anomalous."
    "He looks like you, in other words," said DeKurzak.
    "Unfortunately, yes."
    Chappel turned to the other officer. "What about you, Roger?"
    "The killer operates at night, also." The burly redhead shifted in his seat. "We do have a sample of genetic material, but it doesn't match any in city records. We have no physical description, nor any other clues to his identity. Only his motive seems certain: to frighten the Council into backing down from the Reassimilation."
    "Yes." DeKurzak steepled his fingers and pressed them to his lips. "I've read the reports, and they're not terribly encouraging." He shrugged. "One uncatchable criminal I could believe, perhaps, but two ...?"
    Chappel intervened before Roads could take offence. "We are treating each series of crimes separately