Floxham Island ~ Sinclair V-Log AZ267/M Read online

  “He was my cell buddy,” a voice from my left called. A guy to my left, red eyed from crying was holding his hand up. “His name is Jallon Tyle and he’s from Agrillia 3.” This news stunned me and I shot a look at Nembier, who looked back at me with raised eyebrows. Agrillia 3 centre stage again. What is the significance of this? Nembier is from there and is connected to nine murders there. He was freed from his restraints by someone he said he met there; thereby implying they are Agrillian too. Now this latest victim is also Agrillian. I could see the pattern but couldn’t explain it and it irritated the heck out of me. Something else then occurred to me and I looked for Flark.

  “Captain?” I called, just managing to stop myself from calling him by his nickname out loud. “Do you know where Jena Marks was from?”

  “Agrillia 3 Sam,” he replied.

  Now more than ever, I knew it was important that I find those discarded overalls so I asked for some volunteers to do a search. Around a hundred or so of the newly released prisoners from cell wing four stood up, so I split them up into groups of half a dozen and gave them each a territory to search.

  “If you find them, don’t touch them,” I reminded them all. “Leave at least three guys watching them, the rest come and find me okay?”

  *****

  CHAPTER SIX

  Having so many volunteers to search for the discarded overalls meant I was able to give each group a fairly small territory. It also meant they could search that territory with great care. I told them to rip the place apart if necessary; those overalls must be found. They’d be found eventually, I knew that but I expected it to take at least a couple of hours before I got the call and I was more than a little surprised therefore, when one of the inmates came puffing into the canteen within thirty minutes and announced they’d found them stuffed inside an air conditioning vent. Whoever put them there was in a hurry and hadn’t taken enough care to ensure the grating was put back properly and the loose screw and freshly scratched paintwork caught their attention.

  “Well done guys,” I grinned, inspecting the vent and its contents. “Great job.” I sent one of them to fetch a bucket of water, some of the cleaning fluid we’d used the day before and a bin liner. When he returned I thoroughly washed the floor around the base of the vent. Then I squirted my hands with sterifilm and reached in to retrieve the overalls. They were a mess and the smell of blood filled our nostrils as I laid them on the newly cleaned floor to examine them. Blood soaked them from mid chest to the knees so I took several blood samples from different areas, confident that they would all be from the victim. Now I just needed to get a DNA sample of whoever had worn them and I’d have my killer. Experience told me my best hope was a hair or blood, but either of those could be from the victim. No, with so much blood and quite a few hairs already on them, I opted for sweat. Whoever wore them would naturally have sweated, so I took several samples from both armpits, the back of the neck and the crotch. I took some vidicom footage of them and put them into the bin liner. Once they were bagged and tagged, we all returned to the canteen for a drink.

  As I sat and had a drink, I realised two things. The most important being that I needed to get the killer’s DNA sample worked up. Ideally this would identify him immediately if he was in the law enforcement record system already but if not, at least it would identify his race, which would give me a place to start. Then I realised that my own equipment would not be able to do the job. I’m not a detective; I’m given a specific target to pursue and restrain and my equipment enables me to ensure I have the correct target; it doesn’t enable me to work out who the target might be. For that I needed a lab; a lab with a sample processor. A voice brought me out of my musings and I looked up to find Clavan looking at me.

  “What’s up Sam?” he asked. “I’d have thought you’d be delighted now you’ve found the overalls and got your samples. Doesn’t this mean you now know who our mystery slasher is?”

  “Well no I’m afraid it doesn’t,” I admitted sadly. “I don’t have the necessary equipment to run the DNA sample. All I can do is record it; I can’t process it. I’d need access to a proper forensic lab with a sample processor.”

  “So why the long face?” he grinned. My frown made him snigger. “This is Floxham Island remember? Y’know, hub of the law enforcement universe?”

  “Shit, of course it is.” I almost yelled at my own stupidity. “Jeez how can I be so dense? There’s bound to be a lab here. All I have to do is find it and hope it has power enough to work the sample processor. Thanks buddy.”

  “No problem,” he grinned.

  This knowledge brightened my spirits quite a bit and I leapt up and went over to where Flark was sitting, deep in conversation with a couple of the inmates. “Captain?” I asked. “Sorry to crash your rec time but where is that plan of the Island you had?”

  “It’s in the armoury. Is there a problem?”

  “Not really,” I replied, “but it might help me identify who killed Jenna and Mr Tyle.”

  “It will?” he frowned. “How?”

  “I’m hoping there’s a forensic lab here somewhere,” I explained. “The samples I took from the overalls need to be processed before I can identify who they came from and my own equipment isn’t able to do that. This being Floxham Island, I’m hopefully assuming that there’ll be such a lab here somewhere. If there is and I can get over there and find it helpfully still with power, I can process those samples and at least partially identify our killer.”

  “Okay,” he nodded as he stood up. “Come on then, let’s take a look.”

  The forensic lab was easy to find on the plan of the island. Finding its location wasn’t the reason I sighed heavily and swore. The reason for my mood was the fact that it was right on the other side of the island, at the furthest possible point from where we were all holed up, safe in the Admin Block. Flark sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he realised the full extent of our problem.

  “Shit,” I hissed. “It couldn’t be any further away could it? Is nothing gonna go right for me on this job?”

  “Dammit,” he exclaimed and thumped the table. “Just when I was beginning to relax with the idea that all we had to do was stay inside here for another couple of days, this shit happens.”

  “I’m sorry buddy,” I replied. I really did feel badly for the Liner’s crew. They weren’t paid to deal with situations like this and so far they’d all acted without reproach and I couldn’t complain about any of them. If there was a way to get around having to involve them in any more danger, I’d take it happily.

  “Don’t apologise Sam,” he sighed. “It’s not your fault we have a maniac killer amongst us. What annoys me is that we’ve no choice but to get you out there to that lab. If we stay here and wait for rescue, more people could end up with their throats cut. But, if we make a run for the lab, we could all end up as dinner for those creatures. What a choice huh?”

  “Yeah,” I nodded. My mood was getting worse with each passing second but the guy was right and I couldn’t argue his logic. “And you know what else is good? We could get there and find the lab without power anyway and our trip will have been a total waste of time.” He turned away with his hand still grasping his hair and I made a snap decision that I knew was totally stupid and thankfully so did he. “Listen buddy, you and the crew aren’t paid to deal with this shit. I’ll go on my own and if I don’t make it back, just promise me you’ll get Nembier to the authorities and explain to them that there is substantial doubt as to his guilt okay?”

  “What?” he yelled as he spun around and gazed at me wide eyed. “Are you crazy? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard in years Sam,” he said and started to laugh. Relief flooded through me and I could’ve kissed him. “And how the fuck do you expect me to deal with Luggs and Dex once they find out I’ve let you go out there alone huh?” he asked, eyes still wide with astonishment at my rash suggestion. “They’d skin me alive. Hell no Sam; even just for my own safety, you’re not going ou
t there on your own okay? End of discussion.”

  “Captain?” I asked with a grin.

  “Yeah?”

  “Give us a kiss,” I laughed.

  “Aww shucks Sam,” he said as he burst out laughing.

  Flark and I decided that it would be best not to let everyone know that I was going to be making a trip to the forensic lab to process the DNA sample I got from the discarded overalls. We agreed that to do so might alert the killer to the fact that he or she may soon be discovered and then either cover their tracks or go completely psycho in one last blaze of glory. Knowing that our best guns were going to be away from the group for a while and unable to give protection should that happen, made us both more than a little uneasy but there was no better option so we had to go with it. We knew that our disappearance would have to be explained somehow though, so I suggested we just tell everyone that we were going to scout around a bit to see if we could find some long range comms equipment we could use to alert the liner to come back for us. It seemed the logical thing to do and Flark agreed. We got back to the canteen and after taking Clavan into our confidence and gaining his promise not to spill the beans on the real reason for our trip, I took a deep breath and hoped I could lie convincingly.

  “Okay listen up folks,” I called and waited for the chatter to die down. “The Captain and I have decided that it would be sensible for us to try to get some help from somewhere rather than sit and wait for the liner to return. Now that another person has been killed it seems the logical thing to do. Now, we’ve looked at the plans of the island and we’ve located a couple of places we think give us the best opportunity of finding some long range comms equipment that will enable us to do that. The problem though, is that we’re gonna have to work our way right across the island and you all know what’s out there. Anyone who can handle a gun is welcome to volunteer but please, no sightseers this time okay? Be aware before you volunteer that you may not return. I’m sorry to be blunt but I can’t sugar coat the dangers. Take twenty minutes to think about it and then we’ll ask for volunteers.” Before I’d even finished my speech, Luggs and Dex were at my side and within ten seconds of me finishing, Baz joined us. Cap appeared within another twenty seconds, shortly followed by half a dozen of the other inmates. With Flark and I, that made a dozen reliable guns and I was as happy as the situation allowed me to be. We felt we had the best chance possible of making it there and back without losing more than a couple.

  Nembier looked at me with fear in his eyes so I decided to have a quiet word with him. “Hey guys, could you give us a minute?” I smiled at his watch team and they got up and left us alone.

  He looked me right in the eyes and nodded slowly. “You’re a decent liar Sam,” he smiled, “but you can’t fool me buddy. So what’s really going on?”

  “I got a DNA sample from the overalls the guys found and I need to process it before I can even have a chance of identifying the killer.”

  “So?”

  “So I need a forensic lab with a sample processor to do that. My equipment won’t do that job.”

  “Okay,” Nembier nodded. “So why are you telling me?”

  “Because if I don’t make it back, I want you to know two things,” I said as I held his gaze.

  “And what would they be?”

  “First, I know you didn’t kill Jena Marks or Jallon Tyle. Second, I want you to know that I’m not totally convinced that you’re guilty of the murders on Agrillia either.”

  His jaw dropped as he looked at me and tried to take in what he’d just heard. “You’re not?”

  “No, and I’ve asked the Captain to see to it that you get delivered to the relevant authorities if I don’t make it back in one piece and to make sure they know there’s some doubt as to your guilt. I’m telling you this so that you know I’m not some low life Merc who just sees guys like you as a pay check. I also hope that it helps you to understand the importance of allowing yourself to be delivered to the authorities without a fuss, so that the proper procedure and a full investigation can be undertaken. My official tag will ensure that my concerns are taken seriously, so don’t think I’m handing you a bone to make you be a good boy okay?”

  “I understand,” he nodded and I noticed his eyes well up, “and thank you.” I went to stand up but he put a hand on my arm. “Sam?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I mean it y’know. Thank you. Just in case you don’t come back, would you allow me to shake your hand?”

  The canteen was filled with voices and scraping chairs as I had a chat with the blue eyed plank who would be Acting Captain in Flark’s absence and explained about changing Nembier’s watch team every couple of hours. With a killer still on the loose I also told him to try to ensure no one went wandering around alone.

  “Better try to keep folks in groups of three or four buddy,” I suggested, “so that if the killer does strike again, we’ll have some witnesses.” He nodded. “Also, if the Captain and I don’t make it back here, please get Nembier to the proper authorities and tell them I have substantial doubt as to his guilt. Here’s my official tag number and the overalls we found are stowed away in the locked drawer in a desk in office number thirty seven, one floor above; the desk with the blue book on it. No one here knows I stowed them there okay, so don’t let anyone know. We don’t want them to go missing. Hand them over with Nembier and my tag number. Nembier won’t give you any problems while I’m gone and he knows he has to be delivered to the authorities.”

  “Okay Sam.” The blue eyes looked worried now. “No problem.”

  “I doubt we’ll be back before nightfall,” I added. “We’re probably gonna have to hole up somewhere and make the trip back in the morning.”

  “Be safe and God speed.” He offered me his hand, which I shook.

  “Okay people,” I called out and everyone looked up. “We’re gonna be off now to the armoury and then we’ll be on our way. We probably won’t make it back here before dark so we’ll be finding somewhere to hide until morning so don’t worry if you don’t see us back here before tomorrow. Now Chip here is gonna be Acting Captain in our absence, and although he only has official authority over the Liner crew and passengers, it would be a good idea for everyone to do as he asks. We really don’t need any internal politics to add to our problems. Is everyone okay with that?” Nods and grunts filtered around the room so I nodded. “Okay guys, let’s go.”

  The twelve of us made our way to the armoury to tool ourselves up. Once Flark and I explained the real reason for our trip, those of us already with weapons, loaded up on ammunition whilst the six inmates browsed the hardware on display. I watched them closely and was pleased when I saw them all choose powerful laser rifles. This told me they at least knew which weapon was appropriate for the job and weren’t just tugging my chain when they’d volunteered. As I rooted amongst some crates I gave a little whoop of glee.

  “Hey guys look at this,” I exclaimed. “We have ourselves some Nozzies here.”

  “Great, gimme one them bad boys Sam,” Dex grinned as he strode over, followed quickly by Luggs and the others. Nozzies are protective body armour vests that cover the entire upper torso, shoulders, upper arms, abdomen and groin areas. They’re made of some sort of weird mix of a light metal and a volcanic rock from four of the Lymbin system’s moons and their totally unpronounceable name begins with the word Noz something or other. They’re standard kit in the military and law enforcement fields, and are known as Nozzies, for obvious reasons. They’re extremely light and comfortable to wear but can withstand anything except the most powerful laser and pulse weapons. Oh, and they won’t protect against the Hellfire Canon either but thankfully now that those Transmortals are gone, the Hellfire Canon will not be something we have to worry about encountering ever again and certainly not here on Floxham Island. We also hoped they would afford us protection from the teeth of any of those creatures outside that we might be unfortunate enough to get too close to. One of the inmates was rooting around i
n the cupboards and suddenly gave a yell that sent us all running over to have a look.

  “Fuck me, look at that Sam,” Luggs exclaimed with a grin.

  “My god, I want one of those,” Dex said and took another down for himself.

  What we’d stumbled upon was a stash of fairly antique but pristine Incendipulse guns, together with hundreds of fuel canisters. These weapons send out a quick but deadly pulse of volatile energy that immediately bursts into flame as soon as it makes contact with anything. Very few things can withstand them, apart from solid rock, water or thick metallics. They’re not just flame guns, they are portable mini volcanoes and I was delighted to see them.

  “Shit,” I hissed with awe as I handled one. “What a weapon this is. Has anyone here ever handled one in use?”

  “Once,” Dex nodded. “We had one in my military unit and I persuaded my captain to let me have a go one day.”

  “What are they like?” one of the inmates asked.

  “Wow, they are damn awesome,” Dex laughed and shook his head. “You have no idea.”

  “Okay let’s have at least three of them with us okay guys?” I said and several bodies all rushed to grab one. “Okay, now if no one needs a piss or anything, let’s get to it shall we?”

  We grouped at the main entrance door and readied ourselves.

  “Okay guys let’s get the introductions over so we’re all acquainted huh?” I smiled and they nodded. “I’m Sam as you already know so each one introduce yourself so we all know who we are.”