Star Law: A Marshal Cole Series

Chapter 18 (b)

"I don't know about the children," said Singh. That was Chen's department.

"You can do better than that," said Orion. "You were there almost every day to talk to Chen. Twelve children just don't disappear. When were they moved?"

A jab of pain hit Singh in the forehead. She was trying to extract the information from his mind if he wasn't about to about to reveal it verbally. He thrashed in his chair. "Stop! I'll tell you. No need to root through my mind."

"This is what Chen did to me every day," said Orion with an edge to her voice.

"She did the same thing to me," said Singh. "She was cruel and the wrong person to be working with children."

"Did she kill the children?" questioned Orion. The anger bubbled just below the surface.

"I... I don't know," said Singh. "They were gone the day you disappeared. I was told they all died in the place they were moved to. I saw the death certificates."

"Who told you that they died?" Orion asked directly.

"Chen," replied Singh. All the while he was talking to Orion he was working at his right sleeve. Hidden inside was a blade. He always prided himself in being prepared and having skill aside from psi. "Chen was always in charge of that area."

"So you never saw the children transferred out, weren't there when they died, never saw the bodies?"

Singh frowned not sure where the line of questioning was leading. "No. I was the one that posted the death notice on NewsLink. It had already been written in bullet notes and I simply made it a news release. It said 12 orphan children in a military foster center killed in a house fire."

"I saw that notice," said Orion.

"I think it was meant to draw you out" said Singh. He had freed the blade in his sleeve and was sawing through the right hand's binding. "In fact, I know it drew you out."

"So you could kill me," stated Orion.

"That was never my instructions," answered Singh.

Orion snorted in derision. She never noticed that Singh had freed one hand behind him and was now sawing through the other binder.

"I need to find out what happened to the children," said Orion. "Chen either didn't know or wouldn't tell me."

"And then you killed her," said Singh. He was almost through the second binding.

"You forgot about the part about her trying to kill me," said Orion pointing out her neck bruises again. "You and I both know she's a killer."

Singh said nothing. Both hands were free. He knew he could not do anything about his feet without her seeing. He did have one ace up his sleeve but was not sure when to use it or how to deal with the consequences thereafter.

Orion turned to look at Singh. "Chen answered to someone. It is why I brought you here. You communicated with everyone. I want you tell me everyone who is on this ship."

Singh became very alarmed. "Look, I don't know everyone on the ship. I'm kind of like a telephone. Calls come in and calls go out. I don't know who or how many people make the calls."

This was only partially true. He was like a big switchboard but everyone had a personal ID in the form of unique psi signature. It was possible to mask it if you knew how to. As far as the ship went, he was the fulcrum from which all in their group communicated. And he certainly knew all their IDs. Singh was unsure if he had the means to prevent himself from revealing names. He honestly didn't know if the girl before him could compel that knowledge.

"I think you being far too humble," said Orion. She turned to face Singh and look him in the eye. "If you are in fact a big old telephone then I am sure there is a directory that I can look for inside."

Orion smiled sweetly and Singh's face remained impassive. It was quickly replaced by a darkness, then a frown and a grimace of pain.

"Get...out...of...my...head," stammered Singh. She was more powerful than he even imagined. It was all he could do to block her. She would get the information she wanted unless he resorted to desperate measures. At this point, he felt his life was forfeit if he didn't act. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Immediately, Orion felt something was wrong. One moment she was just within grasp of learning of all the contacts inside Singh's head and the next she was clutching her head in pain. It started off as a ringing far off and then grew until it sounded like a fire alarm. It was a stabbing awful pain and she moaned and crumpled to the ground.

Singh watched as Orion fell to the ground and waited till she was covering her ears. He knew it wouldn't help her. The sound she was hearing was psi energy feedback. It took effort for him to blast it out but everyone, both psi and non-psi, would feel it in their head. It rendered most people unconscious within 12 to 20 meters away. It was obvious the girl on the floor in front of him was not like everyone else. Even in pain, she tried to lift herself up. There was no time to waste. With his hands already free, he began to cut one and then the other cuff off his legs.

Once free, he contemplated dealing with Orion but she still looked dangerous. He decided escape was his better option and bolted for the door. It slid to one side and he was in a corridor near the Central Plaza. A number of people were on the floor unconscious. This wasn't good but he felt he could not stop the psi blast yet. He stepped over bodies and ran as fast as he could.

Orion groaned as she watched Singh make his escape. She picked herself up unsteady and made quick to pursue. She got as far as the door threshold and pulled back immediately when she saw the corridor camera. Damn, she thought. She closed the door quickly and fretted for a moment then decided that Singh was in a lot more trouble than she was. She apported out of the room leaving only the chair and cut binders on the floor.