HAWK

CHAPTER EIGHT: JAILBIRD (4/5)

Neither of the police officers who had arrested Kas said a single word as they led her and Astell out of the building.

They'd only been holding her for five hours but the sun had already retired, submerging the city into a darkness that consumed it like a flood. Most of the streetlights surrounding the station had been shot down by gangs, leaving only a network of spotlights atop the square building to cast a protective cage of light around it.

Once the nasty business of releasing their catch was over, the arresting officers retreated back inside to await their respective calls from the C.A.P.

Good luck with that...

The night air had an unpleasant bite to it, so Kas buttoned up her duster and stood the collar up. She scanned the street, looking for something that wasn't there.

'Didn't you call a taxi?' she asked Astell who was several paces ahead of her.

'You don't want the taxis around here,' he replied. 'We don't need one, anyway.' He walked towards a police parking bay where a pristine Kamari 85 waited for them. It was a streamlined seductress of polished gun-metal grey with a single black stripe running the length of the body.

Kas raised one eyebrow. 'This yours?'

'She is. You like cars?'

'Not particularly. They're slow, small and they've got no weapons.'

'I'll give you the last two, but slow, this ain't.' He stepped up to the side door which pulled open in his presence. Astell gestured to Kas to climb aboard, but she crossed her arms and stayed put.

'Aren't you gonna tell me not to touch the leather?'

'Leather's cheap. This girl's fully dressed in Cortex. Finest artifibre on Lysan. Touch it all you want. '

Kas rolled her eyes and stepped towards the car. She planted one leg inside, ducked under the doorframe and took a seat.

The interior was even smaller than the police car that had brought her there. The twin black recliners were positioned at either end of the cabin so that they faced each other. There was only three feet between them. The top half of the body was reinforced nitroglass, black as night from the outside, clear as air from within. It offered a full 360-degree view of the street as well as being a touchscreen display that offered an endless wealth of movies, music and whatever possible entertainment the modern wealthy civilian desired.

Astell climbed in and took the seat opposite Kas. The door slid shut and Kas suddenly felt very contained.

'So?' Astell said. 'Where to?'

'Downtown.'

'Whereabouts downtown?'

Kas wasn't about to tell him the truth, but she already had her answer ready. 'Ranger and Main.'

Astell suppressed a shrug. 'You heard the lady, Kam.'

A sultry woman's voice spoke from the air. 'Your selected destination is in a red zone. Would you still like to continue?'

Astell looked at Kas as if to ask what she was playing at, but Kas just smiled.

'What's wrong, lieutenant? Doesn't your mother let you go out at night?'

Judging by Astell's face, he wasn't amused. 'You can continue, Kam.'

Without so much as a hum, the Kamari pulled away from its parking bay and started its journey. Kas saw the dull scenery retreat quickly from the glass but could feel no movement at all. She figured Astell had opted for anti-gravity suspension.

No secret where his salary goes...

Astell sniffed the air. 'You smell that?'

'No smell over here,' Kas replied. 'Must be you.'

'Very mature. Kam, use fragrance ninety-nine.'

There was a soft hiss as the car dispersed an invisible scent into the cabin. An overpowering sweetness permeated the air which made Kas cover her nose.

'What the hell, Astell? That stinks!' Kas rubbed her eyes but they were already stinging. 'That's supposed to be better?'

'Relax, mohawk, it's a cleansing mist. Think of it as a shower.'

'Maybe you should try taking real showers, then you might not stink in the first place.'

'Good one.'

Kas shook her head and gazed out the window. She didn't feel comfortable looking at Astell who she could still feel watching her.

'You know,' he started, 'you still haven't said thank you.'

Kas swivelled and met his eyes. 'Thank you, lieutenant.'

'You're welcome. And it's flight lieutenant if you insist on calling me that. I'm not in the army, you know.'

'You're a cap. That puts you in the GFA. What did you think the 'A' stood for?'

'You've just got a smart answer for everything, don't you?'

'Might seem smart to you. This is just how I talk.'

Astell decided to give up on that line of conversation and try his luck another way. 'So what's this lead you've got on Selva?'

'What do you care? You don't believe me anyway.'

'Of course I do. Besides, you said you'd tell me if I got you out. Promised, actually.'

Kas looked back out the window and saw two middle-aged women engaged in some kind of scrap on the pavement. The car sped past before Kas could see the outcome and she was left gazing at her own reflection. 'I picked up some kind of transmission at the site of Selva's destruction. A signal.'

'What kind of signal?'

'I don't know, it's just raw data at the moment. I've got a friend who's working on analysing it, but it's got something to do with what happened to Selva, I know it does.'

Astell couldn't keep from looking dubious. 'You think someone destroyed Selva with a transmission?'

'Why not? Anything's possible.'

'Yeah, well... it sounds dumb to me.'

'Must be a nice change for you to feel smart for once.'

Astell sighed and gave up.