Tom Dowd - Burning Bright

"Lieutenant, could you get Knight Errant's extra security in motion?" Kyle's tone was more an order than a request. Seeming startled by the command, Facile looked over at Truman, who nodded.

"All right," the lieutenant said grudgingly.

"Good," Kyle said, then asked Truman, "Is Ms. Uljaken still available to assist me?"

Truman nodded once more.

"Good," Kyle repeated. "Now, as a first step, I'd like to talk to Melissa in private." Kyle addressed her directly: "If you don't mind."

He could tell it was the very last thing she wanted, but after a sharp glance from her father, the girl said, "No, of course not. Anything I can do."

Melissa Truman and Kyle moved out onto one of the balconies, where a retractable, hardened plastiglass bubble protected them from the rain. "You think I know something about where Mitch is, but I don't," she said angrily.

Kyle motioned her to one of the Amazonia-style chairs and sat down in the one opposite. It creaked ominously under his merely average weight. "I know very little. That's why I want to talk to you."

"I told you. I really don't know anything."

"You seem to know more than your parents about Linda Hayward."

She shrugged. "Not really."

"I'll bet everything they do know they learned from you."

Melissa looked away. "They don't pay much attention to us."

"Is that why Mitch ran off?"

She sighed. "Partially."

"So he told you he was planning to."

"No," she said, scowling. "It seems obvious, though."

"Why?"

"Dad was slinging him drek and Mom refused to meet her."

"You only saw her that once, in the background on the telecom screen."

She turned away and seemed to blush slightly. "I never said she was in the background. She and Mitch were quite friendly."

"But that was the only time you saw her?"

"No, not exactly…"

"Then you did see her other times? Did you meet her?"

"No, I only saw her. From a distance, at the club."

"The Kaleidoscope?"

"Yes."

"She was a regular?"

"I guess. But I'm not, so I can't really say."

"Were you there when Mitch met her?"

"No."

"Do you know how it happened."

"No."

"Has she been seen there since Mitch disappeared?"

"Sh-" Melissa stopped herself. "I don't know," she said after a pause, almost quietly.

Kyle shook his head. "Look, Melissa, were it not for the fact that magic was involved, I'd agree with you about leaving your brother alone." She seemed to cringe slightly, and Kyle suspected she was reacting to the fact that she might have blundered. "But the fact is, your brother is still a minor under your parents' protection. Add to that fact that your father is going to be paying me a lot of money to find him, and what you get is the unavoidable fact that I will find him."

He leaned in closer to her. "Despite what aspersions Lieutenant Facile might want to cast, I am not exactly a weak magician. The ward that protected your brother was mighty powerful. That's got me concerned."

"All right, all right," she said, unable to meet his gaze. "I checked around. She's been at the Kaleidoscope at least once since my parents lost contact with Mitch."

"And your brother was with her?"

Melissa winced. "Yes."

Kyle leaned back. "Thank you, Melissa. I know you don't like any of this, but I swear I'm going to try make it all come out all right."

She nodded, then hesitated as though having something to say but not sure she wanted to say it. "There's something else you should know," she said finally.

"Oh?" said Kyle.

"She's in a gang."

"Melissa described Linda Hayward as taller than average, maybe one hundred and eighty centimeters," said Kyle. It was late that evening, and he was stretched out on the couch in the sitting room of his hotel suite. Hanna Uljaken sat with a tray of snack foods at her side, writing notes on her datapad. Seeks-the-Moon was nearby, carefully inspecting a large bowl of fruit. "Black hair, shoulder length, bright blue eyes, pouty mouth," continued Kyle.

Uljaken looked up at the last bit of description. Kyle shrugged. "Her words, not mine. Melissa also said Hayward had a good body, and that she thought it was all hers."

"Meaning?" said Seeks-the-Moon, looking up from his investigation.

"That it wasn't cosmetic or surgical."

"Ah," said the spirit. "And here I thought we might have something kinky."

"Give it time," Kyle said. "The kicker is the gang affiliation." He sat up. "Ms. Uljaken, did the database search come up with anything on the gang name 'Desolation Angels' that Melissa gave us?"

"Nothing that our search programs could find in any of the public records. Mr. Truman has agreed to have someone from research and development look into it. Knight Errant is also investigating."

'Truman's loaning us a decker?"

She smiled. "Were he not working for us, I suppose that's what he'd be." She glanced down almost shyly, then back up at him. "You know, it's all right if you call me Hanna." She smiled.

Kyle returned the smile. "Would that be appropriate?"

"It could be."

"Should I leave?" asked Seeks-the-Moon, biting loudly into an apple as he took a seat next to Kyle.

Uljaken glared at the spirit, then turned back to Kyle. "I thought you said spirits didn't like being, what did you say, 'manifest'?"

"Some of us don't," Seeks-the-Moon said before Kyle could answer. "Unlike those poor elementals who must force themselves into an ill-fitting physical body to be manifest, I have an actual physical form. Courtesy of him." The spirit smiled and gestured at Kyle. "Sculpted from the primal potential, cast by the grace of will, and kept extant by the simple fact that banishing me would truly be a pain in the ass."

Kyle laughed softly. "It's true. I've let him get too powerful."

Seeks-the-Moon doffed his hat.

Hanna laughed, and just then the telecom beeped.

Kyle looked at Seeks-the-Moon, then sighed and pulled himself up from the conch. "I'll get it."

"Hate the things," said Seeks-the-Moon to Hanna. "Won't touch 'em."

Kyle sat down at the desk, swung the arm holding the flat screen out to a more comfortable viewing position, and hit the Connect key. William Facile's face appeared on the screen.

"We checked on your 'Desolation Angels'," the ork said, "but no one's got any record of it being a gang name. Not Eagle either or the Feds."

"Any other occurrences?" Kyle asked.

"Yes, an old one. Apparently it was the title of a music disk back eighty years or so. A rock and roll band named Bad Company recorded it. There was also a note that the cover image became a popular design on motorcycle jackets of that era."

"So Melissa Truman may simply have seen Hayward wearing one of these vintage jackets and assumed a gang affiliation."

Facile nodded. "That would be my guess.'

"And what about the Kaleidoscope Club? Anything on that yet?"

"Not really. Just the usual drek. Every organized crime faction in town is said to own it, but it's actually controlled by a local corp called the Caleb Group. They own four clubs."

"Who owns them?"

"They're public. About eight hundred and ninety-two investors."

"Who're the principals?"

"Three people, all with four percent."

Kyle sighed. "Dead end. Nobody with enough ownership worth tracing. I assume they're all legit."

"I'd really rather not bog down Knight Errant's computers conducting background checks on nine hundred people."

"Your call," Kyle said, "but is Linda Hayward on the list of investors?"

Facile blinked, and then reached down to work his computer. A moment later his eyes narrowed. "Yes, she is."

"Great. Let me know who else interesting turns up on that list." Kyle reached for the command keys, said: "I'll check in again later", disconnected, and Facile faded to black. "Interesting," said Hanna.