When the rains may come (Science Fiction)

36. Stomping a ladybug

Luce had lost his cane but he still had the limp. His right foot always landed heavier than the left one as he walked. That's why people in the Logistics department of the Vigilance Squad could hear him arrive before they saw him come.

Life in Logistics was about what he had expected. Wake up six in the morning, light exercise, breakfast, drive to work, sift through papers, recheck Agent records, stare at a computer screen all day, track the missions in progress, compare the successful missions with the failed ones, plot graphs, request for a resource review from the Accounts department, plot more graphs, make an end-of-the-day report. Send the report to Command. Sign off for the day. This was the work of a senior analyst in VS logistics. Four days a week for twelve thousand kervers a month.

But saying it was all that straight and easy for Luce would have been a lie. Almost every other day was marked with at least one phone call from the Clandestine Division. And if he'd really trampled a ladybug on his way, the Clandestines would send their officer to question him in person.

He might've trampled one that day. Because officer Gabriella Dale was standing in the doorway of the Logistics floor with a sickeningly cheerful smile. It was going to be one of those days.

Gabriella's chestnut brown hair were pulled back in a ponytail. Her power suit was snow white, the blouse under her jacket was a bloody red and she had a cornflower blue satin scarf around her neck. The whole outfit looked weird as hell. But then again no one considered Gabriella to be a normal person either. She had a habit of wearing tennis shoes with something as formal as power suits and paint her nails an obnoxious shade. It was also as weird as wearing a power suit to work everyday.

"This is what a Clandestine Officer looks like?" Luce had thought when Dale came to talk to him for the first time a week ago. "This is the person Command has to answer to?"

"Analyst Luce, I have a few more questions for you today, can you step outside for a bit?" she said in her oddly clipped accent where each word seemed to tumble off her lips like cubes of ice.

Luce rolled his eyes but got off his desk. He walked up to her with the limp in his gait making its light and heavy sound that the Logistics department had grown so familiar with.

"Let's go down to the campus lawns, it's a lovely day today." She said in that same cold yet almost fake cheerful voice.

They took the elevator and made their way out into the gardens. There was low chirping of birds, mingling with the sound of traffic beyond the perimeter walls. Dale settled down on a bench under the oak tree by the west wall. She patted the spot next to her for Luce to join her.

He held back a groan as he took the seat.

"So, your main mission had been to apprehend Lisa Neville?" She asked, smoothing out the creases on her trousers.

He held back another groan. She'd asked him this same question a dozen times on her previous visits.

"No, my mission was to apprehend Richard Neville before he could get away with the information for Silver Lining." He said. "Lisa Neville only became crucial to the mission when she showed up at the Sector 22 airport with the intent to board the escape flight."

"And your initial intent for taking Lisa Neville into custody was to use her to draw Richard Neville out of hiding?"

"Yes. That and we were also assuming that Richard may have already met with Lisa Neville, told her about Silver Lining and also gave her the card that was essential to board the escape flight."

"Hm, I checked Neville's postal activity while he was working at C3. He hadn't used any postal services to send packages to his wife. So it was a good call on your part to make that assumption, Mr. Luce."