THIRTY-THREE

 

 

“I CAN SEE you,” the suspect said.

Piaja didn’t so much hear him as read the man’s lips.

No matter how cautious Piaja and Julie had been as they moved outside the window, they caught the man’s attention. His hand was wrapped around that steaming mug. Then he smiled. A servo-tray brought him a thick pastry, covered in white frosting.

He took the plate off the tray and set the plate on his table next to the mug. Then he looked away, glancing out the side windows, and then over his shoulder, as if trying to determine if someone had come in the back.

The other squads would arrive soon. They were only minutes away, maybe seconds.

The suspect took a bite of that pastry, licked his lips as if the pastry was the best thing he’d ever tasted, and then he set the pastry down. He wiped his fingers on the leg of his pants.

Piaja watched each movement closely. He hadn’t moved—neither had Julie—but the suspect knew they were there.

The suspect looked at Piaja at that moment, and that was when he spoke.

Piaja felt a shiver run down his spine. He wanted to say, So you see me? Well, good for you, but he didn’t.

“Are you afraid of me?” the man asked. Then he said something that Piaja couldn’t read.

What was that? Piaja sent to Julie.

He said, “Don’t you want to know why I did it?”

Piaja still hadn’t moved. In fact, he hadn’t taken his gaze off the suspect. Julie hadn’t either. So far as the man could tell, they were motionless, watching him, keeping track and doing nothing else.

He wants us to come inside, Piaja sent.

I know, Julie said. Our instructions are clear.

As if Piaja was ready to go in. As if he was going to make a mistake. As if he didn’t know they needed this suspect alive.

“I’m only going to talk to you,” the suspect said, his eyes meeting Piaja’s. “If someone else shows up, I’m not going to talk at all.”

The man’s eyes were a clear blue, pale blue, the kind that looked odd against darker skin, but against skin this fair, they looked even creepier, as if the color had just leached out of him.

Why does he want us to come inside? Piaja sent, not because he felt that Julie knew, but because he had to discuss this. It was making him nervous, just like the suspect wanted it to. Piaja didn’t want the suspect to know that he was getting through.

I don’t know, Julie sent back. Maybe to take us out?

Piaja had that suspicion as well. But the suspect could have taken them out through the window, even before they knew he was inside. So that didn’t make sense.

See if you can get someone to access the coffee shop’s systems, Piaja sent. I want to know what happened to the employees.

You don’t know any were on duty today, Julie sent.

I do know, he sent. Haven’t you been looking at the ads?

A slight movement of her mouth told him that she hadn’t. She had been focused entirely on the suspect.

“I know someone else is coming,” the suspect said. “I know our time is running out.”

At least that was what Piaja thought he was saying.

I’m going to have them check to see if there’s a bomb inside, Julie sent. Maybe that’s why he wants us in there.

Piaja doubted he had a bomb. But he understood the thought, particularly on Anniversary Day. Besides, he couldn’t quite tell why he discounted the bomb idea. Maybe because bombers liked to take out as many innocents as possible.

The suspect would want the entire squad here when the bomb detonated. He wouldn’t want it to go off before they arrived.

I’m sure there’s security vid from his arrival, Piaja sent. Which begged the question, how come none of the computer systems saw this? They should have been tracking security vid throughout the city, trying to catch this guy. They had an image of him after all. How come that didn’t work?

No one flagged it, Julie sent.

Doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, Piaja sent. Let’s find out what’s going on.

She moved her head slightly, almost a nod, before she caught herself. But the suspect saw it, and he smiled.

He was smarter than Piaja expected him to be. When Piaja had heard he was a clone, he was expecting something designed for this one job, something programmed, the way you would program a servo-tray.

He hadn’t expected someone to think and to challenge him and to be, if Piaja was honest with himself, someone who could take charge of this situation just with a few simple movements.

He’s aware of us, Piaja sent to the entire department. That was for the suspect, if the suspect had somehow hacked into the operations link. Then on an encoded link, something that no one could hack into—at least that Piaja had ever heard of—he sent this to Romey and the other team leaders: I need to know the moment you approach the block. He’s unpredictable, and he’s planning something.

Don’t engage, Romey immediately sent back.

Too late, Piaja sent. He’s already engaged us.

There was a moment of silence, which Piaja knew hid a curse. Then Romey. We need him alive. Have you got a protective suit?

Just the kind that’ll protect a crime scene, Piaja sent.

I’m not sure that’s strong enough, Romey sent. You can’t lay a finger on him. Don’t get close enough to let him so much as brush against you.

Piaja almost frowned. He could feel the movement begin and he hoped he caught it soon enough. You think he can kill that easily?

I know he can, Romey sent.

Great. Piaja suppressed a sigh. Just great. They couldn’t arrest this guy, but he had already engaged them. So this situation was moving quickly, whether Piaja wanted it to or not.

“You can’t stall any longer,” the suspect said. “At least, not and listen to what I have to say.”

The coffee shop has a pretty high end security system, Julie sent. Everyone is reviewing the vid now, but they’ve looked at the building itself, and they’re not getting any readings that would indicate a bomb. However, they do caution that he might have something we don’t recognize.

“You have one minute,” the suspect said. “One minute before I shut up forever.”

That clinched it.

Piaja was going in.