"SO, I WENT to investigate quick," Rachel was saying over Arthur's communicator. Officer Redsong stood nearby as a forensics team continued to comb over Vallory's former daubpup enclosure.
He scowled down at it. "I don't care about the reasoning behind it, Rachel. You are still on sick leave. You should not be doing anything related to the station."
"It's more complicated than that," Rachel started.
"No excuses. Let us deal with it." He knew Rachel after working with her for years. If he gave in on this, she would soon be 'unofficially' back at full hours fixing little things as she came onto them. Sick leave or no sick leave.
"Will you just listen for a second? The reason my bots insisted I look was that I'm at Ignacio's house right now, and it has to do with the waste water systems in the same industrial area. A clog. To be honest, we all thought it might be Irvine getting loose again. Ignacio brought him back to the warehouse to prep him for shipment to his new home with a rare breeder who is heading home early from the show. Only, it wasn't Irvine. That's why I'm calling you."
"Fine, I'll set someone else down there. Thank you for letting me know of the issue," Arthur started to lower his arm. Time to get back with the show officials about the findings from the police.
Only, Rachel was apparently not finished. "It's a clog of some sort, only I don't know of any industry in this area that could cause this type. Then Ignacio mentioned he'd seen a little activity at a warehouse I know is not in use. Then I thought about the pet-nappings happening up there and how close this is. Getting my drift here?"
"A stolen pet might be clogging up the pipes? So far only rare breeds of felines and canines have gone missing. Nothing aquatic."
Rachel laughed. "No, not them in the pipe. Their fur in the pipe. Since the warehouses are shut down, so are their main pipes. The only thing that would still be working without being turned on would be a bathroom. I think that's what is clogged."
Officer Redsong appeared at his side. "Where is this? We can match it with the animal movements."
"See? This is why I called," Rachel said smugly. Arthur could mentally picture the matching smug smile.
With no choice, he led Officer Redsong to the industrial area housing Ignacio's breeding operation. An area around three-quarters full of tenants, meaning activity was normal. But, Ignacio would know who to expect to see. He had to trust that observation.
It didn't stop him from glaring down at Rachel once they arrived outside Ignacio's door. She stood tall as he told her point-blank. "Off-duty means off-duty. No quick investigations until cleared by a doctor, either. I mean it Rachel."
She gave him a mock salute. "You got it, boss."
Just like Tish, grinning as she said it. No repentance at all. Ignacio grinned from behind her at the front door. Probably had seen this part of Rachel's nature plenty in the short time they'd been together.
"I mean it," he said for good measure.
Officer Redsong stepped forward, interrupting. "What warehouse is the problem located in?"
Rachel pointed to the right. "Two doors down. I've confirmed it's supposed to be vacant." She shrugged. "I know it's a small lead, but maybe something will come of it."
"A good instinct." Officer Redsong worked at her pocket computer. Over her shoulder, Arthur saw a combined map of the daubpups movements the night the cat reappeared and a map of the station. "It looks like an animal named "Frumpmuffin" traveled through the area."
Ignacio barked out laughter. "Frumpmuffin? This is the name of a pet?"
Rachel smiled at him. "The daubpups. Remember we went by to see Vallory Schist yesterday?"
"Right. And I set her up with meetings to help her out with them." He nodded slowly, looking down the row of warehouses. "Traveled through here? How? Another animal moving through the pipes? I don't recall her saying they were aquatic in nature."
"You'll have to ask her." Arthur walked down the sidewalk to stop in front of the warehouse. Nothing from the outside showed evidence of use, but then most warehouses didn't. Warehouses weren't designed to have front display windows or big showrooms, at least, not in this area. "We'll have to get permission to enter."
"The warehouse is empty," Ignacio said, having followed them.
"But privately owned." He smiled at Officer Redsong. "Sorry, but that means a warrant."
"Always legalities. Not as if I'm not accustomed to them." Officer Redsong inspected the full tall exterior. "However, I will need more than maintenance instincts to file one with."
A flash of dark blue and turquoise fur appeared out of a corner of a closed freight door. The daubpup yipped at them several times, shaking the longer hair along the base of its neck. Not that they could see all of it. Half of it was still inside the wall. Knowing the daubpups could travel through walls and seeing it do it was two entirely different things.
With a high whistle, a sharp bark, and chitter, it turned and disappeared back through the wall.
"I think we've just been balled-out," Rachel said with a laugh.
"Did that thing just walk through a wall?" Ignacio demanded, jabbing a finger at where the daubpup disappeared.
Officer Redsong didn't answer, but instead looked at Arthur. "I think this is enough reason for suspicion. I'll start filing the search warrant."
Officer Redsong stepped back towards Ignacio's warehouse as she worked out the details for the warrant with the help of the pocket computer and her comm-unit. The rest of them slowly followed, giving her space to have a private conversation with people back at her headquarters.
"Good catch, Rachel," Arthur said. He gave her a warning look. "But, I still mean it. No repair work. You are off-duty."
Ignacio put an arm across her shoulders and pulled her close before she could respond. "Don't worry. I'll make sure she pays attention."
Rachel dug a knuckle into his ribs. "Oh, you two. I don't need more people telling me what to do."
"You have us and more." Tish and Zane to be exact, with all their bots following behind them. Did Rachel call them, as well?
"Maybe there's another problem down here we don't know about," Rachel said, throwing that guess out the window.
Arthur paused to inspect the area, letting his mind open and drift along with his eyes. He spotted a few small things to fix. A vent system in the far warehouse. A door track needed replacing in one of the other empty warehouses. A light over the road running between the line of warehouses would go out soon. But, no more than that. Just small simple maintenance items.
Unless Zane sensed something he didn't. It just reinforced who among the two of them should lead the maintenance department. Something they would need to talk about soon if Zane decided to stick around for any length of time.
Tish came right up to Arthur, wrapping her arms around his chest. Arthur draped an arm around her small frame, hugging her back. Other than his bot, no matter what happened, he would have her. Something else he needed to do something about. To make sure it stayed that way
"Out exploring with Zane?" Arthur asked, still holding Tish close.
She smiled up at him, eyes bright. "Nothing so fun. We both are picking up a problem."
Wonderful. He'd missed a spot in the industrial park after all. "What kind of problem? Something around here?"
Zane glanced around the area. "Something deep in the station. We thought we would find you and head down together. After another outbreak of the smell, Ami has a few spots for us to investigate, as well."
Good. He hadn't missed something obvious in the area.
"Something going on here?" Tish asked. She scowled at Rachel. "No working."
"Don't get after me. He already did." Rachel thumbed towards Arthur.
Tish pulled away from Arthur, glancing between Officer Redsong and the rest of them. "Something up? Animal problems?"
"Not ours. Maybe with the ones missing," Rachel started.
As Rachel huddled with Tish to catch up on the current gossip, Arthur moved closer to Zane. "A problem deep in the station?"
Zane didn't smile. Worry filled his eyes, causing the lines around his mouth to deepen. "I'm not sure what it is, but it's getting overwhelming. Tish felt it from the other side of the station."
And he hadn't? Arthur turned his head away, closing his eyes. Usually the station did the same to him, no matter what department the problem was in. It was one of the reasons he was promoted to his position when Zane left.
A few breaths later he opened his eyes. If not for the excitement at the pet show, he would have noticed it sooner. "A pressure. Can't breath. A throb?"
Zane nodded. "We have life-support, so I don't think it is literal. Nevertheless, we should find it."
"And hope it's something we can repair." Sometimes they couldn't. Sometimes the station wouldn't allow them to.
"So, what is happening here? I thought Rachel wasn't allowed to work?" Zane asked, looking past Arthur.
"You are correct. She notified me of a maintenance issue in a place there shouldn't be one. We're waiting for a search warrant."
Zane pointed down the road. "Then what are they doing?"
Arthur turned to find Ingacio coming back out his warehouse, and Tish and Rachel at the front door to the empty warehouse in question. Not knocking on the door. Just going ahead and opening it.
"Redsong!" Arthur shouted, not even bothering with her official title. He started walking fast towards the women.
"We don't have a warrant yet." Officer Redsong broke out into a trot.
A flurry of bot whistles and beeps erupted from the open door of the warehouse. Rachel appeared back outside, hands on her hips. "Are you coming, or not?"
"I don't have legal right to enter this building," Officer Redsong said, glaring at her. "And neither do you."
"Actually we do. As part of any lease or sale agreement on this station, the maintenance crew are permitted free and unfettered access to all station infrastructure so we may conduct our duties." Rachel grinned at Arthur, adding with deceptive innocence. "There's a clog in here we can access only from within the warehouse. As this warehouse is currently empty, we don't have to ask any of the current tenants for permission. Just go in and do it."
Zane blinked rapidly several times. "She's right. We simply have to report it afterwards."
Arthur tried not to smile. "It didn't occur to you to tell me your logic so we could all go in together? We don't know if these people are in there, or if they are, if they are dangerous."
"And I still don't have permission to enter," Officer Redsong said, taking a step back from the door.
Tish appeared at the door, leaning against the doorjamb. Violet hovered next to her, looking up at the rest of them. "Actually, you do, if requested by the maintenance crew to deal with an illegal activity." She nodded inside. "I would call this illegal, considering the cages of animals that shouldn't be in here. I would say it looks like they were beginning to get ready to start smuggling them out."
Arthur's gut tightened. He pulled her out, going through the entrance himself. His bot closely followed, both of them studying the bare interior. Through a door on the left he saw a section of the bigger warehouse area. A small light illuminated several metal square shapes in the far corner.
"See, it's safe," Tish said, coming up behind him.
"The people who did this might still be around. No, it is not safe." Didn't she know what a risk she took just barging in the warehouse? Who knew what could have happened.
"Oh, they were here." She pointed to the back. "The bots chased them into the back office and locked the door."
The two went into a warehouse infested with thieves?
Arthur grabbed Tish and nearly crushed her in an embrace. In her ear he harshly whispered, "That was a stupid thing to do. You could have gotten yourself killed."
"Like I almost did with pirates and warbots?" She hugged him back, apparently not upset at all. "We had our bots with us."
He set her back to arm's length, his hand on her shoulders to keep her in place. "I'm serious, Tish. This station is dangerous enough right now without you doing something like this on purpose. We can't afford to lose you." He swallowed hard. "I can't afford to lose you."
Her smile diminished. Small teeth bit at her lower lip. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you, but waiting for a search warrant when we could easily go in? They could have been here and gone by the time Officer Redsong got one through the courts."
"You should have told me what you were doing first. Next time, I ask that you do." He gave her a tiny shake in emphasis.
The smile returned. "Deal."
"Search warrant now cleared," Officer Redsong said, moving into the front room of the warehouse. "Backup will soon arrive. Where are they?"
Rachel pointed to the back. "Office at the very end, where the bots are guarding. Amazing how menacing bots with flickering welders can look."
"Good job. Now we can end this blight on our station and one of its events," Officer Redsong said with a satisfied smile.
Other officers soon swarmed to the warehouse. Ignacio forced Rachel to stand back as Arthur determined the cause of the clog in the bathroom. Easy to find. A wad of fur in the smaller pipes, and then it flowed smoothly again.
Now that he was attuned to the station, he couldn't ignore it. Neither could Zane or Tish, from the looks of it. The furtive glances at the door leading out of the warehouse. The unease. The need for action. It set him on edge.
A sharp beep from his wrist set his muscles tensing. No voice, just the beep.
The sense of dread increased. The type of call he'd expected, but prayed would not happen.
"Zane," Arthur shouted as he headed fast out the door. He paused outside, deciding the best way to get where he felt they needed to be.
Zane soon followed, but so did Tish and Rachel. He pointed Rachel towards the warehouse. "No."
Rachel set her chin, crossing her arms. "You need all the help you can get if someone is trapped. I do have a specialty here, too."
"Your specialty and abilities are not in question. Your health is."
Rachel didn't flinch a bit at his hard stare, even daring to take a step towards him. "I follow and don't lift a finger. Now, aren't we wasting time? Who was the alarm from?"
"Damien," Tish said as Arthur ran a hand through his hair.
"Who went out with Vallory Schist looking for her missing pets," Arthur said. "Fine, Rachel. But, I mean it. Not a finger."
A grin appeared. "You got it, boss."
He didn't waste any more time. Not with one of his people trapped.
Finding Damien, however, proved difficult. The station couldn't tell him Damien's location. To him, that meant only one thing.
Damien ran into another dead part of the station. No, not just dead. As if it didn't exist. In the time they'd started having the problem, he'd noticed the pattern. The section would 'die' and all utilities would rebuild and adapt around it. As if the area wasn't there.
Only, he couldn't ignore it like the station, not with someone inside.
With the help of another transmission burst from Damien, and Ami on the communication line providing additional tracking information, they zeroed into the area. By now, an entire entourage trailed behind them and along nearby maintenance corridors, including several worried newbies. Not a good early impression for them.
"This isn't normal," Tish constantly reassured them while Arthur and Zane concentrated on finding the area.
"Don't worry about me. Just tell me what to do if it happens," Shay said, his confident smile still in place. The new hire was still working with Cody on the station weapon systems, and from all reports, continued to be helpful and enthusiastic for the job. Too bad Cody had also reported that he was showing no aptitude in that area, either. Might be time for Arthur to take him out himself, see if he could spot where the station might have interest in him.
Izabela was not so easily reassured. "How often are people trapped?"
"First one I know of," Tish said. Good, she didn't mention the close calls.
Another transmission burst. Arthur froze. This one came from so close that his communicator blared with the sound.
A sharp whistle cut through the air. A bot with a smooth white back shell appeared at a corner of the corridor. It spun in a frantic circle before taking off.
Arthur broke out in a run to follow, the others close behind.
Damien's bot turned another corner. Arthur's shoulder grazed a juncture box as he took the turn at full speed. The bot sat in the middle of the corridor, frantic in its whistles and chirps.
A blank wall, with nothing of importance about it. Yet, Damien's bot kept staring at it.
There he saw it. The stub of a corridor slowly disappearing as pipes moved to adjust around the dead area. But through them, just barely, he could see and feel it. A dead space. One that would soon be swallowed up in the station.
"Aren't we right next to one of the station private areas?" Tish asked, peering through at the same space. "Maybe the station is making it bigger?"
"Private areas?" Shay echoed.
"An area that belongs to the station alone. No humans or anyone else invited," Arthur automatically said even while he reached through a space between two pipes to try to touch the wall behind them.
No good. Too far back. He pulled back.
Zane shook his head, pulling out a flashlight to shine a beam of light into the dark space. "No, not expanding. The station doesn't kill an area to absorb it into its own private spaces."
Arthur turned to the group. "Pair up. See if you can find a door or a hatch we can use to get into the area."
Izabela looked terrified now. Simon Mang took her arm and pulled her along with him, quietly describing the openings they were looking for. Tish scowled at the opening, not bothering to follow the others as the group split up. He noticed Zane didn't, either. Probably sensing the same thing he was.
"We aren't going to find a door," Tish finally said. Worried eyes turned to him, an expression he wished he could banish. Only, in this situation, he didn't have that power. "You know it."
He reached out to take one of her cold hands into his. "Yes, I know it, but that doesn't mean I'm giving up. Zane, I don't care if the station won't like it. We break out the torches and start cutting."
Zane's expression was as grim as Arthur knew his was. "You'll get no disagreement from me."