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  "Didn't think I'd ever come back to this old place," said Caldavir.

  "I really appreciate your help. Come through, everyone else is out back."

  "Really? Who's here?"

  Harriet ticked them off. "Duke Banville, Sticks McCluskey, Dave Birch and my sister."

  "A real rogue's gallery, eh? This is going to be interesting." Caldavir took his suitcase and headed for the inner office, and Harriet was about to turn from the doors when a cab drew up outside. She smiled as Captain Timms got out. The elderly woman had dispensed with her large hat and voluminous coat, and was instead wearing a dark blue suit with a white blouse. She looked very official and correct, and Harriet felt an overwhelming urge to salute. She opened the doors to let Timms in, then smiled a greeting. "Welcome, Captain. You're certainly dressed for the part."

  "Thank you, Harriet." Timms looked around. "My, it's twenty years since I set foot in this place. It still looks just the same." She walked over to the counter and ran her hand over the surface. "You can still feel the dents where the desk sergeant used to bang his night stick. Sometimes it was the only way to shut everyone up."

  "You mean all the crooks they were processing?"

  "No, dear. The officers." Timms led the way to the main office, where she stopped with a faraway look in her eyes. "Such a shame to see it like this," she said at last. "Oh well, I suppose nothing lasts forever."

  "Can I get you anything?" Harriet asked her.

  "Oh, no. I've had Peace Force coffee before thank you very much." Timms patted her bag. "I bought my own tea."

  There was another bang on the door, and Harriet left Timms to it, apologising as she ran for the front office. She was almost wishing she'd taken the watch on the roof and left Alice to handle the door, but it was too late now. When she got there, Sid Flint and his robot were outside. She let them in, and when Timms saw Sid her face was transformed. "Sergeant Flint!"

  "Cap'n," said Flint gruffly, and he saluted her.

  "I was just showing Harriet all your dents in the front counter. I didn't realise you'd be coming too!" Timms turned to Harriet. "Flint's the desk sergeant I was just telling you about. He's as tough as nails, this man."

  Flint laughed. "Not any more, Cap'n. I've got a robot looking after me these days."

  He introduced Scrap, and the robot bent its head as it took Timms' hand. "A pleasure to meet you, Ma'am."

  "My, aren't you the polite one?"

  They entered the station, which was a hive of activity. Duke was back from the basement, and he gave Harriet a quick shake of the head. Clearly there had been nothing of use. Several others were talking at once, reminiscing about the old days as they helped Birch put everything away. To Harriet, it was like arriving at a school camp: that first hour of chaos when everyone was checking out their quarters, unpacking their things, and catching up with their roommates.

  There was a burst of laughter, and she saw Timms waving her fist in mid-air, presumably telling Birch about Flint and his night stick. Harriet smiled at the sight, and she was still grinning when she heard a voice behind her.

  "Can I get a coffee, trainee?"

  She turned to see Caldavir standing nearby. "Sure. The stuff's in the canteen."

  "In my day, that was the trainee's job."

  Harriet was about to reply when she saw Alice approaching. "What's up? Have you spotted anyone?"

  "No, just getting away from the oldie. She won't stop talking about the old days."

  "Aha," said Caldavir. "You must be the other trainee. Do you know how to make coffee?"

  Alice turned slowly, looking him up and down. "You look old enough to make your own, grandad."

  Caldavir turned red, and Harriet turned a snort of laughter into a cough. "Perhaps you could show Mr Caldavir to the canteen. He might have forgotten where everything is."

  "If you insist. I don't want to leave McCluskey on the roof too long though … it's getting dark, and she might freeze."

  Alice left with Caldavir, and Harriet breathed a sigh of relief. She'd been worried about some of the old-timers throwing their weight around, but Alice had just proved it wouldn't be a problem.

  "Is everything okay?"

  Harriet glanced at Timms, who had appeared beside her. "I think so. We've all got to get used to this, but then it'll be fine."

  "Spirits are high. They'll be singing next."

  "Am I making a mistake?" said Harriet suddenly.

  "In what way, dear?"

  "Bringing all of you in like this. The people we're facing are armed. Real guns, not night sticks."

  Timms patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll prevail."

  "I sure hope so." Harriet saw Alice heading for the stairwell. "Will you excuse me? I need to speak with my sister."

  — ♦ —

  Alice was halfway up the stairs when Harriet caught up with her. "You go back," Harriet told her. "I'll take this watch."

  "Are you sure?"

  "Yeah, I could use some alone time. My ears are ringing from all the chatter."

  "Okay, thanks."

  Alice turned and ran down the steps, and Harriet continued to the top. She found Duke and McCluskey on opposite sides of the roof, almost invisible in the failing light. The sun had already gone down, leaving a fainter patch in the night sky. "Go down and get yourselves a cuppa," Harriet told them. "I'll keep watch."

  "Thanks, dear. Make sure you keep warm."

  "Don't worry, I can always jog around the roof."

  "I think I'll stick to warm clothes," said McCluskey, with a smile.

  Harriet remembered the boxes cramming the stairwell. "Watch your step on the way down. There's not much room."

  The old couple left, and Harriet had the roof to herself. She leant against the parapet, facing one of the apartment buildings, and as she looked up at the lights shining from the flats she realised there were hundreds of people up there, all oblivious to the Peace Force station below them.

  Well, they wouldn't be oblivious when the gunfire started, that was for sure.

  Harriet leant over the parapet and gazed at the roads below. There was a ring road that circled the block, with driveways for the car parks servicing the apartment blocks. Another road headed off at an angle, but it was as deserted as the others. It was a cold night, and sensible people would be at home tucking into their evening meals.

  She saw movement out the corner of her eye, and turned to look. A van was approaching, moving slowly with its lights off, and Harriet frowned at the sight. She resisted the urge to duck down, concerned any sudden movement might reveal her position. Yes, it was dark, but there were lights behind her, and if the van was full of Darting's people they might have night-vision gear in addition to their weapons.

  The van turned left to circle the Peace Force building, and once it was below Harriet ran alongside the parapet, keeping it in sight. From this angle they had no view of the roof, which meant she could move around in safety.

  The van reached the corner and turned again, still circling the building. The windows were dark and she couldn't make out anyone inside, but she could imagine them examining the building closely. As Harriet jogged to the next corner she wondered whether she was being paranoid, then she shook her head. A black van, driving around the building at night with the lights off? It had to be Darting's people.

  Harriet tripped on a chunk of concrete in the darkness, and as she regained her balance she eyed it thoughtfully. If the van stopped she wouldn't be completely helpless. Before the occupants got anywhere near the doors, she could drive them off with a few well-aimed bricks.

  The van slowed as it passed the front of the building, and Harriet pulled out her commset to warn Alice. She made the call, then held the commset to her ear.

  "Caller is not online," said a metallic voice from the speaker.

  Harriet frowned and examined the screen. There was a red X next to Alice's name, and she swore under her breath. Alice had probably run her battery down playing games again. Qui
ckly, she called Birch. "Dave, there's a van driving round the building," she muttered. "Dark, tinted windows, no lights on. Keep everyone away from the front doors, okay?"

  "Got it."

  Harriet disconnected. The van was still moving slowly, and as she watched it she had an idea. She held up her commset and recorded the vehicle, bracing her arm against the parapet as she zoomed in to keep the camera as steady as possible. The darkened windows filled her screen, and she squinted at the image, trying to make out any sign of the driver or passengers. Moments later the van's lights came on, flooding the road, and the vehicle drove off. Had they spotted her, or had they seen everything they needed? Harriet accessed a menu in her commset, and transmitted the recording to Bernie. The robot called her back within seconds.

  "Trainee Harriet?"

  "Hi Bernie. I need you to analyse that capture for me."

  "What do you hope to obtain?"

  "A picture of the driver would be good. Something we can ID them by."

  "Impossible. The windows are tinted and the image is far too grainy."

  "Can't you punch in on it?"

  "Not now, not ever," growled Bernie. "Indeed, whenever someone asks me that, I want to punch them instead."

  Harriet remembered the robot's massive fists and decided not to ask again. "What about the van? Any chance you can identify the owner from what I've sent you?"

  "Certainly, if you send me a scan of their registration papers."

  "Is that the best you can do?"

  "I can tell you the owner is driving a black van with four wheels. Does that help?"

  "No, of course not."

  "Then stop asking for miracles."

  Harriet paused. "Bernie, things are looking dicey here. We've rounded up a few ex-coppers to help, but we only have two weapons, a few pieces of armour, and —"

  "Trainee Harriet, you have something the enemy does not possess. Something which will see you through any perilous situation."

  "Really?" Harriet's spirits rose. "What is it?"

  "A Peace Force badge."

  "Right. Excellent. Thanks for that, Bernie."

  "Dismolle out."

  Harriet put her commset away, feeling crushed. What use was a damned badge against a van full of thugs? She could wave it around until her arm fell off, and they'd still shoot her. With a dour expression, she crossed to the opposite side of the roof and leaned on the parapet. There was no sign of the van, and after letting Dave know it had left, she settled down for a lengthy stint on watch.

  Chapter 14

  It was early next morning, and the office was quiet. Most people were still sleeping, huddled in their blankets against the chill. Harriet had only managed four or five hours sleep, and she was battling a headache.

  She found Birch and Alice in the canteen, the former cooking breakfast and the latter tucking into a plate of eggs.

  "Who's on watch?" Harriet asked them.

  "Martin's robot went up earlier," said Birch. "He'll have to come down soon, though. He gets antsy when he's separated from his patient."

  "Anything happen overnight?"

  "You mean during the two or three hours you were actually sleeping?" Birch shook his head. "Nothing."

  "Well, they know we're here. We have to be ready."

  Alice gestured at a stainless steel urn, which was just starting to boil. "I'm making a gallon of industrial strength brew. That'll get them up."

  "What's industrial strength brew?"

  "Dave wrote down the recipe. It's very strong coffee. And sugar. Lots of sugar." She got a tray of mugs and started filling them with a dark, evil-looking brew. It didn't so much pour from the urn as ooze out. "See?" said Alice. "They'll be turbo-charged once I get this into them."

  Birch saw Harriet's expression, and laughed. "Don't worry, it's typical Peace Force coffee. They'll love it."

  "If it doesn't kill them," muttered Harriet.

  Once Alice finished with the mugs, the three of them returned to the main office and distributed the pick-me-ups. To Harriet's surprise nobody keeled over, and in fact most of them asked for a second mug. All except Timms, who went to make herself a nice cup of tea.

  Once everyone was alert, Harriet addressed them all. "As you probably know by now, the enemy sent someone to scout the building last night, and I believe it's only a matter of time before they send a bigger force."

  There was a low grumble from her audience, and a hand went up. "Why don't we wipe them out first? We know where their base is, don't we?"

  "Yes, Alice found it yesterday. She was patrolling when they took a shot at her. She spotted half a dozen vans and several cars, and if they need that many vehicles, we could be facing upwards of twenty people. If they all drive here at once—"

  "They'll have to catch cabs," remarked Alice.

  Harriet frowned. "What do you mean?"

  Alice was about to explain, but Birch's commset rang. It was loud, and when he took it out to look at the screen it rang louder still. He answered the call, and Harriet saw his expression harden. "What the hell do you want?" he demanded. There was a pause. "No, don't waste my time. Pack up your stuff and leave, or we'll throw the lot of you in jail." He hung up and frowned at his commset. "That was Anita Darting. She said she's got a message for us."

  "What is it?" asked Harriet.

  Birch shook his head. "She didn't say."

  "Next time, let me speak to her. I want to—"

  Harriet never finished her sentence, because at that moment there was a roar overhead, quickly growing louder. "Everyone down!" shouted Harriet, as she recognised the sound. "That's a ship! Down! Take cover!"

  The roar became a thundering cacophony of sound, so loud it shook the building to its foundations. Then there was a tremendous crash from the roof, and another from the front of the building. The ground shook with the impact, and debris rained down from the ceiling. Then the roar tailed off as the ship flew away, and Harriet looked around to see the others peering out from shelter.

  "What the hell was that?" demanded Birch.

  "I guess it was Darting's message," said Harriet grimly.

  "They have bombs?"

  "Oh no!" shouted Alice. "Arnie!"

  She ran for the stairwell, and Harriet ran after her. "Be careful," she shouted as followed Alice up the stairs. "You don't know what they dropped!"

  They pushed open the door to the roof, and stopped. Arnie was nowhere to be seen, and just to the side of the big yellow landing circle there was a blackened, twisted wreck. For a split second Harriet thought their jet had been destroyed by some kind of bomb, but then she realised it was far too small. "It's a wrecked van," she said, puzzled. "Why are they dropping burnt-out vehicles on us?"

  There was a roar nearby, quickly growing louder, and Harriet grabbed Alice and hauled her towards the stairwell. "Let go of me!" shouted Alice.

  "Take cover, you idiot," snapped Harriet, struggling to drag her sister to safety.

  "Why? That's Arnie!"

  Sure enough, the fighter jet rose over the building's parapet, thrusters pulsing with blue flame. It crossed the roof, passing over the wrecked van, then sat down gently in the middle of the circle.

  Alice ran over, a big grin on her face. "You spotted them, didn't you?" she shouted.

  "Confirmed," said Arnie. "They approached my position with their cargo hold open, and I thought it wise to get clear. I tried to warn you, but your commset is offline."

  "Harriet!" Birch emerged from the stairwell, panting hard. "Is everything all right?"

  Harriet gestured at the wrecked van. "They were trying to hit the ship, but he got out of the way."

  "They dropped another one in the road."

  "What for?"

  "Cover, most like. If they attack, it'll give them a spot to shoot from."

  "Dammit!" muttered Harriet. "Where the hell did they get these wrecks from, anyway?"

  Alice looked embarrassed. "Er, that's probably my fault. When they shot Arnie up yesterday, I kind of retal
iated."

  "What did you do? And why am I only hearing about this now?"

  "I knew you wouldn't like it." Alice shrugged. "I wasn't going to say anything, but—"

  "Alice!"

  "Okay, okay. After they shot at me, I came back with Arnie and loaded up with bricks. I bombed all their vehicles into scrap metal."

  Birch whistled.

  "I could have destroyed their building," continued Alice, "but I didn't want to kill anyone. I was just sending a message."

  Harriet gestured at the wreckage. "Guess what, they sent it right back again."

  "But they don't have any vehicles left! If they want to attack, they'll have to book cabs or something."

  Harriet remembered the van she'd seen the night before. "You might have destroyed some, but they have more. For all we know they've got several locations, and dozens of vehicles."

  "And I have plenty more bricks," remarked Alice, gesturing at the rubble littering the roof.

  "Darting can't have that many people," said Birch. "If there were, the whole city would be a war zone."

  "We've got two choices, Dave. Either we fortify this place and wait for them to come to us, or we run around out there, battling an unknown quantity." Harriet crossed her arms. "I'm convinced that fortifying the station is the only way. They will attack us, I'm certain of it, and this building is a fortress. We're giving up our major advantage if we venture out."

  Birch nodded in agreement, and they headed towards the stairwell. On the way, Harriet pulled out her commset and called the Residents' Association. "Hi, can I speak to someone about illegal dumping?"

  "Putting you through."

  Harriet saw Birch staring at her, and she covered the commset's mic. "Trust me, they'll pull out all the stops for a bit of illegal dumping. If I tell them it was attempted murder, they'll just fob me off. You know, not my department, that kind of thing."

  Birch grinned. "Smart thinking."

  "Hello?"

  "Yes, I want to report illegal dumping. A ship just flew over the city, and they dropped off a couple of wrecked cars. I couldn't get a description, but it looked like a freighter."