Bulldozer

Posted on Thu Nov 7th, 2024 @ 12:21pm by Chief Inspector Ji-eun Moon & Inspector Yelgrun & Senior Constable Kiki Marmalade

2,985 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Boys of Summer
Location: Kingdom Construction Building Site, Briant, Research Road, Santiago Bay
Timeline: MD2, shortly after 'In The Wind'

ON:


The Tactical Response team of Moon and Marmalade had navigated the traffic and course from Kunsler's street to Research Road as best they could. They knew where he was headed, and could afford to take a more direct route, but had never given up tracking him. His tracker had gone dark on the way to the site but he was clearly heading this way, he was calling this location frantically, he should be here. So where was he?

On the fringe of the district, an area the size of several city blocks was heavily under construction. Great walls had gone up like a fortress to mark the edge of the site, but cranes and building frames were visible from without. There were signs everywhere outside, billboards and plans declaring the new project to be the future of commerce and industry in Santiago Bay: "Kingdom Come".

There was no discreet approach to the site, except where the road funneled them into a parking lot, with a gate manned by security. Moon presented her credentials; there was no use for secrecy, and they were breaking no rules by visiting. They were told that 'Mr Markham' would greet them, to find a park, and be escorted to the 'command centre' as they called it. Ji-eun and Kiki took their time as they drove in, looking out for Kunsler's distinctive red vehicle, but could not see it in the crowd. Moon had expected they would be escorted by security, but only a single man in a suit came to meet them, and showed them the way to the building. As he talked in great reverence of the project, and Mr Markham, Moon kept an eye around the site, but there wa little hope of seeing Kunsler. They were only skirting the outer edge, from what she could tell, but the place was a hive; mounds of dirt and rock extracted, great holes dug, stone blasted, great slabs and pillars and constructs, swarmed by workers and transports. If he was here, he was a needle in a mile-wide haystack.

Inspector Moon was fearing a long wait in a slow office, but instead, the official lead them to a planning meeting outside the building. There were about a dozen people gathered there, some plainly in construction, others dressed more for oversight or decision-making. Only one man there could have passed as both; taller then the others, leaning over the display, arms like two dutch windmills as he gave an overview of the blueprints. He was dressed well but casually, with a standard construction jacket over his outfit, and a hard hat to protect in the sun. He could see them approaching with the official well in advance, and greeted them with a wave as the others at the table melted away and went back to their work.

"Good morning, officers," the head man took a few steps, and met them at the edge of the table. "Or is it afternoon now, I always lose track when my head's in the books."

The official went to introduce them, but Moon pushed ahead of him. "Mr Markham? Thank you for seeing us on short notice. I'm Inspector Moon with Tactical Response, this is Senior Constable Marmalade. Is there somewhere we can talk?"

"Oh, we can talk anywhere," Markham replied amiably. "I'm aware who you are, when you presented credentials at the gate, but I'm afraid I'm completely in the dark as to what this is about."

"Can we talk about this more privately, perhaps inside?"

"Do I need a lawyer?" Markham replied with a casual laugh.

Oh, the irony...

"You're not under suspicion, sir, we just need to ask some questions." Moon said evenly. She exchanged a quick glance with Marmalade beside her. Something felt a little out of ordinary here, but she couldn't tell what. Markham wasn't raising any red flags so far, but Kunsler didn't vanish into thin air, and his last ping on the trace was only minutes away from the precinct.

"Of course," Markham seemed a little shocked, but not concerned. He checked his PADD. "We can talk in my office, but I'm afraid I'm quite pressed for time; have a meeting with Council in half an hour, calls with investors, and I have to prep for for a committee meeting after lunch. Follow me, to my office."

Markham showed them into the building with his secretary Marion, the man in the suit who lead them in. The main building was the cleanest structure there, on a rise removed enough from the earthworks, but with a grand view over the bulk of the present work. It seemed almost out of place with the industry it surveyed, more like the standard inner city building; white walls, clean carpets, all the modern ameneties. Markham lead them through a lobby, waiting room, stairwell, security checkpoint, and another hallway until they came to a wide double-door. The office would have made most Starfleet officers feel lavished - two adjoining rooms, one for meetings at a desk, and the other for private study, which was closed. It must have taken up nearly half the second floor. Paintings, artwork, a vast collection of written works, every wall and shelf coverd or piled with art or the tools of the trade. All displays or projections, but several paintings bore a plaque declaring the real thing was proudly displayed in his head office in the city. In the centre of the room was a long rectangular table, a miniature evidently of his grand plans for the site.

He introduced himself formally as Patrick Markham, CEO and chief architect at Kingdom Construction. He removed his overcoat and hung it up, dressed beneath in a sharp grey suit. His own hair was a similar shade, coarse grey, very neat. He had a very stern face, and narrowed eyes, as if squinting or always in deep thought. But his demeanour was warm, and he offered them a seat kindly before his desk, as he took his own seat.

"Marion, service for three please." Patrick took his seat. "So, what can I help you with, officers?"

"We're just following up on some enquiries, Mr Markham," Kiki answered as she took a seat. As the businessman rounded his desk, Kiki took an opportunity to case and assess the office for anything that was out of place. "We've had several reports of construction site trespasses and thefts across the city; we've had reports of tools, machinery, materials and the like going missing, strange people hanging around. Notice anything out of the ordinary?"

Markham seemed momentarily surprised. "I can't say as I have, we keep everything pretty well regulated here, security is pretty tight. Heidegger hasn't made any reports has she, Marion?"

"No sir," the assistant replied, bringing in a tray of hot and cold beverages. "I wasn't sure what you wanted, so I got tea and coffee, just pick whatever tea bag or blend you want, cream or sugar etcetera. There was a call from Mr Prince, sir, he didn't sound pleased."

"Let him know I'll call back shortly, thank you Marion." Markham dismissed his secretary with a smile, then turned back to the officers. "There's been no security reports since the stolen copper at the Crouch Downs site, but that was a little while ago, we stepped up security since then. You can talk to our head of security about it, if that would help, but I'm not sure I see the concern myself in all honesty."

"I don't recall seeing a report about the stolen copper," Moon replied, checking the PADD. The question of theft seemed to surprise him, that was a tricky move, Marmalade. There's red flags here, and I don't mean the construction kind. Then she remembered Tropwen's words - there's no evidence of a crime here, there's just... a big, suspicious gap where the evidence should be.

"I don't think we ever filed a report," Markham helped himself to a coffee, then sat back in his chair. "As I recall it was a a rogue worker from the maintenance company; he'd steal the parts, then get a kickback when we need yet again to call a replacement. It was one worker and a very small-scale issue, they were dismissed, end of story as far as I was concerned."

"I see," Kiki nodded. "It sounds like you keep things as tight as a drum here, Mister Markham. These hits, however, would appear to be from an external individual or individuals, and it seems to have been days before anyone noticed anything amiss. I do wonder if you'd permit us to look at your surveillance systems and sensor logs for any of the telltale signs of this group of thieves?"

"Certainly, I can let Ms Heidegger, our head of security, know to expect you if you need," Patrick said. The words were polite, but almost hesitant, confused. "Was that all, officers? I don't presume to know the inner workings of the law enforcement, but this seems a bit of a minor issue, for the Chief Inspector to make a personal call. Is that all I can do to help, because I'm afraid I'm quite busy."

He has done his research. He had a distinct way of speaking; his lips hardly ever moved, held in a thin line. The way he spoke, he seemed quite intelligent, and it didn't take her long to guess he wanted to appear that way. While Markham had been talking, Ji-eun pretended to go over her notes. She discretely sent Kiki a message to dig around about the site theft Markham had mentioned as a possible lead, while she worked on an idea.

"Mr Markham," Ji-eun began, "speaking frankly, has a lawyer on your retainer, Bill Kunsler, been in contact in the past few days?"

"My lawyer?" If Kiki's question had flustered Markham, he hid it, but now he seemed surprised. "I'm sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about, why..."

"Mister Kunsler is wanted for questioning," Ji-eun said evenly. This was not a lie, as such, just a slight loosening of the definitions. She needed something to work on, and this was the only thread left. "It's possible he could have knowledge or some connection to these site thefts, but we haven't been able to reach him."

Patrick Markham seemed to chew on this for a long moment. He was clearly surprised by this notion, but his reaction struck Ji-eun as unusual. As if he was surprised by the reason, not the subject. Had he expected a different answer to Kunsler's suspicion?

"No, I don't think so," Markham replied after a moment. "Oh, I think I recall we spoke a day or two ago, he said he would be busy with another case for a while, some high profile client, didn't say much more. But I've been very busy here, if he did call, I must have missed it."

Perfectly reasonable answer. Ji-eun thought. And covers him if we were to suddenly spring the call logs. No need to pursue this more yet, keep the powder dry. "Your assistant Marion wouldn't have told you if he'd called? He seems quite reliable."

At this Markham gave a slight chuckle. "He is, he's very good at his job. And if Mr Kunsler did call, and Marion did tell me, then it's possible that - in all the busywork of this project - it slipped my mind. But to my recollection, no, Mr Kunsler hasn't called me since the other day."

"Mr Markham, would you mind double checking that with Marion, just in case something was missed?" Kiki asked as gently as she could. She offered a reassuring smile, looking between the businessman and the Chief Inspector. "We know how busy things can get."

"I certainly will." Markham said. "I must say, I find it hard to believe he would be somehow invovled in all this. But I suppose if he was suspicious, he wouldn't be very effective. Are you thinking then that this is some kind of... conspiratorial effort? To what purpose?"

"We'd like to ask Mr Kunsler some questions on the matter," Ji-eun answered diplomatically. "There are, unfortunately, some people in this modern climate, who don't wish to see Sagan Prime prosper. And for some people, money or politics can be highly effective motivation."

"My god," Patrick seemed taken aback. "You mean some kind of terrorism? The Insurrectionists, or something like that?"

"If you have amny information about how to contact Mr Kunsler, or where he might be, it would be very much appreciated Mr Markham," Ji-eun said earnestly. "We don't want to take up your time, but if he's missing or worse, every minute, any detail, could be vital."

"Well, missing and dead are two completely different things," Markham chuckled, more it appeared from disbelief than amusement. The mirth faded when he saw how stern the officers were, and his mood quickly sobered. "Well, I suppose if he's mixed up with that type, it's not impossible. I'm sure you have any information I could give on file, even his private contact that I have for emergencies. If he's not at home, or work, or his getaway at Suneva Beach, I'm not sure what more help I can be. I'm afraid I didn't know him socially. If he's involved with the Insurrectionists, then I'm doubly glad I didn't."

"We can't divulge any details, but we believe he may have had contact with another organisation" Ji-eun said, watching the man carefully; if Kunsler did arrive at this site, or as near to it as their scan showed, the only one with power to change that would surely be Markham. And Kunsler was desperate to try and reach someone here. It pointed to Markham, but only in the absense of anything tangible. Suspicious or not, this was the last fibre of a lead she had. I have to pull on this thread, just don't unravel the whole thing, Ji-eun. "Mr Markham-"

"Patrick, please."

"Patrick," Ji-eun smiled, perhaps a little too forced. "Have you ever heard of of the name, 'McNeal'?"

Markham's eyes narrowed very slightly. If he was alarmed, or surprised, there was no plain tell. Ji-eun quietly let go of a held breath. He was thinking, intently, but nothing in his body language betrayed him. If he was guilty, he wasn't cracking.

"No, I can't say I have," Markham said apologetically, and leaned over the desk. "Is this someone you think my lawyer was in contact with?"

Moon started to answer, but Marion interrupted them. "I apologise, Mr Markham, the car is here for the Council meeting."

"They're early," Patrick said, annoyed. He stood, and gestured that they should as well, then gathered some documens from the desk. "I'm sorry I can't be of any more help. I can have Marion arrange what you need, but I'm afraid I must be leaving now."

Shibal... Moon cursed to herself. I can't let this go like this. There has to be something more here, there has-

Kiki's PADD vibrated with an alert. She discretely retrieved it, a message coming through from a tech specialist at HQ who was keeping tabs on the investigation. She looked to Moon, showing her the screen. She kept her voice low, "Inspector, we should be going too."

"Indeed," Ji-eun contained the sudden spike in her adrenaline. Her emotions had crashed, and now the rush threateneed to dizzy her. "Thank you for your time, Mr Markham. We may have to be in touch again soon, with more notice next time."

"I hope so," Markham joked with a smile as he threw on his coat and made ready to leave. "Two police officers turn up unexpectedly, a man might jump to conclusions."

"One more thing, Mr Markham," Ji-eun called out as she stood, the wheels of her mind spinning in overtime.

Markham stopped mid-stride, and turned to her. "Certainly."

"'Kingdom Come'," Moon glanced at the display table. "It's a very grand title, if a little imposing; why did you decide on that name?"

"Well, you could think of it as my private kingdom, my flag on the map, but that's not really it." Markham smiled proudly, almost assuredly. "This project is exactly what Sagan Prime needs; bringing the far-off future into the present. Housing, commerce, security, culture, a city within a city. It won't put us on the map, it will draw a brand new one. A new world. That will last until kingdom come."

Markham left with a polite farewell, and Marion showed them out. Moon made sure she got everything they needed from him, and before they'd reached their squad car, Marion had sent on a meeting time with their security chief, and what details on Kunsler they had. She was relieved Markham had followed through at least, but it was all extraneous. She needed the lawyer.

"Are you certain that's accurate?" Moon asked Kiki as they got back into the car. It seemed too good to be true.

"These burner trails can't be faked, their signatures are fairly limited and inflexible," Kiki replied. She checked the reading again just to confirm what HQ had analysed and fed through to her. "There's no doubt about it, Kunsler's burner is at the spaceport, Inspector."

How, how could that be? How could he lose us on the way to the construction site, then show up across town at the spaceport so quickly? Nothing adds up.

"We need to close that port," Moon rubbed her brow. As soon as her lead had materialised, it had possibly vanished again just as quickly "If he gets offworld, we might never find him. Put out the word, Bill Kunsler is wanted under suspicion, and should be detained or reported on sight. I'm not letting the trail go cold again."


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