Callsign Cerberus by Mark Ellis

Author:Mark Ellis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Markosia Enterprises Ltd
Published: 2020-04-02T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

IF HE HADN’T received the call from Salvo, Grant wouldn’t have caught the communication from Kane.

After giving his statement to Pollard, Grant had been directed to go home and not contact Kane until the matter had been thoroughly looked into. Since Salvo was strangely unavailable, he figured a deeper investigation of the incident would wait until the following day.

Grant hated waiting. Under other circumstances, a Pit sweep would have been under way, with Kane taking the point as always. The murder of a Mag and the attempted murder of another were grounds for a full-scale assault on the slaggers’ dens of Tartarus, turning over every rock in search of Teague, Uno and the albino girl. Last year’s failed ambush by poorly armed jolt-walkers had resulted in a month-long Pit lockdown.

It was very odd, but unlike Kane, Grant wasn’t inclined to ask questions. Instead, he stood gazing out the window into the deep indigo sky, looking for a sign that a new day was dawning.

A Magistrate is virtuous in the performance of his duty. The deeply ingrained phrase drifted through his mind. The duties and obligations that came with his badge and Sin Eater had been drilled into him these past twenty-plus years. The oath was a part of his every action and reaction, at once a justification and a reason to live, a psychological shield and a sword for the work he performed.

Living only for duty and service was all a matter of how you adjusted to it, Grant thought fleetingly. He had assumed that both he and Kane had adjusted perfectly, but now Kane was displaying signs of strain, of chafing under the strictures. He asked questions, which in itself was irritating enough, but his questions were good ones, which was downright unfortunate.

It was awkward business, being friends with a fellow Mag. Sometimes even Grant was surprised that two such contrasting personalities worked so well as a team. Teamwork was encouraged, but friendship was frowned upon.

Now Grant knew why. It was a hard thing to endure not to be on hand to help Kane deal with whatever he was battling. He tried to tell himself that Kane had brought it all upon himself—from not serving the termination warrant on Reeth, to lifting the comp disk and conducting his own independent investigation, then calling for backup only after Boon had been chilled.

Still, during the span of the twelve years they had partnered together, he had learned to rely on Kane’s instincts. As a point man, his senses were uncannily acute when something nasty was underfoot or lurking just around a corner. Try as he might to dismiss it, Grant was positive Kane’s instincts were on the mark this time around, as well.

The warble from the trans-comm unit on his desk was so unexpected, he jumped and swore. A quick glance at his wrist chron told him dawn was only an hour or so away. Only Kane would be so defiant to contact him after he had been ordered not to do so—but then he wasn’t stupid.

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