War Criminals by Gavin Smith (ereader for textbooks .TXT) 📕

‘I’m busy, so let’s get to it,’ Miska said. She was aware of Vido rolling his eyes next to her. ‘“The Bastards have been mean to us, they won two fights, captured a load of our stuff, took a load of our people prisoner, it’s not fair wah-wah-wah.” Is that about the sum of it?’

Duellona’s face had gone a funny shade of puce. Miska knew from experience that she didn’t like being spoken to this way, certainly not by a jumped-up corporal.

‘That should calm everything right down,’ Vido muttered.

‘I want my frigate, my mechs, the other vehicles, the weapons you stole and all my people—’

‘In that order?’ Miska asked.

‘—returned immediately,’ Duellona finished.

‘Yeah? Not really how this works,’ Miska told her. ‘You pay the repatriation costs to MACE, it’ll go towards the war effort but you get your people back. The rest of it belongs to me. You want it? Come and get it.’

Duellona opened her mouth to retort but Campbell held up his hand to quiet her. She looked just about ready to snap the hand off at the wrist and slap him to death with it.

‘Colonel Corbin,’ Uncle Vido started. Duellona snorted with derision, but he ploughed on. ‘May not have explained it in the most diplomatic of terms but she has the right of it. The Bastard Legion has not breached the terms of conflict in any way.’

‘The massacre!’ Duellona snapped.

‘Was nothing to do with us and you know it,’ Miska told her.

‘It’s out of our hands,’ Salik said. ‘The UN conflict inspector has stepped in. She’s sent an investigatory team down to the site.’

‘As have we,’ Duellona told her.

‘Fine, we’re getting accused, we’re sending investigators down as well,’ Vido said.

‘New Sun formally withdraws the accusation—’ Campbell started.

‘Should have thought of that before your PR team went to work,’ Vido told him.

‘What investigators?’ Duellona demanded.

‘With all due respect—’ Vido started.

‘Mind your own fucking business,’ Miska finished. Vido was shaking his head.

‘Who’re you going to send, your doctor? He was a serial killer!’ Duellona seemed angrier than the situation warranted.

‘Keen botanist, though,’ Miska told her. Nyukuti snorted with laughter and even Salik was struggling to hide a smile. Vido just shook his head and Duellona stared at her for a moment before turning to Salik.

‘This is a mockery.’

‘It’s fair. You made the accusation, and you made it publicly. They get the right of reply, which includes finding out what actually happened,’ he told her. Duellona stared at the mercenary broker as though she’d been slapped.

‘What about Ashmead?’ she demanded.

‘What’s Ashmead?’ Miska asked.

‘Captain Sophie Ashmead, Triple S (electronic),’ Vido supplied. ‘The officer in charge of network security for the mech base—’

‘—You hit,’ Duellona finished, glaring at Miska. Campbell, Salik and even Vido were all watching her carefully as well.

Fuck you, Raff, Miska thought. He had supplied her with the intelligence.

‘The intelligence was third party,’ Miska told them. It wasn’t a complete lie. ‘I didn’t order her mind-wipe. I won’t use them again.’

‘Where did the intel come from?’ Duellona demanded. Miska just shook her head. Duellona was on her feet. ‘I’ll crack your fucking skull open …’

‘Colonel Duellona!’ Campbell snapped. It was about the last thing that Miska had expected.

‘Is this the word?’ Nyukuti asked from the window. An obviously seething Duellona glanced round at him. Resnick looked the stand-over man’s way as well.

‘No!’ Miska and Vido said simultaneously. Miska noticed Salik watching the colonel warily.

‘Colonel,’ Campbell continued, ‘currently you are disgracing yourself, and your company, but what is worse you are disgracing me. This is not the way we expect our contractors to behave. I suggest you leave.’

Miska was staring at Campbell wide-eyed. She had assumed that he was completely smooth between the legs. This display of balls was so uncharacteristic as to be unprecedented. Duellona pointed at him. Her finger was shaking she was so angry.

‘Ma, please,’ Salik said. Miska was suddenly aware of the liveried servant drone standing in the doorway carrying her beer. The drone had to move quickly to clear the way as Duellona stormed out of the drawing room. Moments later Miska heard the front door slam. The pained expression was back on Salik’s face. The drone gave Miska her beer.

‘I apologise,’ Campbell told them.

‘Shit, you’re still here,’ Miska said, genuinely surprised. Vido chuckled, and even Salik was smiling again.

‘She has been under a great deal of strain recently. The reverses she has taken in the campaign, the murder of poor Sophie and now this massacre … well, they’ve all taken their toll.’

‘Who do you think killed your people?’ Miska asked. Campbell gave a somewhat pained smile but didn’t say anything. Miska wanted to push him further, ask why all his people were armed with slugthrowers, but she was pretty sure that she wouldn’t get anything useful from him. He wasn’t a useful type of person.

‘While I have a great deal of sympathy for the good colonel, we have our shareholders to think about. I feel that Colonel Corbin may have made a good point,’ Campbell continued. ‘I believe that Triple S may be too hidebound in the way that they do things. Too used to the “done thing”.’ He actually made the sign for inverted commas in the air as he said it. Miska suspected that she wasn’t the only person in the room who had a strong urge to grab his fingers and bend them back until they broke. ‘We’re starting to feel that Triple S aren’t aggressive enough, and that perhaps we might need some blue sky thinking on this particular problem.’

‘Blue sky thinking—’ Miska started.

‘What are we talking about here?’ Vido interrupted before she could say anything offensive. ‘Hiring us away from the Colonial Administration?’

Miska didn’t like the sound of this at all, mainly because she didn’t want to work with an asshat like Campbell.

‘We don’t have anything like the resources that Triple S do,’ Vido pointed out. Miska took a sip from her beer. It was one of the nicest beers she’d ever tasted. She