The Interstellar Police Force, Book One: The Historic Mission by Raymond Klein (ebook reader 7 inch txt) 📕

“A daylight burn,” Trent said. “He’s escalating. The pyromania is intensifying.”

The report was live and the reporter on scene was saying that the alarm came into Fire House 21 forty-five minutes earlier. By the time the first engine arrived the building was already engulfed. The reporter also stated that when an interior wall collapsed, one firefighter was killed and another gravely injured.

“Oh, that’s not good,” Genghis said. “Do you remember about ten years ago when Valda burned down that school, killing the five kids? After that he hit nothing but populated buildings. He now has his first kill here.”

“Yes,” Trent said. “It’s now imperative that we find him before anyone else gets hurt.”

Just then the computer alerted. The Full Body Scanning system had just located Colus Valda. They both stared at the screen. Colus Valda was nowhere near the fire scene, admiring his handiwork. He was just standing on the sidewalk at the corner of Mason Avenue and Seventh Street. “What the hell is he doing?” Genghis asked.

Valda started to walk down the street. Genghis switched to another surveillance camera and began to track him. This one was located high on the corner of a three-story red brick law office. The computer automatically updated his location. Street, time, direction of travel. As they watched, Valda calmly walked the sidewalk, traveling away from the camera when suddenly he stopped and stood for about five seconds. He then slowly turned and looked up into the camera’s lens. “Oh, now that’s just plain disturbing,” Genghis said.

Trent and Genghis both knew that it was impossible for Colus to see them. But that was what it appeared he was doing. All three just locked eyes with each other. Valda then slowly raised his hand and in it, a small device. Colus Valda smiled broadly at the camera, gave a slight nod and pushed a button on the device. The camera on which they were watching Valda instantly went to static. “Hey! He pulsed us,” Genghis said. He started switching from camera to camera. All the surveillance cameras in a three-block radius showed the same snowy picture.

“He knows,” Trent said. “He knows we’re here. But how? And why does he have the Electronic Pulse Interrupter? I thought Bollar was using it.”

“We must have done something in his apartment. Moved something, something that he noticed. And we already thought that Bollar and Colus may be working together. I don't know, maybe Colus triggers the pulse as Bollar pulls off the heist.”

“Could he have known all this time that we were here tracking him?”

“It’s possible, but I don’t see how.” Genghis said, trying to comprehend. “Oh! Wait a second. That’s why the Full Body Scanning system couldn’t find him yesterday after we found his apartment.” He turned away from the static on the screen and looked up at Trent. “He had the Electronic Pulse Interrupter set to stealth mode, masking himself. That explains why none of those cameras by his apartment stopped operating yesterday like these.” He gestured toward the computer. “He just now took it off stealth to make a point.”

“To make the point that he knows we’re looking for him,” Trent said. He thought for a moment, then said, “So, let’s go look for him.”

“Ah, excuse me, Mr. Trent?”

“Let’s do it the old fashioned way. We now know what he looks like. So, let’s get in the cruiser and drive around and just look for him.”

“Simple yet brilliant, Mister Trent,” Genghis said with a smirk. “I’m glad I brought you along on this little mission.”

“Oh, Mister Khan, you silly human canine! I wouldn’t have expected you to come up with such a plan. It’s because of that small cranium of yours.”

“This small cranium, Mister Trent, and its accompanying set of jaws, can clamp down on your calf with a bite force pressure of fourteen hundred and fifty pounds per square inch.” Genghis grinned the best he could to show his teeth. “Care for me to demonstrate?”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Jeff Trent and Genghis Khan drove through Old Town. Down Seventh Avenue, across Grant Street, up First Avenue. They drove the busy shopping district of Eighth Street, looking at everyone who fit Valda’s description. Then continued on into the Compton Square district of Old Town. They were driving up 11th Ave., two blocks past the Compton Apartments, and entered the dismal and run-down shopping section for the Compton area. They drove by a large grocery store called  the Food and More with hand-painted sale signs in the window. Then they passed a small playground with rusted swing sets and monkey bars. Past the playground was a long single-story brown brick building that was built in the early 30's and shared by two businesses. One was Ted’s Pawn Shop the other Ray’s Bar. Ted and Ray Evanovich were brothers and bought the building twenty years earlier and opened both establishments. Everyone in the area just referred to the building as TR’s. This was a crowded area with heavy vehicle and pedestrian traffic. People were exiting Ted’s and walking right into Ray’s.

Traffic slowed to a crawl and that’s when Genghis noticed three kids sitting on the sidewalk with their backs resting against the wall of TR’s. “Hey look, isn’t that Twinkie?”

Jennifer was sitting in between Trisha and Pimples, her arms around bent knees. When she saw the Thunderbird she happily waved and got up. She was wearing a very tight yellow t-shirt with extremely short cut-off jeans and flip-flops. Trent pulled to the curb as Jennifer approached. “Hi Jeff, hey Genghis,” she said as she rubbed Genghis’s head. “What are you two doing out here?”

“Ah . . . we’re out looking for an old friend,” Jeff said. “We thought he might be in this area.”

“What does he look like? Maybe I know him?” She looked around. “ You know?”

“Well,” Trent replied, “that’s always possible. We have a couple of photos back at our pad. I can get them to you later. Say, Twinkie, we were just