Chapter 7 - Aftermath (2/2)
What about Lt. Col. Jane?” asked Balthazar. ”If he talked with Sophia, he would definitely heard about the suspicions we had on Jane,” thought Balthazar. ”Also if they talked to Rodrigo, they might have also known about the knights of the Old Republic. I need to find a plausible explanation now. Else I would probably be detained for raising false rumors and trying to cause panic.” All of Balthazar's plan was based on capturing the merchant vessel and Jane. Without interrogating them, he would have no basis for suggesting the knights of the old republic. He would be completely lost without Jane.
”Sadly, we don't have Lt. Col. Jane among us anymore. We came to know that she was a suspect. We would also like you to confirm on this,” requested Brixton. This caused no small amount of panic to him. His heartbeat visibly raised on the heart monitor hooked to him. Both Rodrigo and Brixton immediately got concerned about him. They knew that Jane was along with Balthazar and was closer to the plane compared to him and didn't survive the blast. This caused them to misunderstand that Balthazar was worried for Jane.
”Calm down, kid,” said Rodrigo. ”It was an unfortunate accident. Sometimes, we lose our men and friends not only in the fight but also in some incidents like this. Jane's death was unfortunate. But you must let go of it,” he comforted. This completely calmed down Balthazar. He was worried that Jane might also have been hospitalized, might wake up and be talking to them later. Now that he had no one to interrogate, he could simply put the burned on the dead Jane. Thinking of a plausible story he began in a sad tone.
”When we first investigated the glitch and the personnel surrounding it, considering the merchant vessel and the personnel involved in erasing the evidence on the navigation data, she was put into the suspect pool. This was before, I contacted Rodrigo. I was still discussing the matter with Sophia,
Jacob and Jones. But later in the day, she had come to me. She herself had the two personnel under suspicion for some reason and had them followed discreetly and thus, discovered the personnel I had tailing them.”
”She was the one who had informed me that the knights of the old republic had been involved. Her personnel had overheard them talking of it and were trying to collect some hard evidence. In the meantime, I had my men secretly patch the glitch as it was a very dangerous security issue and we didn't deviate from the plan we had before the conversation I had with Jane. Sophia should have provided you with the details of the personnel we were tailing,” he continued.
”Yes, we have been informed of them by Sophia. But, they also died in the blast. There was nothing we could get from them. We never knew about Jane tailing them. Do you have the details of the tails she place on them?” asked Brixton.
”No. She never told me till she found out about the Sophia's men tailing them. I was angry about it. She was extremely afraid and didn't want to take any action before she had anything concrete. I verbally reprimanded her for not doing anything to rectify the glitch and asked her to consolidate her finding and submit a report. It was her collar and that is the reason, I let her take the lead in their interrogation. But unfortunately, that ended in an unexpected way,” said Balthazar.
”We have a lead finally. We can make inquiries into her staff immediately. Jane had someone tailing them and this might get us some decent intelligence,” said Brixton in relief. They had finally got a direction, the investigation can head towards and that relieved the pressure on Brixton.
”But, I would suggest that any investigation should be held extremely cautiously. It is highly likely that there might be other traitors among them,” said Rodrigo.
”The formal investigation would have long started into all the personnel under Balthazar. I would make the suggestion to them to focus on Jane's men,” said Brixton. ”If that is all, then we would take our leave Colonel. I wish you a quick recovery,” said Brixton getting up.
”WAIT!” shouted Balthazar stopping Brixton. ”This is a good chance to have the military investigate into Raymond Rowley and that man Dave,” thought Balthazar. ”Though Jane didn't provide me the transcripts on her investigation, she did let out a couple of names she gleaned from tailing those two. They were Raymond Rowley and Dave. That Raymond is probably someone from the Rowley Trading Firm. The merchant vessel also belong to the same firm. This would definitely provide some leads into the investigation,” said Balthazar.
”Sshhh,” sighed Brixton. ”Raymond Rowley is already a suspect. We tracked him through the merchant vessel. What you said also matches with our intelligence. But, the Rowleys disowned him. We are trying to get a hold of him. Atleast, we got a new name, Dave. We will look into it. Allow me to thank you again, Colonel,” said Brixton as continued on his way out.
”We will leave you now. Take care, kid.,” said Rodrigo as they left the room.
After they left Bolena approached the bed and asked ”How much of that was true?”.
”All of it,” said Balthazar furrowing his brows. He always hated this aspect of his sister. As long as he could remember, she could always detect it, if he lied or hid something important. It was a very vexing to have a sibling from whom he couldn't hide the smallest details. He had no idea how she does it. It never was the other way around. She always caught his lies and told his parents. They also always trusted her. This caused no small amount of conflicts between them.
”Hehe,” she giggled. ”Don't lie to me little brother. There definitely was something missing from what you told them.”
”Keep your trap, shut. We are not kids and they are military officials. If somebody hears you, it would cause no small amount of trouble for me,” said Balthazar sullenly. ”Why do you trouble me like this. You are sadist!!”
”I am a sadist!? You are the sadist,” she burst out.
”I'm the sadist? You were the one who always put your nose into everything I did. When did I ever even trouble you?” he asked back angrily.
”No, you hardly ever even talked to me. What trouble could you cause me?! Huh!”, she replied angrily. ”Idiot, you have been gone for 5 years. No phone, no message, no contact info. Do you even care if I was alive or dead. You think I don't care about my brother. I would have beaten you up were you not in such a state already. At least you put me in as you emergency contact. Shameless idiot! Shameless, careless, stupid idiot. Why don't you say anything now? Huh!”
”It wasn't my fault. Walter said,” started Balthazar glumly his head lowered in shame.
”Shut up! I don't want to hear you lame excuses. Just take rest for now. We are leaving for asklepian tonight. Walter had already arranged for your travel and also talked with you superiors. You are taking a leave for a minimum of 3 months to recuperate and medical examiner also has submitted the same to your superiors,” she continued in the same tone.
”Three months! To recuperate? That is stretching it a bit isn't it?” he asked timidly.
”You don't get a say in it. Walter's orders. He also seemed to have talked it out with Brixton and his superiors. Just finish up with the necessary reports within 4 hours. Anything else can be thought of afterwards. Hmph!” said Bolena as she walked out huffing.
”Maybe I was wrong,” thought Balthazar. ”But Walter would definitely have known if he contacted Bolena during his service.”
”Well. It is all in the past. All I can do now is to finish up some paperwork and leave to asklepian.”
Balthazar took the electronic pad near his bed, ordered food and started on his work. In a few minutes, hot bread, soup, broiled meat and some juice was delivered to him by automaton. He finished his food and continued with his reports.
Finishing the reports, he sent a couple of mails to Sophia, Jacob and some other comrades in the force informing them that he was leaving today and couldn't meet them for a considerable period of time. He also sent a couple of mails to Brixton. One summarized the details of the operation and the other was recommending Jacques to handle his responsibilities in his absence. After that he laid down on the bed and dozed off.
A few hours later, Bolena woke him up. She had already gathered all his belongings from his quarters. They both boarded a shuttle on the roof of the hospital and took off. After a period of 12 years he was finally going back home.