Chapter 12: Hotel

We travelled via a ground transport to security forces headquarters. By mutual agreement we agreed to wait until we arrived, so I didn’t repeat myself.

The vehicle stopped, and we got out and entered an impressive building. I followed the officer to a sizeable meeting room.

Waiting inside the room were Laine and Saria. Also Laine’s father was there and a senior looking officer.

“Hello Brian. I am relieved to see you survived,” said the ambassador.

“It was close at one point,” I replied.

“Let me introduce everyone. This is Chief Inspector Ricks. He is head of the local security forces. Chief Inspector, here is Commander Brian from the Baglogi. My daughter Laine serves as crew aboard their vessel. This is Saria, a recent recruit,” said the ambassador.

“Saria, you look familiar. Have we met?” asked the chief inspector.

“Lieutenant Saria, former special forces, Sir!” replied Saria. Wow! I bet she has a story.

Both Laine and her father looked at Saria with surprise on their faces.

“And this officer is Sergeant Elevon, who is in charge of the cleanup,” added the chief inspector.

Elevon and I took a seat at the table.

“Before we start, can I ask about the officer at the Ambassador’s residence? I had to leave in a hurry,” I asked.

“Officer Burlarr is alive and being treated at the hospital. He said you saved his life,” replied the chief inspector.

“I wish I could have saved his partner, but the Lagaid fired on their ground transport before I stopped them, I said.

“Brian, perhaps you should start at the beginning,” said the ambassador.

“Yes, Sir. I assume you are recording this meeting, and this will be my official statement?” I asked.

He nodded.

“Sir, I would not normally fire a weapon on sovereign Quard territory, but this was in self-defence,” I said.

“Understood,” he said.

“I was at the Ambassador’s home this morning, when I heard a loud explosion and discovered they’d destroyed the security detail’s ground transport.

“After that, I knew they would soon come after me, so I fetched a weapon I recently liberated from a Lagaid aboard the passenger transport. They blew open the front door and two Lagaid entered. I stopped them before they knew where I was.

“I exited the house and took cover across the street to wait for backup. When it arrived, two Lagaid came out the front of the house and fired on the ground transport. I returned fire and stopped them. At that point, I realized more Lagaid were after Laine and Saria.

“After checking on the remaining security forces officer, I left the scene in the ground transport belonging to the deceased Lagaid. You can find it parked in the shopping district. Be careful, it may contain more explosives,” I said.

Sergeant Elevon made a call into his communicator. I waited until he finished.

“I’ve arranged for a pickup by the bomb squad. Please continue,” he said.

I nodded.

“When I arrived in the shopping district, I followed the trail of destruction until I came upon four Lagaid who were pursuing Laine and Saria. I fired and took out one of them. They had me pinned down behind a ground transport. Soon after that, your security forces arrived. The remaining Lagaid detonated their explosives. That’s it,” I said.

“Thank you, Commander,” said the chief inspector. He turned to Saria.

“Lieutenant Saria, please give your report,” said the chief inspector.

“Yes, Sir! This morning, Laine and I went shopping, accompanied by a security detail. While we were inside a store, Lagaid gunned down our security detail. We exited the back of the store with the sales clerk, whom we had to stun for her own safety.

“The Lagaid pursued us along service alleys and streets. We could finally return fire with stun guns when the Commander arrived behind them in the service alley. Soon after, the security forces arrived, and the Lagaid blew themselves up, Sir!” she said.

“Very precise, thank you Lieutenant. Laine, do you have anything to add?” asked the chief inspector.

“Only that we had to stun the sales clerk because she wanted to return to her store. The Lagaid would have killed her,” replied Laine.

The chief inspector nodded, then turned to his sergeant.

“Do you have any follow-up questions?” he asked.

“I’ve got all I need for now, Sir. We have eight dead Lagaid, four dead security detail, and one dead security forces. Several of my team received minor injuries from the explosion. It would have been more if the Commander had not warned me,” replied the sergeant.

“Very well, Sergeant. I know you must return to your duties. I expect a preliminary report tomorrow,” he said.

“Yes, Sir!”, replied the sergeant. He stood and left the room.

The chief inspector turned to me.

“I am sorry for all the trouble that happened today. The Lagaid were after me and Laine for revenge,” I said.

“Commander, I must apologize to you. We failed to protect you and your companions. I hoped that the Lagaid were all gone, but I was wrong. We can’t seem to get rid of them,” he replied.

“Today you have eight less Lagaid on Quard. I expect more are still hiding. Perhaps I can help you find them,” I said.

“How so?” he asked.

I took out the Lagaid communicator.

“I relieved this from one of the Lagaid that attacked me at the ambassador’s residence. It looks the same as ones I found on a Lagaid on the passenger transport,” I said.

He looked at the communicator, then returned his gaze to me. His smile was returning.

“It holds the key to finding their base. Build a receiver to listen to the same frequency. Using multiple directional antennas, we can pinpoint their location,” I said.

The chief inspector nodded.

“You’ll need monitoring stations in locations around the city. I believe their base is in or near the city,” I added.

“Include officers who speak Lagaid. They might hear clues,” said Laine.

The chief inspector grinned.

“Just a moment,” he said. He pressed a button, and a junior officer came in the room. He talked to the junior officer in Quard, explaining my plan. The junior officer nodded, took the communicator and left.

“Thank you, Commander. You have given me an advantage in our fight against the Lagaid.

“You’re welcome. I wish you good hunting,” I said.

“My home needs repair before we can return,” said the ambassador.

“I’m sorry about the mess. The Lagaid destroyed the front door and the entrance hall,” I said.

“It’s not your fault, Brian. I booked a suite at a hotel,” he replied.

“Talagni, I’ll have a repair crew in tonight. They will have it fixed by tomorrow,” said the chief inspector.

“Most appreciated, Ricks,” replied the ambassador.

“Chief Inspector, how will you handle the media on today’s events?” I asked.

“I’m thinking downtown battle between rival groups ends in explosion. We don’t want the Lagaid to be aware of what we know or we lose our advantage,” he replied.

“I like that. No mention of us either. I’d like to keep a low profile and not attract too much trouble,” I said.

“It is too late for that,” replied the chief inspector.

“Well, it’s getting late. Let’s check in to the hotel,” said the ambassador.

We stood and left the meeting room.

We left security forces headquarters with a larger security detail. They transported us to a large hotel where we approached the check-in desk. The desk clerk scanned our IDs, but when she scanned mine, she looked up at me.

“You’re him! You saved all those passengers! Please wait one moment,” she said. She then called someone on a communicator.

I looked round at Laine, her father and Saria. I was about to apologize to them for holding things up when the desk clerk caught my attention.

“Sir, I just talked to the owner of this hotel. He has instructed me that the cost of your suite is on us. Your credits are no good here. He said that his family were travelling aboard that passenger transport,” she said.

“Please, can you tell him I didn’t save them for any reward,” I replied.

“You can tell him in person tomorrow morning, Sir. He is flying in tonight and will meet you for breakfast,” she said.

I blushed. This was getting embarrassing.

“Ladies and gentlemen, your suite is on the top floor. The doors are keyed to your ID. The suite includes a room for your security detail. Have a good evening,” she said.

We took the elevator up to the top floor. On the way up, I talked to one of the security detail.

“Excuse me, we lost four beings today. Did you know them?” I asked.

“Yes, Sir. It is a sad day for us,” he replied.

“Did they have families?” I asked.

“Yes, Sir. Why do you ask?” he asked.

“They died protecting us. I want to make sure their families are taken care of,” I replied.

“The agency maintains a pool of credits. We each put in a deduction from our pay and we get a payout on injury or death. It is standard in our line of work,” he said.

“Thank you for explaining it to me,” I said.

He nodded.

We arrived at the top floor and entered our suite. The suite had tall windows and a huge balcony. By now, the sun had set, but I expected the view of the sunset would be amazing.

“Mr Ambassador, I have something I’d like to discuss with you and Laine,” I said.

“Of course. Let’s have a seat in the lounge,” he replied.

We all took a seat.