"Dr Felicity Goldman" Jim said as he knocked on the door. They had already interviewed most of Dr Xiong's work colleagues and friends. They had a timeline of her movements of her last few hours before her murder but it wasn't much to go on. Elisabeth had called them and announced there was little to no forensic evidence to help them in identifying the killer as there was not trace evidence and the knife that was used was a common kitchen knife. The same kitchen knife from Dr Xiong's Kitchen which had been cleaned and put back into the block.
"You sure she's home?" Kate asked as she was on the front porch a few steps away from him. He wondered if he smelt bad but dismissed it as he had showered that morning and Elisabeth told him he smelt good enough to eat.
"Malcolm said she worked in conjunction with Dr Xiong and they both work from home. Where else would she be at this time?"
"Pottery class?" Kate suggested innocently as she pulled a small knife from her boot and used it to lever the blinders of the window open.
"Funny" Jim said but before he could chastise her for trying to pry open the window Kate opened it and immediately stepped back and coughed moving from away from the house.
"Seriously what is with today?" Kate said as she recovered control of her gag reflex.
"What is it?" Jim asked.
"Someone or something has died in there" she said as she moved back to the front porch and scrunched her nose in disgust as she came back better prepared for the foul smell to wreck havoc with her.
"Ok overriding the door" Jim said as he punched in the code. Kate pushed the door open and let Jim go in first.
"Oh Geez that is rank" Kate said. Jim walked into the house and straight to the body. "I'm checking for signs of forced entry" Kate said as Jim called it in to Guzman. A few seconds later she returned and made a face of disgust as she turned a lovely shade of green.
"She's dead" Jim told her as he noted Kate keeping a fair distance from the body.
"I can smell that" Kate said as she moved closer to take a look at the body of Felicity Goldman. The woman who was lying on the floor in the same manner as Dr Xiong had been.
"Looks like the same M.O. just like the other victim. But the message is different" Jim said as he inspected the body with his eyes only and pointed at the wall with the message scrawled in blood.
"It's the salvation of our Colony that will make the heaven within" Kate read with a frown. "That makes no sense" she said.
"I don't know it's cryptic or just plain crazy" Jim said as Kate repeated the lines through her head.
"You know that last line kinda sounds familiar but I can't place it. Could be hooky religious stuff" Kate said as she tried to get closer but the smell was too much.
"Religion isn't hooky" Jim said.
"My apologies, by the way there were no signs of forced entry I think who ever this is our victims knew their attacker and let them walk through the front door." Kate said.
"I have two women who were murdered in their homes" Taylor said when Kate and Jim stopped by his house. Alicia and the twins were having an afternoon nap as the three of them talked in hushed tones over coffee and tea at the dining table.
"The only connections they have is that they were colleagues and both well known for working at home and not being seen for days at a time" Jim said.
"I just don't get why them? They have no enemies from what we could find, no problems except Dr Xiong annoyed people with her smelly soup but it's not something to be sliced and diced to death for." Kate said.
"How are we going to explain this to the colony? Two bodies in less than 48hours" Taylor said.
"Two bodies that have been found so far but they were killed days apart. I recommend we do a head count of the Colony and find out how many are really missing. Who knows how many other rotting corpses we have waiting for us" Kate said.
"You're talking about head counting over 1000 people" Taylor said.
"You could hold a town meeting. We'll make sure all the security cameras are pointed at the crowd. You announce the deaths of the scientists and to tell people to take precautions as they were violent robberies. Tell them to not panic as you'll increase soldier patrols on the west side of the colony at night and say you're doing everything in your power to find the criminal. That anyone who has information about any suspicious behaviour in the areas of the two houses can come forward after the meeting and talk with Jim and yourself." Kate said to Taylor.
"You want to gage the colonist's reactions" Taylor said thinking Kate's idea over. It was sound even if it was going to work it meant scaring people and answering a lot questions he didn't want to. He looked to the bedroom where Alicia and the twins were sleeping and decided he would have to beef up security on their own house and make sure Alicia was never left alone with the twins.
"Yes, I do and we can do a head count at the same time from the video feed and also see if anyone shows a reaction we are not expecting. It won't be an exact art but it might give us some leads as whoever this person is meticulous to plan out these deaths and leave little to no evidence. That denotes training" Kate said.
"You thinking it's a pro?" Jim asked Kate, the woman shook her head.
"No a pro would have been more precise in their actions the pattern of the wounds is erratic and they would never have left the bodies. I thinking a scientist as they have access to this paralysing agent or the ingredients to cook one up and they would also have constant access to the database and intelligent enough to hack the security feeds and redirect the cameras" Kate said.
"Ok do it, I'll send out a message for the meeting to be tomorrow morning at 11am" Taylor said he got up from his chair as a tiny wail sounded marking that one of the twins of awake.
"Ok, we'll leave you to it" Jim said motioning to Kate they should leave.
"Keep me posted" he said his way of dismissing them Kate and Jim got up and left the house as Taylor went into the bedroom and saw Baby Ella was crying and fussing.
"What you wailing about?" He asked her in a low voice as he carefully lifted her out of the crib and into his arms "oh you just wanted to be held didn't you?" he said as Ella calmed in his arms and opened her eyes looking up at him with her dark brown eyes. He and Alicia lucked out as the girls were fraternal twins. Ella had dark brown eyes just like her mother while Ava inherited Taylor's blue eyes even if their facial features proved identical they would never pull the wool over Taylor and Alicia's eyes.
He looked over at Alicia who was still sleeping along with Ava who was also sound asleep in the crib swaddled up in a cotton blanket. Taylor removed himself and Ella out of the bedroom into the lounge room. He walked around the room with Ella in his arms and her face looking out towards the room as he just talked to her about the room and stupid things as he was sure Ella had no clue what he was saying but he read that it was never too early to help a baby develop language skills.
Alicia stirred awake and looked over at the crib and saw only Ava inside. She sat up in bed and stretched as she was sure Taylor had Ella as she could hear him talking in a low voice around the living area. She quietly slipped out bed and moved to the door but stayed out of sight. She looked out to see Taylor walking aimlessly around the room with Ella in his arms.
"I royally stepped in it this time and your mum is pretty angry at me. You got any thoughts on what I can do to get her back? And don't say flowers your mum hates flowers" Taylor said to Ella who was wriggling his arms, he opened the cloth and Ella moved her arms enjoying the freedom. "You got nothing as well huh? Well I guess I'll have to think of something on my own" he said as Ella made no noises or anything he could possibly translate into a suggestion. "But don't worry I'll find a way, I love her way too much to give up the fight now"
Alicia heard Ava stirring and moved to the crib, tears stung her eyes. She swallowed the lump in her throat and wished she could get over her anger and pain. She wanted them to be how they were but she couldn't let it go because if she did it was her way of saying it was ok for him to do what he did. No, he had to prove his words with actions. She lifted Ava up out the crib in her arms and decided it was time to make her appearance known before she weakened.
"We're home" Kate said as Malcolm opened the door and stepped in. He held the door opened and waited for her as she kicked off boots and left them at the door. She stepped inside and Malcolm closed the door. There was no answer and she couldn't hear any movement indicating Evan and the kids were still out. Normally she would have attacked Malcolm but she wanted to reenergize and shower the day off her first.
"No one's home" Malcolm said as a fact not an invitation.
"Mmm I need a shower" Kate said as she pulled her ponytail out and shook her hair loose.
"Want company?" he asked her looking at her.
"I won't say no" she said with a smile as she pulled by his shirt to the bathroom.
"There's a town meeting tomorrow" Taylor said as he placed dinner on the table. Alicia poured two glasses of water before taking her seat the twins were on the floor in two padded play seats with mini mobiles hanging over them.
"Is this about what Guzman tore you and Jim away for last night?" Alicia asked.
"Two women have been murdered" Taylor said, Alicia looked at him expecting more so he told her what he knew after he was finished Alicia cursed under her breath. "I don't want you here by yourself" he told her.
"I can take care of myself" Alicia said.
"I don't doubt that but I want to know when I leave you here you won't be by yourself. We don't know who's being targeted or why. Think of it like that Dino quip Kate says to Jim all the time" Taylor asked with a wry smile.
"You mean the one about only having to outrun him?" Alicia said, it was yet another of Kate's running jokes with Jim as the two would then have a race which Kate would win as the girl ran like the wind even though she didn't run daily.
"Exactly, who ever this is will have to get through four soldiers before you have to fight. I want you and the girls to be safe" Taylor said, she could see he was truly worried about this killer coming after her.
"Four is overkill, make it two and they can help me with the babies I'm sure whoever you post will really appreciate you for it" Alicia said compromising.
"It's less than an hour and if they complain I'll make them demuck latrines for a week." Taylor said matter factorily.
"I don't need guards" Alicia said as she didn't want them to babysit her or be punished for disliking their job.
"Please can you just accept it and not fight about it." Taylor asked in an exhausted tone.
"Ok but only two guards" Alicia told him.
"Oi! Olive don't be such a grot" Kate complained as Olivia had wiped the sticky mango juice on Kate's arm to steal the mango from Kate's bowl. "Ask if you want more mango" Kate added shaking her head as she smiled incredulously. Evan shot his daughter a look of censure and shook his head looking disappointed at her.
"Sorry" Olivia said as she sat down in her seat looking suitably chastised.
"Would you like some more mango Olivia?" Evan asked Olivia nodded. "What do you say?"
"More, please" she said with a smile though her please sounded like 'pwease'. It was still incredibly adorable. Evan spooned some mango from his bowl into Olivia's and she gave the requisite 'thank you' before she stuck her hands into the bowl and began eating.
"I really need to work on her table manners" Evan said.
"Well at least she used a fork at dinner" Malcolm offered with amused smile as Kate wiped the mango juice off her arm with her napkin.
"It's ok, but I think we have learned Olivia loves Mangoes" Kate said with a chuckle as she watched Olivia suck up the mango.
"So when was the wedding?" Evan asked casually though his smile was one of amusement.
"Sorry?" Kate asked blankly as the question caught her off guard.
"You two are wearing matching rings" Evan said pointing to Kate and Malcolm's left hands before he ate some more of his fruit salad.
"Oh last night it was just a quick civil ceremony." Kate said smiling at Malcolm.
"We decided we'd wait until next year to have a proper celebration when we renew our vows" Malcolm told Evan.
"Sounds good by then the baby will be born and you'll be able to have a glass of champagne or whatever passes for bubbly in these parts." Evan said he knew the quick nuptials had more to do with Taylor pressuring them which was why he wasn't going to push the 'why' questions.
"Yeah that's we thought too" Kate said making it sound like that had been the plan all along.
"Well congratulations and apologies" Evan said.
"Apologies?" Malcolm said confused.
"Yeah being here with us not exactly honeymoon territory. I'd clear out but my place won't be ready until tomorrow as that's when the furniture is put in. So we'll be out of your hair by tomorrow night" Evan said.
"Wow that's quick, I though you still had another week" Kate said surprised at news.
"Apparently the builder was being generous in his estimates. You two going to miss us?" Evan asked her.
"Of course. We'll have to do weekly dinners with Alicia and her family have one huge table. I'll talk to Carter about it tomorrow get one made up for the future" Kate said.
"We'll put it on your back veranda. You got the space and it has a roof over it so it will work for all seasons" Evan said.
"When did my house become neutral ground? I thought you and Taylor made up" Kate said as she knew Evan was only suggesting her back veranda as it wouldn't be at his place of Taylor's.
"We did but it's not like we're buddies so it's better to be on neutral ground" Evan said.
"As long as we all take turns cooking I'm in. Malcolm?" Kate asked looking at her husband.
"I have no problem with this plan" Malcolm said, he liked the idea of having an extended family even if they weren't related by blood.
"Can you believe he's using sex to soften me up?" Kate asked. Alicia choked on her tea as she was sure she had missed something in the conversation as Kate had gone from talking about Evan moving out to him using sex as tool to 'soften her up'. Alicia was sure Kate meant Malcolm but it didn't stop her from reacting and playing into the bait.
"You're already having an affair?" Alicia asked.
"Huh?" Kate asked.
"My brother is softening you up with sex?" Alicia said with an amused smile while Kate shook her head making a face.
"No, Malcolm. I did say Malcolm right?" Kate asked Alicia shook her head. "Oh sorry I could have sworn I said Malcolm but anyway he really wants to know the gender of our kid in a few weeks. I on the other hand want to keep it a surprise." Kate said even though it was still a few weeks until they could find out but that didn't stop Malcolm from 'trying' to change her mind.
"Why?" Alicia asked as she was trying hard not laugh. she didn't think the prim and proper Dr Malcolm Wallace would stoop to such figured he'd use logic and conversation and talk Kate into submission.
"Because I can and it's killing Malcolm that he can't just access my medical files in 6 weeks and find out. Though when he can he'll have to keep it to himself for 6 months or more" Kate said with a smile as it was a double edged sword for Malcolm as it was going to fun.
"You're really odd" Alicia told her.
"I am?" Kate asked innocently.
"Yeah, you're supposed to share and care about the baby not use it as a means to amuse yourself with Malcolm's inability to keep trivial secrets like the sex of your baby to himself when I know for a fact you don't care if you find out either way" Alicia said with a chuckle.
"I know but that's not the point! Every time he wants to ask me something that will tick me off or my mind is set. He goes melts my brain with sex and in the afterglow drops whatever bomb he has. Like Taylor and getting married...that conversation was like a bucket of ice water on the system"
"Really?"
"Yeah I can't believe how I flipped my lid" Kate said as she really hated when she became impulsive.
"Ew I touched your sex hair" Alicia said wrinkling her nose in disgust.
"And you call me juvenile" Kate told Alicia who smiled. The smile slipped away and Alicia looked at Kate with a serious expression.
"Does it bother you that Taylor meddle with you?" Alicia asked Kate took a moment before answering.
"Yes. I wanted to wait and allow Malcolm time to know he was sure about me and getting married when we were ready" Kate said looking down at her cup of tea. "Not get married because he felt his career was in jeopardy"
"I don't think he got married to you for that reason." Alicia told her.
"Oh yeah it was probably 'She's knocked up and it's my child', 'my journal says we love each other' and 'Yeah I could spend the next 30 to 40 years doing her' really great reasons to get married" Kate said sarcastically.
"Or perhaps he loves you and wanted to marry you instead of waiting until you were convinced he wasn't doing it out of obligation" Alicia said matter of factorily.
"He's not the same-" Kate stopped as a knock sounded at the door.
"My guards are here" Alicia said with a sigh as they had the worst timing as she knew Kate needed to get it off her chest. She could tell that while Kate was happy being married but it didn't mean she didn't have her doubts about marriage in general and they rushed their nuptials due to Kate losing her cool and instead of allowing sense to be talked into her they just went along with it.
"Which means I have to run. Thanks for the tea." Kate said as she got up from the table and took her mug to the sink emptying it and placing it in the dishwasher before opening the front door to find Reynolds and Reilly standing on the door step. Kate smiled and chuckled as the two looked like they would rather be anywhere but on guard duty with Alicia.
"What's so funny?" Alicia asked as she joined Kate at the door and saw Reilly and Reynolds at the door.
"Nothing, I just thought you were kidding about the guards." Kate said to Alicia as she was quietly wondering where the rest of the platoon was hiding but kept the joke to herself. "What landed you two in hot water to end up here?" Kate asked them.
"We volunteered Ma'am" Reynolds said, Alicia and Kate exchanged looks that said they didn't believe him for a moment.
"Right I'll leave you three to the tender mercies of the twins" Kate said with another chuckle. She turned to Alicia "Can we finish our conversation another time?" she asked.
"Of course" Alicia said with a nod she was glad Kate wasn't going to bury the conversation and forget about it.
"Good, I'll see you later" Kate said as they briefly hugged. Kate left the house and headed towards the main square. Alicia looked to Reilly and Reynolds.
"Ok come in" Alicia said motioning them in. "You can guard them while I take a shower" she said and before Reynolds and Reilly could say boo she picked up her clothes and ducked into the shower. She was only going to need 3 minutes and figured was the worst that could happen.
Reynolds and Reilly looked at one another and then at the babies as soon as the door closed. "We are so screwed" Reilly said to Reynolds in a low voice after the door to the bathroom closed and the sound of running water could be heard.
"Look at them so small and cute. Anyway they are sleeping how can it go bad?" Reynolds said as he slung his gun over his shoulder to look closer at the babies that had been sleeping peacefully only for one to wake up and start making noises.
"Like that" Reilly said as the noises soon turned into tiny cries.
"What should we do?" Reynolds said slightly panicked. He was sure if Lt Washington came out to find the babies crying she would not be happy.
"Why are you asking me?" Reilly asked him.
"You're a woman" he told her. Reilly quirked an eyebrow as she looked unimpressed.
"Really? That's your reasoning because I have all the working parts I know what to do with one of those things" Reilly said pointing at the babies.
"Ok, here take my gun" Reynolds said as passed his gun to Reilly.
"What are you doing?" Reilly asked him.
"Trying to get out of a week of demucking latrines" Reynolds said as he lifted the crying baby off the cushioned floor and held the baby up like she were a live grenade. He leaned forward he carefully took a tentative sniff of the baby's bottom that was wrapped up in a nappy. "I don't smell anything, maybe he's hungry" Reynolds said.
"They had girls you idiot"
"Right, you think she is hungry?"
"Oh for crying out loud, give her here" Reilly said as she put his gun down and shouldered hers before she took the baby from him and cradle the small girl in her arms. After a few seconds the wailing stopped.
"Hey you got her stop. You're a natural" Reynolds said.
"She's a human being Reynolds. Would you like to be held like you were holding her?" Reilly asked him.
"Good point can I hold her now?" Reynolds asked.
"Knock yourself out" Reilly said as she passed the baby back to him. She watched as Reynolds awkwardly cradled the baby. "So when are you and Maddy going to start popping out kids?"
"Not for a long time. If her father has anything to say it will never happen" Reynolds said with a smile as he watched the baby slowly quieten down and fall asleep again. "Hey I thought you didn't know anything about babies" he said as looked to Reilly.
"I don't. I was using common sense. All babies need is comfort, nourishment and cleaning" Reilly said.
"I'm sure there's more to it than that" Reynolds said as he carefully put the resting baby down next to her sister. He picked up his gun before he and Reilly moved to a safe distance.
"Not really, it's when they get bigger they are an issue" Reilly said.
"An issue? You really don't like kids do you?"
"Well not all women are cut out to have kids" Reilly told him.
"I feel like this is a waste of time" Jim said as it was about the twentieth time they had watched the video feeds of the town meeting.
"Well at least we know that we have 10 people to track down" Kate said as she made a note to talk with Mira and Carter as she noted some of the sixers were telegraphing unusual behaviour Kate wasn't game to point it out as she felt Taylor and Jim would leap right on it. Of course it was easier to point the finger at someone who was already a convicted criminal and she didn't want to waste time having to interview every sixer when she could bypass them for Mira and Carter.
"It's a start. Hopefully they are all alive and well. Let's go" Jim said getting up from his chair. Kate nodded as she turned off the screen and followed him out of the room.
Kate stood back as Jim knocked on the door. "You alright there?" he asked her as he could see she was looking a little pale. "You smelling death again?" he joked.
"No I-" she didn't finish as the door opened and a pale man wearing nothing but pyjamas and holding bucket stood at the door.
"Mr Finnegan" Jim said in greeting whilst subtly taking a step back as he hoped Finnegan wasn't contagious.
"Sheriff" he said weakly.
"Hi, there was a town meeting today I didn't see you there so I thought we'd drop by" Jim said as it was pretty clear Finnegan had a good reason for not being at the town meeting.
"Yeah I ate bad Xiph-kebabs yesterday. It has been downhill from there" Finnegan said as he swallowed and took a deep breath as if preparing himself for another round of vomit.
"I feel for you. Listen we just need to let you know there has been two murders from break enters gone wrong. We wanted to drop by and make you aware and to be careful. Take extra precautions while we are finding the culprits" Jim said.
"Ok, I don't mean to be rude-" Finnegan said as he gestured he was going to be sick.
"Go ahead and hope you get better soon" Jim said as the man closed the door. he turned to Kate and motioned they head for the next house.
"Poor guy. Who's next?" Kate asked as they walked to the next one.
"Mrs Caetano, her husband died during the occupation leaving her with a 6 year old son." Jim said, he looked to Kate who said nothing. He could tell by her expression that she was purposely remaining silent as she wasn't one for voicing condolences as it never quite felt sufficient to make up for loss of a life.
"So, you and Malcolm how's that marriage working out?" Jim asked making conversation.
"It's been less than 24 hours and I'm here with you" Kate said.
"Some honeymoon. I hear Evan is moving out today. Why don't you take a couple of days off?" Jim suggested.
"While we have the possibility of a serial killer on the loose?" Kate asked in a low voice so that no one could accidently overhear them.
"Whoa two deaths do not make a serial killer" Jim said in a low voice defensively.
"Hey I want to be wrong but two deaths, same M.O. in the space of a fortnight? It doesn't take a giant leap to see a pattern emergining. Anyway I think for the sixers on this list we should talk to Mira instead of trying to track them down" Kate told Jim as they continued to walk.
"Why?" Jim asked as he stopped and turned to look at her. Kate stopped and pursed her lips as she knew he was going to be pissed off.
"The sixers are still pretty close-" Kate started but Jim cut her off as his infamous gut instincts acted up.
"Kate?" he said in a tone that said 'Don't lie to me or there will be consequences'.
"I said it wasn't an exact art" she said defensively.
"Kate" he prompted.
"They were telegraphing, I have a feeling they know something" Kate told him with a shrug.
"Telegraphing? They looked as shocked as everyone else" Jim said as he had been watching them too but didn't pick up anything unusual in their behaviour.
"I could be wrong but we could also save ourselves a lot of hassle talking to her first" Kate said.
"Ok, I'll send her message to expect us" Jim said as he pulled out his comm. and sent Mira a message.
An hour later Mira welcomed Jim and Kate into her house. Mrs Caetano had been looking after her son who was running a fever. She was a quiet and polite woman who appreciated their call to let her know to take extra precautions.
"Thanks for giving us the time" Jim said as Mira gestured for them to sit at the dining table where Carter was currently sitting partaking in a cup of tea. Kate smothered a smile as she would never thought she would see him looking so civilised as he was freshly shaven and wearing a nice shirt.
"You got a date or something?" Kate asked as she took a seat opposite him at the table. She prepared herself as Jim took the seat next to her and she took slow and shallow breaths as the man reeked.
"No, I lost a bet" Carter told her as he watched her with amusement. "You ok?" Carter asked Kate.
"Perfect, I'll need to talk to you later about some work for you" Kate said.
"Like I don't have enough work to do. What do you want now?" Carter asked with a smile.
"A table for at least ten people and a crib" Kate said.
"Oh who's knocked up this time?" Carter asked being crass.
"I am" Kate said it took a moment for the information to sink in.
"Wow, really? I thought it was a rumour" Carter said before he took a sip of his tea, Mira sat down next to him and offered tea butJim and Kate both politely declined.
"One that actually turned out to be true but we're not announcing yet" Kate told him.
"I gotcha. My lips are sealed. So how many are you spawning?" Carter asked.
"Spawning?" Jim said as Mira took her seat next to Carter. It felt like a negotiation was going to happen the way they were sitting.
"One" Kate answered in mild amusement.
"Congratulations" Mira said.
"Thank you" Kate said.
"I assume you are sensitive to smells" Mira said looking at Jim.
"What? I had a shower this morning" Jim said defensively.
"I'm sure you did. Can we get to why you wanted to speak with me?" Mira asked dryly as she'd rather get this meeting over and get back to what she was doing.
"Yes, five of your people didn't attend the town meeting people are missing and you've been covering for them. Why?" Kate asked.
"I've been trying to find the answer to that myself" Mira said.
"So they are missing" Kate said.
"Yes" Mira answered.
"when did they disappear?" Jim asked as he pulled out his hand held plex to take notes as Kate was right. Carter and Mira looked at one another as if having a telepathic conversation before Mira looked at Kate. Jim never understood why the sixers the were more comfortable confiding in Kate than him. But then
"A couple of months ago" Mira said.
"A couple of months? Why didn't you come to us sooner?" Kate asked in disbelief.
"because who would care about a few missing Sixers" Mira said it was true the colonists wouldn't have cared but Kate, Taylor and Jim were duty bound to keep the colony safe. They would have investigated it but obviously Mira didn't believe so.
"I would, I'm duty bound to maintain the safety of this colony and it's inhabitants. Now I need you to tell me everything you know about your missing friends. When they went missing the last location you saw them. Their real identities who they are and what they did, everything so that we can try and find them" Kate said.
"How is it relevant who they really are?" Carter asked sceptically.
"6 sixers out of 10 possible victims that's a common thread. You're obviously being targeted but what reason I don't know but I need more proof to convince Taylor" Kate said.
"Actually it's 7 out of 10" Mira said carefully.
"Who?" Jim asked.
"Goldman was sixer sympathiser. She never passed intel but if we were in need of food or meds she's help us on occasion" Carter said supplying the information.
"What about Xiong?" Jim asked.
"No, I don't even know who she is" Carter said.
"Ok, lets get down your missing people when did they start disappearing? Exact dates" Kate said.
"Ok we have 8 people unaccounted for. Two confirmed dead. From what I've been told it's been at least over the space of the last two months. There appears to be no set pattern and until we find the other missing people we can't speculate that it's one person or a group" Kate said as she transferred the data onto the large screen above the conference table.
"Ok any common threads?" Taylor asked as he looked up at the screen.
"Yes these 5 are sixers and 1 is a sixer sympathiser. The other 2 were currently working on Lucas's and Evan's work with the terminus and calculations relating to the fracture." Kate said.
"Are we sure the two scientist deaths are related to the disappearing sixers? We have no clues as to what happened with the sixers that disappeared. They could have gone walking in the jungle at night and met with a Carno" Guzman said.
"I doubt that" Kate said.
"Why?" Taylor asked as he wanted to understand Kate's thought processes.
"One missing sixer sure that's just bad luck but 5 gone missing that's just odd. I think they are dead. Mira wouldn't lie about her people going missing" Kate said.
"Ok you sound like you have a theory. Entertain us" Taylor said.
"If you take in the messages that the perpetrator wrote. The Sixers are killed as the 'sacrifice' along with the other two would be to stop the portal from being reopened. Keeping us separated from the future and removing the sixers from the colony will make this place the second chance for humanity as it's supposed to be" Kate said.
"Well a person or persons could assume all the sixers and the scientist who want the portal open are allied with the sixers so they are one common enemy" Taylor said.
"But we are going to close the portal" Guzman said.
"But the colony doesn't know that." Kate pointed out.
Late at night in a house on the west side of the colony,
"Ok, evidence of the following has been provided to the table. Verdicts?" A man in his early twenties wearing a soldier's uniform with cold eyes asked as he looked at the other 4 occupants at the dining table.
"Guilty" A woman in her 50's with greying hair said as she sat proud and firm in her decision.
"Guilty" A man in his mid 40's said as he slouched in his chair sharpening his blade looking bored as to why they had to go through all the proceedings when the verdicts were always the same.
"Guilty" Murmured another woman as she kept her head bowed her eyes filled with tears not of remorse but grief from the pain of knowing these people were going unpunished while her loved ones were rotting in Memorial field.
"Guilty" the last woman who held a plex in her hands said as they all looked to the young soldier.
"Guilty. The vote is unanimous. The sentence is death. I'll contact some friends. Next case" The soldier said at the head of the table, the woman who voted second last made a note in her plex and opened the next personnel file.
"Kate Renshaw" The woman with the plex read.
"What?" the meek woman who had head bowed said, she looked shocked that such a name would be on the list.
"Can I personally do that one? I like a challenge" the man with the knife said his eyes glowed with excitement and bloodlust.
"No, you're the reason our work have come on Taylor's radar. Security has beefed up due to the last two messes you left… what was with the messages?" The young soldier said.
"Throw them off the trail. That dumb cop will chasing religious nuts that don't exist for weeks and anyway you all wanted them dead and I got the job done what's the problem?" he replied, he was a man who obviously enjoyed people's pain.
"Your Methods. We agreed that all the deaths have to look like natural causes. What are the charges?" the young soldier said.
"Multiple counts of murder, colluding with the enemy-" the woman with the plex said only to be cut off by the man with the knife.
"She helped the sixers clean up the Phoenix soldiers." He said.
"But then she brought that filth back into the colony. We all know filth only breeds more filth" The older woman spat with disgust.
"But we can't kill her Taylor and the Sheriff will hunt us down" the meek woman said with fear in her eyes.
"Taylor gave us a waiver to give all the people on this list a fair trial by peers and serve out the punishment. So who will defend Miss Renshaw?" The young soldier said.
"Mommy?" a little boy said.
They all turned and the man with the knife cursed as the woman with the plex turned around to look at the little boy.
"Nicky? What are you doing up?" She asked as she placed the plex on the table.
"I woked up cause of the noise. Who are you shouting at?" the little boy asked as he rubbed his eye looking incredibly tired.
"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't realise we were talking so loudly, you need anything?" she said as she moved from her chair and felt his forehead for a temp happy the fever was going down. The little boy shook his head but was confused as there was no one but his mother in the living area. "Well come on let's get you back to bed"
"Maybe you should read him a bedtime story" the man with the knife said sarcastically, the woman who was holding her son's hand turned and gave him a glare.
"Mommy" the little boy said tugging on his mother's hand as she glared at the empty dining table. His mother looked down at him and gave a warm smile.
"Sorry darling, some people have no manners. Let's get you back into bed" she said as she took him back to his room.
TBC~ Cya all in a few days :-)