Black Guard, The (22 page)

The prison facility at the installation had five long,
single-story structures each within a single fenced area with only one
entrance, and the entire area was completely surrounded by a double fence.

I decided that one team would be housed at the military
installation and the other at the Tribunal building. The team at the
installation would accompany the caravan in the morning to the courthouse and
the team at the courthouse would accompany the caravan back to the
installation. Combined with a detail of Colonel Richard’s troops, that would
provide reasonable protection during transportation, and maximum Guard protection
at the courthouse—the two most likely places for an assassination or
escape attempt.

The Tribunal building had six courtrooms: the three smaller
ones on the first floor and the three larger ones on the second floor. The
second floor courtrooms were used for the most important cases, because they
required the largest participation. Over everyone’s objections, I insisted that
the courtroom on the second floor at the far wall, designated CR-1, be used for
the trial; that the adjacent courtroom, CR-2, be reserved for the Guard to use
as its quarters; and that courtroom CR-3, adjacent to CR-2, be available as
necessary.

Likewise, I had the military dedicate one of the five
detention buildings to Captain Gasparo, leaving room for the Guard to create
quarters in the building with him. The building had a locked security entrance
into the cells and a security room that controlled the entrance doors into the
building, small dining area, and hallway to the eight cells. That gave the
Guard complete control of the building.

"You are paranoid," Rickard said when I finished
making assignments. I gave a wry smile.

"It will get worse, as I discover other potential
areas of weakness. Your security is excellent to protect prisoners against most
random assassinations by ordinary nuts and escape attempts, but I have to
assume this threat will be carried out by professional individuals or groups.
They will be organized and well thought out and executed."

As I expected, the Guard proved disruptive as everyone
adjusted to our ubiquitous presence. Most gave us a wide berth when they
encountered us in hallways or rooms. Some tried to insist, to no avail, that we
had no right to be here or were prohibited from attending some meeting or
other. We ignored them.

The first night, the building designated Unit-five was
cleared of all prisoners, and bunks and bedding were provided for the Guard. We
spent the night learning the control room setup and how the cameras, alarms,
and locks worked. On the morning of the second day, Gasparo was delivered to us
by Colonel Rickard and four guards.

"Captain Sapir, I am formally turning Captain Gasparo
over to your custody. Captain Gasparo, meet Captain Sapir of the Black
Guard," Rickard said, smiling and looking relieved to be rid of the
responsibility. Gasparo gave me an appraising look. Although his angular face
supported an amused look, his eyes were deadly serious, and I would wager he
would remember every detail: what weapons we wore, their positions on us,
whether we were left or right handed, etc. Information that could be useful
later.

"I see Halo has gone to considerable expense for my wellbeing,"
Gasparo said. "Nice uniforms, I like black. Helps the image." He
stood a good head taller than me, and a least five stone of muscle heavier.
Catching Rickard’s security guards relaxed, he took another two steps towards
me—and into the barrel of my laser which I drove into his solar plexus.
The air exploded out of him as he staggered backward.

"It’s nice to meet you, Captain Gasparo. Be advised,
we don’t shake hands or play games."

"That was clever, but then, you can’t shoot me, can
you?" he asked, grinning, between deep gasping breaths. When he could
breathe normally again, he ran his hand through his long black hair and gave me
a rakish smile.

"Careful, Captain Gasparo. The Black Guard is only
concerned with our contract with Halo, not you. If there is an assassination
attempt on your life, we will defend you to the last Guard or until you are
killed. However, if there is an escape attempt, we will attempt to keep you
prisoner only as long as we believe we can win."

"Then you will surrender me. That is reasonable."
His smile widened. I laughed.

"No. We’ll kill you."

"Why?"

"Who would want to die to rescue a dead man? If we
cannot fulfill the contract and keep you alive, at least we can make sure you
don’t escape. And it will avoid further loss of Guard lives."

"You wouldn’t kill someone in cold blood. I can’t
defend myself!" His voice rose with each word.

"Hope your friends come in numbers we can handle,
Captain Gasparo. The Black Guard is committed to protecting you from
assassination and escape—not death. Your options are to stand trial or
die," I said, with a slight shrug. Gasparo’s smile faded, and he stood
glaring at me. "Sergeant Catz, would you show our prisoner to his quarters
and get him settled."

"Yes, sir," Catz walked up to Gasparo and waved
toward the door to the prison hallway. As she did, Private Volpe in the control
room clicked open the lock and Corporal Behr opened the door, and the three
proceeded down the hallway. Rickard gave a short laugh.

"I think you shook the unflappable Captain Gasparo
with your interpretation of the terms of your contract with Halo. I have to
admit I hadn’t considered all the consequences. We tend to see things from our
own perspective. Halo sees the Black Guard keeping him alive to stand trial.
Gasparo sees his friends breaking him out. None of us saw it from your
perspective." Rickard stared at the retreating backs of Gasparo and the
Guards. "Good night, Captain Sapir. See you tomorrow."

* * *

The next morning, Colonel Rickard was outside the prison
compound sharply at nine a.m. with three limos and ten security guards on
motorcycles. We had Gasparo ready. Corporal Behr entered the back seat with
him, while Corporal Alpert entered the driver’s side and Private Volpe got in
the passenger seat. I entered the passenger seat in the first car with Rickard
in the back, while Corporal Polak took the driver’s side. Sergeant Nadel drove
the third vehicle, while Sergeant Catz rode in the passenger seat. Sergeant
Ganz mounted a motorcycle and began down the road towards the base exit with
five security motorcycles following. Rickard and I had concluded the most
vulnerable part of the trip to the Tribunal building was the twenty kilometers
between the base and the beginning of the city proper. That area was lightly
populated and would provide plenty of places for a large group to wait without
attracting notice. Ganz would be looking for suspicious activity ahead of the
caravan. The remaining five motorcycles would accompany the cars which would
maintain a one kilometer separation with Ganz. Once in the city, we had
selected five alternative routes to the Tribunal which would be randomly
selected each day.

"Which route?" Rickard asked as we approached the
city proper.

"Route five," I said, sending Ganz the number on
his Mfi.

"Do you believe this will deter an attack?"
Rickard asked, frowning.

"No. All they have to do is select one of the streets
we will eventually use and wait until we do. But hopefully it disrupts their
timing or preparation or causes them to split their resources. No sense making
it easy for them," I said. Rickard laughed.

"I see your point. It won’t bother the real
professionals, just slow them down, but it may cause the amateurs to rush and
make mistakes."

We arrived at the Tribunal without incident, cleared
security, and took the stairway to the second floor hallway where Sergeant
Cerff watched the entrance to the waiting area and Corporal Toch patrolled the
back corridor the justices used to access the courtrooms. Inside CR-2,
Lieutenant Elijah and Sergeant Mintz’s team took responsibility for Gasparo,
and he and his remaining team led Gasparo into CR-1. Lieutenant Elijah and I
followed.

"How did it go, Elijah?" I asked.

"The building closes officially at six p.m.; however,
some of the justices and their staff were here until close to nine p.m.
Although the tribunal security conducts periodic walk-arounds, I kept three
Guards on duty: one patrolling the second floor hallway, one the second floor
waiting area, and one the first floor."

"Good. The best times to attempt to rescue Gasparo
would be during transportation to and from the base and here in the tribunal
building. And if I were going to make an attempt here, I’d like to make
preparations beforehand: store weapons, hide people, or rig explosives.

"Where do you think most likely, Captain?" Elijah
asked as we entered the courtroom. The room was full and the door to the
waiting room closed, with two tribunal security men standing guard at the
doors. Mintz had sent Sergeant Haber into the waiting area. He and the other
three took up positions at each corner of the room. The room from about half
way to the doors was reserved for authorized spectators, a fourth of the room
in front of the spectators was set aside for the prosecutor and defense teams,
and the last quarter for the Justices and administration: recorder, clerk, and
another security guard. Elijah and I stayed in the corner close to the raised
platform in the back of the room were the justices sat. Ulises and the other
two justices, Maull and Heflin, entered shortly afterward.

"All rise for the honorable Magistrates Ulises, Maull,
and Heflin," the woman clerk said into a microphone which could be heard through
speakers positioned around the room. When they took their seats, Ulises nodded
to the prosecutor, an elderly man with grey hair.

"Your honors, The Halo Thirty Alliance charges Captain
Gasparo with high crimes against the Alliance. Specifically, the planet of
Jovance charges Captain Gasparo with the destruction of three of its merchant
ships and the loss of 207 lives. The planet of Mercy charges Captain Gasparo…"
The list took a half hour to read. After he had finished, a tall woman sitting
with Gasparo rose. "Your Honors, the charges brought by the planet Mercy
are local crimes which have no business in this court…"

The day was spent arguing over which charges should be
considered under Halo Alliance laws and which were local crimes and should be
addressed by the specific planetary government. Gasparo’s attorney won about
thirty percent, which still left Gasparo with about ten hanging offenses.
Gasparo ate lunch with us in CR-2. His other two meals, breakfast and dinner, were
provided at the base. I stayed with Sergeant Catz’s team, while Elijah along
with Mintz’s team escorted the prisoner back to the prison.

* * *

"Well, Captain Sapir, what do you think? It has been
eight days and nothing has happened. Your reputation maybe?" Rickard asked
as we began leaving the base for our trip to the tribunal building.

"No, people always believe laws, customs, and rumors
don’t apply to them. In this case, they will assume the rumors are wildly
exaggerated or that they are smarter or better prepared or whatever," I
said. "If they are any good, they are watching us, looking for weak spots
in our security, observing behavior patterns, and working through various
scenarios. With the existing level of security, Tribunal and Guard, timing and
contingency plans will be critical. An escape attempt is going to require more
than a few individuals to succeed."

"On the road, then?"

"That would be my choice. Less people to
interfere—" I stopped when my Mfi buzzed.

"Captain, unless I’m wrong, we just passed a potential
ambush about five kilometers from the base. It looks like road work, but… I
didn’t stop and the security folks took the hint or weren’t suspicious,"
Ganz said.

"Polak, stop the car," I said. "Colonel,
Sergeant Ganz has reported road work ahead which he believes is suspicious. I’d
like you to send a large detail to investigate."

"There is always road work along these roads… alright."
He tapped on his phone and waited. "Captain Ericson, I want a… an army
platoon to investigate some road construction approximately five kilometers
from the base. Put air support on standby." He listened for a minute.
"Yes, immediately." He clipped his phone back onto his belt.
"Five minutes. I hope you’re right."

"I don’t," I smiled. "I’d prefer your troops
think us paranoid, or cowards, and get a good laugh at our expense, than lose
lives."

"But your reputation," Rickard said, a puzzled
look on his face.

"Reputation is important for the Jax, but duty comes
first. If we drive into a well prepared trap, we will lose and Gasparo will be
killed. It won’t matter how many we kill or how bravely we fight. We will have
failed the intent of our contract—protecting Gasparo so he can stand
trial. In this case, the army is much better suited to take on a hostile force
on open ground. They will have air support and no distractions like having to
protect a prisoner. Eventually Gasparo’s friends will force the Black Guard to
fight, and they and Gasparo will regret it."

Several minutes later two armored vehicles and five troop
trucks raced by us. Rickard remained silent but was clearly nervous, his hand
frequently fidgeting around his phone. His phone rang just as four combat
shuttles passed overhead.

"You were right. Captain Ericson is reporting heavy
fighting at the site against military grade weapons, missiles, and over fifty
hostiles. He’s called in air support. We wouldn’t have survived…" Rickard
turned his phone towards me, which had a streaming video of the action. I
nodded and leaned back, content to await the final result. I was in a killing
profession, but I didn’t revel in killing. I preferred to focus on saving
lives. Rickard was glued to his phone’s video. Sometime later, he sighed.
"Captain Ericson says the road is clear of obstructions. They killed
eight, captured eleven, and he estimates thirty or more got away, many
wounded."

"And your troops?" I asked, hoping he fared
better.

"Four dead and eight wounded." Rickard gave me a
weak grin. "A good showing."

"Very good, Colonel." I nodded. "Corporal
Polak, we can go now."

* * *

When we reached the tribunal building the rumors were
already racing through the building. Justice Ulises had Colonel Rickard and me
summoned to his office where justices Maull and Heflin waited.

Ulises’s office was the size of a small courtroom, with a
large window, at least four by three meters, which faced out the front of the
building. An elaborately carved desk sat several steps away from the window and
on the right side was a wide built-in bookcase filled with leather-bound books.
In front of his desk were two cushioned arm-chairs presently occupied by Maull
and Heflin, and in the middle of the room was a rectangular table with chairs
for eight. The walls were paneled in a rich brown wood, adorned with a variety
of photos and paintings.

"We understand that the Halo army stopped an attempt
to rescue Captain Gasparo," Ulises said in a neutral tone of voice which
didn’t quite match the stare he was giving me.

"That is correct," I said, waiting for the punch
line. In a way, this was the fun part of the job.