Chapter 20

Dean Lifante

12:30 PM

Barbie dashed out of the car and ran inside the precinct the moment they arrived, ignoring Dean. He was a little worried about what happened at Stanley's pharmacy. Lieutenant Zacoski would be pissed that he left the scene. He was a stickler for the rules. Dean needed to leave the precinct before Zacoski found out.

Getting out of his car, he glanced at his watch. It was twelve-thirty in the afternoon. Two days since the Shujing murders. Seven hours since he found Ming's body. He had under thirteen hours left, and time was running out. Since the beginning of the case, nothing had made sense. Hell, he was driving around with the murdered victim. Just thinking all this made his head hurt. His Lieutenant was going to hate him. He sighed, popped in another candy and went into the station.

When he got to the front desk, Ivan was signing a form.

Dean pointed to the big man. "What's he doing out of lock-up?" Dean asked the sergeant at the desk. "I still have questions I need to ask him." Barbie was nowhere to be found. She'd entered before him and disappeared. The clerk just shrugged his shoulders and went back to the paperwork. "Hey! Answer me." Dean slapped his hands on the desk in front of the clerk.

Ivan just stared at him.

"We don't know what he was charged with, detective," said Lieutenant Zacoski. He poked his head out of his office and pointed his finger at Dean. "Come here, Lifante. Now." He ducked back inside.

"Keep him here until I get back," Dean said to the front desk clerk and pointed to the chair next to the desk. The clerk rolled his eyes, and Ivan sat down. Dean swore the big man's lips moved.

Dean went into the office and closed the door. Lieutenant Zacoski came from behind the desk and placed his hand on Dean's shoulder. "Starfield filed a report with HR, saying you called her a cow. They called me, but I was able to shoot it down. I heard what you said to her yesterday and told them exactly what happened. You have to be more careful with your mouth. It's gotten you in too much trouble."

"Thanks, Lieutenant," Dean said. They had been friends for ten years, and Zacoski had been his first partner on the force. He went on to a higher position but never forgot Dean. Zacoski was the only reason he was able to get him this position here. Dean kept him on a short list of people he trusted. Ming held the only other spot. Everyone else had their own agenda and could lie to achieve it. Dean stared at Zacoski and ground his teeth. He couldn't be a mole for Slazney. He should ask him here about the man.

"Is this about your wife?" Zacoski asked. "You have to move on from her. Not all women are out to get you. Here's one who'll melt your heart." He picked up a framed picture of his daughter and showed it to Dean. He started making kissy faces at it.

Dean went stone-faced. He hated it when that bastard turned on the beautiful daughter switch. The kid was only three years old but had Zacoski by the nose hairs. "Why are you letting the big Russian go? He attacked me," Dean said, changing the subject.

Zacoski put the picture back and sat down. "And where's the paperwork? The evidence? All we had was a shattered office and a strange man in the holding cell. You didn't file any report, didn't call it in. There's no video, nothing. It took hours to clean up." He slapped the file on his desk. "That's not like you. Besides, the man is connected to some Russian bigshot businessman. His lawyer came and forced the release." Zacoski looked at Dean and frowned. "This is sloppy police work, Dean. I expected better from you."

"Sorry, Lieutenant. It won't happen again," Dean said. Balling his fists, he hit his leg. How could he be so stupid?

"See that it doesn't. You're already walking on thin ice as it is, and I can't always be there to help you. Speaking of which. What's happening with the missing body at the Shujing?" Zacoski asked. He stared at Dean over his desk.

"I'm following up on a few leads, and I should know some more today," Dean said, arching an eyebrow.

"Good. Keep me posted," he said, turning back to his paperwork and grabbing a pen.

Feeling dismissed, Dean got up and went back to his desk. Ivan was still sitting at the front counter, but Dean ignored him. There was nothing he could do except draw his release out. It didn't matter anyway. He had some recordings to go through.

He couldn't get a clear read on Zacoski. It was like his gut was failing him. His instincts said that Yichen was the key, but he was too well-protected. He could wait till later. He had nothing on Zacoski and didn't want to look unless he had to. He was the same daughter geek he'd always been. Zacoski did the same thing when he was talking about his wife when they were dating. You couldn't fake that level of geekiness.

"I should have checked this earlier," Dean mumbled to himself. "Damm battery." He plugged his recorder into the computer. While it was charging enough to turn on, he pulled up the records from the archives on the murders twenty years ago at the Shujing and the number Chip gave them. One of them should provide a hint as to who stole the computer that wasn't Zacoski. He had to start somewhere.

The red light flicked off, indicating his recorder had enough power. Opening the files, he scrolled down to the time index and started mumbling. "It was after twelve, hmm." He put in some earphones and pressed play, fast-forwarding through the static.

His eyes widened, and he turned to Ivan sitting at the reception.

Ivan stared back and blinked.

"What are you listening to?" Barbie asked, sitting down beside him.

Dean didn't turn from Ivan and gave Barbie the headphones. She put them in and pressed play.

"This is Russian." She listened some more. "When was this? He's saying that the Maker was a fool, but why did he call him Petor?" She took the headphones out.

"Where were you?" Dean asked.

"I had to use the girls' room. I needed to do a number two."

He shook his head and went back to the front desk.

"Detective," the front desk clerk said, "I must finish processing the Russian. His release papers are clear."

"I understand. Just give me a minute." He turned to Ivan, crossed his arms and stood in front of the giant. Even sitting down, Ivan was almost as tall as Dean. "Ivan, I want to speak to your boss, Gregory. Today."

Ivan raised an eyebrow, nodded and pointed to his watch.

"How long will it take to finish processing him?" He asked the front desk clerk.

"About twenty minutes."

Dean turned back to Ivan. "When you're finished, can you take me to see your boss?"

Ivan nodded, stood up and went back to the receptionist.

Barbie came up behind Dean and poked him in the ribs. "What are you doing? You can't take him on. He's too powerful, and you're a wimp."

"I'm going to see Gregory. You heard the voice on the tape. I recognized it, I know I did, but the Russian made it difficult to place." Dean pulled up the address for S-Class Consulting. He needed more information on them, but if he started digging now, it would alert Zacoski, and he didn't want to tip him off just yet. Dean was running out of time. Ming had a little over half a day left.

He needed to trust someone with this.

Dean stared at Zacoski's door and heard his phone ring. He could ask him, but the Lieutenant was also a stickler for the rules. He'd want to know why Dean was going to meet the Russian. He didn't trust Starfield to do a proper job in this case, and Ortiz was too new.

That left Barbie, but she wasn't related to the force in any way. Dean bit his lip and listened to his gut. It was growling, but then he hadn't eaten in twelve hours. Otherwise, it was silent. "We're running out of time. Can I leave S-Class Consulting with you?" he asked Barbie. "It may have deep ties with Slazney, and I don't have time to go to both places."

Barbie smiled and took the address from Dean's hand. "It's about time you unclenched. I can help. Trust me." She pounded her chest and ran out the door. "I'm taking your car, and I'm not stopping at the store for some candy like you," she said,

"Can you even drive?" Dean asked.

"Of course. I've been certified on all ancient vehicles. Retro cars are really popular back home. I'm the best driver in my car group. I've only smashed two of them."

"Damn! Meet me at Darah's Diner when you're done." Dean gave her the address.

She waved the keys behind her and skipped out of the station.

Dean stomped back to the front and stopped in front of Ivan. "Let's go! Did you drive here?"

Ivan nodded.

"We're taking your car."

1:30 PM

Ivan pulled up in front of the Bellagio and got out. Dean stared at the waterfall in front of the ritzy place and sighed. One night here would have depleted his savings completely. "This isn't the time for this," he grimaced. Coming here took too long. He stepped out of the car and followed Ivan into the hotel as the valet took the car away.

They went to the elevators and took a private one to the penthouse. "This is the second penthouse I've been to in two days," he said, trying to make small talk. Still nothing from the giant. He wasn't expecting an answer. Bobby said he didn't have a tongue, but a grunt would have been nice. Dean just stared at the doors and put his hand on his gun. Outside the elevator, there were two more bodyguards. They weren't as big as Ivan, but just as silent. It seemed this Gregory had a type.

"Why is it everywhere I go, all I see is your typical goon?" he asked. The smallest of the three was the same size as Dean. He gestured Dean over and patted him down, taking his gun.

"I want that back," Dean said. The guard handed him a receipt for the gun and placed the piece into a box on the table beside him. He closed it up and stood back. The second guard opened the door and ushered Dean inside.

"I'm getting Deja Vu here," he mumbled. This was the same set-up Yichen had. The room was more lavish with gold-trimmed mirrors, expensive paintings and couches that looked like they cost as much as a car. Yichen's looked more lived in, though. There was a lack of presence here, implying the guests were only temporary visitors. Nobody stayed here for long. Dean looked down at his K-Mart jacket and pulled it tight. Like Zacoski said when he started, "It didn't matter what you wore. Fake the confidence you feel well enough, and anything becomes a tuxedo."

He looked at the older man sitting on an L-shaped couch. There was some grey in his dark hair and some lines on his face. The left side had a large scar that ran down to his jaw. It shouted he was dangerous. With the plastic surgery available today, he could have removed it. Dean's gut feeling told him he could ignore the two women and one man typing on tablets showing some sort of bar graph. They were like the furniture, functional, but nothing else. Unlike Wu, the secretary at Yichen's place. He needed to be careful of her.

Ming once asked him to explain his 'gut', but it was impossible. It was like describing the colour blue to a deaf-mute. Without a frame of reference, there was no way to put it into words. Even now, facing the man on the couch, Dean had to stop his stomach from jumping into his spleen. It was telling him to run and not look back.

"Gregory? Nice to meet you. I'm Detective Dean Lifante." Dean held out a card with his number on it. Gregory ignored it, and the male secretary took it. "Thank you for taking the time to meet me."

"Ivan tells me you were the one to lock him up," Gregory said. "But who was the one who took him down? It wasn't Petor or you, I know that lazy fool couldn't lay a hand on him."

Dean remained standing. He was already losing the initiative in this meeting. "That would be Bobby's friend, Barbie," Dean replied. "She's quite strong."

"I'd love to meet her. I'm always on the lookout for new talent. Why didn't you invite her along with you?" Gregory said, gesturing for a drink. One of the secretaries stood up and poured him some scotch.

"Maybe next time." Dean played out this man's voice in his head and compared it to the recording. There was no way to tell for certain, but this wasn't the voice on the tape. Either he didn't have Bobby's computer, or he had sent someone else into the precinct.

"Why are you here, detective?" Gregory asked.

"I'm looking for something and was wondering if you'd seen it?"

"What are you looking for?" Gregory was signalling to his men to move in behind Dean.

Taking a deep breath, Dean strode forward and stood directly over Gregory. He could feel the situation start to control him. This was too similar to what had happened at the Shujing to be a coincidence. According to Bobby, the program he'd developed could control what happened to time and space. The world was an unpredictable mess, and any attempt would leave scars that wouldn't go unnoticed. It couldn't account for everything. Everything was too contrived. Someone was trying to manipulate the situation. His gut was screaming the same feeling as the courtroom when his ex-wife introduced her 'evidence' of his abuse.

"You already know what I'm looking for, or you wouldn't have let me come here." Dean held out his recording device. "Like I said, I need some help. This is connected to my account and is uploading what I say, right now. If you allow me, I'll play something for you." He needed to take back the initiative from whoever was trying to direct him.

"I could just take it," Gregory said, not looking up.

"You could, but that would mean Slazney would win. I don't think you want that."

Gregory paused for a moment when Dean said the name. If he had looked away, he would have missed seeing the action. It was too quick. Gregory gestured to the female secretary, and Dean backed off. She brought a laptop over, and Dean plugged in his recording device. He'd already copied everything to his account and had set up a protected server. Gregory could still hack him, but it was unlikely in the few minutes he'd be connected.

Dean opened the file he was looking for and played the audio. "Give it a minute. I was unconscious for some of this." He forwarded through the silence and stopped on the voice.

"Petor, Petor, Petor. Yesli by ty prisoyedinilsya ko mne, mne ne prishlos' by etogo delat'. Nadeyus', ty menya prostish'."

(Petor, Petor, Petor. If only you would join me, I wouldn't have to do this. I hope you forgive me.)

Gregory gave nothing away. His face was a mask. Dean was hoping that he'd do something, but the man just sipped his drink.

"Thank you, Detective. I appreciate your candour. May I ask, why are you trusting this to me?" he said.

Dean's gut was settling. It wasn't playing hopscotch on his spleen any longer. That meant he'd probably survive this. "Ask the men behind me to stand back, and I'll tell you," Dean said, not turning around. He was rewarded with a raised eyebrow and a wave.

"Thank you. I need to find the man who said this, and I had to know if you or one of your men was him. As for trust, that's not even a consideration. I figured the best way to keep you from interfering with my investigation is to keep you involved."

Gregory nodded and pointed to Ivan. "He will shadow you, Detective. That way I'll know when you've achieved your objective."

Frowning, Dean ran his fingers through his hair. "How do I know he'll listen to me? He's already destroyed my precinct trying to get to Bobby."

"Petor," Gregory said.

"Petor," Dean acknowledged. "If I allow him to accompany me, will he listen to me?" Dean asked again.

"He will do exactly as you ask him to do, as long as it doesn't interfere with my interests. Until you find Petor, he will be your muscle," Gregory said.

Dean kept his eyes from widening. He frowned and turned to Ivan. Gregory didn't know where Bobby was, nor that his computer was missing. Ivan hadn't told him exactly what happened at the precinct. Why? What did the giant want?

"I can accept that," Dean said, nodding. Gregory dismissed them with a wave, and one of Gregory's men directed him back to the door. The meeting was over. Dean nodded and backed out of the room, getting his gun at the door. Strapping his piece back on, Dean let out a nervous breath and looked at his watch. He was running out of suspects he could question. It was all up to Barbie now.

Ivan

1:30 PM

Ivan pushed the button for the first floor and glanced at the detective. The man stood up to Gregory and hadn't flinched. Petor had found himself a good friend. Maybe it would rub off on him. If anything, maybe he could help Petor stay away from Gregory a little longer.

Barbie

1:30 PM

"Welcome to S-Class Consultants. How may I help you?" the secretary said in a bubbly voice as Barbie walked in the door. The woman smiled and bowed like the characters in the old-style cartoon Barbie watched. She was curious to see how people in this time handled visitors. Back home, she'd have to go through a retina scan to verify her identity and a cavity check to make sure she wasn't carrying any insects hidden in her body.

"I'd like to speak to Slazney, please," she said. Dean had told her to be polite, so she was trying.

The secretary frowned. "I'm sorry, but we don't have anybody here by that name."

"I see. Then, I'll speak to whoever is in charge," Barbie replied.

"Very well," she said, picking up the phone. "Please have a seat."

Barbie sat down and examined the sterile room. The white panelling matched the white sofa-like chairs. In the center was a triangle-shaped glass table, balanced on two more inverted triangles. The only colour in the room was the magazines sitting on top. "I don't like this place," Barbie said. "It has no soul."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," said a voice from the door. "We hoped it would convey a sense of relaxation." A man stepped out and stopped in front of Barbie. "Welcome to S-Class Consultants. I'm Richard. How may I help you?"

The man was tall. Not as tall as the Detective, and skinnier too. Barbie grabbed his hand and pumped it up and down. "Hi. I'm Barbie. I'm looking for your connection to Slazney."

"I see. Please come into my office," Richard said, gesturing through the open door.

In the office, Barbie sat down in an inverted dome-shaped chair. "This is comfortable and awkward at the same time. Why do you use it?" she asked.

"We want to give the impression we're looking towards the future." He drew back. "Did I say something funny?"

Barbie was rolling on the ground holding her sides.

"Yes! The future doesn't need these kinds of chairs. It has much better things," she said, getting back into the chair and wiping her eyes. She put her hand on her chest to calm herself. "Thank you for the joke. I needed a good laugh. It's been a rough day."

"No problem," he said, frowning.

"I'm here looking for Slazney. A boy at the Squeegee R'Us place said you were the ones who helped him set up the business. That true?" Barbie asked. She sat back in the chair and crossed her legs in front of her. She'd noticed that the men in this time seemed fascinated by them.

Richard's smile returned. "Ah, yes, Mr. Slazney. He's our founder and guiding light. However, we don't advertise his presence. He likes to operate as a silent partner."

"I don't care if he's silent. I need to speak to him," Barbie said, standing up and leaning over Richard's desk.

He leaned back and pushed a button on his desk. "Mr. Slazney warned us someone would be coming by, looking for him." The door opened behind Barbie. "When that happens, we should escort them to our special office." He gestured and pointed to Barbie.

Someone touched Barbie's shoulder. Elbowing him in the throat, she grabbed his head and smashed it down on the desk. "Oops. I hope I didn't kill him," she said without a giggle. Two more men rushed her. She grabbed the jacket of the first one and thrust him into the second, sending both flying into the wall. They slid down in a heap.

"You're crazy!" Richard said, edging towards the door.

"No, just using my training. Mr. Richard, could you please tell me how to find Slazney?" Barbie jumped between him and the door. "Aikido doesn't preach violence, but I will use it if I have to."

Richard slid down and sat on the floor. "Mr. Slazney never told me how to find him. He was just the money guy, providing start-up funds for businesses. We decided how they were used."

Barbie picked up Richard by the collar and perp-walked him back to the desk. "Sounds good. Can I get a list of all the businesses you started with Slazney's money?" She smiled at him. "Please?" Dean would be happy with her. She was polite.