Mindkey

By C J L Marr

Surely you can trust your own thoughts ...

Suzi is convicted of the murders of crimelord Tarran Xanyak, and Chas Harding, Xanyak's sidekick and the leader of the gang that had raped Suzi and killed her family. Once jailed, she realises she can obtain some computer files that will convict some of the universe's most wanted and overthrow some of the universe's most corrupt. All she needs to do is escape from her maximum security prison and access a remote computer that is protected by the most secure code ever invented - the Mindkey. The worrying part is that Suzi knows about the computer, because she didn't know she knew ...

Can Suzi really trust her own thoughts?

"Mindkey" is the sequel to "Suzi" in which our heroine is taken from the innocence of her sheltered youth and dumped unceremoniously into a universe of crime, corruption and evil. Suzi had the mental strength to stay alive, and sane, through that first ordeal, but can she survive this new test?

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jan 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781483548098

Book preview

http://cjlmarr.wix.com/suziwarner

Chapter One

The nuns told me I had been with them for twenty-five days at the Abbey of Saint Agatha before Denise and Warren arrived. The first few days had been a dream, or more a nightmare, and I had apparently spent them in bed, delirious and racked with remorse. They told me that I had seemed to want to die, and they had feared a few times that I might do just that despite the minor nature of my injuries.

Once my wounds were healed and I had calmed down, they forced me to get up, but I still remembered little of it until I seemed to wake up one afternoon. I found myself sitting on a wooden bench staring out at the vegetable garden with the sun blazing down at me. I was alone and for a few moments I was very confused, wondering where I was and how I had got there. Then the events of the previous weeks began to emerge from my memory and I knew everything and wished I could forget again.

After that I became a little more alive, helping in the garden and in the kitchen but still working on automatic, not noticing the days passing and not having a purpose beyond the chore immediately at hand. I kept my mind numb to everything except the nuns who constantly smiled and gave me encouragement. I remember even managing to return a smile sometimes towards the end of my stay. Their smiles were so full of the joy of life and the knowledge of their God that it was hard to resist smiling back.

The arrival of Denise and Warren restored all my depression and sadness but I agreed to see them anyway.

Hello Suzi, said Denise softly as she entered the stone room and walked over to sit on the opposite side of the table to me. The nuns tell us you have been quite ill, but you're looking good now.

I simply looked at her and tried not to remember.

You were very difficult to track down, you know. We've been looking for you for three weeks, ever since you disappeared after the Tranquillity Base operation. I suppose we should have come here to Aran straight away. You were born on this planet, weren't you?

Warren entered quietly and smiled at me. I allowed my lips to flicker at him in response, but still didn't feel like smiling or talking.

The operation itself was a big success, you know, continued Denise. Xanyak's private army is no more and his warship and fighters are all impounded. As far as that's concerned, you should be congratulated for a job well done.

Yes, well done indeed, echoed Warren.

As you know we suffered some losses, Denise said.

How did Chin die? I asked suddenly, catching Denise in mid-breath as she prepared her next sentence.

She looked round at Warren who walked to the table.

Chin was in the lead ship, he said gently. Somehow Xanyak learned of the operation and launched his fighters. Their first attack clobbered the lead ship pretty hard, killing eight agents, he paused, probably unwillingly. Chin was one of them.

The silence echoed from the stone walls for several moments as they waited to see what would happen next and I fought back the tears again. I had loved Chin, the handsome oriental. We had been together for so long but had never married. He had married the Universal Security Agency long before I met him and always insisted that it was the only marriage he could consider. We had talked about the possibilities of our deaths but I had never really thought it would happen. He was a good agent, experienced and careful. I tried not to, but a picture entered my mind of the laser gun cutting through the skin of the ship and tearing a hole through which the precious air roared, dragging his defenceless body out into the void of space to die in horror, knowing it was going to happen and completely unable to do anything to prevent it. I pictured a silent scream in his throat as the inevitable blackness approached him.

I was sobbing and Warren had walked round to me, to hold me.

We've got to take you back to Hanos, Suzi, he whispered.

No, I said firmly. I'm going to resign. I don't want any more to do with the killing. I'm staying here to pray for my soul.

Warren looked across at Denise.

You don't understand, Suzi, replied Denise, equally as firmly. We've got to take you back. You must be de-briefed and there are some questions to be answered. You know the system as well as we do. If you refuse to come with us we will have to arrest you and take you back by force.

I didn't know the system at all. This had been my first operation. Nobody had ever told me about de-briefing and answering questions. They just told me to obey my superiors and to do my best to make the universe a better and safer place. I thought I had done my fair share of that.

What questions? I asked.

Warren backed away slightly. I sensed him tensing himself, preparing to restrain me if the need arose. He was stronger than me and more experienced and we both knew he would win the struggle if there was one.

All sorts of questions, Denise said waving a hand loosely to encompass everything.

Such as? I persisted.

Suzi, don't make this difficult, please, said Warren from somewhere behind me.

I want to know what sort of questions need to be answered, Warren. The whole operation seemed pretty straight forward to me, so who's asking the questions and what about?

Major Warra is doing the asking, and I don't have any idea what the questions will be, answered Denise looking straight at me, unblinking, almost cold. Now I think we've had enough of this little game. Let's go.

She stood and Warren moved close to me again, taking the back of my chair in his hands. I rose slowly and he pulled the chair back. If I was going to resist, it would have to be now, but we all knew I wouldn't. I was more than a little confused but Denise and Warren had been my backup team on the operation and we had grown quite close in a short period of time. I couldn't fight them. They weren't the enemy, if there was an enemy at all.

They had been calling me a heroine one minute and then threatening to arrest me in the next. This was what confused me, but through the confusion came something else that made me want to go with them. It was curiosity. I was curious to know what these questions were that Denise had hinted at.

*****

Ah, Suzi, we meet again, smiled Major Warra as I was led into his office in the Universal Security Agency complex on Hanos.

He was an olive-skinned man with short black hair that was greying above his ears. He was clean-shaven but his cheeks, chin and upper lip were dark with closely trimmed hair. Around his eyes were dark areas that looked to me to be caused by worry, not that I knew much about these things.

Warren put a file on the Major's desk and left. I sat down opposite the Major as requested and Denise sat by the door, closing it quietly. Warra opened the file and spent several minutes silently looking through the papers within it. Finally he closed the file and put it down to look up at me.

I am required to inform you that this interview is being recorded. Do you understand and agree to the recording being made?

Yes, sir, I answered confidently.

Thank you, Warra swung his legs sideways behind his desk and his chair swivelled until he was facing the wall to my left. I am led to believe that events that occurred during this operation were considerably influenced by events that affected you prior to your joining the Agency. Is this the case, Suzi?

Yes, sir.

In that case, would you please start by telling me your history.

Where would you like me to start?

We have plenty of time, Suzi, he turned his head to me and smiled. Start from the beginning.

I thought for a minute or two. I had lied about my name and my age when I joined the Agency, so I tried to gather my story together before opening my mouth.

I was born on a planet called Aran. It is an Earth-colony planet and my ancestors are from Earth.

Warra nodded.

My father was a prospector. We lived in a cave in the Aran Alps, and survived by selling whatever minerals Dad found.

I paused.

Anyway, one day Dad found a big gold nugget. I don't have any idea what it was worth but I think it was very valuable. I was fifteen Earth-years old at the time. We all left the cave together to take the nugget to the city secretly but Dad was not careful enough with his secret. We were camped out on the first night when a pair of thieves attacked us. Then another gang appeared - five shippies - and they killed the two thieves, but instead of rescuing us they killed Mum and Dad and ... a lump appeared in my throat. I swallowed hard. ... and raped my sister and me. They planned to kill us also, but we escaped. The gang buried all the bodies and set a booby trap among our belongings so that when we returned for food and clothes we set it off. The bomb killed my sister and injured me. The leader of this gang was called Chas.

Ah, Chas, nodded Warra. Now I see the connection.

I waited for the next question.

Is that it? asked Warra after a minute.

Yes, sir. That was the event that influenced my behaviour on the operation.

I think the rest of your story, from then until you joined the Agency, might also be useful.

I thought again before continuing.

After the bomb I managed to get to the Abbey of Saint Agatha, sir, and the nuns there nursed me back to health. When I was well they sent me to an orphanage.

I stopped again. The orphanage had been run as a brothel by Madame Cevert and her lesbian lover, Melani. There were over forty girls there, all about the same age as me and none of us dared to escape the place as Madame had convinced us all that we had been poisoned and only so long as we received a daily antidote from her would we live. I decided that this part of my story would not be believed by Warra, nor the method of our escape.

I had become the lover of Dr van Lennep, a friend of Madame's, in the hope that he could get the antidote of the poison for me and thus allow me to escape with him. This plan had failed because the Doctor said that Madame had the only supply of the drug. So I had become the lover of Melani instead, happy to pretend to be a lesbian if it led to my freedom. She admitted to me that there was no poison and no antidote, and that Madame had invented the whole thing. However, in order to prevent girls from talking when they got too old to stay at the orphanage and left to join the world, Madame had them murdered by somebody called Willis. I told Melani I was too frightened of Madame to continue with the affair and, while I was trying to find a way for the girls to escape without all being murdered, Melani took it upon herself to solve the problem. She killed Madame, apparently so that I would carry on being her lover.

If somebody had told me this story, I would have laughed at them. Thinking back on it, it seemed almost impossible to me as well despite having lived it. I omitted the whole episode and prayed that news of the murder of Madame Cevert had not reached the Agency. After all, it would be classed as a local matter by the Aran police, so why should the Agency hear of it.

During my stay at the orphanage we had trips out to see various places, I lied. One trip was to the spaceport. A few of us got separated from our teacher and were captured by a gang of slavers.

Goodness, you have been unfortunate, haven't you? Warra interrupted, still staring at the wall.

Yes, sir.

Go on.

As I said, we were captured and thrown aboard a spaceship with a few other girls they had grabbed, I continued, back to telling the truth now - it was actually after we escaped from the hostel that we had been captured by the slavers. We were taken to another planet to be sold. On the ship we met an undercover agent named Chin Ng.

Ah yes, Chin. I was sorry to hear about his death.

I swallowed hard again and forced myself to continue. I could think about Chin later when this farce was over and I was back in the tranquillity of the Abbey.

Chin told me that he was an agent and explained that the auction was going to be raided and that I should lead all the girls back to the spaceships when the raid started, which I did, along with my friends from the orphanage. The raid turned into a shoot-out and some of the girls were killed. I was injured and brought here to Hanos to be treated. When I was fully recovered I decided to join the Agency.

Warra looked at me for a moment, maybe waiting to see if there was any more.

And what about Chin? He asked.

I lived with him here on Hanos.

Warra nodded.

You were lovers, he said more as a statement than a question.

Yes.

Alright, now we've heard your history, Suzi. So tell me about the Xanyak operation.

Warra had not mentioned that I had given my name as Mari, my sister's name, when I had joined the Agency and that I had told them I was eighteen Earth-years old, which indeed she would have been. Even though I was officially named Mari, according to my Agency file, I still called myself Suzi, but this didn't seem to arouse any suspicions. I had nothing more to hide now and could tell the truth, which would make the story much easier to tell.

"As you know, sir, the mission was to be a simple information-gathering operation. I was to find out what I could about Tarran Xanyak who was operating as Robert Majors, the head of Majors Transport. We had information that an importer-exporter called Juan-Miguel Marinho was doing a deal of some kind with Majors and I was sent to Earth to infiltrate the Marinho office and find out what I could.

Marinho asked me to impress an American called Henry Schwarb, who was also connected to the deal somehow, so I agreed to go out with Schwarb. I met him at his hotel in Rio de Janeiro and waited while Schwarb had an important business meeting. I admit I panicked a little when I saw that the two men he was meeting with were Xanyak himself and Chas, the leader of the gang that had killed my family and raped me.

Ah, the return of Chas. What is his real name? Asked Warra leaning toward the file on his desk.

Charles Harding, sir, volunteered Denise from behind me. I had almost forgotten she was there and the sound of her voice made me flinch. All my years of training with the Agency should have honed my senses so that I would have sensed her there all the time and should certainly have prevented any flinch, but recent events had shot these senses to pieces.

Ah yes, thank you. Please continue.

I realised that I could infiltrate Xanyak's operation itself if I could become attached to Chas, so I requested that I be allowed to try. You see, sir, Chas was Xanyak's chief of security.

Warra nodded.

Thanks to my Agency training I had no trouble in being accepted by Chas, I continued, not adding what I was thinking - that my training in the orphanage had been much more useful in seducing this madman. "I learned that the deal would be concluded at Tranquillity Base, on Earth's Moon, and informed my backup team of this. Warren and Denise arranged for a raid to break up the deal and put Xanyak and his lieutenants behind bars for a long time. At that time we assumed the deal simply concerned drugs, as Xanyak was one of the biggest drug producers in the universe.

"Chas took me with him when he boarded Xanyak's spaceship and I was able to look around the ship. I found that the ship was a fortress equipped with its own army and a fleet of fighters. The raid would be met by Xanyak's private army and I guessed this would easily outnumber and outgun the Agency forces, who would not be expecting such powerful opposition. So I decided to try to disrupt Xanyak's ship to prevent the Agency force from being destroyed.

I raided the ship's armoury and took some rifles and grenades, then I made an assault on the bridge of the ship, being the nerve centre. I destroyed the bridge and the Agency force captured the ship.

I sat back, relaxing for the first time since I had entered Warra's office. The major turned slowly round to face me and I sat straight again.

Surely there's more than that. What were you doing back on Aran?

I'm afraid I went a little crazy when I heard that Chin had been killed in the raid, sir. I stole a ship and went back to Aran, to the only place I could find complete tranquillity.

The Abbey of Saint Agatha?

Yes, sir. The nuns had been very kind to me before and they were kind to me again. They healed my wounds and helped me get over my loss.

I see, Warra rose and walked around his desk. Can you tell me more about this assault on the bridge of Xanyak's ship. How many people were on the bridge?

I don't know, sir. Perhaps thirty. They were mainly ratings and technicians.

Mmmm. And was Xanyak on the bridge?

Yes, sir. He was organising his forces ready to draw the Agency forces into his trap. You see...

And what happened to Xanyak?

He was killed, sir. But...

And what about Chas?

He was killed as well.

How were they killed, Suzi?

I was beginning to get frustrated. Warra didn't seem to be interested in what I was trying to tell him.

Xanyak died in a grenade blast, sir. I killed Chas when he was about to kill me. The thing is ...

Did you see their bodies?

I saw Chas’s body, sir, but Xanyak’s would have been blown to pieces by the blast.

And what about the others on the bridge, the thirty ratings and technicians? What became of them?

I think most were killed in the assault, sir. I had to destroy their equipment and I had to do it before they killed me, so I couldn't wait for them to get out of the way I'm afraid. Some may have been wounded, I'm not sure.

Warra sat down again.

May I add something, sir? I asked, finally getting his attention. It seemed to me that Xanyak's forces were expecting the raid, and they knew where and when the raid was to take place. I thought originally that I had somehow given myself away, but I am now quite convinced that I didn't and that there is a leak somewhere in the Agency.

Thank you, Suzi. We will investigate that matter. I have one final question for you, though. Why didn't you radio your findings from Xanyak's ship before you launched your assault?

For a moment I smiled. I had radioed all the details and ... I swung round to look at Denise. Her face was serious. This was no joke. I had assumed that she had heard every word I had transmitted while investigating Xanyak’s massive ship.

You heard nothing? I asked.

She shook her head slowly.

Oh no. The transmitter in my earring must have failed, I suggested.

Denise held up a clear plastic envelope with an earring in it.

This is the earring, Suzi, she said softly. We took it from you in the hospital before you bolted. It works perfectly.

I smiled again, unable to answer.

Perhaps Xanyak's ship was shielded in some way or he had some device to scramble transmissions, I ventured.

We've checked his ship out thoroughly. There's nothing that would have stopped your transmissions.

I turned slowly back to Warra, recalling vividly my attempts to let Denise know what was happening by talking into my transmitter.

I think we need to investigate this whole operation very thoroughly, said Warra, rising to his feet again and standing to attention.

I stood to attention in response.

Agent Suzi Warner, he said officiously. You will be held in a place of confinement until the Agency has completed its investigations, at which time you will either be released or charged according to the Agency's findings.

Charged with what, sir? I asked, trying to sound reasonable.

The investigations will be into the deaths of Tarran Xanyak, Charles Harding and other unnamed ratings and technicians aboard Tarran Xanyak's ship. If the findings show it to be the case, you will be charged with their murders. Investigations will also be made into the source of the information that led Tarran Xanyak's forces to attack an Agency ship, and if you are found to be responsible for this attack, you will further be charged with the murders of Chin Ng and thirteen other unnamed Agents of the Universal Security Agency through criminal negligence.

I realised my mouth was open.

While you are not under arrest at this time, I am required to advise you that anything further you say may be used against you if you are subsequently charged. I strongly advise you to seek legal advice before saying anything.

I closed my mouth.

Chapter Two

The next five days were spent in a confinement apartment, as the Agency called it. The apartment was in a security block that meant it was under constant surveillance and patrolled by agents at all times. The apartment was pleasant enough and comfortable, but unlike most apartments, the front door was locked from the outside and the telephone only received calls from outside and did not allow me to ring out.

A guard brought me my meals three times a day. Nothing special, but adequate. After the evening meal, I invariably fell asleep, which surprised me because I was doing nothing all day apart from my regular exercises, so why should I be so tired?

The only visitor I received in this time was an attorney who had been assigned to me. His name was Haris Wright and he was a negro. Although I had seen negros before, he was the first one I had ever spoken to. Like the orientals, negros had their own planet but as with all of us, many travelled widely and a few joined the Agency. Haris was a very intelligent man with a warm smile and sharp eyes.

I told him the story the same way I had told it to Major Warra. He didn't interrupt at all, but made notes and listened intently. I was rather surprised he wasn't recording the interview. When I had finished he read back through his notes before speaking.

"Okay, Suzi. The case against you is primarily reliant upon the fact that you seem to have gone on a killing spree without reasonable cause. After all, it is not illegal to carry a private army and fighters through space, and there was no evidence in your story to suggest any kind of illegal activity.

You did not receive any orders from your backup team or superiors that could justify your actions, and they claim that you made no broadcasts to them to indicate the position you were in and the fears you claim to have had. Their conclusion therefore, is that you wanted to kill Tarran Xanyak and Charles Harding and simply killed the others to try to cover up your murders.

That's ridiculous, Haris.

Maybe, maybe, but can you prove anything you've said? If you had any kind of evidence of an illegal activity then your actions might be justified. Without evidence then your Agent status counts for nothing. After all, any maniac could join the Agency and go around killing anybody he disliked if no evidence was required, couldn't he?

I nodded and began to wonder if Haris was actually on my side or the Agency's.

Okay, well let's look deeper into this to see if we can find something that might change our fortune in any way.

I went to the kitchen to make coffee while he pondered.

This Chas Harding, called Haris. Was it actually him who fired the gun that killed your mother and father?

Before I could answer he appeared beside me in the kitchen.

I'm sorry, he said, genuinely concerned. Are you okay talking about it?

I think so, I replied. It has been over three years, although sometimes I still feel pretty bad about it. But I can't positively say it was Chas who killed either of them. I just know that they were killed on his instruction.

Okay, what about the raping? Can you describe it in detail?

"I'm afraid Chas wasn't actually involved in that either. They staked Mari and me out on the ground, cut the clothes off us with knives and then just