Twenty Eight

“What were you thinking?” Tanya demanded as she closed the door to her office behind her. “You turned down the opportunity as a liaison with Cy-Tech?”

“I did.” Geraldo examined his ruined face in a mirror on the wall of the office. His nose was more crooked than before and both his eyes were black.

“That fucker roughed me up good.” He chuckled. “You should have seen his face when I turned his offer down.”

“So, this was payback? Christ, Geraldo, could you be any more of a child?”

Geraldo stopped and looked over his shoulder. “You really want me to answer that?”

“No.” She growled before she tossed him a med kit. “What I want you to do is put your fucking pride aside. One of our officers are implicit in a capital crime with direct contact with a known terrorist organization.”

He caught the kit and rummaged through until he found adhesive strips and looked back in the mirror.

“Allegedly.” He said before he grasped his ruined nose between two fingers and pushed it back with a grunt. It wasn't the first time he’d had to set a broken bone himself, or his nose for that matter, but it didn't change how much it hurt.

His nose began to bleed almost immediately, which he abated by stuffing gauze in his nostrils before he stretched the adhesive strips over the bridge of his nose, holding the fractured bone in place the best he could.

“They have video of her entering the apartment and leaving it.” Tanya stressed.

“Deep fakes happen all the time.” He sniffed and dabbed at the blood on his face.

“And the DNA?”

“She is gen perfect. Her DNA is stored in almost any Bioloxys facility.”

Tanya rolled her eyes and fished out a cigarette. “You think they just keep a vial of her vaginal secretions in a freezer somewhere?”

“I think anything is possible.”

“Why?” She asked after she took a long drag and slowly exhaled. The smoke hung between them.

“Because she has an alibi.” Geraldo pulled out the crumpled receipt and crossed the room, handing it to Tanya. “And she is also guilty of breaking into Taurus. The alibi could be fabricated, but she couldn’t have committed both crimes at the same time.”

“Who gets paper receipts anymore?” She asked as she examined it..

“Like I said; the alibi could be fabricated.”

“Do you have evidence she broke in?”

“I did,” Geraldo hesitated, “but I lost it.”

“Along with your gun.” Tanya added. She plopped herself down in her chair and took another deep drag. “Why the hell are you using a side arm that isn’t DNA locked?”

“I don’t trust the man.”

“You don’t trust anyone.” She added.

“Exactly. The pistol has a tracer on it.” He pointed out.

“It was deactivated in her apartment.”

“Figured.” Geraldo sighed.

“How does this prove her innocence?” Tanya smoothed the crumpled receipt out on her desk.

“Look at the time.”

“02:03.”

“Tauras was broken at two am. And according to Cy-Tech Gabriela left Owen Conner’s apartment at 02:03. All three can’t be true. It’s a paradox.”

“So?” Tanya shrugged, “maybe you are wrong about this and she is lying about her alibi.”

“She had a picture of her and the child she birthed,” he pointed out.

“A picture only you saw,” Tanya added. “Won’t hold up. Ger. You know that. Unless you can find her and ask her pretty, please for it.”

“First let’s see if this alibi holds up.”

“No.” Tanya leaned forward and stomped out her smoke. “First you are going to send a wire to Cy-Tech. Tell them you reconsidered their offer.”

Geraldo laughed, and then cleared his throat when he realized by the stern face Tanya wore that she was not joking.

“No more childish games, Ger. Too much is riding on this. Suck up your pride and make the call.”

“I will after I check into Gabriela’s alibi.” Geraldo stormed over and snatched at the receipt, but Tanya pulled it away before he could grab it.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

“Now,” she demanded as she turned her terminal toward him. There was already an apology letter written and waiting. All it needed was his electronic signature and for him to hit send.

“Tanya.” He pleaded.

“Do it!” Her voice caused him to jump, and before he could even think about it the letter was signed and sent.

“Now was that so bad?” She asked as she turned the terminal back around. “Or do you need a hot shower and a good cry?”

“The receipt?” Geraldo growled and held out his hand and snapped his fingers.

“One more thing.” She said, withholding the crumpled paper just out of his reach.

“What? You need me to eat more shit?”

“No, I want you to take someone with you. To watch your back.”

“Who?” Geraldo demanded. But before he could get his answer, he heard her officer door open and close. He slowly turned around and saw Brian standing in the office.

“This day can’t get any worse.” Geraldo mumbled.

“The two of you are going to look into the alibi.”

“I don’t need help with this,” Geraldo growled, stuffing the receipt into his pocket.

“I didn’t say you did.” Tanya stood up and motioned for Brian to come over. “But things are getting hot out there, Geraldo. If you are right, and I am not saying you are, but if you are, then someone has framed Gabriela for a capital crime and if that’s true then you are going to need someone watching your back. I am putting you both on this, as well as liaison to Cy-Tech.”

“Do we report our findings to them, then?” Brian asked.

“No, everything goes through me first. We can’t trust them. Cy-Tech has been gunning for our contracts for years.”

Geraldo sighed and checked his watch, it was getting late, and with luck the clerk who had helped Gabriela would be on shift tonight.

“We need to get going. I will check on the alibi and fill you in ASAP.”

“And I’ll make sure he doesn’t get a bullet in the back of his head.” Brian added before he turned away and followed Geraldo out of the office.