“Call me Alex for one thing. I’m not here officially. I mean, I’m on leave from the ship. Came back to the old stompin’ grounds for a visit, came across an old friend who needed a hand with something, and one thing led to another.”
“Which led you to me,” Duarte said. His smile was sudden and warm. “I’ll count myself lucky for that. What’s on your friend’s mind?”
“Missing ships.”
Duarte went still, his smile still perfectly in place. For a moment, it was like the man had become a statue. When he moved again, he sat back, leaning into the chair with a barely exaggerated casualness that plucked at Alex’s ears. “I’m not aware of any ships that have gone missing. Is there something I should know about?”
Alex folded his hands on his knee. “My friend. She’s a marine. Well, ex now. She’s been doing a little digging into the black market.”
“A journalist, then?”
“A patriotic Martian,” Alex said. “She’s not looking to stir up anything, and neither am I. But she’s found some things that got her back up.”
“Things like what?”
Alex lifted a finger. “I’ll get there in a minute. Thing is, she’s not Navy. Doesn’t have friends and contacts on our side. So she asked if I’d ask, and when I did —”
“Chief Petty Officer Beltran sent you to me,” Duarte said. “I see.”
“Did he make a mistake?”
Duarte was quiet for a long moment, his eyes soft and fixed on nothing. Alex shifted in his seat. These sorts of conversations weren’t part of his usual duties, and he couldn’t tell if it was going well or poorly. Duarte sighed. “No. He didn’t.”
“You’re… you’re seeing things too. Aren’t you?”
Duarte stood and moved to the door, not touching it, but looking. His head bent a degree. “This isn’t the sort of thing we talk about. I don’t break the chain of command.”
“I respect that,” Alex said. “I’m not asking you to be disloyal to anyone. Only I have some information, yo
u maybe have some too. I’ll tell you what I’m comfortable sharing, you do the same. Maybe we can do each other some good.”
“I have an investigation in progress.”
“Anything I give you, I don’t mind your passing on,” Alex said. “And maybe it’d be best if it was like that for you too.”
Duarte considered, his lips pressing together. “All right. What have you got?”
“Blips in the inventories. Things that got lost or destroyed that showed up again later. Weapons. Medical supplies.”
“Ships?”
“Yeah,” Alex said. “Ships.”
“Give me a name.”
“Apalala.”
Duarte seemed to deflate. He went to his desk and sank into the chair behind it, but when he spoke, his voice had a relaxed tone that made Alex feel like he’d passed a test. Like the false and cordial ease that had begun the meeting had fallen away like a mask.
“That’s one I’ve been looking at too,” Duarte said.
“What are you seeing?”
“I don’t know. Not exactly. We’re stretched thin. You know that?”
“People heading out for the new planets.”
“Inventories are running slow. I think more of them are being dry-labbed than anyone wants to admit. I’ve been trying to convince the admiral that it’s a problem, but either she doesn’t understand or…”