brutally ugly and cruelly unappetizing. It would always say “police.”
Jana trudged up the stairs to the building’s entrance, kicking her boots on the top step to knock the slush away, and returned the salute of the guard at the entrance. His name was Jarov, a decent cop who was now doing sentry penance outside in the freezing sleet, instead of inside the vestibule, because of a minor infraction. He’d been monitoring a right-wing demonstration and one of the demonstrators had spit on him. Jarov had returned the favor, with interest: a smack alongside the head of the miscreant. The media had caught it on camera, which was Jarov’s sin, so now he was stamping around trying to keep his toes from frostbite.
“Commander,” he grimaced at her. “I am freezing my balls off.” And, as she was going past, “I could use a piss break, Commander. They seem to have forgotten that I’m out here.”
“Maybe you should have brought a wool scarf for your balls?” She nodded. “Hold on to them a while longer. I’ll send someone out.” She walked inside.
It was only slightly less frigid inside. The cold rose from the barren cement floor in icy waves, bleeding even more heat from the air, the chill only beginning to abate when Jana took the elevator up to her floor. To supplement the inadequate central heating, a number of space heaters lined the corridor. They whined at full blast, their warmth almost tempting her to remain in the hall. After toasting her hands for a moment at the last heater before her office, Jana walked in, only to find her warrant officer, Seges , going through her desk.
Seges was so involved in his search that he didn’t see her at first. When he did, he snapped upright, his face contorting with the effort of controlling his shock at being observed going through his supervisor’s desk. He took one step back, then one step to the side, as if trying to distance himself from the scene of his crime.
“Find anything incriminating?” Jana asked
She took off her greatcoat, slinging it onto the antlers of her clothes tree, which teetered slightly from the force and weight of the coat, its legs jittering on the floor before it decided not to fall over. Jana checked out the top of the desk before she sat. Seges used the opportunity to sidle to the front of the desk, growing more nervous as he watched her go through its drawers.
Jana was surprised. At least Seges had left them neat, perhaps even neater than they’d been. She would have expected a mess, like the one he made of his case reports, which meant that he had placed importance on conducting his search with care, more care than was required if he’d just been afraid she’d find out what he had done. Her guess was that he had been put up to it by someone. Except, what sensational find was there to be made in her desk?
She stared at Seges, wondering what was going through his mind.
Since Seges had been posted as her aide against her will, he had proved incompetent: reports were not written, he neglected to interview witnesses, he avoided making decisions, and whatever he did was done badly. She’d tried to get rid of him a number of times, but it was always a matter of regulations and much red tape before a liability like Seges could be transferred. No one wanted him. They’d fight tooth and nail to keep him away. It would be even harder to get the man dismissed. He was like a fungus that you tried to scrape away or kill with a spray; no matter, it kept coming back. That was a good way to think of him, she thought: a fungus, and this fungus was standing in front of her.
“Tell me,” she ordered.
“Tell you what, Commander?”
Her voice got louder. “The desk!” She slapped its top, taking some small satisfaction from seeing him jump. “Why were you searching through the drawers?”
He hesitated, his face betraying his struggle to come up with an answer.
“You were searching my desk.” She managed to control her volume. “I want
Jana trudged up the stairs to the building’s entrance, kicking her boots on the top step to knock the slush away, and returned the salute of the guard at the entrance. His name was Jarov, a decent cop who was now doing sentry penance outside in the freezing sleet, instead of inside the vestibule, because of a minor infraction. He’d been monitoring a right-wing demonstration and one of the demonstrators had spit on him. Jarov had returned the favor, with interest: a smack alongside the head of the miscreant. The media had caught it on camera, which was Jarov’s sin, so now he was stamping around trying to keep his toes from frostbite.
“Commander,” he grimaced at her. “I am freezing my balls off.” And, as she was going past, “I could use a piss break, Commander. They seem to have forgotten that I’m out here.”
“Maybe you should have brought a wool scarf for your balls?” She nodded. “Hold on to them a while longer. I’ll send someone out.” She walked inside.
It was only slightly less frigid inside. The cold rose from the barren cement floor in icy waves, bleeding even more heat from the air, the chill only beginning to abate when Jana took the elevator up to her floor. To supplement the inadequate central heating, a number of space heaters lined the corridor. They whined at full blast, their warmth almost tempting her to remain in the hall. After toasting her hands for a moment at the last heater before her office, Jana walked in, only to find her warrant officer, Seges , going through her desk.
Seges was so involved in his search that he didn’t see her at first. When he did, he snapped upright, his face contorting with the effort of controlling his shock at being observed going through his supervisor’s desk. He took one step back, then one step to the side, as if trying to distance himself from the scene of his crime.
“Find anything incriminating?” Jana asked
She took off her greatcoat, slinging it onto the antlers of her clothes tree, which teetered slightly from the force and weight of the coat, its legs jittering on the floor before it decided not to fall over. Jana checked out the top of the desk before she sat. Seges used the opportunity to sidle to the front of the desk, growing more nervous as he watched her go through its drawers.
Jana was surprised. At least Seges had left them neat, perhaps even neater than they’d been. She would have expected a mess, like the one he made of his case reports, which meant that he had placed importance on conducting his search with care, more care than was required if he’d just been afraid she’d find out what he had done. Her guess was that he had been put up to it by someone. Except, what sensational find was there to be made in her desk?
She stared at Seges, wondering what was going through his mind.
Since Seges had been posted as her aide against her will, he had proved incompetent: reports were not written, he neglected to interview witnesses, he avoided making decisions, and whatever he did was done badly. She’d tried to get rid of him a number of times, but it was always a matter of regulations and much red tape before a liability like Seges could be transferred. No one wanted him. They’d fight tooth and nail to keep him away. It would be even harder to get the man dismissed. He was like a fungus that you tried to scrape away or kill with a spray; no matter, it kept coming back. That was a good way to think of him, she thought: a fungus, and this fungus was standing in front of her.
“Tell me,” she ordered.
“Tell you what, Commander?”
Her voice got louder. “The desk!” She slapped its top, taking some small satisfaction from seeing him jump. “Why were you searching through the drawers?”
He hesitated, his face betraying his struggle to come up with an answer.
“You were searching my desk.” She managed to control her volume. “I want
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