Free Metal Fatigue by Sean Williams

but Roads ploughed on: "The ones who remember what it was like to watch hungry people die rather than let them in and starve the city, who were forced to kill the beggars that screamed at the Wall for months, who had friends and relatives thrown out of Kennedy for fighting when there wasn't enough to go around ... These people aren't your Old Guard. These people won't kill to keep Kennedy closed. They've seen enough death already.
    "The ones you're looking for are younger. They've lived here all their lives, and regard Kennedy as theirs . They don't want it invaded by upstarts from the Outside. If anybody's going to fight to keep Kennedy closed, they'll be the ones — not people like me ..."
    Roads took a deep breath, suddenly conscious of the fact that he was sweating heavily.
    DeKurzak looked surprised; Roads' outburst had clearly startled him, too. "What exactly are you driving at, Officer Roads?"
    "That it's not me, you son of a bitch. I'm not the Mole, or the assassin, and I'm not protecting anyone."
    "But Wiggs might be."
    "He's not. Jesus." Roads felt like banging his head on the steering wheel. "We're just trying to do our jobs."
    "And no-one's stopping you." The liaison officer glanced away. "No-one's questioned the fine work you've done for RSD over the years. That's not the issue here. What is at stake is this case, at this moment, and how we're going to solve it. Given that it's not a simple whodunit, and that there's no keeping politics out of it, we have to consider every possibility."
    Roads bristled at the 'we', but kept his mouth in check this time. "Just give me a little longer, DeKurzak. I don't believe in the uncatchable thief."
    DeKurzak smiled. "Neither do I, as a matter of fact. But we've only got three days left before General Stedman arrives."
    The turn-off for Old North Street appeared, and Roads swung the wheel to follow it, grateful for the distraction. As the scene of the break-in approached, DeKurzak broke the brief, tense silence.
    "I'm only doing my job, too, Phil. Remember that, and our relationship will be a little less strained."
----
    With daylight had come the spectators. A couple of dozen had settled in shaded doorways and windows for the morning, curious to see what had happened. Most were young parents with small children in tow, looking for entertainment. Although loitering was technically illegal, being a waste of human resources, none of the attending officers bothered to move the crowd along.
    Barney was asleep in the van, stretched across the rear seat with her coat bunched up against the window, acting as a pillow. He felt like a bastard for waking her.
    "What — ?" She opened her eyes and rubbed her forehead. "Oh, it's you."
    "Sleeping on the job?"
    "Yes and no. HQ sent Rashid to relieve me not long after you left, but I thought I'd wait for you to come back." She glanced at her watch. "I only lay down ten minutes ago."
    "This fanatical devotion to duty will get you places."
    "That's a relief." She struggled upright and tugged at her clothes. The rear of the car was suffocatingly hot and her uniform damp with sweat as a result. "Are we going now?"
    "Not yet. We have a visitor."
    "Who?"
    "The MSA have sent someone to watch over our shoulder. He's standing just over there and answers to the name 'DeKurzak'."
    "Watch us why?"
    Roads filled her in on the meeting that morning, content to let the MSA liaison officer wait a few minutes longer. By the time he finished, Barney had recovered a semblance of alertness.
    "So they're giving us a deadline?"
    "Seems that way."
    "Bastards." She groaned as he helped her out of the van. "Okay, I guess I'm ready. As if I haven't already done enough for one day."
    "I presume you went through this lot for eyewitnesses," Roads said, indicating the crowd with a nod.
    "Yeah, not a one. Door-knocked, too." Barney raised a hand to point. "This is 114, right? One hundred and eleven, 113 and 115 are empty offices, haven't had tenants for at least ten years