A storm was rolling in from the west. Black thunderheads had already blotted out the setting sun. Lee gazed down from the 27th-floor window. Out to the northwest was the city of Old Nairobi, a city untouched by centuries of progress. Rain pounded the crumbling concrete of historic Nairobi City Hall. Just past that civic monument, a river of humanity spilled out of the Grand Kentanza Marketplace as shoppers ran to find shelter where they could. Beyond that, Lee could see nothing. The rain washed away his view of the University, and obscured the lights of the casino district.
Though he could not see it from his vantage, Lee knew that Nairobi lay behind him to the southeast. Just across Harambee Avenue, the tired old buildings and archaeological layers of pavement surrendered to the sleek black glass façades of the interconnected skyscrapers: the Nairobi Upsky Corridor. Each two-hundred floor architectural marvel melted and melded in impossible ways into all the others to form a flowing, organic work of art. Ten million of the richest citizens of the African Union resided there.
"Enjoying the view, Mr. van der Linde?"
Lee startled at the new voice. He turned to see a stern-looking woman in a blue constable's uniform standing in the doorway. Her hair was braided so tightly it appeared to be on the verge of bursting free in an explosion of black frizz. Her eyes were dark and penetrating, and she squinted as she looked at Lee, as though she might see into his soul with proper concentration. Her chest nameplate read "DC Okafor", and her uniform was decorated with a dozen colorful medals and ribbons that Lee did not understand.
"Mr. Oleka van der Linde of Cape Town, SA. Alias 'Lee'." Constable Okafor swiped across her noteboard, reading. "Previously warned on suspicion of hacking..."
"Oh, only on my own brain. You see--"
"...misappropriation of company resources, attempted association with known criminals. Currently unemployed. Credit balance zero." The Constable looked up from her notes. "Sit down, Mr. van der Linde."
Lee cringed at the metal-on-metal squeal as he slid the chair out from the table. His hands were shaking. He folded his arms across his chest, then decided this made him look confrontational, and rested his hands on the table in front of him. In the process, he knocked over a plastic pitcher of water. Ice cubes skidded across the table and water droplets hit the floor with the same frantic rhythm as the rain against the window.
"Sorry." He stood the half-empty pitcher back up. "It's my first visit to Nairobi. And I can explain--"
"You are accused of first-degree murder," she read from her noteboard. "Aggravated hacking. Weapons possession. Attempting to evade arrest. Mr. van der Linde, your first visit to Nairobi is going to last twenty to thirty years longer than planned." Constable Okafor swiped a holo from her noteboard to the tabletop. Lee's stomach tightened at the sight: the man from the train station, dark bloodstains visible on his chest, mouth open, eyes locked in a horrific lifeless stare.
"Who was this man?" asked the constable. "Were you paid to make the hit? Or was this a cred-jacking gone wrong? Cooperation is in your best interest."
"I don't know." Lee put his shaking hands in his lap. "I never saw him before. And I didn't kill him -- check the security holos!"
"The security system was hacked just prior to the murder." She sat down directly across the table from him. Lee wanted to look away, but somehow her gaze held his. "But you already knew that, didn't you? Both of you were in an unused area of the station. Security records before and after the hack show only two people present around the time of the murder: yourself, and your victim."
"I didn't kill this man."
"Make this easy on yourself, Mr. van der Linde." The Constable swiped a document onto the tabletop. "Sign this confession. The prosecutor will ask for no more than twenty years, plus neural reprogramming. Otherwise you're looking at a life sentence at best, more likely a full brainwipe."
"But I didn't kill him. I'm sure your investigation will prove that."
"I am the lead investigator, and my investigation is complete." Her head tilted slightly. "What?" she asked thin air. "But what about the security records? ... Yes, but would it not be better if we held him until... Yes, sir. Understood." Constable Okafor glared at Lee. "You're a lucky man, Mr. van der Linde. My commanding officer just sent me a BrainWave: he's found evidence to exonerate you."
Lee let out a relieved sigh, then rolled his shoulders as though they had just been freed of a great weight. "So what happens now?"
"You're free to go, but don't leave Nairobi just yet. I'll contact you after I've examined the new evidence."
* * *
Five minutes later, Lee van der Linde stepped out of the lift and into the lobby of the Nairobi police headquarters, Kenyatta Building. A familiar face greeted him near the entrance.
"Cherry!" He embraced her enthusiastically. "After the crazy evening I've had, I'm glad to see a friendly face. And do I ever have a crazy story to tell you!"
"I know." She smiled and handed Lee a black rainsuit. "Here, put this on. The roads are flooded ten centimeters deep." As Lee slipped his legs into the rubberized boots of the one-piece garment, she told him, "I have a story for you, too. Oh, and don't panic, but... we need to get out of here as quickly as possible."