The Fifth Column Boxed Set

by J. N. Chaney

  “So everyone keeps telling me.”

  I followed her into a softly lit room done in soft tones that said one thing: comfort. I was pleased to see that it wasn’t all white, a color that always seemed impractical to me. A plush couch with deep red fabric sat off to one side. One corner was dominated by a tub that might as well have been a personal swimming pool. A fireplace crackled merrily, casting warm air throughout the room.

  Myrna handed me a fluffy robe folded into a neat square. “Go ahead and undress. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  Used to years of shared locker rooms, I was quick to undress. It didn’t bother me to be naked, but I slipped the robe on and walked to the massage table in the center of the room. The sheets were soft and covered in a layer of exotic flower petals. Their sweet scent permeated the air, but in a pleasant way.

  Some wordless instrumental music played on a low setting and the temperature was damn near perfect. The whole set up was already starting to soothe some of my edges out. Maybe there was something to this relaxing thing after all.

  A short knock sounded on the door.

  “I’m ready,” I called out.

  Myrna walked in holding a stack of bright purple leaves. She took two steps towards me when the friendly expression went slack. Her knees buckled and the tech began to fall forward.

  “Hey, are you—”

  Too late, I saw the dart sticking out from her back. Smith, the bodyguard from the lobby, stood behind her in the doorway, still partially obscured by the door. My clothes were on a bench against the wall. It only took a glance to know I’d never make it, but I was still going to try.

  “Delgado, our boss would like a word with you.”

  “Sorry,” I called back, preparing to make my move. “Now isn’t really a good time. I was just about to start my Premier treatment.”

  Smith pushed the door open before I could take a step.

  “As you can see, I’m using non-lethal measures here. Consider it a peace offering from Vice-Admiral-Kaska.” I bristled at the mention of his name. Of course he was behind this. “I know you’re thinking of going for your weapon. I’m going to caution against that, Sergeant. If you come with us and don’t give us any problems, no one gets hurt. That story changes if you fight this.”

  I thought for a moment, weighing my options. There weren’t many. “Fine, but at least let me get dressed first.”

  Smith kept his tranq gun trained on me. “You can have shoes. And my partner will get them for you. Try anything and this goes from tranq to bullet real fast.”

  The second man appeared as though on cue and advanced on me. “Where are your clothes?”

  He followed the direction I pointed and picked up my boots. After a quick check to ensure I didn’t have anything stashed inside, he approached with care and passed them over.

  “Put them on slow,” Smith instructed while his friend threw the rest of my clothes, communicator included, into the fire.

  I did as he told me, mind still churning with ways to get the hell out of this mess I was in. Right now I only had one move and it meant going with them. When the boots were on, Smith’s partner grabbed me roughly by the arm.

  “You sure know how to treat a girl.”

  “Shut up.”

  He marched me down the hall with Smith following behind us. Smart, but they’d both be close when they got me to whatever transpo they were using. I’d only have one shot, so it would have to count.

  “Hang a right, John,” Smith said.

  “John, and Smith. You guys are kidding, right?”

  John sped up and yanked me with him. “Thought I told you to shut up.”

  Not wanting to press my luck, I fell silent. I had what I needed anyway. Of the two, John was the hothead and predisposed to violence. They didn’t already know the layout of the building, so this had been a crime of opportunity. That also meant that I’d gotten sloppy and missed the tail somewhere.

  “Rita, I’ve been waiting—” A door to our right opened and Bob stepped out in one of the fluffy robes, stopping short at the sight of us.

  “Mind your business and get back in your room,” Smith ordered. I didn’t have to look to know that he had the gun trained on the man.

  Bob’s eyes slid to mine, steely and dark. I shook my head, keeping the motion miniscule. “I didn’t see anything,” he said, holding up both hands in surrender.

  “Good answer,” John growled.

  The door to room three shut again and we continued our trek to the emergency stairs. They took us down to the street level on the back side of Hands On.

  A car waited, already on and hovering silently off the ground. The passenger side opened up automatically as we got near and Smith moved from behind us to the side. He motioned with the gun. “Get in.”

  It was now or never. I pretended to duck inside and stomped three times with my right foot. To my relief the hidden blade whisked out like it was supposed to do. I twisted around, using the car’s frame for support and slashed out with my foot. The move caught John by surprise and he rocked back.

  His grunt of pain told me I’d managed to nick something. He slapped one hand to his inner thigh and took a knee. “Watch out! Bitch got a blade by us.”

  Smith came around, weapon drawn. Wearing nothing but the robe and boots, I was woefully outmatched, but I wasn’t down yet. I lunged at him, hoping to throw him off balance. It prevented the merc from shooting me, but he brought the butt of the gun down and caught the right side of my face, close to the eye.

  Warm liquid spurted and I saw red. Son of a bitch. He drew blood and I grinned, baring my teeth.

  “You’re crazy. I like that, Delgado.”

  “You won’t,” I promised, scrambling to my feet.

  He laughed, only to be cut off by me kicking him full force in the balls. He squeaked when the blade hit home and went rigid. I brought my foot back down, blood coating it. Smith fell to his knees. I grabbed the gun before he dropped it.

  “I’ll fucking kill you,” John said from behind me.

  Smith hadn’t taken the time to switch from tranquilizer to pistol, but I remedied that with the flick of one finger. John had both hands on his injured leg, trying to staunch the bleeding. His weapon lay on the ground in front of him.

  “Don’t do it,” I said.

  He ignored me and reached for it. His body jerked back when my round hit him between the eyes. A gurgle sounded from Smith and I turned to face him. I almost felt bad to see his face contorted in agony, but I figured he earned it by trying to kidnap me for Kaska. The feeling subsided when I saw the glint of something in one of his hands.

  The throwing blade flashed out and my arm barely came up in time to deflect it. The sharp edge sliced through the luxury robe and into my flesh with ease. I didn’t drop the gun, but it was close. Before I could react, a shot rang out in the alley, hitting Smith square in the chest.

  “You okay, Alyss?” It was Bob. His large form blocked out light from the building, but I could make out he was still in a robe and sporting a large pistol.

  “Now I am. Thanks.”

  He whistled again. “Looks like you had it mostly handled. And you aren’t even dressed.”

  “Yeah, they didn’t count on me being wily. I’ve been wanting to try this thing out forever.” I pointed down the blade still sticking out of my boot.

  “Now I’m thinking I need one of those. You, ah, need any help?”

  I held up my bleeding arm. “If you don’t mind. I want these two in the trunk. They’ll make a nice message to whoever sent them.”

  “My pleasure. Hold this for me, will ya?” Bob passed me his beast of a gun, which I was pretty sure qualified as a mini rifle.

  John and Smith were in the trunk within minutes and Bob was wiping blood on his white robe. Mine was a mess too, with one shoulder all but ripped off. The loops hadn’t survived the scuffle, but I just tied the belt a little tighter.

  “Thanks, I appreciate it, Bob.” I waved a hand at t
he building. “I thought they had good security?”

  He shrugged., then slammed the trunk. “Your friends must have bypassed somehow. Say, you should probably get the cut looked at.”

  I glanced down at it. “It’ll hold until I get back to my ship.”

  “Up to you. Be careful getting back now. I can go with, if you want.”

  “I appreciate the offer, but I have some things to take care of.”

  He nodded and went back inside. I had a picture of him returning to his room and still getting what he came for. The same was out for me. By now, my clothes were no doubt rendered to ash. A shame, because I really liked that jacket. With a long suffering sigh, I climbed into the car and told it to take me back to the docks.

  5

  Second Genesis was uncharacteristically dark when I made it back. The car had denied me access when I tried to have it give me its previous locations, and would require the expertise of Mack to unlock. That was probably for the better.

  “V, can you ask Mack to come here?” I asked, too weary to search her out myself.

  “Captain, both Miss Woods and Miss Shahi are in the galley and request your presence.”

  My arm burned, so at least Farah would be close by to patch me up. “Alright, on my way. What’s up with the lights?”

  “I believe Miss Shahi referred to it as mood lighting, though I am not clear on what that means.”

  Being unsure myself, I didn’t answer. The galley was just around the corner, so I trudged my way there. When the door slid open, none of the lights were on. “Mack?”

  No one answered. A tingle started at the base of my spine and I wondered if Vega had somehow been compromised and this was another trap. Cautiously, I peered inside. The lights flipped on, temporarily blinding me. At the same time, a chorus of voices yelled “Surprise!”

  That was the last thing I had anticipated and a high-pitched yelp escaped before I could stop it.

  “Gods, Alyss. What the hell happened to you?” Farah asked.

  My vision cleared after a few rapid blinks and a strange sight greeted me. The kitchen had been transformed with colorful decorations, food, and desserts. It was also full of people, much to my mortification.

  Besides Farah and Mack, Jax and Clint stood in a small group, staring at me wide eyed.

  I dropped into one of the nearest chairs and mustered up a ghost of a smile. “Let’s just say that Hands On isn’t getting a five star review from me. A couple of Kaska’s men tracked me there and jumped me.”

  “Where are your clothes?” Farah asked, retrieving the medkit we kept in the kitchen for emergencies.

  “They caught me right before the full body wrap.”

  Clint and Jax exchanged a look before the older man made to move for the door. “Did they get away?”

  I leveled a stare at him. “What do you think?”

  He nodded, satisfied. “Good girl. Where are the bodies?”

  “Parked below the docks in their car. Speaking of which. Mack, I couldn’t get the list of previous locations. Think you could take care of that for me?”

  “Yeah, of course.”

  I pulled the digikey out of the single intact robe pocket with my good hand and tossed it to her. Expression grim, she snagged it with one hand and left. Ever the calm one, Jax stepped forward and gave me the once over. “You all right?”

  “I’m fine.”

  He looked at his sister. “She’s going to need stitches,” she murmured. “Besides that, it just looks like bumps and bruises. No broken bones this time around. I can bring down the swelling on the eye with a cold pack.”

  “Good.” Jax turned his attention back to me, all business. “How do you know they were Kaska’s?”

  “They said as much. Said he wanted to have a chat with me. They didn’t kill anyone at the spa, as far as I could tell. Used tranquilizer ammo and claimed it was a peace offering from the Vice-Admiral.”

  Clint shook his head in annoyance. “Ballsy move in a place like that.”

  “They were good, just not good enough. Handled all the security but didn’t check my boots well enough.” I performed the stomping motion again and showed him the blade. “Saved me from getting in the car with them. My take is bargain mercs, not Sarkonian either. They could have been telling the truth about the meet, but I wasn’t banking on it.”

  Jax leaned back against one of the tables. “Smart move. I doubt their orders were to deliver you unharmed.”

  Farah’s lips thinned into a flat line. “We should finish this in the medbay.”

  I agreed. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. Hey, what’s with the party?”

  My friend stared at me for a long moment before snapping out a short, shrill laugh. “It’s your birthday, idiot.”

  “It is? Huh, how about that. Guess I forgot.”

  On our way out I heard Clint say something to Jax. “Who forgets their own birthday?”

  Farah treated my eye and administered the stitches in no time at all. We’d been through the process together more times than I cared to count, but it made her hands quick and sure.

  She made a tsking sound once the bloody remnants of the robe were gone. “This is pretty nasty.”

  “Throwing blade. He had some skill with it and it was either block it with my arm or face.”

  “Man, can’t have you out of my sight for anything.” She wound a clean bandage around my arm and sat back on her rolling stool. “All set. You want something for the pain? I’m sure you want to go to bed after what you’ve been through.”

  One eyebrow shot up and I cocked my head. “Come on, you think this is enough to keep me away from my birthday party?”

  “Yeah, I should know better. Come on then. I’m sure Mack will be back soon, if she isn’t already. And, there’s cake!”

  “I’m not one to turn down cake, especially if it’s in my honor. I should get dressed first. You mind grabbing me some clothes?”

  When I was decent again, in an outfit remarkably close to the one that went up in flames, Farah and I rejoined everyone in the kitchen. Mack had returned and stood talking with Clint and Jax. Two big burly men who had shown up while I was getting treated, stood off to one side, waiting for orders. I recognized them as Clint’s delivery muscle and felt a little touched he thought they were necessary.

  Clint saw me looking and broke away from the trio. “Hope you don’t mind that I called my guys up. Mack said it would be okay. They’re my gift to you.”

  Somewhat suspicious, I narrowed my eyes. “What kind of gift? They better keep their clothes on.”

  The bellow of his laughter rocked around the smaller space. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Cortez. I was offering their services to dispose of the bodies and track their movements. Mack got all the coordinates stored in their car’s computer.”

  She pointed at one of the screens where the data was displayed. Small pinpoints marked the vehicle’s previous location and routes. It didn’t take me long to decipher that they’d been in many of the places I frequented.

  “Right. I knew that. This tracks with Sven’s warning. I’m sure they weren’t being very stealthy in their tracking if he noticed. As for your men, Clint, that sounds good to me. Saves time on our end, so thanks for that.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Clint called them over and explained what he wanted. Mack passed over the keys and they left without a word.

  After they’d gone, I turned to the hacker. “Did any of the locations pop out at you?”

  “Not really, sorry. Just local spots, a few different hotels, all mid-level. Nothing extravagant. The two guys were their own outfit, John Smith, LLC. Marketed themselves as quick, efficient, and discreet – all at an affordable rate.”

  Farah’s features set into a hard line. “I know Neblinar is mercenary country, but we still have a code here.”

  Clint nodded in agreement. “It was a ballsy move for sure. Especially at that swanky of a place. Hands On would want some serious payback if John and Sm
ith weren’t already dead.”

  Ever the quiet one, Jax finally joined in on the conversation. “Kaska probably offered them a hefty sum so they’d break the rules. They had to know Neblinar would blacklist them after a stunt like that.”

  “Yeah, pretty much. Only places like Leah would accept them, but I guess that’s not going to be a problem.” My eyes wandered to the food-laden table in the middle of the room. “Not to get off topic, but I’m starving.”

  “Oh, duh.” Farah smacked her forehead lightly. “Eat up. Let’s drink and be merry.”

  No sooner had we started piling food on plates then there was a chiming noise and Vega spoke. “Captain, there is an incoming message from Angela Dunham. Would you like me to decline it?”

  I considered that for a beat. “Better take it, V.”

  “Very well. Connecting now.”

  Dunham’s face took over the display. Her mouth opened then shut again and formed a wry smile. “Cortez, why is it that you always look like hell when I see you?”

  “Because Kaska is always trying to kill me,” I answered in a dry tone.

  Her gaze sharpened. “Tell me what happened.”

  For the second time that night, I ran through the incident, not leaving anything out. Dunham listened without interrupting me, her expression unreadable.

  “We’re investigating now, but I don’t think we’re going to find much. The men weren’t part of Kaska’s inner circle. It’s unlikely they’ll have had any information that will be of use to the Initiative.”

  “You need to be more careful. As the face of the rebellion you have a sizable target on your back. I’m surprised you were caught unawares.”

  I wasn’t in the service anymore and therefore had no commanding officer, but the rebuke still stung. Mostly because she was right. I’d been caught with my pants down, literally. Still, I kept my chin up. “They won’t be the last, I’m sure. It won’t happen again.”

  Dunham looked down her nose at me before sweeping a gaze around the room. She paused at Clint. “Mr. Russell. I didn’t know you were acquainted with my people.”