by Saxon Andrew
Ka stared at Tal and then turned back to the Guild Master, “I’m in, if you give him the names…” The Guild Master stared at her and she smiled, “before we leave.”
“You won’t have time to do anything about it.”
“Even so.”
The Guild Master took out a business card from a desk drawer and wrote on the back of it. He handed it to Tal and said, “Those are the ones that paid to have you sent on a dangerous mission. Now, sign the contract!”
Tal stood up, handed the business card to Ka, picked up the finger device, inserted his index finger in it, and pressed it on the Guild Master’s computer screen at the appropriate place on the contract. Ka handed the card back to him, took the finger device, and signed the contract. The Guild Master printed the contract and inserted it into a portal on his desktop. “Good, now that’s done.” He took two-large-packets out of a desk drawer and pushed them toward the agents. “You’ll find the identities of the couple you’re going to impersonate inside. The loaded transfer bands to give you their physical appearances and memories are in the packet and you’ll be taking their place on a cruise to Earth leaving the day after tomorrow. If you are compromised when you arrive on Earth, you’ll need to find an image there to mimic someone on Earth.”
“Why don’t you give us some images from the colonies to use if we encounter trouble,” Ka asked.
The Guild Leader frowned, “You know that everyone’s personal image in the colonies is copyrighted and, if used, the violator could be sued for more than a hundred-million-credits. The Guild will not accept that financial risk.”
“How will anyone in the colonies know if we used their image on Earth?” Tal interrupted.
“All it would take is for a tourist from the colonies on the cruise with you to snap a photo with you in it. The news software would detect the duplication instantly and the Guild would be hit with a major fine,” the Guild Master explained.
Tal’s expression was neutral, but he spoke with sarcasm in his voice, “So you place the financial well-being of the Guild ahead of our safety?”
The Guild Master glared at Tal for a moment, and then answered, “The Guild will not allow you to duplicate the appearance of anyone in the colonies. The guild will provide you with everything we possess to help you with your contract but mimicking anyone in the colonies is not something we will allow you to do.”
Ka was listening to the exchange, as she scanned the contents of her packet, and then asked, “If we’re not allowed to mimic anyone in the colonies, why are we duplicating a couple that we’re replacing on the cruise; I see we’re going to look exactly like them.”
“They won’t be an issue,” The Guild Master responded.
Tal jerked his head up from his package, “What did you do to them?”
“The Council issued a contract on them that was fulfilled the moment the-two-of-you signed your contracts.”
“That was rather cold-blooded!” Ka said firmly. “The Guild now kills innocent people.”
“Get over yourself Number-One. Do you think you’ve never fulfilled a contract that killed an innocent person?”
Ka lowered her eyes, “You’ve always told me that the contract deserved to die. Were you deliberately lying to me?”
The Guild Leader’s expression revealed his fear, “No, I told you what information we had on the contract. But accidents do happen, Number One, and if someone can afford a contract, they can have someone targeted. It is possible that the purchaser gave us bad information.” The Guild Leader paused and said, “The Council needed their spots on the cruise for you to take. They couldn’t afford being sued by the ones you’re replacing and decided their demise was necessary to the survival of the colonies.” The Guild Master smiled slightly, “They gave their lives to insure our way of life.”
Tal leaned back in his chair, “How many tourists are going on this cruise to Earth?”
“More than six-thousand.”
“What was it about this couple that made you choose them for us to mimic?” Ka asked.
The Guild Leader shrugged, “They chose to not genetically modify their exteriors and refused to take the shot that would allow them to change their appearance. That will allow you to move around Earth without standing out in the local population.”
“Say What?” Tal responded.
“They never changed their normal appearance!” The Guild Master said forcefully as he repeated himself, “They never took the shot that allowed them to genetically manipulate their appearance. They kept their normal genetic appearance without making any modifications. That will allow you to blend in with Earth’s population.”
Tal turned to Ka and still saw no reaction on her face. The brutal decision to kill two-humans because they tried to make their life simple was a clear insight into the society they were a part of. No one was safe from the government; and the Assassin’s Guild was the government’s most lethal weapon to impose its will. Now, that dangerous guild was turning its two-best assassins toward a scientist on Earth. Whoever they were, their chance of survival wasn’t very good.
The Guild Master turned to his computer and waved a hand at them, “The couple’s transport is out front of this building waiting for the two-of-you to go back to their house. Complete the transfer and mimic process here and get moving; their neighbors think they’ve gone grocery shopping. The groceries they purchased are still in the transport. Keep in mind that you will be going as a married couple, so act accordingly.”
“You must have just taken them out at the grocery store,” Ka said off-handedly.
“As a matter of fact, it was done in the grocery store’s parking lot; we’ve had a team following them for more than a week. We knocked them out in their home three-days ago and used transfer bands in their sleep to provide you with their memories when you accepted this contract. So, hurry up and get the process moving. You’re leaving on the cruise in two-days and you need to get their memories and appearances in place immediately.”
Ka stood up, picked up the package with the transfer and mimic data, walked into a separate room, and closed the door. Tal watched her and sighed, as he picked up his package and walked out of the Guild Master’s office to another room. The Guild Master smiled; this turned out better than he planned. If they failed and were killed, he’d keep the bribes. If they carried out the contract, they would come back and remove the bribers; either way, he came out richer. It was going to be a good day. He didn’t tell them about the danger of Earth’s security forces. They’d find that out on their own.
Chapter Two
Tal waited as the transfer of the man’s memories was being done and wondered what would happen if the colonies’ general population knew about the guild’s advanced genetic modification injection. It was a top secret and only the top-ten-assassins in the guild were given the shot, allowing them to replace another person. It allowed the assassin to physically change their bodies to an exact duplicate of another person along with transferring that person’s memories into the assassin’s brain. The process was called mimicking and only the top-ten-ranked assassins were given the ability. It was this ability that made this elite group of killers so dangerous and deadly. Tal knew that if he and Ka refused the contract and dropped out of the top-ten, there would probably be contracts taken out by the guild to kill them. Ka probably figured that out as well.
Tal finished the transfer first and walked out of the transfer room back in to the Guild Master’s office; the Guild Master was no longer there. A woman with bright-purple hair and lime-green eyebrows was waiting for them. She was wearing a chartreuse, skintight, stretch-bodysuit, which left nothing to the imagination. Tal wondered how fashion in the colonies had gotten to be so bizarre over the last hundred-years. It wasn’t enough that everyone was born strikingly beautiful, they had to mess it up with outrageous colors and outfits. Once the general population were able to modify their genetic structure, everyone made changes to their appearance.
He looked in
the mirror before leaving the transfer room and saw he was now six-inches shorter and his hair was black. His normal blue-eyes were unchanged. His powerful frame was also slimmer, and he weighted about thirty-pounds less than before.
Ka stepped out of her room and Tal was amazed at the difference. Gone was the golden colored hair, skin, and blue-eyebrows over her green eyes. She looked…very different. She had long brown hair and fine facial features. She was about two-inches shorter and her chest was more than six-inches smaller. She saw Tal staring at her and cocked her head to the side, “You got something to say?!”
“I think you look a lot better now.”
“Is that so!”
“Those blue-eyebrows didn’t go well with your green eyes.”
Ka shrugged, “All the red-eyebrows were registered to every possible combination.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t remove one of them and assume their look,” Tal responded.
“I’d have had to kill more than four-thousand to get a look with red-eyebrows.” She smirked, “You didn’t have to change much; all you had was orange colored hair with purple eyebrows. Doesn’t really seem worth the effort for that little bit of change.” Tal only shrugged in response.
The woman with purple hair nodded, “I agree with you about red eyebrows; red is a very popular color. If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to your transport.”
Ka looked at Tal, “We need to operate out of the memories we just transferred until we get to Earth.”
Tal tilted his head, “You are aware that this couple were very demonstrative in their affection?”
“We don’t have an option.”
Tal expression changed slightly, “Why is that?”
“The Guild Master didn’t tell us that the couple we’re replacing is going on a reunion cruise with fifty-couples they know. They are very well known and if we don’t act like them…”
“We’ll be discovered,” Tal completed. Ka nodded. “I’m going into the memories now.” Ka closed her eyes, opened them, and a moment later, went forward and hugged him. He put his arm around her, as the woman led them out to their vehicle.
• • •
Tal was surprised that the woman always did the driving. He knew Ka didn’t like it either; she preferred her hands to be free in the event she needed them. She frowned when she went around to the driver’s side of the transport and Tal said softly, “My mimic doesn’t know how to drive.” Ka rolled her eyes and went back into the woman’s transferred memories. They arrived at the couple’s home and unloaded the groceries. They put the groceries away and went to the bedroom. Ka stopped them there and Tal smiled. Ka saw him and held up a hand, as she walked around the bedroom. She kept her hand up, moved it around the room, and suddenly went to a post on the bed. She wiped her hand over it and said, “That removes the sending device.”
“You don’t think it would have been better to leave it in place?”
“We are going to have to get some things straight between us and it’s better to do it now than later,” Ka replied. “Besides, they expect us to find any devices. I suspect this one was to keep track of the couple we replaced. Did you know about the device?” Tal nodded. “First things first, I am the lead on this contract!” Ka stated. Tal nodded. “I’m serious, Tal! You will follow my instructions to the letter!”
“You’re Number One.”
Ka’s expression turned derisive, “You don’t agree with me!”
Tal shrugged, went to a couch, and sat down. He nodded to the spot beside him and, after hesitating slightly, Ka sat down beside him. He put his arm over her shoulders and he felt her tense up, “You might as well start getting used to it now,” Tal said with a neutral tone. “We have two-days and both of us are going to have to get used to being touched by the other and appear that we like it, right?” Ka exhaled sharply and nodded. Tal continued, “I will accept you as the lead if that is what you want.”
‘But you have reservations about it?” Ka replied sharply.
“I do.”
“Why? I’m have a higher rank in the guild, along with more experience and talent.”
“If you say so.”
Ka’s eyes narrowed, and her expression turned angry, “Oh, you think you’re better?”
“No, I’m just different. Why did you join the Guild?”
“That’s none of your business!”
“Ka, everything about you is now my business; neither of us are accustomed to working with a partner.” He continued calmly, “If we’re going to survive this contract, we need to trust each other and not limit our possible responses to bad situations; why did you join?”
“Why don’t you answer that question first and I’ll consider telling you afterwards.”
Tal stared at her and then gazed at the fake fireplace, “Someone took out a contract on my parents.”
“Why would that bother you? Children are separated from their parents at three-years-old to be educated. You’d have never known them,” Ka interrupted.
“My parents found me when I was ten and I stayed with them until I went to work in the genetics industry.” Ka nodded her understanding and Tal continued, “They were old-fashioned and believed that children should be raised in a family.” Ka’s eyes narrowed. Tal smiled, “I was a genetic engineer and considered one of the best in the colonies.”
“Go on.”
“A very wealthy man tried to get my mother to spend some time with him on his estate; she turned him down.”
“Why would she do that?”
Tal shrugged, “She loved my father too much to have any desire to be with anyone else; like I said, they were old-fashioned.”
“That’s unusual.”
“I think it’s called love, Ka. I suspect this couple we’re mimicking is very much like them. Anyway, the man took it personally and paid for a contract to kill both. The Guild accepted it and my parents died. I decided to do something about it.” Tal paused and then continued, “I approached the Guild Master and asked to join the guild.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew that one day that man who paid for my parents to die would have a contract taken out on him. I aced the Guild’s training and…”
“What was your score?” Ka interrupted.
“Ninety-nine-point-nine.”
“I’ve never heard of a score that high. If you’re telling the truth, that score would have automatically put you in the top-ten ranking.”
“I told the Guild Master that I would not become an agent unless he agreed to my requirements.”
“Agents never make requirements to join!”
“Like I said, I aced the training. The Guild Master really wanted me as an agent and he was willing to bargain.”
“What were your requirements?”
Tal sighed, “That I would only accept revenge-contracts and that half of what I made would go to the Guild if he agreed. Further, if a contract ever came in for my parent’s murderer, he would give it to me.”
“You can’t be serious!”
“I also required that I not be given a high-rank in the guild; I wanted my ability kept secret. I started at the bottom like all new agents.” Ka peered at him in silence and Tal knew she didn’t believe him. “My first contract was to kill a rich man who took a contract to kill a man’s wife, who chose her husband over him. The husband wasn’t rich, but he saved for a very long time to have the funds to take the contract out. You know how expensive guild contracts are and the Guild Master made it my first contract.”
“How long after training did that happen?”
“Three-months, Ka. However, just killing that man wasn’t enough to bring the woman’s husband peace. I developed a poison from the Jaka Snake on New Asia.”
“That poison kills instantly!” Ka interrupted.”
Tal smiled, “Remember, I was one of the best genetic engineers in the colonies. I modified the snake’s poison and changed its properties. The new poison takes six-months to kill anyone infect
ed by it and, there is no antidote! Anyone injected with the poison slowly decays to a very slow, painful, death. Most end up killing themselves before the poison kills them. I eventually killed the man who killed my parents; that contract was the most satisfying I ever accepted.”
Ka, still unsure, turned to the fire and asked, “How did you get to be Number Two?”
“The Guild Master was greatly impressed with what I did on my first contract. Whenever someone discussed a revenge killing with him, he showed them recordings of the man I killed. They instantly demanded that I be the one given the contract. My price was low, and I was covered up in contracts from that moment forward. You have no idea how many people in the colonies want revenge for the death of someone close to them.”
“But to be Number Two in the Guild, you had to make an enormous sum.”
Tal nodded, “Like I said, you have no idea how many deaths are attributed to Guild Contracts out in the colonies. My rank kept going up and I lowered my price again to stay out of the top-ten, but eventually knew I’d have to go into retirement to avoid it. The Guild Master also refused to continue to honor my low price in taking a contract on a wealthy target; he said it was hurting the guild to continue doing it. I’m number-two and I’ve been doing all I can to avoid being Number One.”
Ka’s eyes narrowed, “Are you telling me you would be Number One if you had accepted full-price for your contracts?”
“Ka, I’ve sought out people who wanted a contract but couldn’t afford it. I’d contact them and do it for free.”
“That’s against guild policy!”
Tal shrugged, “Who’s going to challenge me, Ka? The policy actually states that receiving payment for a killing outside the guild is forbidden. I never took a payment for those deaths.”
“Does the Guild Master know about it?” Tal nodded. Ka said quietly, “I suspect that’s why you’re going on this contract with me.”