by Saxon Andrew
“Do we know it’s a he?”
“Yes, but the insider doesn’t know anything about his appearance.”
“If he intends to eliminate them, his best chance is to do it before they arrive on Earth. He’ll know that everyone will be watched closely there.”
“That’s what we’re hoping. So back off and we’ll pick up the chase if they arrive on Earth.”
“I wouldn’t allow Dr. Meier to come back to Orlando until this ship leaves Earth, Sir.”
“You’re thinking that all this may be an elaborate hoax and that the single assassin is the one sent to find him.”
Duncan nodded, “Something like that.”
“Major, our insider has never been wrong and is certain that this mission is to remove that couple you’ve been watching. Once that couple has been eliminated, the other assassin will blend in with the other tourists and head back to the colonies.”
“You’re putting a lot of trust in the insider, Sir.”
The man’s expression turned hard, “Major Montana, you can take it to the bank; what we’ve been told is accurate beyond doubt. So, follow your orders and back off trailing that couple.”
“Sir, I placed a remote tracker on the woman’s luggage when she boarded, do you want the frequency?”
“Send it to me and you may keep track of them with the tracker, but I don’t want you anywhere near them.”
“Yes, Sir.” The hologram disappeared, and Duncan muttered, “Idiot!” He sighed and picked up the do-not-disturb sign. He went to the door and opened it. He stepped out in the corridor as he held the spotter and stood staring at it, wondering if he was perhaps being watched. While he struggled with what to do, Zak, slipped around him and out into the corridor. Duncan finally decided and put the placard on the door handle. He could always say he was hoping to see the assassin take out the couple.
• • •
It was a good thing that their cabin was on the same side of the corridor as the Major’s cabin. The spotter on the Major’s door wouldn’t be able to see their cabin door open. Zak stood against the wall twice to allow passengers to pass and waited until the corridor was clear. He knocked on the door once, waited a second, and knocked three-times. Jil opened the door and Zak went inside. He changed his image to Zak and Jil asked, “What did you find out?”
Zak pulled the recorder from his leg, went to his bag, and removed a small player. He inserted the recorder and sat down on the bed as the player showed an image of the Major activating a device on his desk, “Listen and learn,” Zak said as Jil stared at the small display. After it ended, Jil turned to him and Zak said softly, “Zak and Jil are going to have to die on this ship.”
“There’s more than that, Zak. Someone inside the Guild is working with Earth. They know everything that’s going on.”
“Jil, whoever the insider is, they also have access to the guild computer; they may not be a member of the guild.”
“How did you make that determination?”
“Notice that the Insider says that there is only one assassin sent to take out Zak and Jil. They’re wrong about that and, if they were getting their information from the Guild Master, they would know that a couple was sent, not a single assassin. They got this information from the guild’s computer.”
Jil thought about it and then her eyes widened, “You’re right, Zak. The two-contacts the Guild Master made with Sig were only with him and he blocked his image; the woman was never on them. They’re using the guild computer to gather information.” Jil paused and shook her head, “But that doesn’t exclude them from being a member of the guild.”
“I agree, but I don’t think the Insider is an assassin.”
“Why not?’
“Because they would have to have direct constant access to the computer to take information from it. That would require them to always be close to it. If they were an assassin, they would be forced to go out on contracts.”
“They could have a device like yours that allows you remote access.”
“I highly doubt that, Jil.”
“Why?”
“It took the greatest computer mind in the colonies to develop my device. No one on Earth is that good and no one in the colonies, outside of the woman that built mine, could pull it off,” Zak insisted. “I know she would never work with Earth. She only built my device to keep me safe and told me that she believes in the Council and the work they’re doing.”
Jil raised an eyebrow and stood up, “What are you doing?” Zak asked.
“The Major says he put a tracking device in my luggage. That has to go!”
“NO!”
Jil stopped and turned back toward him, “Why not?”
“If we disable it or remove it, he’ll know we’re on to him. Besides, I think we’re going to need it to kill Zak and Jil.”
“What are you thinking?”
“Jil, I think it’s past time I showed you how the escape pods operate.” Jil stared at him and then started laughing. Zak frowned, “I’m not kidding.”
“I know, Zak. I can see what you have in mind. However, it’s time I started trusting you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve shared some of your best technology with me and it’s time I returned the favor. For your plan to work, we need to be able to communicate.” Jill went to her luggage and took out a small leather pouch. She took out a-tiny-round-object and handed one to Zak, “Swallow it.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a communicator. All you have to do is speak what you want to say sub-vocally, and I’ll hear it.” Zak held the device and Jil asked with a smile, “Do you trust me?” Zak stared at her for a long moment and swallowed it. Zak looked at her and saw her throat moving slightly, as he heard clearly, “Just say the words silently in your mouth and they’ll be sent to me.”
Zak tried and Jil chuckled, “You’re moving your lips. Say your words without opening your mouth.”
Zak focused and said with his mouth closed, “Can you hear me?”
Jil smiled, “Now was that so hard?”
“But will I hear double when you’re speaking normally.”
“No, the increased volume of my voice won’t activate the device. It will only send at a much lower volume.” Zak was staring past her with a blank stare; Jil saw he was troubled, “What’s bothering you, Zak?”
“Why would you need a device like this, Jil? You said you always worked alone. This device would only be needed if you had to communicate with someone else. I’ve seen all of your contracts in the guild’s computer and in none of them did you ever use anyone else to assist you.”
Jil stared at him for a very long moment, then looked away, before answering, “I use it to communicate with my daughter.” Zak’s expression showed he was dumbfounded. Jil continued, “You’ve told me some things about yourself and your actions have proven that I believe I can trust you. What danger would my daughter be in if anyone knew about her, Zak?”
Zak forced himself to think and saw what it meant, “She would be used by other assassins as a hostage to lure you in to kill you.”
Jil nodded, “And I’m taking your offer to protect me in the future to include my daughter. Can I count on you to do that?”
Zak nodded, “You can. However, I never knew you were married. It’s not in your records in the guild’s computer.”
Jil paused and said softly, “My husband was one of my first contracts and my daughter paid for it.” Zak was shocked. Jil sighed, “I guess it’s time I told you why I joined the guild.” Zak sat back against the bed’s headboard and waited for her to start.
Chapter Six
Ka sat at the foot of the bed gazing at the floor. “I graduated first in my class with an electronics degree from New Europe Technical Institute.” Tal’s eyes widened. That was the highest ranked technical university in the colonies. “I was hired right out of school to go to work for a major company on Avalon. I quickly developed several inventions that led to s
ix-patents that made the company a lot of money. The owner came to visit me one day to thank me for my work and I could see he was very interested in me. I’d never met him before, but he began wooing me immediately afterwards. He was extremely wealthy, and I was flattered that he wanted me to spend time with him. He was handsome, well-educated, wealthy, and spared no expense to get my attention. Within the year he asked me to marry him, and I agreed.”
“What company was it?” Zak asked.
Jil turned to him, “Does it matter?”
“No, I guess it doesn’t.”
She looked back at the floor and continued, “Three-years later, my daughter was born. She was, and still is, the light of my life. My life couldn’t have been better, and I was never so happy as that time in my life. However, things started changing when my daughter turned twelve-years old. She looked very much like me and I began noticing the way my husband was looking at her; it began to concern me. One day he tried to kiss her in a romantic manner; she slapped him and forced her way out of his embrace. He hit her so hard he knocked her unconscious. He apologized profusely and said he lost control and didn’t mean to do it…but his expressions didn’t change when he looked at her. I suddenly realized, he wasn’t the man I thought he was. I looked in his personal computer one day, when he was away visiting a company off planet, and discovered he had three other wives on other planets. I used his computer to find out who they were and where they were located. When he returned, I convinced him that I wanted to take a vacation with our daughter and visit some of the other colonies. He was suspicious initially, but I manage to pull it off. I persuaded him that she needed to know about the other colonies and he finally agreed.
I managed to slip security and visited all three-families on other planets. They all had the same story.” Jil turned to Zak. “All of them had lost daughters when they were fifteen-years old. Their sons were left alone but their daughters went missing. The mothers didn’t know what happened to them; one-day they were home, the next they were gone and never showed up again. My husband convinced them that they were abducted to use as hostages to force him to pay a huge ransom. He insisted he never received a ransom request and that the kidnappers must have killed them to avoid being found. He divorced them for their safety, he told them, and left them large sums to live on.”
“Do you know what happened to them?” Jil stared at Zak and didn’t answer. Zak sighed, “It doesn’t matter. Your daughter was close to fifteen and you saw him as a real danger to her.”
Jil nodded. After a moment, she continued, “My daughter and I had large banking accounts in our names and I started syphoning money out of them into a secret account opened under a fictitious name I created for my daughter. By the time she was fourteen, the number of credits in the account was huge and he didn’t even notice them missing. My daughter had listened to the other mothers talk about what happened and knew she was in danger. We arranged a way out.
One day we went out in one of the company’s flyers and I put a remote-control device in it that I had preloaded flight instructions. We landed outside the city, exited the flyer, and activated the remote control. The flyer flew away, then turned and headed back toward the city. It appeared to lose power and then start a long dive where it hit a major electrical transfer station.” Zak’s eyes went wide. Jil saw it and smiled, “The blast could be seen above the planet. The flyer was vaporized, and nothing remained to be examined. I had set up a different identity for my daughter and me more than a month before and we moved into a small home on the outside of a city on the other side of the planet from my husband’s company. We changed our appearances, and no one recognized us. However, both of us realized it was just a matter of time until we made a mistake and he found us. He had to go.”
“So, you joined the guild to hide from him.”
“I joined the guild to kill him, Zak. I passed the training and handled my first assignments easily. My daughter looked older than fourteen and she went to work in a factory near our home. I became quite adept at handling my contracts and my reputation began to gain the attention of the Guild Master. After a year had passed, I went to the Guild Master and told him that someone had approached me to take out a contract. He wanted to know how they knew I was an assassin, and I told him I had no idea. However, the person was willing to pay the contract in credits.”
Zak eyebrows went up, “I imagine that got his attention.”
“It did. He saw it as a way to line his own pockets; he agreed to allow me to take the contract and keep it a secret. My daughter took large denomination credits out of the account we set up for her new identity and I went and killed the son-of-a-bitch.”
“That kill wasn’t in your records,” Zak said softly.
“No, it wasn’t. The Guild Master pocketed the credits and promised that he would keep me in high-paying contracts. He kept his promise and I kept my mouth shut.”
“But now you were trapped.” Jil shrugged and nodded. Tal continued, “You took the only legal route to remove your husband but if you tried to leave the guild, the Guild Master would have been too worried about you using the bribe you gave him against him and he’d put out a contract on you.”
“That’s how I saw it.”
“And if you had reunited with your daughter, she would have died with you.” Jil nodded. “That threat died with the former Guild Master, Jil.”
“Yes, but I had no idea that would happen and accepted the change in my genetic abilities. Now, I’m still trapped. The guild will never allow me to leave with my enhanced genetic skills.”
“How do you feel about all the death you’ve caused?”
“How do you feel about the thousands you’ve killed, Zak?” she replied defensively.
“I guess I don’t allow it to bother me.”
“I do the same. And truthfully, most of the ones I’ve killed deserved it.”
“I understand why you said you will never have feelings for me.” Jil stared at him. “You were fooled once, and you’ll never let it happen again.”
“Zak, you’re a killer extraordinaire. I would never choose to be with a killer.”
“I don’t blame you, Jil. I do understand.”
“I don’t understand why you would want to be with the Number One Assassin in the Guild?”
Zak sighed, “A year ago, you were assigned a contract to kill a wealthy man on Eden.”
Jil’s eyes narrowed, “That contract was called off by the guild.”
“I was there to protect him, Jil. I was there when you confronted him.” Jil’s eyes flew wide open and Zak continued, “That man is my brother and I learned from the guild’s computer that a contract was put out for him. I listened to you tell him why you were there, and he told you about his children. You had a gun in your hand, but you listened to him tell you about all the things he was going to miss if he died. The charities he created and all the good things he was doing on Eden were something he’d regret never completing, along with seeing his daughter married. You turned and left him alive. You then went to the man that took out the contract and killed him. His death removed the contract on my brother. He wouldn’t be around to pay it.”
“How do you know that?”
“I followed you. I was invisible, and you never saw me. I don’t know why I didn’t kill you when you broke into my brother’s office, but I waited until I had no other choice.”
“So, your brother lied to me about all the good things he was doing! He knew he was in no danger.”
“No, Jil, he didn’t know I was there and he honestly thought he was going to die. I’ve never told him I am an assassin; I believe he would never speak to me again if he found out.”
Tal looked away and then turned back to her, “I watched you and I decided that you were the most remarkable woman I’ve ever seen. I never tried to contact you and was excited when I saw that you and I were going to be asked to work together.” Zak shrugged, “I guess I was being dumb and blind. I do understand how you feel and
I’ll honor your feelings and not bring this up again. We’ll work together and get out of this box some way, ok?”
Jil slid up the bed and under his arm. She snuggled in and closed her eyes. Zak wished he knew if it was Jil or Ka under his arm.
• • •
The next morning, Jil woke and heard Tal in the shower. She undressed and joined him. An hour later, they emerged and Jil asked as she dried her hair, “So how do we do this?”
“I’ve looked in my database and found a step-by-step instruction on how to operate an escape pod in the event the pilot isn’t available.”
“Is it complicated?”
“No, Jil, it can’t be and have a passenger operate it. There are three-things that must be done to launch a pod.” Jil nodded and listened. “The first-thing is to push the handle on the left-side of the console fully forward, hold it there, and press the red button beside it until it turns green.”
Jil repeated, “Ok, push the handle forward, press and hold the red button.”
Zak nodded, “The next thing you do is press a bright yellow button on the top-right of the console until it illuminates.”
“What does that do?” Jil asked.
“It closes the covering over the pod’s launch tube. It prevents the pod’s engines from blowing into the corridor.”
“Does it close the door to the pod.”
“No Jil, it doesn’t. Pressing the large black button in the center of the console closes the door and launches the pod. I’m working on how to make that happen and allow us to get out.”
“Don’t worry about it, Zak. I’ll handle that.”
“Can you handle it?”
Jil smiled, “I can.”
“I’m going to need some time before we exit the pod.”
“What are you going to do?”
Zak smiled, “Make sure they don’t come looking for us.”
“That sounds exciting.”