by Frank Carey
The back part of the building was dark. He looked up and saw a dead flood light. The darkness didn't bother the assassin. Being an elf, he could see in the dark. He made his way to a window. Being careful not to trip the perimeter alarm, the assassin jimmied the window open and made his way inside. He stopped and listened as a guard stopped outside the room. A moment later, the door opened followed by the guard panning the beam from a hand torch around the room. The assassin wasn't concerned about being caught. His stealth camouflage suit hid him from anything short of a precision scan. Satisfied, the guard reported in. "False alarm, the area is clear. He closed the door and continued with his patrol, but not before tapping his earpiece three times.
Once the guard moved off, the assassin quietly made his way to the sitting room where he found the Lady Mira sitting in front of a large TV screen. Seeing no one else in the room, the assassin took out his silencer-equipped slug thrower and aimed it at the back of Lady Mira's head. "Milady, divorce is never the answer," he said as he pulled the trigger twice.
He heard two coins hit the floor, precessing faster and faster before coming to an abrupt stop. He looked at the gun, then at the lady's head. He fired again. Another coin fell to the ground. This time, the lady stood up and turned to face him.
It wasn't Lady Mira.
It wasn't an elf.
It was a creature of fire and anger, its face contorted by rage. It let loose with a scream that would cause a banshee's blood to curdle. The creature reached over its shoulder and drew a burning sword from a scabbard on its back and raised it over its flaming head as if it were planning to cleave the Assassin in two. The assassin did what anyone would do when faced with this kind of horror.
He fainted.
The lights came on while the creature sheathed its sword before moving to stand against the wall. Meanwhile, Royce and Nayla ran into the room with weapons drawn. Royce walked over to the assassin and handcuffed him before tapping his earpiece. "This is Team Leader. Assassin is in custody. Return to normal patrol. Be vigilant."
"What the plark?" Nayla growled while stripping off the telepresence headset she was using to control the skin suit. "He fainted?"
"Well, you are a very convincing demon."
"You think the flames were too much?"
"No, your performance was spot on. Gloria will be so happy."
"It's a good day when you can test ordinance and capture an assassin."
"Major, you have used your powers for good."
"Thank you, sir."
The assassin stirred.
"Let's get you on the couch," Royce said before picking the perp up one-handed. He looked over at Nayla as he saw the expression on her face. "What?"
"He weighs at least eighty kilos. You could ask for help."
"Yes, Major, I could, but I must continue to impress you and the rest of the team."
"Copy that, sir."
"Oooh..." the assassin said as he slowly opened his eyes. "What happened?"
"You have been arrested by Elf Marine Expeditionary Force Team Eight on charges of attempted murder, breaking and entering, trespassing and being a wuss," Royce explained. "My name is General Royce Aymar and this is my second in command, Major Nayla Hardy."
Nayla gave a small nod. The assassin looked around her at the suit standing against the wall. "Prototype telepresence suit courtesy of Elven Industries. It has the full camouflage package."
"It's a machine?"
"Uh-huh. Completely bullet proof." Nayla replied. She reached down and picked up a flattened bullet, one of the sources of the coin noise. "And it's been recording you from the moment you entered the room. It also has several weapons trained on you, so no funny business."
The assassin nodded.
"Son, what is your name?" Royce asked.
"Jaekle," the assassin replied.
"As in the Earth canid scavenger?" Nayla asked
The assassin nodded.
"Wow. OK."
Royce continued. "Who do you work for?"
Silence.
"Why did you mention divorce right before you shot the suit?"
Silence.
Royce shook his head. "Stand up."
Jaekle got to his feet. Royce ran a scanner over him, then put on gloves before frisking him and turning out his pockets. Jaekle carried the normal assortment of burglar tools and weapons. One item did stand out--an odd-looking coin. Seeing this, Royce said, "Sit!" before examining the coin more closely.
"What is that, sir?"
"It’s called a token and its used by underworld types to exchange funds. Jaekle!"
The assassin looked up and saw Royce put the token on a table. The general then raised his rifle as if about to crush it. Jaekle's eyes went wide as the blood drained from his face. "Nooooooo!" he wailed.
"Yeah. This is your payment, isn't it?"
The assassin nodded.
"Been in this business long?"
The assassin just stared, silent and surly.
"One final question. Are you the only one left holding the contract?"
More silence.
Royce tapped his earpiece. "Computer, request secure link to OffSec local office... Hello, this is EMEF General Aymar. I have an attempted murder at the following location and need a pickup... Yes, that General Aymar... Yes, I know about Simpson..." He watched Jaekle but saw no reaction. "Yes, my team and I plan to stay... Thank you. Aymar out." He tapped the earpiece. "Your ride will be joining us shortly. Jaekle, you will soon make your way back to Ventos Prime where you will be tried for crimes against the Ventosian People. If you survive, I suggest you find a new line of work."
Jaekle just stared, his surliness quickly draining away.
###
Mira and Samuel joined them as OffSec took Jaekle away. Her eyes went wide when she saw the skin suit standing against the wall. "What did we miss?"
Royce explained.
"So, we're safe now?"
"For now. We're going to stick around until EarthSec and OffSec take over. Now, you two get some sleep while we keep an eye on things."
"Royce, how can I thank you and your team? You've saved my life and Samuel's life."
"Mira, no thanks are necessary. This is what we do. Now, scoot."
She smiled and walked off with Samuel close behind.
"Nayla, I want you and the team to get some sleep while I take first watch."
"Are you sure, sir?"
"Affirmative, Major. I was never one for a lot of sleep, especially after the Cube incident. You and the others get some rest. I'll wake you in a few hours."
"Yes, sir. Good morning, sir."
Royce sat down and pulled out his data pad. He called up an image of the token. On both sides were an image of a face, like that taken from an ancient coin. Something about the image seemed familiar, but Royce just couldn't place it.
Chapter 16 - Marta Awakens
Marta awoke to the mother of all headaches trying to break out of her skull. She opened first one eye, then the other before sitting up in bed. "Oh, lord, what the hell just happened?" she asked while holding her head in her hands. Looking down, she noticed her dress was gone, replaced by a military-style one-piece jump suit. "Dammit, I loved that dress."
Checking her pockets for any clue to where she was or why she was here, she found a folded sheet of paper. She opened it and read it, though the headache made it difficult. "Dear Lucien... No, no, no!" She yelled. "I didn't write this!"
"Actually, you did."
Marta looked up and saw a tall male elf standing in front of the door, a shopping bag sitting on the floor next to him. "Who the hell are you?" she demanded
"The name is Alex, and not only did you write that note, you also visited your kids, told them about your husband's infidelities, and even gave them a video showing him with a young doxie. You were very busy before coming here."
"You lying piece of shit!" she screamed as she shot out of bed. She stopped when he raised a pistol and pointed it at her. "Why are you doing this?
"
"To buy time. Your family is a threat to this operation, so I threw in some chaos to slow them down. Now..."
Alarms went off outside the door.
"Problems?" Marta asked as she sat back down.
Alex tapped his earpiece "Alex. Report." He listened for a moment. "Keep me posted. Out."
"So?"
"Nothing that concerns you. I have people who handle problems, and they are dealing with the situation."
"So, there's a situation?"
"Stop it. You're giving me a headache."
"Oh, I promise, a headache is the least of your worries. If I was kidnapped in the hope of collecting ransom, then you are fresh out of luck. If you're trying to get me to give up secrets, then I should warn you that I've been conditioned not to tell you anything."
He pulled out a piece of paper and showed it to her. "Like the go codes for the Can Crusher? You gave those up in return for a single kiss from Meena." He reached down and withdrew an object from the bag. "I think this is from the transport rack for the Can Crusher package, is it not?"
She took it from him and examined it closely. "You have it here? In this complex? Do you know how dangerous the package is? You must be mad. What planet are we on?"
The door opened and a woman wearing battle armor rushed in, grabbed Marta by the throat, and pushed her up against the wall, sending the rack across the room. "How many of those things does Aymar have and how the plark do I shut them off?" she screamed.
"Gurgle," Marta replied while trying to break the woman's grip.
There was an audible click as Alex pulled back the hammer on the pistol he had aimed at the woman's head. "Hera! Stand down. Release her, or so help me God, I will pull this damn trigger."
Hera dropped Marta, but Alex continued to aim his weapon at her head.
"So, Meena, your real name is Hera. Damn, what the hell did I ever see in a gutless bitch like you?"
"Answer my question, General."
"Did those 'things' have long bodies with lots of legs?"
"Yes..."
They're fully autonomous security bots," Marta lied. "They are designed to swarm an area, hunt down any living entity, and kill the ones it doesn't recognize. If Lucien is following protocol, there should be at least a hundred of them out there testing your perimeter defenses. Your problem is that Lucien never follows protocol, so he's probably fielded an equal number of snakebots, ratbots, and robofelines, all equipped with lasers and blasters. I suggest you don't leave the building anytime soon."
"What are their shutdown codes?"
"What part of 'autonomous' do you not understand, bitch? The only way those things get shut down is if my husband walks out there and talks them down."
"And if he's dead?"
"You, and everyone in this facility, will die. The bots have a power cell good for a year."
Hera looked like she was about to explode. "We'll talk later," Alex said as he shuffled Hera out the door, then closed and locked it behind them. When she was sure they were gone, she removed the communicator she had lifted off Alex from the blanket she had hidden it under and started to make adjustments.
###
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Alex yelled. "We need her, and you're threatening her? What the hell happened out there?"
She explained. "Alex, how the hell did they find us so quickly?"
"I don't know. The Irithyls should have been in turmoil for at least a month, yet Lucien is standing outside the field with a freighter hovering next to him and security bots patrolling around him."
"Why are you calling him Lucien?"
"Don't you plarking read the papers?"
"No. News unrelated to the job is boring."
"What? Never mind. A long time ago, Lucien Irithyl was kidnapped and handed over to a family called Aymar who named him Harmon. He married Marta when they were in their late teens. They had a daughter and ten years later, he had the breakdown of all breakdowns. He developed a second personality that hijacked a pile of nanobots. Somehow, the personality escaped while Harmon survived and went to work for OffSec. A year ago, during an op in the Alue universe, Harm was fatally shot. He reappeared a month later, very much alive and very different. He dropped the Harmon name and took his birth name, Lucien. Not only that, he donated all his ships to the Merchant Space Academy, donated his workshop and its contents to the city college, and quit smuggling for good, opting instead to be Ventos Prime's Ambassador at Large. Word has it he can't fly worth shit, and his ability to use hacker balls is gone. Now, he's just a bureaucrat. Harmon Aymar is dead. He died on Alura, the Alue home world.”
"Shit. What happened to the second personality?"
"Ever hear of Atmar?"
Hera's face went ashen as she swallowed hard. "Who hasn't? Wait, you mean the second personality was Atmar? The last I heard, Atmar was married to the pirate admiral Mitrell."
"Yep. It seems Atmar was able to super clone a body. Scuttlebutt has it he and Harmon merged to form Lucien. If that's true, you may have just faced down the worst psychopath ever produced by the League."
She pressed a button and the armor opened up so she could walk out. She pressed a button on its shoulder, and it sealed up, then headed up the hallway to its recharging cradle. "What now?"
"I want a full status report on the package, the building, and the corvette. Remember, that ship is our only way out of here."
"Yes, sir."
"And I want your word that you will not bother the General."
She nodded. “Yes, sir, you have it."
"We need to get this place in order before Tregga arrives."
She nodded. "Yes, sir."
"Get to work. We're running out of time."
Chapter 17 - Ventosian Intrigue
Shenda stared at her uncles and aunt while they stared back at her. She crossed her arms. They crossed their arms. She crossed her legs. They crossed their legs. Finally, she broke. "Stop it!"
"Stop what?" Anne asked, her eyebrows raised.
"You know what," she said.
Randy and Nels shrugged, then shook their heads.
Shenda threw her head back and rubbed her face with her hands. "I hate this."
Anne leaned forward. "Hate what?"
"Feeling like a fifth wheel. Christa and Grendel are helping Aunt Losi and Neta while Trent and Bobby are helping them track down leads. What am I doing? I'm staring at you three."
An aide walked in carrying a communications folder. "I'll take that," Anne said. Once in hand she thanked the aide before leaning back and reading it. She broke into a smile. "They found Marta." She handed the report to Losira.
"Where?"
"A deep bore site in the middle of the Simpson Desert on Earth."
"What about the Can Crusher?" Netalla asked.
"They suspect it’s on site, but there is no confirmation. EarthSec tried to enter the facility, but encountered a corvette hovering cloaked above the facility... Dammit, Lucien, are you trying to get your-self killed?" Losira handed the folder to Neta. "Only Lucien would think it proper to stare-down someone in an armored power suit."
Neta read through the folder. "My Queen, we have to cut Adrestia off at this end. We need to find their leadership and bring them to justice."
"I agree, but the question is how do we do it?" Losira said. "This organization is particularly well hidden, and we have no information about it."
"Nothing on the InterWebs?" Randy asked.
"Not even the dark one," Christa explained. "I've run discrete searches using state-of-the-art web bots and have found nada, even when we cross-correlate with known kills. Hell, even this op doesn't appear."
"So, where is the data?" Anne asked. "There has to be a money trail."
The three neos' crystals strobed, a sign they were putting their thinking caps on. "Christa, could they be using a private IWU?" Randy asked.
"A private InterWeb unit to create their own data network? Yeah, it's possible. It would cost money, but t
hey could even span planetary systems using rented bandwidth on existing comm satellites. We're talking a lot of money, though."
"And not just the data paths," Grendel added. "They'd have to have a way of laundering money which would require access to banks and legitimate businesses."
"Dammit, we need to get into their InterWeb." Losira said.
"Assuming there is one, and we can find an access point, can we legally tap into their system?"
Losi buzzed in an aide. "Mary, I want the AG in here, now."
"Yes, My Queen." The aide left.
Shortly, Attorney General Hans Grifteck walked in. "You called, My Queen?"
"Hans, we've got a sticky one for you," Losira said before launching into an explanation of what was going on. "So, do we have enough to get a special warrant under the National Security Act?"
Hans sat down and carefully read everything. "In my opinion, we can, but we have to be careful."
"Why?" Neta asked.
"I was an R-Sec agent long before you became chief. One thing I learned was to suspect everyone. According to Agent Tavish's report, there are a number of government officials on the boards of directors of Adrestia-owned companies. It doesn't take much to imagine that there are officials who are complicit in this sordid affair as well. For instance, we'll need a judge to sign a warrant. Who do we trust?"
"You're right, old friend, who do we trust?" She tapped a tooth for a minute, then picked up a commlink and dialed a number. "Mother? This is Losira. Could you come to the lounge for a moment? We need your sage advice... Yes, I did just say I need your advice. Thanks. Bye."
A few minutes later, a visibly happy Lenora, Dowager Queen Mother of Ventos Prime, walked in and smiled at her children and grandchildren as she walked over to sit next to Losira. "What's up?"
Losira explained.
"Her Honor Judge Rena Sousa. She's as honest as the day is long and a stickler for procedure. She knows what can happen if someone opens their mouth. She and I have come to loggerheads a few times, but I trust her with my life."
"Hans?"
"Her Majesty is correct. Judge Sousa is beyond reproach. I shall arrange a meeting immediately. You should have papers within the hour."
After Hans left, Lenora turned to Losira. "Did I miss a memo?"