by M. D. Cooper
Reece decided to ignore Schramm’s mention of a guide. “As much as I agree with Orion about keeping humanity human, I want them running Akon about as much as I want an AI in my brain. So I’m willing to entertain your offer.”
“Offer?” Schramm blinked.
“My employment contract clearly states that extrastellar travel is not required. Any assignment outside of the agreed parameters must be settled on a case-by-case basis.” As much as she didn’t want the OFA snooping around Rexcare, she wasn’t going to take on a job like this for nothing.
Schramm’s eyes narrowed. “I see. What do you have in mind?”
For a moment, she considered asking for a company car. But the Metro was faster in most cases, and she’d have to deal with the hassle of charging it every day and taking it for maintenance.
Instead, she said, “Making my water bill go away for the duration of my employment would help me out. We can add that to my contract.”
Schramm’s brow crinkled. “You realize there’s no such thing as a corporate water waiver, right?”
“Yup. But I also realize that the water company is owned by a Rexcare subsidiary. So….” She smiled brightly at him.
He chuckled. “Fine. I’ll have Erving write it up.”
“Good. What time should I return to sign?” Same-day signings of documents were rare, but she was sure the execs would want to get this particular matter settled as soon as possible. No doubt they'd throw their whole legal team into getting the job done.
“Actually, it will be noon tomorrow, to coincide with the arrival of your partner. He’s due in then, and you two can meet.”
Reece couldn’t help but notice that ‘guide’ had turned into ‘partner’. She decided to let that slide—for now—and instead asked, “This sounded urgent before, but now you’re willing to wait over a day for me to meet this person?”
“He’s on his way over from Soson, and we’re still working up the brief on Fitzmiller’s research.”
She knew what that meant—she’d be getting a condensed version of the facts. So much for Schramm always being open with the details.
“Great. Looking forward to it.” She couldn’t have been less sincere, but she had no choice so she’d just have to deal with it.
She stood to leave, and Schramm arched an eyebrow. “You don’t want to hear about your partner?”
“Nope. I’d rather draw my own conclusions.” She never trusted another person’s assessment of someone. Not even Aunt Ruth’s. The dear woman tended to see only the good in people.
“Right. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Noon.” She gave him an insolent little salute.
Schramm smirked.
It was a good thing he had a sense of humor or they wouldn’t have been able to work together.
As she waited for the elevator, she wondered what her partner would be like. Someone corporate, most likely. One of the jet-setting kind who was always moving from planet to planet, working deals. Someone who’d have a good understanding of many different places.
Hopefully he was a security consultant and not some stuffy exec. She’d have a hard time spending time with someone so dour.
The rest of her day would be spent packing and preparing. Ugh. She hated packing, and she hated unpacking even more. There were a lot of perfectly good reasons why she didn’t like to travel.
The elevator arrived—thankfully empty—and Reece entered. It knew she was to return to the ground floor without her providing any input, and she leaned against the wall of the elevator, closing her eyes as it descended. With a partner in the offing, it might be her last bit of alone time for quite a while.
NOT PREPARING
DATE: 03.18.8948 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Ohiyo, Akonwara
REGION: Machete System, PED 4B, Orion Freedom Alliance
“You’re supposed to be packing,” Marky pointed out. “Shouldn’t you get going?”
Reece sighed, leaning back in her chair which was located in the back of the betting lounge. The sounds of conversation, laughter, and the occasional groan of defeat, swirled around them. “Why did you have to point that out? I was enjoying hearing about all the recent wagers.”
Gambling was a tremendously popular form of entertainment on Akon. People would bet on anything, from the winner of a sporting competition to the gross tonnage of grains produced in a given growing season. Many of Aunt Ruth’s game shows involved betting. It was a planetary pastime.
“Liar,” Marky drawled. “You’re just procrastinating. It’s a terrible habit.”
Marky made a good living at organizing and running wagers. She was a few years younger than Reece, with short, spiked, naturally blonde hair. On most people, such a severe style wouldn’t work, but it highlighted Marky’s delicate, feminine features.
It would be obnoxious how strikingly lovely Marky was, if weren’t for her dry wit and rotten temper.
“I guess you’re right,” Reece sighed. “Thanks for the list of possible contacts, though. I’m lucky you’re so connected outside Machete. I don’t want this partner—whoever he is—to think I’m not bringing much to this assignment.”
“I just hope you don’t end up killing him. You’re not exactly known for getting along with others.” Marky smiled, but she had a way of making the expression look like less of a happy one, and more of a threat of bad things to come.
Shark-like, Reece had called it on more than one occasion. Predatory.
“Him. And what can I say?” Reece said as she stood and smoothed her jacket. “I like the loner lifestyle. The wearing-of-black-and-being-mysterious kind of thing works for me.”
Marky remained seated, her feet propped on a low table in front of her. “It won’t hurt you to be a little more social. I’m glad you live with your aunt, because I might worry from time to time that you’ve died and your cat has eaten your corpse.”
Reece rolled her eyes. “Rio’s far too picky for that.”
“That’s what you object to about my entire statement? That I’ve maligned your cat’s culinary discretion?”
“Mostly. Though you get two cool points for using ‘maligned’ in a sentence.”
Marky shook her head, but she was smiling. “How many am I up to, now?”
“It’s gotta be just shy of a million.” Reece was only guessing, but her gut said it was an accurate estimation. Marky was probably the coolest person she knew. “So keep trying.”
“If I had to try, it wouldn’t be cool. You’d have to deduct some, or something.”
“Good point,” Reece agreed. “Two more points for deep insight.”
“Sure you don’t want to make a bet before you go?” Marky asked with a wry smile and a wink.
Reece wasn’t much of a gambler, but she floated a wager now and then to please Marky. Since the betting queen had just provided her with a few names that might prove tremendously useful, Reece figured she owed her one. “What’s the hottest wager going right now?”
“Short term or long term?”
“Long.” Reece preferred to keep her eye on the future.
“Actress Vela Mintner announced the impending arrival of her first child yesterday. Bets on the name she’ll choose are hot, and only going to get hotter over the next several months.”
It never ceased to amaze Reece the things that people would bet on. “What’s the biggest-odds bet?”
“Roscoe. It was the name of the character she played in her sim debut. It pays fifty-to-one.” Marky’s answer came immediately. She was an incredible fount of all the minute details of all going betting matters.
“I’ll put fifty credits on it.” Reece fished five ten-credit chips out of her belt and slapped them down on the table in front of Marky.
As Reece straightened, her eyes caught on a guy who stared directly at her. He glanced away, but she’d noticed him looking at her before. It was common enough for people to watch Marky. She was not only beautiful, but also one of the most popular betting
agents on the planet.
Reece considered herself attractive enough, but she tended to exude enough of a back-off air that people’s eyes usually slid right by her. But this guy was standing at a gaming kiosk, and instead of looking at it, his gaze kept tracking back to Reece.
Twice in one day? What is this?
She stared back at him in an open challenge.
He blinked and hurriedly resumed his game.
“Get out of here before you start scaring my clients.” Marky gestured to the door. “And let me know how things go with your new partner. I’m glad it’s a man. One handsome enough to throw your whole carefully planned life out of whack.”
“Now why would you curse me like that?” Reece laughed.
Marky only shrugged in response before turning to a client who had just approached her.
With a wave, Reece made for the door. Marky wasn’t kidding about not liking her clients to be disturbed. There were plenty of other betting lounges, and Marky hated to lose a customer.
Along the way, Reece gave the guy who’d stared at her a quick assessment out of the corner of her eye, storing the image her ocular overlays pulled. She wanted to be able to recognize him if she saw him again.
Two blatant gawkers in one day wasn’t entirely uncommon, but Reece was skeptical of all coincidences.
Yes, she was paranoid. It paid to be, in her line of business.
She shrugged out of her jacket before stepping out into the heat of the day. After a few minutes walking home from the Metro, packing in the cool comfort of her house wouldn’t seem like such a bad thing.
Everything was relative.
THE PARTNER
DATE: 03.19.8948 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Ohiyo, Akonwara
REGION: Machete System, PED 4B, Orion Freedom Alliance
One of the clauses in Reece’s contract with Rexcare stipulated that when she was required to travel for the company, said company would send a car and driver for her.
As a result, she arrived at the corporate headquarters fresh and cool. She quite liked the door-to-door service, and the next time she had a chance to negotiate something new into her contract, a car and driver for all of her official business would be a nice perk.
Such well-defined future plans suited her ambitious nature, as well as her need for security.
“Thank you.” She smiled at the middle-aged driver, who hid his eyes behind dark sunglasses. She took her luggage from him, slinging a small bag over her shoulder and grabbing the handle of the hard-sided rolling suitcase.
He gave her a curt nod, then returned to his car.
She’d barely been able to get a word out of him, which made her suspicious of the man. She was suspicious of anyone who refused to talk. It implied that they had secrets they were afraid of revealing.
Pulling her suitcase behind her, Reece approached the dragons’ lair.
Fortunately, she was on good terms with the dragons. Tavin greeted her warmly. “We’ve been expecting you. I’ve got your authorization all ready to go. Elevator 5.”
“Thanks, Tavin. What would this place do without you?”
Tavin laughed. “Burn to the ground, most likely. Would you like to stow your bags down here so you don’t have to drag them around?”
“Thank you. That’s a kind offer, but I’ll hang on to them.” She smiled to soften the refusal.
Though she’d locked her suitcase, she had no intention of letting it out of her sight until she had to. Some of her favorite tools of her trade were inside.
“Have you seen the other person going up to see Schramm?” she asked. A little insider information never hurt.
Unfortunately, Tavin shook his head. “Sorry. Hasn’t arrived yet.”
“Right. Thanks.”
Once in Schramm’s office, Reece parked her suitcase against the wall and set her bag on a chair. Sitting on the one next to it, she folded her hands in her lap and arched an eyebrow pointedly.
Schramm nodded. “Ready for details, I take it?”
“Of course. As many as you have.”
Schramm absently drew an invisible line across his desk with his forefinger. If he were in a betting lounge, it would be a blatant tell—a sign of deep thought. Here in the corporate setting, it was de rigeur for execs to think carefully before speaking.
Especially with someone like Reece, who had loyalties within the organization and outside as well.
Reece didn’t mind that her employer saw her as a potential threat. To her way of thinking, it showed his esteem for her skills.
After gathering his thoughts, Schramm spoke. “Your target’s name—as I told you last time—is Fitzmiller. He’s a renowned scientist who specializes in developing therapies for relatively new ailments. As a matter of fact, his injection protocol for sunsickness right here on Akon has improved the lives of a great many people. Rexcare was very pleased with his performance in that case, and was hoping he could help us determine the cause of a new variety of cancer we’ve been seeing. It moves fast, Often, patients are inoperable by the time it’s detected. As with sunsickness, we believe it’s unique to our planet, with both genetic and environmental factors.”
Reece understood that to mean ‘inoperable within most people’s budgets’.
“How long has he been working on this?” she asked.
“Two years. We were just moving into the human subjects protocol when Fitzmiller vanished.”
“Human subjects protocol—that means trying things out on real people, right?” She’d gotten accustomed to a lot of the corporate biotech lingo, but sometimes she liked to clarify, just to be sure she wasn’t taking anything for granted, such as cloned tissue in this case.
“Yes. It’s the next stage after simulacrum testing. The research was looking very promising, and then it ground to a halt without Fitzmiller.”
Reece frowned. “Why not carry on without him? Don’t you require obsessive amounts of documentation during research?”
Schramm looked pained. “We do. But part of Fitzmiller’s standard operating procedure is that he only turns over his work once it’s complete. It’s an unusual stipulation, but he’s had corporations steal his work before and try to finish it on their own without his strict adherence to control groups and concern for side effects.”
“I see.”
“That doesn’t mean his work doesn’t belong to us, though,” Schramm qualified. “We paid him an up-front fee to begin his research, and have been paying him regularly for the past two years. From every standpoint, both legal and moral, Rexcare owns that work.”
“Any chance he had to go visit an ailing relative or something?” she asked, half-joking. The other half of her wondered if Fitzmiller had some legitimate reason for bugging out of the situation. Reece knew firsthand that corporations could be your friend one moment, and your executioner the next. Maybe Fitzmiller had come up on the wrong side of that equation.
Not that she would mention that possibility in Schramm’s presence.
“Given that he took pains to disappear without a trace, I’d say no. He doesn’t even appear on any public transit security feeds.”
“It’s possible he’s still on Akon, then,” Reece said. That would be nice. If she could find the scientist right here on her home planet, she wouldn’t have to go zooming into the great vacuum of space.
“It’s not impossible. But highly improbable. We’ve been monitoring his accounts, and there was activity on Iagentci shortly before I contacted you.”
“Ah.” She filled in the blanks for herself. “As long as you thought he was still on Akon, you were going to try to squeeze him out via your own connections. But as soon as it looked like he’d gone elsewhere, you called me in.”
“You got it.” Schramm returned her gaze frankly. “We were hoping not to need you on this.”
“Have you considered that he might have remotely dummied up some activity to throw you off his trail?” she asked.
“Of course. But this appe
ars to have been an in-person transaction, verified by live DNA scan.”
She sighed inwardly. Damn. The guy probably was off-planet, then. She’d begun to hope she’d packed her bags needlessly.
She sat straighter. Fine. She’d have to do this the hard way. “I take it time is an issue?”
“Yes. Rexcare’s influence decreases greatly outside of Machete. If he manages to get outsystem, he might just slip through our fingers with the research that is legally ours—along with the fortune we’ve paid him. We’ll have lost a great deal of time and money and, what’s worse, he might be planning to sell that research to a competitor.”
“Not to mention the whole thing about the Orion Guard possibly catching wind and sending a bunch of ships here to stomp us into submission.” To her, that was the biggest threat. Rexcare’s business concerns were a distant second compared to her own wellbeing.
Schramm paused. “If Fitzmiller’s planning to work with someone to develop illegal biotech, yes, that’s a concern, too.”
Damn right it was. But she merely nodded calmly. “What companies would be most likely to engage in illegal biotech?”
“I’ve got that written up in the brief, along with Fitzmiller’s background and other details that might be relevant. You can study up on it while you travel.” A tiny eye movement indicated he was accessing his ocular overlays. “File sent.”
“Then I guess there’s just the matter of this partner.” Reece tried to say it evenly, but the idea of working with someone on a job like this appealed to her about as much as a kick in the ass with pointed steel-toe boots.
“Funny you should mention that. He’s getting off the elevator now and will arrive in about seven seconds.”
Not for the first time, she wondered just how wired into the building’s systems Schramm’s overlays were. No doubt he had access to a great deal more data than she did.
The door began to open and Reece turned, hoping that he was going to be someone she could work with. Then he stepped in, she got a good look, and all hope flew out the window.