One Dark Future

by Michael Anderle

  Their table provided a good view of Konig and two other men while remaining mostly obscured. After the delivery of their wine and water, Jia activated the privacy device in her purse.

  Jia slowly looked around the room, swirling the wine in her glass with an appreciative smile. She didn’t noticeably linger on the target table.

  “Our party of three doesn’t include Gallegos and Sillen. This might be a dead end.” Jia didn’t hide the disappointment in her voice.

  “Or it could be that Konig’s more important than Sillen and Gallegos,” Erik suggested. He raised his glass. “But we’ll have a nice honeymoon meal in the meantime.”

  “It’s definitely a romantic stakeout, much more so than before.” Jia set her wine down and picked up her water to take a sip. “The MX 60 is nice, but I like a little more space for my legs when I’m watching dangerous anti-socials.”

  Erik offered a warm smile. “Only the best and most luxurious stakeouts on my fake honeymoon.”

  “I can’t get over the arrogance.”

  “What’s arrogant? I’m just sitting here.”

  “I’m not talking about you.” Jia shook her head. “Gallegos and Sillen. The conspiracy. All these powerful and wealthy people who believe they’re above not only the law but also common decency.”

  “That’s where we come in,” Erik replied. “If they operate above the law, then so should we.”

  Jia looked at him with narrowed eyes, her anger getting the better of her. “Part of me wants this to turn out to be nothing, but a larger part of me wants them to try something, so we can take them down hard. Since Vand…I don’t know what to call it. It’s not bloodlust. It’s more a realization of something important.”

  Erik nodded. “You realized we could win against them.”

  Her breath caught. “It’s not that I didn’t believe we couldn’t win before.”

  “I know. I’d be lying if I said I was always convinced I’d be able to pull this off. On my trip back to Earth from Molino, I wondered if my transport would conveniently explode. But it didn’t, and I made it to Earth and found you and Emma. Maybe it’s the Lady. Maybe it’s sheer stubbornness, but we scratched them before, and on Venus and in Bogota, we delivered major wounds.” Erik set his intense gaze on Jia. “It’s not bloodlust to finish off a dangerous enemy. Sometimes in war you take prisoners, and sometimes the only way to win is to annihilate the enemy.”

  Jia offered a slight nod, and they let the conversation lapse. They watched Konig’s group until the delivery of their meals, poached fish for Erik and roasted quail for Jia. The three men were drinking wine, but they’d yet to have any food delivered.

  “Just here for drinks?” Erik asked. “Why not go to one of the bars?”

  “Camera observations of their mouth movements suggest a banal conversation,” Emma reported. “Mostly they are comparing their prowess in different sporting activities and romantic conquests. It’s a rather tedious conversation, though there are some irregularities.”

  “Irregularities?”

  “There are slight anomalies in the conversation, but it’s not impossible.”

  Erik frowned. “They’re using a privacy device.”

  “It’s possible, but I can’t confirm that based on the tools available to me at this point in time,” Emma replied. “And their PNIUs can be pinged by the local system, so they aren’t actively jamming.”

  Jia’s eyes darted toward the target’s table, but she kept her head rigid. “It’s not like we expected them to sit there and openly discuss corrupting the UTC at dinner. Do we know who the two other men are?”

  “They appear to be university associates of Mr. Konig’s,” Emma reported. “That’s in public records.”

  Erik frowned. “His presence might be a coincidence.”

  The men smiled. One of them mimed a golf stroke before the three men burst out in loud, braying laughter that turned the heads of nearby customers. The evidence was piling up to suggest this wasn’t a suspicious meeting of dangerous men using a privacy device and plotting against the UTC.

  Jia swallowed a bite of her quail with a raised eyebrow, eyeing Erik. “Do you really believe Konig’s being here is a coincidence?”

  “No, but I also don’t think we stumbled into a conspiracy convention.” Erik picked up his fork and knife to slice off another piece of fish. “And we were pointed at Sillen and Gallegos, not Konig. They were throwing up enough smoke that the ID could follow their trail, and I think that means something, but sometimes a trail doesn’t lead anywhere.”

  The two alleged college friends stood. Both of them shook his hand and patted him on the shoulder before making their way toward the exit. Konig remained seated, and his smile disappeared. All hints of the previous pleasant, mirth-inducing conversation vanished. He kept glancing at the door.

  Jia inclined her head in his direction. “Is it just me, or does he look like he’s waiting for someone else?”

  “Sometimes a trail does lead somewhere,” Erik murmured, taking another bite.

  Konig had a short conversation with his returning waiter before returning to his drink and watching the door.

  “Mr. Konig noted that the other members of his party would be there shortly,” Emma explained.

  “He just ran into his friends, then.” Jia nodded. “It was a coincidence, just not the one we thought. There’s still a chance that Gallegos and Sillen will show up.”

  “Then we can keep eating.” He looked toward where the waiter would normally be. “And perhaps have a nice dessert.”

  Erik and Jia were almost through their entrees when the aforementioned men arrived and made their way to the table with the help of a waiter. Unlike with the previous two men, Konig’s slight frown and tense shoulders didn’t suggest friendship.

  The new arrivals got comfortable and placed an order before settling into a new conversation after Sillen slipped his hand into his pocket, where it lingered.

  “What are they talking about, Emma?” Jia asked.

  “Allegedly, they are discussing the resort and its attractions.”

  None of the playful gesturing or happy smiles of the previous conversations made it into the current discussion. Gallegos clenched his fists under the table. Konig glared at Sillen while he rattled off something.

  “Awfully pissed for people chatting about the resort.” Erik finished his fish. “Konig probably didn’t have a privacy device. They were just having a boring-ass conversation, and now the real meeting is happening.”

  “There was an unusual pause in the conversation,” Emma commented after Konig jabbed a finger toward Sillen.

  “Passionate?” Erik asked.

  “Yes,” Emma replied. “The general cadence and speech patterns are consistent with what you’re observing, but the content is bizarre. It doesn’t appear to be a disagreement. If you overheard them, you’d think they were discussing the best stalls and shops to go to.”

  Jia chuckled quietly. “If they couldn’t control themselves, they shouldn’t have come out in public, even with a privacy device.”

  “I wonder why they did.”

  “Given the body language, they probably don’t trust each other,” Jia replied. “Keeping it in public stops anyone from doing something too stupid and bloody.”

  “Never stopped me,” Erik noted.

  “The Lady doesn’t like everyone as much as she likes you.” Jia kept her silverware in hand and smiled. It’d help their privacy device conceal their conversation more naturally.

  Erik matched Jia’s smile. “The corporate links and spending time together points to them being more than passing acquaintances.”

  Jia thought as she chewed. “If they’re not getting along, that might be something we can use. We could turn one of them against the conspiracy.”

  “I see where you’re going, and it’s not a bad idea.” Erik inclined his head. “But I don’t think we’re going to have time to set them against each other. This might not be anything more than
them disagreeing about payment or an ops plan.”

  “Plenty of people have killed other people over very little money.” A hungry look settled on Jia’s face. “We should leave before they do, and then we can see where they end up going. This could be a final negotiation.”

  “Fine by me,” Erik replied with a grin. “Let’s grab that dessert to kill some time.” He gestured at the table, which was receiving its entrees. “Unless you’re dying to stand outside for an hour?”

  When Konig, Gallegos, and Sillen emerged from the restaurant, all three men were scowling as if their food had been rotten and they’d received the worst service possible. Erik and Jia lingered near the front, laughing quietly to each other and sharing made-up anecdotes rather than relying on the privacy device.

  “That’s when I said, ‘If I’m going to pay that much, you might as well launch me into the sun.” Erik gestured widely with his arms, a huge smile on his face.

  Jia let out a playful laugh in response. Erik wasn’t sure if she was acting or she found his story that amusing.

  The scowling men paid no attention to them or anyone else, but it quickly became apparent that Konig wanted to get away from Gallegos and Sillen as fast as possible.

  “You’ve made a mistake,” Konig seethed, his face red. “Things are different. You can either face that reality or have it run over you.”

  “You’re the one who has made a mistake,” Gallegos replied. He adjusted his tie and offered Konig a cruel, baleful look. “And you should have done your research before coming to us.”

  After a nod to Sillen, Konig stomped away from the men.

  “Damn it,” Erik muttered. He leaned in to whisper to Jia, “Should we split up again?”

  Jia faked a laugh as if Erik had said something clever. “I think Emma should follow Konig,” she whispered. “We should both go after Gallegos and Sillen. They’re our original targets, and we still don’t know if Konig is important.” She sighed as she stood up. “I’m glad I wore flats instead of heels.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Jia was disappointed when she realized Gallegos and Sillen were returning to their rooms. She’d expected something else.

  Maybe a grand, bold conspiracy maneuver, but they’d been able to follow the men without trouble, keeping out of sight on the short jaunt from the restaurant back to their building.

  “How we doing with Konig?” Erik asked.

  “He contacted someone on his PNIU and is now circling back to the building,” Emma reported. “Although I don’t believe he was using a privacy device, he was likely using a code. His conversation consisted of him saying hello, followed by ‘Should the star fall?’ He then nodded and said ‘I’ll take care of it.’”

  Jia’s disappointment evaporated, replaced by excitement. This wouldn’t end up with them just following some people to dinner.

  “That could mean a lot of things. You sure he didn’t pick up anything that might look like a bomb?”

  “I’m certain,” Emma replied. “I’ve had him on an active feed at all times since he left the restaurant. We can’t exclude the possibility that he has an advanced holographic emitter that is deceiving me, but it’s incredibly unlikely, especially given his previously displayed behavior.”

  “Whatever he’s going to do, it’s going to happen soon.” Erik loosened his tie. “We could have Emma send an evacuation code, but I don’t think this is about destroying the resort. They’ve always brought a lot of muscle whenever they’ve tried crap like that. I don’t think they would suddenly rely on one guy.”

  “I think it’s a deal,” Jia suggested. “They’re supposed to sign some sort of agreement. He was probably negotiating at dinner and had to get his boss’ permission to go through with it. There’s been tension over the terms.”

  “We could bust in while they are making the deal. They’ll be off-balance, and we could interrogate them. If we grab their PNIUs, we can have Emma do her thing, too.”

  Jia shook her head. “We don’t know what this deal is even about. I doubt there’s going to be a briefcase filled with drugs or yaoguai embryos in there. Their PNIUs aren’t likely to have anything more interesting than the ones we brought. This is probably more something intangible, an alliance or a favor.” She pulled down on her dress. “It’s not like they can make them sign a contract and take them to court.”

  Erik moved forward to plant another kiss on Jia. This time she saw Konig out of the corner of her eye and wasn’t prepared for the sudden mouth attack, not that it made it any less exciting. By the time she pulled away, Konig was through the door.

  “I don’t know if kissing me in public is low-profile,” Jia breathed out, lips puffy.

  “Probably not.” Erik winked. “Doesn’t mean I’m going to stop.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” she whispered.

  “He’s proceeding to his room,” Emma reported. “He appears rather agitated.”

  “His boss might have told him no go on the deal.” Jia frowned. “If only we had some sort of opening to get him to talk.”

  “We can flag him for our friends,” Erik replied. “It’s not like we’ve been told to turn him. We’re just supposed to be checking the first two guys out. If they don’t make a big move, there is no reason for us to. Those guys don’t seem like Sophia Vand-level players. It’s just like being a cop; sometimes we let the little rat go so we can follow him to the bigger rat.”

  “Weren’t you the one saying you thought something big was going to happen?” Jia asked, inclining her head toward the building. “That your instincts were screaming? Now you’re saying we should back off?”

  Erik nodded slowly. “Yeah, and they still are, but instincts aren’t enough. We need something concrete to go on, and that might require hel—”

  “It is highly likely trouble is imminent,” Emma announced. “The cameras and sensors have died inside the building, along with the primary power. Secondary alerts on the resort’s system suggest it was unexpected. Emergency lights are activating.”

  “EMP?” Jia frowned. “They’re making their move, or Konig’s making his.”

  “I’m able to detect muffled gunfire from inside Sillen’s room,” Emma announced. “It is almost certainly a projectile-based weapon.”

  “Damn it,” Erik muttered. “The deal went bad.”

  They sprinted toward the building, the illumination outside giving way to dim red emergency lighting. Jia yanked her stun pistol out of her purse. Knowing these men might be involved in the conspiracy wasn’t as useful as interrogating them, and that required them to keep breathing.

  Erik drew his slugthrower from its holster.

  They quickly closed on Sillen’s room and flattened themselves on either side of his door, their rapid breathing in perfect sync.

  “Can you hear anything from inside?” Jia asked, silently cursing the soundproofing she’d enjoyed the night before.

  “Based on what I can detect, there is movement inside but no gunfire,” Emma replied.

  “Open it,” Erik ordered. “We don’t have time to figure it out.”

  The door slid open. Loud gunshots rang out and struck the opposite wall.

  “Give it up,” Jia shouted. “If you drop your weapon immediately, we can guarantee your safety. You keep this up, and my partner might accidentally put a bullet in your head.”

  More bullets flew out of the room. Jia cocked her head. There were distinct gunshot sounds during the volleys, which meant more than one man. Erik and Jia couldn’t spin in and open fire without knowing the relative positions of their foes.

  “Back-trace the shots and mark them for us, Emma,” Jia whispered. “I doubt they’re running around the room.”

  A bright arrow appeared, along with a dynamic trace manifested as a red line that moved with Jia’s head. Erik nodded at her and they both crouched. He let out a shout, which summoned another barrage from inside.

  They spun around the corner. Three tiny six-legged bots stood exactly wher
e Emma’s traces indicated, armed with low-caliber cannons. Erik fired three quick shots, knocking the bots to the side while Jia swept the room looking for a human target. A dark form passed the open window. She squeezed off a shot but her target cleared the window, her stun bolt narrowly missing him and almost hitting the briefcase in his hand. Another barrage from the bots forced her back behind the wall.

  “He’s going to get away,” she shouted.

  “Not if we take down the bots.”

  Erik took a deep breath and a couple of steps down the hall, then ran forward, pointing his gun to the side. The bots opened fire, narrowly missing him, but his Emma-guided aim let him shred one in a shower of sparks and metal chunks.

  The machines surged out of the room, but that left them easier prey for Erik, who didn’t stop shooting until he’d emptied his magazine.

  The bots collapsed to the ground, twitching and sparking, new holes through them.

  Jia rushed through the room, sweeping in both directions with her stun pistol. Gallegos and Sillen lay face-down, the former on the bed and the latter on the floor, in pools of blood.

  There was no chance of saving them since they were missing half their heads and had dozens of bullet holes in their chest.

  “Your shooter and/or bot controller is Konig,” Emma reported. “I’ve got him on external cameras fleeing. I don’t think he was prepared for an immediate response. I’m suppressing the security system to prevent the immediate convergence of security personnel on your area.”

  Jia ran toward the window and climbed through, then shoved the stun pistol back into her purse and pulled out her slugthrower. She needed to be ready if they ran into any more bots.

  “Give us a nav marker, Emma,” Jia ordered.

  “There’s a problem with that.” Emma sighed. “I’ve lost Konig.”

  “How?” Jia shouted in surprise.

  “He slipped into a camera blind spot. I flew a drone there, but I’m not seeing him.” Emma added a new nav point. “That’s where I lost him.”