“You want to flee and go where?” Shoji melodramatically fluttered his fan. “Our influence might reach everywhere, but our power is stronger here in the heart of humanity. My opinion? To travel away from Earth makes us more vulnerable, not less. They’ll still pick away at our power base, and we’ll be weaker once we return.”
“I intend to stay close to Earth. I’m not going to the frontier.”
Shoji closed the fan with a snap of his wrist. “Is this about the incident on the edge of the Solar System?”
Julia kept her face placid despite her quickening heart. “What are you talking about?”
“There was something unusual at the edge of the Solar System, an explosion associated with a comet of all things. What’s more curious is that military and intel communities have made obvious movements to conceal data about the incident, and have succeeded so thoroughly that even my people are having trouble determining what happened other than that there might be something odd with a comet. Given that our enemies now have access to a jump drive, that might explain it.”
Julia nodded slowly. “My people have mentioned it as well and are looking into it. And that jumpship is all the more reason why we should put some distance between the Earth and us.”
She wasn’t sure how much the rest of the Core knew about the jumpship, but she wasn’t prepared to try to argue against its existence.
Someone in the Core had sent the other ship before the arrival of the Last Soldier and his little friends. Given the length of time involved, she’d suspected it was Sophia, but she couldn’t rule out Shoji. The man was nothing if not patient, even by the standards of the Core.
Desperation crept in. She could use the Last Soldier and the Warrior Princess against Shoji and the Core to destroy them immediately. She could push forward and do it herself with reckless abandon. It was her long-term plan.
Would a delay end in her death?
She tossed the thought to the side. Unfortunately, it couldn’t happen quickly. The balance of control needed to be carefully reconstructed with the loss of any member of the Core, just as it had been after the loss of Sophia. Destroying the other long-term members with careful planning would offer her what she needed for success, but a rapid collapse of the Core risked discovery of the remaining members and the loss of their accumulated power.
Subtle, slow destruction was required. However, she wasn’t going to go out of her way to protect other members of the Core if they refused to accept the obvious.
Shoji let out a quiet titter. “It’s only two people, and we’re acting as if they are an entire empire.”
“They have been effective, though,” Julia replied. “And they are a threat because they have far more than the resources of two people backing them, including the AI and the ship. We know that now. We should have killed them when we had the chance.” She thought for a moment. “Okay, an easier chance.”
“Why not kill them now?” Shoji shrugged, a bored look on his face. “Feel free to leave if you want. I’ll be more than happy to handle it. It’s only fitting, considering how much I contributed to the Molino incident.”
Julia scoffed. “How are you going to succeed where I failed?”
“By doing something you don’t always understand. Sometimes the best way to handle someone is by giving them exactly what they want.” Shoji flicked his wrist dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of them, and the less you know, the less it will lead back to you.”
“Shoji, it could lead back to you.”
“Perhaps.” He smiled. “But if that happens, I know you’ll mourn me for at least five minutes before devouring my resources.” His smile dimmed but didn’t disappear. “Since we’re talking about killing people, I find I already miss the Ascended Brotherhood. They were ever-so-useful tools.”
“I can’t deny that. Our yaoguai-heavy strategy could use improvement. It’s difficult to fully control such creatures, even with implants.”
“That’s true,” Shoji replied. “But they’re cheaper overall to produce, and we don’t have to worry about them being captured and interrogated.” He tilted his head. “That gives me an idea.”
She waited for a moment before asking, “An idea about what?”
“A specific way to take care of our nemeses. It will be costly.”
“You can do what you want. I’m departing for New Pacifica. If you can eliminate them with such ease, you deserve the glory and power that comes with it.”
Shoji stuck out his lip and let out a long, sad sigh. “New Pacifica? That’s a long trip. Two months, last time I went there.”
“Yes,” Julia replied. “It also means I’ll be flying away from Earth in case your plan fails. I’ll send you a transmission before my final departure, but it’ll be soon.”
“Then if we don’t talk directly again, let me wish you a good trip and a safe, happy eventual return.”
A faint hint of mockery colored his tone. Julia didn’t care. Her ascension to the divine wouldn’t be stopped.
Chapter Two
July 7, 2230, Wales, Cardiff, Pwyll Tower
Erik hung from the edge of the balcony, his feet dangling into the dark abyss extending beneath him. Emma claimed the jump was necessary because of unexpected drone activity, but he suspected that was one of her sick jokes.
He didn’t think she would let Jia or him die, but she might have no problem letting them fall hundreds of feet to make a point about the fallibility of fleshbags.
It didn’t matter. Both he and Jia had made the jump and were now on the level of the infiltration target, the massive building in front of them, which was the center of Ceres Galactic operations in the city.
With a soft grunt of exertion, he pulled himself up and over the railing onto the balcony, ending his experiment with high-altitude thrill-seeking for the night. Heights didn’t bother him unless they were accompanied by gunfire.
Jia matched his motion with easy grace. They could wait for the damned window to open without hanging and waiting to fall to their deaths hundreds of stories below.
“How are we on the drone, Emma?” Erik asked. “Trouble?”
“I’ve redirected it without a problem. There’s also no evidence of unusual transmission. You should be fine for entrance.”
“It’d be nice to complete a mission without having to shoot someone,” Jia suggested as she looked around. “Or blowing anything up.”
“Nice, but not as fun,” Erik replied. “And I don’t think Alina brought us aboard because of our fine sneaking skills.”
Emma piped in. “Does it count as sneaking if there’s no one left alive to see you?”
He shook his head. “Too philosophical for me.”
Erik stood and dusted off the pants of his tactical suit. Between the suit and the dark-tinted helmets, no one would recognize them, but the need for secrecy also meant he couldn’t bring his TR-7. Having to at least attempt to sneak around was one big disadvantage of working for Alina and the Intelligence Directorate.
Alina had complained that Erik’s and Jia’s reliance on certain equipment was making it too easy to identify their involvement in incidents. Sometimes that could be useful, but not always. Since the death of Sophia Vand, the ID had become aggressive on multiple fronts, and the more they could keep their tools in the dark, the more successful they would be. That didn’t make it any less annoying to Erik.
When he was a cop openly investigating crimes, he’d never worried about people identifying him. His fame, along with his partner’s, had helped keep things under control in their encounters. Now they had a new job and new restraints, but the fringe benefits, including the ship, were nice. Erik couldn’t complain too much, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t complain at all.
“So much for being freelance,” Erik muttered underneath his breath. “We stand out, she says. We need to take that into consideration, she says.”
“It doesn’t hurt to be careful now and again,” Jia offered. “Especially when we a
re potentially outnumbered and outgunned.”
She smiled and glanced over the edge of the balcony at the lights of the city below them and those marking flitters. Erik followed her gaze, wondering if there was trouble but seeing nothing out of the ordinary for a decent-sized city.
His recent travels had recalibrated how he thought of things. He was no longer using Neo SoCal as his basis for comparison, or not always.
Cardiff might lack the density and population of Neo SoCal, but Pwyll Tower was almost as impressive as a Hexagon building, which made sense given this was a Ceres Galactic-owned property.
Erik’s initial investigations had pointed toward the company, and his subsequent efforts, along with those of the Intelligence Directorate, had reinforced the initial suspicion. He wasn’t particularly surprised to be in a Ceres building, only surprised it’d taken so long for him to end up at another one.
It also proved that like in most things in history, there was probably a small group of people pulling the strings. Fancy tech and half-alien agents didn’t change the solution. A bullet to the head or a missile to their ship was usually the last word in a conversation.
Erik’s quest wouldn’t stop corruption in the UTC, but it didn’t have to. He just wanted the Knights Errant to be able to rest in peace, and he would accomplish that by making sure the people who’d killed them rested in pieces.
“Speaking of standing out,” Jia began. “If things get heated, Emma, don’t use the turret unless absolutely necessary. An MX-60 with a collapsible turret pretty much screams, ‘Erik Blackwell and Jia Lin were here.’”
“But the turret is so much fun,” Emma complained.
“I’m with her on that.” Erik bobbed his head in agreement.
Even if it’d become more Emma’s toy and not a tool always available or practical, he’d used it often enough.
“If I can’t use my favorite gun, you don’t get to use your favorite gun,” he added.
“You should see the look of fear in the eyes of the gun goblins when I use it.” Emma’s voice was filled with glee. “There’s just something about having the ability to lay down death and destruction.”
“We’re not here for fun or laying down death and destruction,” Jia countered, making sure Erik caught her look. “We’re here to get some intel. Death and destruction are strictly optional.”
Erik nodded. “That’s like saying the cherry on an ice cream sundae is optional. Sure, you don’t have to have one, but why not go for it?”
A last-minute transmission by Alina had indicated their mission-objective data wouldn’t be around the next day, forcing them to take immediate action.
“I’m almost into the internal systems,” reported Malcolm over the comm. “Just need a couple more minutes, then you’ll be able to go anywhere you want on this level without anyone knowing you’re there. As easy on the eyes as one of my shirts.”
“The government should just rush into every damned Ceres building themselves,” Erik grumbled. “This death-by-a-thousand-cuts crap gets tiring.”
“That would probably take every CID agent from across the UTC,” Jia often threw her metaphorical researcher hat on her head at some of the most inopportune moments. “I know Alina said they’ve been able to follow up on intel and data, including the stuff we gave them, but she didn’t say every individual member of Ceres Galactic is a member of the conspiracy, just that the company is heavily involved in it. The ID and CID are going to have to be surgical about this.”
“They probably just don’t want the economy to collapse once everyone realizes one of the biggest corporations in the UTC is controlled by assholes who would blow up domes or fund terrorists just to get an advantage.”
Jia shrugged. “There is something to be said for considering the disruptive effects of our actions. It won’t do us any good to take down the conspiracy if we hurt a lot of innocent people in the process. Like I mentioned, surgical approach.”
“Screw the surgery.” Erik patted the rifle slung over his shoulder. “Sometimes a little lead anti-health supplements followed by rapid cauterization is the best therapy. We just make sure we only apply it to the people who deserve it. Shit, sometimes you just need to blow a bastard into enough pieces they can’t put him back together again. I’m going to name that the Humpty-Dumpty Strategy.”
Jia tilted her head, but Erik couldn’t see her expression underneath the helmet. “We’re winning, Erik. We’re on offense now, not defense. We don’t need to try harder than we are, because at this rate, we will take them down.”
“I’m a shark ready for my feeding frenzy.” Erik scuffed his boot against the deck. “That’s the thing. Every time we nail more of the bastards, I see that they aren’t the all-powerful gods they think they are, and that makes me want to keep going forward and finish them off right away.”
“That’s what we’re doing. We’ve got the backing of the two major government directorates, a unique AI, and a good support crew. This ends with the conspiracy dead and the UTC a better place, as long as we don’t get ahead of ourselves.”
“Almost there with the windows,” Malcolm reported. “It’ll take a bit more on the cameras. The local systems are unusual.”
“Don’t know if I care,” Erik remarked before continuing with Jia. “I’m eager to take some people on.”
Emma snickered. “And you both act as if I’m the trigger-happy one. Incidentally, there are no issues with the local exterior drone and camera redirects, but that doesn’t guarantee anything about long-range cameras and drones. I wouldn’t advise removing your helmets unless absolutely necessary unless you want to be identified.”
“Duly noted,” Erik replied. He slipped the rifle off his shoulder and flipped off the safety.
Jia shook her head with a disappointed sigh and gestured to the stun pistol holstered in his belt. “Remember, we’re supposed to go non-lethal on this unless we have no other choice. Even if we limit ourselves to this one level, we can’t be sure everyone in there works for the conspiracy.”
“Frizzle fraken gander poppin’.” Erik flipped the safety back on before slinging the rifle over his shoulder again and drawing the stun pistol. “I hope we don’t end up ambushed by something nasty and get killed because we have our stun pistols out. I’d hate to die because we were being too nice to conspiracy assholes pretending to be corp employees.
She eyed him. “’Frizzle fraken gander poppin’?’”
He shrugged. “I’m trying something out. Your parents—well, particularly your mom—always gives me this look when I curse, so I’m trying to come up with alternatives.”
“You know that sounds odd, right?”
He looked at her. “You want me to say FF?”
She put up a hand. “No. I’m fine. Just…try something else.”
He nodded.
The window remained opaque and dark, and without camera access, they couldn’t know they weren’t walking right into a hallway filled with heavily armed Tin Men.
Erik wasn’t sure he cared. He didn’t want a clean mission. If it were too easy, the conspiracy wouldn’t feel the pain. That might be better from an intelligence operation standpoint, but it didn’t satisfy his vengeful spirit as well.
“Thousands of people work in this building,” Jia commented while drawing her stun pistol. “I doubt the conspiracy would have lasted very long if they filled buildings with their operatives. The CID or ID would have picked them off fast.”
“Maybe they give a really nice benefits package for selling your soul,” Erik joked. “But I’ll try to not kill anyone unless they have it coming. I hope they’ll reconsider their career choices after that.”
“About thirty seconds,” Malcolm reported. “Get ready, boys and girls, for a little high-level breaking and entering.”
“I could have handled everything.” Emma sniffed. “The millisecond difference in my response time during multitasking isn’t that big a deal, but I will admit Mr. Constantine is reasonably competent.”
“That almost sounds like a compliment,” Malcolm retorted.
“I should correct it to ‘reasonably competent for a fleshbag.’ Obviously, not competent compared to me.”
Malcolm sighed. “And there went my compliment, floating down to the ground, where it exploded into bloody chunks on impact.”
Erik flexed his fingers over the stun pistol. He rarely used the weapon, so it felt unfamiliar and unnatural.
“According to that intel Alina gave us,” he began, “the room containing the system IO port we want to hack is going to be shielded, so it doesn’t matter who is in control of things until we find it and get the transmitter set up.” He smirked. “I hope this doesn’t end up like that shit in Cairo last month, speaking of needing bigger guns.”
“There weren’t that many gun goblins by your standards,” Emma interjected. “So much whining. You barely got shot.”
“It’s not whining to want the best equipment available for the job, and the point is to shoot the other guys, not get shot ourselves.”
“I know that, but…hmmm.” Emma stopped.
Erik snickered and lowered his pistol toward the holster. “It is Cairo, isn’t it?”
“It’s more that it’s unfortunate timing,” Emma explained. “There is no immediate danger like in that other incident, but this could prove troublesome.”
“We got some yaoguai on the other side?” Erik asked.
“I’ve got immediate camera access now,” Malcolm reported. “Nothing unusual on the other side, and the security patrols aren’t anywhere near the window.”
“The problem isn’t inside the building,” Emma explained. “There is a heavy increase in drone and external camera activity, and it’s requiring more attention on my part to ensure no one spots you.”
Desperate Measures Page 2