by TR Cameron
“Yes, Elle darling? What can I do for you?”
“Nikolai has asked me for a favor, and now I have to ask you for one.”
The other woman let out a happy laugh. “Oh, I love exchanging favors. What will you do for me in return?” The comment was so warm, and the smile on Elle’s face so authentic, that he imagined the two of them would have done anything the other requested, free of charge. The exchange had the feel of a familiar ritual.
Elle made a show of thinking. “Hmmm. Well, it’s not a lot of work, so certainly it can’t be a huge package. How about three nights in one of the mid-roller suites, ten thousand in casino credit, and whatever meals and shows you want while you’re here?”
Jana snorted in amusement. “I’ve never worked for so little. Five nights, twenty-five thousand, shows and meals, and a handsome escort at my disposal for said shows and meals.”
His host laughed. “Okay. Done.”
Clapping sounded over the connection. “Excellent. So, what do you need?”
Elle motioned to Jax, who replied, “Uh, I’m looking for an Alliance intelligence agent. I have a list of probables, but need to know who is the most likely to be engaged in a secret project that involves the Confederacy and the Coalition, sanctioned or freelance.”
“Ah, I can see why you came to me. I’ve been watching those buggers for decades. Send me what you have, and I’ll get you what you need.”
Jax shook his head and handed a memory chip to Elle, who slotted it into the disc. The Academy works in mysterious ways.
Athena clarified, “It’s only mysterious to you because your view is so narrow.”
Shut up, or I’m going to start actively trying to kill you with alcohol. The AI laughed, and Jax settled in to wait for the directions to his next adventure.
Chapter Fourteen
While it didn’t come close to compensating for his delayed reunion with Dr. Juno Cray, flying first class aboard the Ambassador’s Flight was a definite pleasure. He disembarked feeling as well-rested and pampered as he had in a long time. The spaceport on Bledard was massive and sprawling, with separate sections for UCCA, Confederacy, and Alien ships, each of them subdivided into major cargo, minor cargo, and passenger vessels. The Sernothian system had been in the Alliance’s hands for decades, and due to its location near the ever-shifting border with the Confederacy, it saw significant traffic from all three factions.
Logical place for an intelligence agent, if the person’s contacts are visiting her, rather than the other way around.
Athena replied, “Indeed. Logical to the point of being obvious.”
Jax shrugged. Hiding in plain sight, maybe? Who knows? But if she isn’t the person we’re looking for, it’s a good place to start. He laughed internally. Another first-class trip wouldn’t be the worst thing in the universe.
“Hedonist,” Athena charged, and he laughed again.
You know it, sister. The spaceport’s huge main building featured a curved roof soaring overhead and plentiful glass, plastic, and metal all around. Seating areas, bars, restaurants, and shops of every kind were scattered everywhere, all probably charging at least double the prices in the nearby city of Tasca. He found the tube leading there and bought another first-class ticket for the forty-five-minute high-velocity ride. He kept his eyes open since he was in enemy territory. If he’d been in the agent’s place, he would have had a tap on the spaceport cameras with facial recognition running.
A stylish low hat in a grey tweed covered his hair, and the scruff on his face made it look as un-military as it was going to get. He wore his display glasses, but turned off, and had padding in his mouth pressed against his cheeks to break up the lines of his face. He could swallow the small pieces at need, and it required constant focus to avoid doing so accidentally. His clothes were secondhand, provided by Lady Elle, and looked as if they’d been worn daily for at least a year. They were also baggier than usual, and he’d changed his posture to convey a heavier, more stooped look. The duffel bag he’d carried on his back had added to the disguise and was now nestled at his feet as if he feared having it stolen.
Those precautions wouldn’t stop a determined observer, but he hoped any surveillance system would be AI-driven and not helmed by an intelligence as powerful as Athena. “As if there are intelligences as powerful as me.” Hush. He’d discovered that using that word produced something like irritation in his mental passenger, so he used it as often as possible.
Do you see any potential watchers?
“Three possibilities, but none appear to be focused on you. They may be transit authorities or simply overly aware passengers. That is based solely on your senses, of course. Do you want me to access the cameras and security system on this transport?”
No. Let’s not risk it. For now, I’m an everyday, dirty drifter with a cool hat.
“It’s not that cool.”
We’ve been over this. It’s very cool, like something out of nineteenth-century Scotland.
Athena snorted. “I believe Major Stephenson was right when she said you should control your hormones. They seem to be giving you delusions of handsomeness.”
Shut it. The rest of the trip passed with only light bickering and no incidents. When they reached their destination, Jax checked into a low-priced hotel, garnering no specific attention from the man holding down the registration desk. The people in the lobby were dressed a lot like him, minus the hat. They sprawled on the couches, tuned in to their comms as if the rest of the world didn’t exist. He took the stairs up the two floors to his room and grimaced at the sight of it. We’ve come down in the universe, Athena.
“You’ve come down. I live in your brain, which is so dusty from disuse that it’s impossible to sink any lower.”
Har har. Cameras? Audio pickups?
“Some of each, but nothing high end. Lie down.” He did, with a grimace at the greasy feel of the comforter. “Okay, the camera will show you on the bed, and the audio pickups will get a recording of you snoring. Would you like me to send a copy to Dr. Cray so she knows what she’s getting into?”
No thanks, but I really appreciate the offer. You’re too kind. He stood and ran an electric razor over his face to clear the stubble, then swallowed the padding stuffed in his cheeks. Ugh. I need to pack a bottle of water if I do this again. Next, he donned a business suit, shirt, and tie from the protective plastic case inside his bag. The duffel had hidden a soft-sided leather overnight bag, and he transferred the contents he intended to keep to the new container. He stepped into comfortable dress shoes, shoved all the used clothes into the duffel, and dropped the bag into the shower stall. Okay, let’s get the hell out of here. You ready?
“I have access to all the sensing devices in this building. No one will detect our departure.”
He exited into the hallway and put out the Do Not Disturb sign. He’d rented the room for two days and was hopeful that no one would discover his vanishing act until after he’d left the planet. He took the back stairs and left the building through a security door that Athena deactivated. He walked quickly away from the hotel and kept his head down. Businesspeople and tourists filled the streets, and he fit into the crowd easily. Athena warned him of each surveillance camera and told him how to defeat them since the glasses from the last disguise were tucked inside his jacket pocket. The light streaming down through the cloudless sky had a peculiar blue tint that rendered everything a little strange. He spotted several alien species on the way, usually traveling in small packs. I’d want the comfort of allies in an alien city too, I think.
Finally, he arrived at his true destination, a just-below-top-tier hotel in the city’s business district. The lobby was airy and well-lit, and the men and women behind the reception desk beamed as if his arrival had made their entire week. He gave his assumed name, declined to have the passkey encoded onto his comm, and received a small fob to unlock his door. He stepped out of the elevator on the forty-fourth floor and found his room. It wasn’t quite as fancy as t
he resort had been, but was on par with the one he’d stayed in at the casino. It boasted an entryway, a mammoth bathroom with a shower built for seven, a seating area, a work area, and a bedroom with a king-size bed. He flicked on the sound system to some classical music and asked, We good?
Athena replied, “Yes. I’m not into the hotel’s security system, but I compromised the cameras and audio pickups in the room. However, I can’t speak to the security of comm connections, and you should by no means use the public tablet that came with the room for anything since it might be set up to secure biometric data.”
Gotcha. He knelt before the in-room safe hidden in a dresser, punched in a ten-digit code, and the door released to reveal a small tablet inside as promised. He checked to be sure that it wasn’t connecting to the wireless network, then activated it. A profile of the target appeared, and he reviewed the material. Gretchen Paltar, UCCA intelligence, seven years of service. Not even a senior agent.
“Better for avoiding notice.”
Definitely. Has been stationed here for several years, made the tour of smaller installations before that. Her movements don’t show any particular deviations. A map of the city showed a time-stamped path of her presence in it. She’d visited her workplace, her home, a bunch of restaurants, and several companies. All of it was in keeping with her cover as a mid-level government bureaucrat. She’s dating four people, apparently none of them seriously. The Professor’s contacts must be into the surveillance network or something, to have this quantity and quality of information. Pictures and profiles of her frequent contacts scrolled across the screen, and he paused long enough to take each in, knowing Athena would “remember” them if he needed them later.
Guess we go with the original plan. The timing is right. She’s been out for dinner every other night for the last two weeks, so it’s likely we’ll have our opportunity. That leaves a few hours for a shower and a nap.
“Hedonist.”
Yep.
His target had kept to her predictable schedule, which made things far easier than if she hadn’t. The Professor, Stephenson, and Lady Elle had all agreed that even if Paltar were operating in a sanctioned capacity, it would be too dangerous for her to keep any evidence at her cover workplace, which appeared to be legitimate rather than an intelligence bureau in disguise.
A car had dropped him a couple of blocks away. He wore dark pants and an untucked black dress shirt and had accessorized with the tools from his operation in Grefta, which had been reloaded where needed and, in the case of the belt, replaced. As he turned the corner onto her street, he idly wondered if the class ring would go off if he primed it and punched someone.
The one-way lane that ran between the rows of opposing houses was narrow, and a continuous border of thick brown tree trunks separated it from the sidewalk on either side. Their canopies almost met above the street, and the leaves reaching in the other direction partially sheltered anyone out for a stroll from the elements. Not that any weather threatened—the beautiful night was cool but not cold, and the only thing he disliked about it was the glow of the dual moons overhead.
The houses butted up against one another, three and four stories high but only a couple of modest rooms wide. Each was made of stone or brick, with at least one window on every floor and a small staircase that led up to a fashionable door. His glasses increased the light level enough that the bright colors of the entrances and the dark shades of the different building materials were evident.
Their Academy contact’s recon had revealed that the back entrances were watched over by security robots, which took them right off the list of options. Fortunately, the residents apparently didn’t want the look of physical security messing with the street’s serenity. So, the best choice was a fast break-in through the front entrance. He’d done it before on roads similar to this one during training sessions. Then, he’d used an electronic lockpick. This time, it would be Athena doing the opening through the near field transmissions of his comm.
“You should get a better comm with increased range. It would increase our efficiency substantially.”
Focus.
“I am capable of focusing on approximately a thousand things at a time, give or take. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be as slow as you.”
Jax shook his head. Then why couldn’t you knock out the cameras on the street?
She didn’t reply, and he made his move. He turned up Paltar’s sidewalk without breaking stride, climbed her stairs, and put his comm against the sensor pad. Two seconds later, the lock clicked, and he was inside.
All right. Here’s where the real danger begins.
Chapter Fifteen
“I’ve compromised the house security,” Athena informed him a moment later. They’d expected that she would have an easy time since they were on a UCCA planet with UCCA personnel, and the Academy had many alumni working in government. They’d provided Jax with a database of master passcodes, and one of them had worked. “Recording and transmissions disabled.”
He nodded. “Excellent. Okay, if I were an intelligence agent, where would I hide my most secret stuff? Any suggestions?”
“The house’s systems have no records of any hidden rooms, compartments, or other secrets. Of course, they wouldn’t.”
He took a few steps along the hallway, sidestepping to avoid bumping into a narrow table with a bowl of decorative stones resting on top, and turned right into the living room. It was an elegant space, more formal than one would expect in a place like this. The furniture looked uncomfortable, and the paintings on the walls were utterly boring. The chamber didn’t show signs of frequent use, which was a point in the agent’s favor as far as he was concerned. “Eww.” He spun left and walked into the dining room, which was less stuffy but still beautiful. It held a dark wood table, matching chairs with scarlet cushions, and a china cabinet of the same material. The seat nearest the opening to the kitchen was slightly askew. “So, she comes home, gets changed for a night out, maybe sits here, and has a snack. That’s not helpful.”
The kitchen and powder room were equally unhelpful, as were the bedrooms and bathrooms on the next floor up. On the third floor, though, things started to get interesting. Two-thirds was set up as an exercise space, with a thick target-ring board that had divots in it far larger than any dart he’d ever thrown. A kung fu dummy stood in one corner, and an inactive combat droid rested in the other. The robot appeared nowhere near as advanced as the Academy’s versions, but it had two arms, two legs, a head without any features, and a heavy-looking torso.
Athena defeated the palm lock on a tall metal cabinet along the far wall, and Jax opened it to reveal an array of martial arts weapons, including a set of throwing knives that explained the deep slices. Also present were several small pistols, and a cursory inspection showed one each of stun, projectile, and energy. An empty spot suggested that she might have taken something with her to the dinner date. Personal protection is never a bad idea. Lots of scumbags out there.
The remaining portion of the space was a home office, but his and Athena’s fifteen-minute inspection revealed nothing. He frowned, then remembered something. “When were you going to tell me?”
The AI’s voice was full of innocence. “Soon.”
He shook his head in annoyance. “Where is it?”
“Directly above you.” He looked up and saw the slight shadow where the access to the story above, which he recalled from the street outside, was located. A soft beep sounded, and the ladder slowly descended until the base, which had formerly seemed part of the ceiling, rested slightly above the floor. “And before you complain, we had to do our due diligence here first. Don’t whine.”
Jax sighed. “Never.” Times like this I’m reminded why I tend to do operations like this alone.
Athena’s tone expressed deep satisfaction. “I heard that.”
“Yeah, whatever. Check for traps, please. I don’t want to get my head lasered off because the real defenses are on the top floor and yo
u’re busy playing games.”
He stopped climbing until she confirmed, “It’s clear. Nothing other than the main security system on the next level.”
“Relying on disguise. Not the smartest choice she’s made.”
“I’m sure she didn’t anticipate coming up against a mastermind like you, Jax.”
He closed his mouth. Athena scored too many points while he was distracted by the need not to get unexpectedly discovered and killed. When he reached the top and stepped off the ladder, it was into an attic room with a peaked roof running along the space’s long line. Gretchen had set up a satellite transmitter near a small window covered by a shutter. Its position would allow the communication device to remain unseen from the street even when the window was open.
The opposite side of the room held six displays. Each one showed a different image. Jax couldn’t identify the subjects or locations, but they were clearly drone feeds. “So, she has aerial surveillance going. See if you can figure out what she’s looking for.”
Athena replied, “Already on it. Also, that safe is now unlocked.”
He turned to the heavy metal object sitting in the corner, then thought better of standing in front as he opened it, given how easy it had been to get into. He climbed on top and yanked the door wide, and an arrow whipped across the room and embedded itself in the opposite wall. “Holy hell.” He took a quick look to ensure no other surprises waited, then descended. “A pistol crossbow. I wonder if that’s what was missing from the shelf downstairs.”
“Doubtful. That’s most likely a permanent installation. Probably only deactivated by her comm.”
“Wicked. This is less and less a house and more and more a lair. I need a lair.”
Athena snorted. “You need a lobotomy. You also need to hurry. Cameras show her leaving the restaurant and hailing a car.”