by S. H. Jucha
“This would proceed much quicker if you would name your price,” Daphne retorted. The last time a brother had laughed at her, he had a serious accident. The blame never fell on her, but the two brothers had their suspicions.
“Twenty million for Alex,” Bryce replied. “Five million for the woman, and two million for the SADE.”
“And we’ll throw in the protectors for free,” Rafe added, with a nasty smile.
“What else?” Daphne asked.
“Never done this kind of thing before, have you?” Rafe inquired, with a leer.
The man who kept his face in the shadows took a step forward.
“Careful,” Bryce warned the man. “Before you can pull that stunner, you’ll be dead.”
“Here’s how this works,” Bryce said to Daphne. “You give us your information. We take a look at it. If we think the job is doable, you pay half the fee for the primary target up front.”
Daphne started to ask a question, but Bryce held up his right hand to stop her. The escort belatedly noted that the man’s left hand never left his jacket pocket.
“We’ll need a contact, which I believe you’ll have included with the information,” Bryce continued. When Daphne nodded, he said, “Good. Also, you’ll be worried that your hard copy might fall into the wrong hands, which could incriminate you. We’ll destroy the information in increments. The hard copy will be burned before we start the job. The digital material will be erased when we board the passenger liner for home.”
“You mentioned possible target locations,” Rafe said, his interest in the woman temporarily set aside. “Your job is to make sure that there are no cameras in the area on the dates and times we specify. Attempt to minimize bystanders, but definitely no VIPs.”
Daphne was confused by the last request, and her eyes gave her away.
“We’ve seen the protectors,” Bryce explained. “It’ll take significant firepower to eliminate them.”
“Final thing,” Rafe added. “You get us new identities, preferably as Harakens. Also, you provide luxury accommodations aboard a Confederation liner sailing for New Terra. We board via private shuttle, which you provide.”
“Are our terms agreeable?” Bryce asked.
“Yes,” Daphne replied.
Then the escort pulled on a shoulder strap to move a bag from his back to his front. He moved it quickly, but he froze when the narrowed eyes of both men focused on him.
“Slowly,” Rafe warned.
With care, the escort slipped a folder from the pouch and handed it to Daphne, who offered it to Bryce.
Rafe reached over and took the folder, as Bryce continued to eye the escort.
“Back away,” Bryce ordered the two Méridiens. “We’ll do the same.”
Safely out of immediate danger, the escort sent,
While the two Méridiens headed for their grav car, Daphne replayed the exchange. She was fascinated by the raw, unbridled danger the New Terrans exhibited. She had no doubt that if either she or her escort had made a misstep, then they wouldn’t have left the scene alive. The thought thrilled her.
Daphne’s father had warned her about some of the particulars that she would encounter, while dealing with New Terrans. As expected, the men hadn’t obtained implants. Thus the need for a face-to-face meeting and the hard copy. In particular, the hard copy disturbed her. It was damning evidence against her House.
A smile crossed Daphne’s face at the memory of how carefully Darse had approached her to be the interface between the House and the assassins. He had no idea that she would have happily done it at his request.
For more than a decade, Daphne had cultivated her father’s attention and respect. She believed he saw her as a cooperative daughter who he was reticent to corrupt. The truth was that she was her father’s daughter. In fact, she was more ruthless, ambitious, and cunning than him.
The final exchange between father and daughter about the assassination attempt had been direct, and Daphne had worked long and hard to bring Darse to that moment.
“Daughter, do this for me, for the House,” Darse had said. “If you rid the Confederation of Alex Racine, then, when I retire, the House will be yours.”
Darse believed he would rule House Lemoyne for nearly another century, but Daphne had other plans for her father.
The assassins had backed away from the Méridiens, slipped into the shadows, and scanned for drones. When they were satisfied that they were free of surveillance, they made their way back to the rental apartment, where they had registered under aliases.
“Tasty looking woman,” Rafe commented.
“Méridien women were made to look that way,” Bryce replied. “Look like clones to me.”
“Wonder what she’s like,” Rafe said.
“Does it matter?” Bryce murmured.
“It always matters,” Rafe said, visualizing himself with Daphne.
“Stop thinking about the woman,” Bryce replied, staring at Rafe’s face, which displayed his lust. “I want to know who’s behind her.”
“You don’t think she’s the primary,” Rafe said, making it a statement.
“No way,” Bryce replied. “She’s important. She could transfer the credits. But, in the Confederation, she’s too young to have accumulated and controlled the credits we demanded for the targets.”
“Do you think the accounts are good for the payments?” Rafe asked. He was suddenly all business.
“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem,” Bryce responded. “It’s the job that I’m worried about.”
“You don’t think it can be done,” Rafe challenged.
“Not that part,” Bryce replied. “You couldn’t ask for a more high-profile target. We kill Alex Racine, and that’s the end of our days in starshine. You and I will be buried so deep that we’ll need an air pipe to ventilate our hole.”
“If I’ve got the credits, I can stomach that for a few years,” Rafe replied.
“You need to think, partner,” Bryce said, stopping and rounding on Rafe.
“One,” Bryce said, holding up a finger to Rafe. “We take out Alex Racine and some of his people, and we’d better worry about getting off this planet alive. Two,” and another digit went up, “humans might have short attention spans, but SADEs don’t.”
* * * * *
Aboard the Freedom, Alex connected to Gino Diamanté.
The trio heard Gino’s laugh.
Alex and Renée regarded Julien.
“It’s critical that we keep our exposure to a minimum,” Julien explained.
“I can’t ever recall an assassination on Méridien,” Renée objected.
Julien began naming individuals, dates, and circumstances.
“Wait,” Renée said sternly. “Those were accidents of prominent House members.”
“The SADEs have reasons to believe that they weren’t,” Julien said. “The Confederation has a history of sophisticated House accidents.”
Alex thought about what Julien was saying, and an idea occurred to him. “Julien, what has the annual rate of these ty
pes of accidents been after the SADEs won their freedom?”
“They’ve dropped dramatically,” Julien said.
“Because now the SADEs are free to talk about their suspicions,” Renée surmised.
“Precisely,” Julien replied.
“Well, there’s little chance that we’ll have a clever accident, not with three SADEs in attendance,” Alex said.
“Probably not,” Julien replied. “More than likely, ours will be spectacular.”
After evening meal, Alex, Renée, and Julien exited a lift on the deck level for their traveler.
Z and Miranda waited in the bay.
The ship was a cargo model, and the two protectors were the reason.
Alex regarded Z and Miranda as he passed them. The SADEs had donned weapons that they hadn’t used in many annuals. The twin shoulder-mounted lasers were there, but they’d been modified to discretely slip into hatches at the rear. The energy packs carried the newest crystals, which reduced their size.
However, Alex compared past and present images of their protectors, and he sent the overlays to Renée.
Franz Cohen exited the traveler from the Freedom and shot for the planet. He chose to fly a course that involved several direction changes.
Alex noted the trajectory shifts and said nothing to his partner.
As Franz dropped through the clouds, he skimmed above the smaller buildings. At the last moment, his ship went vertical and slid along the face of the House Diamanté building.
Several of Gino’s guests were chatting near the salon’s view plates, and their conversations stuttered to a halt when they saw the traveler’s belly fly past, twenty meters from the building.
Franz settled the shuttle on top of the building’s landing port. He linked to Alex and sent,
There was no need for Franz to update the SADEs, who were maintaining multiple conference links. In addition, he was directed by Tatia not to communicate with Alex about the squadrons that hovered above the building.
None of the senior individuals who sought to keep their leaders safe were under the illusion that Alex wasn’t aware of what they were doing. Their intent was to not be overt.
Z and Miranda descended the ramp first. They scanned the area and the House staff. When they were satisfied, Z signaled Julien, who had politely blocked the aisle.
When Alex and Renée walked down the ramp, he guided her by the elbow. Z and Miranda had left space for the two humans to stand between them.
Renée queried doubtfully.
“Greetings, Omnians,” the senior staffer said, and he led the way to the private lift. A panel read his DNA and allowed access to the lift doors.
The car was crowded with the likes of Miranda and Z, and the younger staffer found himself face to face with Miranda’s massive chest. He tried valiantly to keep his eyes focused somewhere else.
The car dropped three levels. The upper two were dedicated to the House’s comm systems, servers, power circuits, and grav generators.
When the car stopped and the doors opened, Miranda brushed past the staffers and surveilled the corridor. Then Z allowed the staffers and the SADEs’ charges to exit the car.
Renée walked ahead, and Alex guided her into the required position.
Then Alex sent Renée a reminder of the long-ago incident in Gino’s apartment.
Renée sent.
At the door to the salon, Gino and his partner, Katrina Pasko, greeted the Omnians.
In attendance were Gino and Katrina’s closest associates, Bartosz Rolek and Emilio Torres. Surprisingly, Shannon Brixton was also present.
When Alex met Shannon, she sent,
Alex sent, which greatly relieved her.
Shannon had heard from Emilio that he would be attending an event at Gino’s apartments. When her House SADE checked the schedules of Katrina and Bartosz, he found they were also engaged. Suspecting the event meant Alex and Renée would be there, she begged Katrina to attend.
Shannon had sent.
After checking with Gino, Katrina had sent word to Shannon that she was invited.
When Shannon arrived, she found that she was the only person present.
“Am I fashionably early?” Shannon had asked Gino and Katrina. When Gino indicated a chair, she said, “I see. This is my interview.”
“Your last conversations and interactions with the Omnian leaders were hardly amicable,” Gino pointed out.
“We resolved our disputes to both parties’ satisfaction,” Shannon replied.
“We learned that your final words didn’t reflect a happy parting,” Katrina said.
“That had nothing to do with our agreement,” Shannon said, and she resisted fidgeting.
“You’re going to have to be more forthcoming than that,” Gino said firmly.
“I was foolish,” Shannon admitted. “Things I said and intimated angered Alex, and he used his power.”
“He shut you down via your implant,” Gino surmised.
“Yes,” Shannon said. “I’ve never felt the like ... the impotence.”
“You must have truly outraged him,” Katrina said. “It’s a good thing that Alex doesn’t carry personal grudges.”
“Only for those around him who might have been abused,” Gino added. “You may stay, Shannon, but keep your word.”
As Shannon had her welcoming exchange with Alex, she couldn’t keep her eyes off Z and Miranda, but she never said a word. In fact, as Miranda passed her, she tipped her head to the SADE.
None of the other guests commented about Z and Miranda. Although, they also noticed the SADEs’ increased robustness.
Gino offered Alex and Renée a couch, but Z relocated two chairs. It allowed Miranda and him closer access to their leaders.
Then Alex repeated his summary for the Leaders.
When Alex finished, there was stunned silence from Gino and his associates.
“We thought we were hearing rumors,” Emilio finally said. “Have you traveled by these gates?”
“All of us have and frequently,” Alex replied.
“What did it feel like?” Shannon inquired.
“Like nothing,” Renée replied. “Although, there are a few seconds of disorientation, while you reassemble.”
The Méridiens shuddered at the thought.
“How about you, Julien?” Shannon asked.
“Instantaneous transfer,” Julien replied.
“We’re in one location and then we’re in a different one.”
“Fascinating,” Shannon murmured.
“Is it your intention to present this information to the Council?” Bartosz inquired.
“Yes, but I must warn you that I’m requesting only representation from the Council,” Alex said.
“And every Leader must be accompanied by a SADE,” Renée added.
“You had offered to transport the entire Council when we last spoke,” Gino pointed out. “What’s changed?”
“The Tsargit, the alliance organization representing most sentient races, has many more times the membership than all other human worlds combined,” Alex said.
“Then if you invite the entire Council, you must invite the entire Tsargit,” Katrina said, nodding her head in comprehension.
“That’s about the size of it,” Alex replied.
“The Council has been in session for three cycles,” Gino said. “I’ll make room on the calendar for you tomorrow morning.”
“Thank, you, Gino,” Alex said, rising.
The Omnians said their good nights, and Z signaled Franz they were exiting.
“I’ll access the lift panel for you,” the senior staffer said.
“Thank you, but that’s unnecessary,” Miranda said, drawing a finger across his neck. “This will do quite nicely,” she added, holding up a digit coated with oil and skin cells.
Franz waited until he received the signal from Z that their lift car had reached the uppermost floor. Then he settled the traveler over the roof, while dropping the ramp.
The Omnians exited the car, walked three meters, and stepped onto the ramp, which had just extended. They hadn’t found seats before Franz smoothly lifted for the dense clouds above.
24: Attack
Rafe and Bryce watched their spotter transmissions from a safe distance from the Diamanté building.
Using the information gathered and shared by Daphne, the assassins had planted digital spotters at the two potential target locations.
Within seconds after being placed, the digital spotters adopted the colors and textures of the surrounding materials to blend into the backgrounds. Thereafter, the devices established links with the operator’s control panel.
