Apparently, despite what Kalei had said, her lane did extend to the missing agent. That had all happened the day before.
Erik and Jia planned to leave the following day, once his leg was in better shape. Neither was interested in sightseeing in Unity City. After everything they’d done, it made sense to leave the planet as soon as possible.
Jia sat in a chair, swiping through news articles, her brow furrowed in concentration and disapproval.
“Problem?” Erik asked.
“They’re reporting it as an industrial accident,” Jia explained. “I wonder if that means the local police are ignoring it on purpose, or if Alina pulled some strings.”
“Hey, it’s the first time we’ve done something in a while that didn’t get our names splashed everywhere,” Erik noted. “I rather like it.”
“That’s true. I didn’t think of that. I honestly don’t know how I feel about it.” Jia dismissed the windows with swipes. “It’ll take some time to get used to.”
“Didn’t it take time to get used to always being in the news?”
Jia shrugged. “Yes, but I am now used to that, not the opposite.”
There was a knock on the door. Jia’s hand went to her stun pistol, and she narrowed her eyes. He couldn’t blame her. They’d both had some close calls during the raid.
“Another kid?” Erik asked.
“No, an unidentified dark-skinned woman,” Emma reported.
“Kalei?”
“As I said, unidentified. Her facial features, hair, and dress are different.” Emma made a noise of disapproval. “But it’s not impossible she’s disguised.”
“She didn’t give us a passphrase.” Jia kept her hand on the gun. “But go ahead and let her in.” She lifted her gun to aim for the head.
The door slid open, and the woman entered without asking. Emma was right. Other than being dark-skinned, there was little resemblance to their ID contact. The new arrival had a much rounder face, shorter hair, and different eye color, in addition to being taller than the info-broker ghost. Her carefully tailored dark suit seemed more like something Alina would wear. She tapped the access panel to close the door, and she seemed oblivious to Jia’s weapons.
Jia shook the gun. “Identify yourself.”
The woman sighed. “Oh, darling. You’re as paranoid as Alina. I’m not fond of disguises, but after seeing how badly poor old Erik was hurt yesterday, I thought it’d be nice if I didn’t make you come to me, so I came to you.”
Jia holstered her pistol, satisfied it was Kalei. “Is Sukorn okay?”
“He’s receiving treatment, and he’s awake now. He’ll make a full recovery. Those Dome Society bastards worked him over pretty badly.” Kalei pursed her lips. “But you gave them enough of a whupping that he’s been paid back and then some for what they did to him.”
Erik sat up. “Did you ever figure out what they wanted with him?”
“Mistaken identity.” Kalei shook her head and clucked her tongue. “Simple as that. Mistaken identity from bad timing. He asked a few too many questions they didn’t particularly care for. He was trying to sniff out if Talos was around because of some unusual weapons shipments going through Unity City, including those armored cars and APCs. Alina thought it might have been related to some of that nonsense on the moon, but it turned out it wasn’t.”
She shrugged with an amused smile. “It was just a syndicate doing what it does: crime. They were trying to get contraband out to the frontier and to paying customers who specialize in the rebellion business. It takes a special kind of criminal to ship weapons to rebels when they’re only three days away from Earth, but where there’s money, people will take risks, even stupid ones.”
“No conspiracy links?” Jia asked.
“While everything is a conspiracy of some sort, not everything is the kind of conspiracy you’re talking about.”
Jia snorted. “You could have fooled me.”
Erik swung his legs over the edge of the bed. “We might have been disguised, but we showed up in an MX 60. It was a different color and used a fake transponder signal, but eventually, the Dome Society’s going to figure who took them out, and that wasn’t their entire organization. They’re going to want revenge. I don’t regret what we did, but it’ll make some things more complicated.”
Kalei shook her finger at him with a disapproving look on her face. “And that is why you should have kept things quieter, not started a war.”
“We asked nicely.” Erik shrugged. “They refused.”
“So then you showed up with missiles and laser rifles?”
“It got the job done, didn’t it? They tortured and beat your agent.”
“That they did.” Kalei laughed. “No wonder Alina likes you two so much. She’s fond of overkill, too. I prefer a lighter touch.” She smiled and let out a quiet sigh. “Now, don’t you go worrying about the Dome Society. I spread some rumors around, letting everyone know they took a big hit and suggesting it was some big, fancy out-of-town mercs hired by someone. There are a lot of hungry syndicates on Mars, and they’re always looking for an advantage.” She gave a toothy grin. “I also leaked information to the CID about their arms smuggling and trafficking, based on the data Emma recovered from their systems. The Dome Society won’t be able to take revenge on you because it won’t be around much longer. If the other syndicates don’t finish them off, the CID will.”
“That takes care of that.” Erik laid back down and rubbed his leg. “There you go, Jia. We got to do our jobs and cleaned up some criminals. Not bad for our first trip to Mars together.”
“You’re right.” Jia smiled. “I’m not going to lose sleep because we overachieved a little on our first job out.”
Kalei tapped her PNIU. “I’ve also got a message for you from our mutual friend.”
A hologram of a smiling Alina appeared. “I’ll be contacting you on your way back, but I wanted to thank you for locating our missing agent and proving yourselves.” The hologram raised her palm and shook her head. “I know what you’re thinking. ‘Haven’t we proved ourselves already?’ Yes, you did a good job on the moon, but that was only a start, and that was a job where you still were thinking like cops. This was a job where you had to think like ghosts. I knew it wasn’t a mistake to recruit you, and I’m confident you’ll help us follow the stench of Talos and another dark conspiracy that threatens the UTC.”
She smiled. “For now, get some rest. You’ve earned it. I’ll work more leads and get you a new assignment. And just so you know, I’ve got two advanced exoskeleton prototypes coming your way. That’s why it took me so long to line them up. If you’re going to raid syndicates bases by yourselves, I thought it might help if you had better gear. I’ve also got a scout bike and some mini-flitters for you, as requested. Consider them rewards and investments in your future. I’m sure this won’t be the last of your big successes.” She nodded, and the image disappeared.
Kalei walked to the door. “You two certainly keep things exciting.” She cocked her head. “Maybe too exciting. I hope you enjoy your trip back to Earth, darlings, but no offense—I hope I don’t see you for a while. I don’t know if my blood pressure can handle it.”
Erik grinned. “We get things done.”
She looked at Erik and Jia. “I can’t dispute that.”
Chapter Fifty-Six
Julia smiled sweetly at the dark shadow hologram sitting at the table across from her.
She didn’t understand how people could tolerate talking to others when they could only hear the voice. It’d always made her skin crawl. Something about it felt fundamentally unnatural.
The man across from her might not be real or anything more than the barest outline of a person, but that small visual presence gave a fundamental gravity to the conversation that was otherwise lacking and pushed away any of the unpleasantness that threatened to discomfit her.
The man cleared his throat. Julia, like others in the Core, referred to him as the Agent.
It was hard to keep track of all his false names, including the last he’d used. He’d been Hadrian Conners during his previous major mission for them.
“On behalf of all of the Core, I want to express my admiration for what you achieved on the prison station,” she offered. “I don’t know if you were adequately praised for it at the time.”
“Is that so?” the Agent replied. “It is my understanding that some were displeased. The station wasn’t destroyed, and the target was not killed. I was told some were angry because of the additional pressure from the Intelligence Directorate.”
Julia sighed melodramatically. “The Last Soldier and the Warrior Princess are far more dangerous than some of my associates appreciate. It’s my belief that measures will need to be taken if we can’t convert them into more pliable tools. Unfortunately, when you’ve lived as long as we have, you grow risk-averse. It’s unfortunate, but that’s not your fault.”
“What measures are you talking about?” the Agent asked, the blank shadow of his face and neutral tone revealing nothing.
“That’s something I’m going to need your assistance with. Something that requires a man of your unique talents.” Julia leaned forward, her lips parting in excitement. “But this will carry greater risks than you typically face. Sophia and some of the others are being too reactive rather than proactive. We can’t achieve our goals without sacrifices. I’m sure you understand that. This isn’t the first time I’ve had you do something that required more secrecy than normal.”
“I live to serve.”
“Good,” Julia replied. “It’ll soon be time for service, unless you’re worried. I understand why you might be.”
“Worried about the Last Soldier and the Warrior Princess?” The Agent shook his head. “Give me a mission and I’ll carry it out. They are of little concern.”
“Your loyalty will be rewarded in the new order,” Julia declared. “This will go beyond anything you’ve been asked to do before. Are you prepared for that?”
“I live to serve,” he repeated.
* * *
November 17, 2229, Aboard the Rabbit-class Transport LLT9208 Pegasus, En Route from Mars to Earth
Erik entered the cargo bay whistling. Lanara was hunched over the open hood of the MX 60, goggles on, mumbling a string of numbers to herself. She didn’t have any tools in hand, but she tapped her PNIU on occasion, accompanied by an even faster string of numbers.
“Everything okay?” he asked. “You don’t have to fix anything right away if there is damage. It’s not like I’m going to take it for a spin halfway to Earth.”
Erik didn’t think there was any damage. If there had been, Emma would have told him.
Lanara jerked upright and spun to face him. She lifted her goggles and narrowed her eyes, then her words spilled out in a rapid-fire stream. “You had a very good mechanic maintaining this vehicle. I’ve been evaluating performance, fuel intake, grav field alignment, and the systems interfaces. I was just examining the thruster efficiency, and I noticed how the lateral thrusters don’t have to deal with the—
“That sounds like everything’s okay and you’re just checking it out,” Erik interrupted.
“Yes. An efficient summary.” Lanara pushed her goggles down and leaned back over the exposed machinery. “There’s not a tremendous amount I can do to improve this flitter without a major overhaul. I discussed it earlier with Emma, and she agrees.”
“Miguel would be happy to hear that, and I’m glad too.” Erik walked over to stand beside Lanara. “Though he couldn’t and wouldn’t do everything I wanted.”
Lanara continued staring at the MX 60’s innards. “What do you need, Blackwell?”
“A weapon,” Erik explained.
“You have piles of weapons hidden in this thing.” Lanara’s face contorted into a deep scowl. “It’s more efficient for you to buy weapons and have me maintain them rather than me make them. It’s not my specialty.”
“No. I’m talking about something bigger. I want an antivehicle weapon in the MX 60, but something that can be concealed and protected from scans. I’m tired of having to shoot out the window when I’m chasing people. A gun and an EMP would be handy.”
Lanara let out a low, long noise almost like a growl. “That will take more time than we have. I don’t have the parts on board.”
Erik laughed. “You don’t have to do it on the way back. Just something to think about and plan for the near future. The more tools I have, the better I can do my job.”
“I’ll think about it and let you know.” Lanara flicked her wrist to dismiss him. “I can’t concentrate on my diagnostics with you talking to me. Please go away. Once I’ve come up with a reasonable and efficient way to satisfy your requests, I’ll talk to you, but I’ve got a long list of projects ahead of that, most focused on this ship.”
“That’s okay.” Erik nodded and headed toward the crew quarters. “I’m a patient man.”
Lanara returned to her number-intensive muttering, having forgotten that she’d been talking to another human being.
An hour later, Erik sat on the edge of Jia’s berth, relaxed. She sat next to him, her head on his shoulder.
“I’m suddenly completely exhausted,” she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. “All the excitement of that assignment crashed into me at once. It’s like my soul’s more tired than my body.”
“It’s all over now,” Erik replied, wrapping his arm around her. “We got Alina’s guy back, took down a syndicate when we weren’t even trying, and convinced her to cough up better gear. Not bad for a couple weeks out of our old job.”
“Not bad at all.” Jia half-closed her eyes. “I keep thinking about how it was the same, and yet it was different. Some things were easier.” She snickered quietly. “And we don’t have to write any stupid reports. But a lot of things weren’t. It’ll take me a few more times to get used to not being a cop.”
“It came down to the same thing in the end.” Erik grinned. “Someone was stupid and stubborn and violent, and they found out there are people more stubborn than them in this galaxy. People who want to protect others.”
“I…” Jia lifted her head and averted her eyes. “Do you ever stop to think about how dangerous it is? I didn’t say much at the time other than a quick comment, but this was different. It’s been a long time since we’ve had to do that kind of thing by ourselves. We’re used to having armed backup, but this time we took on an entire facility, just the two of us, like it was nothing.” She laughed and shook her head. “It seemed reasonable then, but it sounds insane now that I think about it. I didn’t even blink at the idea of an armored car charging me. I was mostly just looking forward to taking the guy out.”
Erik shrugged. “You’re a veteran now, not a rookie. You react. You don’t overthink. It’s not a big thing.”
“I did overthink during that raid.” Jia sighed. “Just for a minute. When you got hurt, I…” She sucked in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “It’s always going to be dangerous, and I accept that, but don’t risk your life unnecessarily. I’m not ready for you to die.” She leaned forward and placed her forehead against his. “Give me a few months, at least.”
Erik tilted her head back and stared into her eyes. “I’m not going to die until those bastards who killed my soldiers go down. You don’t have to worry about me, but it doesn’t matter because down on Mars, I wasn’t risking my life. You were, with your crazy plan.”
“I wasn’t risking my life.” Jia’s breathing slowed. “I was trusting my partner.” She closed her eyes and started to kiss him.
“Wow!” shouted a man’s voice from beside them.
Erik and Jia swiveled their heads. Cutter stood near the cockpit door, a huge grin on his face.
He waved his hands in front of him. “Look, not trying to get in the way, you know?” He offered an exaggerated wink. “I just got the old munchies.” He patted his stomach. “How about I go get my snack and then head back to the cockpit and lock
myself in there for an hour?”
Jia groaned and scrubbed a hand down her face, then stood and walked toward the cargo bay. “I think I’m going to train for a while. I need to work off some nervous energy.”
“Hey, you need two or three hours? I’m good with that, too.” Cutter gave Erik a thumbs-up. “Damn, you’ve got stamina. Me? I don’t think I can last ten minutes.”
Erik facepalmed.
“We’re going to need a bigger ship.”
The Story Continues with Shadows Of Opinion
A Venusian floating city might need to be sacrificed to hide secrets.
The Conspiracy believes they have an excellent plan to take down Erik and Jia without anyone figuring it out. But what will they unleash to accomplish it?
The military makes an offer, but it comes with a very significant risk. How far are Erik, Jia, and Emma willing to go? Will they accept a massive technology upgrade?
Erik and Jia want the truth, but will the cost of tens of thousands of civilians caught in the middle be worth it?
* * *
Two years ago, a small moon in a far-off system was set to be the location of the first intergalactic war between humans and an alien race.
It didn't happen. However, something was found that many are willing to kill to keep a secret.
Now they have killed the wrong people.
How many will need to die to keep the truth hidden?
As many as is needed.
He will have vengeance, no matter the cost. She will dig for the truth, no matter how risky the truth is to reveal.
* * *
Pre-order Shadows Of Opinion for Delivery on July 10, 2020
Author Notes - Michael Anderle
April 7, 2020
Thank you for reading not only this book, but through the end to these Author Notes in the back!
Maelstrom of Treason Page 39
