by Saxon Andrew
The Assassin’s Guild
The Fight for Britannia
Saxon Andrew
Copyright © 2018 Saxon Andrew
All rights reserved.
This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locals, organisations, or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author.
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Contents
Introduction
Chapter One • Chapter Two • Chapter Three • Chapter Four • Chapter Five • Chapter Six • Chapter Seven • Chapter Eight • Chapter Nine • Chapter Ten • Chapter Eleven • Chapter Twelve • Chapter Thirteen • Chapter Fourteen • Chapter Fifteen • Chapter Sixteen • Chapter Seventeen • Chapter Eighteen • Chapter Nineteen • Chapter Twenty • Chapter Twenty-One • Chapter Twenty-Two • Chapter Twenty-Three
Epilogue
Books by Saxon Andrew
About Saxon Andrew
Introduction
Admiral Kosare entered the giant laboratory and looked around. He saw the man he was seeking at the front of the room and walked over to his station, “Captain Henricks, please come with me.”
Grady stood up and followed the admiral out of the lab. A scientist sitting behind the man that left with the admiral pressed a button on his watch as he watched the admiral leave the room. The admiral walked outside the building and Grady wondered what was going on. The Admiral remained silent until they were walking past the exterior of the building. He stopped and turned to Grady, “You will do exactly as I instruct you, Captain.”
“Yes, Sir.”
The admiral stepped away from Grady, so his back was away from the building, “I know that we are being observed by agents from the Coalition at this moment. They won’t be able to read my lips, but I need you to play a role as we conduct this discussion. Now tell me that everything is going well, and your work is what makes your day.”
Grady smiled and complied, “Everything’s going well Admiral. I look forward to going to work, it makes my day.”
“Good! Now listen and nod several times while I’m talking to you.” Grady nodded.
The observer kept his eyes on the two men and said, “I can’t see the admiral’s lips, but I can clearly see the man he’s talking with.” The observer’s controller stared at a screen and increased the size of the image. The observer said, “So far, it’s only been small talk, nothing serious.”
• • •
The admiral quickly began talking, “The Coalition has so many agents here that I had to arrange to talk with you where I won’t be heard. One of our small attack scouts has been destroyed and the only thing that survived was the ship’s hull. Now would be a good time to nod.” Grady nodded. “Everything inside the ship was disintegrated leaving nothing behind but the outer hull. That hull has been changed into some kind of material we don’t understand. I need you to find out what happened to it.” Grady’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he nodded. “It’s imperative that the Coalition not find out about that hull.” Grady’s head tilted. “Good, that’s a good response,” the admiral replied. “The hull is now harder than any substance we’ve ever seen, Grady. And if it is hit by any powerful light, the inside of the hull starts heating to temperatures that would melt our strongest armor. No one has a clue how that happens. If the Coalition knew about this, they would take immediate action to either take or destroy the hull.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“You are my best structural scientist and you’re going to find out what’s going on. In a moment, I’m going to tell you that your best friend was killed on that ship when it was burned up during an accidental fire. You are going to fall to pieces to the point where I have to call an ambulance, understand?” Grady nodded. “I will send you on leave for a week and at the end of that time you will report to my office and I’ll tell you what comes next. I want you to report unshaven wearing a wrinkled uniform, ready?” Grady nodded.
The admiral turned from the wall and said, “You’ve been doing a good job, Captain. I wanted to tell you what your supervisors have said about you; they insist you will one day be one of our best scientists.”
Grady knew the admiral believed he was now being watched, “Thank you, Sir.”
• • •
“I can see the admiral’s lips now!” the observer said as he kept his eyes on the scope. He began repeating what the admiral was saying.
• • •
They walked a few yards and the Admiral stopped, turned to Grady, and shook his head, “I hate to be the one to deliver this news, but your best friend, Lieutenant Donald, died on his attack scout when it burned up in an accidental fire three-days ago.”
Grady’s eyes flew wide open and his mouth fell open as well. He managed to say, “He was like my brother…he’s my only family!”
The admiral put his hand on Grady’s shoulder, and was surprised at how well he was acting; it was an incredible performance. “I’m sorry to be the one to have to tell you, Captain.” Suddenly, Grady started shaking and his knees started to buckle. The Admiral grabbed his shoulders and walked him over to a bench beside the walkway. He laid Grady down and pressed a button on his collar, “GET AN AMBULANCE TO MY LOCATION NOW!!”
• • •
The observer watched them and said, “It appears the admiral just told the man that a close friend died during an accidental fire on one of their small ships.”
“Why did it take him so long?!” the controller demanded.
“I suspect he didn’t want to do it and made small talk until he built up the nerve. No one likes to deliver that sort of news.” The controller scowled and continued to stare at the monitor.
The ambulance arrived, and the admiral turned to the Senior Sargent, “Tell the doctor to inform Captain Henricks that I’m ordering him to take a week off and report to me when he returns.”
“Yes Sir,” the Sergeant replied. Grady was put on a stretcher and lifted into the ambulance. It pulled away and the admiral stared at it. He shook his head and turned to go back to the facility.
• • •
The observer turned to the controller, “Do you want me to put someone on the ambulance?”
“No, keep your attention on the admiral. We knew about the destroyed ship and there’s nothing here that doesn’t line up with what we know.” The observer nodded and adjusted the view from the satellite high over the planet.
• • •
Grady arrived at the admiral’s office a week later in an unkempt uniform and a week-old beard. He entered the office and several of the clerks smelled alcohol on his breath. He slurred, “The admiral told me to report to him.” He was swaying slightly, and the admiral’s clerk went into the admiral’s office. She came out and nodded toward the door. Grady went through the door and the admiral shouted, “CLOSE THE DOOR!” Grady closed the door, and the admiral smiled, “Very good, Captain Henricks. May I assume you are not drunk?”
Grady straightened up, “No Sir. Most of it is sprinkled on my uniform.”
“Clever, sit down.” Grady sat down on a chair in front of the admiral’s desk and he said, “We won’t be heard in this room. I’m sorry about the earlier dramatics but I had to do it, to set this meeting up t
o avoid suspicion. I have moved the damaged hull to a secret location. I ordered it to be demolished but sold it to one of my agents to use it for scrap instead. He’s taken it to a site where you will shorty go to start examining it. Understand so far?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“I understand that you are quite wealthy.” Grady’s eyes narrowed, and he nodded. “I know about your investments and you’ve done quite well. You’re going to need that wealth to pull off this masquerade.”
“What’s going on, Sir.”
“You’re going to have to rebuild that scout’s hull so that it is operational again. The only way for us to find out what happened to it is to take it away from the planet to examine it. That means it needs to be an operational ship.”
“Sir, you said there’s nothing left inside the hull.”
“There isn’t. However, before you purchase the building where the ship is located, and don’t look at me with that expression, all the things we thought you’d need to rebuild it were shipped there by the agent that purchased the hull. He will stay in contact with you and if you need other items, he will collect them and take them to the site.”
“Why did you choose me for this, Admiral?”
“Because I know you’re loyal and take your promise to defend the Union seriously. You’re also one of my best scientists in ship design. This is the most important project we have going, Captain, and it may take the knowledge hidden in that ship’s hull to hold off the Coalition. You’re also one of the best engineers in our ranks. I believe that if anyone can do it, you can.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
“Don’t thank me, Grady. This role you’re now playing is going to become your life. The only way to prevent the Coalition spies from uncovering what you’re doing is to appear to be insane. You’re going to do that while all of the supplies are moved to the building site.”
“How many will be working on it, Sir?”
“Just you.”
“Sir, I’m not capable of rebuilding a ship!”
“You’ll have two of our most advanced robots to do the physical work. You’re going to have to come up with what’s needed to make the rebuild successful.” Grady nodded. “Now this is important, Grady. You’re going to step out of my office and yell that you want to resign immediately. I’ll try to talk you out of it, but you’ll refuse. You’ll go directly to personnel and fill out your resignation papers. Clear so far?”
“Yes Sir.”
“Now the hard part. You’re going to isolate yourself from anyone that knows you and tell no one about this mission.”
“Sir?”
“Grady, the Coalition agents are everywhere and if you don’t stay in role, you’ll be discovered. If you tell anyone about this, the Coalition will find out. You must act like this imagined best friend’s death has pushed you over the edge of sanity. You’ve got a good start on looking the part, you just have to continue it. Now, I sent an address to your personal communicator three-days ago, along with the name of a real-estate agency; that message was sent over a frequency the spies haven’t discovered yet. Three months from now, go to that agency and ask for Jessica Jones. The building site is for sale, but it won’t be listed or sold to anyone but you. She will have all the details on how to operate the site in a packet she’ll give you at closing, make sure the packet is still sealed. I don’t think it will be a problem; she doesn’t know what’s in the packet or who sent it. The contents of the packet are in code and the robots will be able to translate the contents for you. She’s been told it’s from the previous owner and the next owner should be the only one to open it.”
“What about my family, Sir?”
“I’m sorry, Grady, but you are going to have to never communicate with them while you’re on this mission. You can bet that their communicators are tapped and anything you say will be heard.”
“How is that possible, Sir?”
“Every member of our military and anyone they associate with are tapped, Captain. If you say anything that raises suspicions, your family will be put in danger. You must do this.”
“Sir, is there no one else that can do it?”
“Captain, if there were, you wouldn’t be sitting here today.”
“And my girlfriend?” Grady asked.
“Same thing.”
Grady lowered his eyes and then looked up, “Admiral, how was the scout destroyed?”
The admiral hesitated and leaned forward, “It wasn’t an accidental fire and the Coalition didn’t do it. We’re faced with two threats, Captain. We believe it was destroyed by an alien ship and that means that they are watching us. We don’t know their intentions but there is a real possibility that our civilization is at risk. You need to do this for more than just the threat of the Coalition.” The admiral paused and said, “Are you ready to do this?” Grady nodded. “Spend three-months developing your new identity and at that point, buy the house and start your project. We should leave my office now; if we stay in here much longer, it will make them suspicious.”
Grady stood up and took a deep breath. He knew when he joined the military that something like this could happen. He released the breath he was holding and turned to the door. He opened it shouting.
Chapter One
Grady was bored and decided to leave the small apartment he had rented after his resignation. It was located in the poor district of the city at the outer edge of the giant metropolis. He left all his neighbors alone and they returned the favor. He saw on the entertainment monitor that a circus had come to town and was inside walking distance from his apartment.
He looked in the mirror and wondered if he was being watched. His beard was getting longer, and his hair had grown over his ears; it looked like it hadn’t been washed; truth be told, it hadn’t. He knew he had a smell that caused people around him to grimace and move away. He no longer smelled himself, but it was clear everyone around him did. He pulled a hair out of his beard, licked it, and put it over the edge of his closet door.
He walked out of the apartment and started walking north. Two-miles later, he saw the lights and heard the sounds of the circus. He pulled some loose bills out of his pocket and entered the gate.
He walked around with his head down slightly and felt good seeing people again. He had remained isolated for a month and this was a welcome change from watching the monitor all day in his apartment. He walked among the crowds for an hour and stopped beside a tent where people paid to throw balls at standup figures. Grady quickly realized that some of the figures were locked down and very few people were able to win. Suddenly, a huge man bumped into him.
“WATCH WHERE YOU’RE GOING!!” the large man bellowed. Grady had caught himself on one of the tent’s ropes and managed to prevent his fall. He looked at the man and saw he was wearing a tank top to show off his muscles; he was clearly a body builder. His hair was cut close to his head and he was obviously flexing his muscles to show off.
There was a group of five people walking with him and one of the men said, “You hit him first, Rosh!”
The large man turned and glared at the man who spoke, and he quickly backed down. Rosh turned to Grady and smiled, “You don’t like it?” Grady stared at him and didn’t move. The man reached out and shoved Grady’s shoulder. Grady looked at his shoulder and the large man pushed him again, “I asked you a question.”
“Rolf, please just let it go!”
Grady and Rolf turned to a girl with purple hair and eyebrows. The man went to her and gripped her cheeks in his hand, “You need to learn your place! Shut up and stop butting in my business!” He pushed her away and turned back to Grady. Grady knew there was no avoiding this confrontation without coming out of his role. Well, if he was supposed to be insane, he might as well play the part. Rolf reached out to shove him again and Grady screamed and delivered a vicious upper cut into the man’s midsection. He doubled over and fell to the ground struggling to breathe. Grady jumped on top of him delivering blow after blow to the man’s h
ead. Grady was careful not to do any damage and he was screaming the entire time. Security arrived, pulled Grady off Rolf, and dragged him away. Grady’s eyes were wild moving from side to side and he continued to scream until he was ejected from the park.
A couple stood close by watching the incident and the man turned to the woman and said quietly, “And we’re watching him because…”
The woman shook her head. She looked around and touched her necklace, “He’s on his way back. Have you found anything?”
A voice replied in her ear, “This place is a garbage dump. No, we’ve not found anything and we’re going to have to be inoculated to prevent catching a disease from being in here!”
The woman thought for a moment and touched her necklace again, “Sir. Following this idiot is a consummate waste of time and man power. He’s clearly insane and there’s nothing else happening.”
“Are you certain about that?”
“Sir, go and inspect his living quarters…but you better be wearing a hazard suit if you do. He’s no longer living in reality.”
“Alright, call off your team and report to me once you’re clear.”
‘Yes, Sir.”
The man with the woman snorted, “Why has it taken you this long to make that determination?”
The woman glanced at the man, “I don’t know. It’s just hard to believe one of their up and coming scientists could lose it over the death of a friend.”
“Do you remember Jauger?”
The woman turned to the man, “But that was his twin!”
“You know that idiot said the man that died was like a brother and his only family.”
The woman sighed, “I guess the minds that burn brightest burn out fastest.”
The man nodded, “That’s how I see it.” The couple turned and left the circus.
• • •
Grady arrived back at his apartment and discovered the hair was missing from the closet door. He looked around and saw differences in the trash he strategically scattered around the room. The admiral was right; he was being watched. From that moment on, he would deliberately leave the apartment to purchase food or other items and found that after the fight at the circus, it was not disturbed again. It appeared the confrontation had removed him from the Coalition’s radar. Two-months later, he purchased the old house on the side of a mountain and moved in. Now, he could start his mission. He opened the packet, handed it to one of the robots, and read what came out of the printer. He began reading how to operate the features of his new home. He went to the computer on the wall and pressed a button. A few moments later, Admiral Kosare appeared on the monitor, “It looks like things are going according to plan. This communication channel is secure, and you should use it if absolutely necessary to contact me; I do believe it will be uncovered if you use it often.”
