Death Dealer
Page 11
asked Nerishka as she stepped back.
Nerishka bent over to the woman.
Lyra paused for a moment and sent Nerishka a smile. A moment later both the woman’s thigh muscles contracted and the slits in the outer thigh area of her pants bulged open. Nerishka swiftly retrieved both the weapons, administered another sedative just in case, and took the gun and knife away with her as she left the room.
She hurried out into the main living area, glad to see the lab-pod sitting near the main doorway waiting for her. With her prisoner on her mind, she’d barely registered it when they had entered the suite, and now she smiled, looking forward to the time she would spend working with the plants.
At least she could trust her toxins. They were what they were, no complications, no surprises.
UPDATES
STELLAR DATE: 10.06.8948 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Belshazzar, en route to Xerxes
REGION: Anahita, Ayra System (Independent)
With Lyra attempting to probe their reluctant captive, Nerishka took some time to jump in the san, change into something more comfortable; a soft sleeveless blouse and a matching wide-legged pair of pants, both a pale teal in color, with the addition of her lightwand on a belt at her waist—just in case someone else attempted to kill her in the ensuing moments.
She ordered in a meal and, while waiting, she relaxed on the couch and stared out at the large window that revealed a view of the system through which they traveled.
The last few days had been fast-paced—not that she wasn’t used to that kind of pace. She just hadn’t been caught unawares so many successive times before. Something was definitely going on and Nerishka knew she couldn’t be complacent about it.
Nerishka pursed her lips. That was unusual for Lyra. In the time since the two had been paired, Lyra had only ever tried her best. Knowing the AI was having trouble was worrying, though she did have a habit of coming through every time. Nerishka didn’t mention her concerns to Lyra though, and she hoped that the AI hadn’t picked up on her emotions. Lyra did tend to be aware at the worst of times.
Their quarters came with personal service, which suited Nerishka fine—unwilling yet to join the rest of the travelers on the ship in the restaurant facilities provided. The ship was both cargo hauler and passenger liner, providing a range of cabin and service options depending on one’s credit.
As Nerishka tucked into her meal of slow-braised beef, red wine jus and steamed vegetables, she opened a data packet that had arrived from Jeriah while she’d been getting changed.
Regional Director Jeriah, Nerishka’s immediate superior, was a hard woman to satisfy. She showed little emotion and even less personality, and Nerishka often wondered if the woman was really an AI in a bio-frame. Either that or she took professional distance to the extreme.
Nerishka opened a file containing a vid communication from Jeriah and initiated it. The image appeared before Nerishka, revealing Jeriah as she sat at her desk—silvery hair framing her face in long waves that cascaded to her waist. The woman’s beauty was the sort Nerishka catalogued as sharp and crisp, the clean lines of her high cheekbones and thin long nose giving her a regal appearance.
Jeriah wore a long black sleeveless dress, her arms covered in black snakelike bands that twisted from wrist to armpit. Those arm braces were Jeriah’s only nod to frivolity, although in Nerishka’s mind they alluded more to the woman’s ruthless nature than to a sense of fashion.
Jeriah leaned forward. “Nerishka, I suspect that by the time you receive this, you may already be aware that our agent on the ground, Karsin, has been eliminated. We have grave concerns as to how and why, and as such I’d like you to pause your mission and investigate Karsin’s death. There are events afoot that are unnerving to say the least.
“Over the last month I’ve received reports of three other agents in the sector who have been found dead. I’m beginning to suspect someone is hunting Hand operatives and I’ve reached out to Director Sera regarding our current options. Please update me as soon as you are able.”
Nerishka set her almost-finished meal aside and straightened as Jeriah let out a sigh—unusual for the woman to reveal such a depth of emotion.
“I’m almost of the mind to pull you out of Ayra entirely. These assassins are everywhere, it seems, and I’m concerned that if we continue to send you out into the dark without knowing more about this new enemy, that you may be the next death reported to me. Please be vigilant. I’ll be sending you regular updates though I fear you may not receive them in time.”
The feed ended with a shot of Jeriah as she sat back in her chair, her shoulders rounded as though the burdens she bore had suddenly become too much.
Nerishka swallowed hard. She understood only too well what the woman was feeling. As far as Nerishka was concerned, Karsin had been killed on her watch. His death could still have had something to do with Fletcher and the contents of that horrific file. The assassins could have come to his apartment after he’d been killed by others.
But, given Jeriah’s update, Nerishka was beginning to doubt it. A doubt substantiated by the fact that the green-skinned assassins had attempted to kill Nerishka herself three times now. If they were somehow connected to Fletcher, it would be unlikely that they would carry on once the money had stopped flowing.
She pursed her lips. Was it just that she didn’t want a coordinated extermination of Hand agents to be the reason for the attempts on her life?
She’d rather the killers be working on behalf of the person on whose tail she was right now. That would make the conclusion of this mission nice and neat. Eliminate the greater threat. And the assassins along with them.
And present the result to Sera and Jeriah, wrapped in a nice virtual bow.
If only things were that easy.
WARES
STELLAR DATE: 10.06.8948 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Belshazzar, en route to Xerxes
REGION: Ayra System (Independent)
After checking on the condition of her captive, Nerishka entered the room next door and approached her lab-pod. She passed her tokens and then scanned her thumb on each of the locks, waiting until the vacuum-sealed pod opened.
The pod itself was large, a meter tall and nearly as wide. The front side was made up of two doors which opened to reveal multiple levels of shelving and drawers. When fully opened, the pod morphed into a wide plas-fronted cupboard, multiple doors hiding a variety of plants, all kept alive with timed irrigation. Within the sealed environment swirled microdrones, attending to soil PH and fertilization.
The bottom of the middle shelf contained a set of drawers filled with hundreds of specimen jars and bottles, each in turn filled with toxic liquids extracted from the rarest of the most poisonous plants on Valkris.
Though it would have been easier for Nerishka to order the pre-prepared toxins she required—thus saving her the hours she spent on preparing them—she had always balked at the idea.
Her toxins were specifically engineered for each and every situation. Nanot
oxins were one thing, but the ability to eliminate a mark without leaving a single trace behind was an advantage that had helped garner Nerishka a reputation second to none.
Well, maybe Nadine may have something to say about that.
Nerishka smiled at the thought of her cousin. She’d grown up in Nadine’s shadow and had enjoyed every moment of it. For a time, with so many different political agendas pulling at them, the pair had been at odds with each other. But circumstances had changed, and they’d come full circle, back to a trust that would never die.
They hadn’t seen each other in over twenty years and Nerishka knew that she’d get her ears burned if she messed things up.
Nadine was a stickler for rules. Nerishka would likely be unceremoniously handed her ass if she put a foot wrong. Plus, Nadine was all about her rep with Petra. So Nerishka behaved. Mostly.
She couldn’t help it though. Trouble seemed to follow her wherever she went. She’d been running the numbers. Nerishka had about a one-in-five chance of an op going off according to plan.
The rest of the time? Shit happened.
Like discovering Fletcher’s secret boss and the suspicious files containing the implication of mass infections as a result of some secret project—something that could cause such devastation had to be a huge issue. And one she could not turn a blind eye to.
As she logged the details of the living flora in her lab-pod and began to ascertain which toxins she’d be able to prepare as soon as possible, Nerishka hit up the ship’s library over the Link, looking into the sorts of experimental research that could have such a rapid and devastating effect.
She started with the history of planet Xerxes, noting that much of the population lived an agrarian existence. That didn’t bode well at all for the planet itself. Isolated farming communities could suffer more from whatever disease Fletcher’s other project had unleashed—possibly infecting lifestock and crops.
Lyra commented softly, her voice tinged with amusement.
She was preparing the leaves of two plants for examination, while on her HUD she scanned through documentation of multitudes of diseases, infestations, toxic spills and natural poisoning, and she was now conversing with Lyra.
The AI had been quiet for a long while, leading Nerishka to wonder if Lyra also needed time to herself. Either that or she was researching just as much as Nerishka was.
Nerishka stiffened, her fingers stilling for a moment.
Lyra’s avatar shrugged.
Nerishka smiled.
Seeing him again was going to be interesting. At least he knew she was coming. He could have turned her request down if he’d wanted to.
Still, Nerishka was not looking forward to working with the man and his team, let alone possibly relying on him to save her life.
She wasn’t sure what she was more concerned about: looking for a toxic disease in what might be a toxic environment, or spending time with Dresden again.
Nerishka shook her head. Definitely the latter.
AI’S WORK IS NEVER DONE
STELLAR DATE: 10.06.8948 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Belshazzar, departing Eshnunna
REGION: Anahita, Ayra System (Independent)
Nerishka was deep in her chemical trance, splicing cells and extracting concentrated toxins from her Valkris flora. That left Lyra to her own devices for a while; she’d only intrude in an emergency.
Lyra had spent much of her time since being paired with Nerishka, studying the operative’s behavior in every way possible. Having had no choice in who she’d been paired with, Lyra had not expected immediate compatibility.
No. That was not the truth. She had been given a small amount of flexibility of choice, but Nerishka had been the only tolerable option for Lyra.
Now, Lyra considered Nerishka in terms of her role as an assassin. The agent could be unnervingly cold when dispatching a mark—initially a concern for Lyra who had heard much about the Death Dealer; tales of Nerishka’s skill at eliminating her marks with brutal efficiency were legendary.
Given that the agent had been with the Hand for two hundred years, that was certainly not surprising. What had come as a surprise to Lyra was the Death Dealer’s penchant for natural toxins.
Lyra had researched everything she could on Nerishka and her family, diving into her life and upbringing on Valkris, and the circumstances that had resulted in her joining the Hand. Even so, Lyra knew—from using her own version of gut instinct—that there was so much more to it than the limited scope outlined in the files. There had been portions of Nerishka’s past requiring a security level that only Director Sera Tomlinson could access, which had raised a few flags for Lyra.
Even if she had not come up against those security protocols, Lyra would still have been suspicious about what it was that Nerishka hid behind her bad-ass exterior. The operative was confident, self-assured, and strong-minded bordering on arrogant at times. She was a very complex organic and Lyra was looking forward to pulling the pieces apart and figuring the agent out.
Nerishka was an enigma and enigmas fascinated Lyra to the point of obsession. She simply had to figure out how Nerishka ticked. At various points in her study of her partner, Lyra had considered the possibility that her focus on figuring Nerishka out could both be unhealthy and also pose a danger to the very relationship she wanted to cultivate.
Perhaps she ought to be a better friend to Nerishka and have her willingly reveal her truths, rather than digging into archives and researching Nerishka’s past without her knowledge.
Lyra gave a mental shrug and decided that, for now, the more information she uncovered the better she’d be ab
le to assist Nerishka with her missions.
Lyra had wondered how Nerishka would handle the partially failed mission. Yes, she had completed the kill, eliminated Fletcher. But she’d left a mess behind, and with the local Hand operative dead, there would be no one to clean up after her.
Lyra had, of course, infiltrated every camera and recording system on the networks where Nerishka had been. She’d ensured the Kresida persona was not linked to either Fletcher’s death or the kills of the two unknown assailants. It hadn’t taken long, especially with Lyra’s capabilities; though she had not been paired with a field agent prior to Nerishka, Lyra had been well-trained by some of the best AI agents in the Hand.
Being paired with one of the most notorious Hand assassins had been an honor for Lyra. One she was intent on ensuring went well for as long as they were together. And she didn’t plan on endangering the length of their pairing either. She’d come to like Nerishka despite her initial reservations, finding the agent extremely intelligent and quick on her feet.
Additionally, Nerishka’s knowledge of bioengineering her toxins was impressive. The only thing Lyra was unsure of regarding the Death Dealer was that ‘gut instinct’ nonsense.
Lyra didn’t get it. And what she didn’t get even more was the strange way that Nerishka’s gut instinct seemed to lead her in the correct direction—depending on how you interpret correct, of course.
Nerishka’s instinct had suggested there was more to Fletcher’s operations than met the eye. And she’d been right. There had been much more.
So much more.
And although Lyra was concerned that they were going off-book on this jaunt to follow the trail of a strange disease, she had to admit they did have an obligation, especially if it had to do with the death of a Hand agent. Which, of course, may or may not be related.
Lyra skimmed through Nerishka’s history once more. The agent was cousin to another operative with a reputation for highly efficient work. Both originated from the world of Valkris in the Transcend. Though the Hand files were extensive, the information it contained on Nerishka’s homeworld was thin to say the least.