“Damn it!” Noor swerved, making a sharp lurch to avoid an oncoming solo mini cruiser that exceeded the speed limit. He watched as the cruiser barely missed colliding with an aerotransporter filled with passengers.
A horn blared. The erratic driver gave the aerotransporter driver the one-finger salute.
The intercom from the airbus driver sounded. “Vehicle SGZ-527, pull your vessel aside. I have identified you as violating ordinance P752-800-499, which prohibits manual control of a vessel on the freeway. Your identification was scanned and downloaded to the authorities for ticketing.”
The violator continued without a backward glance.
Noor activated his messages and listened to Superior Sterns rant and rave. He droned on for what seemed like hours, the entire tirade focused on his command to return to headquarters with haste, which he had no intention of doing. He erased the message, scanned his surroundings, and then checked his rearview mirror when he heard the crash.
“He’s an idiot,” he uttered, seeing the violator jump from his vehicle and converge on the driver who had left the security of the airbus. A fight was about to ensue, and he considered doing a U-turn to squelch it before things got out of control. He was an officer, and an innate sense of obligation surfaced, until he viewed the authority’s tactical hovercraft weaving through traffic toward the scene. He decided to leave handling the incident to the transportation force.
The communicator auto-activated, and he wished he had gotten around to dismantling the locator and intrusion module that every authority vehicle had by order of the higher powers that happened to be his bosses. Better yet, he should have driven his own solo to work. By now, he would be cruising down the freeway without his superior hounding him, and beginning a much-needed vacation.
He swore to get around to disengaging the locator as he activated the communicator. “Yes, sir.” He intentionally sounded irritated.
“Next time, I don’t expect to be kept waiting,” Superior Sterns snapped.
“There was an incident on the freeway which may have required my assistance.”
“You haven’t been a traffic cop in five years, Rynoir. If you enjoy it so much, I can arrange to have you busted back down to wearing a uniform.”
The threat was idle, and they both knew it. He could have reminded Superior Sterns if he wanted he could have his position. Instead, out of respect for his superior’s title, he pinched his lips shut. Briefly, he reflected on why he turned down the Authority Elite Force’s high-ranking position when they offered it to him. He remembered why. He preferred to secure employment by his own merits instead of riding on the coattails of his family’s name. His father was a Tier, a royal title that held heavy weight and made him a descendant of royalty that opened all sorts of opportunities not considered for a common person. Neither he nor his family agreed with this concept. In their eyes, they were no better than anyone else was. That didn’t mean others didn’t practice discrimination.
Being a self-made man made Noor feel satisfied. He could do as he pleased and didn’t feel obligated to return favors like he would have if he’d allowed anyone to help him excel within the agency. Like anyone else, he entered the academy and worked hard to climb the ladder to his current position as a senior agent that worked exclusively for the government. It required many long hours doing tedious work, but in the end, he was pleased he’d received promotions that nobody scrutinized. While everybody in the agency knew, Sterns’s wife Denny, the commander over the tactical forces, had serious pull as a privileged government official and assisted his superior to acquire a powerful rank. Then there was the exhausting amount of ass kissing Sterns did that aided his illustrious career, which few agreed he earned.
There was no love lost between them. Sterns was beyond incompetent, not to mention an idiot, and worked harder at making his life a living hell instead of doing his job. He focused more on giving him the shaft than any other agent. In hindsight, could he blame Sterns? The man held a personal grudge against him, however, when you screw a man’s wife you have to accept the consequences.
Denny had deceived him about her identity and marital status. Maybe he should have asked more questions, and he might have if he hadn’t allowed his dick to rule his brain when he first encountered the beauty. She approached him at a company affair. In a matter of seconds, before he realized who she was or thought to inquire, he took her to his place and enjoyed a fuck marathon that lasted days.
It was quite a surprise when he reported to his new boss and the first thing he received as an order from Sterns was to stay the fuck away from his wife. Clearly baffled, he naturally denied knowing whom Sterns’s wife was until someone abruptly uploaded a portfolio to his interlink. All he could do was groan inwardly, seeing the visual display of him and Denny. The picture was grainy, which led him to believe someone had captured the video by shooting through his opened drapes with a telescopic lens. Still, he couldn’t deny the obvious. Naturally, he apologized profusely and told Sterns he had no idea Denny was his wife. It’d been a honest oversight, a disastrous one, but he’d hoped his superior would dismiss the incident as a mistake.
Apparently, that wasn’t going to happen in his lifetime, Noor thought, drily.
There was no sense in trying to defuse Sterns’s wrath. He concentrated on the present. “Sir, I’m sure you are aware as of seventeen-hundred hours I’m on approved vacation leave.”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass, Rynoir. My orders are to have you return to headquarters with haste. I warn you, you don’t have a minute to spare, and if you intentionally bullshit me around, I will see your ass in a sling.”
“Can I ask what this is about, sir?”
The communicator disconnected.
“I guess that means no. This had better be damned good,” he said. He reversed his direction and headed toward the authority building to see what was so damn important.
Chapter Two
Celeste was the authority administrator who operated the front desk to Superior Sterns’s office like the hounds of hell protected Satan. When he arrived, he found her sitting comfortably, a stylus tucked behind her ear, and staring intensely at the visual display as if she couldn’t decipher the numerous notices and dots that crisscrossed the screen. She didn’t look up immediately, taking her sweet time acknowledging his attendance, and he believed Celeste enjoyed making him wait. He could tell because when she finally paid attention to him, her lips curled mischievously.
“Well, it’s about time you graced us with your presence.”
Celeste was hot and knew it. He couldn’t help ogling the expanse of breast she displayed. Her blouse, a gauzy, form-fitting shirt, outlined her shapely figure, and drew his attention whether he liked it or not. Every male who crossed her path got a thing for Celeste, and behind her back, she was referred to as a three B—brains, breasts, and butt. Outside of her looks, the complete package included quick wit, a sassy mouth, and an ass-kicking persona that added to her appeal.
It was no secret Celeste managed every agent, including Sterns, like a seasoned commander capable of managing a tight ship. The notion intriguing left him to consider why she wasted time behind a desk, and one time, he made mistake of asking. What he received was a blunt “none of your business” reply.
“Just so you know, Superior Sterns is about to combust. If I counted correctly, he has been out here more than five times asking if you had arrived. I asked him if he saw you. What have you done this time, Noor? The man is salivating, biting at the bit for your head on a platter with all the trimmings. The men inside his office have already given him a thorough ass chewing, all in the name of your absence.”
“Really?” Noor grinned.
“Uh-huh.” She removed the pen from behind her ear and started chewing on the tip. She looked up at Noor. “I’m not sure who those bureaucrats are, but it is safe to say they pull rank over Superior Sterns, like six times over. Whew. That means this is way big, or you are in momentous trouble.”
“Thank you for the warning.”
“No problem.”
If Celeste didn’t have a clue about the men inside Sterns’ office, it meant this was serious business. Nothing, it was worth repeating, nada got past the administrator. She was infallibly thorough and well-connected in finding out matters in the agency that he suspected she might be Nararian, a race of people with eyes and hearing sensors behind their heads, except he couldn’t validate the suspicion until he got her undressed and in bed. To date, something he hadn’t succeeded in doing, and the failure bruised his ego.
Obviously in no hurry to save Sterns an ass chewing, Noor leaned against the desk leisurely. “How long have they been in there meeting?”
Celeste gave him a stern look, a signature expression she delivered when somebody asked something stupid. “It’s obvious to me the meeting can’t start without you. Duh.”
Noor smirked and straightened up. “If I survive this, maybe you can help me celebrate by having dinner.” It was worth another try.
Celeste switched the pen to her fingers. She started twirling it around and concentrated on the monitor. She pointed at Sterns’s door. “No can do. You had better get in there.”
* * * *
Immediately after entering the room, Noor assessed the men present. A rookie could have identified the occupants, or should have been able to. He had sense enough to know you didn’t join the elite forces and not recognize your audience.
The squat man who sat in the oversized chair that swallowed his slender frame and made him appear like a pea in a pod was Jenkins McGovern, head of the Interplanetary Destination Division. Noor didn’t like his expression or the fact that he kept nervously smoothing the sparse strands of hair over the bald spot atop his head. His eyes were tight, lips turned downward, and his entire disposition grave.
The man standing at the window with his back to everyone wore black slacks and a gray jacket that hung comfortably over his rigid shoulders. The way he held his body composed, the buzz haircut, suggested he was ex-military. He was of formidable height and build, but he moved gracefully, apparently comfortable with his bulk. When he turned around, cool blue eyes examined Noor from head to toe before he shifted his attention to the other occupant in the room. Councilman Cyrus Farrow of the Federal Interplanetary Agency gave the third man standing off in the corner a cursory glance before he focused on him again.
Noor looked at the third man, who stood unassumingly in the corner of the room, as if he felt more comfortable in the shadows. He examined the man dressed in the floor length blue robe ornamented with a cream and gold intricate design and an insignia over his chest. He faced the window, standing erect, and clasped his hands behind his back. Then he turned in his direction, acknowledged him with a slight inclination of his head before returning to gaze out the window. The identity of the person didn’t register with him.
Sterns snapped his fingers at Noor. “Take a seat. You have already delayed us long enough.”
Councilman Farrow raised his hand, a clear indication he wanted silence from Sterns and intended to facilitate the meeting. Sterns sulked, pulled out a chair, sat down, and shot eye-daggers at him. The council member motioned for Noor to take a seat and waited until he was situated before taking a chair across from him. He leaned forward and tepeed his fingers beneath his chin. Minutes ticked by before he spoke, as if he needed to decide where to begin the conversation.
“It’s best to get straight to the point,” Councilman Farrow said.
Jenkins McGovern nodded. Noor gave him his undivided attention. “This meeting is between the five people in this room and that is where it will remain after we leave here.”
The council member didn’t have to spell it out for him. His comment alone told Noor whatever transpired from the meeting was at a NTK level, above top secret, which summed up a great deal of his inquiries about the need for this unorthodox gathering. Whatever mission they had in mind, he’d be solo and stuck out there like a lone duck with no technical or team support, or official backing if things got antsy. He had to handle it himself. Noor shifted in his chair. It also revealed another interesting but unsettling tidbit. If he was caught doing whatever he did, the government would deny any acknowledge of his actions. Depending on how serious the offense, his record as an agent would be immediately expunged, and anyone inquiring would think he turned rogue. In non-government language, his ass was grass if he fucked up. Based on the severity of everyone’s expression, a revelation hit him, and he knew he could kiss his vacation good-bye and possibly his ass, too.
McGovern activated the external data drive and handed it to him. He knew once he finished the upload and viewed the file, all its contents would be erased in case some illustrious tech-head got his hands on it. As he connected to the link, he wondered if they would remove the information from his brain, too, if he turned down the assignment. The government believed in being thorough, and the prospect of becoming a vegetable was highly plausible, as the agency would go to any means to keep their schemes secret, even from their own. The idea wasn’t farfetched. However, he wasn’t going to linger on the what-ifs. When he signed on with the government, they made it clear all agents were dispensable.
Noor moved his hair aside and inserted the device into the universal port behind his ear. When the data started to upload, he trembled, gripped the chair arms, and slowed his breathing and heart rate to lessen the intrusive anomaly invading his brain.
The complete transfer took less than one minute. Noor detached the device from the USB port and tossed it on the table. “You have to be kidding me.”
“I wish that were the case, Mr. Rynoir,” the man who had remained quiet up until now spoke softly. “Everything you have just received is harsh reality but factual.” Noor watched the hem of his gown sweep over the carpet as he moved with graceful and poised movements, appearing to float more than walk as he came directly in front of him. He kept his arms folded and hands hidden in the wide sleeves. His expression remained subtle, eyes lowered, as he spoke in a dulcet tone. “What you just learned must not be trusted with anyone outside these walls.” Noor nodded to let him know he understood. “My name is Acabus DeFornay, one of the Oridus guardians, and chosen by the empress to bring the grievance news of my planet’s perilous situation to Sanguine officials in hopes aid will come to assist us with dealing with the current emperor Theopolis Agaci. There is no need for me to go into details, as I’m sure you are capable of understanding what you just learned. The only point I will repeat is the emperor’s reign should end at all cost, or our lives on Oridus, as we know them, shall cease to exist. Everyone within his grasp is in jeopardy, as he does not intend to halt at destroying Oridus, but to seize as many planets as possible and force them to assist in this absurdity to conquer the galaxy and obtain universal power.”
What was it about world dominance that every nutcase dreamed of securing it? Noor thought before shifting his attention to Jenkins McGovern, who was speaking.
“As you see, this goes beyond Oridus. Already, the emperor has broken every damned treaty enacted, started war with smaller defenseless planets surrounding Oridus, and indiscriminately set to annihilate anyone who gets in his way. This includes the elderly, women, and children. The bastard doesn’t care who he murders. If the planet’s army he tries to overthrow resists, he forces them to join him by enslaving their families as hostages. The intel we have so far puts the army he amassed at well over two hundred thousand soldiers. That’s enough to march against Sanguine and give us some serious concerns. At the rate he is collecting forces, he could have a sizable amount of men at his disposal within months.”
Councilman Farrow leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms in front of his chest. His features stern, he eyed Noor. “Emperor Agaci is the closest we’ve come to having someone potentially succeed in a coupe to overthrow the political rule of the eight planets who govern our sector to ensure peace continues within our galaxy territories. You understand we will not allow t
his to happen, and intend to stop his insane farce through whatever means necessary. Of course, the government has tried interplanetary sanctions, negotiations, but unfortunately, these techniques are useless with someone who is clearly disinterested in considering the proper rules of engagement to avoid a war.”
Jenkins McGovern slammed his fist on the table. “The bastard wants a fight and damn it, we want to give it to him, but our hands are tied by the bureaucratic red tape that decries exhausting every possibility to bring the emperor under control without violence. And even then, the expectation is for us to sit on our hands and try to reason with a narcissistic maniac and talk till we’re blue in the face. What happened to the good old days where we kicked ass first and asked questions later? We’ve become too soft,” he grumbled.
Councilman Farrow said, “I’m not in agreement with how our government wants to handle the situation, either. Where the emperor is concerned, it’s obvious more persuasive tactics are necessary, strong persuasion, maybe even war, but in taking such directions, we have to consider innocent lives are at stake on both sides. Also, it wouldn’t be wise to jump into a war without an exit plan. Besides, we are after the emperor, and that is our single target, for now.”
“Sirs, if I may ask a question?” Noor said. He waited until all three men gave him their attention. “The file mentioned Emperor Agaci can only remain as leader of Oridus until the next Intended and heir to the thrown is born. It is Oridus law, one upheld by the guardians and the nation of people. This referendum was put in place to prevent exactly what Emperor Agaci is attempting,” he said. He paused. “There was a mention of a distant relative with child who resides just outside the boundaries of Nexudus. If the child was immediately ordained, it would thwart the emperor’s power. Doesn’t this mean the guardians could take over leadership until the child came of age?”
Pure Desire [Pure 3] (Siren Publishing Allure) Page 2
