by Ron Francis
A look of disbelief crossed Maria’s face as she read the names on the list. “You weren’t kidding. Some of these people are really heavy hitters. Admiral Natora, Admiral Thomas, some senators a member of President Sandoval’s cabinet. Are you sure about this? Where is your intel from?”
“It’s from Ladyhawk; we are one hundred percent sure.”
“And you want me to take out all eleven? That’s going to be a pretty expensive op. I would have to do it simultaneously or they would figure it out before I was half way through.”
“I only want you to take them out if you uncover another plot against myself, any member of my family, or any of my top people at Sea Side Enterprises. If they have changed their mind for whatever reason, and they are not coming after me anymore, we won’t need to go after them.”
“I have to tell you, Nina, this could be a dangerous path you are starting down. If we need to take action, once it’s done, it cannot be undone. You do understand, right? They already tried to kill you and they’ll probably try again. For all intents and purposes, you are hiring me to put a hit out on all of these people. That’s a lot of blood on your hands.”
“I know, Maria, this isn’t a decision I have come to lightly, but it is us or them.” Nina answered softly. “I hate that I even have to think about this, but with Jesse not around, it falls to me to do something about this.”
“Alright then, I’m on retainer until Jesse gets back, I’m seeking out any plots against you or those close to you, and if I find any from any of these people, I take out this whole list. Is that correct?”
“Yes, that sounds about right. I don’t know if we’ll be lucky enough to survive another attack, and I would like Jesse to have a family waiting for him when he comes home. So how much is this arrangement going to cost?”
“Six million standard to keep me on retainer for six months, three million for an active investigation and then eight million for each target taken out with a three million bonus if we get them all. So you could be looking at up to one hundred million. Are you able to do that? I know it sounds like a lot, but I am going to have to bring several people in on this to pull it off. Don’t worry, I won’t use anyone your brother doesn’t know, and each person brought in will only have a small piece of the puzzle. Are those terms acceptable to you?”
Nina was tempted to haggle, but she didn’t think that was how these types of deals worked. In a business room, she knew all the rules and all the tricks, but when it came to this sort of thing, she was out of her element. She only hoped that since this person often worked for Jesse she wouldn’t cheat her too bad.“Those terms are acceptable,” she agreed.
Maria sensed her pause and added with a more serious look, “I’m not overcharging you, Nina, it’s my going rate. You can ask Ladyhawk if you need to.”
“That won’t be necessary. We’ve come to an agreement.” The next several minutes were spent talking about untraceable accounts and transferring funds. The retainer and investigation fees were transferred immediately. The rest would wait until the job was done if the job needed doing.
When Nina finally finished speaking with Maria, she sat alone in her office and began to tear up. She felt so cold and she suppressed a shiver. She felt so alone as she thought, when did I become the kind of person that could have someone assassinated? Why can’t Jesse just be here? None of this would be necessary if he was here. That was her fault, too. She had begged him to go. As much as it may hurt, and as evil as she felt about it, she just couldn’t let the Enclave have any of them. With Jesse unavailable, I have to protect Ariel, Serge and Lana. Poor Lana, subjected to all of this because she shares blood with a father she has never even met. The obligation fell to Nina to protect them all until Jesse returned and so for the first time in her life, she had committed a crime. I can only hope they don’t try to kill any of us again. At least then, I can be absolved. That would never change what I was willing to do, though, and I’ll always have to live with that. She wrapped herself in her jacket and silently cried in her office for several minutes before Ariel came knocking at the door.
“What’s wrong, Cousin?” Ariel asked, concern etched on her recently repaired, beautiful face. Nina felt a little bit better seeing her younger cousin up and about with almost no lingering physical effects of her near death experience.
“Nothing, I just miss Jesse,” she lied.
“Nina, Lana would really like to leave the ship. She’s really bored and we should let her do this before everyone begins to figure out who she is. Once that happens, she won’t be able to. I think it would be alright if she spent a day or two with Raina and Jason. I’m pretty sure Jason’s figured it out anyway. This way she’ll be safe, and maybe even have a little fun. It might take her mind off her mother, if only for a little while. What do you think?”
“I don’t know, it seems dangerous. What if someone figures it out while she’s on the ground?”
“How about we send Charlie with a protective detail to discretely shadow her? I think it will be fine, and it will really help her mental health. The only other thing I can think of to fill her time is to begin training her as a pilot.”
“I don’t know, Ariel, but I suppose if we are ever going to let her leave the ship, sooner would be better than later. Alright, let’s let her go have some fun with Raina. Jason will be there with Charlie and a detail, right?”
Ariel’s face lit up as she nodded an affirmative and leaned over to hug her cousin. “She is gonna be so happy, Nina, thank you.” Nina gratefully accepted the gesture and kissed her cousin’s cheek.
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Admiral Natora sat at his desk. He was still livid that the President had recalled Bliney from deep space and given him the military’s top spot. He had also been contacted by his liaison to the Enclave, and received explicit instructions to cease all assassination attempts on the Romanovs, Ariel Marcos and President Sandoval, until after completion of the new ship building facilities. Overall, his mood had been bad for weeks. He looked at his monitor as a transmission alert blinked. He steeled himself for more bad news as he answered. He was pleased to see the face of his spy aboard the Vanguard flare to life on his monitor. “Stevens, what news do you have for me?” He knew his spy wouldn’t just be giving him a social call, so he skipped the pleasantries all together.
“I have news that could be very important, Sir,” Stevens replied with a malicious grin. “Almost two months ago, I was on the bridge when Captain Hernandez received a transmission from a Terri Evans. He took the transmission in private and erased all recordings of the transmission. At first I thought it might be a mistress we could use to blackmail him, but the reality is so much better.”
“And what would that reality be, Stevens?” Natora didn’t have time for games and riddles, he just wanted the information.
“The reality is that this woman has a sixteen year old daughter that has recently been brought on the Vanguard as an intern. She looks like a clone of Mrs. Romanov, so I did a little digging.”
“What did you find?” Natora was loving where he thought this was going.
“DNA evidence indicates she is the daughter of Jesse Marcos. A bribe to Miss Evans closest friend revealed that she illegally obtained his specimens from Fort Buffalo and used them to impregnate herself. Colonel Marcos doesn’t even know he has a daughter.”
“But Nina and Ariel do. She must be under heavy protection. Where is she now?”
“They believe no one outside of their inner circle knows the girl’s identity. They have let her leave the ship with Lieutenant Cheng and his younger sister. They are at an amusement park somewhere on Telos, I don’t know which one.”
“You have done very well, Stevens, and you shall be rewarded.” As the transmission ended, Natora laughed with delight. His mood had significantly improved. No one in the Enclave had mentioned that he couldn’t have Lana Evans killed. Now, who I have available for the job on Telos?
Lana was having a great time. This was the first day she had been able to have any fun since her mom died. Aunt Ariel had kept her word and here she was with Raina at Telos’ biggest amusement park. Jason and some not so subtle security personnel were hovering not too far off, but she didn’t even mind. She was having fun with her new friend Raina and she was being left alone. Aunt Ariel had given her enough money to almost buy an air speeder. Her aunt wanted to make sure her “favorite niece” had enough money to have as much fun as she could. Lana knew that after this mini vacation, it would be unlikely she could leave the ship without protection again until her father returned. Knowing she was about to be confined to the ship for safety reasons made this excursion that much better. She took in every sight, sound and smell, wishing to savor the entire experience for as long as she could. The smell of popcorn and cotton candy was thick in the air and it made her hungry. She watched the high Gee whirl of the Space Spinner as it pinned people to the wall of the ride. She took in the eight story loops of the Comet Chaser and couldn’t wait to sit next to Raina and experience its stomach-wrenching drops and turns. Somewhere in the background, she smelled pizza among the cacophony of theme park aromas. She heard laughing, screaming, and loud engine noises and she felt the wind of a rushing coaster as it screamed past. She was close to experiencing sensory overload as she tried to take it all in at once. She was so immersed that she almost didn’t notice Raina waving her arms and calling to her.
“Lana, come on, there’s no line for the Devastator. I’ve been wanting to go on that one all year.” Raina grabbed Lana’s hand and laughed as they made their way over to the giant thrill ride. The Devastator consisted of several loops, a one hundred fifty meter free fall, an upside down plunge into darkness underground and included a crash landing. It was not recommended to go on after eating. Lana loved every second of every ride. She considered herself a bit of a thrill addict. Raina, meanwhile, screamed through the whole ride. She was terrified and loved every second of it. When the ride ended, Lana looked at Raina and laughed. “I think you ruptured my eardrum. I don’t think it’s possible to scream any louder. You win the loudest scream ever award.” She laughed as she rubbed her right ear.
“I can’t help it,” she replied with a shy laugh. “It was scary.”
“Let’s go get some lunch, I saw some cute guys by the pizza place.”
“Cute guys and pizza, Lana, you read my mind.” They laughed some more as they went for pizza.
Jason was enjoying himself just watching his sister and Jesse’s daughter have so much fun. He was already an adult when his parents had surprised everyone with the news that they were pregnant with Raina but he had loved every minute of watching her grow up. He spoiled her every chance he got because his parents were old fashioned and made Raina work so hard for everything. He thought about Lana; no one told me that Lana is Jesse’s daughter, I just figured it out. I’m pretty sure Ariel knows I figured it out, and sooner or later I guess we’ll talk about it. I just feel so bad for Lana. The poor girl has only just found her family, and they’re constantly in danger. I would hate to see her lose her family again. I still can’t believe that it was Admiral Natora that had tried to have Jesse assassinated. Looks like Jesse was right about him all that time. Jason was practically lost in thought when he noticed some men he didn’t like the look of. “Hey Charlie,” he commed. I see some potential bogeys, tighten up and get closer to Lana and Raina, would ya?”
“No problem, Lieutenant,” He replied as the detail began to adjust its position.
Suddenly, there was an explosion near the pizza place and chaos broke out. “Vanguard, this is Lieutenant Cheng. There’s been an explosion at the theme park. People are screaming and running all over the place and there’s smoke everywhere. I can’t see the girls, send backup immediately.”
Ariel could hear the strain in his voice and knew he was doing his best because his sister was in danger, too. Still, her concern could be heard in her strained voice. Nina had been right, it wasn’t a good idea to let Lana off the ship and now Raina was in danger, too. “Backup is on the way, Jason. Please, just find them both and bring them back safely.” Please bring them back safely, she prayed.
Lana was enjoying her lunch with Raina and their new friends. The two of them were doing whatever they could to impress the beautiful young ladies that had joined them for a meal. Suddenly, an explosion went off near the pizza place and things got crazy. Lana’s first thought was that Aunt Nina had been right, people were after her. She didn’t have a second as one of the boys grabbed her hand and they began to run. Lana was confused, “Why are we running this way when everyone else was running the other way?” Jason wouldn’t be able to find them over here.
“We know a shortcut,” one of the boys responded, to more confusion. Shortcut to where? She wondered, but her question was answered when they rounded the corner and ran right into two thugs with blasters aimed at them.
“You have done well, gentlemen,” one of the thugs said as he smiled at the two boys. He took out some money and handed it to them and then they were gone. Now Lana and Raina were alone with the thugs, and they were scared.
“One sound and I kill you, do you understand?” Thug 1 began with a menacing glare. They both shook their heads yes, as Raina began to tear up. Suddenly, the men grabbed their arms and began moving them through the smoke. “We have to do this somewhere more private,” Thug 1 said. “It can’t be traced back to the boss.” They were both looking nervously around. Lana used their indecision as she knocked over a trash receptacle, causing one of the thugs to trip.
“Run, Raina,” she yelled as she kicked the blaster from the second thugs hand and took off through the smoke. She thought they were going to make it until a searing pain tore through her leg and took her off her feet.
“Lana,” Raina screamed as she ran to her injured friend’s side.
Jason heard his sister scream and ran through the smoke to where he thought her voice was coming from. The protection detail was right behind him, hoping to find the two young ladies they had been tasked with protecting. I can’t lose her, either of them, he thought as he ran quickly, trying not to inhale the smoke. His eyes were beginning to water as the smoke got thicker and he couldn’t see where the girls were.
“Lana, get up, come on, get up.” Raina frantically tried helping Lana to her feet when the two thugs approached them, blasters drawn and looked at each other.
“This is becoming too much trouble, let’s just finish them here.” Thug 2 suggested. As they raised their blasters, the girls cried out and then watched in amazement as the two men hit the floor. Standing behind them, blaster drawn was a large Italian man with a grin on his face. “Come this way, girls, let’s get you back to your brother, Jason.”
“Who are you?” Raina asked in awe as she tried to help Lana get up.
“I am an associate of your brother, sort of. He stole something from me, then I tried to kill him, then we got over it and became friends. Don’t worry, it was probably before you were even born. I won’t hurt you. He bent over and picked Lana up in one giant arm. “Quick, Raina, we’re not safe here. There are a lot more of them on their way.”
She wasn’t sure, but she had no choice but to trust him. He had taken out the two men that tried to kill them, but what did he mean he had tried to kill her brother once? I can’t wait to hear that story.
Lana had never been in as much pain as she was right now. Then again, she had never been shot before. She tried to speak, but all that came out was a weak moan followed by a cough as she accidentally breathed in the smoke. Her big rescuer just looked at her sadly and said, “We’re gonna get you fixed up, Lana. Don’t worry. I’m Carmine by the way, Carmine Sangia.”
“My brother has mentioned doing some work for you on occasion.” Raina remembered, feeling better about her rescuer’s intentions.
“I told you we were friends,” he
pulled out his comm and talked as he carried Lana. “Hacker, I have your sister and the Marcos girl, she’s been shot but she’ll make it. Meet me behind the diner and bring some guys. I’ve spotted at least eight guys I don’t like the look of.”
“Will do,” her brother’s voice replied, “And, Carmine, thanks. I owe you big for this.”
“Don’t worry, Hacker, you know I’ll collect.” He winked at Raina and she could feel her anxiety melting away as she thought they might actually make it through this.
“I know you will. Hey, don’t spread Lana’s identity around, no one is supposed to know yet. I don’t even know how you know.”
“I got a guy.” With that, he smiled and ended the transmission. “Your brother will be joining us in a few minutes, kid. Hopefully, he’ll have enough guys to get you out of here. I can’t let it get out that I’m helping people, it would ruin my rep.” He winked again and continued through the smoke.
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