by Kai O'Connal
Keandra paused, waiting for his next message. She knew he was mulling over his exact words.
4
Keandra looked around the small room of the restaurant they were using for the meet. She didn’t want to use Elliot’s, because she didn’t want to risk being recognized. While she trusted the staff there, trust only went so far. She was taking on a completely different persona, so it made sense to use a completely different location. They had decided on an upscale sushi restaurant only a few blocks from Pike’s Place market. It was close enough that the scent of saltwater and fish was strong every time the door opened.
The room was dimly lit, which suited Keandra’s purposes. If it was harder for anyone to see her face clearly, she could use that to her advantage. They had decided that E-jekt and Lance would stay with her in the room, while Paz took on the role of external guard, limiting who gained access to the meeting. Just in case things did go poorly, Keandra wanted the entire team around for an easier escape.
She set up the chairs so she faced the only entrance. It made a quick getaway more difficult, but it granted her the power seat. And even if she was nervous about the meeting, she wanted to project the appearance of complete control and confidence. After all, it was the seat she would have given to a Johnson if she were the one seeking a job. Lance stood just behind her right shoulder, while E-jekt took the chair to her left and pulled up his AR interface. He shifted in his seat, grunting and shrugging his shoulders as he tried to get used to the new armored vest. As far as Keandra knew, this was the first time he had ever worn anything protective enough to be restricting.
“It would be trivial to code up a simple sprite to hide your face and alter your voice.”
Keandra’s jaw clenched and she resisted the urge to sigh, instead taking a slow measured breath. “Stop and think for a second about what you’re suggesting. Have you ever known a Johnson to be afraid to show her face or hide her voice? They’d know we were faking it in a second.”
“Not if I made your voice sound like someone else.”
“And not be in complete control and work my magic? No. We’ve been over this. It’s a bad plan. No disguises and no filters. We’ll play it out and it will work.”
The message from Paz made Keandra sit up straighter and lift her chin so she was looking down her nose when she stared at the doorway. She fired off a quick message before tucking her commlink away.
The three in the room waited in silence as the other group confronted Paz. The room’s soundproofing made it impossible to make out the words, but they heard voices increasing in volume. Apparently the team’s reputation for being a bit hotheaded was well earned. Through it all, the door handle didn’t budge until the voices died down and it was clear some type of agreement had been reached.
The door slid open, and a human walked in with a large, angry female troll behind him. The troll sneered as she stomped into the room and pulled her shoulders back, letting her jacket part a little to display the arsenal she carried. Keandra was not impressed and also not surprised. The human took a seat at the table directly across from Keandra. The troll in turn glared at Lance, who kept his face impassive, not even making eye contact.
“You must be our Johnson. Name’s Graham. I heard you got a job for me and my team.”
Graham extended a hand, but Keandra kept hers folded in front of her. After a brief moment of tension, he withdrew it and hid it under the table. At least he was being professional, even if he didn’t have quite the level of sophistication she was used to. She offered a brief nod as greeting before she spoke.
“Indeed, we do have work that may appeal to those of your talents. You received the dossier?”
Graham nodded, sliding forward in his seat so he could lean back more easily. The leather of his coat creaked as he made himself comfortable. He looked up, staring into the space above Keandra’s head for a moment. His gaze flicked over to the troll before returning to her. Keandra’s legs tensed. Clearly he was reading or sending a message. She kept her arms still, willing her nervous energy not to creep up past her waist.
“Although I do have a bit of a problem with the fee. I think that for what you’re asking, we should be looking at fifteen thousand. Ten seems too low a bid when you’re buying services of our caliber.”
Keandra relaxed and let the corner of her mouth creep up into a smile. Price negotiation was something she could handle. It was also something she should have expected, especially for a first contact. They’d want to see how much they could squeeze out of their new Johnson, and how much of a stickler she would be for the proposed arrangement.
“I do not think your reputation precedes you as much, or as favorably, as you expect. If you’d like, my associate here would be more than willing to provide some recordings that clearly demonstrate your caliber. Three weeks ago, a convoy heist, I believe?”
E-jekt pulled up a video feed for everyone in the room. It was a recording from a series of traffic cams catching the entire heist from start to finish. There was no sound, but the resolution was high enough that E-jekt ran a facial recognition program at the same time, identifying three of the members of the team. As the video progressed, Graham’s mouth tightened and he looked away, glancing toward an empty corner. Keandra nudged E-jekt under the table with her boot, and he cut the display.
“As you see, we do our due diligence when looking for the services that your kind provides.”
Keandra watched Graham as she pressed her superiority. His eyes flashed and his gaze shot back to her, so she decided to ease off for the moment. Right now he was still willing to do the job. If she pushed too far, she would lose him.
“However, I do appreciate your candor and dedication to making sure the job gets done. Your team has shown a persistence and determination that are worth paying a premium. I’ll raise your fee to twelve thousand, with an additional three thousand as a bonus if you handle the matter discreetly.”
Keandra sat back, letting her posture ease. She could see him recognize the gesture, and some tension seeped out of his neck. That was the effect she wanted, and at the perfect time. She waited as he debated her offer. Most likely, he was conferring with his team and making sure they agreed to the terms. She was tempted to ask E-jekt to poke into their conversations and see if he could relay the messages to her, but it wasn’t worth the risk. A corporate Johnson wouldn’t bother with such tactics because the Johnson would have all the power. She needed to be the Johnson and think like one.
“Well, Ms. Johnson, it looks like you have yourself a team,” Graham said. “We’ll take care of your problem within the next twenty-four hours. and report in when it’s done.”
This time when he stuck his hand forward, Keandra grasped it. His grip was strong, and he offered a single solid shake before letting go and turning his back to her to leave the room. His companion backed out, facing forward until the door was shut. Keandra and her crew waited in silence, the entire group staring at the door until Paz messaged them.
The dwarf walked into the room so they could have some privacy without needing to resort to messaging. She dropped into the chair vacated by Graham and the simple wooden struct
ure groaned in response to her sudden weight. E-jekt let out a sigh that matched the furniture’s complaint.
“It actually worked.” His tone indicated his surprise.
Keandra nodded and smiled. “Of course it worked. I told you this would be simple enough. I’ve certainly met with enough Johnsons over the years that impersonating one wouldn’t be a problem. I’m just glad you were able to add the facial recognition program to the recording. I think that bit tipped him over the edge. Now we need to make sure they actually do the job.
“Lance, go keep an eye on them. I want you in position in case they fail to take out the target. If they handle it on their own, don’t be seen. They’ve seen our faces and I don’t want them thinking we’re keeping tabs on them. But for this to work, they need to succeed. Otherwise, we’ll need to pick up the slack.”
Paz smacked the table with a bark of laughter. “Looks like I get to be stuffing my face this time while you’re doing the heavy lifting.”
“Sorry, Paz. We won’t be staying,” Keandra said. “We’ll be in the van a few blocks away in case he needs backup. I don’t want to take any chances.”
Despite some heavy grumbling, Paz agreed and left to go get the limo they’d rented in case anyone watched their movements too closely. It was a bit much, even for a Johnson, but Keandra figured it would be better to go over the top than too subtle. They didn’t want anyone looking too hard into their past, and would rather have an aura that radiated wealth and influence. A little bit of wealth made you a target. A lot of wealth made you a force to avoid.
As they passed back through the restaurant, Keandra paid close attention to the people who looked at their group. She made mental notes of anyone who showed more than a passing interest. Most of the diners paid attention to their food, ignoring them as much as they did the waitstaff.
One elf sitting at a table by himself caught her attention. She recognized him from when they’d first entered. He still didn’t have any food in front of him, and the only beverage on the table was water. Their meeting hadn’t taken that long, but his presence still seemed odd. He looked at her, but as soon as he recognized her scrutiny, his gaze snapped back to the space in front of him. Keandra didn’t know if she was being paranoid, but the interaction made the hairs on her neck stand on end. She’d need to ask E-jekt to investigate this person later. For now, they had a job to do and an image to maintain.
Within minutes, they’d left the restaurant, dropped off the car, and retrieved their van. Lance was in pursuit of the runner team they hired, close by but staying out of sight. Apparently the team wasn’t too careful about making sure they weren’t tracked. They had settled into a building, possibly one of their safehouses. Keandra and her team likewise got settled, ready to wait all day and night if need be. They slept in shifts, getting rest while they could in case they’d need to be up all night. Lance had the unfortunate reality of needing to stay awake the entire time, but with his abilities, one night wouldn’t be a problem.
The sun had long since set when Paz shook Keandra’s shoulder to wake her. They were still parked on the edge of the same side street in downtown Ballard, but now the continuous roar and rumble of passing cars had faded to the occasional hum. Few people were out on the street at this time. The display on the windshield said it was 2:20 in the morning.
“They’re on the move. Meat-sack has a feed,” the dwarf said.
While Paz navigated through the streets, Keandra watched the feed playing on the interior wall of the van. It showed an empty intersection, dark with a flickering light overhead. The view panned around the corner until they saw a single car on the road, brake lights coming on before it turned. Lance drove out of the side street to the next corner, and then continued to watch. He drove without lights and crept up to each intersection, taking all the precautions he could to not be detected. Keandra was amazed that he didn’t lose the other team, but he knew how to do his job.
Eventually the car came to a stop and the team climbed out of the vehicle. Lance parked his bike against a wall, then scaled the surface so fast that the feed was a shaky blur. Keandra closed her eyes to keep from getting motion sickness. When she opened them, Lance was at the front corner of the building, looking down at the runners across the street and just over a block away.
Another car met them at the location and a couple of other people joined the small group. They gathered in a knot and talked as they unloaded and prepped their weapons. All told, there were five people in the group. That was their entire team.
Two of the team members stayed near the vehicles, leaning against them and passing a bottle back and forth. The other three crossed the street and walked up to the front door of an apartment building. Two kept watch while the third took a knee and manipulated the lock. After a few moments, the area was suddenly bathed in light, making all the runners jump.
The liquor bottle smashed against the ground and shattered. The troll grabbed the guy working on the door and yanked him back so hard he fell on his ass in the street. Then she charged the door, breaking it down with her sheer size and strength.
Keandra didn’t bother to respond; she was transfixed by the feed. Secrecy was never part of their arrangement, but she needed to make sure the team at least pulled off the job. If they failed now, the target would be aware and any future attempts would be much more difficult, if not impossible. She turned to E-jekt, crouched up against the van’s back doors.
“Can you see if that building has any security cameras? We need eyes inside.”
The area in front of the building was still bathed in light, but at least the three runners were inside the building now. The other two ducked behind the vehicles, taking cover and holding up their weapons. A few seconds later, a couple of Knight Errant vehicles skidded around the corner, lights flashing.
“They have cameras, but I’d need a local bug. There should be access on the roof.”
Paz revved the van’s engine and glanced at Keandra. “Time for some backup action?”
5
Kendra shook her head. “We’re staying here. They may be amateurs and hotheads, but they’ve got three people on the inside, and I’m not ready to blow our cover yet. Plus, we don’t have a good support plan now that the Knights are involved.”
She texted Lance.
As soon as she sent the message, Lance burst into motion. The feed blurred until it came to a sudden stop at the building’s network hub. It had a physical lock, a decent indicator of the building’s age. Lance picked it and planted the portable bug into the broadcaster. The bugs were a useful gadget E-jekt invented, a way to let him get access without being in the physical location as long as it wasn’t a dead zone. As soon as the bug was placed, the grizzled ork went to work on cracking the building’s security.
Once that was done, Lance returned to the edge of the roof to check on the scene below. He paused, not peeking over the top immediately.
Lance did as he was told, and the camera slid up until Keandra and the rest of the crew could see the gun battle going on several stories below his position. Both the runners retreated behind the second car, keeping both vehicles between them and the Knight Erra
nt squad. The cops angled their cars to form a V and took shelter between the fronts of both vehicles. One of them lay bleeding in the street, his leg still in the car but the rest of his body hanging outside the open door. The other three took turns firing on the runners’ position. While they were working together, they lacked the precision of a well-trained unit.
At least that was something in their favor: these weren’t the best the Knights had to offer. Keandra had seen the top officers responding to high-priority crimes before, and they moved like something out of a posh nightclub, their precision and coordination bearing all the elegance of a squad of dancers who spent months training together. These officers were more like the hobby performers taking night classes. Still, Lance was right—time was not their friend.
A series of camera feeds popped up on the van wall next to Lance’s view. They flipped past, one after another, showing different floors and stairwells. The halls were empty. The feed paused on a scene where one of the doors was open, but it was just an older woman poking her head into the hallway to look around before jerking back and slamming the door shut.
After scanning through more feeds, the display stopped on one where a panting troll paused in front of a door. The other two members of her team came into view behind her, also out of breath. They took a moment to collect themselves, and then the troll kicked the door.
The first impact sent the wooden structure flying open in a spray of wood splinters. A rush of bullets drove the troll back as they cut through the hallway and embedded in the wall. A few slipped past the troll’s armor, and blood trailed from her wounds. The runners flanked the opening, guns up and ready. When the flashes of gunfire stopped, the troll reached around the corner and fired blindly into the room.
