A Fiery Sunset

by Chris Kennedy

  Jim did a little organizational work for the company. He stuck to files he already had in his pinplants. There was a public AetherNet node in the car marked “Guest,” which he avoided. Jim learned long ago that public nodes were not a good idea with pinplants. Plus, he’d had a bad experience on Karma Upsilon 4, where he’d been attacked by an alien program. He had no desire to do that again. Splunk snoozed and ate the pepperonis Adayn had packed for her.

  Eventually the controls sounded a notice, and he felt the car begin to slow and descend. The car shuddered as it slowed below Mach, and the familiar skyline of Houston came into view. The sprawling starport, located on the west side of the city, came into view. A bulk freighter was riding a laser up to orbit. They were descending closer to the south side.

  “Where are we going?” he asked.

  “The Horde’s Houston office center. We have a meeting planned for you with Sansar at Asbaran’s offices later, but there’s something you need to see first.” Splunk looked up at him as she finished the last of her stash. She didn’t look worried, so he wasn’t. Her instincts were usually better than his. If Splunk didn’t trust someone, Jim didn’t trust them. It was a partnership that had worked so far.

  Nergui landed the car on the roof of a large office complex sporting the Golden Horde’s logo, a Mongolian warrior riding a horse with a bow pulled back, arrow nocked. A pair of uniformed Horde personnel quickly came and opened the door for Jim and the sergeant.

  “If you’ll follow me, sir,” Nergui said and walked toward the closest door. He had both bags over one shoulder; Splunk rode the other. She looked this way and that, taking in everything she saw with her usual intense curiosity. The personnel seeing to the car looked at her with the same curiosity.

  They rode the lift down to a basement level. Jim kept glancing at Splunk for any signs that she was catching something he wasn’t. She remained composed, so he forced himself to stay calm. The lift opened, and they went down a short corridor. At the end was a heavy door with a pair of armed Horde troopers standing guard. They saluted Jim.

  “Commander Cartwright,” one of them said when Jim returned the salute, then opened the door for him. Nergui ushered him into a small office with several chairs, and they sat down.

  “This is our detention center,” she explained. “It’s strictly off the radar of the world government. We find such a facility…advantageous to our operations.”

  “I can see that,” Jim said, looking around. Splunk was examining the wall to their right with more than the usual curiosity. “Am I going to be detained?”

  “No, Commander,” she said with that same professional smile. “We wouldn’t do that. There’s no reason to. However, we have detained one of your people.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “As I said earlier, we gather a lot of data. Some of it comes from monitoring certain world government sources, ones we’ve previously pegged as anti-mercenary.” She chuckled. “Honestly, they don’t make it very hard. Considering their resources, you’d think they’d try harder. Anyway, when you arrived on-planet yesterday, something happened that triggered an alert. You see, Commander, one of your personnel is a government spy.” Jim’s jaw dropped. “Yes, I’m sorry to say that, when you returned, she discovered information that caused her to contact her handlers. Considering what’s happening right now with aliens plotting against the Four Horsemen, and Human mercs in general, we couldn’t risk it, so I ordered the spy to be rolled up.”

  “Perhaps I owe you a debt of gratitude,” Jim said.

  “I wouldn’t be overly hasty,” she replied. For the first time, her trademark smile faded and Jim felt a stab of fear. Was it one of his company commanders? Good lord, he thought, not Hargrave? He instantly dismissed that thought, realizing that Hargrave could have undone him from Day One if he’d wanted to.

  “I want to see who this spy is,” he said.

  “Certainly,” she replied, gesturing to the wall Splunk had been observing. Jim turned in his chair as the wall revealed itself to be a huge monitor. The Golden Horde logo was displayed briefly, then changed to a small interrogation room. He almost laughed; it looked so much like a classic 21st century crime drama depiction of a police station. A single person was sitting behind a table, an empty chair on the other side. A woman in a Cartwright’s Cavaliers uniform was looking over her shoulder. Jim felt his blood turn cold.

  “No,” he said as the woman turned around, and he could clearly see Adayn’s face. “There’s got to be a mistake.” Nergui Enkh had a Tri-V working, a file displayed. Jim could see Adayn’s face on it, and that Adayn was wearing an Earth Defense uniform.

  “Adayn Christopher,” she read, “AKA Adrianne McKenzie, Captain, Earth Defense Intelligence. Age 34, started her service in the civil service department and transferred to intel six years ago after being recruited. Her VOWs scores were altered, and she began service with Roger’s Rough Riders. She served with six other merc units, always carefully transferring data on the unit’s operations and strategies to the world government, until she was hired by Cartwright’s.” She used her pinplants to pull up another page that showed Adayn in a Cavaliers’ uniform.

  “After hiring on with the Cavaliers, her government handler ordered her to get close to the new commander and find out how they’d managed to come back from the dead. When you obtained the Raknar, her orders were amended to attempt to gain access to the mecha through, and I quote, any means necessary. We believe it was then that she seduced you.”

  His heart was thudding in his chest like a bass drum. He could feel sweat breaking out on his forehead. It made too much sense. So that’s why she slept with the fat kid, a voice said in the back of his mind. Nergui continued talking about the woman who’d shared his life and his bed for the last few months. All his secrets. It felt like a lead weight had slid down his throat to the pit of his stomach. A burning behind his eyes meant he was about to lose control.

  “Stop,” Jim said. With all the will he had, he gulped and slammed a lid down on his emotions. He was dimly aware of Splunk’s gentle touch on his neck, and that gave him the tiny bit of anchor he needed to hang on.

  “I understand this might seem cruel,” she said.

  “No,” he replied with a quaver in his voice, “it makes way too much sense,” he finished, sounding a lot steadier than he felt. He stood up, smoothing his pants as he did. He felt he had to do something with his hands. Everything felt surreal. “Where is she; I need to see her face to face.”

  “We don’t believe that’s wise.”

  He rounded on the woman. “As her commander, I demand to talk to her.” Nergui’s eyes narrowed and seemed to lose focus for a moment. Probably talking to someone, Jim thought. He glanced at Splunk, who was staring at the image of Adayn/Adrianne. What was the expression on his little friend, he wondered, was it surprise?

  After a second, Nergui stood and walked over to the door. “Do I need to take your sidearm?” she asked.

  “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  She nodded, opened it for him, and he stepped through.

  Adayn/Adrianne turned at the sound of the door opening to see Jim enter. She looked from him to Splunk on his shoulder, then to Sergeant Enkh behind him, and spoke.

  “Jim, I can explain.” Her bottom lip quivered ever so slightly. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears. The memory of her in his arms, only hours ago, came to his mind’s eye unbidden. Her breath mixing with his. Moments of incredible pleasure, now moments of brilliant pain. But the memory tasted like ashes.

  “Don’t bother, Captain McKenzie,” he said and moved to stand next to the table. Instantly her manner changed, and she frowned slightly.

  “I see,” she said.

  “No, I see,” he replied. “I told you everything, and you just passed it on, like a good spy.”

  “It was my job,” she said casually. “If I said I was sorry, would that help?”

  “Not in the least,” he said. “Since you aren’t who you claim to be, I d
on’t really have to say it, but I will anyway; you’re fired.” Before she could react, he leaned forward. She flinched slightly, and he tore the Cartwright’s Cavalier patch from her uniform shoulder. “You don’t deserve to wear this.” He turned to leave.

  “Bye, Splunk,” she said. The Fae lifted a middle finger to her as Jim left the room, and Nergui closed the door behind them.

  “Thank you for taking care of that,” he said. The Horde security specialist nodded in acknowledgement. “Did she succeed in getting word to her handlers?”

  “No,” Nergui said, shaking her head, “we picked her up at the starport right after you boarded your flight, before she could meet him.”

  “I see. Do you know the nature of what she was trying to pass off?” Jim had an idea but didn’t want to tip his hand.

  “No,” she admitted, “Ms. McKenzie has been reluctant to divulge that information.”

  “Okay,” Jim said and turned toward the door, “you mentioned a meeting at the merc headquarters?” Nergui looked from Jim to the closed door of the interrogation chamber, then back. Clearly, she wanted to say more, but decided against it.

  “Yes, the meeting is in an hour at Asbaran Solutions. My car is waiting on the roof to take us there.”

  “No, thank you,” Jim said. “I’ll meet you there. At Asbaran’s offices?”

  “Yes,” she said, “but I’d like to take you there…”

  “Pass,” he persisted. “Please escort me out, and I’ll see you there.”

  “Very well,” she said and went to the door. “What would you like us to do with Captain McKenzie?”

  Jim glanced back at the wall, which still showed the woman sitting calmly, almost arrogantly, in the chair. The woman glanced at the door Jim had left through and seemed to sigh.

  “I don’t fucking care,” he said, “as long as I never have to lay eyes on her again.”

  Five minutes later, he hailed a cab at the curb outside the Golden Horde’s intel offices. From the outside, it looked like any of a hundred other buildings in downtown Houston. Jim wasn’t sure if he’d ever been by it or not. The cab that pulled up was a robotic model, and that suited him just fine. He wedged his plus-sized frame into the back seat, careful not to bump Splunk as he did.

  “Asbaran Solutions’ offices,” he instructed the computer, which beeped in response and pulled out into traffic. Away from the Horde facility, Jim disintegrated into tears. It had taken every ounce of self-control to make it that far, and he had absolutely nothing left. Splunk leaned against his head, put her arms around his neck, and held him as he cried. Every once in a while, she cooed something in her native language.

  After a few minutes, he began to regain some semblance of control over his emotions, and he fished a handkerchief from his travel bag, wiping away the snot and the tears.

  “Thanks, buddy,” he said to Splunk, who was looking at him in concern. “I’ll be fine.”

  “I not know, Jim...”

  “I know,” he said and gave a little sob. He was afraid he was going to fall apart again, but he didn’t. The cab computer dutifully displayed they were less than a mile from their destination, so he tried to pull himself together. “I know,” he repeated.

  The building was in view now, a towering spire of glass-steel that rose 57 stories into the Houston sky. He got his Yack out as the cab came to a stop in front of the main door, and he tried to forget what had happened as a combat-armored man walked over to the cab. He consoled himself with the fact the meeting couldn’t possibly be worse than what he’d just endured.

  * * * * *

  Chapter Two

  SOGA HQ, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Earth

  Sansar Enkh brushed her long, straight black hair out of her almond-shaped eyes as she studied the skyscraper and the entrance where several Brazilian soldiers waited. This wasn’t going to be easy. Seeing the Secretary of the General Assembly of Earth—the nominal head of the planetary governmental body—never was. She’d been here once before with her mother and, though they’d had an appointment, they’d still had to wait over an hour.

  They didn’t have an appointment this time.

  “They won’t let us take our weapons inside,” First Sergeant ‘Mun’ Enkh said, also eyeing the soldiers.

  Sansar sighed. “Yes, I know. We’ll leave someone to watch them; I’m not letting the locals have my weapons.” She approached the soldiers, with Mun and her squad following. One of the soldiers saw her and stiffened, then said something, and the other two soldiers turned to meet them.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am,” the first soldier, a sergeant in the Brazilian Territorial Army, said, “but I can’t allow you in the building with all those weapons.”

  “So I can leave most of them here?” Sansar asked. She had long ago received a download of the language and was able to speak it almost fluently.

  “Uh, no ma’am,” the soldier replied, smiling ruefully. “I can’t let you take any of them into the building.”

  Sansar knew she would never make it up to see the SOGA if she got into a fight with the door guards, so she looked up at the man and gave him her best smile. “Well, how about this, then? I’m not leaving them out here for anyone walking down the street to pilfer, and I doubt you want to arm the locals in any event. How about we step inside, and I’ll have my people leave their weapons with one of my men before they go through the security checkpoint. Would that be okay?”

  It took a little bit of haggling, but Sansar was finally able to get the sergeant to allow them into the building. They detached two troopers to guard their weapons and proceeded through the security checkpoint—and its weapons detectors—without a problem.

  “Now what, Colonel?” Mun asked as they approached the bank of elevators.

  “We go up and see the SOGA.”

  “Just like that?”

  “Just like that.” Sansar, Mun, and the remaining eight troopers boarded the next elevator, warding off two civilians who wanted to get on with them with looks that made them decide to catch the next elevator.

  “What floor, ma’am?” Staff Sergeant Daniel Walker asked.

  “101,” Sansar said. “But I doubt you can actually get there without a key card.”

  “No, ma’am,” Walker replied. The button refused to illuminate, no matter how hard he pushed it.

  “100, then, and we’ll walk up.”

  They exited the elevator, found the stairs, and walked up a flight of stairs to find two armed soldiers standing on the landing at the door. The soldiers heard them coming and brought their laser rifles almost to bear.

  Sansar turned to her troops. “Wait here,” she said. She turned to Mun. “You’re with me.”

  Together, the two diminutive women walked up the stairs. “That’s it, ma’am,” one of the soldiers said when they were a couple of steps away. “Come no closer.”

  “We’re here to see the SOGA,” Sansar said, giving the men her best smile. “We’re from the Golden Horde.”

  The two men relaxed slightly, and one of them chuckled. “You’re from the Golden Horde?” he asked. “Yeah, and I’m from Cartwright’s Cavaliers.” He broke out laughing.

  Sansar stepped forward, swept the barrel of his rifle up and away from her, and kicked the man in the shin. The bone cracked as her steel-toed boot connected, and he loosened his hold on the rifle. Sansar ripped it from his grasp and slammed the butt into the man’s stomach. As he doubled over, she snapped it up to connect with his chin. The man dropped.

  She looked over to find Mun holding the other soldier’s rifle, and the other soldier lying on the landing, holding his groin. “Always got to go there first, huh?”

  Mun shrugged. “Whatever works.”

  The rest of the troops charged up the stairs, with Walker taking charge. The women moved out of the way as Walker took the soldiers’ comm gear and tied their hands together with the cable ties the Brazilian soldiers had in their gear.

  The one Sansar had knocked out began to come around, a
nd he opened his eyes to see Sansar inches from his face. “I doubt you were ever in the Cavaliers,” she noted. “If you had been, you’d have been better trained.”

  Sansar stood up. “Bring them,” she said, throwing the rifle’s sling over her shoulder. She indicated the one she’d fought. “You may have to carry him.” She opened the door behind the men to find a hallway leading to an ornate door with a plaque that proclaimed “Secretary of the General Assembly of Earth” in gold letters on dark Brazilian cherry.

  She opened the door and strode into the SOGA’s outer office. The space reeked of opulence, from the carpeting, to the bookcases stuffed with original masterpieces, and on to the desk, behind which sat the SOGA’s administrative assistant. He took one look at the group entering the room, saw the rifle over Sansar’s shoulder and the zip-tied Brazilian soldiers, and a hand went under the desk.

  Sansar waved her troops in. “Set the soldiers in the chairs,” she ordered. “Try not to look too dangerous and keep the door open; we’re about to get a visit from security.” She took the rifle from Mun and set them both in the middle of the room, then walked over to the desk.

  The man flinched away from her. “Don’t hurt me!” he cried in a shrill voice.

  “Couldn’t wait to see what we wanted?” Sansar asked. “Just had to call security?”

  “You—you were armed,” he mumbled, unable to make eye contact with her.

  Within thirty seconds, one of the elevators in the hallway disgorged security force personnel, and additional Brazilian troops poured from a second elevator that opened a few seconds later. Sansar waved. “Come on in,” she called, keeping her hands where the troops could see them. The security personnel came up along the sides of the hallway, weapons at the ready, unsure what was happening and unable to see completely into the room. Eventually, a lieutenant in the Brazilian Army struck up the courage to walk into the room.