I could see that Diane knew what was inevitable as well. And this time she was going to do something and not heed my warning.
But I moved first, stepping between Sylvia and Morrigan, standing so close we were almost touching as we stood eye to eye. That action by itself surprised her enough to snap her out of her kill mode. Now the expression wasn’t blank; it was anger as she stared me down. One punch would be all it would take to kill me, considering my condition and her strength. She had to be thinking just that as she stared at me. But she also had to be thinking of her other memories of me as well, including the last time she faced me.
Her anger softened, and she took one step back as she rubbed her throat. “My neck is very sensitive.”
“Sylvia, apologize,” I said, not taking my eyes off Morrigan.
Behind me, Sylvia coughed, “Sorry.”
Morrigan smiled a false smile, but it told me the threat had passed. The gambit had worked. She was as terrified of me as I was of her.
The smile ended up somewhere between sexy and menacing. “There’s so much tension between us, Rico. We really should just find someplace private and ... tear. Each. Other. Apart.”
“One day,” I answered, “but for now, I think we should focus on business. We need each other, so let’s do this. I’m sure we can give you whatever you want. How do you want to make this official? You want to talk to Burke?”
Morrigan scoffed. “Wouldn’t trust anything he’d say. No, let’s play the game like what you guys have is an actual, official entity. We want something in writing from whoever is in charge. Redden.”
I looked at Wade, who was helping Sylvia up. “Get Redden on the line.”
Sylvia rubbed her neck. “We’re just giving them everything?”
“Yes,” I said, leading with my annoyance. Sylvia was useful, but her impetuousness did grate on me. I looked back at Morrigan. “So who do we need to talk to on your side? Who is in charge of Nystrom now?”
“Who do you think?”
“Drummond.”
“Yeah,” Morrigan grumbled.
“What’s your problem with him?” I asked. “He seems like your usual violent, conniving, arrogant leader of a criminal syndicate.”
“You’d say that,” Morrigan answered, “because he’s probably not handsy with you.”
“If you didn’t want to be degraded, this wasn’t the line of work for you,” I said.
Morrigan looked at Diane. “A man’s not going to understand this, is he?”
Diane’s eyes were still boring holes through Morrigan. “Don’t talk to me.”
Morrigan looked back at me. “But you don’t need to talk to Drummond. Just to me. I’m a representative.”
“I’ve got Redden on the line,” Wade announced. “We’ll get something written up.”
“Extra official,” Morrigan stated. “We want properly signed copies you can’t later deny.”
Morrigan and Wade headed over to the desk and started working out the details, while the rest of us stood there awkwardly getting stared at by Morrigan’s toughs. One was a dark-haired woman who didn’t look particularly intimidating but was trying to stare me down. “Remember me?” she finally growled.
I looked at her for a few seconds and shrugged.
“Yes, you do,” she stated. “We’ve faced each other numerous times.”
I raised an eyebrow. “We slept together?”
This frustrated her. “Faced each other in combat.”
I looked her over again. “That seems unlikely.”
“On Nar Valdum. You bested me a couple times, but I’m still around.”
“Donner, no one cares that Rico smacked you around a few times,” Morrigan said from her desk, looking over something with Wade.
“I’m one of the few survivors who was actually in the conference hall during the Nar Valdum massacre,” Donner continued, stepping toward me. “You’re lucky we’re allies right now, or —”
“Back off,” Sylvia said.
Donner glared at Sylvia. “You’re not giving orders here.” Donner put a hand on Sylvia’s shoulder to push her back, but Sylvia twisted the hand into a wristlock and Donner went to her knees, screaming.
The rest of Morrigan’s toughs all tensed at the ready, as did Diane who stood near me. Eldan just looked frightened. Wade seemed unsure what to do, as he was currently right next to the very deadly Morrigan. Morrigan rolled her eyes and sighed. “Little special agent girl, let go of Donner. Donner, go stand in the corner and be quiet; you’re making us look like idiots.”
Sylvia let go of Donner’s wrist, and Donner got to her feet and slunk back to the corner, trying and failing to give me one last intimidating look.
Morrigan’s secretary appeared at the door. “Some of Vesa’s security is here and demanding to talk to you.”
Morrigan frowned and motioned to all the people in the office. “Stall them.”
“I’m trying to,” the woman answered, “but —”
The secretary was shoved out of the way as two uniformed security personnel entered. They appeared to be a bit more serious than the usual ones, with helmets covering their faces. They looked around at us and Morrigan’s people all standing about. “What’s going on here?” asked one.
Morrigan smiled at them. “It’s a private meeting between two representatives.”
“We’re keeping an eye on him,” the security guard said. “It’s well known he’s a dangerous individual. But the security cameras aren’t working in this area.”
Morrigan feigned surprise. “How’d that happen?” She walked over to the two security guards. “I need you two not to tell anyone about this meeting.”
“We have to report —”
“Sorry,” Morrigan interrupted. “I was talking to myself.” Her piston-like fist fast smashed into the face of one, breaking through the helmet and into the face as she grabbed the other and lifted him into the air. She crushed his throat and dropped him, leaving two dead bodies at her feet.
Morrigan picked up a cloth from her desk and wiped blood off her hand. “Oh no. Rico just killed two of Vesa’s security guards. Who here witnessed that?”
All of Morrigan’s people raised their hands, including the secretary by the door.
Diane crouched down to check on the guards, but they looked quite dead. “What are you doing?” Wade demanded of Morrigan.
“A good portion of security here reports directly to the Fathom,” Morrigan explained. “They’re obviously on to us and weren’t going to let us do the next part of this alone.”
The faces of my compatriots reflected the realization of whom they were working with. I had been under no such illusion. “Are we still on for this?” I asked Morrigan.
She picked up the tablet on her desk and shoved it over to Wade. “Let’s finish the paperwork later. We need to move quickly before there are repercussions. When the hammer comes down, you’re on your own.”
I turned to Wade. “We need an exit strategy. And we’d better make it on the move.”
“This is going to be fun.” Morrigan looked at her people. “Webb. Pierce. Come with me. Dowell, Brockman, put these bodies somewhere they’ll take longer to discover.” She pointed to the dead security.
“What about me?” Donner asked.
“See that drawer over there?” Morrigan pointed to a drawer in a nearby cabinet. “Keep an eye on it. I keep my pens in there, but they keep disappearing.”
Donner swore at Morrigan, who just ignored it. Morrigan turned to me. “Is your motley crew ready for this?”
I looked at Wade, Sylvia, Eldan, and Diane — the last of whom was still keeping a wary gaze on Morrigan. “Everyone ready? This is probably going to go poorly soon.”
“Ready as I can be,” Eldan answered.
He did not have a long life expectancy in this.
“Really, my big hope for all of this,” Morrigan said, “is that I get to see you die before they kill me, but I just have not been lucky lately.”
We were all crammed inside one large transport, Morrigan in a seat that put her basically pressing against Wade as she looked at the tablet in his hand. “That looks official enough,” she commented.
Wade tried to scoot over and get some more space between them. “It will go into effect when you help us access the archives.”
“We’re giving you a lot just to get you to press a button,” Sylvia said, safely out of arm’s reach of Morrigan. “Can you at least help us against any resistance we meet?”
Morrigan laughed. “You have the unkillable Angel of Death. What do you need me for?”
“You’ve seen the Fathom’s Messenger here?” I asked.
Morrigan’s smiled faded. “Yes, I have. She has the latest muscular enhancements. Could just flick your head off with her finger. And her muscles are basically cut-proof. And I’m sure she’ll be after you soon ... and is entirely your problem.”
“You afraid you can’t stand up to a newer model?” I said.
“I don’t do grunt work anymore — I’m management,” Morrigan said. “So I’m not going to indulge your super-lady slugfest fantasy. You’ll have to come up with your own plan for the Fathom’s super-powered press secretary. Plus, I assume the Shade are going to try to finish what they started. I really don’t want to get in the middle of that.” She leaned toward me and whispered. “Those guys are scary.”
“We can probably assume they’re here by now,” Sylvia said. “And considering how much control the Fathom have over Vesa, they might have weapons.”
Morrigan leaned back and smiled. “It all sounds very desperate. But since everyone loves the scrappy underdogs, here’s what I’ll do: There’s an exit from Vesa and a port that’s within a decently short walking distance from the archives. I’ll have a ship waiting for you there ... assuming you can avoid a security lockdown. Anyway, the sooner you’re out of Vesa, the less headache for me.”
I studied Morrigan. Inscrutable as ever. “You’re being very accommodating ... considering our history.”
“It does all seem to be leading up to some big double-cross,” Diane added.
Morrigan nodded. “Absolutely. But not in the near future. One can’t let the desire for quick, short-term revenge get in the way of longer-term, more satisfying revenge.”
“Noted,” Diane answered.
Morrigan put her hand on my thigh. “If we all survive the Fathom, we can settle things then.”
“We’d be happy to drop you all on some uninhabited planet and let you have it out,” Sylvia said.
“I don’t have any beef with you two.” Morrigan smiled a sultry smile at Wade, who politely smiled back, not quite hiding his discomfort. “No reason we can’t all be friends.” She looked at Sylvia. “What do you care for these two anyway?”
“Devil I know,” Sylvia answered.
Morrigan folded her hands. “I assure you, there are better devils.” She turned to me. “You’re working for one.”
“We’re not working for him,” Diane stated. “We’re just helping take down the Fathom. Same reason we’re here with you.”
Morrigan laughed. “It’s a worthy goal for bringing everyone together. Hey, I meant to ask: What happened to Verg? He kind of disappeared the same time you did.”
“We’re not making small talk,” Diane said. She had a good intimidating glare. I was glad that so far I’d never had it aimed at me.
Morrigan’s smile faded. “All business, then.”
“We’re going to have to worry about a lockdown,” Eldan said. “If Vesa law enforcement puts out an alert, all city exits will be sealed.”
“I guarantee the Fathom are going to try something and we’re not going to be able to just walk out of here,” I said. “How can a lockdown be overridden?”
Eldan rubbed his brow. “I do know the system, but I’ll have to think on that. It’s not obvious, but I think there could be a way.”
“Is he like an engineer?” Morrigan asked. “Can he even work with electronics and circuit boards? Won’t that fur short-circuit things?”
Eldan ignored her, but Wade, Sylvia, Diane, and even one of Morrigan’s own thugs looked at her with a shocked expression. Morrigan frowned. “Am I not being politically correct? Sorry. I am a politician now, and I have to work on that.”
The transport came to a stop, and we all exited onto the street before the blocky archive building. “Outside” was kind of odd in Vesa. There was sunlight through the almost invisible barrier and a breeze (tinged with AC), but I couldn’t shake the feeling of being in a giant cage.
We entered the archives lobby, where a couple of staff sat at a desk inside and a few more stood near the door. They looked warily at the large party entering, with special concern for me. “Can I help you?” one asked.
“We would like to view some of the archive data,” I answered.
“You need the authorization of two representatives for that.”
“That’s why I’m here,” Morrigan said. “I’m Representative Stevens.”
I looked around at the staff all staring at me. “And I gather you know who I am.”
“None of the data can be removed from the premises,” the man at the desk told us. “What do you have in the bag there?”
“A bottle of whiskey.” I pulled it out of the bag to show him, then returned it.
“Are you going to share that?” Morrigan asked.
“It’s for a special occasion.” I looked at the man at the desk. “We good?”
“You can bring one aide with you,” he said.
I nodded and motioned for Diane to come with us. I glanced briefly at Wade, Sylvia, and Eldan, but nothing needed to be said. They knew they needed to be prepared for a number of ways this could go bad.
The man at the desk got up and led Diane, Morrigan, and me through a door and into a hallway. Another door opened into a small room with one computer terminal in it and a few chairs. “Again,” the man said, “no copying the data for removal from this facility. If you need assistance, there is an intercom on the wall.”
“Thank you so much,” Morrigan told him as we entered the room and he closed us in. Morrigan looked at me. “We’re gonna kill everyone on our way out, aren’t we?”
Diane pointed to the obvious camera in the corner of the room, positioned so it could see everyone in the room but not the terminal screen.
Morrigan looked up at the camera. “Kidding.”
Diane and I sat down at the terminal. Morrigan walked over and stood behind us. “Now that we’re kind of alone, I just want to say that despite our history, I don’t really have anything personal against either of you.”
Diane glared at her as I studied the terminal interface. “That’s great, Morrigan,” Diane spat.
“Hey, we’ve all done terrible things. And unlike your boyfriend, I can feel remorse ... like you.”
“You’re still with Nystrom,” Diane said. “That’s not remorse.”
“And you’re working for Anthony Burke. And it’s obvious why, considering what we’re up against. It’s survival mode now. You’re scared; I can see it. And I know enough about your history to know that very little scares you.”
“You’re scared too,” Diane responded.
“Terrified and desperate,” Morrigan answered. “That’s why I’m here with you two.”
“I’m not scared,” I interrupted. “But I would like to get this done before everything inevitably goes pear-shaped.” The Alliance’s intelligence had determined the exact file that was relevant, but just pulling it up now seemed too easy. “Diane, what’s the chance that after we access these files, the Fathom will find out what we were looking at?”
“I don’t know,” Diane said, “but let’s pull a bunch of files, and hopefully that will slow them down.”
I pulled about thirty files, the one we needed somewhere near the middle. I tried not to be random but to find ones that all looked related. I started to open each one in order.
> “So what are we looking at?” Morrigan asked, as she put a hand on one of my shoulders and bent over me, her chest pressing against me as she stared at the screen, her cheek against mine.
“Personal space,” I said.
Morrigan stood back up and smiled. “Sorry. I’ve done the seduction thing so long, it’s like this switch I just can’t turn off. Diane, you know what I’m talking about. I bet you’ve seduced and killed a lot of men.”
Diane glared at her again. “Killed plenty of times without seducing first.”
Morrigan put her hand on my shoulder. “The seduction makes it so pathetically easy, though. You think you’re being too obvious, but men with their egos never pick up on it. Now I’m supposed to be a frumpy politician, so I have to dial that back. Still, it’s a useful tool when I need it.” Her expression became more serious as she looked at Diane. “You know, I think we have a connection. Were you also trained by Colby?”
I saw a subtle change in Diane’s expression. Old memories she didn’t care to revisit. “Yes. What happened to her?”
“Nothing good,” Morrigan replied. “Things don’t often go well for women in this field.”
“Maybe you should find a new line of work, then,” Diane suggested.
Morrigan laughed. “Quit, like you? That’s exactly what the men want.”
I reached the file I actually cared about. It was about how sixty years ago, the Alliance had constructed a sort of automated storage facility — something like an unmanned vessel. To keep itself hidden, it would jump from deep space to deep space every hour in a seemingly random fashion. “You’re very chatty,” I told Morrigan, as talking to her gave me an excuse to pause longer on this file without revealing my interest in it. “Are you lonely?”
“Just trying to make friends,” she said. “We’re all in the same boat in a number of different ways. I don’t know what your plans are, but let’s say we all somehow succeed against the Fathom. Then what?”
“We’ll handle those problems as we reach them,” Diane answered.
“I really don’t envy you two,” Morrigan said. “For lots of reasons, not the least that you’re working for Burke. I wonder how that’s going to end.”
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