Archives of the Frontier Universe: An Assassin's Assignment (7 page)

“I’m assuming they regretted that,” postulated the man.

“Oh, yes,” agreed Meyer. He then sort of frowned, remembering the event. “She terminated them. Luckily, I only had the pleasure of hearing their dying screams.”

“And Kyte?” asked the boss, ignoring his discomfort.

“She . . . She spared Captain Kyte, sir.”

“Did she?”

“Yes. According to her, he remained faithful and prevented them from leaving with the spike. She allowed him to live as a reward and sent him here.”

Boss R crossed his arms and tapped a set of fingers on his shoulder. “Okay, I’ll trust her judgment for now. You better keep him in line, Meyer.” The man pointed. “It’s dangerous for us to have loose ends dangling around.”

Meyer nodded quickly. “Of course, sir.”

“Where is Rose now? I didn’t contact her directly in case she was in combat. Do you have any idea when she’ll return?”

“ . . . No, sir,” Meyer looked to his office door, making sure no one was listening. Besides Boss R, and his bird, nothing else nearby made any sort of noise. “She tried to extract the intel Fontaine wanted on the device. However, the representatives coded it. According to her, it cannot be cracked except with their own technology.”

Boss R dropped his arms finally. “They cheated us!” he proclaimed in a heated voice.

“It would seem so, yes.”

The other man shook his head. “What’s the working plan, then? How’s Rose planning on solving this?”

“She told me that she’d need to get the codes from the Eiltheen representatives. They were split up when escaping Kyte’s installation. When I last spoke with her, she was on the way to the Court Grand Hall to find out where they were quartered. Her plan is to confront them, take the intel she needs, and terminate them for their treachery.” Meyer paused, allowing Boss R to either sanction or forbid the assignment. “She believed that they needed to be destroyed anyways for crossing us . . . and to ensure no loose ends were left undone, just as you said.”

Boss R thought for one long moment. Meyer began to grow uneasy because the news of the betrayal and retaliation of Kyte’s men had completely twisted his plans.

“So, where is she now?” the man finally asked. “Or where was she the last you spoke to her?”

“She was just leaving the area of Kyte’s installation. She went dark for security purposes but said she’d try to find a transport once out of the area. As I’ve mentioned, her ultimate objective was the representatives’ hotels rooms.”

“Which is why she’s headed to the Grand Hall,” completed the boss. Meyer nodded, but then his superior continued. “Okay, you mentioned that two of the representatives were Eiltheen. I believe there were three at the last meeting. What happened to the third?”

Meyer paused for a minute, having not figured out this detail himself yet. “I can’t say. They were asked this during the meeting but only deflected the question. It seems their leader didn’t accompany them.”

Boss R seemed to stand up even straighter. “Right, and who do you think then has that code we need?” he asked rhetorically. Without even waiting for any sort of response from Meyer, he continued. “Captain, actually I commend the quality of your work. You
and
Rose’s. You’re handling this situation well, considering the pressure of dynamic events and Command’s prodding nose. This turn of events is unfortunate. But I think we can still salvage most of what we intended to gain.”

Meyer took a step forward and held a complacent posture. “Thank you, sir. What suggestions can you provide?”

“First . . .” began the man. However, he paused and then turned away. “
I will make contact when I’m good and ready. Now, don’t interrupt me again!
” He turned back. “Lackeys!” he cursed. “I give them an order to not disturb me while I’m in a conference and what happens? Got some idiot calling from outside about some piece of redundant information.”

“Yes, sir. Some of them can be pretty aggravating,” agreed Meyer. “But you were saying? About the mission?”

“Yes, the first priority is to secure the codes. Second, wipe out the Court defectors. They’ve now proved their uses, which will be exhausted once she’s secured the codes. Third, and lastly, destroy their leader. So long as no one else has been told, and it would’ve been unwise of them to widen this circle, news of our activities should end there.”

“Yes, sir. As soon as she reestablishes contact, I’ll relay the message.”

“Good. I need to go now.” He reached to his waist and pulled out a large pistol. “Business calls. We’ve got a raid scheduled soon. This spit of land should be ours by the end of the night. Oh, and one more thing; Have Rose contact me when she is clear of the Court surveillance.”

“Yes, sir. Of course. And good hunting.” Captain Meyer bowed, and the energy cloud of Boss R dissipated.

A few hours later, Roszephnye had finally reached the Court Grand Hall in the central political district. Having just landed on a suitable perch high upon the gargantuan building, she reactivated her comm., placing a call to Meyer. Forcurrier City was alive as ever with bustling traffic in every street and dancing transports in airborne avenues. As always, though, the metropolis’ frantic pace was offset by the spots of nature sprinkled throughout its range. Parks, meadows, and gardens gave the city a calming disposition even at night. Lovely as they were, however, Rose found these environments quite useful when sneaking past unfriendly eyes. Scanning the area for tightened security, she finally connected to Meyer.

“Yes, go ahead,” said the captain.

“Captain, it’s Byruhme. I’ve reached the Grand Hall.”

“Oh, great!” he breathed, as if relieved. “Sorry. I saw that it was your device, but I didn’t want to answer in a way that could incriminate our operation . . . Just in case.”

Rose gave a crooked smile and pulled her attention away from the streets. “You’ve got to be joking, Captain,” she huffed. “Don’t forget who you’re running ops with here. I’m not some dispensable grunt, who’d get busted right out of the door.”

“Sorry, ma’am, I understand. But it’s still part of operational protocol.”

She nodded with minor intolerance, though he could not see her. “Okay, Captain, apology accepted. Well, you’ll be pleased to know that the device and myself are still safe, and I’ve reached the Grand Hall. Furthermore,” she looked out to the streets again, “they don’t seem to have tightened security here.”

“Excellent. You should be able to pull off the mission with no trouble then. Speaking of which, Boss R made contact a few hours ago.”

Rose left her perch and began walking around the building’s exterior, scoping out more of the area. “Did he?” she replied, only partially involved.

“Yes. He wanted an update, obviously. He was surprised that Kyte’s men attacked the Court and fought. As was Colonel Lonng, who also made contact. Command is really intensifying the pressure. We need the mission completed by dawn. Or they’re really going to start getting suspicious.”

Rose spotted a better vantage point above her and primed her harpoons for firing. “All in good time, Captain. But I feel like this mission will be far and away accomplished by dawn. It’s only now just midnight. There’s time; I’ve got this under control.” She pointed her hand to the air, fired a harpoon, and ascended. Flipping with style, she landed on the next level.

“Well, I do believe you have time to eliminate your
current
targets,” put Meyer.

Rose sort of paused. “What do you mean by that? Am I to silence even more representatives tonight?”

“Their leader is probably the one with the codes you need to access the device. Boss R wants you to obtain them. Which means . . . yes, you’ll probably have to terminate at least one more person. Hopefully, it won’t be an entire group of people.” He then paused as if thinking. “I
could
feed Colonel Lonng a convincing story about how the device may be a fake. This will help to give us more time when he makes contact again. However, you’ll need to determine this to be true by the end of the night . . . or we can use the story that we need the codes. Either way, he doesn’t know that yet. We could make it seem like you found out through the course of the night.”

Rose walked near the edge of the floor and squatted, peering over the city. “And that’ll get him to back off for a while?”

“Yes, that’s what I’m hoping. Anyways, I’ve got a bit of good news. Captain Kyte returned, just as you ordered.”

At this, Rose felt genuinely surprised. “Did he now? Well, I suppose that was a good call after all. What’ve you got him doing?”

“He’s being held for now, for questioning. I’m just letting him give his story to my associates. It’s my hope that this will satisfy Command. Oh, and by the way, Boss R requests that you contact him. He should be done with the operation he was taking place in.”

“Pffft,” Rose expressed. “I’ll certainly get to it when I can. But I can’t make much progress if I keep needing to stop and report.”

“Alright then, where are you headed right now?”

Rose stood up and walked over to the nearest wall, listening. “Trying to find the best way in.” Not detecting any viable entry points near her, she turned and walked, keeping a keen ear to the stone wall.

“If the Hall isn’t under increased security, why not just walk in the front?”

Rose lifted her hand, and tapped her knuckles on the solid wall. Still not sensing an entry point, she continued forth. “If I go in the front and there’s not an accessible room, I’ll just have to walk back out. By the way, what did Boss R want? Didn’t you give him all the important information?”

“Yes,” replied Meyer. “I believe he wants to confirm things with you . . . and possibly ask why you spared Kyte.”

“And what did
you
tell him?”

“That he remained loyal so his life was his reward.”

Rose sort of nodded, though Meyer could not see her, and continued around the wall, tapping and listening. Finally, she gave up, however, and launched another harpoon skyward. She shot up several levels until dismounting outside a floor with large, sweeping windows. Sticking to the shadows, she inched up to the nearest pane and peered in. Several men in white uniforms and hats were moving frantically about a tiled floor. Counters full of dishes and ranges of steaming pans littered every inch of her view. “Oh, there’s a kitchen here, Meyer!” she expressed. “And . . . an unusual amount of cooking being done for this time of night.”

“Maybe to those on
our
schedule,” commented the captain. “Many of the representatives are from other systems, and since the Court’s calling more sessions lately, more people are probably up at this hour.”

Rose thought for a minute. The option of posing as a waitress or even as an actual chef felt somewhat alluring, but too trivial. However, the kitchen’s probable proximity to the hotels themselves could prove useful either way. “Are the representatives’ quarters near here?” she asked. “I’m guessing they would be if there’s a kitchen or restaurant this high up.”

Meyer took a little longer than necessary to answer, in which time Rose simply slipped past the window and followed the edge farther down the adjacent floor. She stopped finally, seeing a dining room.

“Blasted thing won’t connect!” Meyer huffed. “Sorry, I’ve been trying to gain access to the Grand Hall’s schematics, but it seems they
have
upped the security. Just not the personnel. I’m locked out for now. I’ll keep trying to get in but . . . Hold on; let me assign some of my staff to this.” He paused again, and Rose kept walking around the exterior. She had nearly made it to the end of the dining room’s length, when she heard the faint murmuring of voices. Freezing, she tuned her hearing upon a floor above her. “Yes, this is Meyer!” said the Captain, startling her. “I want you to assign a team to breaking the Court’s security surrounding the Grand Hall. I need access to the structure’s schematics.”

“Thanks a lot, Captain!” she hissed.

“Excuse me, ma’am?” he returned, sounding confounded.

“Nothing, sorry. There’re people outside here. I was just listening to them really closely, and you surprised me. They appear to be dinner guests, probably out on a balcony. If they’re enough of them—and it sounds like there are—I may be able to slip inside this way.”

“Okay, I’ll be working on hacking the system. Be careful.”

What? Be ‘normal?’
she thought with slight intolerance. “Copy that.”

Above, the dinner guests chatted away, most of them sounding well-mannered. However, one gentleman in particular sounded far and away gone already. “
Aid for Dailunavein?!
” he nearly shouted, laughing hysterically. “
What . . . what makes them think they deserve . . .
” he paused, hiccupping. And then it sounded like he pounded his own chest. “
Ah! Anyways, they don’t deserve a single shh . . . ship!
And even the Court can’t compel us to send them . . . any . . . I know exactly how to fix their problem. The Court’s . . . just got to approve my plan!
” Although the others above Rose continued their conversations with practical voices, the drunken man grew louder and louder. “
That’s what you think . . . , right?
” he demanded of someone.

“Sounds like someone needs to be thrown overboard,” mumbled Rose. “This fool honestly thinks he knows how to solve the Court’s problems.”

Captain Meyer laughed. “Who is that? Can you see him?”

“Negative. It’s a wonder you can hear him. He’s about two more levels up on a patio. Everyone else seems to be having more ‘civil’ discussions. I’m going to try to get closer.” She aimed her harpoon near the railing of the patio and waited. For some reason, though, the man quieted down for the first time since she first heard him. Rose dropped her arm in irritation. “Come on, you dilettante!” she cursed. “Where’d the incessant yakking go?”

“
And another thing! They got to
—”

Using his elevated voice to her advantage, Rose launched her harpoon and hooked the ledge under the rail. The impact made a small thud, which was masked by the man’s otherwise useless babble. “Here goes nothing,” she assured Meyer. She retracted the harpoon and rose swiftly into the air. The man’s voice intensified as she neared the railing, until finally culminating when she stopped just under a standing plant. The plant was very bushy, and she could already tell it would serve her arrival well.

Rose reached up and grabbed the railing. Peeking through the bush, she ensured no one would see her, and then climbed all the way up. “Alright. I’m in position behind a plant. I should be able to simply walk—”

“Hey! What in space?!” called the incorrigible drunken man. Rose froze, realizing he had seen her. “Lady!” he called. “Hey . . . Hey, lady!”

“Oh, crap!” said Meyer. “They saw you.”

As subtlety as she could, Rose pulled her sleeves over her harpoons, and with a certain annoyed grace, stood and walked out from behind the plant. About half of the patio guests looked at her, which amounted to at least two dozen people (much more than she expected). They were all dressed finely, even the drunk, most still wearing their official attire and weapons. She rolled her eyes, acting intolerant.

“Hey, you can’t sneak in here by climbing up from below! Don’t think I couldn’t see you through . . . that plant.” the man insisted, his eyes droopy. He held a partially filled glass of liquor to her. “This area is for representatives and assistants only!”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a few of the guests examine her as if actually believing the man. She sighed heavily, tossing her head. “No, I didn’t sneak onto this patio, but thanks to you, now I wish I’d never come at all,” she declared. “In truth, I thought I could hide and wait you out.”

A few of the guests covered their mouths, obviously entertained. However, after a slight pause, the man responded. “No . . . no, you came over the side. I . . . saw you.” He then swallowed the rest of his liquor.

Rose turned towards him, aiming her cruel eyes on his. “I can hardly believe you can see anything . . . as wasted as you are. Tell me you’re not a representative. Your behavior is despicable.”

Suddenly, Meyer butted in. “
We’ve secured access to their system. But it might just be temporary. Stall for a moment, and I’ll give you direction
.”

“Despic—?” the drunk hiccupped. “Why, I’m just getting started. Anyways, you’re one to judge.” He kicked the seat out across from himself, which until just recently seemed to have sat a friend of his. The chair slid to an accommodating position and he pushed a glass to her side of the table. “Come on.” He then filled both his own empty glass and the one he offered halfway. “Outlast me, and I’ll not report you.”

“
Good Idea!
” advised Meyer. “
I just need another minute. Humor him.
”

At first, Rose faced away as if insulted and looked at the crowd. And then she faced the drunk again. “Fine! I’ll be doing the rest of us a favor.” She sat and grabbed the glass. “Cheers, my insufferable friend.”

The man let out a laugh that sounded like a growl and threw his glass back. Rose did the same, the liquor toasting her insides. The man simply smiled, lifted the bottle, and then clumsily dropped it. It shook the table, rattling everything upon it.

“Had enough already?” asked Rose with a sneer.

“Hell . . . no!” he said. He lifted the bottle properly this time and poured two more glasses. “Let’s see . . . wooo!” he breathed. “Let’s see how tough you are.” They both threw back another glass, and he poured a third serving. “Yes, see . . . see!” he said to the crowd. He pointed his eyes to her. “This is exactly what I’m talking about . . . Everyone . . . everyone thinks they know everything.” He began to wobble dangerously, and Rose simply sat with her legs crossed and watched. He set the bottle back down and rotated the liquor glass in his hands. He then finally lifted it, as Rose lifted her own. The woman brought the glass to her lips but then paused. Completely out of it now, the drunk chugged the liquor to the last drop, teetered in his chair . . . and then fell upon the table. A climactic thud followed, and Rose simply set her glass down.