President Xutan exhaled loudly and sat back in his tall green leather chair. He’d just finished watching the recorded footage from the disaster at the Klatt border and the goings on in the Alpha Centauri system.
‘No wonder these people want you dead,’ he said.
‘You’ll have definitely been added to the list now,’ said James.
‘That remains to be seen – they might baulk at assassinating an ex-president,’ he replied.
‘Whatever happens, we need to turn the fleet around, Mr President, and quickly,’ said Bache.
‘And may I request a few of those cruisers finding their way into orbit around Earth?’ asked James.
Xutan nodded.
‘Let me make a call,’ he said.
They all looked up as the sound of a screaming antigrav from outside disturbed the quiet of the office. Multiple holes materialised in the floor-to-ceiling outer glass wall, which ultimately collapsed, as dozens of white-hot laser bolts turned the plush office into a tempest of flame and flying debris. Nothing in the office survived the sudden onslaught – chairs, tables, ornaments, pictures and the three humans just vanished in the maelstrom. On the floor below and the floor above, there were two hidden snipers armed with Makrys sniper rifles; one took out the protruding cannon and the other made neat holes in the small grey unmarked flyer’s antigrav drive.
It immediately began emitting a horrendous rattling noise and slowly at first began to lose altitude. The pilot was experienced and fought the controls valiantly, but the heavy gravity of Dasos eventually overcame his skill and the damaged antigrav drive. Fourteen seconds later it crash-landed in the previously cleared street below. The only slightly injured and shocked pilot was surrounded and arrested by a mixture of plaza security and Xutan’s bodyguards and whisked away for questioning.
‘Okay, you were right,’ said Xutan, nodding his concession at James. ‘It seems they’ll stop at nothing to protect themselves.’
They made their way through to Xutan’s office from the back of the building from where their holographic images had been projected. As soon as Bache opened the door a cold wind whipped around their ankles and a flurry of powdered snow, smoke and ash from burnt furniture wafted into the corridor. Xutan grimaced as he peered in and indicated to Bache to pull the door closed again.
‘I think you might want to call your interior decorators,’ said James.
One of Xutan’s bodyguards trotted up and whispered in his ear. Bache noticed the sudden look of surprise on the President’s face.
‘What is it?’ he asked.
‘The pilot,’ said Xutan. ‘He’s ex-navy and now a private contractor. He thought he was acting on behalf of the Council.’
‘Where did his orders come from?’ asked James.
‘Here,’ said Xutan. ‘The office of Ambassador Xantian.’
‘And where’s he lurk?’ asked Bache.
‘In the next building, I believe,’ said Xutan, indicating for his bodyguards to follow.
They took one of the staff elevators down to the basement and made their way through the vehicle park. They met the same Skirmat Eagle from earlier, carrying four tablets and going in the opposite direction. He scowled at them, got in a dark vehicle and swept up the exit ramp and out into the snow as if he was late for an appointment.
‘I hate those guys,’ said Bache, as they boarded the same elevator as the Skirmat had exited.
‘Forty-first,’ said Xutan, reading from his tablet as James dialled it in on the wall keypad.
The forty-first floor was silent as they exited the lift. All three bodyguards drew their weapons as they glimpsed a leg sticking out from one of the office doorways further down the wide corridor. They waved for Xutan to wait as they cleared each room, working their way methodically towards the body. Once they were sure the floor was clear, one of them returned and spoke softly to Xutan. He puffed his cheeks out and sighed, before turning to the others.
‘They’re all dead,’ he said. ‘The ambassador, his assistant and both secretaries. Professional hit, all have one in the chest and one in the head from close range.’
Bache’s tablet pinged with an incoming call from Andy.
‘Are you guys safe?’ Andy asked, as soon as Bache answered.
‘Well, apart from three assassination attempts, we’re fine,’ he replied, rolling his eyes at the worried face on the tablet.
‘That’s why I’m calling. A group of mercenaries came to find you and take the Cartella.’
‘The fact you’re calling me indicates they weren’t very successful?’
‘No, Cleo kicked their butts, only we found out they were taking their orders from an ambassador here on Dasos.’
‘Xantian,’ said Bache.
‘How did you know that?’
‘Because I’m standing in his offices right now and he’s dead, along with three others under his employ.’
‘Oh, crap.’
‘My thoughts exactly.’
‘They really are cleaning house.’
‘No shit.’
‘Do you need me to pick you up? I’m staying in the air now and cloaked, a few thousand metres above the city.’
‘Pick us up at the main plaza flyer pad in fifteen minutes,’ said Bache. ‘And you’d better uncloak for that, it can be a little busy.’
They tiptoed around the crime scene looking for the deceased’s tablets.
‘Hang on,’ said James. ‘What was the Skirmat carrying downstairs as he exited the elevator?’
‘The fucking Skirmat,’ blurted Bache, staring at Xutan.
‘Oh, shit,’ said James. ‘Downstairs, he was about to take us through that side door.’
‘And that’s where our bodies would have been found,’ said Bache.
Xutan walked to one side and made a call, returning a few moments later with a scowl on his face.
‘I contacted the offices of the Skirmat detectives,’ he said. ‘No detective was on duty within the council plaza today.’
‘Right,’ said Bache. ‘We need to get down to the flyer pad where Andy will pick us up. We’ll all be safer up on the Gabriel.’
‘What about me?’ Xutan asked.
‘Especially you, Mr President,’ said James.
‘What about my guys?’ Xutan added, nodding at his bodyguards.
‘Them too,’ said Bache. ‘It’d be good to have some backup we can trust. Whoever we’re up against has a long arm and unlimited funds, it seems.’
‘Let’s go,’ said James, opening the elevator door again. ‘I can’t wait to be away from this bloody gravity anyway.’
‘Bloody gravity, indeed,’ said Bache, joining James in the lift and ignoring his waspish glance.