Disclaimer: Tribune Entertainment owns the characters of Andromeda. No
profit is being made.
** NOTE TO READERS ** this is chapter 15 to the series "Secrets."
Read and review! All comments are welcome.
***************************************************************
Reckoning
By Dawn Nyberg
** Planet Tempus **
Ronin sat cleaning his gun as he thought about the hit on Gogi. He had waited four months to accept the hit knowing he had the time to consider taking it or not. Of course, he had used his four months well; he had completed over fifteen hits in the previous four months. He had wanted to stay out of anything that may involve the Commonwealth. Unfortunately, he now knew that the Commonwealth did want Gogi as an ally, but he didn't know how they planned to prevent the hit. His employer had only left him with instructions to kill him and to be done with it. He was glad of that - he wanted to get off Tempus as soon as the hit was carried out. He had been informed that other contracts had been allegedly offered, but they were only a smoke screen that was created in hopes of causing the Commonwealth to overextend their resources as they hunted for multiple contract killers. The money was too good and he looked forward to the 200,000 thrones and had decided that after this kill he may take a break, after all, he had earned over 1,000,000 thrones in a year and by any standard he was wealthy and could afford to quit, but he didn't want to. He planned the hit for the inaugural dinner because he thought it would be less anticipated.
** Later that Day **
"I assure you Chancellor Gogi, my crew is very good at what they do and we will find the killer or killers that are after you. My current resources, however, assert that in fact, there is only one contract active for your assignation. We will find the hit man." Dylan assured.
"I trust you will obey the mandate of the council and kill this assailant without preamble." Gogi stated as he paced nervously about his office.
"I am well aware of the mandate laid down by the council. We will shoot to kill."
Tyr stood in the back of the office chambers. His mind trying to think like Harper would. He had once been a hired gun himself and you never really lose that edge. He needed to crawl into that mindset again. He needed to find Harper and if he was here - he needed to get to him before he was killed or attempted the hit.
** Later that evening - The Inaugural Dinner **
"Where is Tyr," Beka asked in annoyance.
"I asked him to keep Com silence unless he spotted something. I have him walking the perimeter of the banquet hall." Dylan answered Beka as he surveyed the crowd for strange activity.
"Maybe the contract was canceled, Dylan."
"I doubt it. This would be a good time to get at Gogi."
"If you say so."
The evening progressed and the crew of the Andromeda made their rounds. Beka and Trance had teamed up to cover each other's backs. Rommie was scanning the security systems for faults or relays. Beka and Dylan were doing their parts as well. And, Tyr was busy trying to locate Harper. His gut was telling him the kid was here.
Ronin eased along in the shadows. He slipped a thin black bag from his shoulder. He assembled the small long-range gauss gun. He could hit Gogi from a distance and be out of here before anyone could figure out where the shot came from. His best vantage point, however, was being guarded and by the looks of the guy Ronin was going to need a little extra adrenalin to take the guy in hand to hand combat. He pulled a small dropper bottle out of his vest and tilted his head back - he put one drop of Flash into each eye. He had been convinced in trying Flash over three months ago by another hired gun that had said it comes in handy in a bind - faster reflexes, more strength because of the adrenalin, and if he were injured the Flash let him forget about any pain until the job was done. He had tried it before a hit and it worked like a charm. Within seconds the mixture had taken affect - he had learned to refine the potent mixture and he was able to enhance it effects by ten fold its normal strength. He felt good.
He slipped a black head mask on that covered his hair and face. He melted into the shadows as he worked his way closer to the guard.
Tyr came around a corner and his foot hit something in the dark - a bag. He picked it up. He knew the smell - gunmetal. His heart rate increased and his senses became alert and his eyes began to search the shadows for movement. He heard a muffled noise and quickly moved toward it.
Ronin had the upper hand on the guard - they were alone and they circled each other like lions on the prowl. Tyr watched from the shadows - he couldn't decide if it was Harper or not. The person was all in black and his entire head was masked. Finally, the mystery man was able to get the advantage and he killed the guard. Tyr stepped forward and the man turned. Both powered up their weapons and leveled them on one another.
"Little man?" Tyr watched the gun waiver, but stayed trained on him.
"Leave Tyr! This has nothing to do with you. Go."
"There is an order to shoot to kill, Harper." Tyr powered down his weapon.
"Don't call me that."
"If you are spotted they will kill you. Dylan and the others are here. They don't know it's you. Frankly, I was hoping it wasn't. You have to leave."
"Yeah, I agree, but not until I complete the job." Ronin turned toward the door and heard the Tyr's gun power up again. He didn't turn to face the Nietzschean. "You gonna shoot me in the back Tyr?"
"I can't let you kill Gogi. Harper, come with me. I'll get you out of here. You don't have to do this."
"This is the way it is," Ronin turned and went for Tyr. The Nietzschean dodged him and Ronin spun back around and hit Tyr across the jaw. Anasazi grabbed the mask off of Harper's head. He grabbed the kid by his shirt and something caught his senses: accelerated heart rate and something else - suddenly he knew the scent and rage boiled up in him. He pushed Harper up against a wall.
"You're on Flash!" Tyr spat as he shook Harper slightly.
"It's just for certain jobs. I got it under control."
"You stupid boy!"
"Go to Hell." Ronin slipped a hidden knife from a sleeve. Tyr tried to counter him to disarm the kid, but failed.
"I taught you that move."
"I let you think you that you taught me that move! Now, back the Hell off, or I'll . . ."
"What? Kill me?"
"I'll do what I have to. I have to complete the job."
"Just walk away Harper."
"I said, stop calling me that. My name is Ronin."
"It's Harper! And, I'm not going to let you do this. They will kill you!"
"They can try, but I'm still doing the job!"
"I will not allow you to commit suicide boy."
Ronin backed himself toward the door. "If you want to stop me you're going to have to kill me." He turned to walk the final couple feet to the door.
"Harper?" Tyr's voice was resolute. The kid turned in time to see Tyr pull a smaller gun and fired a dart at the boy. He dropped instantly. Tyr quickly walked over to him and felt for a pulse and checked his breathing. He needed to make sure the sedative in the dart wasn't too strong for the young man. He grabbed the boys gear and the mask Harper had worn to keep any possible DNA scans from identifying who the hit man was and then he threw Harper over his shoulder and escaped into the shadows leaving the dead guard right where he was.
To be continued.
** NOTE TO READERS ** this is chapter 15 to the series "Secrets."
Read and review! All comments are welcome.
***************************************************************
Reckoning
By Dawn Nyberg
** Planet Tempus **
Ronin sat cleaning his gun as he thought about the hit on Gogi. He had waited four months to accept the hit knowing he had the time to consider taking it or not. Of course, he had used his four months well; he had completed over fifteen hits in the previous four months. He had wanted to stay out of anything that may involve the Commonwealth. Unfortunately, he now knew that the Commonwealth did want Gogi as an ally, but he didn't know how they planned to prevent the hit. His employer had only left him with instructions to kill him and to be done with it. He was glad of that - he wanted to get off Tempus as soon as the hit was carried out. He had been informed that other contracts had been allegedly offered, but they were only a smoke screen that was created in hopes of causing the Commonwealth to overextend their resources as they hunted for multiple contract killers. The money was too good and he looked forward to the 200,000 thrones and had decided that after this kill he may take a break, after all, he had earned over 1,000,000 thrones in a year and by any standard he was wealthy and could afford to quit, but he didn't want to. He planned the hit for the inaugural dinner because he thought it would be less anticipated.
** Later that Day **
"I assure you Chancellor Gogi, my crew is very good at what they do and we will find the killer or killers that are after you. My current resources, however, assert that in fact, there is only one contract active for your assignation. We will find the hit man." Dylan assured.
"I trust you will obey the mandate of the council and kill this assailant without preamble." Gogi stated as he paced nervously about his office.
"I am well aware of the mandate laid down by the council. We will shoot to kill."
Tyr stood in the back of the office chambers. His mind trying to think like Harper would. He had once been a hired gun himself and you never really lose that edge. He needed to crawl into that mindset again. He needed to find Harper and if he was here - he needed to get to him before he was killed or attempted the hit.
** Later that evening - The Inaugural Dinner **
"Where is Tyr," Beka asked in annoyance.
"I asked him to keep Com silence unless he spotted something. I have him walking the perimeter of the banquet hall." Dylan answered Beka as he surveyed the crowd for strange activity.
"Maybe the contract was canceled, Dylan."
"I doubt it. This would be a good time to get at Gogi."
"If you say so."
The evening progressed and the crew of the Andromeda made their rounds. Beka and Trance had teamed up to cover each other's backs. Rommie was scanning the security systems for faults or relays. Beka and Dylan were doing their parts as well. And, Tyr was busy trying to locate Harper. His gut was telling him the kid was here.
Ronin eased along in the shadows. He slipped a thin black bag from his shoulder. He assembled the small long-range gauss gun. He could hit Gogi from a distance and be out of here before anyone could figure out where the shot came from. His best vantage point, however, was being guarded and by the looks of the guy Ronin was going to need a little extra adrenalin to take the guy in hand to hand combat. He pulled a small dropper bottle out of his vest and tilted his head back - he put one drop of Flash into each eye. He had been convinced in trying Flash over three months ago by another hired gun that had said it comes in handy in a bind - faster reflexes, more strength because of the adrenalin, and if he were injured the Flash let him forget about any pain until the job was done. He had tried it before a hit and it worked like a charm. Within seconds the mixture had taken affect - he had learned to refine the potent mixture and he was able to enhance it effects by ten fold its normal strength. He felt good.
He slipped a black head mask on that covered his hair and face. He melted into the shadows as he worked his way closer to the guard.
Tyr came around a corner and his foot hit something in the dark - a bag. He picked it up. He knew the smell - gunmetal. His heart rate increased and his senses became alert and his eyes began to search the shadows for movement. He heard a muffled noise and quickly moved toward it.
Ronin had the upper hand on the guard - they were alone and they circled each other like lions on the prowl. Tyr watched from the shadows - he couldn't decide if it was Harper or not. The person was all in black and his entire head was masked. Finally, the mystery man was able to get the advantage and he killed the guard. Tyr stepped forward and the man turned. Both powered up their weapons and leveled them on one another.
"Little man?" Tyr watched the gun waiver, but stayed trained on him.
"Leave Tyr! This has nothing to do with you. Go."
"There is an order to shoot to kill, Harper." Tyr powered down his weapon.
"Don't call me that."
"If you are spotted they will kill you. Dylan and the others are here. They don't know it's you. Frankly, I was hoping it wasn't. You have to leave."
"Yeah, I agree, but not until I complete the job." Ronin turned toward the door and heard the Tyr's gun power up again. He didn't turn to face the Nietzschean. "You gonna shoot me in the back Tyr?"
"I can't let you kill Gogi. Harper, come with me. I'll get you out of here. You don't have to do this."
"This is the way it is," Ronin turned and went for Tyr. The Nietzschean dodged him and Ronin spun back around and hit Tyr across the jaw. Anasazi grabbed the mask off of Harper's head. He grabbed the kid by his shirt and something caught his senses: accelerated heart rate and something else - suddenly he knew the scent and rage boiled up in him. He pushed Harper up against a wall.
"You're on Flash!" Tyr spat as he shook Harper slightly.
"It's just for certain jobs. I got it under control."
"You stupid boy!"
"Go to Hell." Ronin slipped a hidden knife from a sleeve. Tyr tried to counter him to disarm the kid, but failed.
"I taught you that move."
"I let you think you that you taught me that move! Now, back the Hell off, or I'll . . ."
"What? Kill me?"
"I'll do what I have to. I have to complete the job."
"Just walk away Harper."
"I said, stop calling me that. My name is Ronin."
"It's Harper! And, I'm not going to let you do this. They will kill you!"
"They can try, but I'm still doing the job!"
"I will not allow you to commit suicide boy."
Ronin backed himself toward the door. "If you want to stop me you're going to have to kill me." He turned to walk the final couple feet to the door.
"Harper?" Tyr's voice was resolute. The kid turned in time to see Tyr pull a smaller gun and fired a dart at the boy. He dropped instantly. Tyr quickly walked over to him and felt for a pulse and checked his breathing. He needed to make sure the sedative in the dart wasn't too strong for the young man. He grabbed the boys gear and the mask Harper had worn to keep any possible DNA scans from identifying who the hit man was and then he threw Harper over his shoulder and escaped into the shadows leaving the dead guard right where he was.
To be continued.