Smoke & Mirrors by Star24

Disclaimer: Dark Angel and its characters are property of Twentieth Century Fox and James Cameron and Charles Eglee. This original story is property and copyright 2003 Star24.

______________________________________________________________

Seattle, Jam Pony X-Press

It was lunch hour and Jam Pony was bustling with messengers grabbing a bite to eat between runs. The wide screen television that Normal provided was tuned to the midday news which was showing coverage of the funeral of Senator John Watkins of California.

"Dunno why Normal has to torture us with this stuff at lunchtime." Sketchy grumbled as he bit into his bologna sandwich and then followed it with a gulp of soda..

"Hey mon, its all good, part of the great design, to all tings a time, a place, the river flows on." Herbal tossed in some of his philosophy.

"Well this ain't the time I wanna watch this stuff." Sketchy responded. 

"No, you'd rather getcha groove on watchin' half naked babes playin' beach blanket boogie," Original Cindy observed sarcastically as she joined the two of them.

Sketchy brightened at the image she had conjured up. "Hey, maybe we could get Normal to put on the Bay Watch reruns? Ya think?" Original Cindy opened her mouth to give him a blistering reply, but she was interrupted by a burst of static.

"Do not attempt to adjust your set. This is a Streaming Freedom video bulletin. The cable hack will last exactly 60 seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped, and it is the only free voice left in this city. In the past months there have been a series of sudden deaths of prominent political leaders in our country. Senator William Wendell of New York was the first, followed by Congresswoman Janice Rogan of Texas, and the most recent, Senator John Watkins of California. These three politicians had one thing in common. Each one, before their death, had made inquiries into the state of government research in genetic technology.  That interest and their deaths are not coincidental. There is an entity that is responsible. An entity that has for years been using taxpayer money for their twisted experimentation in genetic manipulation. Eyes Only has obtained information on this entity and in the coming days will be bringing it into the light. This has been an Eyes Only Streaming Freedom video bulletin. Peace. Out."

"Whoa, man that's deep. What do ya think they been doing? You think they've been making like monsters or something?" Sketchy pondered.

Original Cindy reached over and swatted him. "Yeah, fool, and if you don't watch out, one a them monsters is gonna get your ass."  Rolling her eyes, she turned back to her lunch muttering about "peeps who watched way too many X-Files reruns."

The three ate in silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts, until Normal began to yell out. "Bip bip bip… lunch is over you slackers. Packages needing homes. Get a move on. No one goes home until every one of these babies is delivered…"

Seattle, South Market - September 22

Logan sat sipping a cup of what was billed as coffee, as he watched the crowds swirl around him in South Market.  This was a place where you could get anything you wanted, provided you had the money to pay for it.  Vendors hawked fresh fruits and vegetables, the occasional chicken, and more exotic items such as fish, and even sometimes rare luxuries such as beef.  Cosmetics and clothes and cooking gear were openly displayed by the same merchants who also dealt discreetly in black market items such as drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes.

"Anyone sitting here?" The rough voice interrupted Logan's study of the people around him. He looked up to see a nondescript male in his thirties standing next to the empty chair at his table. The man tossed down a newspaper with an article circled in red, in front of Logan.  Logan looked at the paper and the article, and then smiled briefly.

"The seat is yours." The man grunted in affirmation and proceeded to sit down and pull the top off of the paper cup of coffee he carried in his hand. There was silence for a moment as he took a gulp of his coffee, and then he began to speak.

"I heard you're looking for information on genetics research?" He looked down as if he was reading the newspaper, as he talked. He held his coffee cup close to his mouth obscuring the movement of his lips from any onlookers.

Logan nodded slightly and continued to look around the market as he drank his bitter coffee.

"It's gonna cost you." The man took another gulp of coffee and waited.

"Money isn't a problem. Reach under your seat and you'll find an envelope with the agreed on amount in it. My employer is willing to double that once your information checks out."

The stranger sipped his coffee and then, as he set it down, his newspaper fell to the ground. With an annoyed exclamation he leaned down to pick it up from under his chair. Leaving it in his lap this time, he glanced around and began to speak quickly.

*****

From a vantage point on the upper balcony of South Market, a woman, dressed in a black leather jacket and black jeans, her dark hair pulled back into a long braid that hung down her back, scanned the area below. She leaned against the railing, screened by a pillar behind her. She was almost invisible to the pedestrians moving along this level.  Her eyes narrowed and she concentrated on a table where two men were seated drinking coffee. The first had his back to her, but it was the other she focused in on.

"Base, I've located the target." She spoke softly into the throat mike dangling from the small earpiece she was wearing.

"Proceed with termination."

"Affirmative"

The woman glanced around to be sure she was out of sight of any curious pedestrians or vendors and then, satisfied, pulled a small weapon from her pocket.  The end bore the distinctive shape of a silencer. Not bothering with any kind of gun sight, even though the man who was her target was a good 50 yards away, she raised the weapon and her finger began to tighten on the trigger.

Before she could complete the motion, there was a sudden commotion below. A boy of about thirteen ran past the table the two men were seated at, followed by a screaming vendor.

"Stop, thief. Stop him…"

That alone would have only caused her to pause, to wait for a clear shot, but the commotion caused the second man at the table to turn around so that he was facing her.

She froze as his face came into focus.  The dark blondish hair, the small wire rimmed glasses and the piercing blue of his eyes, arrested her motion.  Even though she knew he couldn't see her in any detail at this distance, she felt like he was staring straight at her. Making a quick decision she spoke into her mike.

"Base there is a complication.  My position may have been compromised."

"Pull back. Exposure is not to be risked at this time. Acknowledge."

"Acknowledged."  She shoved the gun back into her pocket and turned from the railing. 

As she headed out of the market there was a concerned look on her face.

End of Chapter Two