Black Widow: Forge of Iron
By Triptych
But then I sigh, and with a piece of scripture,
Tell them that God bids us do good for evil.
And thus I clothe my naked villainy
With odd old ends stolen forth of holy writ,
And seem I a saint, when most I play the Devil.
-William Shakespeare, King Richard III
Fall 3067.
Unlike the other members of her unit, Brenda Palomides did not have to wear the required uniform while on duty. In fact her charge preferred it that way. Uniforms always made the boy seem nervous. Although the child's parents did not want him to be accompanied by someone so inconspicuous, Brenda's superb service record and unquestioned loyalty to the Free Worlds League made her the most qualified person to act as the boy's immediate bodyguard.
Brenda smiled at her own reflection in the massive two-meter tall mirror that adorned her small room within the Imperial Palace. She had short black hair and a compact body. Although her mother warned her that many members of her family would sometimes grow large on the hips when they got older, Brenda was in such superb physical condition that she doubted it would ever happen to her. She would simply exercise and train harder so that even when she would reach her twilight years, her dreaded family curse would never reveal itself.
As per standard procedure for the boy, Brenda did not wear her Ducal Guards uniform, preferring instead a dark gray jumpsuit which made her look somewhat nondescript among the rest of the entourage that would normally accompany them. Her charge actually asked her if she could wear a dress, stating that women should look like women, not as men. Brenda smirked at the thought, despite being so young, the boy already knew quite a bit about fashion and etiquette. But then again, it was important that she wore something functional, for she needed to be able to move and maneuver quickly should an emergency arise, and she could very well not do that wearing a traditional dress now could she?
After carefully turning the safety on her compact pistol and placing it within the shoulder holster of her suit, Brenda then slid two throwing knives into her left boot. She was the top knife thrower in her unit in addition to placing second in the Atreus martial arts competition. With an unblemished record of eight years as a mechwarrior in the Fusiliers of Oriente, Brenda was selected for SAFE training and passed through that with flying colors more than two years ago. With both her charming demeanor and her experience, she was the perfect bodyguard for the Marik family.
Once she had fully dressed, she poured through the papers lying on the small desk beside her bed. The recent intelligence reports noted that aside from a few discrepancies, all was quiet in Atreus. Brenda frowned when she read the most recent directive that ordered all FWL military personnel to cooperate fully with any representative of the Word of Blake. Like many others in her unit, she had a growing distrust directed towards these former ComStar personnel. Their rigid adherence to their extreme beliefs made them into dangerous fanatics that would tolerate no dissent among others. And now the Captain-General himself gave explicit orders that they were to be tolerated and full cooperation would be extended to them under all circumstances.
Brenda sighed. Despite her misgivings about the Blakists, she was not the type of person to make a row. Brenda firmly believed in Thomas Marik, the Captain-General of the Free Worlds League and she was more than willing to give up her life for him and his children. So in an ironic sort of way, she was also a fanatic herself.
As she strapped on the mobile communicator onto her belt and placed the earpiece into her left ear she then instantly activated it. Three beeps echoed in her ear as the scrambler system activated and allowed the Communications Center information on her current whereabouts. In addition to having instant access to communicate with the Ducal Guards, it also served as a homing beacon in case of emergencies.
Brenda spoke softly in order to test the throat mike. "This is Captain Palomides. I am online."
"Voice recognition authenticated, Captain. Good morning." Comm Center replied.
"Orders of the day?"
"You are to escort Janos Marik to the Commonwealth General Hospital for his routine check-up. A suite has been prepared for him on the 4th floor which has also been cordoned off from other residents."
"Whose in command at the hospital?" Brenda liked to be thorough when it came to briefings.
"Major Davenport of the 213th Company. He will be expecting you by no later than 10 am this morning," Comm Center replied.
"Acknowledged. Who is the vehicle driver for today?" Brenda queried.
"Sergeant Chalmers will be driving the designated vehicle today. Primary convoy will be leaving from the south gate of the palace in approximately fifteen minutes."
Chalmers was a good man. Brenda worked with him for quite a few years now. A former tank driver of the Second Free Worlds Guards, he had been referred to personally by the Captain-General's nephew, Photon Brett-Marik. Versed in evasive driving as well as being an accomplished martial artist, Hamilton Chalmers was a dependable choice.
"Roger that, Comm Center. I am on my way towards the south gate." Brenda confirmed as she headed out from her room towards the assembly area.
It was standard procedure to always have two convoys when any member of the Marik family would be traveling on the road. The first convoy would be a decoy in order to fool potential terrorists and would be as conspicuous as possible, with armored personnel carriers and quite an entourage of support vehicles. The real convoy was in fact, much smaller and would be composed of only four, nondescript vehicles. This quad convoy of luxury sedan automobiles would be virtually identical to each other, in order to fool would-be aggressors who would end up confused as to which vehicle would actually contain the family members. So far for the past sixty years, this arrangement worked to perfection, not a single member of the Marik family was ever injured while traveling in this convoy.
As the group of decoys began to exit the northern gates of the palace, Brenda inspected each of the four vehicles in the primary convoy that was parked in the interior garage of the palace. Three of the vehicles would contain a fire-team of four special-forces troopers each while the fourth vehicle would only contain herself, the driver and the boy, Janos.
Brenda walked over to the second luxury sedan and tapped on the driver's side window. It instantly rolled down to reveal a well-built man in a purple and gold driver's uniform. The face was weather beaten and the man's nose had a piece of tape over it. Chalmers had broken his nose from a skiing accident only a week before.
"Good morning, Captain. I guess I'm up today." Chalmers smiled. He had perfect white teeth that Brenda liked.
"No sweat, Chalmers." Brenda returned the smile. "Just a routine drop off to the hospital."
"Well I hope it isn't serious. Is the lad okay?"
"He's fine. It will just be a routine check up. His younger brother Christopher had a mild case of the flu last night and they just want to make sure that the older one is okay."
"No sweat then, Captain. We'll get him to the hospital safe and sound."
"Lets hope so. How's the nose?" Brenda asked.
"Much better now, thank you Ma'am. I know my driving was somewhat erratic these past few days but I guarantee a smooth ride today," Chalmers quipped.
Brenda grinned as she noticed a dark haired, eight-year old boy being led by two women towards the parked cars. She quickly signaled the vehicles to start up as she headed over to meet them. Little Janos Marik had decided to wear an exact replica of his father's Captain-General uniform. The purple Marik eagle was prominently displayed on his collar. Brenda tried to imagine the boy as an adult wearing a much larger version of that uniform but decided to forgo that thought for now. There was work to be done.
"And how are you today, Janos?" Brenda asked the boy.
"Fine thanks, but my brother is sick. Where are we going today?" The boy asked.
One of the other women replied, "Master Janos, you will be going to the starport today."
Janos gave the evil eye to his nannies. "I wasn't asking you."
Brenda smiled. They lied to the boy in order for him to get here because everyone knew Janos was afraid of doctors. "Just for a short trip. Come on, let's get going." She said with no illusions.
"Okay." For once, the boy made no resistance.
As Brenda and the heir to the Free Worlds League got into the second sedan, Janos' nannies quickly returned back into the palace. The boy preferred to be with Brenda for she had learned how to please him by treating him as an equal rather than patronizing him which everyone else seemed to do. This endeared her to the boy as well as the Marik family for whom she considered as her own.
Within a few minutes, all four cars had begun their journey towards the hospital. Despite the fact that it had state of the art infrastructure, Atreus was sparsely populated due to the fact that the planet's manufacturing industry was very light and heavily automated while the rest of the population were mostly government employees as well as a small service sector to support them. Consequently, travel by road was surprisingly almost free of traffic.
Janos liked to travel by car; the ride was smooth and steady compared to the constant vibrations and noise of a helicopter. Whatever the heir preferred, he got. It was a fine sunny day and the clear blue sky would definitely make a lot of people take the day off from work and spend a holiday in the resorts on the outskirts of the city. Janos and Brenda were in the second car as the convoy passed its way along a four-lane boulevard that housed a victory park to commemorate the return of a number of League worlds that had been annexed by the now-defunct Federated Commonwealth. It was called Victory Park and it had lined several bronze statues of Thomas Marik along the road. Janos was peering through the tinted, bulletproof window to stare at several sculptures as the car passed them by.
"Janos, please don't keep fiddling with your seatbelt." Brenda requested.
"I don't like it, it's too tight," The boy replied.
"You need to wear it so you won't get a bump on your head in case the car crashes. Why don't you adjust the strap then?"
"The car won't crash because our driver is Chalmers," The boy answered.
Brenda suppressed the urge to laugh as she saw Chalmers' white-toothed smile in the reflection of the rearview mirror. It was true to a certain extent, Chalmers was the best driver she had worked with and the boy trusted him as well.
"Chalmers is good Janos, but its better to be safe than-" Brenda's words were interrupted by a sonic boom as a massive explosion ripped into the last car of the convoy.
The last car seemed to suddenly lurch forward and then rose up ten feet into the air as the bomb that was planted underneath the road ripped into its armored frame. It seemed to be a mixture of C4 and thermite because the car's interior was illuminated by an orange light that bathed it in a hellish glow before it collapsed into a molten heap along the side of the road. The shockwave of the explosion smashed into the third car as well, ripping out its rear tires and hurtling it sideways. The second vehicle only absorbed a distant part of the shockwave and its rear window was shattered, though it didn't break. The first vehicle seemed unharmed.
As soon as she felt the sonic boom, Brenda instinctively covered Janos with her own body. Chalmers also went into his emergency mode as he floored the accelerator and honked the horn of the car to signal the lead vehicle to increase speed. They needed to get out of the area as quickly as possible.
The driver of the lead car immediately recovered from his shock and started leading what was left of the convoy towards the emergency route that would take them back to the palace. They would make a quick run along a busy commercial street to get to a freeway.
As both cars accelerated away from the carnage, Brenda inspected the boy for any injuries. "Are you all right, Janos?"
The boy did not reply as tears dripped down his pale cheeks. He seemed otherwise okay though visibly shaken. Brenda adjusted the boy's seatbelt into a tight fit as she held him close to her.
Other than the shattered rear glass, the car seemed to perform as if nothing else was damaged. Brenda subconsciously thanked the makers of this vehicle, despite looking like an inauspicious sedan it was in fact heavily armored enough to withstand small arms fire but as she noted, it did little against a massive bomb. Thoughts began to race through Brenda's mind as to the circumstances of the attack. The perpetrators seemed to have known the exact route of the vehicles. Even the bomb was perfectly timed, probably using a spotter with a remote controlled detonator. Did the attackers also know which vehicle in the convoy that the heir to the Free Worlds League traveled in?
Brenda tried to get in touch with Comm Central but all she got in her earpiece was static the moment the bomb went off. Did it also have an EMP component in addition to the plastic explosives?
"Chalmers, can you get Comm Center on your radio?" Brenda asked.
"No, Captain. My electronics are out," Chalmers replied. That confirmed it.
"What's our ETA back to the palace?"
"As soon as we pass through this commercial district, about fifteen minutes," Chalmers answered as he made minute adjustments on the wheel as the car sped along.
Brenda stroked the child's hair. He was no longer crying but kept his eyes shut. "Hang on, Janos. We're almost home," She said.
"I'm scared." The child whimpered in her lap.
"Don't be, Janos. It will be okay soon." Brenda answered as she kept her other hand close to her pistol.
As the two cars began to turn and move into the commercial street, Brenda noticed that the shops lining the avenue seemed to have been boarded up. There was nobody on the street. As she shouted at Chalmers that it could be a trap, a large bus instantly came out of a side alley and occupied the road in front of them. The two cars braked to avoid this new obstacle but the lead car was too fast and slammed into the side of the bus, denting the large vehicle's flank.
"Back up! Hurry!" Brenda shouted to Chalmers as she noticed there were people on the roof.
As the second sedan began backing up, it was raked by machinegun fire from a two-man team on the roof. Janos wailed and covered his ears as the metal slugs impacted on the armored side of the car. Chalmers cursed as he put on the hand brake and accelerated while on reverse, almost toppling the car over but the maneuver worked, the car fishtailed into a 180-degree turn as Chalmers floored the accelerator to get them out of there.
The lead car wasn't so lucky, as it tried to pull out its embedded front from the side of the bus, it was instantly hit by a two shoulder-fired inferno missiles that gutted it. Two Special Forces troopers crawled out from the back of the burning car; one was on fire while the other one had two broken legs. Both were cut down by the machinegun emplacement on the roof.
The last remaining car sped into an underpass tunnel as Chalmers continued to accelerate. Brenda looked around and saw that the armored shell of the car had once again protected them. As they sped along the almost deserted tunnel, Brenda began to realize it was indeed an inside job.
"Chalmers, you can slow down now." Brenda ordered as she observed that the car was traveling dangerously fast along the confined tunnel.
The driver didn't seem to hear as the car continued to accelerate.
"Sergeant, I said-" Brenda stopped in mid-sentence as she realized the awful truth. She quickly reached for her pistol as Chalmers slammed the brakes and the car dovetailed into a concrete column that divided the two-lane tunnel.
Because it was traveling at such a high speed when it collided with the massive divider, the weight of the car combined with its speed turned it into a heavy steel coffin as it seemed to compress onto itself. It was as if an unstoppable force had met an immovable object.
After blacking out for about what seemed an eternity, Hamilton Chalmers quickly groped for the knife in his wrist holster and began popping the airbags that had inflated around him as the car slammed into the divider. His seatbelt was reinforced and he had carefully trained in a crash simulator to make sure that the airbags were properly in place as he did his own modifications on the car a few nights before. As he unbuckled the seat belt and slid away from the deflated front airbags, Chalmers noticed that his right arm was broken. Oh well, even the best of plans would not fully work to perfection, he thought.
As he looked at the passenger section behind him, he quickly checked to make sure the woman and the boy were dead. As he examined Janos, he noticed that the boy's face had turned into a bloody pulp and left a big crimson stain on his little uniform. His skull probably caved in upon impact as the sabotaged seatbelts came loose.
Chalmers twisted the boy's little neck with his good arm until he heard a snap. Just to make sure.
As the driver of the car began to inch his way out through the front panel of the car windshield, he heard a soft groan. Peering back in, he saw that Brenda Palomides was still stirring. Chalmers cursed about the inequities of fate until he realized that her blood-soaked moan pretty much heralded her final moments of life. With that in mind, he finally slid out of the vehicle and limped away.
Brenda was dying. Her chest was crushed and her breaths became shallower and shallower as the seconds ticked by. Bone splinters from her shattered ribcage had imbedded themselves into her vital organs, causing internal bleeding as well as building up fluid in her lungs which added to the complications. She tried groping for Janos but she sensed correctly that the boy was already dead. Her final thoughts were unhappy ones as she realized that despite all her training, all her experience, all her devotion to her craft, in the end, had all come to naught.
A single tear came out of Brenda's good eye as she died knowing she had failed in her duty.
It took about an hour for Hamilton Chalmers to finally get to the safe house in a nondescript suburb of Atreus. He made sure that nobody followed him by taking a circular route as well as turning his coat inside out. Chalmers also discarded part of his nose into a trashcan when he passed along a nearby alleyway as he used his escape and evasion skills to full effect.
When he bolted the door behind him, Chalmers immediately had a change of clothes while he dumped the old ones into the mini incinerator to be burned to ashes. He also checked the rest of his body for injuries as he tore off the Kevlar vest that he was wearing underneath his shirt. Aside from his fractured forearm, he had bruised ribs when the steering wheel dug into his chest but the Kevlar took most of the impact out of it.
As he examined his bruised chest in the mirror, it was then that he noticed there was someone else in the room. Turning around quickly, Chalmers could see that it was a man sitting by the porch. He had pale skin and straight white hair that extended all the way to his shoulders and was wearing a solid black suit. He quickly recognized who it was and let out a sigh of relief.
"Did I scare you?" The white-haired man said.
"A little bit, my Lord. I was not aware that you have returned to active status," Chalmers replied as he took out his false teeth.
"Yes, Joshua. I needed to keep that confidential until my current mission was over. Our leader demanded it."
"Are you part of this mission, Lord Meridian?" Joshua asked. His arm was still throbbing but it was now just a dull ache.
"Yes. Due to the fact that the Blakists wanted the timetable accelerated, they wanted both boys dead within the month. We need to start moving strike teams into Outreach as well, I want you in mine."
"Both boys? They may tighten security on the younger boy now that the older one is dead."
"I am aware of that, Joshua. Your operation was somewhat spectacular but sloppy."
"In what way, Lord Meridian?" Joshua was somewhat taken aback by the criticism but he felt that he could learn from his mistakes.
Meridian closed his eyes as he analyzed what had just happened. "Too many variables. Too many things could have gone wrong. You used quite a number of support personnel and cordoned off whole sections of the street. Not to mention that the impostor would know that it was a blatant assassination attempt."
"But I thought that was the whole purpose? To send a message."
"To a certain degree, yes. But it could have been done in more supple ways, Joshua. In your operation, you used two separate attacks to strip the escorts away from the target vehicle; then you deliberately crashed it to kill the passengers. If you had a slight error at any point, you or your support personnel might have been killed and the whole operation might have been compromised."
Joshua was apologetic. "Yes, I see it now, my Lord. My apologies, it won't happen again. I shall make better planning next time."
"It's not a problem since you did succeed after all. Just look at this as a learning experience." Meridian smiled.
"Our problem now would be to get access to the younger son now that our position has been revealed," Joshua admitted.
"The younger boy has already been taken care of." Meridian glanced at his watch. "He should be dead by now."
Joshua was shocked. "What? How?"
"I ran a parallel operation aside from your own. I was able to gain access to the boy and exposed him to some biological agents." Meridian smiled again.
Joshua could not help but be amazed. Despite all of his planning, the master of the arts had shown him the way. He had much to learn. "The flu?" Joshua asked.
"Yes. It was a bio weapon created in the late 21st Century. There is no cure. The child would have died quietly in his sleep by now and the impostor will have gotten the message just the same."
"Totally impressive, my Lord." Joshua smiled.
"Somewhat," Meridian said nonchalantly. "Get yourself fixed up. We need to be in Outreach in a few weeks time, more operations to be done."
"What about the impostor? When will he get his comeuppance?" Joshua asked.
"When our Blakist employers give us the go signal. But then again, what St. Jamais and his band of motley fools don't know is that the impostor was a product of our own supersedure program when ComStar hired us to create a replacement. Our great leader does love to toy with the powers that be, don't you think?" Meridian chided.
Both the master and his disciple laughed. Circles within circles- plans within plans. The puppet master was but a puppet. And soon, all would fall down dead.