A Cut Above

Chapter 6

The Green Tip assassin studied the lofty battlefield chosen by his opponent. It was an old airship dock built at the pinnacle of a once-bustling trade center. Now the gutted interior was carved up into squatter camps; no one had occasion to brave the windy rooftop. News of the girl's feat had come swiftly via scry disk. The Inquest demanded immediate vengeance, which the other side counted on; it wouldn't be prudent to act hastily. Still, the girl had to be terminated, because high priests in other domains were frantic with worry. And so agent 35 watched and waited.

He clung to a ledge adjacent to the dock, invisible in his Tekniker suit, which was outfitted with an armory of tools and weapons. One of those was a helmet display that fed information in real time. He knew the enemy was on the far side of the structure—not by the heat she was able to conceal, but by movement he detected by X-ray view. It was clear that she awaited his move, which would be unopposed.

He launched a cable from an arm canister, swung across to quickly scale the side and roll over the low retaining wall. The roof was a cluttered space, beset with old crates and ventilation works. The docking tower took up a lot of central space for its hold-down bolts. The struts overhead supported a broad platform that offered nowhere to hide. There was no point in checking the terminus itself; anyone in there would be trapped, with little room for fighting.

The other made the first move. In stealth, barely seen, she vaulted onto the roof and ran toward him, launching a flurry of blades and a pouch of red smoke. The latter turned out to be a skin irritant as well. Agent 35 flung a circular blade of his own, which the enemy cartwheeled over. Now on the opposite ledge behind him, she sent her special cord to wrap around an ankle. 35 wasn't about to be dragged off the roof. His short sword chopped himself free. The cord fragment eerily snaked away to rejoin its source.

Time passed; he was being offered a chance to go on the offensive. 35 crept to a corner and gained the ledge, with its dizzying view of the Old Quarter far below. His scanner showed motion around the next corner. If she wanted to fight out here, so much the better. Neither had much to fear by falling. He peeked around the next corner to see a pigeon nest. Oddly, the bird wasn't alarmed at his approach. He chose a small blade and tossed it. The nest exploded into a cloud of red dye. Apparently the creature was a device of some kind. But being led around wasn't to his liking. He gained the rooftop again and squatted behind a large box of spare parts. His scanner revealed motion behind the retaining wall. She was moving back and forth, keeping watch on both corners to avoid being taken unawares.

Suddenly her skeletal familiar screeched as it charged from behind. 35 quickly slashed it at the waist, whereupon it erupted into a cloud of black spores. He knew these were deadly to breathe, but his helmet had its own air supply. Time to get back to work.

Did she not expect an approach from the middle? He darted to the low wall and made ready with his paralyzing gun. She wasn't here; it was a snake, mindlessly slithering back and forth, looking like a stuffed specimen given new life.

He was a dead man.

Agent 35 allowed himself a few seconds to reflect on the disaster. He was the first to ever fail. Finally he looked up, to where the other must be.

Jili hung by the ankles on her cord. The twin tips of her swords caressed his neck where it wasn't covered by the helmet. But he was still invisible. How could she see him? It was pointless to make a move, since he was aware of her speed.

Guessing his confusion, she said, "The spores are clinging to you." The blade points pricked his neck, and he collapsed like a rag doll, though still awake to the dilemma. She flipped down to land on her feet, then dragged him behind the box of spare parts.

"You waste your time," he said, knowing his time was short. "I will not talk. And be assured the full weight of the order will descend upon Khot. All that you know and care about is now forfeit. Again—I will not talk."

She was busy with a small dart from her belt. "You'll do plenty of talking once you're dead." She jabbed it into his neck.

35 felt cold and stiff. "You're making me undead . . ."

She waited for the horrible drug to take full effect. "You always travel in pairs. Return to your partner and jab him with this." She gave him one of the needles. "Then, both of you report to Karst at the lair without being seen."

35 carried out his instructions. His partner awaited in a decrepit shack in the swampy divide that separated the Old Quarter from New City, a fanciful name for the town-sized compound where the incorrigible were banished behind lofty walls.

Karst's lair

Picard and Janeway had been hastily summoned after Jili returned with her two victims. This was a fatal disaster for the Green Tips. The two undead assassins spilled everything they knew about the order. Soon, they'd become the hunted after a coordinated ambush on multiple sites. Both men had removed their armor with all its Tenkiker gadgets intact. Karst would keep one set as a personal trophy, while the other would go to Eolca for advanced study.

Picard regarded the taciturn Jili, who lounged out on one of the treasure-laden support beams that served as cross walks. "My hat is off to you, Jili. I can return to my own reality with some expectation of seeing Ardra again."

"Ardra," mused the bearish King of the Thieves, Karst. "She sounds like another Jili, for all how you depend on her."

"Indeed we do," Janeway put in. "I'm a little mystified as to what was going to happen to Sisra if Jili had failed. I suppose the Green Tips would have taken her out."

Karst settled on a box of exotic fabrics. "Are you sure? I have met Sisra, when she was banished here as a scullery maid. Very high set of ethics. I think she would have given up her quest for goddess power if too many paid the price for it."

"And that," Karla said, "is why he's the boss. Still, why don't you let us know how it turns out on your side."

"We'll do that." Janeway prepared to take the stairs down, until Karst stood up with raised hands.

"You must celebrate with us tonight. We use an alley that once had Jili's flat, until Skuff sub-let the place and the careless tenant burned it all down. Cozy spot among the burned-up beams and ash. Has sewer taps so all my people can get there."

Picard grinned. "Admiral? I find myself with a lot of pent-up anxiety needing to be released."

"You talked us into it," Janeway said.

In passing, Karla told her: "It's cozy, all right, but you'll have to listen to all kinds of exploits by the other thieves."

"Not a problem, Karla. Perhaps Picard and I will add a few of our own stories."