Chapter The Hatchet

Chapter The Hatchet

Brenda walked, tour guide in hand, along the street with the highest percentage of Federation Intelligence employees. It was easy to track their source, an underground light rail line that had a stop in a park several blocks away.

She wandered the park happily with a bag of donuts. Baconville (her name for the human district) had some absolutely wonderful little bakeries and pastry shops, great coffee too! She sipped her giant cup and wondered if it was actual coffee or just a really good synthetic.

She decided she didn't care.

The park was absolutely beautiful! Beautiful abstract sculptures, wonderful plants from dozens of systems, fish ponds from world after world after world. It was fantastic! She had to admit it. The Republic had nothing like this! Can’t do this with just four living systems. She smiled a happy goofy lopsided smile. The weather was absolutely perfect! Nice sunny day but still brisk enough that her hoodie made sense. Picking a bench shaded by some sort of tree she had never seen before she sat down her handbag and started happily devouring the donuts.

She looked about. It was easy to spot the government cogs, the nerds, and the sleek dangerous agents. She discreetly slid a small plug into her neural jack and silently activated the powerful microphone in her ratty purse. By cutting the feed into slices she could focus on any single direction with pretty decent accuracy.

She was rather proud of the mic. She put it together this morning out of two children’s toys, a cheap amplifier from a second hand music shop, and a few hand cut sheets of copper from a craft store. God bless porkies and their silly little crafts. Then again, she smiled, she was fond of her little crafts as well.

She focused on a young affectionate critter couple sitting near a crystalline fountain. Oh, talking about agency business outside of the building... Naughty naughty...

She focused her right eye on a lean dangerous looking human standing near a food cart. She didn’t need any analytic voodoo to figure him out. Young, well dressed, obsessively well groomed, making a point to keep his eyes moving... Cliche’ much?

In short order she easily identified a score of Federation Intelligence employees and agents in the park and lunch was just starting. Yep. This was definitely a watering hole and the antelope were fat, happy, and completely unaware.

Perfect place for a crocodile... Chomp! She giggled to herself.

I wonder... she thought to herself. She took her tablet and activated a powerful directional antenna she put in a few months ago. It wasn’t cobbled together from bits and pieces. It was a very nice piece of work if she said so herself.

While she typed an overly enthusiastic letter home to her fictitious family she shifted the tablet as she wrote targeting the various food stalls, food trucks, vendors, and nearby restaurants as she did the real work through her neural jack.

Yep, most of the kiosks, carts, and trucks were using Crednet, a Federation standard for point of sale processing. Good old Crednet, cheap, reliable, and completely and utterly hackable. She didn’t even consider it a hack. She had an app. Best five grand she ever spent.

She wondered who Jessie was. Whoever she was she wrote some great shit. She always was on the lookout for more of her stuff on the black market. She even asked around but it seems they went exclusive and joined a crew awhile back.

Pity.

She shrugged and opened up the first kiosk and pulled up transactions for the last month.... Nope. Ok, how about that one... Nope. Wait... She zoomed in with her right eye. Was that a sushi cart? Let’s see...

Bingo.

Axlea Kalent 367... and she’s a regular! She eats there several times a week. I wonder why Kalent only have first names, she idly thought as she bit into her last donut. Oh no! Out of donuts! She frowned. This was serious. Mission abort!

Sushi! She could really go for some sushi. She stood up, brushing the crumbs off of her boobs, and tossed the coffee cup into a nearby receptacle. Cold coffee didn’t go with sushi.

She idly strolled back to the park entrance closest to the Federation Intelligence building and then wandered towards the sushi cart. So many nice, tall buildings... She stifled a smirk. Some noobs actually try to climb them or otherwise gain access to the rooftops. Imagine! Actually lurking up there like you were in some movie with an actual (snicker) rifle...

This was the thirty second century for Christ’s sake... Some people... I mean, how would you even get down?

Her left eye was constantly taking passive measurements as she walked. Her eyes weren’t bionic, not entirely. They were still the ones she was born with, just with a few little enhancements, almost unnoticeable and if they were they were easily passed off as corrective implants and nothing more.

They cost a mint but damned if they weren’t worth it. They made things a lot more convenient.

By the time she reached the sushi cart she had a pretty good layout of the place. She would rather have taken a few “selfies” but she figured that might be pushing it just a little. The wrong “007” getting his panties in a knot because he was in the background could be a problem. Oh they probably wouldn’t cause a scene but she really preferred not to be covertly scanned and then run through a database, not that she would be worried. She wasn’t in any of them. It’s just poor practice.

She looked at the menu at the sushi cart. She recognized a few staples but hey, she was a tourist! She enthusiastically asked about the various offerings and got a really nice assortment of hand rolls and a cup of some sort of tea that the vendor assured her was ok for humans. The vendor was really nice, even if he was a porkie. She made the decision to not get him caught in any potential “mess”.

It was really good too! She could see why Director Axlea liked this cart. Munching happily she, reading her tour book, walked into the metro entrance. There was this really nifty sounding spaceflight museum she wanted to check out.

She bet their gift shop would have all sorts of toys! She liked toys.

She reached for another hand roll as she took her seat on the metro. It was even tastier than the first! Maybe she would let Axlea eat before she killed her. She could die happy. That would be nice.

She smiled as the metro pulled out of the station. She nodded happily as she munched away. Yes. Axlea should get a last meal especially if it’s this tasty.

I mean she was a killer and all but she didn’t have to be mean about it.

***

That evening Brenda went back to the park metro stop this time going to a nearby restaurant that had good reviews. She wasn’t exactly sure what Rivvialn cuisine was but humans sure seemed to like it. That was one of the neat things about traveling so much for work. You got to see so many interesting things and eat so many interesting foods! She paused at a trash can to toss a small pastry box into it (never can have too many donuts) and then went to dinner.

It was pretty darn good! They did this really neat thing where they brought out little flaming braziers and cooked stuff right in front of you. She always liked things like that.

It was really fun! She went home full and happy.

Around the planet’s equivalent of two in the morning carefully timed between metro stops (They still had trains running at that time, impressive.) She connected her neural jack to her tablet. Accessing the restaurant’s network was pretty simple considering the fact that she already had all the necessary info. She has taken the liberty of hacking the place between courses.

Using the restaurant’s wifi she contacted what was actually inside that pastry box. A small cylinder with tiny little fins silently rose from the trash can and, easily passing for a Federation sensor bot, flew to the top of the building she had pre-selected. After hovering around for a few seconds she found the perfect little niche in some decorative structures.

She parked the little cylinder up there and put it to sleep. She soon followed.

***

The next morning Director Axlea entered the Council Chambers, a monumental structure in the center of the city and made her way to Councilor Yoltran’s office.

“Ah, Axlea, thank you for dropping by,” a large Threen said warmly.

“Yes, Yoltran, Axlea said with a smile, "I figured I would save you the trouble."

Councilor Yoltran, head of the Intelligence Oversight Committee frowned slightly. The rumblings that he had heard were very disturbing... and very unlike Axlea.

“Instead of the usual pleasantries I will cut to the chase,” Axlea said. “You undoubtedly have questions. I know you too well, Yol.”

“By the Abyss I do,” Yoltran said with a growl. “Namely, what the fuck? Have you gone mad? Blackmail, extortion... and I’m afraid to speculate what else.”

“Yoltran,” Axlea said quietly, “Do you trust me?”

“Of course I do you stupid eel. I would have had you hauled in front of the whole council if I didn’t,” Yoltran replied. “I’ve known you for years, Axie. What’s going on, really going on?”

“I can’t tell you Yol.”The initial posting of this chapter occurred via Ñøv€l-B!n.

“As you say, carpshit,” Yoltran growled. “I have the same clearance as you do. Now cough up what you are choking back or I will reach in there and pull it out.”

She followed the group for a block slowly drifting further and further behind them until she eventually turned down a side street and walked away.

***

Chaos reigned at Federation Intelligence. Director Axlea had been slaughtered right in front of them in the monitored zone around the building no less. Agent [email protected]@ snarled at the fidgeting agent in front of him.

“Now help me to understand,” [email protected]@ hissed at the miserable pol-ka, “A whole twelve man surveilance team, equipped with the best tech the Federation has, whose only job was to watch the Director and stop an assassination attempt that we knew was coming, can’t even tell me exactly what the fuck happened?”

The pol-ka winced.

“It just happened so fast, sir,” the pol-ka whined. “We detected... something... and then a fraction of a second later, she just... blew up.”

“Just blew up? That’s all you can fucking tell me?” [email protected]@ yelled. “The director put her life in your hands and all you can tell me is that she ‘just blew up’? I already know that! Everyone in the fucking park knows that! Everyone in the fucking Federation is going to know that within the fucking hour! I don’t need ‘just blew up’! I need fucking answers!” The Xvli hit his desk hard enough to crack it, the impact tossing his terminal to the floor. “Go over every single fucking one and zero you have until you have something!”

“Yes si-”

“GO!!!”

The pol-ka fled.

Agent [email protected]@ sat down and put his head in his paws. He had warned her. He fucking told Axlea that this was too risky. All the old fish would say was that she was ‘sufficiently protected’ with that annoying smug little smirk. Well, all that Kalent tech did exactly shit didn’t it, Director.

He wanted to scream. He wanted to fly into a rage, break some shit. Unfortunately, he did not have that luxury.

Taking a deep breath he picked up his terminal from where it landed, switched it on, and opened a file titled “In Case I Die”.

***

Patricia was sitting at her desk with her face in her hands. It hadn’t been a good morning. She had just received word that three more of her “immortal” riders had turned up dead back on Terra. Not only that but yesterday's attempt to turn Jon was a dismal failure. She had bared herself and Jon had laughed at her. God, she had never felt so exposed, so vulnerable, in her whole life.

Well, not since that day...

She reached into her clutch and pulled out a small silver locket. She opened it and gazed at the small holographic image.

“Darling,” she said, her eyes red, “I... I’ve had a bad day, a couple of bad days. I don’t know where it went wrong but I’m at a complete standstill here. I... I don’t know if this is going to work... I... I wish you were here. I miss you so much... I...”

There was a quiet knock at the door.

“I said not to disturb me!” She yelled.

“My Lady,” Crimson cautiously said from the other side, “you might want to turn on the news, any channel.”

“Go away!”

“Yes, My Lady.” Crimson beat a hasty retreat. She knew from personal experience what happened to people who lingered too long when Her Ladyship was like this.

Patricia activated a holoscreen. On it were views of the park surrounded by police and government vehicles.

“We have just received confirmation from the Department of Federation Intelligence that Director Axlea, the head of Federation Intelligence, was slain in an explosion of unknown origin...”

Patricia wiped her eyes and smiled.

At least something finally went right. She smiled at the locket.

“Thank you for giving me strength, my love,” she said as she snapped it shut. She reached for her communicator.

“Crimson,” she said with a smile.

“Yes, my lady?”

“I authorize the remainder of the payment to The Hatchet. Be sure to thank her for her good work and let her know that there is always a place at my table for her, should she desire it. In fact, add another five hundred thousand to the final payout. This is someone I want to keep happy.”

“We are going to let her live?”

“Absolutely,” Patricia laughed, “It would be a shame to lose such a resource and besides, do you really want to be on her bad side?”

“I suppose not, My Lady.”

***

Deputy Director Gvx-Taa groomed his leg spurs nervously as he tried to somehow gain control of the bedlam in which he found himself. His communicator buzzed constantly. He had taken to ignoring it for the time being.

He opened a set of standing orders that he was sent on a daily basis from the late director, a file he had hoped he would never have to read.

He cocked his head curiously at the first item, priority one.

Contact Agent [email protected]@ immediately.

Agent [email protected]@ was a well respected, but not especially high ranked agent. Gvx-Taa knew that he often worked closely with Axlea though. When people thought nobody was listening it was whispered that he was one of the Director’s assassins.

He went to [email protected]@’s cubicle. He was surprised to see the Xvli surrounded by over a dozen people.

“Nothing changes,” [email protected]@ said to the group. “We proceed exactly as if Director Axlea was still here. For the time being, however, we shall observe only. We can only assume that this will embolden her. Let us use that to our advantage.” [email protected]@ looked up at the Deputy Director as if they were expected.

“I will arrange a more secure meeting area,” the Xvli said calmly, “Until then, follow the orders that I send you. That will be all.”

“Director,” agent [email protected]@ said calmly.

“I’m still the Deputy Director until informed otherwise.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I was told to meet with you,” Gvx-Taa said curiously.

“Sir, I have information concerning this whole situation,” the Xvli said with little emotion, “With a fairly high degree of certainty, we know who is behind this and why. Perhaps we could retire to a more secure location?”

“Come with me,” Gvx-Taa replied dreading what he was about to find out.