Industry & Intrigue (39 page)

“
Exc
ellent. That is a vital piece. I
wonder how a first year university student gained access to such a
book?” he mused.

“
Woul
d you like me to pay him a visit?”
she asked. She had been growing restless here in Alkos and was
eager for action.

“
No
,” he answered. “Senna said he has
already warded his apartment. Clearly he has mage friends. With
Feyton dead we no longer have any connections to Warded Spirals,
and that’s how I want things to remain. No point in attracting
unwanted attention to ourselves. For now we must focus on the war
and obtaining this item. Senna will focus on observing the members
of the Alkon government.”

He closed
the book and put it back down.
“Atira, I need you to travel to the excavation site at Crean and
retrieve the item for me.”

She was glad to finally have a
task to carry out.
“Of course father. But how do you know it has not already
been discovered?”

“
I have been searching for items
like this my whole life. Believe me, if it had been found I would
already know. It’s a valuable site and thieves have tried to take
objects from there before. Take a contingent of our soldiers with
you. Falco as well.”

“
I can handle it myself,” she
said, defensively.

“
Of course you
can
, my dear
tiger,” he said, using his pet name for her. “But Crean is
well-guarded. Falco will have your back and follow your every
command as if they came from my lips.”

Falco Kohl was a member of the
cult who had been badly injured years ago. Her father had healed
him, but
at
a cost. Several of Falco’s organs had to be replaced with mechanics
in order to keep him alive. He never spoke, his throat was beyond
repair. He only made clicking and whirring sounds from behind the
creepy death mask he wore.

Atira never wanted
to admit it to her
father, but Falco disturbed her. He was unnatural in the way he
moved. But he was absolutely loyal. She had never seen him hesitate
when her father gave an order, no matter how
distasteful.

“
Alright
father
, I
will take him.”

Varko wal
ked over and opened a desk
drawer. He pulled out an ancient piece of paper and handed it to
her. “This document dates back to the post-Pardrax Empire period.
It’s the only known picture of the object we require.” He handed it
to her and she took it. She examined the drawing of the strange
object.

He
embraced her and said, “May the
Endless flow through you.”

“
May the Endless flow through
you as well
,” she replied. In spite of her upbringing and dedication
to the cause, Atira had yet to know the presence of the Endless in
her mind. Varko always told her she wasn’t ready. She wanted to
feel it and he promised her that the time would soon come when she
would.

She left the apartment
and
arrived
at the office building her father had rented. She gave her orders
to the contingent of guards and they began making preparations to
leave for Crean.

She went upstairs and
entered
Falco’s room. He did not look up at her presence, he was
focused on sharpening his scythe. She did not know why he had an
obsession with personifying death. Perhaps because he had come so
close to it. Or he believed he had brought something of death back
when he had recovered. She couldn’t find out what he truly thought,
since the accident had robbed him of his ability to
talk.

Her father had neither encouraged nor
discouraged his behavior. So long as Falco carried out orders as an
obedient soldier, Varko was happy to let him have whatever quirks
he liked.

“
Varko has a mission for
us
,” she
stated.

Falco stopped sharpening and
looked up at her.
His eyes unemotional behind the death mask. He emitted a
soft, whirring sound, stood up and nodded.

He was incredibly tall,
his head brushing
the ceiling. The white mask contrasted with his black leather
outfit. Before his accident he had been a large man, now he was a
beast. One of his arms had been replaced and was made of hardened
titanium, ending in thick, metallic fingers. Atira had seen him
crush stone with those fingers. His clothing covered a chest that
was a patchwork of flesh and metal. His heart and internal organs
were guarded by a thick plate that could repel bullets from all but
the most powerful guns.

“
We leave for the
Crean Valley
tonight. Be at the carriage at seven o’clock.”

He nodded
again and moved over to the
shelf, putting his sharpening tool in its proper place. She left
him to his devices, wanting to spend as little time alone with him
as she could.

She had to prepare
herself
. She
walked to the small room that contained weapons and picked up what
she needed, taking a Hanuus revolver.

She
could shoot well enough, but she
preferred to fight hand-to-hand. The adrenaline and the pumping of
blood whenever she engaged in melee combat, stirred something deep
inside her. Her race was well-known for its martial abilities and
none of the steppe tribes used firearms. It was proving to be their
folly.

The agorids had once been the most feared
force in the world, but since the invention of gunpowder that fear
lessened with every year that passed. There would come a day that
the agorids would not be able to stand up to the technology of the
nations around them and they would be swallowed up. For now they
had the numbers and their blood magic to protect them.

She picked up a sharp looking
sword and tested its weight
. She thrust it forward and back, then slashed up
and down. It would do nicely, the guards at the excavation site
would find themselves more than outmatched.

Chapter 37

Inissa sat in the
office at the
tojitsu academy. Next to her sat Barus and Mikono was behind her
desk. Mikono coldly addressed her for her mistake. “Why is the
priest still alive?” she asked.

Inissa
thought carefully before she replied.
She had screwed up badly and didn’t want to anger the crime boss
further. “He’s under constant watch guard. That damn Justice bitch
is waiting for him to wake up and talk.”

“
That’s an
excuse
, not
an answer,” said Mikono. “Why don’t you use that orc? What’s his
name, Unar?”

Inissa had
hoped Mikono wouldn’t bring up
her former enforcer. “I told you, he doesn’t involve himself in
that line of work anymore. He wants to stick to smuggling. He said
there’s more profit and less risk with sex slaves than with
murder.”

“
At least he’s still keeping
y
our
brothels well stocked then.”

The other part of Mikono’s
bu
siness
that Inissa operated was several whorehouses. Unar Grenisk was an
orc who provided most of the girls to work in them. He had
previously been an enforcer for a criminal outfit in Longhaven, but
had fled after a spot of trouble. Inissa had employed him as a
hitter, but when he earned enough money, he started up his own
smuggling operation.

“
If you don’t clean this up
Inissa, then you’ll be hanging for this I swear
. Get into that hospital and
finish him off. I don’t care if you use someone or do it yourself.
If he wakes up and points the finger at you, there won’t be
anything Barus or myself will be able to do for you. You
understand?”

“
Yes
,” she replied sharply. “The priest
won’t live to the see the next sunset.”

“
You had best hope he
doesn’t.
”
Mikono looked over at Barus. “As for you, why the fuck are Lorek’s
men running rings around us? We’re the most powerful criminal
operation in the city. Our dealers are getting shot on the streets
and we can’t use our regular buildings for storage because the
Stoneskins keep ripping us off. I want a message sent to Lorek. Do
not fuck with Mikono.”

“
What do you want us to do
boss?” asked Barus.

The kitsune put her hands on
the desk, they were clenched into fists.
“I want you to arm a dozen men to the
teeth and set up an ambush at the corner of Brade Avenue and
Palmaic Street. My overpaid watch informant finally delivered
something useful. A mob of the Stoneskins who were scooped up in a
watch raid are being transported in a prison carriage. Hit the
carriage with smoke grenades then take them all out.”

Barus shifted in his
chair.
“Even
the watch officers?” Inissa didn’t comment, this was a conversation
she wanted no part of.

Yes
,” replied Mikono, her voice was loud
and meaningful. “All of them. I want the whole fucking city to hear
this message.”

“
When’s the transport due?”
asked Barus.

“
The evening shift tonight. Have
ev
erything
set up by five o’clock. They should reach the intersection not long
after that.”

In
issa was uncomfortable. Business had
not been running smoothly, but hitting a watch transport didn’t
sound like the best solution. She didn’t say anything to object,
Mikono was determined. Barus looked like he was fine with
it.

No surprise
there
. He
had always been a bloodthirsty sadist with little practicality. He
would have no problems taking out watch officers, even if it caused
further problems later.

“
Once you complete that I
need you to go to
the warehouse,” said Mikono. “We have another shipment coming in
and I want you there to oversee it.”

Barus nodded
.

“
Boss, is that wise?” asked
Inissa. “Pulling in a shipment at the same time we’re about to hit
a carriage of watch officers.”

“
I think it’s the perfect
time
,”
replied the kitsune. “They’ll be so busy shitting themselves, they
won’t have time to pay attention to our shipment and we can safely
get it moved. You have other concerns. Focus on your religious
problem.”

“
Right
,” Inissa stood up. “I’m going to
take care of it now.”

An hour later Inissa sat in her
own office at her largest brothel, pondering how she could get to
the priest.
She could do it herself, but she needed something to
distract the guards.

I need somet
hing convincing, the guards
need to be pulled away from the room long enough
she
thought.

Suddenly i
t dawned on her. She had the
best performers in the city right under this roof. She walked out
of the room and down the hall to the main entrance. The sweet scent
of perfume and oils wafted through the air. It helped put the
customers in a better mood.

S
everal girls were sitting on cushioned
sofas. They were dressed in provocative outfits. It was the sight
that greeted customers as they entered, the merchandise on
display.

Inissa saw Kaila and walked
over to her. The girl was wea
ring a sparkling green corset that emphasized her
bosom and only came to down to the top of her thighs. She had her
hair tied up tight with metal bands.

“
Where’s Meldis?” asked
Inissa.

Kaila rep
lied with a bored tone. “With
one of her regulars. The one who likes costumes.”

Inissa didn’t want to pull
Meldis away from that customer, he was a big spender.
“When’s she’s
finished, I want to see both of you in my office. I have a special
job for the two of you.”

“
If we’ve done something
to displease you-”

Inissa waved her hand.
“Relax. It’s
nothing like that.” Inissa could understand her concern though.
Several of her clients had particular fetishes that most of the
girls didn’t want to serve. Inissa usually made girls stake care of
them as a punishment. “I need to talk to the two of you. I have an
urgent matter to deal with. It requires a distraction. You and
Meldis are my two best girls. Come to my office when she’s
done.”

Kaila relaxed.
“Yes mistress,” she
replied.

Sometime later both girls entered her
office. Meldis was in a short red dress that matched the color of
her curly hair. Inissa looked them both in the eyes. “I need you
both to be ready as soon as you can. This matter needs to be dealt
with tonight.”

They both nodded.

“
We're going to the Locluth
Hospital.
I
must gain access to a room that is guarded by watch officers. The
two of you will create a distraction that will draw them away from
for a short time.

“
Like what?” asked
Kaila
.

“
The two of you are going to
have a fight right in the middle of the busiest section of the
hospital. I don’t care how you start, as long as it’s convincing.
Throw each other around and make it as violent as you have to. The
watch officers will be drawn there and arrest you.”