"Running with the Devil" chapter 1 part 2

This wasn’t the brightest plan I’ve ever had, Kate thought while falling. Thank God I can’t die when I hit the ground!
The windows flashed by her as she descended, her thermal camouflage keeping her invisible. Other then the people in the room there would be no one who would see her. No witnesses would make it very difficult for the civilian authorities to tie Fleet into what she was going to do.

And I wish to hell I didn’t have to do it, she thought.

She grunted as the rope snapped taught, leaving her dangling five stories above the ground. On the other side of the glass she could see the tech and the Sagnar representatives. Her orders were not to harm the diplomats because that would cause an interstellar incident. Mel James was the only one to be eliminated if deadly force had to be used.

****, she thought, the police are in the room! I’m sorry James, but I have no choice now. There’s no way I can let the civilians have access to Top Secret Fleet files!

“Mel James,” a police sergeant said. ““You’re under arrest for the theft of state secrets. You gentlemen are under arrest for trying to purchase Alliance secrets.”

Kate aimed her pistol and took a deep breath. When teachers instructed her to shoot, they had taught her to take a breath and let it out while firing. The rationale was that it would keep her aim steady, but she didn’t think so. It was her opinion that it was just a holdover from the days when humans weren’t cyberized.

“I’m afraid you can’t arrest any of us,” a man with a briefcase said. “The three of us have diplomatic immunity. Furthermore, Mr. James has requested asylum in our peaceful Federation.”

She pulled the trigger and the glass shattered from the bullets. James’ body danced around as Kate shot him. The diplomats stood, shocked, as the man they came to meet died before their eyes. As a final coup de grace, she aimed the last shot into James’ head. His cyber brain exploded with his skull, destroying the files hidden within.

“Does that include trying to steal a sovereign government’s secrets, gentlemen?” she asked, pulling the release on her eyelet.

###

The Sergeant couldn’t believe what happened before his eyes. One minute his troops had James in their custody, the next the glass was shattering and he was shot dead. What the hell had happened and who was behind it?

Fleet Intelligence I bet! He thought.

“Does that include trying to steal a sovereign government’s secrets, gentlemen?” a woman’s voice said.

The Sergeant forced himself to move and he raced over to the window. He peered outside and he saw a shimmering shape before it became visible for a split second. It was a woman, a young one at that, who couldn’t be more then twenty years of age. Wearing a skintight suit of some type, all he could see well was her raven hair.

Goddamn the military, he thought.

“Move!” he said. “You three! I want you headed for the lobby now! You’re target is a young woman with raven hair!”

“What do we do with these three?” his corporal asked.

“Hold onto them,” he growled. “We can’t arrest them but we can have their diplomatic immunity revoked!”

Whoever you are, he thought, you have some serious guts!

###

Kate landed in the alley with the grace of a cat. The police would be searching for her and she needed to get to the rendezvous point. If the police hadn’t shown up she could’ve arrested James without having to kill him. Instead it ended up being more blood on her hands…

God I want out of this job, she thought. Necko was bad but this is worse!

She killed her camouflage suit and slipped out of the ally. Richmond was no different from any other modern city and its sidewalks were bustling with activity. Huge holographic imaged were projected onto the front of the buildings. Floating transports, their hull’s turned into billboard’s, passed overhead blaring the latest products.

For all the beauty the city has from a distance, Kate thought. It certainly is ugly as hell when seen up close.