The Ripple in Space-Time: Free City Book 1 (The Free City Series) (16 page)

30. Atonement
As Jasper coaxed the spacecraft
into a high orbit around Titan, Zmuda prepared the freshly made assassin's
weapon for Mixion as she waited in the airlock just outside the landing craft.

Dilma looked on with interest.

Mixion inattentively stroked the
girl
’
s sullied and tangled hair.

“
Let me see your palms,
”
the Lieutenant said.

The raven-skin woman displayed her
hands. Thick and irregular calluses crossed high over both palms just below the
fingers.

“
Nicely done!
”
Zmuda commented.

“
Thanks,
”
Mixion said,
“
I found a knurled hand rail in the engine compartment. While you were
away I spent hours twisting my hands around it.
”

Dilma stared at the woman
’
s leathery hands with concern.

“
It
’
s OK, kitten,
”
Mixion assured the child.

The former slave girl compared her
own tiny white hands to Mixion
’
s large ebony appendages.

Zmuda readied the syringe,
“
Do you have an explanation ready, in case it comes up?
”

The woman nodded,
“
Rusty exercise equipment at the Europa Diplomatic Mission fitness
center.
”

“
Simple and unambiguous.
”
The Lieutenant
massaged the rough callus on her right palm for several seconds and carefully
injected the thick milky fluid just under the skin to produce a long distended
blister.

Mixion studied the bulging skin.

“
Maximum lethality will last for about two days,
”
Zmuda stared at her with a growing sense of dread.
“
If it takes that long to initiate the process, I suspect we
’
d all be done for anyway. Unfortunately it
’
s not nearly as
effective as I had hoped, but it will have to do on such short notice. The
CRAMP
’
s working on a more virulent strain called the y-pathogen.
”

Jasper joined the group at the
landing craft,
“
Alright, I sent the message to the Palace and they
’
re expecting
‘
Assistant Deputy Ambassador Mixion
’
in the next hour or so.
”

The woman climbed into the landing
craft
’
s pilot seat.

“
Remember, you need to touch his bare skin as much as
possible,
”
Zmuda instructed her with more than a little remorse. Just
before he closed the hatch, the Lieutenant added,
“
I’m sorry to say, my dear friend that, if need be, all four of us are
considered expendable in this matter.
”

“
Hopefully, it won
’
t come to that,
”
Mixion smiled nervously.

• • •

Just as Jasper and the Lieutenant
had forewarned her, Mixion had undergone a careful search for weapons and
several hours of lone isolation in a stark, cold cell.

When the sullen palace guard came
for her, she clasped her hands together reverently and followed him. Using the
sharp thumbnail on her left hand, the woman stealthily sawed back and forth
across the swollen blister on her right palm.

As they reached the sturdy door of
the Palace workroom, the skin split open and the opaque fluid trickled out.

Mixion feigned interest in the
sentinel's droning lecture about etiquette as she steadily wrung her hands
together to secretly spread the toxin that had been custom-made using the DNA
from the personal items that Dilma had stolen.

She smiled disarmingly to the
guard as he led her into the chamber.

“
Oh Supreme Exalted Ruler of All Humanity,
”
the sentry proclaimed,
“
Assistant Deputy Ambassador
Mixion from the municipality of Free City has come to pay tribute to your excellence.
”

Dimitri Verhovnyi slowly rose from
the desk chair.

Mixion bowed to the pompous
tyrant.

“
I must say,
”
the Warlord began sourly,
“
that I
’
m rather disappointed that my first encounter with a
representative of Free City only warranted a mere underling in the diplomatic
corp.
”

“
The Prime Minister sends his personal apologies, Oh Supreme
Exalted Ruler.
”

A conceited little grin crossed
Dimitri’s face.

“
The Free City government is of course most eager to
establish a nonaggression pact with the unquestioned Master of All Humanity,
”
Mixion nodded humbly.
“
Because the High Ambassador and
his diplomatic entourage is still many weeks away, I was hastily sent from a
minor posting in the Jupiter Colonies to convey the Prime Minster’s most urgent
aspirations for peace.
”

The Warlord appraised her
worthiness for several seconds.
“
Please come in.
”
Dimitri stared with an unnerving intensity at the young woman,
“
I don
’
t recall ever laying eyes on such an unusually beautiful
black woman.
”

“
Why thank you!
”
Mixion placed her hand
flirtatiously on Dimitri
’
s forearm,
“
I
’
ve rarely received such a flattering compliment, and
certainly never from such a high source.
”
She slid her palm innocently
back and forth over his skin, spreading the first of what she hoped would be at
least three doses of the pathogen onto the man.

Dimitri was obviously aroused by
the sensual trifling.

Mixion quickly shifted back to her
diplomatic ruse; if need be to accomplish her deadly goal, she would return to
the contrived seduction of the vile man.
“
I must apologize in advance, my
Exalted Ruler; due to the urgent nature of this preliminary meeting and the
complex gravitational difficulties imposed by Saturn, I will only be able to
converse with you for a very short time before departing.
”

The Warlord frowned at the
forewarning.

“
To expedite the Prime Minister
’
s goal,
”
Mixion continued,
“
of a mutually beneficial
agreement, I would like to ask you what terms shall the High Ambassador propose
to you in the upcoming meeting?
”

The Warlord scowled at the sudden
deflection away from his sexual interest in the woman.
“
I shall immediately require half interest in the Bank of Free City and
payment of one half of all the tax proceeds collected by the municipal
government. There of course will be many other requirements.
”

“
I suspect that the Prime Minister will balk at that
arrangement,
”
she warned.

The man sighed obstinately,
“
I
’
m afraid the matter is not negotiable. After all, I have
many weapons currently targeting the city that could rain down on the fools
should they resist my demands.
”

Mixion strolled pensively around
the chamber, apparently considering the difficult issue.
“
I understand,
”
she finally said,
“
I shall apprise the Ambassador
of your pressing wishes.
”

Dimitri leered at the petite woman.

She studied him carefully for a
second opportunity to infect the repulsive man; frustratingly, none seemed
obvious.

A wickedly manipulative thought
crossed her mind. She quickly weighed the various possible outcomes of the ploy
and reluctantly concluded that despite her personal revulsion, she should
proceed.

With her arms crossed in mock
dismay, Mixion huffed,
“
I
’
m only
twenty-five and I don
’
t want to be stranded in the
uneventful backwaters of the Jupiter Colonies for much longer.
”
Her shoulders drooped.
“
I would dearly love a more
prestigious assignment.”

“My grand scheme for the future,
”
the Warlord said with a twinkle of lechery in his eyes,
“
will be to have a full time staff of consulars from the fiefdoms, and of
course Free City, here on Titan to attend to my decrees.
”

Mixion nodded with feigned
interest; the vain man had greedily taken the bait that she had dangled before
him.

She tipped her head playfully,
“
Perhaps you could suggest that the High Ambassador appoint me to a
permanent position as Consular for Free City?
”

“
Perhaps.
”

Mixion slipped her hand into his
as an apparent effort to seal the deal.

He squeezed her sweaty palm,
“
I will surely require very intimate consultations with you if I decide
that you are worthy of that distinguished post.
”

“
Of course,
”
she withdrew her hand with a
satisfied grin. The second dose of the toxin had been delivered to the victim.

Mixion glanced out of the workroom
window at the dusky red landscape of the fridge moon,
“
Sadly, as I mentioned earlier, I must leave Titan now and pilot my
orbiting spacecraft back to a rendezvous with the High Ambassador
’
s vessel.
”

Dimitri frowned at the prospect of
losing her.

She gently stroked his cheek in
mock sympathy,
“
I will see you again in several weeks when I accompany the
diplomatic mission during the upcoming official meeting.
”
The third portion of poison had been applied.

He cooed at the implied future
liaison,
“
I look forward to it.
”

Mixion smiled disingenuously at
the Warlord when she left him alone in the workroom; no matter what else
happened to her in the ensuring minutes as she made her way back to the
comparative safety of the orbiting ship, she had successfully carried out her
part of the risky assassination effort.

31. News Item: Verhovnyi culprit in Lab
blast

Dateline: 25th of August, 2445; Free City, Earth

Anonymous sources in the Prime
Minister
’
s Office confirmed today that, as has been long suspected
by most in Free City, Warlord Dimitri Verhovnyi of the Outer Reaches was indeed
responsible for the destruction of the Ultra Energy Lab sixteen weeks ago.

The detested villain occupying the
Titan Palace apparently engaged at least one pack of rapacious raiders to seize
valuable and dangerous antimatter from the facility below the Sea of Crisis. It
is believed that as a final act of vandalism, the thugs detonated the remaining
stores of antimatter dooming the scientific institution and the scores of
innocents who happened to be there.

Many in the fair city suspect that
Verhovnyi’s henchmen utilized the looted explosives to fabricate the warhead
that obliterated Arusha.

Reporters have been unable to
officially confirm the emerging details about the twin disasters: Both Chief
Inspector Helga Bennet of the Inquisitor's Office and Principal Justice Tzai
Chong of the High Court refused to comment on the ongoing investigations.

With the current miserable state
of affairs imposed upon us all by the self-proclaimed
“
Ruler of All Humanity,
”
it seems unlikely that Dimitri
Verhovnyi will ever be held accountable for the destruction of the Ultra Energy
Laboratory and the murder of the 287 souls at the facility.

Sadly, most citizens of our fine
city also doubt that the nine million residents of Arusha who perished recently
on the Maasai Steppes at the hands of the tyrant will ever be avenged.