Page 10

Zephyr

T he antidote took care of most of the symptoms of the poison so that by the time I made it back to my shuttle I was feeling much better. Though, I was furious that I’d let my guard down enough to let that Sherrod sneak in a poison in the first place.

Whatever was on the drive, it was worth another Cyborg taking a risk in coming to a place where he’d be imprisoned and likely killed.

He seemed like just a buyer, but the question was whether or not he was buying for someone else or for himself.

And if it was himself, what was he going to do with it?

I had a sneaking suspicion that there was more to this data stick than I knew so I needed to examine the information I’d downloaded and find out.

Not for the first time since returning to my ship, the feeling that I knew Sherrod crept along my spine. There was something so familiar about him around the eyes, which was ridiculous since he was wearing a mesh and could look like anyone underneath it.

I tried to figure out if I was just tired or there was really something there while I changed into comfortable leggings and a warm sweater.

“We are refueled and ready to depart,” my ship’s AI said over the shuttle coms.

“Take us off world and far enough from their satellites that no one can find our signal. I don’t want anyone looking at the information when I view it.”

“Affirmative Commander.”

I sat on the edge of my bed and took a moment, my muscles aching from the poison and my stomach a bit wonky.

The soft leggings and sweater were a welcome change to the binding style of the dress, even though it had been nice to get dressed up.

I hadn’t done undercover work in a while, not since being promoted to running my own team.

And now they’re all dead. Except for Jax. Hopefully he’ll be safe now that he’s the Titus Federation King.

We’d been one of the most decorated teams in the Galactic Information Bureau, until a few months ago when it had all been destroyed in just a few days.

Most of my team, with the exception of Jax, had been investigating the movements of a small group of K’Tavi who had broken off from the main fleet.

We weren’t sure if they’d planned on infiltrating GUP space or if they were making a run for freedom.

My team was sent to find out what the situation was.

They’d sent back a few reports, mostly that the fleet had parked just at the border between GUP space, disputed K’Tavi territory and the ever shifting borders of the Syndicate, a group of five families that were essentially intergalactic mafia.

They’d sent a report that there was an escaped scientist that the K’Tavi were searching for and that they had a lead.

That was the last time anyone had heard from them before body parts started making their way back to the Galactic Intelligence Bureau offices.

There was no indication of who had done it, but I knew in my gut it was Cypher. It had his kind of sick flair.

The mysterious assassin, saboteur and spy had been a thorn in my side for years.

Just as I’d been on the brink of possibly identifying him, the son of a bitch had gone to ground.

My superiors said he’d likely died but that never sat well with me.

Now, he’d come back, and while I had no specific proof of it, this felt like a personal attack.

Our paths had crossed far too many times in the past for it to be coincidence that my team had been slaughtered like this.

I’d been told to let other agents handle it, to take some leave and not meddle.

It had been a good suggestion and as far as my superiors knew, up until a few days ago, I was at my family’s ranch in New Arizona training horses.

But after receiving my letter of resignation they’d have to know what I was doing.

Hopefully, I was far enough ahead of their agents that I could find out what Cypher was up to and finally apprehend him before the other agents did.

It was personal to me now, and no one, no matter who they were, was going to get in my way.

I closed my eyes and tried to just breathe but all I could think about were the people that had become like a second family to me and now were gone.

Just like Jacen and my first family…though Kier and Gav are alive. I just can’t ever be a part of their lives publicly.

Most of the time it was enough to know they were out there and loved me. But sometimes, like on holidays, it stung to have no home to go to, no one waiting to ask me annoying questions about my lack of a partner or children, or to worry if I was getting enough sleep.

“We are out of satellite range,” the AI’s voice pulled me from my pity party. “And I’ve analyzed the information you took from the drive. Would you like me to display it or send it to your CPU?”

“Display in the common room, please.”

I wanted to get a good look at it all, parse out the information and create a picture of what Cypher could be after. I couldn’t do that via my CPU.

I pushed up to my feet and ignored the way my stomach twisted. Apparently that antidote hadn’t agreed with me. I’d have to eat soon, though the thought was unappealing at the moment.

I activated the screen by pressing my hand to it and the wall lit up with a readout.

There were communication transcripts coming in from four different planets, a star map that was telling me the movements of different GIB teams as well as real time mapping of the current system we were in.

I pushed all of that to the side of the incredibly large screen that took up most of the wall to make room so I could analyze the drive.

“Bring up the information.”

The list came up before me and I frowned after reading just the first six names.

These were old cover profiles, all belonging to retired agents or those that only worked the desk now.

Some of them were before my time, and from places that either no longer existed or had long since become part of the GUP.

This was supposed to be a list of current deep cover agents and their cover profiles, it was supposed to be priceless. But what I was looking at was useless.

“Why are so many people after this?” I asked myself, then to the AI, I said, “Give me the names on this list of agents still serving.”

A quarter of the long list disappeared but the pattern wasn’t clear yet.

“Okay, now give me just the names that served between ten years ago and now.”

A full half disappeared.

“Sort them by location.”

The names rearranged into lists. A few locations were familiar and I thought perhaps something was starting to form.

“Show me the ones at locations where Cypher has been known to operate.”

The names rearranged once again, some disappearing altogether and the lists were down to three short columns.

“Show me the names that served from five years ago to now.”

A few were gone, most remained.

“Sort chronologically and cross with the timeline that we have for Cypher.”

Still nothing.

I rubbed my forehead with my fingers and tried to think about how to sort the information this time.

“Sort into aliases of those who are deceased.”

All of the names disappeared for a moment and then only one name came up.

“This is the only name?”

“Affirmative Commander. This alias was used by an agent who died fifty years ago.”

“Korvan Sirros…”

I stared at the alias, but it wasn’t familiar to me at all.

“Do any of the others go that far back?”

“Negative.”

“Is there anything…special about this name in the GIB database? What was the record of the agent that used it?”

It took the AI a moment to scan and I tapped my hand on my thigh impatiently. This was it, the reason why this drive was valuable, I just needed to figure out why.

“There is no record of any agent in the GIB using this alias.”

My frown deepened.

“You just told me the alias belonged to a dead agent. How can there be no record of anyone using it?”

“Apologies, Commander. The alias is attached to a record but the only information in the file is a date of death. No other information is present in the file.”

“Shit…it’s a ghost profile.”

There were times when we would bring someone into the GIB who wasn’t technically an agent. They’d be someone that was deep inside a government or group that was looking to defect or help us overthrow them. Usually we turned their alias into an anagram of their actual name.

“Run program seti four.”

“Affirmative, Commander.”

If I was right, then this alias was hiding the true identity of the person in question.

But then the question becomes why is Cypher after them? And can I get to them before he does?

I rubbed my Human eye and wandered to the kitchen area for a cup of coffee when my stomach lurched. Acid coursed up my throat and I paused, asking my internal sensors for a report.

There was something irritating my stomach but they had no other data at the moment.

“Computer, how long to decode the alias?”

“Three minutes and forty-two seconds.”

“Fuck, I hate waiting,” I muttered, getting a ration cracker out of a tin.

Maybe it was hunger; it had been hours since my last meal and I hadn’t finished it. The crackers were bland and purely for survival, not taste. But even still, they were sour in my mouth and I could barely choke one down.

Damn, whatever that asshole gave me is really upsetting my stomach.

As I waited for my AI to finish, I thought about those jade colored eyes of his, the tiny fraction of his voice that felt familiar when he said certain things.

It’s entirely possible I’ve seen him somewhere, especially if he’s working for Cypher.

I’d come close to unmasking the bastard several times, always hitting a dead end. Maybe that’s where I know him from?

My gut told me that wasn’t it though, and I rubbed my forehead again to try and get the headache that was forming to go away.

“I have the information,” the AI finally said.

“Not a moment too soon. On screen,” I said, with a burp and a grimace as I made my way back to the common room computer screen.

I read and re-read the information, and then I laughed out loud.

“Varnok Norris,” I read and shook my head. “That must be two names combined. Varnok doesn’t have a last name.”

Varnok was one of the best friends of the former K’Tavi Prince, Zireth. I was more than a little shocked to see his name here. The last thing I’d heard, the mysterious male had refused to spy for the GIB.

“So what is your name doing here? And who is Norris?” I muttered.

Another burp erupted all of a sudden and this one had acid behind it. I swallowed down a sip of water from a nearby canteen and winced as it irritated the burn in my throat. I gripped the wall as a wave of nausea hit me.

“Commander, are you unwell?” the AI asked. “Should I run a medical diagnostic on you?”

“I…” A burp with a vomit chaser went half way up my throat. “I don’t know. Bring up the last known location of the asset with that alias.” Another burp, this one followed up with a stomach cramp. “Oh…crap!”

I ran for the lavatory and barely made it before I was vomiting up the cracker and anything else that was left in my stomach.

Dry heaves followed and I was a sweaty, sticky mess by the time it all passed.

My cybernetic eye sent information to my medical programing to analyze the vomit before I flushed it away.

The cold of the tiles under me and against my head as I leaned on the wall felt amazing, cooling the heat of my skin and giving me a much needed moment to calm down. At least for a minute.

“Vomit analysis complete, foreign object detected.”

I didn’t even need the specifics to guess where it had come from: the antidote.

Sherrod had planted a bug inside of me, hoping to track me.

I couldn’t vent the waste here, so he’d probably succeed in following the ship until the tracker dissolved in the acids of the waste container.

If it stayed intact long enough for us to get close to the destination, though, he’d be able to likely guess where we’d gone.

I’ll have to keep an eye out for him. Damn it, I don’t need this distraction.

The arrogant grin and his tight, perfect ass all flashed in my mind and I grit my teeth to keep from screaming. Why was it that my taste in men bordered on pathologically flawed?

“I have the information you requested,” the AI said, once again saving me from my thoughts. “The asset is on the space station Olympus and has been for approximately six days.”

“How do you know that?” I asked, peeling myself off the floor.

“Facial recognition was able to find him, though he is missing the usual cranial spikes of a K’Tavi and his scales are a different color than is noted in his file.”

“He’s probably trying to hide. What else?” I prepared my toothbrush and began to scour away the sour taste in my mouth.

“He is scheduled to participate in the main event of a cage fight on the station, as their headliner.”

I frowned at that. The last time I’d heard about Varnok from Prince Zireth, the reclusive scientist had been firmly embedded in the medical experimentation and bio weapons unit of the K’Tavi Empire.

He fed Zireth information that was then passed on to us, which was scant at best. What we did receive was chilling.

The weapons that the K’Tavi were developing were nightmarish, and their experiments were beyond cruel.

If Cypher was after Varnok, it could be for information about one of these weapons and I shuddered to think what that psycho would do with one of them.

“Any information on the name Norris?”

“Negative.”

“I’ll just have to ask him when we get there then. Set a course for Olympus, max speed.”

“Affirmative. At max speed it will take us twelve hours and fourteen minutes to dock at Olympus.”

“Use a different transponder and docking code, a fresh one.”

“Affirmative. May I suggest that you get some rest, Commander? It has been nearly twenty-four hours since your last slumber.”

“Good idea, I want to be fresh for whatever’s next. Wake me up two hours before we dock.”

I crawled under my covers, determined that Sherrod with his roguish smile and sexy ass would not distract me. If he got in my way, however, I’d have to take care of him, nice ass or not.

“What a waste,” I whispered to myself just before I drifted off.