Nemesis

Kell had been careful to time the gathering to coincide with the regular overflights of clan patrol craft; every time it happened, the rebels would fall silent, go dark, and wait for the flyers to make their loop over the Bladecut before heading back to the city. It meant that Capra, Beye, Grohl and the others were all occupied, allowing the assassins to gather unnoticed, at least for a little while.

The Vindicare surveyed the room, looking at them all in turn. Iota noted that he looked to Soalm last of all, and seemed to linger on her. She wondered if his sibling understood the meaning behind that fractional moment. Iota regarded her understanding of human social interaction as an ongoing experiment, but her limited knowledge also afforded her a clarity that others lacked; for all the distance between the brother and sister, it seemed obvious to the Culexus that Kell cared for Soalm more than the woman knew – or wanted to know.

‘We’re entering the final phase,’ Kell said, without preamble. ‘Beye’s contacts in the city have sent word of sightings at the perimeter of the Dagonet system. Warp disturbances. The prelude to the opening of a gateway.’

‘How long until we know for sure?’ asked Koyne. The Callidus looked like a child’s doll the size of a man, all sketched, incomplete features and pale skin.

‘We can’t stay put and wait for confirmation,’ Tariel said, without looking up from his cogitator gauntlet’s keyboard. ‘By the time the warships enter orbit it will be too late.’

The Garantine made a rumbling noise in the back of his throat that appeared to be an affirmation.

‘We commit now,’ said Kell. ‘The Lance has been concealed, yes?’ He looked at Tariel, who nodded.

‘Aye,’ said the infocyte. ‘Grohl supplied transport from the star-port. I supervised the assembly of the component parts myself. It’s ready.’

‘But there’s no way to test it, is there?’ Koyne leaned forwards. ‘If this doesn’t work…’

‘It will work,’ Kell insisted. ‘Everything we’ve done has been leading up to this moment. We’re not going to start second-guessing ourselves now.’

‘I was only making an observation,’ said the shade. ‘As I will be the closest to the target, I think it’s fair to say I have the most invested in a trouble-free termination.’

‘Don’t fret,’ said the Eversor. ‘You won’t get too dirty.’

‘We have fall-back options in place.’ Kell ignored the comment and nodded towards Iota and Soalm. ‘But for now, we concentrate on the primary schema.’ He paused and threw Tariel a look.

The Vanus operative consulted a timer window among the panes of hololiths hanging before him, and then glanced up. ‘The clanner patrols should be heading back to the capital at any moment.’

‘And we’ll follow them.’ Kell reached for his spy mask where it hung from his gear belt. ‘You all have your own preparations to make. I suggest you complete them in short order and then head out. Each of us will go back into the capital individually via different routes, and rendezvous at the star-port. I’ll be waiting for you aboard the Ultio after sunset.’

The only member of the group who did not move after Kell’s dismissal was Soalm. She looked at the Vindicare, her lips thinning. ‘Has Capra been informed?’

‘Don’t be a fool!’ snorted the Eversor, before the other man could even speak. ‘We may have killed one of the turncoats in this little play-gang of rebels, but there are likely others, watching and waiting for something juicy to report before they betray this place.’ The Garantine opened his clawed hands. ‘These people are amateurs. They can’t be trusted.’

Soalm was still looking at Kell. ‘What are they supposed to do after it is done?’

Iota saw colour rise in the Vindicare’s cheeks, but he kept his temper in check. ‘Capra is resourceful. He’ll know what to do.’

‘If he has any sense,’ muttered Koyne, ‘he’ll run.’

Soalm turned away and was the first from the chamber.

2

Jenniker reached the compartment Beye had assigned to her and went in. What little equipment she had was there, cunningly disguised as a lady traveller’s attaché. It seemed strangely out of place among such drab accommodation, on the Imperial Army-surplus bedroll beside a drawstring bag of ration packs. She paused, studying it.

Inside the case, concealed inside clever modules and secret sections, there were vials of powder, flat bottles of colourless fluid, thin strips of metallised chemical compounds, injectors and capsules and dermal tabs. The manner and means to end an entire city’s worth of human lives, if need be.

For a while she thought about how simple it would be to introduce a philtre of time-release metasarin into the water system of the rebel hideout. Tailored with the right mix, she could make it painless for them. They would just fall asleep, never to wake. They would be spared the brutal deaths that were fated to them all – the payment that would be exacted no matter if the Execution Force succeeded or failed. She thought about Lady Sinope, of trusting Beye and the ever-suspicious Grohl.