A Fistful of Credits: Stories from the Four Horsemen Universe (The Revelations Cycle Book 5) Read online

  “That’s a long damned time,” Zeb complained.

  “You don’t think I’m going to let my only blood die of old age, do you?” The younger man’s eyes widened when he realized what Zeke was offering. “Yeah, exactly. Do we have a deal?” He stood and held out his hand. Zeb considered for almost a second before he took it. The younger man got the first look at his grandfather’s intricate cybernetic hand and marveled at it. “Now the plan.” Zeke spent a minute explaining what he had in mind. Zeb’s bemused look slowly changed to interest, and then a huge smile crossed his face.

  “You know how much all that will cost?”

  “A lot,” Zeke admitted. “We’ll have to expand your network, carefully, and be much more selective. Plenty of money to be made. Bring me that bag?” he said and pointed at the open CASPer. Zeb did as he was told. “This will get us started,” he said and took out a stack of six one-million credit chits. Zeb shook his head in amazement, and Zeke beamed. “Golden Horde pays good. Okay, call the boys in and let’s talk.”

  “What are we going to tell them?” Zeb asked.

  “We’re going to tell them the truth,” Zeke said. “We’re going legit. We’ve got the one thing that people will pay any amount of money for, and that they will come from the ends of the Earth to obtain. Not only that, but we’re the sole supplier—we can name our own price.”

  “I don’t get it,” Zeb said, shaking his head. “There’s nothing here; this place is a shit hole. What could we possible give people that would make them want to come here?”

  “We can give them the one thing everybody wants more of.” Zeke smiled. “We can give them life. And we’ll sell it to them, for a price.” Zeb looked confused, but slowly a smile spread across his face as Zeke puffed on his cigar and quietly chuckled.

  Epilogue

  A New Day

  Zeke stood on the balcony of his family estate and enjoyed the renewed view of Chattanooga. The two high-rise buildings between Avander Estates and the city had been demolished the month prior. Most of the mountain’s ruined and decaying buildings were going, one at a time.

  In the city below, the new police station was going up. After the state investigation was concluded, and the blame placed on international drug traffickers thanks to anonymous informers, a new chief had been elected. The candidacy was unopposed, and Zeke had been sure of that. Chief Zeb Avander was overseeing the rebuilding of the city police department. It was an important job as the manufactory was opening this month. A lot of his money had gone into it; trying to get the alien pharmaceuticals manufactory to make fliers had almost ruined it. By this time next month, though, it would be turning out the first age-extending nanite treatments from Avander Pharmaceuticals, a division of Avander Intergalactic.

  Zeke was happy with the progress he’d made, and continued to make. Businesses all over the Tennessee valley were delighted to pay Avander Protective Services to keep the gangs under control. And Avander Transportation was paying for the new maglev station which was going up on the ruins of the old Chattanooga Choo-Choo station. Yes, things were coming along fine. But he had to get back to work. The governor of the state was due that afternoon. Zeke felt it was high time for Tennessee to have a Starport, and he knew right where to put it. Puffing a cigar, he went inside and closed the doors.

  # # # # #

  Mark’s Introduction to:

  BREACH OF CONTRACT by Terry Mixon

  Terry is one of those extraordinary authors who, like myself, decided that going our own way with self-pub and small press was more attractive than the traditional presses. His efforts have been rewarded with multiple bestselling mil-sf and urban fantasy stories. His series include the Empire of Bones Saga and the Humanity Unlimited Saga. A former non-commissioned U.S. Army officer, Terry also worked at NASA’s Mission Control Center at the Johnson Space Center for space shuttle and ISS mission support. What hasn’t Terry done? Why, write a story in the Four Horsemen universe. That is, until now.

  Terry’s story, “Breach of Contract,” follows the possible ramifications of not playing fair in a universe where someone can legally hunt you down for revenge. The Four Horsemen universe might appear like a Wild West town, with no laws or protectors, but they’re out there. They just might not do what you expect them to, even if you’re the good guys.

  Find out more about Terry at http://www.terrymixon.com/.

  BREACH OF CONTRACT by Terry Mixon

  Anton Kolenchenko slipped into his tiny passenger cabin and immediately regretted not announcing himself. He’d meant to teach his younger partner a lesson about keeping her guard up at all times. Instead, she’d taught him about the importance of knocking.

  Jackie O’Hara had just stepped out of the compact shower in the corner. The morphagenic tattoo of a Japanese dragon she’d commissioned—over his strong objections—when she’d graduated high school currently sat on her left buttock. The beast seemed to be leering at him.

  The petite girl turned toward him and smiled without a hint of self-consciousness as she wrapped a towel around herself. The cloth did nothing to disguise her slender beauty. Perversely, it enhanced her innate sexuality.

  He sternly reminded his body that she was completely off limits.

  “There you are,” she said cheerfully, seemingly unconcerned that he’d seen every inch of her naked body. “I was wondering where you’d gotten off to.”

  “I apologize for my discourtesy,” he said contritely. “I should have knocked.”

  The short redhead shot him a quizzical look as she wrapped a second towel around her hair. “It’s your cabin, too. Why would you knock?”

  He gestured toward the shower. “In Russia, it’s considered rude to stare at a bathing woman.”

  “You were staring? That’s sweet.”

  He felt his face reddening even further and decided to stop digging a hole for himself.

  She gave him a wide smile as she sat at the compact vanity. He wasn’t quite certain the aliens who’d designed the interstellar cruise liner had envisioned the shelf as such, but it worked well enough with the small mirror his partner had added.

  “You should know by now I have zero body modesty,” Jackie said as she started putting her makeup on. “I grew up in a nudist colony, for God’s sake. Having men ogle me isn’t one of my hang-ups.

  “Besides, you used to be an FSB agent. Didn’t you guys spy on everyone? Surely you’ve seen plenty of naked women before.”

  “More than I can easily remember, but I hadn’t known them since before they could walk,” he grumbled as he plopped down on his bed. “You take great joy in tormenting me, don’t you?”

  Their small cabin had the equivalent of two twin-sized beds, a shower, and just enough storage to hold their clothing for a week. As huge as the ship was, you had to pay through the nose for even the smallest cabin. Their cover identities didn’t allow for any extravagances.

  “I kinda do,” she said slyly. “I considered squealing ‘Uncle Anton’ and running over for a big hug. Should I put my hair up in pigtails and dig out the lollypops?”

  He blanched. “Don’t you dare!”

  She laughed, her voice like the soft tinkling of bells. “You are so easy, Anton! I promise I’ll stop teasing you. For now. I assume you have some new information. Spill.”

  Relieved to move past the awkward situation, he got down to business. “The party is still on for tonight, and our mole managed to get us on the approved guest list. I just picked up the chip with our invitation.”

  Jackie’s grin turned cold. “Yes! Now we’ll get the bastard!”

  While understandable, her enthusiasm still chilled him. There was far too great an opportunity for this to go horribly wrong. If the target caught them, the consequences would be extreme. He accepted the risk for himself, but he was determined to protect Jackie.

  “Don’t get carried away,” he said repressively. “You can’t allow your rage to blind you. This operation is critical to our overall success. We must approach
it cautiously and methodically. We won’t get a second chance.”

  She nodded, smothering her enthusiasm. “You don’t have to tell me that. I know this is the best chance I’ll ever have to get the bastards that killed my father. Believe me, I’m the most dedicated person for this job. That’s why you hired me, isn’t it?”

  “Technically, I didn’t hire you. As Sean’s heir, you inherited your father’s ownership stake in the Dire Wolves. Your share is equal to mine, though I have managerial control. That’s what paid for those fancy pinplants of yours. And if anything got you selected for this mission, it’s them.”

  Not that the defunct mercenary company possessed anything other than its name. They’d lost all their assets when Sean and the rest died on their last mission.

  Still, the company name had opened doors for him to perform contract intelligence work for other mercenary companies. Half that income had gone to his orphaned partner’s daughter.

  Jackie took a deep breath and nodded. “And those pinplants will make the bastards pay for what they did to the Dire Wolves and my father. You can count on that. I’ve been working toward this my entire life. I won’t screw it up.”

  When she spoke like this—so quietly angry—she sounded just like her dead father. Anton missed his old friend so very much, even after two decades.

  But he needed to thread a narrow path between taking the revenge they both thirsted for and putting the young woman he deeply cared about in deadly peril.

  Yestrellian Corporation had already proven themselves to be treacherous. If the two of them made a mistake today, they’d pay with their lives.

  Jackie reached out and took his hands in hers. “I’m ready for this, Anton. I won’t let you down.”

  “I know you won’t,” he sighed. “I just can’t help worrying.”

  “Who is it that always tells me the best cure for worry is to plan for every possible contingency? Let’s go over everything one last time.”

  “I trained you right,” he said with a chuckle. “The plan is simple, though the details might end up being complex.

  “Nedget Xarbon is the chief executive officer at Yestrellian. He just finished negotiating a very lucrative contract this morning and is in a celebratory mood. As is his habit, he’s publicizing the deal by inviting all the notables on the liner to a party. I suspect the real reason he does this is to make certain everyone knows how rich and successful he and his company are. Our mole has access to the guest list and has inserted our cover identities.”

  Jackie nodded. “And it’s my job to be arm candy while we get close enough to the bastard to steal his login credentials from the chip he uses to identify himself to the company computers.”

  Anton nodded. “Exactly. Once we have that, our mole can access the corporate computer systems above his clearance level and get all the data about the mission Yestrellian hired the Dire Wolves for.

  “I hope he’ll find enough evidence of wrongdoing to get the Mercenary Guild to revive the contract and invoke the penalties for breach of contract.”

  “The Galactic Union pisses me off,” Jackie snarled. “How can they live with themselves when they let rich scumbags kill with impunity?”

  He shrugged. “They remind me of what I’ve read about the old United Nations. Relatively toothless and headed for a rude wakeup call one day. On the plus side, if we get away with this, we’ll be able to use the one thing the Union holds dear over our enemies.

  “The contract they signed with the Dire Wolves had a clause allowing the investigation of circumstances under which the parties held up their end of the deal. If we can prove intentional wrongdoing, they’ll have to pay a significant penalty.”

  Her eyes glittered. “As if they don’t have enough to pay it off. I want to see the bastards bleed.”

  “And that fills me with dread. There is a ceiling to our success. The Mercenary Guild has a limited ability to punish Yestrellian. Only what is in the contract itself. They can’t take action against the people responsible, only the company.

  “Still, the penalty would be quite stiff. Such a loss, combined with the public embarrassment, will likely cause the Yestrellian equivalent of the board of directors to fire Xarbon. He won’t come out of this unscathed.”

  “And you call that justice?” she hissed. “He killed my father and all your friends.”

  “Justice? No. For all the Galactic Union’s talk to the contrary, I never expected to see justice; I’ll settle for revenge. The target almost certainly betrayed us for money and enhanced reputation. That’s what we’ll take away from him.”

  He held onto her hands when she tried to pull away.

  “As satisfying as killing someone would be, it would lead to retaliation. I don’t want to hear someone killed you in the dead of night and made it look like an accident. They’ll know exactly who did this to them. The records at the party will ensure it.

  “There almost certainly won’t be any retaliation for corporate espionage and taking the contract dispute to the Mercenary Guild. Not any more than trying to harm the two of us financially, anyway. You have to accept that there are limits to what we can accomplish in our quest for revenge.”

  She nodded slowly, not speaking.

  He sighed internally. He knew how headstrong she could be. They’d already been over this ground several times in the extensive planning they’d done for the mission.

  Anton had to keep a firm grip on the reins or she’d do something remarkably stupid in her thirst for vengeance. She was all he had left of his old friend.

  “I’ll get us something to eat while you finish getting dressed,” he said after a minute. “I know you’re not happy with the situation, but it’s for the best. Just this one time, I beg you to trust me.”

  Jackie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I’ve always trusted you. You win. We’ll do it your way.”

  He wished he believed that to be true, but he was a spy. He knew people lied all the damned time. Even when they thought they were telling the truth.

  In the heat of the moment, Jackie might still do something stupid when the aliens that killed her father were right in front of her. He could only pray he’d trained her well enough to pull this off, or they’d both be dead.

  * * *

  Jackie felt her gut tighten as Anton led her toward the liner’s ballroom. Years of planning, hard work, and pain had brought her to this moment. She knew how much was riding on her performance tonight, and it made her stomach churn.

  She’d known she’d eventually face the people who’d taken her father away from her, and that she’d have to smile politely while she got the evidence to damn them.

  Without looking, she knew Anton was walking beside her in the wide corridor with an expression that said he owned the ship. The man exuded confidence. She only wished she felt half as poised.

  Her memories of her father were fuzzy. She’d been very young the last time she’d seen him. It had been at a party he’d thrown for the mercenary company he and Anton had formed.

  She had no idea what they’d been celebrating, and it didn’t matter. All she knew was her father had been happy. He’d had his arm thrown across Anton’s shoulders and was telling him some story with a grin plastered across his face and a drink in his hand.

  Anton had been his usual dour self, seemingly uncomfortable with the contact between him and his friend. He’d never been the outgoing member of that pairing. The man had trouble displaying emotion, though she had no trouble reading him.

  He’d been there for her when her father had failed to come home. Not openly. Her mother would never have stood for that. The woman’s incandescent rage at her husband’s loss had focused entirely on Anton Kolenchenko.

  So, he’d become a covert part of Jackie’s life. Turning up in places her mother would never have expected him to be, teaching her skills that would horrify the woman.

  As far as her mother knew, Jackie was off studying computers. She’d never understood her daughter’s
interest in the devices, but she didn’t see any harm in allowing her to pursue their mastery.

  That view would have quickly changed if she’d had any inkling of who Jackie’s teachers had been. Criminals and hackers, spies and the seamy underbelly of society. Not just Earth society, either. Jackie had worked closely with various aliens spread across the Union, many that were members of various crime syndicates.

  No, her mother wouldn’t have been happy about that at all.

  In addition, Jackie’s trust fund had paid for a fortune in implanted computer technology and related hardware that her mother had no idea lurked inside her daughter’s head. The gear was cutting edge—even on the galactic stage—and had cost an unspeakable number of credits.

  Anton had been working just as hard on his end of the operation. He’d cultivated contacts inside the Yestrellian Corporation over the last two decades. That patience had paid off. They now had a mole positioned close to the chief executive.