Centauri Pax Page 10

  It made sense. They were almost professionals at killing Imperium rulers by now. If Barr was having problems with his co-rulers, the crew of the Bliss would be good friends to have.

  "We can work with this," Jinx said.

  "We're not falling into his trap," Quinn said.

  "Of course not. He wants to talk to us because we're capable. Let's prove just how capable we are," Jinx said.

  26

  The next time they jumped near Barr's yacht, they were prepared.

  With their previous readings they'd been able to calculate the precise trajectory of the yacht, and they knew exactly where to find it. With proper calculations they were able to materialize with only a millimeter of space between the Centauri Bliss and the yacht's hull. Magnetic docking clamps extended ensured that distance didn't remain for long. A second after their arrival the two ships were connected. A second after that they were jumping again, this time with the yacht in tow.

  It was a stomach-churning maneuver that pushed Jinx's abilities. They could have selected a friendly system filled loyal fighters, but they'd decided to play it as fair as they could. This system was as neutral as the one before, although this time without any unexpected surprises lying in wait.

  Jinx was on the comms at once. "This is Jinx, the Queen of Thieves. You'll notice we've stolen you away, but we didn't come to steal your life. You wanted a meeting, this is your opportunity."

  There was an extended pause before the response. "This is not an auspicious start. We'll talk. I'll come aboard with four of my guards."

  "Agreed," Jinx said.

  It took another half hour to jury-rig an airlock between the ships. It was time enough for them to make things ready. For some that meant slipping into their armor like Kara, meanwhile Tamara tried to get into a dress of straps in record time. Normally the outfit required hours to do properly.

  The dining room was hardly designed for diplomacy, but as the area with the most seating on the ship they made do. To make space for Barr and his guards some of the family had to hang back.

  Barr was accompanied by four women. Each was statuesque and barely dressed, and all wore pistols on their hips. Barr was dressed in a suit of black and red.

  "Chancellor Barr. It has been some time," Jinx said. Jinx was dressed in her version of diplomatic attire, her Queen of Thieves outfit.

  "If only we'd known who we would each become back then, perhaps we could have avoided a great deal of unpleasantness," Barr said with a thin smile.

  "Or we'd have made killing you our goal instead of stealing from you," Quinn said.

  "Janesa regrets she never got to have her fun with you. I've promised, if things don't work out, to let her break you and keep you as a pet. She's quite excited by the possibility," Barr said.

  Quinn remembered her all too well. She'd have been attractive if it weren't for her tendency to shove a knife into him and twist. Barr was a masochist and most of his bodyguards loved inflicting pain.

  "I'm sure we could taunt each other all day, but we'd win. We always do. What do you want?" Jinx asked.

  "You know what I want. What other reason would I have to be here? Kadello is a madman who thinks the Emperor's greatest flaw was that he wasn't murderous enough. Vixana wants to be worshiped, quite literally," Barr said.

  "And you're the very soul of moderation and good judgment," Tamara said wryly.

  "But I am. Oh, I want to pursue my pleasures uninterrupted and in the very height of luxury, but to do that I want my lands to run smoothly. I thought the current arrangement would be stable and instead I have to continually clean up messes," Barr said.

  "And you expect us to hand you everything?" Jinx said.

  "Full pardons, and you maintain your current lands as proper nobility with the full protection of the Imperium. It is a good deal," Barr said.

  It actually was. Their entire exit plan was, in part, because the Imperium was so set against them. While it was usual to lay low and go quiet after committing enough crimes, there was another way—sometimes you stole so much you became legitimate.

  "We should consider it," Tamara said.

  "You're listening to him?" Quinn asked.

  "Everything he's saying checks out. Vixana is having temples built dedicated to herself. It isn't a problem yet, but it will be. Kadello seems to be behind every project concerning us," Tamara said.

  "I know him well. If Barr had gone through with his little rebellion it would have succeeded. A nice man, no, yet Barr he is honorable enough," Mara said.

  There was silence at that. Everyone around the table looking thoughtful as Barr just sat there watching them with a half smile on his lips, aware he'd made a strong pitch.

  Then Barr gurgled, clutching at his throat as blood ran between his hands.

  Quinn didn't see who struck the blow, but really there was only one answer. Mara was here, but there was no sign of Bravo. Therefore Bravo was present and unseen, her stealth suit enabled.

  Several more blooms of blood erupted from Barr's midsection. Done was done. Bravo was a master at poisons—and at striking killer blows.

  Quinn teleported a short distance to one of Barr's guards who was already going for her gun, Quinn shooting her at point-blank range.

  Others had the same idea he had. Kalisa was in close and her hands glowed red as she pummeled one of the bodyguards with devastating blows.

  Tourmaline had taken over Tamara. There was nothing elegant about the blow to the throat followed up by a wrenching of the neck that killed another guard.

  The last one died just as Barr did, a dagger blow from an invisible opponent. As soon as the guard was dead the air shimmered and Bravo appeared, splashed with blood.

  "You know that had to happen," Bravo said.

  "We were having a conversation. He came here under a banner of peace," Jinx said, furious.

  "The Triumvirate is a threat to all of us. One down, two to go. You want them to stop posing a threat to you? You settle things my way," Bravo said.

  Quinn wished he were angrier about what she'd just done. Instead, he had to wonder if perhaps she'd just saved them a lot of pain down the line.

  27

  An hour later and they'd found a use for the massive beasts in their hold. At least they made for a convenient corpse disposal. Sand had led an assault on the yacht, wiping out the remaining guards aboard and disabling a self-destruct so they could pillage it for information.

  "If we decide to kill someone as a family, that's one thing, but that was unacceptable," Jinx exclaimed, stalking back and forth.

  "And did you ask permission of your family before murdering Kam Roush? Did Tourmaline seek consent before she murdered another would-be Emperor? I did nothing all of you haven't done," Bravo said.

  "We all know he was a scorpion. He might have been our friend for a time, but he'd have stung us eventually," Quinn said.

  "It still puts us in a terrible position. If we thought the Imperium was going to be pissed off at us before, now this takes it to a new level," Jinx said.

  "So why don't we escalate back? I suggested a merger of our families, I meant it. We know ways in and out of Imperius that were secret even from the Emperor. If the remaining pair of the Triumvirate wants you dead, let us see them dead," Bravo said.

  "Bloodshed doesn't fix this problem. We tried," Jinx said.

  "You stopped too soon. If you want a good person on the throne, you don't stop killing halfway through the bad. You finish your job," Bravo said.

  Tamara cleared her throat. "I know it isn't going to be a popular opinion, but I agree with her. Violence solves everything. If it doesn't, you just haven't hit hard enough."

  Tamara looked around the table. "I don't think this is something for any one of us to decide. If our bridges were already burned, this would turn the river to fire. We should put it to a vote."

  Jinx rose, her runes flaring. "If you want to do this, let me at least suggest a modification. Vixana may be crazy, but she hasn't proved herself
destructive. Kadello is behind every bad thing we've seen. If we're really going for fixing our problems with assassination, let's take one head, not two."

  "Before I agree with that I want to know more about Vixana. What do we know about her?" Quinn asked.

  Mara gestured and a hologram came to life, displaying an image of Vixana. "Princess by marriage, not by blood. Her husband disappeared with all the others of the Imperial line. Heiress to the Ixoki titles and fortune, a noble house focused on colony development."

  Now Bravo made a gesture and the hologram shifted to a statue. Vixana, perhaps, although in truth the likeness was a poor one. The statue was more beautiful, poised, a defiant set to her shoulders as she stared towards the sky.

  "And Barr was honest when he said she's gone crazy. Spreading the idea that she's the Divine Empress, an embodiment of an ancient goddess who has ascended, and now returned to take her rightful place. She's spreading rumors the Emperor disappeared by her will," Bravo said.

  "Any truth to that? Universe is a weird place. Some of my fellow immortals claim to have been gods, and it might be right," Tourmaline said.

  "Vixana is no immortal. We have clear records of her birth, her parents, and looking through those records doesn't reveal any sort of hidden trail," Mara said.

  "Apart from being weird, is this religion of hers hurting anybody? Jinx asked.

  "Helping, as far as we can tell. They are specifically focused on restoring property and homes damaged by the civil war. The Goddess seeking to soothe the wounds that her ascension caused," Mara said.

  "Sounds like quite the con. You intimate you're behind everything that happened, and you spend a little bit making things right. Toss in some fear and greed as seasoning and you can make people believe anything," Taki said.

  "Sounds like the most benign crazy we're going to get," Jinx said.

  "Any objections to narrowing down the next vote to just Kadello?" Jinx asked.

  "I don't like it, but we can always catch up on the killing later. And don't think you can do this without me and mine," Bravo said.

  "We've killed Emperors without you," Kara said.

  "Kadello is a different beast and I think you know that."

  Kadello had been the first of the Emperor's killers for a long time. The man sent against the most dangerous enemies of the Imperium again and again. Different was one way to put it.

  "I think we do need Bravo and her people. I'm inclined to accept their deal, but not unless Jinx and Quinn agree," Tamara said.

  Jinx gave Bravo a hard look. "You betray us and I'll steal your life. I'll steal all you've ever sought to love and protect."

  Bravo gave a cocky grin and nodded.

  It wasn't just an alliance being offered. Accepting Bravo's proposal meant the full offer she'd presented earlier. A child for her, with her, and the same if any of the others wanted one down the line.

  Quinn was keenly aware of the responsibility he already felt towards Jinx and her child. That connection changed a man, quickly. Maybe some men could ignore the bond that created, but he wasn't one of them, and if accepted this offer he wouldn't let himself become like that.

  If it were just based on the events as they stood Quinn might have refused, but his magic was talking to him. He'd felt it before with Jinx, a flash of things to come. Quinn didn't know why, not yet, but he knew this was important.

  "No objection," Quinn said.

  "Welcome to the family," Tamara said to Bravo. "We have something of a ritual, but we'll skip it because I don't think anybody actually likes you very much. Do we try to assassinate Kadello? Show of hands if in favor."

  Melody, Dela, and Taki voted no, but they were outnumbered.

  "Once they get word Barr is dead security will increase. We've got a day to put together a plan. I'll coordinate with my people and help," Bravo said.

  28

  Bravo shook her head, red curls tumbling before she turned to lock the bedroom door behind her. Her stealth suit was still speckled with Barr's blood. With her terms agreed to she wanted to waste no time in consummating their marriage and there really was no reason to deny her. The others had agreed to start on the assassination plot after everybody had a chance to get some rest.

  "I've never noticed before, but your suit is bulkier than Mara's, isn't it?" Quinn asked.

  "If you think calling me fat is a great way to start this marriage, you're badly mistaken," Bravo said in wry amusement. "But you aren't wrong. Mara is all about stealth above all. I've a lot more utility built into mine."

  Bravo pressed a tab on her side and there was a hiss as a seam appeared along her side. She didn't so much get out of her suit as she had to peel her way out of it.

  Bravo was as flawless in her physique as Mara, although her proportions were a little smaller.

  "Like what?" Quinn asked, "I know, you're secretive, but I think I deserve a few."

  Bravo laughed. "You've seen me kill you in other realities, right? What do I usually murder you with?"

  "Almost always a knife."

  "Mhmm," Bravo said, making a dreamy sound as she finished getting undressed and padded over to the bed to sprawl out provocatively on it. "My favorite. Poisoned blades?"

  "Not usually. A few times, to the gut, and you'd sit back and watch me die."

  "See, I'm complimenting you and you don't even know it. I go for the quick kill with those I'm cautious about," Bravo said.

  "You call that quick? And is this really the right time to talk about all the ways you kill me?" Quinn asked.

  "Why? Your dick will get hard for me and a stiff breeze. We're past that, you and I. I find this a bit of a turn-on and I am curious," Bravo said. "So get out of your clothes and talk. How else?"

  "A few other times it was poison, but quick. A kiss," Quinn said, as he began to get undressed. It was irritating that Bravo was right, and despite the rather grim topic he was turned on by her.

  Bravo smiled as she caught sight of his arousal and she patted the bed beside her. "See, I liked you in those ones. I save the kill with a kiss for those I thought I might have had a future with."

  "How many people have you killed? I know you're more the assassin than Mara, but I don't know what that means, not really," Quinn said.

  "Three hundred and eight," Bravo said, as he took a seat next to her, her body shifting over to press against his. "Those that I killed with my bare hands or arranged their death. Not collateral damage—I don't keep track of those, but I also don't have a lot. I'm a to-the-point sort of girl."

  It was a horrifying number, not that Quinn was sure his count was any better. When a ship exploded in a firefight it almost always meant the loss of the pilot, often a copilot, and in some cases a crew.

  "Did they pick that for you? The role of assassin, or did you choose it?" Quinn asked.

  "We're all killers, but we also all eventually focus on what we excel at. I like it, the killing, I always have. Good thing there is never a short of the wicked," Bravo said, before leaning in to press a kiss against his lips. It was heated, hungered.

  For some reason Quinn had expected her to kiss like Mara where there was always a bit of control. Bravo was cut of an entirely different cloth, her tongue already flicking out to find his in an open kiss.

  It continued for several long moments, their lips and hands exploring each other before Bravo finally broke away.

  Quinn said, "What should I call you? Bravo was just ... almost a joke, I think. It isn't a proper name."

  "But doesn't it suit me? A shout for doing well, brave, an assassin," Bravo said, stretching out on her back as she looked up at him. "Would another name suit half so well?"

  Probably not, Quinn had to admit, and that didn't make it strange. Mara was the same way—"Mara" was the name she'd used when they first met her, but it was just one cover identity out of countless that she'd had. No one knew her real name.

  Quinn lowered himself atop Bravo and one of her legs lifted to hook itself around his hip, a foot strokin
g at his thigh and urging him on as he penetrated her.

  Joined like this Quinn couldn't help all those others Bravos blurring in. The thousands of times she murdered him, yes, but also the far fewer times they were happy. In some realities he was as bloodthirsty as she was and they made quite the team. In some they were both Chaos mages, and she had a knack for that.

  "Doesn't it ever bother you?" Quinn asked.

  Bravo didn't seem to mind him asking. Perhaps making love was the time for personal questions, her hips rising up to meet his. Perhaps it was those other realities, but it was natural finding a rhythm with her, easy to settle in.

  "Haven't you learned from Mara yet? Hasn't it gotten through your head? I'm a part of the good guys, Quinn, I always have been. You get to stack the bodies like cordwood when you're on the side of right and never regret what you've done," Bravo said.

  Quinn wanted to find some sort of argument to that, but his mind was already melting into the moment. Killer, good-guy, bad-guy, it didn't really matter what Bravo was aside from what she was right now. She was his wife, and soon to be the mother of his second child. The time for doubts was past.

  29

  Quinn's eyes ached from studying star charts. He wasn't going to put together a plan on assassination himself, but with his awareness of ships, response times, and particularly his newfound spatial awareness he could run possible battle plans even faster than the computer.

  The night with Bravo had been exhilarating, exhausting. All of Quinn's wives brought something different into the family and into the bedroom, but some were definitely more exhausting than others. Bravo's implants put her into the section of the family that was super-strong, had inhuman endurance, and complete control of almost every aspect of her body. It made her a fantastic lover—and he was short on sleep.

  Everybody gathered in the conference room. They had a few different assassination plans to consider.