An Excerpt From

Power Play

Read Chapter One

CHAPTER TWO

 

"Well?" the man asked impatiently, tapping one foot on the hard wooden floor. He was sitting at a table opposite a woman. On the table was an elegantly carved bowl filled with water. The woman's head was bent over the bowl and she was staring into the water. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail to keep it out of the water.

"He suspects," she said. She had to keep brushing her bangs out of her eyes.

"Who?" the man asked. "Dairev or Arek?" He tried to look down into the water but he could only see the woman's reflection. Looking up, he saw mostly hair. He pursed his lips and grunted. His large frame didn't sit well in the small chair and he had to keep readjusting his position.

"Dairev," the woman answered. "I can not tell if Arek does or not." Shifting in her chair, she settled into a more comfortable pose.

"I'm paying you well, so find out," the man threatened. "I need to know." Small beads of sweat were building on his forehead. He brought his arm up to wipe the sweat away, but realized that it would ruin his very expensive shirt. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and used that instead. As he wiped, he noticed that his hair was starting to recede further.

"I'm not certain, but I would say that he does," she said after a few moments of concentrated silence. "He asked questions that went straight to the heart of the matter."

"How do I stop him?" the man asked and then quickly added, "Wait. Is it safe to stop him? Will stopping him allow my plans to continue?" His face contorted with hesitation behind his eyes.

"He will interfere," she replied looking for more signs in the still water. "If he is alive, your plan is uncertain to succeed. With Arek dead, your plan has a much better chance. But you must not kill Dairev."

"What?" the man yelled. "But, he has to die. How else am I to take over his business? And if I can't take over his business, then I can't put my plans in motion to get on the Council."

"You must not kill Dairev, at least until some time after the meeting," she explained as she leaned backwards. "I can only see events up to the meeting. There are too many variables after that. Once you narrow down certain events, then I might have a chance of seeing greater things. Eliminating Arek is one. Keeping the daughter alive until she returns home is another. Then you must kill her and point the murder towards Dairev. That will cause the father to kill Dairev at the meeting.

"But if Aiden and Arek are involved, you will most likely fail. Killing them both now would give your plans a much better chance of success." Her shirt was out of place from being bent over the bowl for so long that she had to shrug her shoulders, push and pull it until it felt right.

"If that stupid Stanley would have stayed with Evan as the negotiator, all this would have gone smoothly. I don't know why he ever changed his mind and looked around for someone else. If I didn't know better, I'd swear someone else was in this. I want control of the clan and the area! I didn't set all this up just to watch it fall apart by two pitiful humans!"

"Be careful," the woman warned. "Neither is what they seem."

"Huh," the man said. "What do you mean? Are they human or not?"

"They are and maybe they aren't. I can't tell. They appear human in all aspects but no human wields power the way that they do," she explained.

"Can they be killed?" he asked. "And how?"

"Many have tried and all have failed," she said. "But, yes, they can be killed. Anyone can be killed. I know about a poison that can be bought if you know the right people. The poison comes from a creature that lives in the Forthalian Abyss and you can only get it from a She'nath trader. Not everyone deals with the She'nath and not every She'nath will sell the poison because it kills any living thing. It is quick and very expensive, but I'm sure with all your connections that you can find a seller. Just ask for a Touch of Crilli."

"Why haven't I ever heard of this Crilli poison?" the man asked.

"Because it is kept secret by the She'nath, and they guard their secrets well," she answered.

"Then how do you know about it?" he smirked.

"Because I have the sight and because I can uncover secrets," she smiled sweetly.

"But not all of them," he said, disgusted. "Otherwise I would succeed no matter what."

"Everyone has limits," she said still smiling. She swept a few strands of hair back behind her ear.

"Let's hope that Aiden and Arek also have them," he told her. "Otherwise, we may have to relocate."

"Yes," the woman agreed. But, she thought, if you do not succeed in killing Arek, you will die. She didn't warn the man, because she saw that if she warned him, then she would die also.

 

My office wasn't situated in exactly the nicest area of the city. If you want to have an office in a nice place, then that took more money than I've ever made in a year. Of course, if I had an office in some upscale posh area, I might have enough business to pay the rent. Since I was located halfway between the industrial district and the rich district, I could actually move either direction. It's more common to be poor than it is to be rich, so my area was still in the poor section of town. When you're located in an area that most people avoid, well, business doesn't just drop in and say hello.

Veronica Stanley had changed that. Her father had sent her down here to hire me. I'm not exactly top of the line in detective work and I don't have as many resources at my disposal as a few others. I have a reputation but it isn't from detective work. I'd killed too many people to ever have a good rep. No, If I had to guess, I'd say old man Stanley sent her to me because of Arek. Stanley knew that he couldn't directly hire Arek, so he did the next best thing. Oh well, at least the pay is good.

I heard the bell chime twice and I heard her heels click on the steps. She opened the door and the light from the hall outlined her. She stood there with her legs slightly apart and I let my eyes wander up those long legs to her short skirt. The white skirt was a light fabric that just sort of lay on her. While it wasn't fully see-through, I could still see the outline of her legs underneath the fabric from the backlight. Her hips were curvy and worked their way to a small waist. The curves never stopped as I finally found myself looking at her face.

"If you're going to stare, at least invite me in," she said. "Or would you like some more time?"

"Have a seat," I said. "Are you always this way?" She strolled into my office and elegantly sat in a chair in front of my desk. Leaning forward, she put her elbows on my desk and rested her face in her hands. Cat-like green eyes stared at me.

"Like what way, Mr. ... Kyle?" she asked.

"So sure of yourself, so poised, so direct," I said. "Drink?"

"Always," she said, smiling. Her eyelashes fluttered and a few strands of her hair fell in front of her eye. "Do you have any imports from Tlamur?"

"Heh, I wish. What I do have is a smooth whiskey from the far north. It's called Yazai."

"A small glass, perhaps," she said as she sat back in the chair. Long slender fingers brushed the strands back into place. "You think I'm some painted doll born to elegance?" She crossed her legs and I got another look at them.

"You look elegant enough," I answered. She leaned forward and placed both hands palm up on my desk. I finished pouring out our drinks.

"Take a look," she said. I took one hand in mine. Her hand was soft enough on the back, but when I ran my fingers over her palm and her fingers, I felt the calluses. "I didn't just inherit everything," she told me. "I worked from the bottom up through every position in my father's business. I made sure I knew every detail of everything and I made sure I knew the employees. We've been successful because we care about the business and its employees."

"And now?" I asked, letting her hand rest softly on the desk.

"And now, my father is in trouble. We're in something that's over our heads. We aren't set up for a war with anyone. He sent me here to hire you." She relaxed back into the chair, taking her drink with her.

"Why did you come here tonight?" I asked, direct as ever. It would spoil everything if she were here to try to seduce me, although it was a pleasant thought. I took a small sip of the Yazai.

"I came back to tell you about my father, about our business, and to try to convince you that we want everything settled in a fair and honest manner. My father doesn't understand why all this happened. He looked into that business and he was informed that it was free and clear of anyone's interest. Then after we bought it and tried to get it going again, we were attacked. A lot of people died."

"And if all your talking tonight doesn't convince me?" I watched for her reaction.

"I'll go home, inform my father, and we'll find some other way to survive," she said matter-of-factly. "I'm not some cheap thrill here for your amusement, Mr. Aiden." She reverted to my last name, but I didn't correct her this time.

"That's nice to know," I said, smiling. "I definitely would not have taken the job if you had tried to seduce me."

"Would you have declined before or after?" she asked, a twinkle of impishness flashing across her face. Her green eyes sparkled and it wasn't from the light.

"After," I answered. She smiled.

"Maybe when this is all over, we can have dinner?" she asked.

"Why not tonight?" I asked her. "I haven't eaten and there's a place around the corner with the best seafood dishes anywhere within, oh, two blocks."

"A whole two blocks," she laughed. "That sounds delicious."

"And maybe you can tell me all about your father, you, and your business," I said, getting up. "Although not necessarily in that order." I moved around the desk and held out my hand. She ignored it and got up on her own.

"I've been doing things myself for a long time. I do very well on my own," she told me proudly.

"I'm beginning to see that," I said and laughed. I was starting to like her. We walked out of my office, down the stairs, and outside. It was a beautiful night. There was just a slight breeze and the temperature was comfortable. A few clouds rolled by but otherwise there was a clear view of the starry sky.

As we started down the street, I noticed something wasn't right. I couldn't tell what, though. Veronica was talking but it was fading into the background as my senses took a sharp turn. There was danger near but I couldn't find it. I watched a few vehicles go past us, their steam engines running but they weren't making too much noise. Mostly it was the slight hiss of the steam and the quiet clank of metal gears.

"Did you hear me?" Veronica asked. She placed her hand on my arm. Any other time and I would have reveled in the warm, tingling of her fingers on my skin, but something was deadly out here and I didn't know what.

"Get back to the office," I said. It's always better to be safe than dead, I thought. The cobblestone street was nearly empty now. A couple of people were blocks ahead and turning a corner out of sight.

"What?" she asked. Her head tilted towards me as her eyebrows furrowed. She didn't understand or sense anything wrong. We stopped. I turned her around and lightly pushed her back toward my building.

"Go, now. Run and don't stop," I told her. The gun was in my hand and I hadn't remembered reaching for it. I was glad that I had listened to Arek, but hated it because he was always right. Veronica half turned and gasped when she saw the gun. I scanned the area as she began to run.

"Where are you?" I whispered as I let my senses reach out. I caught movement and saw two men rush toward me. Time slowed and I instantly noticed that they carried needler guns. Maybe this wasn't as bad as my instincts were screaming. Needler guns usually didn't do that much damage unless you aimed perfectly at a lethal spot. The needles weren't usually the danger, but rather the poison coating on the needles. I was resistant to poison, but something still didn't feel right.

There was a boom from my gun followed by small puffs from their needlers. I dove to the side and rolled. My first shot had hit and that man was down. Coming up, I fired at the other man who was on my left. My second shot spun him in a circle and he collapsed. I took a step and the world suddenly went fuzzy. That wasn't supposed to happen, I thought. Looking down, I saw the needle sticking out of my shoulder. It had to be poisoned, but most poisons didn't even faze me. My legs suddenly went out and I collapsed on the ground. Then the world went black.

 

"What do we have here?" I heard someone say.

"Looks like an opportunity to me," someone else said. My eyelids slowly opened but the world was way out of focus. The voices were familiar, but I could only see blurred shapes.

"Mr. Barlo sends his regards, Aiden," the first guy said. I recognized both of those names and then the two voices. If I could talk, I would have cursed. The two voices were from men who were enforcers for a mob boss named Barlo. Barlo controlled the south side and I had inadvertently closed down one of his operations, but that's another story that I didn't have time to think about. One of those men standing above me was a goon named Din.

"We gonna nix him?" the other one asked. The world slowly came back into focus and I saw him. He was a tall, skinny guy with a buzz cut and was standing over me. Everyone either called him Skinny or Knives. No one around here was particularly bright with nicknames. They usually meant what they were called. I still couldn't move and things didn't look very good.

"Mr. Barlo wants you out of the way permanently," Din told me. He sounded close but I couldn't see him. What he said wasn't anything I didn't already know. "But I never figured we'd get a chance to do it. Looks like I was wrong. Those other two guys you nixed helped us out a lot. I don't know what that stuff was on the needle, but you ain't moved in an hour. We watched just to make sure no one came to help you."

"Plus, if you died, we wouldn't take no heat from Arek," Skinny said. "But you didn't die, so now we got to take a chance. Din has the needler and it's still loaded. A few more of them ought to send you along with no one knowing we were here."

"I'd know," someone new said. I heard a thunk and caught Din falling to the ground out of the corner of my eye. Din wasn't a big man, but he was solid muscle. Whoever had taken him down must've been tough or carried a very large stick.

Skinny's eyes widened and he reached into his jacket. Before he could remove his hand, a short stick flew through the air and struck him between his eyes. He yelped and stumbled backwards, finally drawing out a knife. It was too late, though, as I watched Ben step over me and thwack Skinny upside the head with another stick. I heard Skinny hit the ground.

"Are you all right?" Veronica asked as she stood over me. "I called Ben and he came as fast as he could. We got here just as those two reached you. I thought for sure you were dead."

"Fine now," I whispered. "Get needlers." Whatever they hit me with was strong and I wanted to know what it was. No poison I knew of could affect me for long, but this stuff nearly killed me.

"Ben, carry him back to his office. I'll get the needlers," Veronica ordered. Ben picked me up and we were off. I faded in and out and it seemed like no time at all that I was on my couch in my office. As I looked up, I saw the sweat running down Ben's face and I was sure that it was a long trip for him.

"Thanks," I whispered.

"It was nothin'," he answered. "I figured I owed Arek for my life and maybe this'll even that up. 'Sides, I'm employed by Mr. Stanley and what Veronica wants, she gets." He smiled and shrugged.

I could move, but it was slow going. When I sat up, it felt like hammers striking my skull. "Yazai. Bottle," I croaked. Veronica brought me the bottle and I drank long and hard. If my head was going to hurt, I wanted a better reason than one needle. I offered some to Ben and he took a swig. Veronica politely declined as she sat next to me. We stayed like that for a long time, at least until I could stand and move without any help. The Yazai helped dull the pain and my natural resistance to poisons took care of the rest.

"That was nasty," I said as I sat in my chair. Veronica moved to the chair on the other side of my desk. The couch was comfortable, but my chair was safer. Not only was the desk big and solid, but there were guns hidden throughout. I'll definitely have to get the sawed-off shotgun set up soon. I might set up two. The needlers were on my desk and I unloaded them. I checked out one of the needles and saw some kind of dried liquid on the end. I sniffed, but there was no aroma. "That wasn't any kind of poison I've ever heard about," I said.

"What happened," Ben asked. I went over the events and then detailed what I felt after waking up. "Never heard of anything like that, either," he said. "But I haven't been around poisons all that much."

"I have," I said. "And I don't recognize this one." I picked up the phone and asked the operator to connect me to a number. "Got something interesting," I said into the receiver. "Does a quick job and I don't know what it is. Come over and pick it up," I said and hung up.

"That was my expert in the field of poisons. He's sending someone right over to pick up the needles. I'm hoping to have some kind of answer in a day or two."

"Did you know who those two were?" Ben asked. "The first two that used the needlers, I mean. I checked them out, but didn't recognize them."

"No, I didn't recognize them either, but it was kind of quick. I'll take a better look in the morning. The A.G. will find them and Captain Rimeir will most certainly look me up."

"A.G.?" Veronica asked.

"Azrioth Guard," I answered. "It's the city law enforcement. We have an informal relationship. Bodies turn up and they question me first. I keep telling them that I'm a respectable man running a private detective business, but no one believes me."

"Well, the two dead men out there don't help you," Veronica said with a yawn. I looked at her and saw her eyelids droop some. She was tired but she wasn't complaining about it.

"No. No, they don't," I sighed. "But they were after me and not you. They waited until you were clear before they started firing. You two should go back to the hotel and get some rest. I'm safe here and I doubt anyone will try anything again tonight."

"Are you sure," Veronica asked and I could see Ben roll his eyes. He was tired, she was tired, and we both knew it.

"Yeah, go on. Stop by tomorrow and we can talk," I told her. She nodded and turned to leave.

"You'll have an answer for me then?" She asked as she stopped and turned back towards me.

"Yeah," I said and waved her out of the office. She left and Ben followed her. I listened for sounds of the bell and door before I got up and locked my office door.

I could understand Barlo's men being there and taking advantage of the situation, but I didn't have a clue as to the identity of the two new shooters. I still wasn't in any shape to go back out even though I desperately wanted to check the bodies. I heard the door open and the bell chime quickly. Soft steps ran up the stairs and there was a knock on the door.

"Gimme a name," I said pointing two guns at the door.

"Juan." I got up and unlocked the door. A small boy entered and stood patiently waiting in front of me. He had a medium sized bag hung around his body. I pointed towards the desk.

"Take the needles," I said. He moved quickly and brought out a long cloth from his bag. He wrapped the needles up in it and then put it in his bag and bolted out. I closed the door, locked it, and plopped down on the couch. It was comfortable and that was my last thought for the night. ◊