Viktor’s mind started whirling with the implications, and instantly plans started half forming in his mind. But before anything concrete could form, he needed information. “Do you know where it is right now?” As he asked, he placed the memory card from Katelyn’s letter on the smart surface in his workbench and brought its contents up on the holo display, showing a long list of names and addresses.
Lance nodded. “Yeah. They’re holed up in a bunker located somewhere in the Carpathian Mountains. That’s in the part of the Empire that used to be eastern Europe.”
“Please tell me you can do better than ‘somewhere’?”
“Yeah, I have coordinates.”
Viktor grunted in acknowledgement as he perused the list of names. As his eyes found a name about two-thirds of the way down, he raised one eyebrow. “Well would you look at that.”
Lance looked over Viktor’s shoulder, scanning the names. “What is it?”
Viktor gestured at the name, and Lance squinted as he read the small text. “New Star Shipping?”
Viktor nodded. “It’s a locally based politically neutral global shipping organization, not affiliated with Kyle. Good at getting things from point A to point B, no matter where they may be, in record time.”
“I’m assuming you have a point with all this.”
“What do we need in order to get to those servers?”
Lance rubbed his face. “Can’t you just tell me what you’re getting at?”
“Humor me.”
“Okay, fine. We need some way to get deep into the empire, quickly, quietly and safely. A way that will not tip off the empire or Logren, so ideally someone with a vendetta against one or both of them. They would have to be well established, but fairly neutral, which is pretty hard to come by. And that’s just the start.”
Viktor smiled. “When I was working with Kyle, there was an up and coming employee, Iren Morris, with ideas to revolutionize transport. Said with enough funding he could eliminate travel time almost entirely. Kyle didn’t want to spend that much money, so he kicked him to the curb and invested in other areas with, and I quote, ‘More guaranteed payouts.’ So Morris started his own business, saying a new star would rise over the world of transport.”
Realization dawned on Lance, but it was Lydia who spoke. “So New Star is our way in.”
Viktor started. Lydia had been standing behind them, listening and observing so quietly Viktor had all but forgotten she was there. Then what she said registered. “Our?” He gave her a penetrating look.
She blushed under his gaze, but didn’t avert her eyes. “Well, yeah. You’re obviously going to need a safecracker, and you’re not going to find one better than me. Especially not one that you can trust.”
Before she even finished Viktor was shaking his head. “No, absolutely not. This is my fight, and I won’t have you getting caught up in it.”
Lydia rolled her eyes, having expected something like this. “Come on. Mom taught me everything she knew, and I did training on the side when she wasn’t around. And this is not just your fight. Mom told me just about everything, including what is at stake here. This has moved far beyond a personal grudge. If you fail, life as we know it is over. You need all the help you can get.”
As Lydia spoke, vivid images flashed through Viktor’s mind: A flash of light, a body in his arms, blood pooling around him, his world filling with gray. Then Lydia showing up at his door, light cutting straight through the storm clouds.
He took a deep breath. “When Katelyn… When Katelyn died, I felt like I did too. She was my world. Without her, life wasn’t worth living anymore, except to make Logren pay for everything he has done. Then you showed up and it was like a little piece of Katelyn came alive inside of me. If anything were to happen to you, my soul would shatter all over again. I can’t risk that.”
She was taken aback for a moment, then anger and hurt filled her expression, tears coming to her eyes. “Could you be any more selfish? You would leave me home, your pretty little piece of Mom, denying me a chance to hunt down her murderer while you go gallivanting off, risking your life to slake your thirst for vengeance? What about me? What if something happened to you?”
“Lance would take ca-”
Lydia cut him off before he could finish. “Lance? You think I’m here because I want Lance to take care of me?” She gave the man an apologetic glance. “No offense. But my mother, the person who raised me, died, with her last words to me being that if anything should happen to her, I should find you.” Her voice raised in volume as she spoke, becoming more vehement with every word that passed her lips, tears threatening to spill. “She raised me on stories of you. I idolized you as a child, a hero I would someday get to meet. Now that I’ve finally met you, do you know what it would do to me to lose you too? I may be the last piece of Mom in your life, but it goes both ways. You’re all I have left.” Her voice grew soft again. “I know you’re not really my father, but I hope you can be the one I never had, the one mom told me you could be. So no, you’re not leaving me home. I’m coming with you and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
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Viktor stood stunned for a moment, before smiling sadly. “She used to have the same look on her face, whenever she got an idea in her head. I know when I’m beaten.” He turned to Lance. “Could you contact New Star and get us a meeting with Iren Morris?”
He nodded.
“Good. I guess it’s time to reunite with an old colleague.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next day saw Viktor and Lydia sitting in a small waiting room several stories up one of the many skyscrapers that dominated the city center. Viktor was surprised at how simple and unassuming it was, considering New Star’s reputation.
After Kyle had cut ties with him, Iren had proved his ideas were sound with some help from a couple of investors. After that, his company took off, until it had become one of the foremost shipping companies in the world. After all, not many companies could get almost anything almost anywhere in the world overnight. Nobody knew how he did it, “Trade secret” was all he said whenever he was asked.
As he contemplated, Viktor took another glance around the space, taking it all in again. It was a small space, maybe ten square meters. Most of the space was taken up by the reception desk, where a secretary currently sat typing away at something, and the five chairs along the other walls, leaving a little open space in the center of the room. The floor was covered with a very short, professional, gray carpet, and there were a couple of windows that looked out onto the busy urban streets, vehicles whizzing by every now and again.
The only thing that looked like more than the bare minimum had been spent on it was the door next to the reception desk. It was made of a dark, red brown wood, with a beautiful natural grain and was embossed with an intricately carved four pointed star near the center.
Viktor and Lydia had arrived a few minutes early for their appointment, and had been asked to take a seat until they were called. To break the silence as they waited, Lydia tried to make conversation. “So, what is this Morris guy like? Did you know him very well back when you worked together?”
Viktor shook his head. “I didn’t know him well, but we were acquainted. He’s a very shrewd man with a sharp mind and expertise in many fields. I didn’t pursue a connection with him at the time because I had no immediate need for transportation services. I had an exclusivity contract with Kyle and couldn’t sell my designs anywhere else. Another of many mistakes I made in working with him.
They sat in silence once again, Viktor reminiscing and Lydia thinking over what he had said. They were pulled from their thoughts by a sound like a tiny bell ringing, which prompted the receptionist to stop typing and access something else in her neural link. After a moment, she focused on Viktor and Lydia. “Mr. Morris will see you now.”
They stood and walked over to the desk. The woman did something with her neural link and there was a sharp click! The door next to the desk opened and she gestured for them to enter. They did so, and found a small office, about the same size as the reception area. The opposite wall was a window, probably smart glass, looking out onto the bustling city streets. There were a few chairs facing the desk at the back, which was also made of glass.
Iren Morris was sitting at his desk, poised and confident, eyes taking in Viktor and Lydia, sizing them up. He was a fairly average looking man, with closely cropped brown hair and green eyes that seemed to be able to read their very thoughts.
As they entered, he stood and smiled. “Come in and sit wherever you’d like.” He sat and looked at them expectantly. After Lydia and Viktor sat as well, he just sat looking at them for a moment. “Well, well, what brings the great Viktor “Metalstorm” Vovk to my humble business? It must be something good for you to ask to meet me on such short notice.”
Vik rolled his eyes. “Hello again to you too, Iren. Thanks for taking the time to meet. An… issue has come up and I need what you can provide.”
“An issue? How delightfully interesting. What is it exactly that you need?”
“Transport. What else would I come to you for?”
Iren just smiled. “Hmmm. Can you describe the nature of your ‘issue’ for me please?”
“The gist of it is that Kyle Logren has stolen some designs from me, and I need to get to where they are stored so I can get them back or destroy them.”
“If he stole from you, why not involve the authorities? Even he shouldn’t be immune to prosecution from one such as yourself.”
“That’s the problem. Everything he did was perfectly legal.”
Iren snorted. “So let me get this straight. You got duped into signing a bad contract or some such deal that gave Kyle Logren sole rights over your designs, and now you want to use my company to execute corporate espionage to retrieve or destroy them. Is that correct?”
“Well, I wouldn’t put it like that, but-”
Iren held up his hand, interrupting Viktor. “No. I will not put my company on the line for what amounts to little more than a petty squabble. If that is all, I have real business to attend to.” He looked down at his desk and waved a hand, dismissing them.
Lydia stood up and stepped forward, unable to keep quiet any longer. “It’s not just a petty squabble, it’s my father’s life’s work!”
Iren looked up at her and quirked an eyebrow. “So?”
“So, if the designs aren’t destroyed within six days from today, Kyle will sell them to the Empire. With those designs, that’s equal to consigning the rest of the world not already under the empire to servitude, if not outright slavery. Do you want that on your conscience, Mr. Morris?”
“I operate within the empire just as well as without it. I don’t see why I should care if they conquer the rest of the world. It might even help business.”
Viktor had had about enough, but he decided to try a final tactic, hoping his assumptions were correct. He stood and turned as if to leave. “You know, the only reason we came here is because Katelyn suggested it. She indicated we could trust you to help her murderer get his comeuppance. I see that she was wrong.” He started walking toward the door, waving to Iren.
“What did you just say?” Iren’s voice hissed out, barely more than a whisper.
Viktor stopped and half turned, looking back at Iren. As he spoke, fury filled his eyes. Despite that, his voice remained firm. “Oh didn’t you hear? A couple months back Kate and I went to get my designs back. It went well until our way out betrayed us and Kyle Logren was there waiting for us. We didn’t have a chance. I barely made it out alive, and only because Kate took the bullets meant for me.”
Iren was staring at his desk, trembling. “Viktor, what are you say-”
Viktor continued. “Then yesterday, I got a letter from her, which was to be delivered to me after her death. Included in it was a list of people and businesses I could trust. Your name was near the top. Care to explain to me why my late wife thought you were more trustworthy than any of our current contacts?”
Iren looked into Viktor’s eyes, matching the fury there with his own. “Swear to me that what you said to me just now is true. If you were lying to me as a ploy to get me to cooperate, you will regret it.”
Without the slightest hesitation, Viktor responded. “I swear to you on Katelyn’s grave that every word is true.”
Iren searched Viktor’s eyes for a few more moments, then sank into his chair, his head falling into his hands. “I’ll help you. Not for your sake, but for hers.”
Lydia, who had been watching this exchange with wide eyes, looked back at Iren. “Why?”
He looked up at her, eyes red like he was holding back tears. “That’s a long story.”
Viktor retook his seat and looked at Iren expectantly. “We’ve got time.”
Iren accessed his neural link, calling someone. “Mary, reschedule everything I have planned today, something important came up.” He ended the call and focused his attention back on Viktor. “How much do you know of Katelyn’s childhood?”