Stellar Cloud by Charity Bradford

Author:Charity Bradford [Bradford, Charity]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-11-19T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

Exiled

This story was a group challenge to put together an anthology centered around one world—LaHavre. I struggled with the rustic world of assassins until I moved the timeline far into the future.

The fourth moon slid over the cityscape to join its sisters in the sky. Together they formed a perfect arc of evenly spaced orbs making it easy to tell time. It was well past midnight. I checked my pressure suit for the fifth time, clamped myself to the safety line, and crawled over the edge of the building.

The rooftop had been peaceful, protected by the atmospheric shield, but as soon as I went over the side, I exposed myself to the gale force winds. I pressed myself flat against the building and turned up the mag booster. The material in the gloves and shoes grew heavier as they allied with the metal filaments crisscrossed through the glass. The computer grid in my helmet activated and, using vocalized commands, I released and boosted alternating hands and feet to move myself to my destination.

I’d killed many men. Too many perhaps. This would be one of my saves. Some hits deserved the death contract put out on them, but not this one. He was an innocent man who had tried to make Rave’hel a better place. Unfortunately, he stood in the way of someone wealthier and more ambitious.

I didn’t mind dealing in death, but even an assassin had to draw the line somewhere. Mine was the innocent.

A green light blipped on my sleeve indicating I had reached the target apartment. I positioned a temporary atmospheric shield before pulling out the de-stabilizer. I didn’t want to kill the man before I could save him.

With the press of a button, a four by four square of glass evaporated, its molecular structure weakened to the point that all the atoms dissolved into its parts. I slipped into the darkness and approached the man sleeping in his bed. His death would have been so easy, but he had tried to feed the homeless children of Beh’klan. Many starved on the planet that built moons to beautify Rave’hel’s skies. He deserved a chance.

The neurolizer worked immediately. He had time to open his eyes, but that was all before his body froze in place.

“You’ve had a contract placed on your head and I’m here to collect.”

His eyes were expressive in spite of the inability to blink. If given the chance would he beg for his life? I thought of those he had helped over his brief time as Poon and was glad I had reached him first.

“It’s a good day to die, but I’m in a giving mood. I’m exiling you instead of killing you.” I opened my pack, reached past the tools of my trade and pulled out a quantum clamp.

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