The Janus Group - 01 - Rath's Deception by Piers Platt

Author:Piers Platt
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science Fiction
Published: 2015-10-30T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Afterward, Conroy offered him another drink.

“No,” Rath said. “I’m calling an air taxi.” He zipped the Forge closed.

“For a hired gun, you seem … squeamish. Perhaps you’ve chosen the wrong profession, my friend.”

“I’m not your friend,” Rath corrected him. He walked to the massive bronze doors leading out of the room, and then turned to face Conroy one more time. “You know what I’m going to do with my earnings when I make fifty kills? I’m going to put out a contract on your life.”

Conroy laughed heartily. “Priceless!” he told Rath. “I expected you to say you would come and kill me yourself. Have I soured your taste for killing so much that you can’t even stomach the thought of that?”

Rath slammed the doors behind him, cutting off the sound of Conroy’s continued laughter. The taxi was waiting for him on the landing pad, and an hour later, he was in orbit, boarding the deep space passenger liner back to Volpes.

He dropped his gear in his private cabin, and then sat on his bunk. The anger had worn off, replaced by a bone-deep weariness that sleep alone would not mend. After a while, he realized he was staring at the Forge. In his mind, he saw Conroy sitting on the leather couch, arm slung around his paralyzed wife’s shoulders, taking a hit off his vaporizer as Rath set the machine up. Conroy had spent a solid five minutes speculating – for his wife’s full benefit – about the best angle to feed her into the machine so as to keep her vital organs intact for as long as possible while the nanobots destroyed her. Rath shuddered, and forced the picture from his mind. He tapped the counter bracelet on his wrist, and watched as the glittering 20 appeared, and as it spun, it shifted first into a 21, then immediately a 22. Rath showered and ordered food, but could not eat, and briefly unpacked his simulator suit before angrily throwing it against the bulkhead wall. He dressed hurriedly and then consulted the ship’s directory on the cabin console.

The medical bay was deserted except for a single doctor sitting with his legs up on the reception desk, flipping through a medical study on a datascroll. He looked up as Rath entered.

“Good evening! Or … what the hell time is it, planetside?”

Rath shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Doesn’t matter,” the doctor said. “Come in, please.” He showed Rath to the first gurney in the bay, and pulled the privacy curtain across. “I’m Dr. Kleiner. Now, what can I help you with?”

Rath sat on the edge of the bed, quiet for a minute. “I’m … having trouble sleeping, recently.”

Kleiner nodded, and perched on a wheeled stool across from Rath, rolling a few inches back and forth. “Well, that could be due to a lot of factors. Diet, exercise, electronics use before bed ….” Rath shook his head. “No? Okay, are you on any medications, or do you use any substances that I should know about? No judgments here.

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