Chapter 10, Stakeout

(Callie)

Callie's comm vibrated against her skin, letting her know Warren replied to her warning. However, now wasn't the time to check. She ascended a set of stairs, her footsteps muffled by the soft carpets. A small, mostly hidden device flickered slightly. The motion sensor was at her knee height and might have gone unseen by most thieves. Callie cautiously stepped over the sensor at the top of the stairs and moved into a spacious kitchen.

The marble counter tops and steel knives were a sign of extreme wealth on Proxima. Each item would have needed to be transported through the jump gate for an exorbitant fee, or ferried through space for months to get here. The living room was adorned with several plush leather couches and a television taking up one entire wall.

On the wall next to the refrigerator was an entire carved wooden cabinet filled with bottles of liquor.

Callie paused as the faint sound of a vacuum drifted to her ears.

" Dustin, someone is here. I can hear a vacuum in the bedroom." Said Callie, toggling her mic on to talk.

" That's alright, you are free to engage and disable them." Reply Dustin coldly.

"What about the blood? We don't have a cleanup team nearby." Reply Callie, pulling her pistol from its plain leather holster.

" I meant knock them out, don't kill them." Said Dustin.

Silently, Callie opened the bedroom door, she peered through the crack. She waited until the man vacuuming turned before slipping inside. With a burst of speed, she darted across the carpet and clubbed the man behind the ear with the butt of her pistol.

On contact she focussed her art, and her power flowed into him. The jolt to the man's senses made him collapse like a sack of meat. Callie reached down and turned off the battery powered vacuum. She listened intently, waiting for any sign of movement in the silence.

To hide her presence, she hefted the man and placed him under the covers in the king sized bed. She even took off the man's runners to make it appear as though he got tired and took a nap. Callie lay in the bed next to him, taking a selfie with the unconscious man. She dishevelled his hair as though they were up to something physical. Then she forwarded the picture to Dustin.

She snickered as Dustin choked on his tea through the mic.

" A simple yes would have sufficed." Said Dustin.

" I like to be sure my employer knows the quality of service they are getting." Said Callie.

" Has anyone told you that you are one weird woman?" Asked Dustin.

She perused the bedroom but found nothing. Well, there was a walk-in closet filled with expensive black suits, each made in either Saleia or Etria.

Callie ignored Dustin's statement as she checked every nook and cranny for alarms.

She checked all the pockets of each and the wooden nightstand next to the bed. Other than a book on law and an illicit magazine tucked under the judge's pillow, there was nothing.

Callie opened the magazine to the picture of a woman blessed with perfect breasts and placed the book on the maid's chest. She stood back, examining her work. Now it would appear as though the maid had decided to lie down and pleasure himself before falling asleep on the job. Callie pulled a small camera from a pouch at her waist and placed it overlooking the bed. The camera stuck to the corner of the room. Once placed, the pinkie sized device shimmered, changing colour to match the white wall perfectly.

Once done, she moved through the kitchen, placing a second camera overlooking the kitchen and the living room. She decrypted the lock on the office door after only a few seconds.

The office was what one might expect of a judge. Ostentatious dark wooden desk, a monitor and a chair that cost more than a shuttle. A picture of the judge and his shuttle hung behind his desk.

The vehicle was painted deep black with gold trim. The Bergman Gs was one of the most expensive shuttles on the market costing a whopping five million crowns.

" Judge Lyle Jaden is single, isn't he?" Asked Callie, admiring the sports car.

" Why do you say that?" Replied Dustin.

" Well, his car. No woman in their right mind would let their partner buy a car that screamed bachelor." Said Callie.

" You are correct. Lyle Jaden has been divorced five times. And from the record, each time he even came away with all of his wealth because of a firm prenup." Said Dustin, sounding impressed.

" I knew it. Otherwise he would be driving a dumpster like i have to. I can believe they force you to drive that thing." Said Callie, grinning as she insulted Dustin's vehicle.

" That is my personal vehicle." Drawled Dustin. Callie cracked a grin and placed the final camera in Lyle Jadens' office.

" Callie, get out! Lyle just pulled up." Said Dustin.

Callie heard the front door click from the office.

" Someone is inside." Said Callie, whispering over her mic.

" Conceal yourself, that is not Lyle. He must be meeting with someone." Said Dustin, excitement in his voice.

Callie's outstretched hand shimmered as she shielded herself in a thin layer of positive energy and ducked behind the thick wooden desk. She tabbed her comm to display the camera feed. A three-dimensional hologram flowed in front of her, only seen by her eyes. Aside from the maid in the other room, still unconscious, no one was in view of the cameras.

" The door definitely opened. They must be waiting for Lyle Jaden to enter." Said Callie softly over her mic.

A bell chimed audibly over the small camera. A wall opened, revealing a hidden elevator inside the man's suite. Lyle Jaden stepped out. He wore polished leather shoes, a dark black suit costing more than most shuttles, and had a lacquered wooden cane. No doubt that last part was simply as a sign of wealth. The man tossed the walking stick on the couch and strode across the carpet, pouring himself a drink on ice. Glass clinked, and he leaned back on the couch savouring the amber liquid.

A shadow appeared from seemingly nowhere and a man crept up behind Lyle Jaden with a suppressed pistol in hand. His face was indistinguishable from any other under his cloth mask, but his posture was all too familiar. How could she forget the way her instructor moved after so much time fighting him?

The unmistakable shimmer of negative energy surrounded him as he approached Lyle Jaden from behind and placed his gun against the man's skull.

" Good afternoon judge." Said Villus dispassionately.

" What are you doing here? You promised to keep me out of this." Said Lyle, his voice shaky. The man didn't turn, but he clearly knew who was behind him.

" That was until you forgot to send me the list of known supporters." Said Villus, murder in his voice.

Lyle Jadens' hands shook, and he gulped down the contents in his glass with several deep gulps.

" It was a simple misunderstanding. I have them right here." Said Lyle, terror crossing the older mans face.

" Are you seeing this?" Asked Callie, excitement welling in her chest. She pushed it down. Now wasn't the time to settle a score with Villus.

" Yeah, One minute backup is on the way. Stand by for five minutes. Don't engage unless he tries to leave." Said Dustin. Callie broke out into a sweat. At first she had thought Villus had left the information about her and Warren on the ship, but his appearance spoke otherwise. But then why was the judge's information on the file as well? Who else could have left their information like that?

Callie watched in confusion. Villus was not a traitor, was he?

" Here, take the list. There are ten different names." Said Lyle Jaden, setting a small data chip into Villus' rough hand.

Villuse's eyes went hazy as he was no doubt perusing the information on his comm.

" What is this! Explain to me why there are only four?" Asked Villus, anger rising in his voice.

" That is all the names I could uncover." Said judge Lyle. The man fidgeted nervously with something in his palm, clearly undecided.

" Don't hold out on me now, Lyle. You know what will happen to you if you back out now." Said Villus coldly.

" Well, if you haven't heard, the emissary of the Slax is here on Proxima with several retainers to visit the emperor. With the recent Liberation of Etria, the tension between Zrixia and the Slax is at an all-time high." Said Lyle Jaden.

" What is the emissaries' name and where is he staying?" Asked Villus, his tone one of excitement.

" That bastard! Is he trying to spark a war?" Said Dustin, his voice horrified.

" It appears so." Said Callie. What a stroke of brilliance. A war between the Slax and the Zrixians could bring the empire to its knees if the Sacari were there to eliminate key figures in the Zrixian empire. They were both empires spanning several worlds, and the battle would kill hundreds of millions.

"Change of plans Callie, move now, don't let him get away with that data chip." Said Dustin, concern in his voice.

Callie moved, dismissing her hologram and silently crossing the office. She scanned the corners, wondering if she could subdue Villus? It had been nearly a year since they fought to submit. Now, however, it would be life and death, not a simple duel. Not to mention she couldn't fight with her negative art. Dustin was watching, and her cover would be blown.

The attack on the compound had cut off her chance at the last duel before graduation. It was nearly a year later since their last duel and she had confidence in her skills. Still, there was that lingering doubt. Every time prior, he had beaten her in a fight.

The door slid open silently, and Callie approached the masked Villus from his blind spot.

" If that's all I will go now." Said Villus, turning around at the worst possible moment. Through his mask, she could see his eyes widen. Callie, not giving him a moment, fired two bullets. Her hands bucked, but she held her aim on his right eye. Villuse's negative barrier sparked right in front of his eyes and she ducked, using his momentary blindness, kicking his right knee hard. The gun fell from his hand and Villus rolled gracefully, drawing a knife during his fall.

In a burst of speed, Villus spun, kicking the tip of her suppressor just as she squeezed off another shot. The barrel of her gun changed aim and Lyle Jaden screamed in pain. She gave no care for his suffering and drew her own knife blade. She attacked in a flurry of blows that had Villus on the back foot. He tried to retreat and his barrier cracked as her knife charged with positive energy gouges thin cuts in his skin. Callie flooded her body with positive energy, just like she had seen Dustin do, and caught Villus off guard with a kick to his hand. His knife shot from his hand like a bullet from a gun, burying its blade into the roof. For perhaps the first time she caught Villus completely off guard with his barrier mostly down.

Callie grinned at the now disarmed Villus. She breathed evenly, her body flooded with positive energy. Her nerves tingled and with her heightened senses she could see Villuses surprised expression through his cloth mask. She knew that if she pressed the attack, she could have overwhelmed him, perhaps even won?

Callie weaved two standard hand signs where the camera wouldn't be able to see, using her body to block sight. It meant trap, run!

Not missing a beat, Villus lept away. With the scant breath of respite, Villus created a wall of crackling energy that slammed into Callie and her legs left the ground. She slammed into the wall and spots flashed before her eyes. As always, Villus was a hammer using his art with brute force. Plaster fell around her and Callie shook the stars from her eyes. Her energy flowed into her left hand as she fired her p223 with her right. One handed her gun's recoil, threw off her aim, but she didn't care. Just before Villus could round the corner to the stairs, she launched a hissing net of positive energy. Unlike when she was sparring, this net would burn skin and tear flesh. A wall of negative energy formed, and the net wrapped around the barrier instead of Villus.

Villus gave her a rude gesture. That gutter ridden snake, if only she could have used her negative energy, her net would have been too fast for him to dodge. Callie coughed her body wracking with pain.

" Wait, don't leave me with this killer." said Judge Lyle, peeking his head from where he was crying on the couch. Tears and snot ran down his face, mixing with his bloody right arm.

Villus raised his hand and clenched his fist. Dark energy cracked, forming around Lyle's head. Before Callie could counter, the negative energy contracted and the judge's head crushed like a rabbit hit by a tank. With that use of power, Villuse's defence flickered. From her seated position in the wall, Callie pulled the trigger of her pistol twice and Villus staggered. Her second shot tore a gouge along his shoulder after the first shattered his barrier. Villus scowled and staggered down the stairs, out of sight. Callie coughed her back, burning something fierce. She gasped for breath, leaning her head against the wall. Her head was ringing and someone was shouting over her mic.

" He got away." said Callie, deciding this was as good of a place as any to rest. Her body was numb, and her reservoir was mostly empty from blocking that monstrous impact.

" Callie, are you alright?" asked Dustin.

" I think so. I just need to take a little bit of a nap. I drained my reservoir." said Callie, her vision fading into darkness.

" Hold on. Back up will be there in two minutes." said Dustin.