Agents of the Imperial Special Investigation Service

CHAPTER 1: Plot/Counterplot

 

The open-air mall was bustling with early afternoon shoppers walking to and fro. Many had specific errands to run. Others were simply window-shopping or enjoying the fine afternoon. The ebb and flow of foot traffic guaranteed anonymity and privacy without calling particular attention to oneself.

For one particular man who was busy appearing casual, that was exactly how he wanted it. Wong Chin’s gait was a carefully calculated stroll; he had a couple of hours of leisure time at his disposal, so he didn’t need to hurry. At the same time his mother’s birthday was coming up soon, so this was a legitimate shopping trip for a gift. There was nothing to arouse anyone’s suspicions.

Chin was dressed in the uniform of the kavalergardy, which got him some extra looks but not an excessive amount. It would have been more suspicious if he’d changed into civilian clothes for this errand. It would have looked as though he had something to hide—and since he did, that was an appearance best avoided.

He was approaching the gift shop where he intended to make his purchase, at the same time keeping a surreptitious eye on the time. He also kept careful track of the crowd around him, making sure no one was following him. At precisely the specified time Chin calmly lifted his wristcom up to his mouth, as though to make a personal memo. In a quiet, matter-of-fact voice he said, “Dispatch 226.” In a single electronic blip, the message he’d carefully composed, encrypted and compressed was transmitted from his computer through a local relay to a topcomm repeater that carried the information to its destination many parsecs away.

With that accomplished, Chin felt a great wave of relief sweep over him—though he did not show it outwardly. The most crucial part of this excursion was done. For better or worse the information he knew would quickly be in trusted hands. Now he could concentrate on the more innocent task of choosing his mother’s birthday gift. Being the methodical person he was, he’d already scouted out the shop where his purchase would take place.

His mother had always been fond of hand-crafted music boxes. A store here in this mall carried a wonderful assortment. Wong Chin spent a relaxed twenty minutes inspecting the wares before deciding on his purchase, a music box with a dancing bear on top. He had the shopkeeper wrap it up and, carrying it carefully, he returned to the knyaz’s palace.

As he entered the private gate, before he could go to his quarters and drop off the package, he received a call on his wristcom. “Captain Chin, the knyaz would like to see you immediately. Report to his study at once.”

Chin frowned. Anything out of the ordinary was suspicious, and posed a risk to his safety. “I have a package to drop off in my room, and then I’ll—”

“He needs you at once. I doubt he’ll mind if you bring the package with you.”

“On my way, then,” Chin said. His voice was crisp and correct, but inwardly he was worried. The knyaz had only seen him three times in the six months Chin had been working here, and had never singled him out for anything. Why this sudden urgency—and why today of all days? Still, he had no legitimate reason to balk at the orders, so he entered the main building and proceeded to the knyaz’s second-floor study.

Captain Chin entered the study through its west door. The study was a large room with dark breckwood paneling on the east, west and north walls. Inset shelves on these walls held actual printed books with leather bindings in brown, black and oxblood. In addition to the west door there were two doors along the east wall and three along the long north wall. Chin didn’t know where any of these doors led; he’d always used the west door on the few occasions when he’d come here.

The entire south wall was a picture window overlooking the knyaz’s private zoo. This menagerie was one of the knyaz’s obsessions, containing some of the most interesting creatures from the many worlds in his sector. He took great pride in the fact that it was considered among the top private collections in the entire Empire.

In front of the picture window was a heavy cherrywood desk carved with ornate scrollwork along the legs and geometric designs on the sides. The top was flat and inset with a large tridee tank, currently blank.

Behind the desk was a large padded green leather swivel chair with polished brass studs closely placed around the seams of the arms and back. The chair was turned with its back to him so its occupant could gaze out the window; all Chin could see was the high back and a portion of an arm lying casually on the right armrest. As the captain entered the room, though, the chair slowly swiveled around to face him.

Yevgheniy Kuznyetz, the knyaz of Scorpio sector, was in his fifties. His slender body had a toughness to it that belied his years, and the piercing look in his eyes flashed with keen intelligence. His gray hair was thinning but neatly combed, and a pencil-thin mustache adorned the upper lip of his tightly-pursed mouth. His face had some of the fine lines of age, but there were no smiles lines evident anywhere. He was dressed casually in a gray, green and red argyle sweater that made his torso look bulkier than it really was.

“Captain Chin reporting as ordered, sir,” Chin said crisply. He did not salute; the knyaz may have been his boss, but he had no military rank.

“Carrying a package, I see.” The voice was quiet, crisp, precise.

“I was told to come straight here, sir,” Chin said apologetically. “I didn’t have time to drop it off in my quarters first.”

“No need to apologize. I understand perfectly.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Kuznyetz’s eyes remained focused on the officer’s face. “What is it, if I may ask?”

“A… a present for my mother, sir. Her birthday is next week.”

“How admirable. I wish my own mother were around to receive presents, but she—” He ended that train of thought abruptly. “I’m curious. What does a captain of my kavalergardy buy his mother for a birthday present?”

“She has a collection of music boxes, sir. I found an interesting new one at a shop in town.”

“Excellent. Does she happen to live onplanet?”

“No, sir, she’s on Pintow. I’ll have to ship it out either today or tomorrow if it’s going to arrive in time.”

“Nonsense. Leave it here. I’ll make sure it goes out with my personal seal. I guarantee it’ll arrive in plenty of time.”

“That’s very kind of you, sir.” Chin was perplexed. The knyaz had never been this friendly to him before, had scarcely shown him any more than formal recognition. What was happening? Did he suspect something?

Kuznyetz did not respond, and silence descended on the room. Captain Chin did not feel it was his place to question his lord’s motives for summoning him, so he stood silently at attention and waited. He was acutely aware that the knyaz’s gaze never wavered from his face, but the older man’s expression was unreadable.

It was nearly thirty seconds before Kuznyetz spoke again. “Actually, you can return the favor, captain. You’ve been recommended to me as a very reliable man, a man who can keep a secret.”

“I like to think so, sir.”

“Good. I have a mission that requires the utmost discretion, and I can’t entrust it to anyone too close to me, if you get my meaning.”

“I’m not sure I do, sir, but I’m not sure I need to, either.”

“The perfect answer. I chose the right man.” He reached into a drawer of his desk and pulled out a small object, which he slid along the top of the desk toward Chin. “This is a key. Pick it up and go through this door.” He indicated the door closest to the window on the east side of the room. “Go down that corridor to a door numbered 278. The key will open that door. Go inside. A woman will meet you there. She will give you a large envelope, which you will then bring back here to me unopened.”

“Is that all, sir?”

“Yes, for now. If you perform well, there may be other small but crucial assignments as well—with, I might add, corresponding bonuses.”

Chin picked up the key. It was an electronic key, made of lightweight plastic. “Thank you sir. With your permission …?”

Kuznyetz dismissed him with a wave of his hand. By the time Captain Chin had reached the indicated door, the knyaz already seemed occupied with another matter.

Chin found himself in a long corridor with doors on either side. The numbers started in the low 200s, so he had quite a distance to walk before he came to 278. The corridor made several turns, but didn’t branch off anywhere, so there was no question of which way he needed to go.

At last he reached door 278. He placed the key against the lock and there was the faintest of clicks as it unlatched. The door slid silently open and he entered. The door slid shut again behind him.

The room was large and totally bare of furnishing. The walls, ceiling and floor were pure white except for a bright red rectangular touchplate high up on the opposite wall, right where it met the ceiling. Chin wondered vaguely what it was doing up there; it was certainly too high for anyone to reach conveniently.

There was no woman in the room at the moment, but Chin wasn’t worried. Kuznyetz had said she would meet him here, not that she’d be waiting. The captain supposed it was his job to do the waiting. With no furniture to sit on, he stood casually and...