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Undermoon The crimson colored liquid ran from the dead body to her boot. Kanthe stood silently over her most recent kill, while the man who had been sent along as her partner paced back and forth. Her dark complexioned companion had his forehead in his hand as he tried to calm the panic in his heart. She watched him walk back and forth on the metal floor of the apartment. They had finally tracked down their target and it had come as no surprise that he was living in the slums of the ersatz moon. His small apartment was the size of Kanthe’s closet back home. Complete with a bed and couch hybrid and a small bathroom. There was no kitchen which explained the fast food containers that lined the floor. His life had severely declined since he betrayed them, it almost made Kanthe feel like it was punishment enough. She couldn’t imagine going from living in Enyeto’s mansion to this type of accommodation. Crouching down, she began to check the dead man’s pockets for anything that would identify him. Her partner continued to pace and occasionally would kick a container on the floor. “Enyeto is going to kill us!” He finally barked, “Shit!” He yelled the word towards the ceiling. Kanthe looked up at him through her calm blue eyes, “It was not our fault.” She stated before returning to her search. “What the fuck are we suppose to do now?” “I’ll take him to Alfred. He’ll cremate the body, while you clean up all the blood. There are supplies in the back of my car. Use the high intensity light to find the blood then…” “I have some luminol in my…” “No, they can trace that. Just clean the apartment up as if he was expecting a guest. Use bleach or anything else that is common, but use a lot then open the vent before you leave. I doubt anyone will come looking for him, but it’s safer this way.” She looked around the apartment, “Now, we have to figure out how to get him into my car without spilling any blood along the way.” He breathed heavily, “Why the fuck don’t we just leave him? You said yourself that no one will come looking for him.” Her eyes slowly returned to him, “Law enforcement knows that he has ties to Enyeto. If they find him dead, whose door do you think they will be knocking on first? Enyeto doesn’t like it when they pay him a visit.” “Yeah, well, he isn’t going to like it that we killed the bastard either. He wanted this asshole alive!” He pointed at the corpse. “What was your name again?” Kanthe shoved a wallet into her black jacket pocket then stood up and ensured no blood was on her jeans. “Ash, err, Ashton Collier.” He said running his fingers through his black curls. “Ash, I know that this is a new experience for you. Enyeto will not be pleased that we killed him, but he attacked us first… remember?” “No, he was trying to run for the door, he…” She shook her head and that silenced him, “He had a knife and was trying to attack us. Right?” Ash seemed to understand then, “Oh, I remember now.” He swallowed. “Only you, this dead bastard, and I know what happened here tonight. I ain’t talking and he ain’t talking, so it’s all up to you to keep that mouth of yours shut.” Kanthe looked down at the corpse, before Ash nodded. She had known the dead man for six years as Del. He had worked with her during several assignments and his betrayal had been painful to comprehend. She looked at his now short brown hair, he had cut off his ponytail since she had last seen him. There were scars on his face from an altercation with another on Enyeto’s crew. Her boss had been worried about sending her because of her history with the target, but she wanted him to suffer more then anyone. “I have a tarp out in my car. That should work, right?” Ash asked and pointed at the apartment entrance with his thumb. “Yeah, go get it, and make sure no one sees you.” When Ash left, she began to look around the apartment. Perhaps there was something here that would explain the betrayal. There were no disks, not even pieces of paper that had been written on. If he had anything of value, he certainly didn’t keep it here. Suddenly a mechanical voice spoke from behind the couch, “The time is three twenty pm. The date is June fourteenth two thousand and ninety four.” Kanthe followed the voice and pulled out the small alarm clock from behind the fold out bed. She wondered why it had been set for so late in the afternoon. He had been wide awake when they had burst through the door. He may have had an appointment somewhere, but it seemed that with who and where had gone with him. The crinkling noises of a tarp could be heard from the hallway. Ash’s large form appeared as the door slid open at his approach. Normally the door would open only for the apartment tenant, but they had hacked the system from outside to accept their facial lineaments. He threw the blue tarp at his partner before leaving the apartment again. Kanthe assumed he went to get the items from her car. Why he didn’t throw them into the tarp on his way up was a question she asked herself. Though Ash was in his late thirties, he was new to the business. Enyeto only hired the best men to care for his “problems.” Ash had been a bodyguard at one of Enyeto’s clubs since he was fifteen, even then he had been large. Though he didn’t seem like the killer type to Kanthe. Sure he could rough a man up every so often, but could he take a life when duty asked him to? She had seen the look of horror in his eyes when she slit the target’s throat. This was all her fault. Ash could have easily caught him, but rage had entered her heart the moment she laid eyes on Del. She told herself if he tried anything she would kill him. It was strange though. Del knew that look in her eyes, he had to of known she would kill him. If so, then why did he make a break for it? Did he want her to kill him? Or was he just desperate enough to try it? Kanthe began to unroll the tarp away from any blood spill. She immediately noticed that her boots were leaving blood spots. That meant they would have to be burned along with Del. Pulling off her boots, she laid them in the center of the tarp. Ash entered and frowned, “Don’t tell me we have to get rid of our clothes too.” “If they have blood on them, we do.” He pulled off his boots, pants, and shirt. “What the hell are you doing?” Kanthe glared up at him in shock. “When I help you move the body onto the tarp, I don’t want to get blood on my clothes. This is my favorite outfit.” She looked at the pile of clothes behind him, “Seems to me you need a new favorite outfit anyway. Those pants have to be older then I am.” He frowned, “Shut the fuck up and help me move the body.” Kanthe pulled a hair tie out of her jean pocket and pulled back her platinum blonde hair. It was dyed, she had black hair, but didn’t think it matched with her blue eyes and tan skin. Ash watched her as she tied her hair back before he went to stand over Del’s head. “Enyeto said you knew this guy, that true?” He asked as he bent over to grab Del’s shoulders. Kanthe grabbed him by the ankles and they tossed him onto the tarp. “If Enyeto said it then it must be true.” She began to roll Del and her boots up like a burrito while Ash redressed himself. He had to wipe the blood off his feet with one of the towels he brought up. “Remember to put all the cleaning supplies away and to wipe your fingerprints off.” She pointed at the small alarm clock she had dropped on the couch, “I touched that so don’t forget to wipe it… just wipe everything for prints. You are capable of that aren’t you?” Ash was becoming annoyed, “Yeah, I got it.” “All the towels that you use, go with you in a plastic bag. Take it to the incinerator on Bell Street and ask for Mandy. He’ll take care of it. If anyone comes to the door then don’t answer it. Understand?” “What are you my mother? I got it.” Ash barked. Kanthe tied the tarp shut with a piece of rope that Ash had brought up. “Help me carry him down.” Aerial automobiles were all anyone used on Earth or the moon. It was especially important on the moon because of the lack of space. That meant the “highways” were stacked atop of each other. There were no more roads, instead hovering signs and lights. For the most part the inside of the sphere looked liked what the former city of New York had been. Except one could see the sphere’s metal casing far above them. There were places one could go to see out a window at Earth and the force field that surrounded the sphere. Spendler’s Moon was the formal name for it on Earth, but most inhabitants of the moon called it Ersatz. It had been created over eighty years ago to replace the original moon that had been destroyed. Kanthe still remembered her grandparent’s telling her the story of the Iatrian War. An alien race that only called themselves the Iatri arrived in two thousand and thirteen. Kanthe had seen pictures of them and she always thought they resembled grasshoppers. Their frames were eight to ten feet tall with green skin and flat faces. The Iatri never attempted to make contact with Earth’s population instead immediately went to work on enslaving mankind. Earth only put up token resistance that lasted for no more then a year. The alien technology was too much and Earth was easily overpowered. That was when the Iatri began to ravish the Earth of its resources including its people. Thousands of human beings were shipped out of the solar system. Where they were sent to remains a mystery to this day. After four years of slavery another army appeared. They called themselves the Nieku. They were not a specific race of alien instead a special task force assigned to stopping the Iatri. The battle in the skies above was both beautiful and terrifying. In the end, the Nieku were able to defeat the Iatri. However, in doing so the moon had been destroyed. The Nieku helped build a new moon with the help of Dustin Spendler, a human who became the leader of Earth. When the moon was complete, the Nieku left blueprints and other technology for Earth in case the Iatri ever returned. They had said that it was against the laws to make contact with a primitive planet, but the Iatri had been the ones to break the law. Earth was welcomed into the Universe and given maps to other solar systems with intelligent life. Kanthe had lived on the moon all her life and had never set foot on Earth. She had never seen an alien life form either, as it seemed they were leaving Earth alone to develop. The Nieku promised to return when Earth was ready to become part of the universe. The first steps were expanding technology and creating a unified government on the Earth and the moon. A unified government was easier said then done. The moon didn’t feel like it belonged to Earth’s government, and Earth felt the same. No one on the moon was a representative for them during senate meetings. They were mostly ignored until recently. Her boss, Enyeto, and several other crime lords were in charge. Ensuring certain political figures made it into office, as well as paying the police to look the other way. Laws on Earth were highly enforced and recently what passed for the law on the moon had started to breath down Enyeto’s neck. Earth had gotten word of his sway in the political field as well as his rather unlawful activities. They wanted it all put to an end, but it was not something Enyeto would do without a fight. Kanthe parked the car in the parking garage of the large building. Walking over to one of the guards in the booth, she smiled. “Could you tell Alfred Dreng that Kanthe is here to see him?” “Kanthe what?” The potbellied man in a black and dark blue jumpsuit asked her. “He’ll know who I am. I’ll be at my car.” She spun around and walked back towards her car. Leaning against the trunk, she looked out over the city through the glass walls. Cars flew past, but the soundproof glass kept the loud noise of the highways out. She flexed her sock covered toes against the metal ground. Her arms crossed she sighed and hoped this wouldn’t be another long wait. She hated when Alfred delayed her, but he felt it proved his power in the situation. Always good to sweat, he would say. “Hey, mouse.” Looking up from her feet, her eyes settled on the plump, balding man with white hair. She gave Alfred a nod as a greeting as well as one to the two large bodyguards behind him. “What a shame. Looks like a new model. Just get it?” Kanthe nodded, “Was a gift.” Alfred’s plump cheeks grinned, “Oh, I see. Well, don’t worry none. I’m sure he’ll buy you another.” She offered her car keys to him, “See ya.” “Not too soon, I hope.” Making her way down the parking garage, Kanthe placed her finger to her temple and thought of the name she wanted to call. “It’s Kanthe. I’m at Alfred’s, come pick me up.” She sighed, “The bottom floor.” To read the rest of this story, you must have a registered account on my forum and post 50 times. The posts must have at least three sentences each. http://www.rkphunt.com/forum If you have any trouble then let me know via email at rkphunt@yahoo.com. |