Page 79 - The Chronicles Ser2 (6-10)

state of Juaneras. He had been given orders by an anonymous patron, and handsomely paid
to boot, to see to it that she met with an “interesting conclusion”. He had slipped a sedative
into her drink and had placed a Caspar’s Viper on the bed. It too was currently sedated, but
its sedative would wear off sooner than the one he’d given Minora. Caspar’s Vipers were
easily angered and their venom caused its victims cellular structure to dissolve in minutes
while they were paralysed. The process was extremely painful from just one bite. The Viper
would then “drink” its victim. The process would take about twenty to thirty minutes. He
left the room and paid Caroline Jenkins to call the local Force precinct when she heard the
screams.

“She deserves this for what she did to those Boys last year. Keep my presence here out of it
and I’ll pay you more if you destroy the Vid footage” he said

“No need to, the systems been on the fritz for months, it’s always self-erasing the crystals.
The Techs can’t seem to track down the problem” she replied winking. The Boys that Jason
was referring to were Boys Cartel elite, members of the Hydra Consort. Minora had seen to
it that their leader had been beheaded in plain sight of the border patrols. Her presence
here in the city would spark a feud between the ruling families in the Cortez Syndicate, just
as his patron wanted and that also satisfied the revenge requirements of the Boys Cartel. He
left into the afternoon crowds headed for a meeting with the new head of the Hydras. In the
room the Viper slowly woke from its sleep and finding itself in strange surroundings quickly
became furious. Nearby a form started to move. It struck out in reaction. The form
screamed; this infuriated it further and it struck again and again. The form went limp and
whimpered for a moment them silently began to melt. At least it would have a decent meal
from its ordeal. Marco waited for his lieutenant to arrive; it was not like Jason to be this
late. He was in Maxims and as Jason arrived he signalled a waitress to fetch another Klipka.

“I take it you managed to satisfy the requirements” he said as Jason sat down.

“Easily; and you sir, did your meeting go as planned?”

“All is in place. Have two of the younger boys ready to escort me back from Force HQ. Glass
and his Goons will no doubt not stay long. Remember we’re in this for the long game” and
the two sipped their drinks.

Back at Force HQ; the Hive situation was showing signs of recovery. The Auto
disengage had operated and the server had taken over the functions of the Bio-logics. All
seemed to be going well. The Antibiotics had an effect and the regeneration processes were
now taking over. Regeneration should take about an hour; so Doc Harrigan had returned to
the Coroner’s office to complete work on Lucerne’s body. The toxin had still not been
identified. And there was something odd about the blood work. The detectives were going
over what they had when a commotion from Booking caught their attention. Mark Wiggins
came in with a puzzled look on his face.

“Mortimer Glass has just come in with Marco Lydissian in tow. He’s asking for you Lomax”
Mark said. The three detectives looked at each other and Lomax followed Wiggins back to
Booking.

“What can I do for you Mr Glass?” Lomax asked not knowing just what to expect.