“So, basically, I'm window dressing.” Besh.

They made the trip in silence. With the dark night pressing in, the skid seemed like a tiny bubble with an interior bathed in the pseudo-reality of console lights. Beyond the skid windows, the black was absolute as Ume flew through the dark countryside. She kept the craft close to the ground, her focus wholly on the instrument readings. Besh closed his eyes rather than look into the night. It was a black made for nightmares.

Besh felt the skid slow, and opened his eyes; up ahead, a small light blinked twice. Ume came to the light, slowing, and Besh could make out a dark figure waving her in to the right. She turned and followed a small drive pressed between towering pine trees. Besh could see them reflect console light, giving a dim impression. As the skid circled to land, the pirini gave Besh a warning. Five men stood by a dark craft. A slow red glow told Besh that one of them smoked. Beyond the dark front lawn, Besh could feel the big house with no lights.

Ume cut the engine and turned to Besh. “We're here to pick up five of the Irish Boys,” said Ume. “I see they're here, but we have to wait for Adrian.”

Besh answered softly, “I'm good.”

“I know you are,” Ume replied. “I strive to be transparent in all my dealings. Tory says I have the bad habit of running explanations. If I say too much, just stop me.”

“When will Adrian arrive?” asked Besh.

“Don't know,” answered Ume. “He's not famous for his punctuality.”

Besh preferred talking to the silence of waiting in the dark. “Tell me about the men,” said Besh.

Ume took a moment before she answered. “Hired guns,” she said. “They have their own agenda, and I'm sure Adrian will ask something beyond our payment. We've done business before.”

“Are we expecting a fight?” asked Besh.

Ume said, “I may be wrong, but I prefer to err on the side of caution.”

Besh turned and saw the soft glow tossed through the air. A light appeared in the moonless sky briefly illuminating the five men below an incoming craft. The craft landed, pale light showing through the windows. Parting clouds added temporary illumination to the scene. Ume opened her side of the skid and stood; Besh opened his door and followed as Ume walked to the new craft.

Following on Ume's heels, Besh saw the five men standing by a dark skid. They wore tactical armor and busied themselves with a last-minute weapons check. Besh saw face paint rather than helmets. Adrian's skid, black against the night, opened, spilling sudden light onto a manicured lawn. Adrian smiled at Ume from the pilot seat. He was tall and well-groomed, wearing a dark blue tux. He turned in his seat but did not exit.

Ume said happily, “You're early. For once.”

“Right,” said Adrian in a clipped tenor voice. “These are good men. Don't get them killed. Just tell Tall Timmy what you need. Leave the rest to him. See me when you're done; I got a job for you. So, I have a thing going.” He reached up for the door with a parting smile.

Ume pulled Besh away from the lifting skid. She walked to the gathered men and called softly, “Tall Timmy.”

A tall man leaning at the back of the craft raised his hand.

Ume turned and walked to her skid, calling back, “Follow me to the target. You'll breach ahead of us.”

Ume eased along the dirt trail and turned right at the end of it. Besh was once more faced with a black exterior. Returning clouds obscured the stars. He closed his eyes and took slow measured breaths. It was quiet, and his inner calm buoyed him. Then, Ume spoke softly. “There are night eyes under the seat.”

Eyes still closed, Besh replied, “I won't need them.”

Ume said, “It'll be dark.”

Besh turned his face to the window, sensing the trees, all but seeing them through the pirini. He answered, “I can see in the dark.”

Ume said, “If that's true, what am I doing?”

Besh answered, with a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. He said, “You're crossing the fingers of your left hand behind your leg.”

“Good,” said Ume. “Is that the pirini?”

“Um,” said Besh, feeling comfortable. He said no more.

Ume said, “We should be there in ten. It's a three-story manor. The Judge is away. My intel has the safe on the second floor. I'll have the Irish Boys cover the first floor while we go upstairs. Can your pirini open a safe?”

“Never tried,” answered Besh.

“I can,” said Ume. “I just need you to cover me.”

“You seem confident,” said Besh.

Ume laughed. It was a sweet sound, and Besh opened his eyes, turning to look at her. Ume quickly met his eyes, then turned back to her console. “My confidence,” said she, “is in my people. Barring the unforeseen, they will give us what we need to do the job. In and out.”

Dark trees flew by unseen but felt. Besh sensed the woman who sat beside him, warm with a scent of lavender. Her right hand moved to the console, then back to the guidance bars. He could feel her chest rising and falling, he could hear the soft exhalations and felt her body heat as they sat close in the small skid.

Ume asked, “Are you asleep or merely calm?”

“Calm,” answered Besh. Then, he asked, “Have you considered the unforeseen?”

“There may be security,” she answered. “My intel may be dated. The Rados may show up. Mack ran the possibilities by me. The Irish Boys can handle an unexpected security presence, my Shades will have taken care of the guards and alarms, if the Rados approach, we'll deal with them.”

Besh asked, “And your intel?”

“If they've moved the safe,” said Ume, “our instruments will find it.”

“So, basically,” said Besh, “I'm window dressing.”

Laughing sweetly, Ume said, “You saved me at the docks. If I get myself in trouble, I hope you will save me again.”

Besh stretched and yawned. He asked, “So, Safe Cracker is on your resume?”

“Actually,” said Ume, “I'll be using a stolen Gerard metal bore.”

The final leg of their journey flashed by in silence. There was a light ahead, small, dim, and intermittent. A voice came through the ear ticks, it was the voice of Tory. He said, “Good to see you, boss. Raine is your twelve. Your corridor is clear.”

The light ahead signaled a right turn; Ume slowed and switched on soft lateral lights. She made the turn, following a gated corridor. The night was black; Besh pushed his senses forward, gaining a dim impression of guard towers and barricades.

Tory's voice came back. “Tor and Plume will side rail at the final gate.”

Ume slowed at an open gate; two bodies landed against the skid with hands on top rails and feet on runner boards. They flew through the final barricade and circled an elaborate fountain at the center of a sweeping drive. The Irish Boys flew past, landing at the manor entrance. Plume and Tor leaped from the settling skid and ran to the large manor doors. As Ume landed between the manor and the fountain, Besh could make out the Shades opening the double doors; he could see the Irish Boys exiting their craft. With a touch of adrenaline, everything became crystal clear.

Ume spoke through her comm, “Irish Boys, breach.”

Ume was out and running; Besh was right behind. The Irish Boys swept the main floor and disappeared without a sound through the dark interior. Ume bounded up the bifurcated staircase heading for the second story. Besh was ill at ease; the manor did not feel empty.

Following Ume into a dark room, Besh pressed his senses in all directions. Large north-facing windows had their drapes drawn. A canopied bed commanded a room filled with antique furnishings, and one closet door sat surrounded by overlarge paintings. With the windows locked, there was one way in and one way out. Ume struggled with a heavy chest of drawers.

She whispered urgently into her comm. “Help me.”

Besh moved Ume aside and lifted the piece of furniture, setting it away from the wall. Ume squeezed past him and knelt before a wall safe, placing her stolen bore near the handle.

Besh whispered a question. “Will this take long?”

“In and out,” answered Ume.

The pirini was active, making Besh itch with somber anticipation. He pulled his gun, a newer model pulser, and walked to the door. He strained his hearing against the silent manor; Besh was certain enough that intruders other Ume's team occupied the manor that he whispered in his comm, “We have company.”

Ume whispered back, “Almost done.”

Suddenly, gunfire erupted from the blackness below. Besh stepped into the upper hall, pulser ready. He looked quickly above and below the staircase, getting the impression of dark figures creeping up the stairs. Aiming generally at the ankles, Besh fired, then fired again. Tracer fire was returned and Besh dodged back into the room. His first guess was that they faced Elite Commandos. If that was the case, the Consortium had made their move. A stun zit was sure to follow.

Rising from the safe, Ume said with deserved elation, “Done.”

Besh pressed her against the wall, pulled her night eyes down, and said in her ear, “Close your eyes.”

The zit detonated. Besh immediately engaged the enemy. Tracers struck the wall as three dark-clad men entered the room. His pirini took him in a somersault between the tracers, and Besh landed with a solid impact against the foremost soldier. The Arm Blade worked its deadly magic, finding weak spots in the armor. Besh spun across the floor on a bent knee and kicked the next soldier from his feet. He placed his pulser against the ENV rotatory and fired. As he rose to his feet, the third man had Ume from behind. Her hood was down, her mask was down, and the soldier had a knife to her throat.

Besh wasted no time. He shot the weak point where the ENV lines connected upper to lower arm at the elbow. The soldier fell back, Ume dropped and rolled, protecting the stela. Besh took advantage of the soldier's disorientation, stepping around Ume to slam the soldier's head into the chest of drawers. Before the soldier could strike back, Besh put his Arm Blade through the ENV rotary and ended the matter.

Sporadic gunfire continued below as Besh pulled Ume by the hand. They raced down the staircase, and voices burst through the ear ticks. Tory shouted, “Tor, Plume, on me. Let's help the Irish Boys. Besh, get Ume to safety. Shades, we've been compromised. Exit plan beta.”

Outside the manor, Besh shouted at Ume as they ran for the skid. “I'll fly,” he said.

Besh threw himself behind the guidance bars, and Ume, clumsy with the stela in her arms, fell into the seat beside him. Doors down, Besh took the small craft up and over the trees. He had a sense of the turns Ume made going out, and his intent was to cut across in a straight course back, but when he checked the console, he could see that a ship followed.

“We're being followed,” said Besh.

Ume leaned over to peer at the console and said, “Not one of ours.”

Besh took the skid down in a hard dive to follow the dark road. He asked, “You got any weapons on board?”

“No,” she said.

“Hang on,” said Besh.

Making a sudden three-sixty, Besh flew at the incoming craft. He increased the speed and flew up from the road. Ume closed her eyes and held her breath. Besh met the craft head-on and clipped the rear left foil. The enemy ship flipped mid-air and lost control. Ume opened her eyes as Besh slowed and turned. On the road below, Ume saw the orange explosion that followed a crash and turned to Besh.

Besh answered the unasked question. “I was a pilot.”

Ume replied, “Take us home, pilot Besh.”

Ume asked for a circuitous route, giving time for her crew to return. As they returned, they would give a simple code word for verification. One would say Apple. Another would say Grape. When the word, Kiwi, came through the ear ticks, Ume would know they were all safe.

It was still dark when Besh landed in the warehouse alley. Plume took the skid from them and left. Tor hurried them through the alley entrance and locked it after them. Besh followed Ume, inhaling her lavender and excitement.

“We did it,” said Ume. “I'm so happy I could dance. Do you dance, Besh?”

Besh laughed. He answered, “Yeah. With all three feet.”

They followed dark halls; sounds could be heard around corners. Lights came on ahead, and Besh found himself in the control room. Mack was running her console but turned with a happy smile for her boss. Ume walked to her chair and sat with wide eyes, resting the artifact in her lap. Noise preceded the return of the Shades; they crowded the control room with good cheer. Marq was among them and gave Besh an excited smile.

Ume called her Shades. “Gather around,” she said. “See the prize.”

Standing behind Ume's chair, Besh watched her unwrap the stela. It was a small conical stone with engraved runes. The Shades oohed and aahed, but Besh was not impressed.

The soft hum of Core Command entered the General's office as a smartly dressed Corporal knocked, walked in, and closed the door behind himself. Bruce looked up from his thoughts as the young man approached with a mobile work monitor.

“Yes, Corporal,” said Bruce.

Bruce noticed the young Corporal had red hair, and stood from his desk. The Corporal opened his work monitor and tapped it on. “Sorry to disturb you, General, but I was told you would want to see this.” He turned the monitor and placed it in the General's hands.

The screen was dark, but a grainy face was visible. “What am I looking at?” asked Bruce.

“Our team failed,” answered the Corporal. “Someone was already there, and they got the stela. One bodycam sent this image before lights out. Our best intel places her as the leader of the Shades, Ume Seht.”

“I recognize her,” said Bruce. “Anything else?” He closed the monitor and handed it back to the young Corporal.

“According to one of the survivors,” said the Corporal, “three of our men were taken out by a single individual. We have no information on that individual.”

Bruce nodded to himself. “I may have an idea,” he said. “Do we have a track on Ume Seht?”

“No sir,” said the Corporal. “Intel suggests Symalton, her hometown.”

Bruce returned to his seat and looked into the Corporal's eyes. “I want an increased presence in Symalton. I can't tell you how important that artifact is. We must have it at all cost. Do I make myself clear, Corporal?”

The Corporal immediately snapped to attention. “Yes sir,” said the Corporal.

Bruce turned in his chair, and said, “Route all developments to my office, ASAP. Dismissed, Corporal.”