Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: Listening Ears

18 Summer, 1926

Kastin Hassan found her by practically tripping over her.

Lyta had been planning to go to the cafeteria after her conversation with Doc Chambers, to get an early breakfast and watch the sunrise from the oasis tower’s bay windows. That plan had broken down somewhere near the bottom of the staircase, and she’d sat with her head pressed up against the wall for the better part of an hour, her body hunched and her arms around her knees.

“Hey, watch where you’re—” Karin cut herself off mid-sentence as she saw what, or more precisely whom, she’d stumbled over. “Lyta,” she said softly.

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Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: Who Cons the Con Men?

18 Summer, 1926

Lyta glared at the ceiling. Her head throbbed against the pillow, and the minimal light coming in through the windows hurt her eyes. But no matter how hard she tried to sleep, to shut out the world and everybody in it at least for a few hours, her mind refused to settle, and the ceiling taunted her by its continued presence.

She wanted to punch something. The ceiling seemed to be a canvas for the faces of everyone who’d wronged her recently: Kinross and Geddy and Jimmy and Virgil and all the rest of them. The adrenaline and the anger kept her awake, and her fists clenched and unclenched against the bedsheets. She almost welcomed the anger. If she was angry, she could forget that she was terrified.

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Wordslingin'

This week's session answered that age-old question: "Precisely how long does it take for a smooth job to turn sour?" And its ancillary, "How bad can it really yet?" Yeah... it was one of those sessions.

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Wordslingin'

Remember Jimmy Croyden, the guy whose last job nearly got us killed multiple times? Well, it looks like we're working for him again. Just one more job. We can quit any time we want, honest.

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Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: Ignorance Ain't Bliss

“With all due respect, I don’t much like that they know I’m associated with you. What if they get it in their heads to use that information as leverage with the Doc?” Bill was shaking his head, his phone pressed hard to his ear. Just beyond his soundproof door, the Nexus was full of analysts trying to follow up leads and piece together what had happened and why.

“Would he believe them? It doesn’t matter. Lukas wouldn’t do anything so foolish. Besides, you’re now their handler. Bill. I can’t continue managing them; they’ve become too involved. Better you collate their data and send me what’s pertinent.” Renault’s voice was calm, as usual.

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Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: Detained, Redux

16 Summer, 1926

It was one of the more memorable outfits Lyta had ever worn: cherry-red dress with a high hem and low neckline, ruby jewelry to match, and three-inch heels. Some of the strands had, admittedly, come undone from the fancy pile of curls atop her head, and her makeup was smudged with sweat and dirt. But the zip-ties were the accessory that brought the whole getup together, Lyta thought. They matched the décor better than her dress did, anyway.

The small room – not quite a cell, not quite a meeting room – had a narrow window overlooking Khayr ad-Din, but it was too dark to see much beyond the glinting lights of oasis towers. The bulbs in the ceiling maintained a moderate light, accompanied by a low hum that was almost soothing. The door in front of her had no windows, but it did have a sophisticated lock.

Lyta let her head fall to her chest. Bill Pearce had ordered them all taken into custody, placed into separate rooms, and left alone. Clearly, he had bigger things to deal with, like the explosion in Hotel Bravo’s south loading bay, like the virus that had potentially wormed its way into the Doc’s nexus, like the madman on the loose with enough explosives to blow up an oasis tower. Compared to that, the Lassander siblings were an afterthought, and Lyta imagined she’d be spending most of the night sitting with her hands zip-tied and her head aching until someone remembered about them. Or, more likely, until someone talked to Lukas and decided what the hell to do with them. Again.

She woke to the sound of the lock clicking. She kept her head low against her chest, kept her eyes closed, kept her breathing steady and even, but her leg-muscles tensed and she pressed her hands against the edge of the chair. Geddy was still out there. Geddy had been here, tonight, and she wasn’t going to let him get a second shot.

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Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI : Chance

“Is it done?”

Geddy smiled through the trideo projection, an expression which provoked some disgust in Kinross as Geddy’s face contorted, pulling at the fresh scars on his neck.

“It’s done all right, rightly done, they be done all right.”

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Wordslingin'

Spin and spin and spin again! So many plot twists and red herrings in last night's session it's a wonder we have any idea what's going on at all. Or maybe we don't. Maybe it's just better that way.

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