My patrons are ravenous for more of The Hungry Stars, so who am I to deny them? This chapter brings us back to Rally, where the game is afoot. Charles is trying to be a good Compact citizen, but remains tormented by what happened (or could be happening) to Grace. Millirysa has been putting her – ahem – connections to good use, getting into CIS’s secure case files to learn some unsettling truths. Meanwhile, another Red Hand agent has gone missing, setting everything once again on a collision course.
Hope you enjoy this. Below is an excerpt from Millirysa’s discussion with her handler and other member of ‘the organization’, where she briefs them on what she’s uncovered so far. For the complete chapter, or more of The Last Angel, check out the links above!
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The Verrish nodded. “Kiel Point PD are officially taking lead on the missing woman’s case, but CIS is actually running the investigation, but they haven’t found anything. It’s the same with the other disappearances. They just drop off the face of the planet.” She bit her lower lip, meeting Mike’s eyes. “Have we been targeting them?”
“I’m not aware of any op like that,” Mike said. “But it’s a big planet. Someone else could be a little more active.” He made a face. The organization was supposed to stay as quiet as possible on Rally. They were to gather information, lean on pressure points, work their way into governmental and military echelons – all quietly. No assassinations, no overt strikes, no bombings. Quiet. That order was directly from Baltis, so it might as well have come from the All-Mother herself. If someone was disappearing collaborators and CIS agents, then they weren’t doing it with official sanction.
The organization could run rings around CST’s thugs and duck local police when they had to, but stirring up CIS was another matter. He looked at Millirysa. “What else?”
“One of the disappearances they’ve been looking into is Gillian Telmon.”
Telmon was one of their own. She’d been a middlewoman, making sure the right people in the organization connected with the right people outside of it to help move cargo, funds and people safely and securely. She’d gone missing nine months ago. CIS had been sniffing around and organization suspected the intelligence agency was responsible for Telmon’s disappearance, but hadn’t been able to prove it. “What do they know?” Radio asked, leaning farther forward, his expression intent. He didn’t look anything like a man out for a good time now.
“They suspected Telmon was part of the organization and were gathering evidence before they moved. They thought they could turn her, but she vanished before they could get to her. They never found any trace of her, just like with Peters and his mistress. Their working theory is that we either got her off-world like Proctor or made sure she’d stay vanished.”
Mike glanced at Radio. The heavier man cupped his chin, frowning. He looked up at the Millirysa’s handler. “Tell her,” Mike urged. “She’s reliable.”
Millrysa tilted her head, blinking as her head-tails rippled. “Tell me about what?”
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