Shadows on the Wall: Intercepted Message

Where: An unidentified location in the Solar System
When: Just before BD came back from the Nouveau Terran sector.
The room should have been sinister. It should have had evil black
decor with dark red highlights, and dim lighting. Instead, it was an
ordinary office, well-lit, with old-fashioned filing cabinets and a
computer terminal. The only thing sinister about it was the smile on
the face of the young woman seated behind the expensive, hand-made wooden desk.
She read the report carefully, thoroughly. Her face was deceptively
mild, hiding a ruthless personality that would brook no interference
from anyone.
The nervous spy, at her nod of dismissal, fled thankfully from the
room. No-one who worked for her wanted to be in the same room as her
for any longer than neccessary.
The woman went over the report again, this time paying special
attention to a message that had been intercepted several months ago.
She was annoyed at its lateness, but not surprised; sometimes it was
a whole year before she received them. What she did with the contents
was illegal, after all.
The message had been transmitted by a ship about to depart on an
unspecified mission to a distant sector, and included a list of
people who had signed on to the crew within the past year. The woman
checked it through, name by name. She took her time; there was no need to rush.
She gave a soft sigh of satisfaction as she found what she was after.
So, her old friend had taken refuge on a ship that was by now
light-years away. Effective, but predictable. Of course, the first
instinct was always to run. But the shadows were on the wall now; she
knew where to look. The ship had to return at some point.
And, when it did, she would be waiting.
<to be continued...>
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