"Get up, its late" was the command of the grating voice across the room. A soldier stood in disappointment awaiting Aqa to get out of bed. In each way the soldier contrasted the spymaster laying in the bed. His jumpsuit was black and had a faint shine to it as opposed to the soldier's tan matte jumpsuit with a harness for carrying ammunition pouches. The soldier's accentuated jawline and the blotches on her face contrasted his smooth and gentle skin. Her short wavy red hair contrasted his long straight black hair.
Upon no reaction, the soldier walked up to Aqa and gave him a solid thump in the shoulder with her fist. The reaction came after a breathy grunt of pain. "Ouch, what was that for Verya?".
"Sir, we don't have time for this, its almost midday and we have a new crisis" she responded with a sense of worry. Slowly, the spymaster rose up and grabbed his shoulder holsters, putting them on while looking around at the messy room. It had been a long night of interrogation and fighting yesterday. He remembered how Verya and him personally burst into the union barricades and gunned them down.
"You'd think we'd be doing a lot more desk work than gunfights at our rank don't you Verya? And what's with this 'sir' talk - we're alone" said Aqa, clearly not having took in what she told him. He spoke with a higher pitch and more feminine timbre than someone might expect.
She helped him with his cloak. It was two sided, one black and one tan, allowing it to be flipped inside-out based on the terrain. She put it on him with the tan side out while speaking to him "I don't have time for your musings Aqa. There was an attack on the capital and we are several hours too late. The planad has sent out a call for his spymaster - he's expecting you". Aqa's face grew shocked at the new information.
The two of them made their way out of the house, into the industrial mining town of Fiase, in which the previous night, they had commanded the raid and arrest of over five hundred members of the local union. Unions and syndicates were illegal on Azonis, and workers' movements were crushed for fear of spreading into uprisings. Neither Aqa nor Verya enjoyed this part of their work. Verya justified it to herself on the way to the car, thinking 'if we didn't ensure unity and order, then we might be too divided to face foreign invasion from theKYN'. Aqa's mind had other thoughts. He had already started rounding up suspects in his head from the very limited knowledge he gathered of the events at the capital earlier this morning.
They had arrived to their car, an armored vehicle with six wheels and a mounted machine gun at the front. Normally used for transporting squads of soldiers but this model was designed as the spymaster's personal transport, and so the transport compartment was changed out for only four seats but they were more spacious and comfortable. Still nothing compared to a civilian model but it made life bearable. Their chauffeur started as soon as they were in, and with a quick exchange of words, knew exactly where he was heading.
"Verya can't you take the meeting for me? Isn't that why you're my right hand?" asked Aqa after a long sigh.
"No. It was specifically you they asked for, and you know women aren't allowed on the privy council" scowled Verya.
"So much potential talent wasted" replied Aqa. Neither of them thought the planad a smarter man for his misogyny.
Verya observed Aqa. She noticed in her time with him that he had a specific set of behaviours when he was thinking. He leaned forward in his chair, hunched over, with his hands held together and his pointer fingers extended in contact. He arched his head forward pressing his chin into the pointer fingers. As the car rode over bumpy terrain, Aqa's chin would slip off his fingers and he'd be made again aware of his surroundings. "What is it you're thinking boss?" asked Verya, eagerly awaiting to peel back the veil into Aqa's mind.
"I can rule out the general" he stated matter-of-factly, almost disappointed. "If there was a general military coup, fighting would not be over by now. We can also probably rule out the navy, the general would have said something by now" he continued, alluding to the armed forces' rivalry. "The business council chairman is very appreciative of the planad's directives, they wouldn't need to replace him". The spymaster paused and laid back on the chair, turning to Verya , as if waiting for her to finish his thoughts.
Verya was caught off guard by this and stammered a little before starting "ehm, going down the privy council... well it obviously wasn't us" she gave him a small smile "we have the colonial administrators. They have no leverage but could potentially organise such to siphon wealth and hire mercenaries or bribe a major. This would be unlike their methods of protest but not impossible. Could it also be someone around the planad's palace, such as a faction backing his advisor over him? That old man is sharp with his mind, but our spies have reported no such currents in the administration". Her sigh demarcated the end of her thoughts. She looked at Aqa awaiting his opinion. Aqa knew she wanted more than neutral feedback, she hoped to impress him.
"Good observations, what about the non-council factions? There is more at play than just the council" said the spymaster, turning his head to watch the rolling grasslands they were in.
She hated this. Like she was in school again, being graded on her every answer. Still, she liked to impress, and, stammering again, proceeded with "Well, the unionists, we are doing a good job to crush their dissent and illegal activities, they don't have the organisation to do something like this". She paused to think. There really wasn't much else she could seriously think of. She hazarded a guess "perhaps the KYN-" stopping herself " but there's no way, they have no influence here. Do you think there's any secret loyalists sir?"
Aqa's face brightened with a soft smile as he swiveled back towards Verya. "Very good, I came to similar conclusions too. It is also interesting you bring up the KYN. There is no reason to suspect any of the old puppet government survived here. Do you know anything we don't Verya?" his face becoming serious.
She quickly became worried, replying quickly "No I was just thinking because of the recently spotted ship heading towards us"
Aqa broke his seriousness again into a chuckle and flashed her a wink "I'm just messing with you Verya. I have the highest respect for you and I know your dedication to the administration is second to none".
Their conversation was broken by the chauffeur, who opened a slit between the driver and passenger compartment and shouted back "There's an reconnaissance element up ahead, heading down south" Urgency in his voice activated a shared consciousness between the three of them, something gained from long nights of military training and field exercises. They both snapped out of their playful mood.
Verya ordered "Break contact, drive behind rocks" while Aqa opened the commander hatch and stuck his head up, using his binoculars. The column of armoured vehicles, with turrets swiveling on them, leaving a dust trail down the service road, filled him with a sense of fear. It was all the more amplified when he remembered the conflict that had occurred this morning, something that, he knew, wasn't finished for good.
His binoculars showed him the insignia of the palace guard on each armoured car. A loud flutter announced the presence of a helicopter in the distance, probably already ahead of the car column. They were heading due South, away from the capital. Aqa deducted that they were in no danger. This was the General's personal guard regiment, stationed to protect the capital from unrest. 'They're likely chasing towards combatants. But where is their supporting infantry ? Likely the combatants have suffered heavy losses and a small contingent was enough to harass themdown. Or possibly worse, the general is overextending' He thought to himself. "Let's keep going" he told his crew.
About an hour passed with the spymaster's car continuing towards Azonis Central. The greenery came into scenery around the urban center. The unique design of the road system, gave a highway directly into the administrative area, where the palace lay. "Verya, you go to the palace and delay them. I need to visit the office first"
The chauffeur dropped Aqa off at the Bureau of Intelligence, his own headquarters, before driving towards the palace with Verya. His right hand thought to herself 'Why am I always sent in as the vanguard?'