Rebirth by Philip R Benge
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"Johor, somehow the authorities have traced us to the Constellation, I don`t think they actually know who their spies are yet, but Mr Paul Divine has decided that maybe we are not who we pretend to be, but in truth we could be the spies for whom he searches." Mariah Rigor said to her husband.
"Yes my darling, because if he had any proof he would have arrested us already, for the moment he only suspects that we are not who we say we are. We will have to eliminate the two agents very soon, Mariah. It is lucky that I decided to log into the ships computer yesterday and found out that there was another traveller from Pendleton, and that we were able to dispose of her so easily.
It had been earlier that morning when they had committed the sort of foul deed that made them so useful to the Emperor of Aldebra. Mariah had been taking her turn to keep watch on the Peterson, when she had seen movement at the Peterson cubicle.
"Wake up Johor." She had urged insistently but ever so quietly.
"My name is Greg, my darling, Greg, do try and remember to only call me by that name." Johor said angrily but very quietly.
"No one is nearby, Greg, and I only whispered it." Mariah argued.
"I know my darling, but it is better to be safe." Johor said; his anger now subsided for he could never be angry with his wife for more than a moment.
"I would simply say it is my pet name for you. Now stop nagging at me and look over at the Petersons." Mariah snapped.
Mrs Peterson had just left her cubicle and with a towel and a wash bag, she was clearly heading for the showers.
"Now is the time to eliminate our little problem." Mariah said gleefully.
"Yes Mary, but do it as we have planned, so that no one will suspect anything, please don`t elaborate on it." Johor ordered.
"Don`t worry Greg, I will forgo my little pleasures for once, and finish the task as you planned so cleverly." Mariah replied testily.
Mariah Rigor had followed Mrs Peterson into the showers and then into the female area, while Johor went into the showers for the men and anxiously threw glances towards the exit in case something happened that needed his attention, to have hung around outside the women`s shower area would have drawn unwelcome attention to his presence.
Mrs Peterson entered a recently vacated cubicle and started her ablutions; Mariah waited until the cubicle next to Mrs Peterson became vacant and then entered this one, turning on the shower to cover her task. Mariah took from her wash bag a small glass phial and what appeared to be a mosquito, she dipped its stinger into the glass phial which was filled with a clear liquid, then she carefully put the mosquito into a very small air pistol made of plastic, and which could be assembled quickly and easily when required. Kneeling down so that she could see Mrs Petersons` legs on the other side of the shower partition, Mariah Rigor fired the pistol. On the other side of the partition, Mrs Peterson swore when she felt the 'Mosquito' bite her, and washed her legs with a jet of water from the shower hose. "Take that sucker." Mrs Peterson said with relish as she saw the small Mosquito washed away down through the waste hole, but unknown to Mrs Peterson she was already dying. Mrs Peterson was not thinking about death, she was thinking of all the mosquitoes that would be awaiting her on Persephone, luckily she had brought along a good supply of repellent to deal with them. On the other side of the partition Mariah got down to her ablutions, in three hours Mrs Peterson would be dead from her 'Mosquito bite' and the poison would be untraceable, except for in a modern forensic laboratory that knew exactly what it was looking for.