No Higher Power

Chapter 1 Blood Money

Jalh Afzel Horker knelt with one knee against the platform and one foot station near it. He held the cool silver shaded steel in his hands as he looked down the scope with his right eye. He had a cold pale blue color in his careless eyes, and on his left, a scar running nearly down to his jaw. He breathed in deeply smelling the fresh air with his crooked nose. He may not have looked it, but he was a ripe age of fifty-two years of age. Jalh had always kept his hair short or too short as some would say only small greying black stumbles on his head. He grew a rugged facial hair with a silver tint to his chin, with his five-O'clock shadow. The whiskers on his face were ruff like a sand paper, and his mind was focused on one thing, the beautiful blonde woman down the scope.

Jalh watched as the red crosshairs fell down aiming right above the green eyed woman's, forehead. She fixed her glasses as she continued to speak. She was a small company owner moving up in the world, Jessica Jinx. She was a gorgeous lady, married with five kids. Jalh knew the target, and he knew it wasn't about the money, and it wasn't even personal. Jalh tugged at the trigger until it fell back and the small bullet hit her in the head. He saw the crowd rushing in chaos as there screeches entered his ears. He had an explosive round, and while led guns were going extinct he needed something that wouldn't give away his positions immediately.

He quickly dismantled the gun, as the sun's rays hit his head. He wasn't one for stealth and usually preferred a head on collision, but this was an illegal target, and he couldn't risk getting Blake involved with the Empire. He cracked his neck as he slung the equipment in his bag around his shoulder and started down the tall building. He knew Earth was the Heart of the Empire, and was where few where lucky to be born. Such a lucky woman was Jessica Jinx, but apparently her luck had just run out, if luck is even real. Jalh knew better, luck wasn't a reality, there was probability, and skill, skill always over ruling any chance set before a man. Men were destined to their own will, there was no higher power, men were left to their own will, and Jalh believed ever word. He glanced back as he exited the skyscraper, now and days that's all Earth ever had.

A ring started up on his com, and Jalh quickly muted it, as the face of Apollus Agung Lkor showed in front of him. He knew the man from his ex-military days after the death of his son, the only thing striking him about this man was he had the same color eyes as his son and was around the same age, as his son would be now. Apollus had taken the second hand position in the military affairs two years ago, and had been trying to reach Jalh quarterly. Once more the veteran ignored the call, walking in the streets with the gun in his bag. He watched as a police flew by in the air, with a hover bike, or more commonly called a HB-8337.

Jalh knew why the police were there, and he didn't care, if things got violent, he knew he could take them on. It was time for their next contract and this time he would take his team. He was running on a demanding schedule, but little did that matter, he would just kill who ever offer the contract if they had a problem with him. In the black market, his rumor was that he killed even his employer but Jalh knew that really only happened three times, and that was because they had aggravated him, or asked too many questions, which where both warned to them beforehand.

The tank like figure looked up at a sky scraper, with a smaller beside it. The heavy boot slammed against the concrete sidewalk as Jalh followed the building he had just found; it was his, after all. He walked towards the entrance, where he placed his hand against a scanner panel for the door to open. It was easy to lock, one simple had to turn off the scanner at night, and even a common crook with simple skills couldn't get in. He smirked as he entered the empty skyscraper, he had five in all, five members to his team. They were most likely at the top floor and not the base floor. Under foot was their garage, where they held a space ship with the name Dragon. The Dragon was bought with Jalh's money, and was for the use of his team. He had employed some of these men, and all had come to know him as their boss. They gave him undying loyalty and for good reason, he was the strongest man alive, and he even had the brain of a master mind. Jalh had taken these men and they had become mutual friends.