Short Story: A Snake in a Den of Vipers

[R.P.Curator]

As Senora Munez finishes the last communication to Bartholomew Kelsomagus, she finishes her rum and raises with a dangerous look in her eyes.
Munez: Miguel! Diego! In a harsh authoritarian voice!
Miguel: Si Senora! Que pasa? as he opens the door to her office.
Diego: Senora?
Munez: Cancel all my other meetings for today! We have a snake to catch! with venom in her voice and something akin to a smile on her lips.
Miguel: Si Senora! But, what happened?
Munez: The OSI delegation is en la Clinica di Nueva Barcelona. You remember, the ones who brought that irradiated piss the Rheinlander peddle as bier. Seems they all got a little too much tan. Get me Ramon, Crystal, Jorge and Esme. They will take turns guarding Kelsomagus and his staff. As she opens the drawer to her desk and checks that the pistol is loaded.
Miguel: Si Senora.
Munez: Diego, go to Epirus. First talk to Kurohane, we need 1500 Nanotubes and 1500 Nanocapacitors alone with some Sake and Firepearls for Senor Javier. Tell him its muy urgente if they still want cheap artifacts. I want that shipment from Kusari by the end of the next cycle here.
Diego: Si Senora.
Munez: Then I want you to talk to De la Mancha to get a maintenance team to do a thorough investigation of the OSI ship, tell him to search for sabotage, internal and external. And to give you the manifest of the crew and the video recordings of the OSI ship since it landed. I want to see if they had any stragglers. Take some men with you, just in case. Andale!!
Diego nods, turns and leaves while taking out his mobile communicator and barking orders.
While this conversation was happening, Miguel was outside the door talking on his mobile communicator.
Miguel: Senora, they are on their way to the transport. Fully equipped.
Munez: Good. Vamos a la Clinica. She tucks her gun in the holster, grabs her coat and storms out the door.

Clinica di Nueva Barcelona
Nurse: Buenas Dias! How can I help you? with a smile on her tired face.
Munez: My name is Carmen Munez. I am here on business por El Imperio! with a soft voice that was still filled with authority, as she pulls out her credentials and badge of office and shows it to the nurse.
Nurse: How can I help you? without missing a heartbeat on her tired face.
Munez: You have an OSI delegation here. Radiation poisoning. Where are they?
Nurse:*while checking the registry* Si. Senor Kelsomagus and his staff. They are in Wing 5, underground floor, salons 1 through 4. Shall I call someone to escort you there?
Munez: That would be required. Gracias.
Nurse: There is however a limit of guests, Senora. Your party is quite large.
Munez: They are here for security reasons.
Nurse: Oh, I see. raising her eyes and scanning the 5 other people around Munez. Her tired look became worried. She opens the intracommunicator and asks por la Terapia Intensiva.
Nurse: Hola Julia. I've got here un delegaccion por senor Kelsomagus. Come pick them up She hangs up.
Nurse: She will be here in a couple of minutes.

Terapia Intensiva
T.I. Nurse: This is Senor Carlos Remanos. Senor Doctor, this is... she is abruptly cutoff by Munez who extends her hand to shake the doctors hand.
Munez: Carmen Munez, L'Ambasadora del Imperio. in an authoritarian voice as she pulls her credentials and badge of office. The doctors and nurses eyes widen and something akin to worry can be seen. The doctor shakes her hand, a bit stunned.
Remanos: It is a pleasure.
Munez: Where is senor Kelsomagus staying?
Remanos: He is in room 1, our best room, sleeping. The medication has started working. Before he can add anything else Munez cuts him:
Munez: Is he alone in the room?
Remanos: No, he is with his assistant, if I understand correctly.
Munez: Is she as badly poisoned as him?
Remanos: A bit worse, I'm afraid. Her small constitution did not help her.
Munez: Good, that eliminates her and makes our job easier. Senor Remanos, these are Ramon, Crystal, Jorge and Esme. They are here to ensure the security of Senor Kelsomagus. You are to bring them the file along with visuals of all the personnel that cares for Senor Kelsomagus. Nobody enters or leaves without them allowing it. Claro? with steel in her voice and a cutting edge in her eyes.
Remanos: Senora, I must protest to this. This is against protocol. We need free access to the patients at all times. What if their state gets worse.
Munez: That was not a request Senor! If their state gets worse, so will yours! looking him straight in the eyes and pointing an augmented finger at him. Miguel slowly appearing from behind her with a menacing glance.
Remanos: Understood. *gulp* the fear was visible in his eyes.
Munez: Senor Kelsomagus is an important ally and partner of El Imperio. His good health and security are in your hands Senor Remanos. Do not fail El Imperio! Ah, so is his assistant. that last part with a dismissive tone.
The doctor had nothing to reply. His world and life got interesting in a peculiar and very dangerous way.
Munez: Good. Glad we sorted that out. Tell me about the rest of the crew. Where are they and in what condition?
Remanos: *composing himself* The pilot and navigator are in the secundo salon. They are in the same condition as Senor Kelsomagus. Stable, but they will take time to recover. The chief engineer and technical master are in salon numero tres. And in salon cuatro its the cargo operators.
Munez: Can I visit them? while gesturing to her men to secure the room to salon uno.
Remanos: I do not recommend it Senora. They are most likely sleeping, its been una hora since they took their medication and it kicked in by now.
Munez: Lets take a look.
Munez starts pacing towards the door to salon uno, stops and takes a look through the glass. In the salon, Kelsomagus and his assistant were sleeping, isolated in their protective bubbles. She turns:
Munez: Esme, when Kelsomagus wakes up, contact me. I want to talk to him.
Esme: Si.
Munez reaches for her communicator, lifts it, answers while pacing away down the corridor. She nods her head several times and then closes it and holsters it. As she turns, she glances through the glass of salon numero 4. A man was standing; coming slowly towards the door. He has not noticed her. Her brows frown, her augmented hand going for the gun and her left hand signaling her retinue. In a hushed voice:
Munez: Miguel, we found our snake.
Miguel moves past the doctor, taking out a stun baton from his coat. Munez took a step back to hide out of sight, with her back to the wall and gun in hand. As the door starts to open, Miguel grabs it and pulls it towards him, taking the man on the other side with it. Stunned, the man looks up at hairy mountain that sticks something in his belly. An electric noise can be heard for nearly a second, the smell of burnt hair fills the air and the man in the salon starts crumpling on the floor. Before he can reach it, a heavy meaty hand grabs him by the shirt stopping his fall.
Miguel: Gotcha, serpiente.
Munez: Well this was fast. All the Senoritas mocked Diego for being fast, but that man is good.
Remanos: *slightly outrage* Senora! Que pasa!?
Munez: Tell everyone else this one died in his sleep due to the poisoning. Make something up, you're the doctor, but make it credible. By the time Kelsomagus recovers and will want to see the body, we'll be finished with him and I'll find out why he did it. Claro Doctor?
Remanos: *visibily shaken* Si Senora.
Munez: El Imperio thanks you for your service. Ramon y Esme, you take la primera garda and contact me when Kelsomagus wakes up. Vamos Miguel, we have to pull the fangs off this snake and see where the venom leads and how it bleeds.

Characters:
Carmen Munez, L'Ambasadora - diplomatic envoy of the Corsair Empire
Miguel - Retinue
Diego - Retinue
Esme - Retinue
Ramon - Retinue
Jorge - Retinue
Crystal - Retinue
Bartolomew Kelsomagus - OSI CEO
Luis Alevais De la Mancha Epirus Mooring Terminal Port Master