Lost Sols 1: Ancient Treasure by James Bisceglia

spoilage. Martino was desperate to save his kill. The agent would be out long enough to have him moved before the kill went bad. He was annoyed his grizzly hunt was interfered with by this agent. He reconnected the battery and began the long trip to New York. Enzo would be waiting anxiously.
    As he arrived at Vincent's quarters Dominic wondered if Vincent would have the balls to do what needed to be done. "You know what we have to do don't you?" he asked. "Yes. It's not something I'm looking forward to. Killing in cold blood repulses me. I understand we have no choice in the matter, I just don't like it." he said. "If it's too uncomfortable for you I'll take care of it." Dominic replied. "No, I owe a debt to your father and I'm not sending his son home with the blood of the innocent on his hands. I will need you to come with me in case she resists, but the responsibility will be mine. I’ll meet you outside her quarters in fifteen minutes. I need to pay a visit to Julia and the Captain first." he said. The Captain had stowed any weapons which came aboard in his quarters with the rest of the small arsenal. One was needed now to carry out this task and to get it over as quickly as possible.
    He spoke with the Captain and explained why he needed a firearm. The responsibility for this action would be his alone. The Captain would be absolved of any responsibility in the death. The Captain didn't like it but knew keeping her alive would put his entire crew in jeopardy. He wouldn’t do anything which would endanger the crew or the ship. He found a weapon for Vincent. “Do you know how to use this?” he asked. “Of course I do. I’ll be careful, I promise.” he said. “Be careful how you use it. Don’t use it anywhere near the hull and make sure you have a backstop for the bullet.” Captain Basso said. “I’ll be careful.” Vincent said as he left to find Julia.
    He found Julia and was not looking forward to another uncomfortable conversation. "Julia, can you make a cyanide pill?" he asked. "Sure, but why would I need to?" As he explained his reasoning Julia was getting angry. "What has she done other then being kidnapped and hit on the head? I've spent time with her and she doesn't seem like a threat to me. I don’t think this is necessary." she said. "You might not agree with the reasons. The Captain is aware this is going to happen and the responsibility will be mine. I would prefer to do this in a humane manner and I need you to provide me a pill with the proper dosage. It needs to be effective so she doesn't suffer. Our lives will be endangered if this isn't done. If she manages to get a message to the agency all our lives will be at risk. They will come after us with everything they’ve got. Will you make the pill?" he asked. She didn't want to endanger the crew and she didn’t want Monique to suffer either. She made the pill. It took twenty minutes to get the dosage correct, otherwise it was an easy task for her. She slammed the door as hard as she could when Vincent left her quarters. Starting the trip with a death was not how she imagined this trip beginning. She had worked her way up at Leviathan for five years and this wasn’t in her job description.
    Vincent was late. Dominic had been waiting for half an hour. "Let's get this over with." Dominic said as Vincent finally showed up. Dominic knocked on the door to Monique’s quarters. Closing the book she was reading Monique got up and answered the door. She had a bad feeling she knew what this was about when she saw Vincent and Dominic standing before her. "I need you to take another pill." Vincent said. "And if I refuse?” she asked. He took the gun out of his pocket. "There are always other options. Don’t make this harder then it needs to be." he said. "You don't have to do this. When we get back to Earth I promise I won't reveal anything to anyone. I'll take up a new identity and live in another country." she pleaded. "That's not an option. You have no