Deadly Compulsions

Sissel Eklund is not a normal human. She is an Optomorph, genetically engineered to be gifted in intelligence, unmatched in physical skills, and peerless in the art of killing. Through the science of steganography, their masters, the Adigeons control them through commands contained in the pixels of pictures. When a message is sent, it compels the receiver to carry out an assassination but if the task is not completed, a second command is sent that will cause them to die of a cerebral hemorrhage. However, a severe concussion after a motorcycle accident left Sissel with all the genetic augmentations, but she no longer reacts to the steganographic commands. She is a rogue who runs a French café in a Michigan Avenue shopping mall in Chicago.

But when she's forced to use her skills to repel a terrorist attack, she discovers the attackers are Optomorphs. Her actions draw the attention of the Adigeons who send their assassins after her. But a group of four rogue Optomorphs intervene and reveal that the Adigeons have changed from an assassin-for-hire company to having the more global aspiration of controlling governments, judiciaries, and industries. And with their lethal skills, they can quietly kill anyone who gets in their way. But Sissel has a group of her own deadly friends and together with the rogues they must destroy the Adigeons before they can infiltrate the highest echelons of Western society. Otherwise, the West will be controlled by master assassins who will make Stalin and his cronies look like cream puffs.