The Parallel Conspiracy: A Mystery Adventure of Alternate Worlds

by Richard Lori

 

  A chill came over Fuller as he felt an onrush of air blowing him backwards into the soft ground. No, not the ground he realized when his perceived orientation shifted with the awareness that he was sitting up. The sensation of being thrown back eased, but the cool air continued to blast into his face when he cracked open his eyes.

  Through eye slits, he saw a field of wispy light blue. When he opened them fully, he discovered he was looking at the sky and that he was sitting in the air-car, speeding to an unknown destination. He took a deep breath and found his lungs were clearing from their earlier tightness.

  Jen snapped around. He thought she was going to pounce on him as she said, “John, you are conscious!” Her eyes were wide, and she looked more shaken than he had ever seen her before. “How do you feel?”

  He said in a hoarse voice, “Much better.”

  “Oh, my love, you were so ill. I now know how intense fear can be. I was terrified you would die.”

  She leaned over his still-limp body and gave him a passionate kiss. He was too weak and disoriented to resist so gave in to her hunger. He was taken aback at how pleasurable it was. Her lips were not harsh, dry and mechanical like a mere machine’s would be but supple, moist and exciting. Her mouth moved with the fervor of a feasting carnivore, and her warm wet tongue probed with a gentle lightness when it darted around his own.

  In his mind, he knew she was a robot yet he could not help but make a comparison between her uninhibited zeal and his experience with Rita. Although Rita was a distant memory with all that had happened, he knew he had never felt this level of fire in her.

  He stopped trying to analyze Jen’s actions and lost himself in the delight of the moment; at least until his lungs burned for air. His nasal passages had swelled from the mold, and he was unable to suck enough air through his nose. He pressed his head hard into the seat and took her face in both hands, pushing her back. When she released him, he gasped through his wide-open mouth and started to hyperventilate.

  “Oh, I am so sorry. I did not mean to smother you.”

  “I’m… okay,” said Fuller, calming himself. He slowed his breathing back to normal. “I’m just out of breath still.” He said with a shiver, “I’m cold too, can you turn on the heat?”

  “I am sorry. I turned the temperature control down to its lowest setting.” Her fingers flew across the control panel and the cold blast subsided. “I did not have oxygen to give you, so I was hoping the denser air would re-oxygenate your blood quicker.”

  He crossed his arms to warm himself. “That’s fine, but you’re freezing me now.”

  “Here, I will warm you,” she said, snuggling next to him.

  Again, he found her difficult to resist. He huddled closer as pleasant warmth radiated from her soft body, his mouth opening wide with a yawn. While some of the fatigue was from the low level of oxygen in his blood, the majority was from his earlier harrowing experience. The craving for sleep overpowered him, so he closed his eyes in submission. As his mind drifted further into unconsciousness, his thoughts remained fixed on Jen.

  He pushed back a distant memory of someone proclaiming that this heavenly woman next to him was not human. How foolish that was. How could anyone as warm, passionate and loving as her be anything but?

   

  *****

 

   

  Sue exhaled heavily when she reached the top of the stairs and put down the basket of clean clothes. Washing clothes was enough of a pain without having to lug them up stairs and across the house. She promised herself that one day she would build an addition to the house and add a second-floor laundry room.

  She took in a deep breath, pulled the basket back up and went into the kitchen. Bechler sat at the table with a coffee cup in hand but rose when she entered.

  “You want me to get that?” he asked.

  “Too late now. Where were you a few minutes ago?”

  “I’m sorry,” he said, sitting again. “You should’ve said something.”

  “I’m just joking,” she said, likewise sitting.

  Bechler had been with her all afternoon and had asked an endless string of questions. First, he had grilled her on every detail he could about the shifting project then about both universes she had visited. Who had she met with, what was the layout of this room and of that, had she noticed this detail when she was at location x, y and z? Every tiny detail he could ask about, he did. The whole time he made notes on his handheld.

  When midafternoon came, they went to the kitchen and she began to prepare dinner. Bechler continued the questioning while she cleaned and cut vegetables for pot roast. When he ran out of things to ask, she went to the basement and brought clean clothes upstairs to fold.

  Sue began pulling socks from the basket, sorting them in preparation of finding mates to fold together. Bechler looked enthralled by the process.

  Sue noticed his staring. “Find this interesting?”

  “I’d offer to help, but I’m not sure what to do?”

  “Oh, well it’s more complicated than it looks you know. I didn’t master the process until after I got my PhD in Physics.”

  He laughed. “I guess I’m not all that domestic.”

  “So how do you do it then? Just jam all the clean socks back in a drawer and sort them when you need a pair?”

  “No,” he chuckled. “I leave all that up to my wife.”

  “Your wife?” she blared. “Why Mr. Bechler, that’s awfully 19th century of you, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, I suppose so,” he said with a grin. “Mind you now, she used to work before we got married but didn’t want to after. She prefers to be the stay-at-home mom.”

  “Children. How many?”

  “I have two girls—twins in fact,” he said as he fiddled with his handheld. He held it towards her, a picture of two young girls on the display.

  Sue took it. “Oh, how cute they are.”

  She was about to ask their age when the front door opened and Jen called out, “Sue?”

  “They’re back,” Sue said, rising as she handed the computer back to Bechler.

  When they entered the dining room, she could see Jen helping Fuller onto the living room couch. Something seemed wrong. Her fear was confirmed when she got closer and heard Fuller’s heavy wheeze.

  “Oh my God, what’s wrong?” she asked.

  “John has had an adverse reaction to mold which was growing in the armory,” said Jen in a strained voice.

  Although upset by his obvious distress, Sue thought Jen was even more affected. The robot seemed scared, but she discarded the thought when she remembered her earlier conversation with Bechler.

  “He appeared better until he walked from the barn,” said Jen. “I offered to carry him, but he refused.”

  “Bull… shit,” rasped out Fuller. “I’m… fine.”

  “Sue, get him a cup of coffee,” ordered Bechler. “The caffeine will help open his lungs back up.”

  “Right,” said Sue, hurrying off to the kitchen.

  She ran in and grabbed a large mug, filling it with straight coffee. She started to return to the living room but had a thought and turned back to get a bottle of antihistamine tablets from one of the cabinets. She was allergic to bee stings so kept a bottle handy for such an event.

  When she got back, the others were sitting and Fuller was breathing easier than before. She gave him the cup and opened the bottle, removing two of the small pink tablets.

  “Here,” she said, holding the pills out to Fuller. “These are antihistamines. They should help counter the allergic reaction.”

  Fuller nodded and took them with a sip of the warm coffee. He looked at Jen and inquired, “By the way, I never asked. Did you get the particle guns?”

  “Yes, I have ten. I left them in the air-car. I did not transport them back here because I was more concerned with you.”

  Sue sat in her
chair. “So what happened and what’s all this about mold?”

  Jen explained the events at the armory. She also filled in some blanks for Fuller: how she had carried him from the armory and waited for his breathing to ease before going back for the particle guns.

  When dinner was ready, they continued to discuss the investigation as they ate. After dinner, while still at the dining table, the subject of Jen’s reconnaissance mission came up.

  Bechler said, “Jen, I’m curious. How good of a recording device you can be for us?”

  “In what way?” she asked.

  “I’m sure once you come back, you’ll be able to give us verbal details and draw floor plans. What I’m wondering though is whether there’s a way for you to record everything while you’re there?”

  “Yes, I am able to do this. While my program does not store details from all my inputs to conserve memory space, I am capable of doing what you ask for a limited time.”

  “Interesting,” said Bechler, putting hand to chin. “How much time?”

  “It will depend on the level of detail you wish me to remember.”

  “What do you mean by detail?”

  “My body consists of more than one million sensors that perform various input functions such as sight, sound and smell. However, the majority are throughout my body to sense pressure and temperature. While I am able to record discrete input from each sensor, I am unable to record data from all and only do so when they become significant. However…”

  “No, no, no,” Bechler interrupted, his hands waving to stop her. He rolled his eyes towards the ceiling and sighed. “You’re misunderstanding me. I’m not concerned with pressure, temperature, smell or sound unless there’s something significant that will impact our rescue mission. What I am interested in is sight. Can you record still images or even full video of what you see when you’re there?”

  “Yes, I am able to do that.”

  “Good, so if we wanted you to remember what you see while you walk down halls and go into rooms it would be possible?” Bechler’s eyebrows rose in anticipation.

  “That is correct.”

  “Good. Here’s the important part now. Is there a way to download this information from you so that we can view it on a video screen or print out individual still images?”

  “Yes, I am capable of transferring data in two ways: wireless through radio frequency waves and wired through a physical data port.”

  Sue broke in, “Is that the port we connected you to the library computer with?”

  “That is correct,” Jen responded.

  “Wonderful!” exclaimed Bechler. “That means we can all have front row seats when she walks through the palace. That will be a great help.”

  Fuller said, “Before we get too excited,” he paused to yawn, “how are we going to connect one of our computers to you, Jen? I’m sure your interface is different from what we use.”

  “I am able to adjust my communications protocols to match yours,” said Jen. “But you will either need a transceiver tuned to one of my frequencies using the proper modulation and encryption algorithms or a hardwire connection which will physically and electrically match my own.”

  Bechler leaned forward in his seat. “A wired connection will probably be easier. Would you be able to enter the specifications into my handheld computer?” He handed the device to Jen.

  “I will.”

  Jen took the computer and drew a diagram using a stylus. She labeled the physical dimensions of the connector, the pin functions, the voltages and current levels needed to drive the interface. She handed the computer back to Bechler, and he examined it.

  Fuller leaned over to see the diagram better and Bechler held it towards him. He took it and gave the drawing some scrutiny.

  “The pin functions look similar to Ethernet,” said Fuller, his eyes half-closed from fatigue.

  “I can have one of our techs create a circuit to convert from this to Ethernet then,” said Bechler. He turned towards Jen. “Would it be possible for me to take a picture of the actual jack?”

  She opened the invisible seam on her head and turned it towards Bechler. He took his computer and snapped several pictures at different angles to get some perspective. Once he put the handheld back in his pocket, he said, “As far as the networking and file protocols go, Sue should be able to get you specifications for everything from the Internet.”

  As they continued talking, Fuller got sleepier as the pills took hold. His eyes closed and his head fell forward but he caught himself before dropping face first into the table. His eyes snapped open and his head popped back up.

  “I’m sorry. I think I better get to bed,” he said. “I can’t keep my eyes open another minute.”

  “Yeah, those pills do the same thing to me,” chuckled Sue.

  Fuller hoisted himself from the chair, pitching back and forth once he did. Jen jumped from her chair and rushed to his side. “Let me help you to your room, John,” she said, taking his arm.

  As they walked towards the stairs, Sue said to Bechler, “Well, Vince, do you think you’re domestic enough to help me clear the table.”

  “Maybe with some detailed instructions,” he laughed.

   

  *****

 

   

  Fuller pulled the covers up around his shoulders and said, “Thank you, Jen.”

  “Good night, John.” She leaned over and gave him a light kiss on the lips.

  When she rose he asked, “Can you do me a favor?”

  “Of course, anything you wish.”

  His face flushed. “Please don’t tell anyone about what we discussed in the air-car.”

  “You mean about being in love with you? Why not?”

  He lay there for a moment, not quite knowing how to explain it to her. He scratched his head. “I’m not sure what everyone will think.”

  “I see. You do not think they will understand.”

  “No, I don’t. In fact, I don’t know if I understand it myself.”

  “I have already given you some of the reasons why I love you. Do you wish further data for my reasoning?”

  “No, it isn’t that. I guess I don’t understand it on a more basic level,” he yawned.

  Jen sat on the bed next to him, her brows creased. “I am puzzled. What do you mean by a more basic level?”

  “I know you have a very complex mind, but it is after all artificial and programmed for specific tasks.”

  “That is correct to some extent. There are specific tasks I have programming for, but I also have the ability to learn and adapt to new situations.”

  He nodded. “I know that, but there’s a huge jump from adapting to new situations and feeling emotion. Did the people who designed you plan on it?”

  “No. They gave me a basis for it though by programming in an understanding of emotion. I was given the ability to interpret data when interacting with humans so that I can act in a manner consistent with an emotional response.”

  “So you were given a set response to differing human actions. If I’m happy, you act one way; hostile, you act another.”

  “That is correct.”

  “I can understand that, but I still don’t see how you make the jump to feeling something.”

  “Before you can understand, I must explain the basic construct of my brain. There are two separate sections. The first is a parallel digital processing unit similar to how your computers work. This portion of my brain is used to store much of the data and experiential knowledge my mind contains. This portion performs all movements I make and words I speak.

  “The second section is a neural network that approximates how a human brain functions. All inputs such as sight, hearing, smell and the millions of sensors throughout my body filter through this section. It is better able to determine what is most significant to address at any given time and to interpret the input�
��s meaning. While I also use the digital portion to assist in interpreting input, I mainly use it for the retrieval of previous input conditions. My neural network uses the historical data for comparison with current inputs. However, it is the neural network, not the digital portion, which determines a response to the input. The digital portion then executes any actions.

  “So while I may have a certain set of responses programmed into the digital portion of my brain, these are not the ultimate determining factor in how I will respond to a given input. The neural network has priority because it is more adaptable.

  “It is in this neural network portion where I have developed emotion. When I transferred my program to the master computer, all the stored knowledge of the human race became part of my database. I determined the most significant portions of that knowledge in relation to human interaction and emotion. Since my main function is to be a friendly interface for humans wishing to access information, I determined this was the most important use of processing time in the master computer.

  “Once you reactivated my body, the key elements of my study were downloaded back into my brain. Since that time, I have been reprocessing that information through my neural network to understand the meaning of human emotion. While I have learned much already, I am continuing to process this information, along with new input, so I may continue to grow. Is this not how humans learn as well?”

  “Yes… I guess so,” replied Fuller. His brain was foggy from both fatigue and the medication, so he wanted to end the conversation even though she had raised more questions than answers. He would pursue it some other time. He was too tired right now.

  “As you can now understand, my mind is not so different from that of a human,” she said, smiling. “It is because of this that I am able to love you.”

  “Yes, I see, but I still don’t want you to speak to anyone else about your feelings about me. Okay?”

  “I understand, John, and will do as you request.” The smile left her face and her eyes widened. “I love you and do not wish you to be angry with me.”

  She rose from the bed, turning off the lights and closing the door when she exited. He lay there for only moments before drifting off to sleep.

  The night was long and sparse of dreams from the depth of unconsciousness brought about by the drug. Yet there was one vision that came to him in the early hours before dawn that would leave a vague trace on his memory. In his dream, he made love to the woman dearest to his heart. His ecstasy was greater than any he had ever known as their two bodies melted into one. The euphoria faded and the dream floated further away as his sleep cycle deepened. When the dream slipped away, the apparition was lost, leaving only the memory of the dream but not the woman’s identity.

   

  *****

 

   

  Jen kept pace with the other slave girls while two guards herded them along the dark street. The seven women followed their master as they crossed the last road to a back entrance of the palace, the guards hounding them from behind.

  Several times the two slavering guards forced Jen to dodge aside when they quenched their sexual hunger by groping for a breast or buttock through her alluring clothes. She had donned a cape earlier to prevent such advances, but the master forced her to remove it to blend in with the other girls. While this should have made her equally subject to the guard’s advances, she was more of a target. Her golden hair and creamy complexion made her an exotic beauty that the local men had never seen.

  It had been a busy day for Jen, as she and Cassius had much to do in preparation for her reconnaissance. Fuller, still recovering, had wanted to come but had been overruled by the protests of both Sue and herself. Bechler had been unable to assist either, his power ration for transport reserved for the actual rescue. Sue had opted to stay behind with the pretext of looking after Fuller so this left all the preparations to Cassius and herself.

  They arranged her entrance by bribing the whoremaster who supplied strumpets to the palace each week. Cassius had bartered with him, settling on a cost of two ‘pearl’ necklaces that Jen brought for that purpose. The master had whined of the danger involved if he implicated himself in any misdoings. Even though she could see his insincerity, she nodded at Cassius to accept. The old beggar later complained to her that the payment was outrageous considering the man would be able to charge a higher fee because of her uncommon appearance. The cost was of no concern to her though, the access to the palace being what was critical.

  Later they walked to the far side of town. The whoremonger had recommended a shop to purchase clothing appropriate for her foray into the emperor’s harem. The selection was wide, and Jen found it difficult to decide which she should purchase. Although Cassius was there to give his male opinion which she would look sexiest in, she wished that Fuller were there to see her instead.

  She tried on several outfits before deciding on a chocolate brown two-piece affair. The supple leather bodice cupped only the bottom half of each breast but continued down to the center portion of her hips, covering the front of her torso. There was no reverse side, only laces that secured around her back to mold it to the contours of her well-formed body. The front was embroidered with gold threading that accented the swell of her breasts and the hourglass curvature of her slender waist. The skirt, made of a fine silk, was full length with slits on both sides that rose to the top of her hips. This caused the back of it to waft out from the breeze when she walked, exposing the sides of her curved posterior. While the gossamer silk was not fully see-through, it was sheer enough to hint at the delights beneath.

  Cassius had gawked when she strode before him, at least until he caught himself doing so. He apologized to her as though worried he may have offended the goddess. Seeing his reaction and that of the shop owner, she knew she would have difficulty walking the streets without causing an uproar. She decided to purchase a black cloak to wear over her new clothes to reduce any turmoil.

  As she changed back to her tunic, she wished again that Fuller were with her. The new clothes would remain behind when she transported back so he would never have a chance to see her in them.

  Upon leaving the shop, Cassius brought her to a bakery a block from the palace wall to explain a secret known only by a few. There was a tunnel connecting the fieldstone building to the palace, which was there as an emergency escape route. He drew a diagram of the palace to the best of his memory and included the location of the tunnel entrance. It took only a quick glance for Jen to commit it to memory.

  Their final destination together was a public bathhouse where Jen could change into her new clothes. She gave her others to Cassius until they transported back. She gave him all the other barter items too with instructions to use what he needed and to save the rest for future purchases. When they parted, Jen went to the agreed-upon rendezvous point to meet up with her temporary new master.

  “Step lively, wench,” said one of the guards, slapping Jen’s bottom when she went through the door of the palace. The guards did not enter so she assumed he wanted to get one last grope of her body before parting ways.

  Different guards took up with them inside and walked the group through a maze of corridors. These guards were more disciplined than the previous though and neither touched nor said anything to them except to give directions. They stopped outside an office, and the master went in to haggle his price. As Cassius had predicted, the master attempted to wrangle a higher price for Jen so asked the man to come see the rare beauty for himself.

  “Well, Lord, what say ye? Have I not brought a rare prize for the emperor?” asked the whoremaster.

  “I will be the judge.”

  The slobbering old man walked around Jen, poking, prodding and grasping in the pretense of evaluating her worth. Jen stood like a statue while he lifted the silk of her skirt to see all he could.

  After extending the inspection as long as possible, he started the negotiations. Starin
g at Jen, he said, “I will agree this one is different.” He turned to the master. “You always do bring in fresh ones. What is your price?”

  The two men haggled for several more minutes until settling on a price that even Cassius would be shocked by. Taking leave of the two other men, the guards herded the women onward, only stopping when they reached a waiting area.

  The room was fifty feet to a side with floor cushions lying in several places. At one end was a counter lined with various brushes, bottles of perfume and tins of makeup. On the wall hung reflective tin sheets used as mirrors for primping, above which hung a row of glowing oil lamps.

  When the guards exited, the women’s silence ended and they began talking among themselves. All gave Jen a wide berth though because she was not of their group and raised suspicion. With her keen auditory sense, she was able to overhear when they whispered jealous words about the price she had commanded.

  Two slave women dressed in simple linen tunics entered the room, their faces rough and work worn. The older of the two, who Jen estimated to be in her late forties, took command.

  “Attend, ladies!” she blared out. When all were silent, she said, “Disrobe here and we will assist with your baths.”

  The younger of the two slaves gravitated to Jen. As she stared, she asked, “May I help to untie your bodice?”

  “You may,” said Jen, turning her back to the girl. “Thank you.”

  The young woman spoke in a low voice, “I know I should not be so bold but may I ask where you are from?”

  “I am from overseas,” said Jen. “I was born in Brittainia.”

  “Do all those from Brittainia have flaxen hair such as yours?”

  “No, only some,” said Jen, turning back towards the girl so she could finish removing the bodice. “What is your name?”

  “I am Agacia. What is yours?”

  “I am pleased to meet you, Agacia. I am known as Flavia.”

  The girl grinned. “That is a good name for you. I have never seen anyone so pretty as you, Flavia.”

  “Thank you, Agacia.”

  “I only wish I were so. Then I would not have to work so hard.”

  One of the girl’s chapped hands drifted up in an attempt to smooth her unkempt hair, which was held back in an unattractive bun. The tanned skin of her face was dry and smeared with the dirt of her labors. While a hard life had withered her youth prematurely, Jen did not think she was ugly. Although a bit wide, her face had good bone structure and her eyes were a light hazel in color. They gave her a striking appearance in comparison to those around her.

  “I am not sure that is true,” said Jen. “There is much unpleasantness in the work that I do as well.” The girl flushed as Jen continued, “Beside that, I think with the proper attention, you would be pretty as well.”

  “Now you are teasing me,” Agacia said, looking down as she blushed harder.

  “Agacia!” yelled the older slave woman. “You are not here to be talking the day away. Help one of the others.”

  “Yes, Modesta,” she said, cowering at the woman’s reprimand.

  The woman glared at Jen while Agacia gathered up her clothes and scuttled away. Jen ignored the bitter grimace, stared into the burning eyes and called out, “It was nice speaking with you, Agacia.”

  Modesta’s scowl deepened when she turned away, busying herself with one of the other women. The courtesan next to Jen snickered and said under her breath, “The sour old hag.”

  When all had disrobed, Modesta led them to the next room, which contained a swimming-pool-sized bath. They each had a sponge and a selection of oily scented soaps from which to choose. Jen sniffed several before selecting a scent of jasmine.

  The water being quite warm, the other women acclimated themselves by inching their way down the steps of the bath. Jen, who was able to control her body temperature with ease, strode in without pause, her skin tingling with the warmth of the water. She enjoyed the sensation and submerged her head, coming back up with a splash of her arms.

  “You there, wash up your hair as well!” Modesta bellowed, pointing to a women next to Jen.

  The women began to wash, helping each other to sponge down their neighbor’s backs. Once again, the others ignored Jen so she did the best she could by herself.

  “Come, ladies, we have little time,” ordered Modesta, motioning them out of the bath. She seemed to relish the short taste of authority she was given.

  Heated linen towels were waiting and Agacia handed one to Jen with a smile. When they walked back to the first room, Modesta handed three of the women fresh clothes, but Jen got her own back. There was no explanation or discussion, but she assumed that the ones taken were somehow unsuitable: either too dirty, worn or not revealing enough.

  After dressing, they went to the mirrors to brush their hair, apply makeup and preen to perfection. While they adorned themselves at the looking glass, they ate a small meal of bread and cheese. Jen knew this was not for their comfort but to prevent distraction later when satisfying the dignitaries. They paid no attention whether the women ate or not. This was fortunate since Jen’s system was made to ingest water, but food was another matter altogether. They were all handed parsley to chew on and water to drink to make their breath as sweet as their appearance. Since Modesta watched when they inserted the parsley into their mouths, Jen chewed on hers and spit it out later when nobody was watching.

  When the awaited hour was upon them, a male staff member led them through the warren of hallways again. After the maze was completed, they ended up in a room with the emperor and his guests.

   

  *****

 

   

  “When are you to free my family?” asked the emperor.

  “We have not decided on a time,” replied Jen. “I am here to gather information so we may formulate a rescue plan.”

  Over an hour had passed since Jen had first walked in and seen the emperor. He had not recognized who she was because on their previous meeting her head had been covered to hide the blond hair. As fortune would have it though, her blond hair got her alone with Lucius.

  When the courtesans entered the room, the line of women paraded before the men then seated themselves across from the emperor and his guests. They instructed each woman to rise to the center of the room and dance to the music of lyre and pan flute.

  Due to her exotic appearance, Jen was considered the highlight of the entertainment and was last to perform. She was unsure of the style of dance to perform so watched how the others moved. By watching the reaction of the men, she combined the most seductive parts of the other dances.

  She felt her dance a success as all eyes were entranced by each twist of her body. Under other conditions, a battle would have ensued when she finished to see which man would win the golden-haired treasure for the night. However, with the emperor present, there was no question of this.

  When Jen and the emperor were alone in closed quarters, she made her identity known. At first, he had reacted with excitement when he realized she was here to rescue his family. Then disappointment set in when it became clear she would do no further entertaining.

  “I believe the best time for the rescue will be in one week,” said Emperor Lucius.

  “Why will this be a good time?”

  “I will be traveling up the coast to one of our port towns, Antium, to celebrate the launch of several new warships. The trip will last several days, and Placidia will attend with me.” He smiled as he continued, “While I am there, I will be under the protection of my army and navy. Once my family is freed from the palace guard, I will be able to move against him.”

  “Very good. What day will you reach your destination?”

  “I will arrive on the day of Venus. Will the rescue occur during day or night?”

  “It has yet to be decided, but I would believe night to be best.”

  “I would agree,
” nodded Lucius. “I will await word of your success the following day then, the day of Saturn.”

  “We can send Cassius once we have your family free but will he have difficulty reaching you?”

  Lucius shook his head. “No. I will make Legatus Aquilinus aware. We will instruct his men to bring Cassius to me upon his arrival.”

  “Very well, that is settled. What about your family? Once we get them from the palace, where shall we bring them for safety?”

  “That I will need to consider further,” he said, putting his hand to his chin. “The city is full of those loyal to Placidia, as is Legatus Ocella. He controls the legion stationed here.”

  “Then we will either need to hide them somewhere in the city where they cannot be found or we will need to get them out of the city.”

  He shook his head, “I do not believe it will be safe in the city. You must take them from here.”

  “Shall we bring them to you?”

  “I do not wish them to make the complete journey. I will make arrangements and leave instructions with my wife as to where you will bring them.”

  “All right then, now to our more immediate needs,” said Jen. “Will you be able to give me a tour of the palace so I can create a map?”

  “I will do better than that. I have drawings of the palace in my office. You will have to find a way to smuggle them out of the palace though.”

  Jen shook her head, “That will not be necessary. I have a unique ability to remember everything I see. I will just need to look at the plans one time to be able to re-draw them.”

  His brow went up. “That is a rare ability. Let us proceed to my office then.”

  They went into the corridor and passed several sentries before reaching his office. He unrolled the drawings on a table, and Jen looked at them, scanning each page to remember every detail. The emperor explained the normal locations of his wife and children at any given time of the day. Since the operation would most likely take place at night, he showed her the sleeping chambers that each would be in too. He also pointed out some of the locations where sentries patrolled but was unable to do so for the entire building.

  The plans seemed complete and showed the kitchen area, pantries, wine cellar, palace guard offices and troop quarters. Cassius had sketched out the troop quarters for her to show where the tunnel entered the palace. Based on his foggy memory of several years past, it had not been very detailed. There were discrepancies from his sketch to what was on the floor plans in front of her, the greatest being the drawings showed no sign of the tunnel. She needed to have the actual layout of that level and did not want to rely on partial information. The results could mean life or death.

  “Cassius has told me of a secret exit in the lower level used only in times of danger. It is a tunnel connecting the palace to a bakery on the next street.”

  Lucius’ brows furrowed. “Ah yes, I had forgotten about that. The plans do not show this for reasons of security. Do you think you will use this as an escape route?”

  “I am not sure, but it seems that it would be wise to either use this as an entrance or exit route—maybe both.”

  “I would agree. However, I do not have any detailed drawings of the area where the tunnel connects.”

  “Would it be possible for you to take me on a tour of this level?”

  He shook his head. “That will not be possible. They would not question me for bringing you to some locations on that level, such as the wine cellar and kitchen. However, they will not allow me access to the guard offices or quarters.”

  “From what Cassius said, the tunnel entrance is in this area,” she said, placing her finger on the drawing.

  “It has been many years since I was told of this exit, but I believe it is. As I recall, there is a storage closet which protrudes from the building somewhere along this wall,” he said, pointing to a large room denoted as barracks on the drawing. “There are shelves in it and one section pulls out to reveal a door.”

  “That matches with what Cassius told me,” she said, nodding. “I would like you to take me on a tour of as many areas as possible. Once we have done that, I believe I will have sufficient information for us to formulate a plan of attack.”

 

 

  CHAPTER 11