Blockade

by Chris Hechtl

  Case in point, her latest talk with her father who seemed incensed by the attempt on his life. He believed someone in the cabinet was behind the attempt. "It's the only thing that makes sense! First Kevin, my heir, now me? Saddam said it came from the palace!"

  Catherine frowned ever so slightly but didn't let the slight pass by. "Kevin is your heir now?" she asked mildly, crossing her legs and sitting back.

  He glowered at her. "You know what I mean. Kevin is a male."

  "Also news I already knew. So is Joseph. Just because their peckers are on the outside and not in doesn't mean either of them can jump the queue," she said.

  He glowered but then waved her concerns off. "I'm this close." he measured a centimeter between his fingers. "…to putting operation Clean Slate into effect," Piotr snarled. "Those incompetents can't organize a trip to a brothel let alone fight this war!"

  "Are you incensed because of the sloppy unprofessional hit or a lot of things?" Catherine asked.

  He eyed her. "That wasn't sloppy; it came entirely too close for comfort."

  She snorted. "It was too sloppy; it failed utterly. So, was it a real attack or someone being desperate and stupid? Or a warning?"

  He scowled but then paused as he considered what she said. He turned back to her. She shrugged at his searching expression. "You and grams taught me to look beneath the surface. We have plenty of suspects. Whoever killed the Tuckets could have had a hand in it," she said mildly.

  He grunted. They both knew who had really been behind the Tucket murder suicide. She was just digging at him. "I'll get Ghadaffi to look into it. He's another I may have to replace if he doesn't start delivering," he muttered as he stormed out.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Theo shook his head as he read the report of the assassination attempt. He looked over to Malwin and then the others around the table. "Not good," he said, making a show of setting the tablet down gently.

  "There is an understatement of the century," Countess Newberry stated dryly. Palace security wasn't her bailiwick; it belonged to the palace and to Ghadaffi. She'd had her hand slapped a few times for interfering or overstepping her bounds. Saddam, however, was a bit swamped dealing with the riots and unrest that was threatening to boil over into a full revolt.

  Admiral Post shook his head. "Great, this is going to make him even more paranoid than ever before!"

  "Don't I know it. No suspects I take it?" Malwin asked, looking at the countess.

  She spread her hands. "They used cutouts. Saddam's people hit a dead-end so far. I'm not fully dialed in, but I know they would have moved faster if they'd had solid leads. They don't. If a case doesn't get resolved in the first three days, it will most likely go cold."

  "Great. So, he's going to be looking over his shoulder and jumpy. And he's going to be even more dangerous than he was before," Theo sighed. "I think we better make some additional insurance policies to get some good news flowing, folks," he said meaningfully. “Or heads will literally roll. Again," he added.

  Malwin grimaced at that rather colorful and literal reminder.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Evin Frost was pissed over the failure. He should have known better. The family was scrambling to tie off loose ends in ways that wouldn't come back to haunt them. He'd arranged several cutouts so he was safe.

  Now they didn't have a plan. Well, they did, but it was an extreme long-range plan—his half-baked plan to throw everything into the Old Guard with hopes that if he had control of them, they could get through palace security and kill the bastard on the throne.

  With the old guard in their corner, they could take control of the empire and then solidify their control with support from the other families.

  But they had to get into the pyramid first.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Countess Newberry was well aware that Catherine was moving slowly to actively conspire to commit a coup but had not been behind the recent assassination. She noted Saddam Ghaddaffi's reports reflected that Catherine was innocent. She suppressed reports from her people monitoring Catherine in the Admiralty, using a bit of judicious editing to make Catherine look like she was a dutiful daughter to the emperor.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Elvira had taken some work home with her on the weekend. Catherine had promised time together but usually she ducked out at the last minute. Elvira only resented the interruptions slightly; she was well aware of Catherine's duties.

  She was working on a brief for a redesign of her Flyswatter III project when Catherine returned. She was well immersed in the project when Catherine decided to lean over her and kiss her on the ear. "Hey," she said.

  "Hey, yourself," Catherine said, pulling her chin around for a proper kiss.

  "I'm trying to get some thoughts down," Elvira said.

  "Really? So I've interrupted you?"

  "Just give me a minute and let me figure this out," Elvira said.

  Catherine snorted. She knew her lover too well. A minute would be an hour, and Elvira wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Besides, she was horny and wanted to play. A distracted Elvira would be just the ticket to get rid of some excess energy. She began to play footsy with Elvira.

  "I've got to work!" Elvira protested in exasperation.

  Catherine mock pouted, making Elvira's heart and resistance melt a bit. She felt sorry for snapping. "Sorry," she muttered.

  "If you are really too busy …," Catherine said.

  "It's … I can't seem to find the right fix. There has to be an answer!"

  "To what?"

  "To this! To all of it!" Elvira said.

  Catherine stilled and then smiled, one finger stroking her lover's face. "Got the whole empire on your shoulders it seems," she said. She leaned in for a soft kiss, but her free hand snatched the tablet out of Elvira's hands.

  She dangled it away, teasing Elvira. They played keep away games until one thing led to another and they shifted to making love. Their lovemaking lasted for hours before they collapsed in each other's arms.

  When Elvira was finally asleep, Catherine gently brushed her partner's hair away from her brow with one fingertip, studying the raven-haired woman. She hadn't known she could feel that way about another person. She realized Elvira liked her for herself, not for who she was. Titles didn't matter. That made her sweet but precious to Catherine in some strange way. She wasn't interested in power; that also made her naive but also endearing. Cute she thought with a brief smile. She settled herself down next to Elvira and let the other woman's gentle breathing lull her into slumber.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Catherine met with Konohagakure's Fire Daimyo in his residence. Getting permission for the visit and doing so had been tough. The building was impressive; it was Asian in style if she was correct, also simple and elegant. It was a simple palace, but a prison in many ways. Palace security was outside the walls, watching both in and out.

  She was escorted in by a young woman who was supposed to be an aide but from her lithe movements had to be a Shinobi. She occasionally would murmur a tidbit about the reflective koi pond or sculptures as they walked along the covered walkways. Eventually, they got to a paper sliding door. The young woman touched the frame and then opened it slightly, peeked in and then opened the door more fully for them both to enter.

  Catherine followed protocol. She had dressed in Asian clothing and had slipped her shoes off at the entrance as a subtle show of respect. She was aware that her father usually would dress in Asian martial lines during his rare visits but never showed any other form of respect.

  The Shinobi aide bowed and then left. Servants followed the Daimyo in with trays. They knelt on woven mats around a low table, and she took tea with the Daimyo and his wife. A few sips into the tea and they relaxed enough to chat politely about the weather. She complimented them about the home and grounds.

  "You are quite impressive," the Daimyo stated once his wife had departed.

  She smiled as she checked her sensors. Her implants s
aid that there were no recording devices present other than her own damn implants. Her people had assured her that they'd hacked them and were now in control, but she wasn't thrilled about having to be forced to trust them at their word.

  "Thank you. I hope that each generation builds on the foundation of the one before it," she said.

  He stilled and then cocked his head. "Ah," he said softly.

  "And sometimes one has to raze the structure to the ground to rebuild properly," she murmured.

  He stared at her. She smiled ever so slightly. "For such large endeavors, they require a large workforce or the right people with the right tools at the right time," she said.

  He frowned slightly.

  "Of course, I wouldn't ask anything of my workers I wasn't fully willing to commit to and do myself or pay for," she stated softly as one finger gently traced the bamboo table edge in front of her.

  "Pay?"

  "Pay with the most expensive item imaginable. Freedom."

  There was a long pause. Finally he cocked his head at her. "Freedom is rather expensive to some these days."

  "It is indeed, especially in this day and age. My position, however, gives me certain ways of accomplishing things."

  "What guarantees do you offer?"

  "I will secure passage and remove those in the way. I will make freedoms extend to homes as well. After all, one should be free in one's own home," she said. "Their own home," she added. "I only ask that others stand by and guard my back."

  The fingers on his right hand flicked slightly. "I make no promises. Shinobi do not turn on a job without grave circumstances. Even death does not dissuade us from our duty," he rumbled. "Death is but a doorway to the next life."

  "The building is already burning. I am asking to let me finish the job so we can all start anew with a fresh clean foundation and understanding," she murmured.

  He cocked his head but didn't say anything. Her implants pinged. The shadow loop in the recording devices she had placed on their meeting had reached its limit. "I thank you for your kind consideration and for your patience in putting up with a gaijin," she said with a slight bow to him.

  His nostrils flared slightly, but he nodded slightly in response. "And I you, Kaizoku Ōjo. Excuse me, Princess," he stated. "I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors," he said as they rose to their feet.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Countess Newberry suppressed the report of Catherine's meeting with the Fire Daimyo. Eventually Saddam would figure it out, so she decided it was high time to confront Catherine.

  She made sure they were alone in a private elevator in the Admiralty when they had their chat. She set it up so their conversation would be covered by a loop of previously recorded time chops spliced together.

  "Meeting new friends I see," the countess said as soon as the doors closed. "Your new friends are particularly inspiring. And the promises you made! Quite ingenious," she stated with a smile.

  She was laying it all on the line in a lot of ways. If Catherine or one of her guards had a poison, they could easily kill her. And coming out and letting Catherine know that she knew was ballsy and in a lot of ways stupid. But she had a feeling Catherine needed her help.

  And, quite frankly she was tired of Piotr and his screwing up. His mistakes were getting old and tiring. His constant threats were getting wearing.

  Catherine blinked and then turned to look at the countess and then her guards. She nodded. "So, going to tattle on me?"

  "No. I'm going to help."

  Catherine couldn't help but freeze. "How, with a helpful push to the gallows? Am I going to see a security team waiting when these doors open?"

  "Actually, given how your father executed Cyrano, that's the least of our problems," the countess replied dryly. She could see the other woman still in anger over that reminder. "Was that it? His death that pushed you into this?"

  "Yes and no. I saw what is coming. I couldn't stop it even if I'd wanted to do so. I know Cyrano wouldn't have allowed me to if I could have. I saw my father for what he is long ago, a monster like the rest of the family. Like me. I've accepted who and what I am as they have. I saw the depths of madness he is willing to drag us into though. The ruin he is bringing us to the brink of. If we continue this path, there will be no Horath left. We have to stop. We have to change course before it is too late."

  The countess nodded. "If it isn't already." They had ten seconds left. The car was running at half speed, but time was nearly up.

  "Then we find a way out. But first things first, are you in or out?"

  "It depends on your plan," the countess stated.

  "I have a goal. To end this madness, restore order, and find a better way to fight. Preferably before certain parties move forward with his next phase of his plan."

  "And that is?" the countess asked.

  "Well, he called it clean slate. He hasn't put all the pieces in place though; apparently, he's still trying to find appropriate replacements for most of the cabinet. Including you."

  The countess stilled and then closed her eyes in pain. "Does he know what that will do? The civil war that it could cause? Now of all times?"

  "I don't think he cares. Grandmother is keeping him in check, but for how long, I don't know. She might authorize him to do a bit of pruning, I believe she used the term, when he gets too close to wiggling out of her control."

  "Oh, lovely," the countess replied.

  "Yes, fun for one and all."

  "Not exactly what I had in mind actually," the countess replied dryly as the lift car buoyed up and down and then dinged as it settled to a stop. "Here's our stop," the countess said.

  "In it together," Catherine said.

  "Very much so," the countess murmured as the doors slid open. Catherine paused to look left and right. When she didn't see anyone, she smiled politely to the countess, nodded once and then went on her way.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Malwin was listening to the latest status report when the emperor asked about what they had in the pipeline from Sigma.

  "We have one twenty-six-ship convoy scheduled every three months, sire," Lewis stated. "We standardized that. A convoy just departed to go to El Dorado with personnel. It left small and late."

  "I am aware of that," the emperor stated coldly. "I meant warships. When will we see the first capital ships?"

  "We do not have that many under construction in El Dorado at the moment, sire. And you specified they remain in El Dorado. None of them are carriers, and fighters are not being built there. Nor do we have the personnel to man large ships there at the moment."

  "Damn it, send a courier to recall them here!" the emperor flared.

  Malwin frowned as Lewis looked at him with alarm and helplessness.

  "Don't look at him, look at me," the emperor growled dangerously.

  Lewis turned to the emperor. "Get it done," the emperor stated coldly. "I want the recall expedited."

  "Sire, the production in El Dorado is very slow. Less than half the speed here. There are many logistics issues that we're still working on," Admiral Bradley, the head of BUSHIPS stated.

  The emperor turned and glared at him. "I don't want excuses I want it done. Now," he said as he rose and departed.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Malwin shook his head when he and the others were alone later that afternoon. "Does he really think someone's going to ride over the hyper wall to rescue us? How is that going to happen? Doesn't he realize they'll stream in to Finagle and elsewhere in dribs and drabs only to be picked off? It'll take a year for a courier to get to El Dorado and a year or more for ships to get back here!"

  "No, I doubt he has gotten that far. And the attempts to raid the enemy's rear are taking too long. Or they were intercepted," Theo said.

  "True on both accounts I bet," Countess Newberry stated. "We're only controlling Finagle for now. Our forces might be enough to hold it but for how long?"

  "We don't have a concentrated force in Sigma sector other than a
t El Dorado. He didn't cut orders for them to abandon their station and come to our rescue, did he?" Theo asked. Malwin shook his head. Theo sighed. "I didn't think so."

  "And I highly doubt that anyone will act on their own initiative if they do get word of Finagle. And then there is the length of transit time involved," Malwin stated with a resigned shake of his head. "No, I'm pretty certain we're on our own."

  "I was afraid you'd say something like that," Theo muttered as he sipped at his scotch.

  Chapter 33

  Evin Frost arrived on the scene with the other pirate lords. He pulled up on his four wheeler in a cloud of dust. He left his mask on for a moment until the dust and dirt settled, then slowly pulled it down.

  Only junior lords could find the time and ability to get out to the boonies without being detected. They had a limited cover of going out for a hunt and riding four-wheel motor craft in the desert. It was a common recreation for some but not really one the quartet imbibed in often. He'd had to do a bit of four wheeling earlier just to get back into practice and to establish his cover.

  He looked over to the quartet who had decided to join him. Sydney Knowles was their eldest; the viscount from Telemark was sweating profusely despite the portable air conditioning and shade they'd arranged.

  Eden Paterson was one of their most technical people. Sayed Pardoll was another. Both were firebrands in their family; they wanted the Ramichov family dead. Sayed wanted the emperor dead because of the recent deaths of his favorite aunt and uncle, the Tuckets. The prime minister's murder suicide hadn't fooled anyone, especially those who knew him and his wife.

  Evin pulled his goggles up to look at the pyramid. It was built out of the same rock as the cliffs around them. He took his goggles off and wiped the sand and dust away with a rag. Better to use a rag over his shirt tail. His shirt was covered in dust and dirt; using it would grind the crap into his goggles scratching the plastic, which he didn't want.

  "Okay, where are we with entry?" he demanded. He pulled out a bottle and took a swig from his canteen and then put it back as he dismounted.