by John Walker
“I can elevate our investigation. Ensure we are looking at all potential traitors.”
Aeden clapped his hands together. “You realize if they’ve slipped your gaze so far, you’re not likely to find them now? The whole point of your organization is to catch this sort of thing long before it becomes a problem! Your failure nearly led to the death of the Lord Marshal!”
“And what about you?” Griva shot back. “You and your precious bodyguards weren’t exactly at their best when they allowed armed insurgents to get so close to his house! And to allow men with a weapon of that size to march right up there, that’s simply gross negligence at best. If not outright incompetence!”
Aeden bellowed, “I don’t have to stand here—”
“Stop.” Sev spoke in a quiet voice. Both men turned to him. “Let us assume we are all on the same side. I believe that’s the way of things. I accept mistakes. They are a part of battle. We all know this. However, this one needs to be shored up. Immediately, in fact. I expect you to work together to solve this problem.”
“And your secret intelligence division?” Griva asked.
“For now, it remains. What do you know of Milna?”
“Nothing. I don’t even know what assignment she’s on or where she is. I’d like to though. You know we can provide support for our agents. Help them in the field so they aren’t thrown into the fire. It’s important that they have access to all our resources otherwise, they may well—”
“I will do you a kindness and remind you of my station.” Sev leaned back in his chair. “I am the Lord Marshal. Leader of our entire culture. I have the second seat at the clergy table. My word is law. If I decide to have a secondary division you do not know about, then so be it. That’s my right. And I do not have to ask you.
“We won’t be changing anything until we’ve caught those responsible for this attack. I want them brought to justice. Then we focus on the resistance. Afterward, and when everyone feels comfortable with their performances, we will meet again to discuss a path forward. That will include your duties and responsibilities. Are we clear?”
Griva wore a deep frown. He clearly wanted to argue, but the futility of such a gesture must’ve been obvious. He stewed on the notion, thinking it through. What options does he have to weigh? It’s not as if he has leverage over me. Not unless he confesses to something with Cirilla.
Aeden stepped around the desk, leaning in to speak in Sev’s ear. “Sir, as it turns out we have a problem. A group of civilians marched on the building.”
“And?” Sev shrugged. “What’s that got to do with anything? Wait… why?”
“I didn’t receive a report as to what they wanted, but it seems they may be attempting to gain entry into the building.”
“Those aren’t civilians then. There’s no way they would be so reckless… or stupid.”
“We may also be seeing signs of collusion.” Aeden glanced at Griva. “Someone assisting them to get in here.”
“Are you talking about me?” Griva asked. “What’s going on?”
“A crowd has marched on the building,” Sev said. “They want in. Do you know anything about it?”
Griva clearly wished he had something to say. His cheeks paled. Sweat broke on his brow. This is the first time during our conversation I genuinely feel like he might be telling the full truth about his efforts. He found out about Milna. That proves his people have skills. Whatever’s going on may be good enough to circumvent our defenses.
“I’m sorry, my lord.” Griva bowed his head. “I heard nothing of a protest or a march. This is new.”
“We need to get out of here,” Aeden said. “I want to take you to the next safe zone.”
“We’ll be in touch, Griva.” Sev stood. “Find out what you can about this fiasco. Get back to us quickly with results. If you have any hope of maintaining your position, you need to get on top of everything. Now. I won’t have you floundering in front of me again. Do you understand?”
“I do, my lord.” Griva nodded.
“And next time, think about leaving the arrogance at the door.” Sev scowled. “I won’t be in such a generous mood the next time.” He nodded to Aeden. “Let’s go. Before this turns into something bigger.”
***
Cirilla bounced on the balls of her feet as information swarmed across the screen. She initiated a massive information download, grabbing logs and schedules from prominent members of the tower all in one go. That meant having to sift through it later. The idea came to her when she saw the security outside.
This place isn’t safe. Despite the countless armed soldiers she encountered between the landing pad and their destination, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread. Those who wanted to stop Sev would not be deterred by the guards. Depending on who backed them, a bomb would not be out of the question.
One big enough to take down the whole building, already planted… waiting for Sev to arrive. Cirilla felt calm only in the sense that no one likely wanted her bad enough to destroy the structure. They’ll definitely wait for better targets. But that might not necessarily be the Lord Marshal.
Indeed, several high-ranking military commanders visited every day. And if enough of them had meetings together, they’d represent an excellent target of opportunity. While going down the paranoid path felt a little ridiculous, Cirilla believed nothing was out of the question. Not anymore.
Brahn stood guard at the door. She initially wanted his help to pour through documentation, to find files relevant to their search. That plan also changed when she witnessed the lockdown. Once she dipped into the data, anyone might’ve been watching for activity.
Intelligence, for example. Cirilla wanted to get their attention though she wasn’t exactly sure how to go about it. I need it to be on my terms. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to do that. Her contact would likely reveal himself soon. If they were involved, he’d want to ensure she knew they weren’t.
And if they had nothing to do with it, they’d be twice as motivated to explaining themselves.
Though Sev will be dealing with their high command directly. I guess if there’s a faction within intelligence causing trouble, I’ll find out.
“You almost done?” Brahn called.
“No, I’ve only downloaded one block.” Cirilla turned to him. “Why? Is something wrong?”
“Not yet but there is some activity outside.”
“What sort?”
Brahn paused. “Surprisingly, it seems like we’ve got civilians marching on the building. Security scheduling shows this will be an unlawful gathering. So we can expect soldiers to turn up soon. That’s going to make a real mess.”
“They can’t possibly get into the building,” Cirilla said, “right?”
“None of them have to if they’re willing to die with some sort of bomb on them.”
“So you’re thinking along the same lines as me.” Cirilla clenched her fist, fighting to maintain a brave expression. Do I confide in him? Tell him about my fears regarding the intelligence agents? He might need to know. “Listen, Brahn… intelligence approached me when Sev… the Lord Marshal expressed interest.”
Brahn raised a brow. “What do you mean?”
Cirilla hesitated. I’ve opened the door. I can’t exactly close it now. But that didn’t make it easy to tell him. What does he already know? Guessing that was a waste of time. She still tried. Is this what others do when they’re hip deep in a conspiracy? No one talked about such things in school.
And for once, she had no advice from her mother to fall back on.
“Ma’am?” Brahn pressed.
“They wanted me to inform on him.” Cirilla blurted it out, hoping saying it fast might make it easier. Her stomach still turned. She tensed up for him to do… something. What, she had no idea. “To find information. They were keeping tabs on the Lord Marshal because they had some kind of concern.”
“Because of his age?” Brahn asked. “Or are they not happy with his policies?”
Brahn shrugged. “Never came up in regard to keeping the Lord Marshal safe. Or the tower for that matter.” He glanced at his computer. “Though I guess we should’ve received some sort of briefing for it now. Any of those civilians marching here might be part of such a thing.”
“Okay, so the shortest version of this story is that intelligence wasn’t initially involved in tracking down the group. Sev planned to give them a task. Unfortunately, before we got that far, the attack at the house happened.”
“And you think intelligence may have been behind that?” Brahn frowned. “I can’t imagine they’d shift to full-on treason. How much did you give them?”
“Very little. Just a nudge to do a few things. And as far as I know, they haven’t done them yet. But what if they decided to take out the Lord Marshal rather than bother? Or, what if they’re the ones who invented the Prophet in the first place? Sev pursued the resistance through a different channel.”
“Because of what you just said.” Brahn nodded. “Huh. That’s… pretty intense. And you’re against all this, of course?”
“Absolutely, of course!” Cirilla scowled. “What do you think we’re doing here?” She gasped. “Wait. You… are you here to check on my loyalty? Is that why you’ve been assigned?”
Brahn scowled. “I’m asking a question and you jump to whether or not I’m here to protect you?”
“Most things have more than a single purpose.” Cirilla advanced on him, looking him in the eye. “Come clean. Did Aeden give you a secondary task to find out about me?”
“I’ve been asked to keep an eye on you,” Brahn said. “And everything that entails.”
“So if you determined I was not loyal, what then?”
“But you are,” Brahn replied. “Which means there’s no problem.”
“There could have been. And I suppose thank the divines you aren’t dishonest or held some kind of strange grudge.” Cirilla shook her head, pacing back to the terminal. “I can’t believe this is how Aeden operated. I wonder if Sev knows about it. Probably. I can’t see his head bodyguard keeping it from him.”
“Look.” Brahn stepped close, taking her arm. “I understand your frustration. This probably does come as a shock. And you’re looking for enemies under every rock. Know that I am on your side. I’m here to help. I’ll do whatever it takes. Not only to keep you safe and alive, but to find the people responsible for that attack.”
“How do I trust you though?” Cirilla pulled her arm away. “And why would I?”
“Because you don’t have a lot of allies, honestly. Before I got this duty, I was standing around the tower. I’ve seen you walk by hundreds of times. Probably never noticed you. And likewise, you never saw me. Point is I don’t have ambitions. Hurting you or the Lord Marshal does me no good.”
“I find that suspicious…”
Brahn laughed. “Paranoia is going to kill you. Cirilla, I joined the military early because I wanted to follow my father’s example. When they pulled me from active service to this, I thought someone decided to punish me. I never made noise about promotions, did what I was told, fought on foreign worlds for causes I didn’t particularly believe in.
“Now, finally, after all these years, I find myself in a position where I do believe.” Brahn touched her cheek, looking her in the eye. “I’m on your side. So what are we going to do about intelligence? If they were pressing you, did they have some kind of blackmail material? Something to hold over your head?”
“No. They were just creepy. Effectively threatened my life. Sev figured it out so I told him everything. And honestly, I found myself in the middle between them.”
“Okay. We have data.” Brahn gestured to the computer. “What else do you want?”
“I’ve got the schedules of all the people in this building along with military leaders. The next step involves tracking down the intelligence people, preferably the agent who pressed me, and questioning them.”
An alarm went off in the building. “Uh oh.” Brahn tapped his comm. “This is Sentinel Eight-Two, report cause for alert status?” He stood in silence for a moment. “Acknowledged. I have a special. We will move to the landing pad for immediate departure. Sound off if technical devices are located or surface-to-air weapons are employed.”
“What’s going on?” Cirilla asked. “What is it?”
“The ‘civilians’ have breached the building. They may have done so thirty minutes ago.” Brahn hurried to the door, peeking out. “We’re clear for the moment. Is there any other information you need to extract from that thing or can we go?”
“What’re we going to do?”
“Head to the landing pad. Get out of here. Find your intelligence agent. You know, normal things.”
Cirilla huffed. “I… I don’t think there’s anything else we technically need from here. Not if it’s going to ensure we get out of here quickly.”
“Then let’s go.” Brahn waved his hand at her. “You may not know the standard procedures for a situation like this. Stay close to me. If I put you in front, then you hold your left hand behind you. A touch means to stop. If you’re following, both hands on my back. That way you’ll know what I need you to do.”
“We should’ve covered this before we left the bunker.”
“Yes, that’s my fault. I didn’t think we’d run into trouble. The guards downstairs…” Brahn shook his head. “We don’t have time to speculate, but honestly, someone had to let these people in. There’s no way they breached with that much of a presence. I guarantee this is inside work.”
“You’re certain?”
“Absolutely.” Brahn looked at his computer again. “Oh… bastards. We’ve got incoming. This will not be a quiet extraction, Cirilla. Prepare yourself. Deep breath, remain calm, follow my instructions, you’ll make it out of here alive.”
“I trust you.”
“I hope so.” Brahn met her gaze again. “I will give my life to ensure you survive this place. Now… let’s make this happen, eh?” He put her behind him. “On a count of three, we’ll be taking a left to the service stairs. Here we go. One… two…”
***
Who would have thought we’d have an attack on the tower? Brahn felt like he might be suffering through a nightmare. Chances of anyone breaching so far into the capital, let alone breaking into the building where the Lord Marshal did business, were small to say the least. He’d never heard of such a thing.
Maybe some history data has been kept from us. The Kahl people had always been warlike. Perhaps at some distant point of their past, internal conflict raged. In such an instance, the victor may have decided to leave out the fight altogether. Conquest over division still involves a moment when two sides existed.
Comm chatter suggested the insurgents inside the building carried military grade weapons. Each of them was armed with pistols and rifles. No heavy armaments had been reported. Those wouldn’t be as easy to carry down the street. If someone on the inside tampered with public scanners, the biggest weapons would still be visible.
Civilians going about their day-to-day business had a duty to turn in suspicious activity. The kind of guns used to attack the Lord Marshal’s house tended to be big enough to tip off even the least aware individual. How many supposedly regular people joined this mob before they got inside?
The next question to answer involved their objective. What do they want? Is the Lord Marshal on the premises? If not, then Cirilla may have been their target. If that was the case, then he felt comfortable accusing intelligence of planning the assault. They have the most to gain by her death… or kidnapping.
Someone undoubtedly witnessed Cirilla entering the personal bunker of the Lord Marshal. At that point, they wouldn’t have to work hard to decide she had value as a captive. The reason he jumped to intelligence as the likely instigators was because they had the tra
ining to turn around an operation so quickly.
“All agents, this is Control.” The voice came through with some static. All the conversations going on at the same time interfered with quality though not enough to be a real concern. “The insurgents have made it to the stairwells and they now control the lifts. They are ascending swiftly toward the archives.”
Of course they are. Brahn had to get them down a corridor to a flight of stairs that led up. Five floors above them, the air car waited on the landing pad. Providing they arrived first, he didn’t have much to worry about. However, even being pursued presented serious risk. Small arms fire can damage our vehicle.
As they made their way toward the door, he puzzled through where he planned to take her. Going straight back to the bunker felt like a bad idea. Aeden was the only person he trusted. He’d need to reach out to the man for instructions. A safe house in the city may be our best bet.
How much do our opponents know? That depended on whether his unit had been compromised. Is there a traitor in the house? Many speculated so. Getting so close to the Lord Marshal while he slept meant something. Only a couple argued that excellent planning got the attackers into position.
“You haven’t said anything,” Cirilla tapped his back. “Are we okay? What’re they saying on the comms?”
“We have to take the stairs to the air car,” Brahn replied. “The insurgents have taken control of the lifts. Don’t worry. They can’t ascend this many stories fast enough to cut us off.” That was a blatant lie, but he had no cause to scare his charge. She knows the building better than you, idiot.
“Those lifts are fast,” Cirilla said. “How far to the door?”
“It’s just at the end of the hall.” Brahn picked up the pace. “We’ll double-time it if that helps.” He picked up the pace, jogging until they reached the door. The panel showed it was locked. His computer held the security codes for everything in the tower. When he turned to the screen to initiate it, he paused.