Shabin- The Reluctant Prince of Rhime

by Andrew Heister

  She wasn’t able to stare back, keeping her focus on the flickerball sitting on her desk. “I only have six people handling our security. They’re more ceremonial than anything else.” Then she quickly added. “They only have a few nervions.”

  Jason rubbed his jaw. “But you also have contacts on the planet for when you have special projects?” He had no idea if this Embassy would have any need for espionage work. He held his breath, waiting for her answer.

  “Hmm.” She understood what he meant but didn’t like the idea. “Captain Stiles is the head of my security and handles those issues.”

  “Good. Send him to me, and we can work out the details.”

  “Getting the doctor off the planet won’t be hard to do. I can create him a new Rhime identity and passport from here. But getting the other…” She paused, seeking the correct words. “…items off will be an expensive endeavor. I don’t think my budget can cope with paying for all of this.”

  Typical Rhime and Shabin Industries thinking. All hail the Great Accountant. Yes, let’s not think of the Herodians as people. It was just some heavy and expensive equipment he was looking to steal. Jason withheld his contempt at her attitude. It would take a long time before humans thought of those little creatures as anything more than animals.

  “I will take care of the finances,” he offered.

  Running out of ways to deflect his extracurricular project, she tried a different tack. “Sir, surely Captain Stiles can handle the operation from this point. Why don’t you let me get you a berth on a ship heading home?”

  Jason leaned back in the chair. That suggestion was far too reasonable. After all, he had no business running a covert military operation. Not to mention he hadn’t told her about wanting to actually be in on the strike. He tapped a finger to his lips as if considering her proposal. He almost let out one of his usual “umms” while thinking but controlled himself. Commanders didn’t dither. “I’m sorry, but no. That won’t be possible. As you said, you don’t have a lot of spare people at your disposal. My personal bodyguard will be in on this project, and he’s already lined up a few extra hands that won’t be willing to participate without him.” And Bill, you better be getting me some extra bodies for this fight. The man was out some place at the moment, trying to scare up some of those supposed friends.

  Tully twisted her lips and let out a pensive, “Yes, sir,” which included a resigned sigh. “I’ll go get Stiles.” She stood, eyes roaming her office. “Would you like me to find you some space in the building?”

  “Thank you, no.” He glanced around. Commandeering her office might be going a little too far in his efforts to dominate the situation so he relented a little. “We can set up a separate space tomorrow. I won’t take up your office the whole day.”

  “Very good, sir.” Her head dipped into a bow, and she left.

  When Captain Stiles joined him in the comfortable room, Jason was glad to see the man looked the part of a soldier. Tall, lean, fit, seemingly in his late thirties with none of the signs of long-term anti-aging medicine. Jason doubted the staff routinely wandered around in their best dress uniforms so at some point in the past two hours Captain Stiles changed into his — black pants with thin red side piping in the double helix DNA design of the company, matching jacket and tie, formal white shirt with the imperial logo on the collar. He even dug out a medal and two ribbons for the occasion. Jason never had a special interest in the military, so he had no idea what they signified.

  “Have a seat, Captain.”

  “Yes, my Prince.” He gave an exaggerated bow before sitting stiffly in the chair, posture a straight board. His eyes rested directly on Jason’s forehead.

  Ah, yes. Here’s a man who’d only heard stories about dealing with the Emperor. Ambassador Tully had at least met members of the family and knew them as people and not unfathomable gods with mysterious unknowable powers.

  Jason put on a smile. “Relax, Captain, I’m here to take care of some business, not to pass judgement on your existence.”

  “Yes, my Prince.” Nothing changed about his demeanor. The man either wasn’t capable of relaxing or he wasn’t ready to get chummy with his prince.

  “You are in charge of security around here?”

  “Yes, my Prince.”

  Jason rolled his eyes. “And were your security monitors listening to Ambassador Tully and I talking?”

  The Captain’s mouth opened and froze. His eyes flicked down into Jason’s for a moment then back again.

  Jason held up a hand. He could almost see the man starting to sweat. “Calm yourself, Captain. I just want to know if I need to go through the whole explanation again.” Jason had lived a life inside an aquarium. He was used to having eyes constantly on him.

  There was a slight drop in the man’s shoulders. “Yes, my Prince. I listened.” Apparently, he wanted Jason to know that any secrets were still confined because he added a hasty, “It was only me, sir. I kicked the monitor techs out of the office and turned off the recording while I was in there.”

  “Good. Then I won’t bother rehashing things. What’s your opinion of our objective? Please be candid.”

  “Candid, sir?”

  Jason pinched the bridge of his nose. “Captain, if you’re going to continue acting as if I’m talking to you with a guillotine over your neck, we’re not going to make much progress. Nobody is in trouble here.” Well, nobody except Wingate and Carson. “I won’t be offended if you contradict something I say. You have experience with covert operations. I need your candid input.”

  Captain Stiles relaxed enough to run a hand over his face. “Yes, sir.” He paused a moment gathering his words. “I think the Ambassador missed one important aspect.”

  “Go on.”

  “The government of Alexandria exists, thrives, and only concerns itself with two major factors. Speedy and thorough terraforming and tourism. One could barely call it a government at all. It’s more like a cooperative project between competing entertainment companies. Tourists from every world come here to play. Most of those planets won’t have anything to do with Serigala. Oh, people don’t care if a few Serigala expatriates come here and start a business, but they will absolutely flip the f…” He stopped himself before cursing in front of Jason. “Sir, if it became common knowledge that the Serigala military set up a base of operations in this sector…” He opened his palms and let the thought hang in the air.

  “I see.” Jason drummed his fingers along the desk. “So, you think Alexandria will help in this matter?”

  The Captain’s lips tightened, and his head bobbed from side to side. “Well, maybe not help in the attack. They have no military, sir.” He mumbled to himself in a voice full of contempt, “Barely a police force.” His basso-tenor returned to the formal tones of an officer addressing his superior. “But I think they’ll turn a blind eye to whatever we do if we alert them ahead of time and don’t do anything publicly noticeable, sir. They’ll be happy to deny any prior knowledge of our venture and won’t hamper us leaving with those tanks.” He added as a quick afterthought, “We can’t blow up the building or damage the dome, sir.”

  “Can we get them to evacuate the whole dome? Announce some type of emergency?”

  Stiles flinched with surprise. “Sir, there are probably ten thousand people working in that dome. That would not be a quiet sneaky way of doing this.”

  “Okay.” At least he’d gotten the man thinking. “Why don’t you draw up a few plans, and you can present them to me in a couple of days. Start with a budget of a million francs.” He gave the Captain a copy of the compound layout. “Compile a list of any weapons and materials you need and are available here. There won’t be time to get anything from off-planet sources. Assume I can bring in four hired guns plus myself to join you.” He tried not to hold his breath waiting for the man to realize the implication of what he said. His own brow started to sweat.

  The Captain examined the map. “How are you planning on getting the equipment ho
me, sir?”

  “People, Captain. Those tanks are filled with people. I gave the Ambassador a coded message to send out. I should have a ship for my return to Rhime in a couple of weeks. If it becomes a problem, we’ll hire someone local.”

  “And your personal guard?” He spoke with a grimace. “He can get us some reliable help with experience in these matters?” Jason almost got his response out when Captain Stiles widened his eyes. “You’re not planning on coming inside with us, are you? Sir?” It came out as an incredulous gasp.

  “Settle down, Captain. Yes, I’m coming, but I’ll stay behind someone big and armed. I’m the only one who’s seen inside that building. I made that map from memory. I might be useful.” Keep ordering. Be confident.

  “Sir, I can’t allow you to walk into that kind of danger.” The man seemed honestly horrified by the idea. Whether it was because he cared about Jason’s life or his own career, Jason couldn’t tell. He’d certainly loosened up fast around his prince.

  “Can’t allow?” Jason permitted his fingers to thump on the desk in his father’s pattern. “Can’t allow. Hmm.” He drummed again while staring at Stiles then gave the desk a knock with his knuckles. “Captain, I am taking personal responsibility for this operation. If it will make you feel any better, I’ll leave a message before we go noting your objections and absolving you of the liability.”

  “Sir!” he choked out. “I hardly think that will be enough if you end up dead.”

  “Captain, we aren’t storming the gates of Hell. It’s not even a military compound. Yes, there are some undercover soldiers in there, but I doubt it’s any more secure than this building.”

  The Captain looked around as if he could see through the walls and to whatever security blockades he had in place. “Even so sir, you could just as easily be someplace safe watching our maneuvers through a camera pickup with the ability to communicate any directions back to me.”

  Damn. Jason slunk in his chair. Another oh-so-reasonable solution. The man was right. Jason had no business going in there with weapons firing. He held up a palm, not wanting to relinquish. But he had asked the Captain to be candid. To not hold back his opinions. Still, Jason ached to be in on the action. “I’ll consider your request.”

  Captain Stiles wasn’t mollified — his glower bold enough to be obvious and direct.

  “Oh, alright. I’ll stay behind.” Speaking the words was like chewing ash.

  Stiles blew out a relieved breath. “Thank you, sir.”

  “But only if we get enough people and the plans don’t require another person holding a weapon.” Of course, now the Captain would absolutely design his plans for minimum required bodies. Well, hell, he’d always been destined for management anyway. Another thought popped into Jason’s head. “Captain, do you already have a file on Ms. Wingate?”

  “Why, yes.” Stiles finally managed a wolfish smile. “I already pulled her information out for you to look over. I dare to say, it’s no wonder your” — he managed a fake cough — “bodyguard wasn’t able to follow her.”

  And was there a file on Bill in your records, Captain? How much aren’t you telling me? Those questions would come later. “What can you tell me about her?”

  “The first thing I’ll tell you is that we’re still not sure Wingate is a she. My agents had a hell of a time tracing her when she showed up a couple of years ago.”

  Jason perked up with interest. “You can’t possibly watch every person that steps foot on this planet.”

  “No, of course not.” The Captain gave a wave of his hand. “We monitor known politically-minded criminals and do thorough background checks on anyone linked to any government. The Ambassador makes frequent appearances in the political circles, so it’s part of our security duties to her.”

  “I see. And Wingate?”

  “She or he traveled here under that name and set up the company, and she even keeps an apartment under that name. But as far as we can tell, whenever she’s outside the office, she becomes Mr. Dennis White.” With a few taps and swipes, he projected an image into the air with his comm. The man was slight with a dark pixie hairstyle and had soft enough features to portray either sex convincingly.

  “Do we have a home address for that identity?”

  “Yes, sir. Wingate won’t be difficult to pick up, but legally we can’t do that either.”

  “What about Carson?”

  “I’m not sure why your…” The hesitation came again. “Bodyguard, had such a difficult time with him, sir.”

  Jason had enough of the disparaging bodyguard comments. “Do you have a problem with my assistant?”

  The Captain furrowed his brows. “I do, sir.”

  Jason waited for more. When nothing came, he rolled his hand in a please-continue gesture. “Let’s hear it, Captain. Speak freely.”

  “He’s a criminal.” Stiles spat the words. “I don’t think he should be trusted within a hundred meters of you. I’m not looking forward to conducting a raid with him and his criminal friends.”

  Jason scratched his head then opened his palm to Stiles. “Okay. I asked for your suggestions. So, suggest an alternative.” Maybe he could dismiss Bill with a bonus and be done with the man. Although, considering how much information Bill had on the Mirre, he’d wanted to bring him into the company in some fashion. Another problem for later.

  “Let me assign you a proper bodyguard from my staff. For the raid, there are a plenty of former soldiers from all over the Nexus acting as security for one company or another on this planet. The casino industry alone is filled with them. I’ve had to hire a few in the past for small projects.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Okay. Just let me handle Bill. I may want him along for the trip home.” Having someone loyal to him instead of his father might become necessary. “How about Ferguson? Can you do anything about him?”

  “I couldn’t find that name in our files.” The man looked downright embarrassed about the lapse. “But if he’s still at the same address, we could track him.”

  Jason arched a single brow. “Track him? How about arrest him?”

  “Hmm.” Stiles rubbed his jaw. “I was under the impression he committed that crime back on Nephele.”

  “The second time was on Nephele. The first time was on a Shabin owned ship docked to Porter Station, which is under Rhime law. Do we have extradition rights on Alexandria?”

  “Yes. If you care to sign an arrest warrant, sir, we can have the local police pick him up.”

  “Get me the documents. I’d be happy to sign them.” With a big damned flourishing N at the end of his name along with a heartfelt screw you.

  “The man will probably fight the extradition. It could take years.”

  “Do we need to have the police pick him up? Can’t we arrest him ourselves?”

  “Only if he steps foot on the Embassy property.”

  “Oh.” Jason mulled over the concept. “What if we just grabbed him and brought him here?”

  The Captain raised his eyes. “That’s not quite legal, sir.”

  “Maybe not. But if our outside help brought him here in a sack, we’d be obligated to arrest him. A practice run of sorts. You have someplace you can secure him?”

  Stiles definitely didn’t like the idea. He spoke warily. “Hmm. Yes, sir. We don’t have a jail cell mind you, but we have a room we’ve used for interrogations in the past.”

  “Okay then, why don’t—”

  Captain Stiles held up a hand interrupting him. The man was certainly getting bold and comfortable around Jason. He made a conscious decision to like it as long as Stiles didn’t go too far.

  “Sir, it would be best if I didn’t know any of the details. If your hireling manages to drag Ferguson to our front gates,” then he lowered his voice and murmured, “Or to the southeast loading dock entrance sometime after hours,” he continued louder, “We’ll handle it from there.”

  It was fair enough. Stiles wasn’t looking to destroy his career by doing something overtly i
llegal on Alexandria. “Very good, Captain. I’ll take care of that loose end in the next few days. Meanwhile, work out a plan to get inside the Wingate building, and you can send over a bodyguard replacement along with whatever personal information you have on Wingate and Carson. I’ll be at my hotel.” He gave Captain Stiles the name and room number.

  Chapter Twenty

  “You know…” Jason took a casual sip of wine. “If we’re going to pretend to be on a date, you should try to look a little less like a bodyguard.”

  Lieutenant Shimizu had been inseparable from him for the past two days and still maintained the star-struck oh-my-god-I’m-going-to-screw-up mannerisms that went with most people from home unfamiliar with being around the royal family. Medium height and build, straight black hair, mid-thirties, attractive but she was no Sparrow. Both of them went with the local toga fashion this evening. It took the majority of the first day for him to convince her it was okay to drop the “my prince’s” and “sirs,” while out in public. He wouldn’t stay unnoticeable for long if she kept that up.

  “On this planet?” Shimizu sounded incredulous. “More like I’ve hired you for the evening.” She grabbed her wine but only touched the rim to her lips.

  “Hmm.” She might be right. The restaurant had several winter-spring groupings with most of the springs featuring very young looking and scantily clad women.

  Jason was used to people looking past physical appearance. It was one of the reasons people from home didn’t notice he was still a teenager. They were used to youthful facades as the norm. Rhime’s major draw for immigrants was the company’s generous allowances for youth medications. Some people back home considered them an inalienable right. The rest of the universe got charged all the market would bear. What could be more valuable than extra years to your life?

  “You see them?” Jason had his back to the crowd, not wanting Wingate to spot him.