She blinked, and a single tear escaped to trail down her cheek. “I promise, I won’t hide. Truthfully, I don’t think I can any longer, but…I won’t try.”
She glanced behind her toward the stove; when she turned back to him a few more tears flowed, but she was smiling again. “Now are you planning to put on pants, or are we eating in the bed?”
He chuckled, flush with too many emotions to resolve into a mood and not caring in the slightest that he had in fact been naked for the entirety of the conversation. It was called marriage—something he was grateful to still have in the morning light. “Um…I think we’re eating in the bed.”
29
SENECA
Cavare
* * *
Agent Duarte signaled the mission was a go, and the incursion team blew the front door to the OTS bunker—and the back door. Snipers covered the roof from atop neighboring buildings. Flashbang grenades followed as they swarmed inside.
Thermal imaging had pinpointed the locations of the seven people inside, and the first wave went straight for them, while the next swept every corner of every room.
Agent Benito: Priority Target Beta secured.
Duarte moved into the kitchen as two of his men hauled a woman up off the floor and secured wrist restraints on her.
“You are hereby placed under arrest for the murders of three hundred fourteen military personnel, as well as for conspiracy to kidnap Senators Garza and Viktin. Additional charges are pending.”
Agent Duarte: Priority Target Alpha secured.
Graham watched the feed as the young woman struggled as viciously as a crazed animal against the restraints. She wouldn’t get away. They’d sent a lot of agents. The capture of Faith Quillen and Ulric Toscano plus the other five in residence brought the number of OTS members under arrest on Seneca to twenty-eight.
Small comfort for all the lives the terrorists had taken, but justice late was better than no justice at all…even if it didn’t feel particularly like it at the moment.
Aristide Vranas stood at the window, silently staring out. He’d been that way for a while.
Graham cleared his throat. “We’re bringing in two of the OTS big guns now. They may give us a few more names, but this should mostly eradicate OTS’ presence here. Mostly thanks to Division’s Prevo, I’ll point out.”
“Huh. Well…good, then. And Romane has the leader in custody?”
Graham nodded in confirmation. “This information, and definitely his name, is being kept confidential for now. We want to give Admiral Solovy a chance to make the best play possible. It’s her call when to release his identity, but I have reason to believe it will be soon.”
“As long as he pays.”
“He will.”
The Chairman finally turned his back on the window. “I’ve been formally invited to Romane to sign a mutual non-aggression treaty with the IDCC. I’ll do it. But first I have to bury my friend.”
Graham didn’t have any good response to soften the blow, so he kept silent. Gianno’s body would lie in state for three days, as was customary upon the death of someone of her stature, then be the subject of the most ostentatious funeral ceremony Seneca had ever seen.
The Federation didn’t bring out the pomp and gilt for much, but it goddamn honored its fallen war heroes properly.
Vranas shot him a weary look. “Before she…Eleni said Admiral Solovy didn’t want us to express public support for her campaign, for strategic reasons. I’d damn sure like to do exactly that about now. I’m feeling a powerful need to give a righteous fire-burner of a speech.”
“I know. But we should adhere to Solovy’s wishes. Trust me when I say we’re helping quite a lot behind the scenes. She seems to have the situation well in hand right now, and we don’t want to tamper with what’s working.
“But in the unlikely event Winslow should somehow prevail in the short term, we will lower a galaxy-sized hammer on the Prime Minister.”
EARTH
London
Earth Alliance Security Ministry
Minister of Security Terry Jameson scrutinized the report a second time. “Where did you get all this information?”
“I uncovered some of it in my own investigation. Most of it came from precisely where you would expect—the accused.”
“Admirals Solovy and Rychen?”
Lange nodded. If he wanted to convince Jameson to risk his neck to take down the prime minister, forthrightness must be the order of the day…to a point. “Or their people, yes. But I didn’t accept it blindly. I checked it out thoroughly, and it’s all good intel. Some of it is from intelligence sources, but with the proper confidentiality agreements we can produce testimony.”
Jameson scratched at his head. “There were already rumors spreading about the blackmail of certain representatives and administration members. This military information, though? Simply leveling the accusation that the prime minister sent special forces against IDCC officials on Romane soil may mean the end of her career—or ours, if we can’t prove it.”
“We can prove it, sir. They’re still sorting through the mess on Romane, but we’ve got visuals and physical evidence. I expect to have forensics data by tomorrow confirming the presence of at least two Alliance special forces members at the scene of Dr. Canivon’s murder and another two at IDCC Headquarters.”
“Those could be excused away by ‘wrong place, wrong time.’ We need more.”
“Official orders leave trails, sir. Once we—once officers not beholden to the prime minister—are able to regain control of all aspects of the military infrastructure, I believe we’ll find those trails.”
“If, Major. And it’s a big ‘if.’ ”
“Yes, sir. But we are duty-bound to act on this evidence.”
“Lucky us.” He sighed. “I agree. The trick now is getting the opportunity to do so. The prime minister was able to accomplish all this because she’s enormously powerful, with other powerful people in her pocket. If we don’t play this perfectly, we’ll find ourselves on the curb and the evidence buried.”
Lange nodded agreement. “Sir, there’s one more piece of intel. I, um, held it back until I was able to gauge your reaction to the rest.”
“Your ace in the hole, and a get-out-of-jail-free card if I turned out to be in the prime minister’s pocket as well?”
“Wouldn’t you do the same, sir, were you in my position?”
“Without a doubt, but hand it over. I’m in now.”
He sent the file. Jameson scanned it, eyes widening as he did. “Are we positive?”
“We are. The identification originated from Federation Intelligence, but they have fully authenticated it and are willing to stand by it. They have records of multiple communications between him and known members of OTS in which he issued kill orders. Plus, he was captured at the scene of the OTS safe house on Romane.”
“Winslow will challenge anything from the Federation government, but we do have a minimal intelligence-sharing arrangement with them. Let me…” he reached for his panel, then stopped “…no, he’s friends with Defense Minister Mori, and Mori is in her inner circle. Who do I know that I can be confident isn’t in her pocket?”
The silence hung heavy in response.
Lange blinked at the priority message pinging his eVi. He read it quickly, then again. “Well.”
“Something you’d care to share, Major?”
“Sir, if we can get everything in order and prepare charges in private, we might be getting a lot of very public backing, and soon.”
Washington
Earth Alliance Headquarters
“In breaking news, the Romane government has announced the arrest of Jude Winslow, son of Earth Alliance Prime Minister Pamela Winslow, in connection with the wave of violent protests which broke out across Romane last week.
“According to authorities, Mr. Winslow has been charged with murder, attempted murder, assault, conspiracy to commit terrorist acts and destruction of private property.
“In addition, both the Romane and the Senecan Federation governments claim they possess evidence of Mr. Winslow’s involvement with the Order of the True Sentients. The organization has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of two Federation senators and is accused of perpetrating a recent spate of attacks on Romane and Seneca, including the bombing of Federation Military Headquarters and multiple commercial buildings on Romane.
“The allegations against Prime Minister Winslow’s son come on the heels of a new challenge to BANIA filed with the Supreme Judicial Court by a coalition of Alliance-based corporations and human rights groups.”
Stupid, arrogant child! He should never under any circumstances have allowed himself to be captured. He should never have been in a location or situation where capture was a possibility.
Such prideful, treacherous conceit would be his downfall. If Pamela was not exceedingly careful, it would be hers as well.
Clearly the Romane operation had been a failure, for which there was plenty of blame to go around. Much of it fell at the feet of the Prevos; this only proved how dangerous they were, how great a threat they were to all institutions and individuals. Some could be placed upon the covert operatives, though they’d come highly recommended and boasted stellar combat records.
She wondered if some or all of them were secret traitors and had sabotaged the mission.
Luis Akin sat waiting for her instructions. She muted the news feed and considered her Chief of Staff. “Can we pay someone off, privately and off the record, to get him out?”
“Before the news broke, maybe, though given the damage Romane suffered it would have been difficult. Now? No one on Romane is inclined to back down or recant in full view of the galaxy.”
“Can we get him out by force?”
“Not unless you want to invade Romane.”
Pamela didn’t respond immediately. The prospect was admittedly appealing. Before the IDCC, before Solovy’s rebellion, it would have been doable, too. But she had to conserve her resources and safeguard her—the Earth Alliance’s—interests at home.
She shook her head. “After their abject failure during the riots, I assume a stealth incursion is unlikely to succeed, either. What about getting a message through to him? Is there any way to counter the shielding on his cell?”
He shook his head. “It’s local, hardware-generated and non-networked.”
Perhaps it was for the best, as there was no good message she could send. She straightened her posture. “We’ll have to defeat the IDCC in the press for now, then.”
Akin smiled wryly. “On this point you’re in luck, as the press is most anxious for a public statement.”
“Yes. Now that I consider it further, this may be a boon. Jude’s false arrest is yet more evidence of the IDCC’s malignancy.”
He cleared his throat. “And the Federation’s accusations? They will ask.”
“The Federation will never miss an opportunity to cast the Earth Alliance in a poor light. We’ve never trusted what they have to say. Inform the media I’ll be making a statement in ten minutes.”
“Of course my son is innocent. He was visiting Romane on business for my husband’s charity, Sharing for Success, and was simply caught in the crossfire.
“Romane was facing an uprising by its own citizens—citizens who are disgusted by their government’s involvement in the IDCC and wanted to retake their home from Prevo domination. The police used gestapo tactics to crush the protests and arrested anyone who was in view. My son had the misfortune of walking from one place to another at the wrong time.”
“What about the Senecan Federation—”
“Seneca has a lengthy history of spouting blustering propaganda in our direction. This is no different, and it is as impotent and false as always. But the real threat is the Prevo-controlled IDCC, and it has shown its true face with this outrageous act. Not content to merely hold the average, ordinary person under its boot, it would frame my son in order to weaken the Alliance.
“This is a vile, disgusting attempt to raise doubts about our earnest efforts to stem the poisoning of our youth by their Prevo corruption.
“I ask all of you listening and watching not to allow that to happen. Because if they succeed in weakening the Alliance, it won’t be long before they arrive to enslave all of you as well. We must remain strong and vigilant in our fight against this threat.”
“Prime Minister, how do you respond to the announcement earlier today by Assembly Speaker Gagnon that he intends to open an investigation into reports your administration used extortion and blackmail to secure passage of BANIA?”
Her jaw clenched. Ungrateful, back-stabbing coward. “The Speaker is welcome to investigate all he likes. Meanwhile, I will be defending our citizens.”
30
ROMANE
IDCC Headquarters
* * *
“That pompous, supercilious prig! How can she stand in front of news cams and tell such bald-faced lies with a straight face?”
When no response arrived, Morgan spun from the news feed screen to find Mia regarding her with a raised eyebrow. She frowned. “Don’t you agree?”
“ ‘Supercilious?’ ”
Had she said that? It seemed she had. “Must be one of Stanley’s words.” In truth, it cheered her somewhat, the notion some fragment of his personality continued to lurk inside her, occasionally tossing up cultured, urbane terms of art just in time for her to utter them.
“It’s also accurate. No one has challenged Winslow for so long, she’s convinced she can simply say things and they will somehow become reality by…I don’t know, the sheer power of her hypnotic voice or something.”
“Admiral Solovy’s challenging her.”
“Yeah, well…” Morgan gestured in the direction of the news feed screen “…Winslow’s still talking. Mia, why aren’t you more upset? The woman’s done nothing but malign you, practically since the day you woke up.”
Mia shrugged. “To me, she looks weak. Baseless accusations are the last refuge of the desperate. We’re winning, Morgan. Admiral Solovy is winning. The cost has been high, and I can only hope it will grow no higher. But while she may have the Alliance-captive news feeds, we have the power. And we don’t need a bunch of cams floating around us to exercise it.”
“Valid perspective, I suppose. She still makes my skin itch like a bad rash.” Morgan lounged against the wall, trying to impose a measure of relaxation on herself. What she really needed was a good fighter speed run around the stellar system. Or to get laid. But Harper was in the middle of patching up gear damaged during the riots, and Morgan knew better than to think the woman was apt to abandon the work before it was complete.
For the briefest second the possibility of hitting the bars popped into her head, but she quickly squelched it. She wasn’t going to do it, for a dozen reasons but mostly because she genuinely didn’t want anyone else in her bed. Huh.
“Hell, yes, it’s a valid perspective.” Mia’s chuckle died in her throat. “Listen, there is one thing about Winslow’s tirade which does concern me—not what she said, but what she implied. If by some dire turn of fate Admiral Solovy loses and Winslow regains full control of the Alliance military, she’s coming for us. For Romane.”
Morgan nodded. “I’ll get to bolstering the defenses and finding us more firepower. With a little luck Seneca may choose to back us up, but we can’t rely on them or anyone else to save us.”
She blew a breath out through pursed lips. “Nothing like an insurmountable challenge to get the blood pumping. First thing I want to do is get arcalasers installed on all the ground defense turrets, then upgrade their shielding—” she bounced off the wall with a jerk, chin dropping in shock “—are they here now?”
“What? Oh….” Mia drew her petite frame up to an alert posture as she saw it, too—the stream from one of hundreds of Romane’s space defense network high-sensitivity beacons. “I doubt it. It’s only the one ship, and it’s not trying to hide. Chec
k it out, though.”
Morgan was already pulling on her jacket and heading for the door.
Malcolm made his way to the top floor of IDCC Headquarters on the assumption Mia’s office was located in the same place as when he’d last visited. It was only a few weeks ago, and as he understood it she had solidified her leadership position in the time since.
He cleared two security checkpoints without incident, as apparently his name resided on a list of authorized visitors. That was unexpected.
Signs of the recent riots remained here and there in piled-up debris and stray damage on the streets, but inside the building the impact appeared to be limited to some shattered windows, all of which were already being replaced. Thank God the rioters hadn’t breached the building.
Mia’s office was chaotic, but in a strangely organized sort of way. After studying the activity for a few seconds, he decided it must be serving as an ad-hoc command and planning center.
He didn’t recognize anyone in the room—other than her of course—which maybe was for the best.
As he stood in the doorway, the various conversations began to die out. People were noticing him. Granted, the Alliance fatigues and Volnosti patch weren’t much of a disguise.
She was talking with an older woman, but when the hush dimmed to silence, she glanced toward the door.
Brilliant, piercing jade irises landed on him, and his breath hitched. Had she learned he was coming and altered them for him? Foolish thought, and one which led down a path he should really get off of post-haste.
Then she smiled at him, and he resigned himself to the path.
“Malcolm, come in. This is a surprise.”
“Is it? I assumed you’d been tracking me since I reached Romane space—I mean I assumed you’d know there was an Earth Alliance ship in orbit and an officer on the ground.” He cringed; this was going splendidly. Everything had been so much easier before it had occurred to him feelings might be involved.
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