The Mountains of Montora (The Chronicles of Montora Book 1)

by Ward Wagher

  “Yes, Admiral.”

  “And further, you will keep a lid on things. Your brother sent Glenn Foxworth out here to… how do we say this… to help you manage things. Listen to him.”

  A thoroughly wilted duke replied, “Yes, Admiral.”

  “All right, then. Let’s go.” Krause turned toward the door, then stopped. “Milord, do you have any children?”

  “No, Admiral.”

  “Well, then the good news is you haven’t corrupted the gene pool.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “How’s Daphne?” Wendy asked.

  “She will recover,” Hai said. “However, she was badly beaten.”

  “How badly?”

  “Besides what you could see, there were the assorted cuts and bruises, several broken ribs, a broken nose and a couple of broken fingers. The Sick Bay is keeping her for observation – there may be some internal injuries too.”

  “I was amazed she was moving under her own power today,” Frank said.

  “One determined lady.” Hai said. “Admiral Krause was more incensed at her treatment than anything else, I think.”

  “I would have to be convinced of that considering how he hung us out to dry,” Wendy said.

  Hai looked at Frank, who cleared his throat. “The thing to remember about the admiral is he has a reason for everything he does.”

  “It was pretty clear to me the fix was in when they came out of Stine’s office,” Wendy said. “Then when he announced the inquiry was closed…”

  The servers eased in to clear the dinner dishes from the table. Mrs. Marsden supervised from the corner. Her arms were folded in front of her chest and she had a severe expression on her face.

  Frank gave a one-sided grin. “I don’t think Mrs. Marsden approves of our talking business at the dinner table. A very good dinner, as usual,” he called to her.

  She sniffed and followed the servers from the Margrave's Private Dining Room.

  “I probably should not mention this,” Hai said, “but the admiral said some things while he was in the process of chewing me out this afternoon.”

  “You were a little subdued after your meeting with him this afternoon,” Frank said. “I gathered Krause was not happy with you.”

  “I’m not sure what he was madder about – my permitting Daphne to risk herself like that, or getting him dragged into this mess.”

  Frank snorted. “Oh yes, his infamous statement on failure.”

  “You got it. The fact we let things unravel to the point he had to step in was a major failure on our part. You know how he turns a chewing out into one of his major lectures. He’s pulling Daphne out, by the way.”

  “I am glad to hear that. Things are not any less dangerous right now,” Frank said.

  “Oh, I don’t know. He chewed on the duke a bit too.”

  “I just feel badly about getting Daphne into this,” Wendy said. “We shouldn’t have talked you into letting her go to the bank for us.”

  “Thank you for that, Wendy, but as I recall, I was a willing participant in that little scheme.”

  “Do you think the duke will listen?” Frank asked.

  “I don’t know,” Hai said. “But he chewed on the prime minister a bit too. Apparently Carlo Roma sent Foxworth out specifically to hold Guilietto’s leash. And he has not been notably successful with that either.”

  “Would we be smarter just to cut our losses and pull out?” Wendy asked.

  “If the admiral didn’t want us here, I would be giving it serious thought. Having you potentially in the cross-fire scares me to death. He will be leaving once Roma runs his policemen through their trial and turns them over to the Navy. I wish I could talk you into leaving with him.”

  “Not on your life!”

  “Has it not occurred to you it may come to that?” Frank said.

  “Hang the duke and hang the Navy,” Wendy yelled, “let’s just pack up and clear out together. Nobody needs this!”

  “And the people of Montora?” Frank said quietly.

  “If we’re dead, it won’t matter, will it?” She jumped up and left the room.

  Frank turned to Hai. “I’m glad you got Daphne out anyway. My available options are severely circumscribed with Wendy here.”

  “We could shoot her with a sleepy-dart and pack her aboard the shuttle.”

  “Don’t think I haven’t thought about it. But the results of when she eventually gets her hands on me again frightens me worse than what’s going on here.”

  “There is that, I suppose. Back to the topic at hand, you know what the admiral is trying to do?”

  “Yes. He’s bending over backwards to avoid having to pull the plug on the duke.”

  “So you think he is in the duke’s brother’s pocket?”

  “No, Hai. You have heard his lecture on how a bad government is better than no government. I think Carlo Roma is trying to sit on his brother – Glenn Foxworth is unmistakably working for Carlo. As long as Carlo is willing to bend things to keep his brother under control, Krause is willing to oblige him.”

  “And meanwhile we get caught in the middle.”

  “You know better than that, Hai. Keeping this rickety federation from flying apart is the admiral’s job. And he has made it our job to keep Hepplewhite under control so he can do his job. The federation is a lousy thing, but it beats the alternative by light years.”

  “I know. It just gets so frustrating sometimes.”

  “Would that be what the he chewed on you about?”

  Ciera chuckled. “Give the man a cigar. He gave me the usual beating about my cowboy mentality and taking the law into my own hands.”

  “He doesn’t know about what we did with the duke’s assassination team, does he?”

  “He hasn’t found it out from me. Gosh, Skipper!”

  “Thank goodness for small favors. Between you and me, Hai, I am just as glad he dissolved the inquiry when he did. If it came out somehow that the duke’s team met justice at our hands, hell would have let out for lunch.”

  “My personal opinion, Captain, is that everyone involved has their own reasons to keep quiet. I have no desire to change the outcome of today’s meeting.”

  Frank leaned back in his chair and stretched. “I’m tired. A good time to call it a day. I think tomorrow we ought to take a trip in to Cambridge and take care of as much business as we can while the admiral’s flotilla is still in orbit. It may stay quiet for a while after he leaves, but keeping a low profile is not going to hurt us.”

  “I understand Admiral Krause let the duke off the hook,” Justin Vos said.

  “Not exactly,” Ciera said.

  Frank, Hai and Justin were standing in the hangar where Hai had parked the aircar.

  “How exactly, then?”

  “He read him the riot act and told him the alternative to him behaving would be to leave the planet in a box.”

  “Humph. Sounds to me like he let him off the hook,” Vos said. “He kills a bunch of people and the Navy slaps his hand. I am really disappointed in you guys, Hai.”

  Ciera frowned but said nothing.

  “Look Mr. Vos,” Frank said. “We are doing the best we can. He killed my brother and his wife. I have the same concerns as you.”

  “You have a funny way of showing it. I was counting on you guys to stop that maniac. Every day you come by here and he is still out there I risk being killed myself. Just what are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know. And you are right. We are risking you by coming here. Hai, we need to find another place to arrive in Cambridge. Two of Mr. Vos’s employees have been killed so far.” Frank turned back to Vos. “Please accept my apologies. We have been inconsiderate.”

  “Now wait a minute,” Vos said. “I just outlined the risks. I am not trying to run out on you. Rather, I am trying to get you to pay attention to what could happen.”

  “He’s right, Frank,” Hai said. “We will leave after dark. Justin, I need to set up a blind e-post box for you
. Montora is back on the planetary net again. We can communicate without the duke’s people knowing about it.”

  Vos nodded. “That should help. One other thing; I want to send my wife and children out to Montora with you tonight.”

  Frank looked at Vos for perhaps a minute. “I understand. We can do that. But that does not grant you permission to run any more risks than necessary. Your family needs you. And I am going to spread my business among a couple of other transporters. I don’t want to call the duke’s attention to you.”

  “Excuse me.” The three turned to see the thin, dark-haired man entering the hangar. “Would one of you be Margrave Montora?”

  “How did you get in here?” Vos said.

  “There was no one in the office and the door was open. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I should not be in here.”

  “Never mind. I wonder where Cassie has gotten to.”

  “Why are you looking for the margrave?” Ciera said.

  “The Woogie at the hotel in Cambridge suggested I speak with him. You see, I am a hotel manager and I am looking for a job.”

  Frank looked carefully at him. “What is your name?”

  “Modest Marple.”

  “Where are you from?”

  “Caledon.”

  “Do you have a resume?”

  “Yes, here it is.” He pulled a paper out of his backpack and began walking towards Frank.

  Hai intercepted him and took the paper. He looked at it and handed it to Frank.

  “I am Margrave Montora, by the way. Have you ever brought up a new hotel from scratch?”

  Marple looked back and forth between the three men and was obviously nonplussed. “Er…”

  “Come on now, Marple, I need to see if you can think on your feet. What is the sum total of your hotel experience?”

  “Yes, Sir. I have managed most aspects of inn keeping. This includes housekeeping, food service, bell service, and back office. I have not brought up a hotel from scratch, however, I would not anticipate difficulties beyond my abilities.”

  Frank chuckled. “You have no idea of the difficulties. We have a building, but so far no power, water or sewer. No equipment or furnishings. We don’t even have a shuttleport worthy of the name. But we do have some money, thank goodness. We can buy what we need.”

  “And a salary?” Marple said.

  “Ah. That must be your problem.”

  “I must confess to being on the thin edge of broke. I badly need work, Sir.”

  “Is that resume honest?” Frank asked.

  “Absolutely. I am a professional hotelier, Sir.”

  “Okay. Is your luggage with you?”

  “So I have the job?”

  “Slow down a bit, young man. No, you don’t have the job. I will, however, invite you to fly out with us this evening to Montora Village and spend a couple of days there. We'll give you room and board. My wife, who is the business brains of this outfit, will want to talk to you. And to be fair, you will need to see exactly what you would be getting yourself into.”

  “Sir, I accept your invitation. This sounds fascinating.”

  “Good. Now I would suggest you take advantage of Mr. Vos’s hospitality and stay around here today. Things are a little unsettled in Cambridge.”

  “Of course, Sir.”

  “Do you really think he is a hotel manager?” Hai said.

  “Not really. But if he is foolish enough to volunteer for a job up at the village, I think we should talk to him. If he has any capabilities, I can find something for him to do. He is not lacking initiative, apparently.”

  Ciera snorted. “There is that. It might be an interesting flight out tonight. We’ll have a possible hotel manager and then we will also have Vos’s wife and kids.”

  “I probably should call Gerry,” Frank said. “He will need to prepare a place for everybody to stay. We do not have an abundance of warm homes available.”

  “Put them in the keep, Skipper. It’s probably as good as where they live now. At least they’ll be safe.”

  Frank turned to Hai as the oriental steered the elderly electric car into Cambridge. “How much danger is Vos in, actually?”

  Ciera shook his head. “Unknown, Frank. The duke’s police have not been conducting themselves with anything like due process. They could pick Justin up for the fun of it. They have done it before. One thing is for sure: whatever the duke says, the local gendarmerie is waiting for Krause’s flotilla to leave orbit so they can get back down to business as usual.”

  “Which means Roma won’t delay getting his two thugs before the court and off planet.”

  “Right. I expect it to happen today. That is why we would be wise to get our business taken care of and get out of Dodge.”

  “You have such a delicious turn of phrase,” Frank said.

  “Yes, and I probably have some safety, moving around the city. The duke is going to be reluctant to mess with Navy personnel. But you, my friend, have a large target painted on your back.”

  “Fortunately, the duke cannot move into the countryside in force without losing his cover, threadbare as it may be.”

  “Unfortunately, you have more need to move in his territory than he yours.”

  “True. But I am counting on my friend Hai Ciera, not to mention a prime minister who is supposed to be baby sitting the duke.”

  Ciera snorted. “And one of the duties of friends is to tell a friend he is being a fool.”

  “In what way?”

  “Simply this, Frank: if you cannot convince Wendy to leave, you need to leave and take her with you. She is worth far more than any pissant margraviate. You need to rethink your concepts of honor and obligation.”

  “And just let the duke get away with it?”

  “Sooner or later the duke is going to step on the old crank seriously enough to force the Navy into action. That will be the end of the him. However satisfying it may be to witness this personally, it will not change the eventual end of this game.”

  “So you think I am playing out of my league here, Hai?”

  “No. You can run rings around the duke and his people. However, if you end up knocking off the duke, you will then be facing Carlo Roma. And then, yes, you will be out of your depth. And if that happens, my friend, the Navy will not be able to protect you… or Wendy. Give it some thought.”

  Neither man spoke for a while. The car rolled into downtown Cambridge and Hai parked in front of the bank. He set the parking brake and stared ahead. It was quiet for another minute.

  “But, do you not think the admiral wants me here?” Frank asked.

  “There is no question the admiral wants you here. But you should have no problem telling the him to perform an anatomical impossibility. I know you’ve done it before.”

  “Performed an anatomical impossibility?”

  Ciera chuckled. “No, told the admiral to.”

  “You are right. I have no problem at all with telling the admiral what to do with himself. However, I also think he is right to want me here. There is a job to be done and for my sins, I’ve been elected to do it.”

  Ciera sighed and leaned back in the seat. “I know, Frank. But I needed to make sure you knew there was a choice. You were the admiral’s roving trouble shooter while you were in the Navy, but you don’t work for him any longer.”

  “I don’t think there is a choice.”

  “Of course there is. Pull up stakes and sell Montora to the next poor sucker. You don’t have to do this.”

  “You know better than that. Aside from the little fact that my brother was on the receiving end of the duke’s hospitality… Well, Willard Krause would have brought me in regardless of who the last margrave was. We both know I am the best man to sort out this mess for the Navy, God help us.”

  “God help us all,” Hai intoned.

  “Right. Let’s go terrorize the bank manager. Among other things, I need to make sure the gold Daphne deposited actually landed in our accounts.”

  Chapter Eigh
teen

  “The banker seemed a bit more cooperative with the Navy sitting in orbit above us,” Hai said.