The Alembic Plot: A Terran Empire novel

by Ann Wilson

  13. Chuck

  Nobody had thought to brief them on the welcoming ceremonies at theairport, but Bradford had mentioned her team acting as bodyguards, sowhen it was their turn to leave the plane, Odeon took point and theother four formed a square around Cortin. That might or might not havebeen the right thing to do, but it was effective; as a member of theKing's Household, she got some press attention--as the High King'sInquisitor, surrounded by Special Operations officers, that attentionwas both brief and extremely respectful.

  Once they got through that, Cortin and her team boarded a passenger vanwith "Harmony Lodge" emblazoned on the side for the brief trip to theirnew home. The Lodge was more impressive than Cortin had expected,though she'd gathered from Bradford that it was adequate for a largerteam than hers. It was close to the Palace Compound, not a kilometerfrom the Palace itself, but the way it had been landscaped, it couldhave been far from anything: thick hedges and a formal garden made it aprivate place. The building itself was huge, and looked more like amedieval castle than the simple, probably rustic building she'dexpected from something called a lodge. She wondered with someamusement if it had a dungeon; that was, after all, the classical placefor interrogations in a castle.

  The van dropped them off at the main door, then headed toward the rearof the building. As they approached, the door swung open to reveal anelderly man in black-and-scarlet livery, who bowed to them. "Welcomehome, Colonel--gentles. I am Michael Brady, Your Excellency's butlerand head of Harmony Lodge's staff." He gestured them inside. "May Ishow you around, or would you prefer to rest until supper?"

  "Thank you, Mr. Brady," Cortin said. "I'd like to see the place,especially my work areas. My men may make their own choices."

  Odeon and Chang chose to join her, the others decided to rest. Bradycalled servants to show them to their rooms, then said, "YourExcellency has not had servants before?"

  "No . . . it shows?"

  "It does. Servants are addressed and referred to by first name, not byan honorific and last name."

  Cortin didn't like that; if she used first names with a person, sheexpected to be referred to that way herself. Still, she didn't like todefy custom in public, and while the servants might work for her, theyweren't part of her team. She inclined her head in agreement. "As yousay, then, Matthew. My apologies if I offended."

  "No offense, Excellency. You wished to see your work area first?"

  "Please--and brief me on the rest of the place as we go, if you would."

  "Of course," Brady said. "If you will follow me?" He led them througha doorway to the left of the broad, sweeping entrance stairs. "Theentertainment areas and public offices are here, on the main floor;living quarters are on the upper floors--private bedrooms and baths,common eating and recreational facilities, including an excellentlibrary; and the work area is below ground. Servants' quarters are ina building behind this one."

  "Sounds nice," Cortin said appreciatively. "I do have an honest-to-Goddungeon, then?"

  "Yes, Your Excellency."

  "I'm new to Royal circles, Matthew--is it usual for members of HisMajesty's Household to have households of their own?"

  "No, Excellency." Brady paused, looking uncomfortable. "With all duerespect to the Inquisitor-Colonel, she is the only one whose positionmakes it desirable. The rest live in the Palace itself."

  Cortin had gotten used to an Inquisitor's normal isolation, but shehadn't expected it to be this extreme. It was fine with her, though;she'd rather have her own place. "I gather I won't be expected to domuch entertaining or go to many parties, then."

  "No, Excellency, though you will of course receive all the usualinvitations. The only functions you will actually be expected toappear at will be ones hosted by His Majesty, and you are free to missthose if you are in the midst of an interrogation. He has instructedme to inform you that your work is to take priority over anything else,and that you are to contact him personally at any time if you believeyou have obtained valuable information."

  "I'm not to report to him, then?" Cortin was both relieved and alittle disappointed at that.

  "Not immediately, Excellency; as I said, your work is to take priority,and there are four prisoners in the holding cells awaiting theattentions of the High King's Inquisitor."

  Cortin smiled, changing her plans for the evening's entertainment. "Inthat case, I'll pass on the rest of the tour for now. Captain Odeon,would you do me a favor?"

  Odeon nodded, grinning. "Call Major Illyanov and tell him no gueststonight, right?"

  "Right, then join me downstairs." She thought for a moment, then askedBrady, "What shape are they in?"

  "Untouched, to the best of my knowledge, Excellency."

  Four, and none softened up. Cortin nodded to herself, pleased, thenasked, "What's the setup like down there? Colonel Bradford said onestate-of-the-art suite, other conventional ones."

  "Yes, Excellency. There are five complete interrogation suites, thoughonly Suite Alpha--yours, of course--has the highly sophisticatedequipment."

  "Thank you." Cortin turned to Chang. "Lieutenant, would you askLieutenant Bain to join me after supper?" When she agreed, Cortinturned back to Brady. "Let's go."

  Someone with a sense of humor she appreciated had posted signs in theprisoners' passage showing the way to the dungeon, and one over itsdoor quoting the ancient poet Dante: "Abandon hope, all ye who enterhere." They stopped there, and Bradford gave her a set of keys. "Myresponsibilities end at this door, Your Excellency. EnforcementService personnel from the Detention Center are responsible for caringfor the prisoners and cleaning up after you; the first is done atmidday, and they are on call for the other. Now that you have assumedyour duties, no one else will enter except by your order or with yourpermission."

  "What about record films of the interrogations?"

  "That is handled by the Palace security monitors, Excellency."

  "Fine. What about spare keys?"

  "There is a set for the Enforcement personnel I mentioned."

  "We'll need three more, then. One each for Captain Odeon andLieutenant Bain, and one for anyone else in the team."

  "I will see to it. By Your Excellency's leave?"

  "Granted."

  The keys were marked; Cortin had no trouble finding the one for themain entrance, or for the cellblock. She'd wait for Mike before takingany of them to the suite, but she could make a preliminary evaluationand pick her first subject.

  The block held twenty cells, four of them, as Brady had said, flaggedas having occupants. She didn't get beyond the second one, though.Its occupant startled her at first--she hadn't thought of him sinceleaving New Denver months ago--then she chuckled and turned on thecell's speaker. "Powell--I would've thought you, of all people,would've avoided Enforcement troopers."

  Startled, the young man stared at the one-way glass in the door. "Uh. . . Captain Cortin?"

  "Colonel, now--but it's me, yes. What're you doing in custody again,much less at Harmony Lodge?"

  Powell managed a tentative smile. "Congratulations, Colonel." Then itfaded, and his shoulders slumped. "You won't believe me--they didn't,at the Center, so they sent me here for the High King's Inquisitor."To Cortin's astonishment, she saw the beginnings of hope in his face,and his eyes brightened. "That's not-- You're not--?"

  "It is, and I am."

  "Oh, thank God! They said the King's Inquisitor would havetruthsense--please, let me talk to you!"

  Cortin hesitated. He certainly sounded sincere enough, but he'd beenconditioned once; possibly he had been re-conditioned, this time tokill whoever turned out to be King's Inquisitor. On the other hand,that Brother had said Shannon had put her off limits, and Powell hadsubmitted to her will once; he'd do so again easily. So she wasunlocking the cell door when Odeon arrived.

  "Find a promising one?" he asked.

  "I'd say so--one who wants to talk to me, at least." Cortin opened thecell's door, beckoned its occupant out. "You remember
our youngfriend?"

  "Of course! What's he doing here?"

  "That's what he wants to talk about. Shall we go to my suite?"

  "Just a second, please?" The young man was looking at her withadoration so open it was almost embarrassing, and Cortin wondered wherethat had come from. "I haven't seen Captain Odeon in ages . . ."

  "I don't mind if he doesn't." Cortin watched them embrace, one handclose to her pistol, but it seemed that all Powell wanted was a kiss.At least that much of his conditioning held, she thought. When theybroke, she repeated, "Shall we go to my suite?"

  This time they made it. Suite Alpha's office was simple, butcomfortably appointed, designed to give the subject a feeling ofrelaxation and trust. Cortin took her place in a grouping of furnitureintended to help the subject feel more at ease that the normaldesk-centered version of first stage, and gestured the other two toadjoining seats. "Now, Charles, what is it you don't think I'llbelieve?"

  "That--" The young man gulped, tried again. "That I . . . had to comeback. The Brothers . . . some of the older ones had me, the waysCaptain Odeon and the others helped me find out I liked, but it . . .with them, it wasn't right, and I finally figured out that was becauseCaptain Odeon and the others also helped me realize the Brotherhooditself was wrong. Especially to hate you, when you're the one who letthem help me." He gestured, helplessly. "So I had to go back to theCenter, and find you, and . . . offer to help you any way I could, inreturn for the help you gave me."

  Her truthsense told her he was being absolutely honest. "Did you tellthe Brothers how you felt?"

  "No, ma'am--that didn't seem like a very good idea. I let troopers seeme, but they didn't do anything--maybe because you'd had me released.Anyway, I didn't manage to get arrested until I hit one of them--andthen no one'd believe I'd done it to get arrested! And that's how Iended up here."

  So Mike and the Inquisitors had modified the conditioning she'd set up,had they? Powell was supposed to be terrified of her, if not ofthem--justifiably so, she admitted to herself--but he was gratefulinstead, enough so that he'd risked his life to get back. He couldeasily have been shot for attacking a trooper, not simply gottenarrested. As it turned out, their modification should prove moreuseful than her simple revenge, so she couldn't get too upset withthem--but she would definitely have to find out how it had been done!"That's good, then. What help do you think you can give me?"

  "To start with, I overheard them planning a raid. I don't think it'sthe big one--nobody down at my level is supposed know anything aboutthat, except that it's going to happen--but maybe it'll help? Eventhough I didn't hear much?"

  Cortin leaned forward, not trying to hide her interest. "It will,Charles. Tell me about it."

  Powell frowned. "It's supposed to be on the main convent of the BlueSisters--you know the one, just south of Carthage Mountain?"

  "I don't, but I can find someone who does. Go on."

  "It's supposed to be on their main feast day--that'd be theAnnunciation, the 25th. But they're afraid the Service'll find outsomehow, so if you post troops--even watchers--they won't show."

  Cortin scowled. The Blue Sisters--formally, the Order of Succor of theCompassionate Mother, Piety's order--were dedicated to caring for theseriously ill or wounded, especially Service troopers. So perhaps theywere a natural target--and they definitely needed protection. "Themost important part is keeping the Sisters and their patients safe,even if it means the Brothers escaping. I personally hope that can bedone without alerting them, but--" she shrugged, "once I pass theinformation along, I'm out of it unless they pick up some prisoners.Do you know if one of the Shannons will be involved?"

  "I'm afraid not--that I don't know, I mean. But I'd think one would;it's the kind the Raidmaster would want to lead, either in person or byproxy."

  "Good enough; I'll report it as a possible, then." She smiled at theyoung man. "I'm afraid I'm not as good at this type of questioning asI should be, Charles; I'd like to call in a friend for it. Will youtalk to him as well as you have been to me?"

  "Of course, if that's what you want."

  "Good." Cortin went to her desk and picked up the black phone, askedBrady to come escort a guest, then turned her attention back to Powell."You've been a lot of help already, Charles, and I'm sure you'll be alot more--but have you given any thought to what you'll do when you'vegiven us all the information you have?"

  The young man shrugged. "A little, but it depended on someonebelieving me. Like I said, I'd like to go to work for you, if I could."

  Cortin nodded; she'd definitely be questioning Mike next! "Think aboutit some more, talk to my men--then if you're sure that's really whatyou want, I'll see what I can do. For now, go with Matthew; he shouldbe at the main door shortly."

  When Powell left, Cortin turned to Odeon. "All right, Mike, give!Last time I saw him, I revolted and terrified him--now he's like apuppy eager for my approval, and I swear he has a crush on you. Whyand how?"

  To her astonishment, Odeon looked abashed. "Uh . . . Ivan had anexperimental drug he wanted to try, just to see how thorough aconditioning was possible and how much trouble it'd be. Well, you'dalready set up a program for our young friend, so Ivan figured he mightas well work on him. He outranks us--outranked you, then--so we wentalong."

  Cortin nodded; they'd had no choice, and Ivan had been polite enoughnot to tell her he'd modified her intentions. "It looks like theconditioning was complete, all right--but how permanent?"

  "Till he dies, Ivan says, or till he's put through the same type ofconditioning again, which Ivan doesn't think is possible anywhereoutside a Detention Center. So if you take him on, it'll be for good."

  "I don't see that you left me any choice," Cortin said with resignedamusement. "Kicking him out with conditioning like that would be like. . . kicking a puppy, I suppose. Though I have no idea what I'll beable to do with him!" She paused, frowning. Joining the Brotherhood ofFreedom, or any other terrorist group, meant automatic excommunication,and she didn't care to make her people associate with an excommunicate."I don't suppose you also saw to his spiritual welfare, by any chance?"

  "Of course we did, and not by chance," Odeon said. "Better than that,though we blocked the memory in case you turned him down. Uh--"

  "Don't tell me," Cortin said, half-grinning. "You enlisted him and puthim on the team."

  "Close," Odeon said. "Commissioned him, since you wanted all officers.He doesn't meet the normal Strike Force criteria, but Colonel Bradfordwaivered them in his case. He's a good rider and a damn good marksman,but otherwise his main qualification is absolute dedication to hisTeam-Leader. I wouldn't call him a puppy, young as he is; I'd call hima guard dog. The cue to make him 'remember' he's been an agent ofyours is you welcoming him to Team Azrael."

  "I'll do that next time I see him." Cortin sighed. "Pritchett sayinglast night that he's in love with me, Powell conditioned intodevotion--what next? No, don't answer that; I don't think I want toknow." She paused, then changed the subject. "So Ivan's experimentwas successful--but how useful will it be?"

  "Practically, very little or none. It worked, yes, but the drug'sexpensive and scarce, and the procedures take too many people too long,to be worth using in normal circumstances. It may be done again, butit'll have to be a pretty special case."

  "Too bad; I can see where it could've been useful." Cortin dismissedthe subject with that, hesitated, then picked up the red phone thatalmost had to link her interrogation suite directly with the Palace.According to Brady, His Majesty wanted any significant results she got,as soon as she got them. The phone rang once, then a half-familiarvoice said, "Yes, Colonel?"

  It was a direct link, then. "His Majesty wanted immediate reports,"Cortin said. "Are you authorized to take them?"

  "Anyone who answers this phone is so authorized, Colonel. Go ahead;your report is being recorded."

  "Good." Cortin gave a concise but complete report of what she'd gottenfrom Powell, pleased at t
he quick response. Too bad not everything inthe Kingdom went this smoothly!

  "Excellent," the voice said when she was done. "I had, of course,hoped for quick and substantial results from you, but this exceeds myexpectations. Good work, Colonel."

  Cortin swallowed hard, finally placing the half-familiar voice. Ofcourse he was authorized to answer his own phone! "Th . . . thank you,Your Majesty. This was an easy one."

  "Easy or not, it was effective. Keep up the good work, Colonel; wehave to crush these terrorists, especially the Brothers of Freedom."

  "Of course, Your Majesty--I'll do my best."

  "I would expect no less, Colonel." The line went dead.

  Cortin stared at the handpiece for several seconds before replacing itcarefully in the cradle. It was hard to believe she'd just spoken toHigh King Mark--but she knew his voice, she had to believe. "I'll getyou more, Sire," she said unneccessarily, then she stood. "Okay,Mike--I suppose we ought to get supper, then I'm going to start anothersubject." She grinned. "I really shouldn't say this, but even thoughhe gave me some good information, Charles wasn't much fun, and Ipromised myself some entertainment tonight. If you and one of theothers will help me set the next one up, I'll play with him awhile,then if he's being stubborn, we'll get serious in the morning."