"Five years?" Simone asked incredulously. "We were hoping you would come back with us now."
Nadia shook her head. "The risks are too great. You must be more patient."
"Hold it," Guy said, finally releasing his grip on Simone and turning her to face him. "Are we talking a real throne and palace and servants? Crown jewels? Stuff like that?"
"Of course," Simone replied, trying to smooth the wrinkles he'd made in her caftan. "The Imperial Prefect has enormous wealth."
"And power?" he asked.
She grimaced at his ignorance. "She rules the entire planet of Heart."
Guy rubbed his jaw thoughtfully and paced back and forth a few times. "Are the Earth people in the palace?"
"No, but they are all housed in a residential complex a short distance away," Simone answered.
"What kind of resistance were you expecting between here and the palace?"
Simone frowned and shook her head. "I do not understand."
"Who might try to stop you? Police? Security?"
"We have no need for human security on Heart. Everything is monitored and recorded by computer. On a night such as this, however, it is too dark and cloudy for the sky monitors to pick up a clear picture. No one saw us coming here. It will be the same going back."
"Damn!" Guy exclaimed, slapping his thigh. "It's almost too easy. Okay. Here's what we're going to do. I got at least a dozen men who'll follow me if I tell 'em to. That should wipe out any risk. First we grab the broads you talked about and stash 'em back here. Then we take out our own people to make sure they don't make waves neither. Sounds like we could all be sittin' pretty in about twenty-four hours!"
Nadia grasped his arm. "Guy, please listen to me. This is not wise."
Without a pause, he backhanded her cheek. "Shut your mouth, bitch. I'm gonna make you a queen."
Chapter 21
"Heads up," Logan said, shaking Geoffrey's shoulder. "We're about to have visitors." Between the two of them, they had their group awake and alert in a matter of seconds. Using the wrist communicator Iris had given him, he notified her next. According to plan, she took care of getting the impartial witnesses, plus Parisia, Brianne and herself, into the specially constructed space off the enormous foyer, where they would be safe from danger while still able to observe the proceedings.
As Logan had instructed, dim lights remained on throughout the palace at all times so that an intruder would not be able to slip by unnoticed.
Logan counted heads to make sure every one of his people were present. "Okay. It looks like our waiting has finally paid off. About two hours ago, I got a report from observer two that five hooded figures disrupted the barrier and entered the commune. Just now those five came back out, but they brought a hell of a lot more than Nadia out with them. Apparently some of our men decided they'd had enough of farming."
"How many?" Geoffrey asked.
Before Logan could answer, his communicator beeped. "Go ahead," he said into the tiny speaker.
"Um, this is observer seven," a woman said in a clearly flustered tone. She and the others had been warned that a man could answer, but that didn't make it acceptable. "A large number of suspicious looking people just walked by my post. Most of them were men, but I'm sure there were several women also."
"How many altogether?"
"Um, they were moving too fast to count but I would estimate fifteen to twenty."
"Good work. Out." Pressing the button to end the communication, he said, "That's about the same number the first observer guessed. Higgs, do those two locations help any?"
Higgs showed him the map he was holding. He had already marked the third and seventh posts.
Logan took one quick glance and with his finger drew a line down one street and across another to the palace. "Since they aren't expecting a reception, they probably won't bother to make any detours. The only question is which way they'll come in. They aren't carrying ladders, and we've made sure there's nothing on the grounds to help them scale the walls, so we can probably go with our original assumption."
There were twenty ground floor entrances, all of which were securely locked except the kitchen. Brianne had told them everyone knew that door was often left unlocked for deliveries. Thus, unless Simone managed to get hold of the palace keys, they would probably head for the kitchen entrance. To get to the tower where the imperial suites were located from the kitchen, the would-be revolutionaries had to pass through the foyer.
The furnishings had previously been arranged to provide hiding places for the Earthlings lying in wait, so that the intruders would not be aware of the trap until they were all within the foyer.
Logan received four more reports in quick succession which confirmed that Simone was indeed leading her group directly to the kitchen door.
"That's it," Logan said. "T.J. and Lee—go on to the kitchen, just like we planned. As soon as the last one's inside, you follow them at a distance and block any attempted retreat. Greg and Alicia—up the stairs to the first landing just in case someone makes it that far.
"Everybody remember what we promised. If at all possible, avoid physical violence. We're being watched and recorded, and it would help Parisia a lot if we appeared to be civilized. Make sure your laser pistols are set for extended stun. No higher, no lower. You've all had plenty of practice with these new weapons, so I don't expect to see any of you getting caught in crossfire."
Geoffrey gave them their final instruction. "We still don't know for certain, but since it is possible that they are armed with paralyzer spray, put your masks on and keep them on until you are advised that the air is safe to breathe. Good luck."
They quickly shook hands all around, donned their masks, and went to their assigned positions. Logan's communicator beeped one more time with a report from an observer just outside the kitchen door then he turned off the sound. They had repeatedly timed the walk from the kitchen to the foyer so that they would know approximately when to expect the uninvited guests, but counting off the passing seconds only served to increase the anticipation.
Finally, a short figure tiptoed into the room, followed by several taller ones. The men and women in hiding had been ordered not to reveal themselves until they heard T.J. whistle, which would mean the last rebel was inside the foyer.
Logan was beginning to wonder if the observers had all been wrong about the number of people involved, when T.J. gave the awaited signal.
Before Simone's group had a chance to analyze the sound, Logan's team opened fire. Streaks of silent light zapped one bewildered intruder after another, instantly stealing their consciousness. As they dropped to the floor, some of those who had been shielded attempted to use the paralyzer spray, but it was no match against the laser pistols.
The entire confrontation was finished in less than a minute.
* * *
By the time Tarla awoke that morning, every household in the city was buzzing about the failed coup. As soon as she heard on the news that it had happened hours before, and yet Logan had not come home, she was seized by panic. Immediately she tried to reach Brianne but no one at the palace was accepting calls. She then contacted the other seven women to make sure they'd heard also. Thoughts of their men being injured sent them racing to the sanatorium.
They were told a number of people had been confined there during the night, but none were the men they sought. At least they were able to confirm that the incident at the palace did not result in any fatalities.
Though the women had been advised not to go to the palace previously, they were too worried to care about protocol.
As it turned out, there was so much activity in and around that building, they had to work at getting attention. Eventually, they were led up a long flight of stairs that ascended to Parisia's tower suite.
Tarla's fear was replaced by annoyance the moment she entered the parlor. The group of men and women she'd been so worried about were enjoying a leisurely breakfast. The men all rose to their feet as soon as they saw w
ho their visitors were.
Robin's temper exploded the quickest but the others were right behind her. "Why didn't you call to let us know you were all right?"
"Do you have any idea how upset we were?"
"We went to the sanatorium, thinking you could have been hurt!"
Parisia stood and held out her hands. "Ladies, please forgive me. Your friends are not at fault. I am. Another crisis arose as they were about to leave and I detained them again. We did make an attempt to contact each of you, but you must have already left your apartments."
The women had to accept Parisia's gracious apology and explanation, though there was still a good deal of tension reverberating through the room.
Tarla walked over to Logan with her heart pounding against her ribs. The sight of him standing there, unhurt and looking like he missed her as much as she missed him, melted away any irritation. She knew Parisia and Iris would not approve, but she couldn't wait another second to touch him. Her need was mirrored in his eyes, but they both restrained it and limited the contact to discreetly holding one another's hand and sitting side by side on a sofa.
The others followed their lead and Parisia and Iris pretended not to notice the forbidden behavior. On the other hand, Brianne had spent so much time with the Earthlings she was no longer shocked by all the touching that went on between the sexes.
"Ladies, please have some breakfast," Parisia said, "while we bring you up to date. Logan, perhaps it would be best if you related the events that led up to the capture of our dissidents."
Tarla thought he sounded terribly tired while he stated the highlights of what happened during the night. She squeezed his hand, passed a little of her energy over to him and he gave her a grateful smile.
Logan brought his report to an end as quickly as he could. "Once they were all unconscious, we were able to identify them. It wasn't much of a surprise to see that the men were Wilkes and twelve of his pals. What is a surprise is, why so few? Why didn't more of the men break out if they had a chance?"
Geoffrey gave a possible answer. "We hope it was because Gianni was able to convince them not to cause trouble, but we're not so sure that makes sense. Parisia has given us permission to go into the commune when we leave here and check on the men who stayed behind."
"We were told at the sanatorium that a number of people had been confined there," Tarla said to Parisia. "Have you decided what you're going to do about them?"
She nodded. "They are being heavily medicated at this time. In a week or so, once they are sufficiently reoriented, they will all be exiled to the Earth commune for a period of no less than twenty years. Our people are working on a new means of administering future doses of the antidote that will not be avoidable, as the water was."
Tarla didn't like the sound of that, not as long as there were still innocent Earth men in that commune who could be affected as well. There had to be a way to protect them.
"I am not certain there is an adequate way to express our appreciation for what you did for my family," Parisia said. "Without your help, I doubt we could have prevented a disaster."
"Just make sure you include Fulton and Jason in that appreciation," Logan reminded her. "Without them, you wouldn't have been warned ahead of time."
"Yes, of course," Parisia agreed. "We intend to reward them with some special privileges."
"Lucky them," Logan muttered under his breath, and Tarla squeezed his hand again.
Parisia frowned. "As I was saying, we are extremely grateful for everything you have done on our behalf, but I'm afraid we must ask you for even more." She paused and gave Iris a slight nod.
Though her face remained passive, Iris's nervousness showed as she cleared her throat, straightened her spine, rearranged her caftan and clasped her hands together on her lap. After a few more seconds of hesitation, she said, "Parisia mentioned another crisis that arose this morning. The news we received would have been horrendous at any time but, for it to come in the aftermath of the attempted takeover seems almost too much to bear."
It took her another moment to organize her thoughts. "We are a neutral planet, unaffiliated with any universal organization. However, the United Planetary Association sends us reports and advisories that might be of interest or import to us. Usually, by the time we receive something, it is relatively old news. That was not the case this morning.
"A courier arrived an hour ago from UPA on a ship equipped with faster-than-light capability. His orders were to personally deliver a confidential letter from the UPA President to Parisia. Allow me to preface what the letter stated by saying that sufficient proof and details were provided to remove any doubts as to the authenticity of the information gathered by UPA agents."
She paused again and shared a look of grave concern with Parisia. "This is the crux of the matter. The rumors about the Velids that we heard a few months ago have now been substantiated. They do exist and they are intent on destroying the human race. It has also been confirmed that the humanoid population on at least four known planets was completely annihilated by the Velids. To make a catastrophic situation worse, there is evidence that they have acquired plans for an FTL transport, which means distance will no longer be an obstacle to their goals."
"How much time do we have?" Logan asked, jumping directly to the bottom line.
Parisia sighed. "As Logan has already concluded, the Velids may already be on their way to Heart. The UPA sources could not uncover any specific timetable. They were only able to warn us of impending danger."
"The good news," Geoffrey said, "is that we're almost ready for them. Weapons development and ship conversion is nearly completed. The barrier is ready for final testing, the space traffic control tower is operational and strategies have been worked out to combat a wide range of eventualities."
Logan wasn't as confident. "There's still one big piece missing. We have yet to start training the additional pilots needed to patrol the barrier."
Parisia and Iris exchanged another one of their looks before Parisia responded. "We thought we had more time and didn't need to force the recruitment so soon."
"Have you found anyone willing to train?" asked Tarla.
Parisia's cheeks flushed a little as she admitted, "No, not yet."
"Then there is only one solution, as distasteful as it seems to you," Tarla declared. "After discounting those involved in the attempted takeover, there are still eighty-four able-bodied men with wartime experience inside the commune. They could be trained in a matter of weeks, and with them, you wouldn't be taking the chance they might panic when the time came to act, the way some of your women might."
Brianne spoke up for the first time since the women had sat down. "I agree with Tarla," she told her mother. "We have no other realistic choice. Parliament will endorse anything you suggest right now. But to keep the situation under control, perhaps the additional men could be housed in the flight center outside of the city where they would be training."
Parisia murmured a few words to Iris, who then gave a reluctant nod and asked, "Tarla, do you think those men would agree to remain isolated and stay away from the women in the city if we freed them?"
"The only men who could not be trusted to cooperate are the ones in your sanatorium right now. I believe the rest of them will agree to anything that would save their lives and eventually get them back home. Logan? Geoffrey? What do you think?"
"We definitely need them," Geoffrey said.
Logan added, "If anyone causes a problem after he's released, he'll immediately be sent back to the farm. That should be threat enough to keep them in line."
As Brianne had pointed out, they had no other choice. Since time had suddenly become of great importance, Parisia had Brianne escort their twenty guests to the transfer room and into the commune immediately.
They did not have long to wait before all the men began gathering in the big house for lunch. Expecting something close to a surprise homecoming celebration, it was bewildering when their presence was barely n
oticed... until Tarla caught sight of Gianni and several other of their men across the room, getting themselves water directly from the hand pump. "Logan, look over there, at Gianni."
"Oh, no," he groaned as soon as he spotted the man. "That's why so few men broke out with Wilkes. They've been drinking the water."
"What are we going to do now?"
"Exactly what we came to do—take them back with us."
Tarla wrinkled her forehead. "But if they've been consuming the antidote for any length of time, their aggressive natures have been neutralized and their reflexes are probably shot."
Logan leaned closer and murmured, "The effect of the drug is reversible, even after years of taking it." He waited to see if she could figure out how he knew that.
Realization brightened her eyes. "Jason?"
"Right," he answered with some pride. "He was given regular doses for more than ten years, but in only two months without it—"
"He's starting to look and behave more like a healthy human male," Tarla said, finishing his sentence. "So, that's what you've been up to with him! I should have guessed. Is that why you didn't want to let me into your head?"
He shrugged. "I may have one or two other secrets."
She rose up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "You're a good man, Logan McKay. Of course, Parisia would probably exile you if she found out."
"True, but so far, Jason's been careful to behave the way she'd expect him to when he's around her. I'm only surprised that she hasn't noticed any change in his appearance."
Tarla shrugged. "Maybe she has and doesn't disapprove as strongly as she's supposed to."
He arched an eyebrow at her. "Hmmm. Let's just deal with one problem at a time."
Much to everyone's relief, the men who had been left behind on the farm had not become total puppet people. Aware of the drug, most of them had limited the amount of water drunk each day. They were clearheaded enough to understand that they were being freed, while sufficiently relaxed to follow any orders they were given.
LOGAN (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 5) Page 28