by JC Cassels
“What are you doing?”
Bo smoothed down his jacket lapels. Her lips twitched in a small smile. “Fixing your disguise,” she said. “There’s Blade Devon, the holofeature hero, and then there’s my Dev.”
“Oh?” A wolfish gleam lit his eyes and he gently ran his hands down her back. “Tell me more.”
“Blade is an illusion, a misdirection. He’s handsome, charming, unpredictable, and a bit of a wastrel. He likes for people to underestimate him. But my Dev, he’s…real. He’s not so polished. He’s solid and strong. He’s raw and passionate. He feels things far more deeply than he’d like anyone to know. He’s what’s left when the masks come off. I love you in every one of your aliases, but Dev is who you are. Dev belongs to me. As long as I can see my Dev in you, no matter what you’re calling yourself, I will trust you.”
His lips twitched. “And Dev’s shirts hang open?”
She lightly traced the edge of the scar on his shoulder, just visible when she pulled his collar open. “Dev is an idiot who gets silly, romantic notions over being shot.”
Leaning down, he brushed a kiss across her lips. “Unfortunately, Dev can’t come out to play just now. Blade has to go to work.” With one hand riding possessively at the small of her back, he nudged her ahead of him toward the stairs.
“Is Darien available?”
Grinning, Blade shook his head. “Woman, you’re going to be the death of me.”
“Sometimes, I wish I could clone you,” she sighed. “But I don’t think the universe could handle more than one of you.”
“According to the orders from the IC, I’m already a clone.”
Bo stopped abruptly and turned, pressing her hands against his chest. “How many of you are there? And can one of them come out to play?”
“I’m the only one who’s anatomically correct.” He turned her and playfully swatted her backside, setting her into motion once more.
“But…”
“Don’t finish that sentence,” he warned.
Bo smiled to herself.
There was something reassuring about arrogant, cavalier Blade Devon, the consummate professional, Predator, unflappable, ruthless, and hard to kill. He had already slipped into character. If anyone could swagger straight into a trap and emerge unscathed, it would be Blade Freakin’ Devon.
She reached for the main hatch controls, but he stopped her with a hand on her arm. Bo met his stare and found him studying her closely, unguarded concern in his eyes.
“Are you sure you want to go with me for this?” He shook his head. “We both know it’s a set-up. Sure you don’t want to stay here aboard Sundance where you’ll at least have a tactical advantage?”
Bo smiled. “What, and miss all the fun?” Pressing her hand to his cheek, her thumb lightly stroked his whiskers. “You said yourself that together we’re the solution, not the problem. This is as good a place to start as any. Besides,” she turned and tapped a code into the hatch controls, “I can’t wait to hear how you’re going to explain me to your Janizary.”
He grinned. “Yeah, me too.”
“Sir, there is an incoming communication for you,” Sundance said.
He met her expectant look and lifted an eyebrow. “Patch it through.”
The com panel in the hatch controls flashed. Bo activated the speaker.
“Devon here.”
“Agent Devon, this is Commander Stett of the First Sector Janizary. The docking bay is secure and you are clear to disembark. Requesting permission to board so we can discuss your itinerary and security precautions.”
Something that looked a lot like relief flitted across Blade’s face. “Understood, Commander. Permission granted.”
Reaching past her, he disconnected the com. He lifted one eyebrow. “I think we just caught our first break.” He pointed toward the lounge. “Stay out of sight while I get a read on the situation.”
Bootsteps clattered on the ramp outside the hatch.
Bo nodded and retreated into the lounge.
The hatch hissed and groaned as it opened.
“Welcome aboard, Commander,” Blade said.
The hatch whooshed shut.
“It’s good to see you, Doc.”
“You too, Con.”
Doc? Bo peered into the corridor to see the men embrace with a couple of hearty slaps on the back before separating.
Blade towered over his friend, who looked like he’d spent more time behind a desk than out in the field. Stett carried extra weight around the middle, but he still moved with the confidence of a man secure in his own skin. Unlike Stoma Kush, he made no attempt to miraculously grow to match Blade’s height.
“How did you get assigned to the Janizary?” Blade maneuvered the Commander so his back was to Bo. “I thought you were running down New Front cells in the Outer Commonwealth.”
“How do you think?” Stett said. “Ian called and said you needed men you could trust, so I put together a PSD for you. He’s got some kind of pull with the Heir because it came straight from him. You want to tell me how a trigger-happy medic like you rates a Janizary detail?”
Ahhh… Doc… Stett must have known Blade since his Consular Guard service as a medic with the Mighty Eighth SAR.
“First, tell me how many men we’ve got?” Blade said.
“Standard diplomat security detail – twelve agents, medic, com specialist, counter surveillance, four drivers, I’m your PSO.”
“Any idea how many others may be here on Trisdos,” Blade said. “I need to know how many friends I’ve got who’ll back me when I take down Rameus.”
“Rameus?” Stett whistled and shook his head in surprise. “Not nearly enough to stage a coup against Rameus. He authorizes our pay vouchers. I’d say you’ve got two, maybe three squads who’ll follow you to hell itself, but that’s about it. You’ve been out in the deep dark a long time. Word on the vines is that you’ve gone completely over the hedge. They say you butchered Varo. If you’re thinking about going head to head with Rameus in a military takeover, I’d say you’ve not only gone over the hedge, you’ve gone into the whole woods!”
“Yeah, well, you always said I had more balls than sense.” Blade laughed, but there was no humor in it. “I owe him. He put a contract on me and tapped Varo for it, so yeah, I sent a message.”
“What’s going on between you and Rameus? What did you do? You used to be the IC’s golden boy. Devon could do no wrong.”
“It’s not what I did, it’s who I am…and what I’m about to do.”
“Do I want to know?”
“I’m in the right, Con,” Blade said. “Everything I’ve done has been to preserve the House of Marin and the Commonwealth. This is much bigger than a petty squabble between me and Rameus. Andre knows I’ve been working off the books with Ian and other operatives to collect intel. Rameus and several other high-ranking Commonwealth leaders are involved in a conspiracy to redraw alliances within the Commonwealth. They intend to usurp the First Sector Sovran’s authority for Lord Scull using the Black Wing to enforce his claims. Rameus has been working with the Mondhuic Regent toward that end.”
Stett stared at him a moment before he finally spoke. “Do you have any idea how gydigan that sounds?” he said. “Did you take one too many shots to the head, man? An operation of that size would be impossible to pull off. It would take years to arrange the logistics!”
Blade nodded. “Decades…maybe even a generation.”
Bracing his hands on his hips, Stett shook his head. “The sheer scope of something like that…”
“I know,” Blade said. “You think I’ve completely taken a turn down the fengyld rail. Hell, if it were you telling me this load of runge I’d say you were completely gydigan. They’re playing the long game. I’ve managed to trace it back to before the Trade Wars. They started that conflict as an experiment, to see if they could.”
“But the New Front started the Trade Wars.”
Blade folded his arms across his chest and glanced past Stett’s sho
ulder, meeting Bo’s stare.
“That was the rise of the New Front to Abolish Sovran Rule,” Blade said. “Terror group…freedom fighters…the New Front has kept us so busy chasing the shadow of an external threat that nobody realized the real danger came from inside the Commonwealth, from our own leaders.”
“How long has Lord Marin known about this?”
“He’s been suspicious since the Trade Wars. That’s why he sent his son into exile and let the Commonwealth believe he was dead. He didn’t have any solid proof until I got it for him. I started putting the pieces together when I met her.” He nodded to Bo.
Bo stepped into the corridor.
“Her? Who her?” Commander Stett whirled around. His eyes widened with recognition and horror. He reached for his sidearm in a holster at the small of his back, but Blade beat him to it, drawing the man’s blaster as he turned.
Stett’s round features hardened. His face reddened as recognition filled his hazel eyes. “Her? You fengyld awoffast wendendseoo!”
“Con, I need you to be chill.” Blade leveled the weapon at him. “Hear me out before you go off.”
Stett glared at Blade. “You’d better have a damn good explanation for this, Devon! Because from where I stand it looks like treason! She’s been in bed with the New Front since Frostfire.”
“No, she hasn’t. I promise you, it’s not what you think. Barron, may I present Connor Stett, one of my one of my oldest and most trusted friends.”
Bo inclined her head. “Commander Stett.”
The man leaned toward her before he checked himself, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. His attention darted to Blade then back to her. His brow gathered and his small mouth pursed as he bit back a furious spew of words.
“The Black Wing is the key,” Blade said quickly. “Once I realized that, all the pieces started falling into place.”
Bo nodded her understanding. They had only a narrow window to convince Stett before he chose to act. They had to win him over, and fast.
“The way the Dothan Alliance was worded, Mondhuoun maintains an unusual degree of autonomy.” Bo looked to Blade. He nodded for her to continue presenting her case. “The Black Wing serves the Second Sector Consular Guard, but it remains under the direct command of the Barron. All deployment requests must be authorized by the Barron and no one else.” She took a deep breath unsure where to go from there.
“After the Trade Wars, the Mondhuic pressed for secession from the Second Sector,” Blade said. “They wanted to become an independent state, but Lord Scull got wind of it and blocked it.”
“Galen Barron was the diplomatic envoy to the First Sector back then,” Bo said. “My father wanted him to feel out the First Sector about a possible alliance with the House of Marin.”
“But Galen was an old schoolmate of Gad Rameus, and he was part of the New Front conspiracy,” Blade said.
He looked to Bo.
Her eyes widened as she drew a blank on her next words.
Some of the tension eased from Stett, but not the suspicion. “And Galen is…?”
“My regent,” Bo said. “Formal talks were never realized. But that’s when the attempts on my father’s life started. Galen took over my education and my father put himself into stasis.”
“Galen tried to arrange a marriage between Bo and his son,” Blade said. “When that didn’t happen, he arranged the Frostfire attack and framed Bo. She hadn’t yet come of legal age and still hadn’t formally taken her place as Barron.”
“If I’d been executed as planned, Galen would have succeeded me as Barron and been handed direct command of the Black Wing without question.”
Stett’s brows unfurled. A speculative gleam lit his eyes.
Sensing the subtle change in him, Blade’s shoulders relaxed a little as he realized his friend was following.
“The Barron’s stasis pod was stolen and used as leverage to force Bo out into the open. She was served on a platter to a shipload of disreputable government agents who would have viewed her arrest as a way to salvage their careers. That’s where we met.”
Sardonic amusement lit Stett’s eyes. “Disreputable?” He nodded. “Of course you’d be there. Of course you’d take her side. You’ve never been able to resist saving the girl.”
Blade’s lips twitched. “It’s worked out well. She’s saved me on occasion.” He studied his friend. “You’re not buying any of this. You think she’s been playing me.”
Stett’s fists unclenched. His lips twitched in a reluctant smile. “You have to admit, old friend, the idea that a pretty girl is playing you is a lot more plausible than shadow conspiracies.”
“Give me five more minutes to convince you,” Blade said. “If you still think I’m completely over the hedge, I’ll turn myself in and go quietly.”
Stett chuckled. “Yeah, like that’ll happen. You don’t know how to go quietly.” He looked from Blade to Bo and sighed in resignation. “If it were anybody else standing here with her, I’d have run you in already.” He nodded. “Go ahead, Doc. I’m listening.”
Keeping the weapon trained on his friend, Blade backed to the lockers closest to the hatch. He opened it and pulled out the jacket he had been wearing when he’d stowed away on Akita. He tossed it to Stett.
“What’s this?”
“You tell me,” Blade said.
Stett’s lips compressed into a tight line as he turned his attention to the garment. He turned it over in his hands and studied the markings. “DoC issue…Third Sector…burn marks, but none that look like they were caused by direct blaster fire…more likely from some secondary source…falling debris maybe.” He held up the collar and traced the markings. “Akita Detention Center if I’m reading the symbols right.”
“You are.”
Stett looked to Bo, then back to Blade. “Do you mind if I pull out my data reader?” He tapped the number patch on the breast pocket. “I think I know where you’re going with this.”
Blade nodded.
Slowly, with two fingers, Stett reached into his jacket and withdrew his data reader. He keyed in the ident code and waited for confirmation.
“You’re one of the prisoners who escaped from Akita.” Stett tossed the jacket back to him. “What does this have to do with her?”
“She’s the one who broke me out,” Blade said. “Check security footage in the primary guard’s cage just after the explosions when they switched to auxiliary power.”
Stett nodded and bent his head back over his data reader.
Bo’s heart pounded. If this didn’t work…
Blade met her stare with a reassuring wink.
The other man called up the footage on his data reader and took his time studying it. His expression was unreadable. After an interminable delay, he shook his head.
“Son-of-a-kretch!” Stett looked to her. “You didn’t do it. You couldn’t have attacked Lord Marin. You couldn’t be in two places at once.”
Bo released her tension with a small sigh.
One obstacle down.
“So who…?”
“Rameus,” Blade said. He handed Stett his blaster, butt first. “She didn’t have any reason to try to take Andre off the board. He’s been protecting her.”
Stett holstered his weapon. “Protecting her? Why?”
“Partly because of the Black Wing. Andre took the conservative approach to the intel I gave him. But mostly he’s been protecting her because I asked him to.” Blade smiled at her. “She’s my wife.”
“Your…” Stett looked from one to the other. “You’ve got a hell of a taste in women, my friend. No disrespect meant, ma’am.”
Bo’s lips twitched. “None taken.”
“And the Overlord didn’t see this as a conflict of interest?”
“We didn’t start out married. Andre himself arranged for us to be together.” He shrugged. “When I presented him with my initial findings and suspicions, he placed me on detached duty and ordered me to keep her close. He agreed that
the Black Wing was the key.”
Stett whistled. “You’re the Joy Babe?” He laughed and shook his head. “I always wondered how you rated a Kiara.” He clapped a hand on Blade’s shoulder, laughing harder. “I mean…you…with a Kiara!”
Bo’s lips twitched in amusement.
Blade nodded and shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, about that…”
Stett gripped his shoulder tightly and looked to Bo.
“This is the guy who had to repeat social protocol training,” Stett chortled. “Four times!”
“Four times?” Bo echoed.
“Oh, he was hopeless!” Stett met Blade’s pained look and burst into laughter. “He never showed any dignitary the proper respect, refused to bow to anyone, sat whenever he was supposed to stand, couldn’t remember the proper form of address…” Stett’s laughter eased and he patted Blade’s chest. “Hey, what was it you called that Ortelian Ambassador? Your Boreship?” Stett shook his head. “And his table manners! He didn’t shape up until the Director called him into his office over it. None of us could figure out what he did to you.” He glanced speculatively at Blade, then turned his attention back to Bo. “After that, he was the perfect operative. It’s always been a mystery what happened to him in there. No sooner had Doc here gone into the office than the Director came out. Ten minutes later, he was a changed man.” Stett sighed and shook his head. “I’d love to know what he did to make you snap to like that.”
Bo said nothing. She merely lifted an eyebrow in silent question.
Blade’s lips tightened as he measured his answer. He met her stare. “I was trying to get kicked back to the Mighty Eighth,” he said at last. “My father intervened.”
Stett’s lips quirked. “You don’t have a father.”
Shrugging off the man’s hand, Blade straightened. “Yeah, Con. I do.”
He tapped the center of his palm and the light from the chip flashed. “I’m Daavin Marin.”
The other man gaped at him a moment and shook his head. “But that guy Ian’s got stashed at the Palace…”
“My brother, Chase.”
Stett shook his head. “Daavin Marin was an only child.”
“No, Chase and I grew up in the Fasi home…”