A Kind of Peace

by Andy Boot

  She felt it fade as suddenly as it had appeared, replaced by a feeling of a different kind altogether. A more familiar feeling, of being watched, and by eyes that knew her well.

  "I'll say this for you, you know how to make a entrance," she said as she turned to face Simeon 7.

  "You knew it was me?"

  She shrugged. "Who else would have this sense of drama," she remarked with a certain dryness.

  "Aren't you going to ask me why I'm here?" He questioned.

  "You'll tell me. First, I'd like to know how you got past the security. Strikes me that we need to do a lot more checks, and somebody's definitely slacking. Unless, of course, you've got some help?"

  He laughed shortly. "Let's just say that there are some who believe that I'm not the traitor I'm made out to be."

  "They're in the minority, then."

  He paused. "And you?" He asked quietly, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

  She shook her head. "Whatever else, you're not that. Maybe I could see you being used as someone's proxy, manipulated before you had a chance to catch on to what was happening."

  "You know, that's not far from the truth,' he shrugged. "I could put it right, but I'd need some help."

  He let it hang, trying to read her reaction. "So you escape termination, break into a nation state embassy, and want to coerce a member of a delegation from another nation state to assist you in... what, exactly?" She asked, trying to keep her tone as level as her face, but still feeling it rise. "Why do you think I would help, exactly?"

  "I'll tell you why." Simeon spoke softly, evenly. Inside he was torn. Part of him wanted to hear her say she would do it because of how she felt about him. Part of him didn't want to deal with that until he had at least tried to save the Mage. There were such things as priorities. Part of him still didn't know what to say to her.

  So he told her the whole story, from the beginning. Aware all the while that time was ticking away, time that he should be using to get on the trail of Ramus-Bey. Yet his best chance of getting to Varn undetected lay with Jenna. She listened carefully. It sounded ridiculous. Plot and counter plot. Old friends who would double deal for a sniff of power. Old friends that she had known, too, making it all the harder to grasp what he was saying. Yet, Daliel had always seemed to have the air of a man who would always look out for himself above others.

  Ultimately, she felt that she had to believe him, no matter how absurd it seemed. The Simeon she had known would have been incapable of dreaming up such a convoluted and complex series of conspiracies. He was a straightforward man.

  "Okay," she assented, "I believe you. Don't ask me to explain why, but I think you're being honest with me. Though I don't really understand why you're here," she added.

  "I need a holoship to get me into Varn undetected. The only way that the guys at the Institute can really help is if they can focus on one set of charms."

  "So, you came for no other reason?" She questioned, aware as she spoke that she wasn't sure what answer she wanted to hear.

  "Maybe you're the only person I trust too," he said, drawing near to her. She could feel the warmth of his body, his breath on her skin. Feelings ran through her that had nothing to do with the question in hand. From the look in his eyes, she could see that this was also true of him.

  Piloting a holoship into Varn, carrying a convicted Bethel traitor, whilst being an attaché to the diplomatic staff of Kyas. How many international laws would she be breaking if she did that? Where would she end up?

  That was what she should have been thinking. She knew that, but the only thing she could think of was this: why don't you touch me, you idiot?

  He did. Almost as though he could read her mind. She didn't need to tell him that she agreed with his plan. The way that she melted into him told him all that he needed to know.

  It was only later, when he was pacing the deck of the holoship, that doubts crept into her mind.

  But by then it was too late.

  In his cell, within the dank basement of the Institute in Ilvarn, Ramus-Bey awoke to yet another day of mind-numbing tedium. Truthfully, he still felt an idiot at having frozen like a frightened animal during the attack on his own Institute. He felt foolish, old and useless at the way in which he had allowed himself to be taken. He felt impotent at the way in which he had allowed himself to be detained here, in these demeaning surroundings. He felt ridiculously feeble-minded that he could not work out why he was being kept alive and captive. Most of all, he felt a sense of dread and tedium - a strange cocktail, it must be stated - at the prospect of another day of being baited by Vixel.

  Honestly, it amazed him that the arrogant bastard hadn't been killed in a fit of pique by one of his own students. Obsessed by his own greatness, and more than keen to impress this very greatness upon anyone within earshot, it seemed that the sole purpose of his abduction was so that Vixel could amuse himself day after day by impressing upon Ramus-Bey the sheer genius that he - Vixel - had shown in masterminding and executing this entire scheme.

  Which was all very well, but there seemed to be no other point that Ramus-Bey could see. Which, frankly, made the whole thing childish.

  Something he would gladly have pointed out if not for the fact that the Varn Mage may have been tempted to use more than his tongue for punishment. There were some things that this may reveal... things that, for reasons of his own, Ramus would rather not have brought to light.

  So he kept his own counsel. Vixel would know he was awake and send his bodyguard to collect him, even though there was no surveillance tech. For which Ramus was grateful: even though he knew he was magically observed, to have an imager on him at all times would somehow have seemed more intrusive.

  Today, however, was to be a little different. When the bodyguard appeared, he did not have the slop that passed for breakfast with him. In reply to the Mage's questioning glance, he informed Ramus-Bey that this morning Vixel wanted him to eat with him.

  Already, this was a welcome break in an already tedious routine. A break further enhanced by his being led to an outdoor terrace where, in the sun, Vixel sat beneath a shade, a table spread out before him with fruits and sweetmeats. He beckoned the Bethelian Mage to join him.

  Ramus was glad to do this, albeit with a certain sense of foreboding. Something which Vixel was quick to pick up on: "My dear, sweet man, you think I am doing this for the purpose of the fall - when it comes - being the greater?" Then, when Ramus-Bey said nothing: "I can't blame you for this, I suppose. No, my dear old fool, I have decided that to taunt you would serve no great purpose. It is time you were told the truth. I would have hoped that you could have worked it out, but in truth I don't feel that this is very likely..." He paused, giving Ramus-Bey a questioning look. "No, thought not."

  It was designed to be insulting, and achieved its aim with ease. Leaving it to sink in, Vixel gestured to Ramus that he should eat.

  "Assuming - as I'm sure you do - that I am simple with age, then pray enlighten me as to my purpose in being brought here. As far as I can see, to terminate me would have been a simpler option." Ramus said.

  "Ah, but not as much fun," Vixel said. "Besides which, to do so would be to set a course of war with no turning back. Whereas to take you, and then at the last to reveal that you are still living, well...

  "Things have been rather fun since we bought you here. Your bodyguard has been tried and convicted for collusion. Rather ironic, considering how hard he fought to save you. I can only hope that my own guard would be so efficient, should a similar situation occur.

  "However, that is neither here nor there. I can see, much as you try to hide it, that the news of his conviction has upset you. But fear not, my dear old fool! He must have some friends, as his escape has been made, effected by magic. He came close to ruining our plans."

  "Speaking of which," Ramus interrupted, keeping his voice as level as possible, not wishing to betray his relief at Simeon's escape, "I still do not understand why I should be alive, other th
an as a foil for your base humour and egotism of course."

  "Ah, I shall allow you that. Why not, when you so signally fail to grasp the greater import? It's simple. If you are terminated, then war is inevitable. Even now, Bethel is demanding retribution, pleading with the other nation states to join them, bereft as they are of the great weapon - that's you - that shall give them parity with other nation states, meaning us, of course.

  "Well, they look so forlorn now, don't they? But they will not when we reveal that you are alive, and also reveal the counter plot that we foiled and so, effectively, saved your life."

  He announced this with a flourish, expecting Ramus-Bey to express shock and outrage. He was a little deflated when this did not happen.

  "Ah, I see that the notion of a plot from within Bethel itself had not escaped you or your bodyguard. That's... interesting, I think. After all, why did not the military respond with greater speed and alacrity to our little operation? Why are certain sections of the Ministry not driving themselves frantic over the loss of their Mage, while other sections are?"

  Ramus-Bey, buoyed by the disappointment of Vixel over his reaction, decided to open up a little. "It would be true to say that myself and Simeon knew that we had been attacked from two sides. One we assumed to be Varn, as it was nothing more than you would expect from such sewer scrapings. But the other seemed too close to home. It did not take much to work out that at least one section of my own government intended to terminate me, and replace me with a rogue wizard. One, I might add, who showed some exceptional powers. Whoever he may be, he would have been a match for you.

  "We knew there was an internal threat. But we were ready for it. What we did not expect was such an all-out and blatant attack from the old enemy."

  "No, I didn't think you would. That was the genius of my plan, after all. Force the hand of those in your own government who would have sought to place blame. See what they would do."

  "And is it proving to your satisfaction?" Ramus-Bey questioned.

  Vixel allowed himself a small, smug smile. "I should say. The outrage we're seeing is genuine, and those who would have subverted from within are running around like headless chickens wondering how they can take advantage. Of course, they cannot... only we can." His smile switched to full beam. It was disconcertingly humourless, and made Ramus-Bey feel distinctly uneasy.

  "So how, then, do you propose to take such an advantage?" he asked.

  Vixel sighed theatrically. "Today you shall be paraded at a meeting of the Varn Ministry. This will be broadcast across Inan. Not only will we show that you are alive and well, and well-cared for, but we shall also reveal to the waiting world the extent of the conspiracy that we have uncovered within your own nation state. Yes, we snatched you - but it was for the greater good of Inan. Ooh - what's that I hear? Could it be the grinding of tables turning?" He added, laughing at his own joke.

  "Why do you think I would co-operate with you in betraying my own nation state?"

  Vixel's smile did not waver. "Because it would clear the name of your bodyguard. I feel, from what I know, that you would be hard pushed to put a nation state that has betrayed you above a friend who would have laid down his life for you. I think that you - unlike a more sensible person such as myself - are easily swayed in that way. The blame placed on the bodyguard by your nation state's own rogue elements is an unexpected bonus, I will admit. But never let it be said that I am less than adaptable: every situation can be turned to one's own advantage if one has the wit. Which, of course, I do."

  His grin remained fixed. Ramus-Bey could feel himself start to sweat under such scrutiny.

  Dammit, by the Gods, the bastard was right.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Year Zero - Period Three

  She'd asked him if he had a plan.

  He told her he had.

  Sort of.

  As far as Simeon could see, there was only one way to get down from where the holoship had landed, and that was the hard way.

  "We'll take the south stairwell," Simeon said softly.

  "Any reason?"

  He shrugged. "It's as good as any. We just need to stay alert, take nothing for granted."

  "Okay, but you can see the motion sensors can't you?"

  "That's part of the plan," he smiled.

  "So you do really have one and you weren't just giving me a line?"

  He shrugged. "Let's just do it..."

  She grimaced. "You're... impossible. If we'd taken a chance and landed in the grounds of the Institute, then..."

  "... then we would have been detected easily by the lowest adept. They're alert to magic, the military aren't. I should know. So are we going then?"

  Jenna pulled the invisibility charm in tight to them, so that it covered a small area that barely extended beyond the tips of their fingers. Simeon went in front of her and began to descend the stairs. He set a rapid pace, and within a matter of steps they had set off the motion and weight detectors. An alarm sounded in the distant recesses of the building and the lights on the stairwell were killed, plunging it into darkness. The imaging tech set in the walls would, he knew, have switched over to night vision as soon as this happened, but still it would not betray them. If anything, the slight eddying of air that an invisibility charm caused would be less detectable.

  He could feel Jenna close up behind, bumping clumsily into him as he slowed a little.

  The fact that they had killed the lights told him that whoever was on duty had been suitably thrown by the motion and weight detectors registering on what - via the imager - would seem to be an empty stairwell. They would hope that a lack of light would throw whoever or whatever was on the stairs into confusion, buying vital moments to recce and regroup for the warrior security.

  Basic training. Basic manoeuvres. Basic mistakes.

  Simeon had his night vision headset on his battlesuit belt. It was designed to accompany the surveillance Intel equipment he had left at the Institute, but could still function as infra-red when not in sync.

  The stairs came into focus. He could see the lines of the motion detector beams. He knew that beneath the stairs they crossed would be the corresponding weight detector pads.

  More importantly, he could see the damn stairs. It'd be a shame to come this far and fall down like a cretin.

  "Stick close," he muttered to Jenna.

  Picking his way carefully, he continued to lead her down.

  In the secure tech centre it was an ordinary morning, and the two warriors on duty were idly chatting, barely paying attention to the monitors in front of them. They were more concerned with Team Security's chances of winning the silver pennant in the warrior games challenge. They were itching to revenge themselves on Team Ministry Sec, who had defeated them three periods back, in the Peace Treaty Celebration Games. These days, now that the peace looked like it might actually stick, there was little to be vigilant about. Strange how the habits of many anums can suddenly break down and die.

  Even the threats of Bethel were considered empty posturing: outside of a few high level ministry operatives and their opposite numbers in the military, most Varn warriors believed that the Mage Abduction Scandal (as it was already dubbed by newsheets and newscasters) was a piece of double-play by Bethel to stir up war. As a result, they found it hard to step up from level zero to level two security.

  So neither man was paying much attention until the alarms started sounding. Jolted out of their complacency, they scrabbled at the controls and faders of their monitor equipment, trying to make sense of readings and images that flatly contradicted each other.

  "There's jack out there," one of them shouted over the noise.

  "Must be something," returned his companion. "Must be..."

  "Bastard piece of shit is malfunctioning is all," the first one yelled. "There's nothing up there. Look at it, for the Gods' sakes!"

  "My friend, I can see that, and so can you. But the machine says there's something there. So we need to respond, cover our own da
mn asses, right?"

  A nod of agreement was all he needed. He hit the call button, and deployed a troop of warriors, flipping on a headset as he did so in order to report to his superior, and the duty troop commander.

  In a matter of moments they were deployed.

  Even in peace, these were well-trained men. From leisure to attention in less than five, they waited, armed and with Intel/surveillance headsets to cover communication and vision.

  It didn't take a lot of skill to read the confusion on the troop commander's face, and when he told them that they were to cover a breach in the south stairwell corridor leading from the keep, it was no great shock to hear that their enemy was of unknown number, size and origin. The motion and weight sensors had caught movement, but were inconclusive.

  Keep a clear head. Keep eyes and ears open. Keep those trigger fingers frosty. No way did they want to screw up and blast one of their own.

  They moved out, taking the stairwells to the fourth level at the double. From here they spread out so that they sealed off the whole south wall of the building. Staff were ushered from offices and meeting rooms. As military operatives, all staff were armed. They also knew their place. A suspected assault on the castle was a specialist training operation. In such a situation they complied with orders and deferred to the duty team.

  It was smooth. By the time that Simeon and Jenna had picked their way halfway down the stairwell, both the tower corridor and the whole side of the building had been effectively evac'ed and sealed, with only the duty team waiting for them.

  "It's too quiet. They've got something planned," Jenna whispered.

  "Of course they have," Simeon snapped back. "Each building like this has a duty team of some kind. I don't know how Varn organise their warrior security, but I'll take a gamble that it's not that different from how we mobilise."