Chapter 34 - A Night at the Pub
"Tomorrow is the big day," Simon said, "The old man gets three days to belittle and beat on me."
"You’re just annoyed that I’ve beaten the pants off you two days in a row," Medo chuckled, "He isn’t really that bad."
"Don’t remind me," Simon groaned, "Not only are you doing better at the strategy games but you’ve clobbered me in self defense. What type of drugs are you taking?"
"None," Medo grinned, "I’ve just been having Marina go lighter on me and finish earlier. That way I actually get some sleep."
"Damn man," Simon chuckled, "You have more self control than I do."
"I noticed that," Medo snickered, "Good thing you won’t be here all the time."
"Don’t remind me," Simon said, "Looks like the Siraq trip is going to happen in a month or so. Roland told me that I’ll be going with him at that time so I could learn ambassadorial duties."
"I will give this place credit," Medo said, "It really does make time go fast. Wasn’t it like yesterday that I brought you in?"
"It’s been nearly a month," Simon said, "You’re right, it doesn’t feel like it."
"We need to get out of this unreal place for a while," Medo said, "When is the last time we saw Miranda and Stacy?"
"Not for a while," Simon said, "They came up for dinner on the last off day."
"Think we can manage to get a release?" Medo wondered aloud.
"Never know unless we try," Simon shrugged, "I’m up for it if you are."
"Iggy or Massy?" Medo wondered.
"Massy," Simon grinned, "Definitely. He’ll be more sympathetic."
"Let’s go, my friend," Medo said, "Our night at the pub awaits…"
They found Massimaferro getting ready for a poker game with a few of the higher ranking people in the city, a game he’d intended to invite Simon and Medo to, but had never gotten the chance to do so. Marianna was in the room with him, giving him a massage to help make up for being in the throne all day long.
"Hello boys," Massy said, smiling, "I see you two are through being beaten on this week."
"The old guy knows his stuff," Simon said, "But damn, does he have to be so rough about it?"
"Better a few…" Massy started.
"Bruises now than a blade in the ribs later," Medo finished, "Yes, yes, we know. We want to do something to forget about the massive beating we’ve been taking."
"You’re welcome to join in the card game," Massimaferro said, "Should be entertaining…"
"No, no, no," Simon said, moving to one side of the big man while Medo took the other, "We want out of this large museum for a few hours, to be like normal students again for a while."
"Without the bad food, of course," Medo put in quickly, knowing Massy’s sense of humor.
"And just what do you have in mind?" Massy asked them.
"Sweet ale and company down at the pub," Simon said, "With people other than the ones we see here every day."
"I guess I don’t have to say how dangerous that is," Massy sighed, knowing that they knew already.
"Life without risk is a life without meaning," Medo grinned, throwing one of the old man’s favorite cliché’s, "What good am I going to do if I don’t taste life once in a while?"
"Who are you meeting and where?" Massimafero asked him, knowing it was useless to fight it.
"Probably Miranda and Stacy," Simon shrugged, "The most important part is getting out."
"Suvorov and five of his men need to follow you," Massy said, "We can’t compromise on that."
"Fine," Medo agreed, "Suvorov can go as a patron, sitting near us. The rest go in plainclothes as well."
"Fine," Massy sighed, "Get Suvorov and his people and go before Insegniferro can stop you."
"I think that means we’d better split, man," Simon grinned.
"Let’s go," Medo said as they both stood up and split.
Massimaferro watched them go and looked over at Marianna, who had a slightly worried look on her face. He smiled at her and patted her shoulder slightly, tossing her light brown hair a little.
"Don’t worry," Massy said, "I expected something like this to happen again. Suvorov's crew is only going to be the front line. Iggy and I talked about it weeks ago. Suvorov knows what to do."
Suvorov was sitting in his quarters pondering the bottle of whiskey that was sitting in front of him. He knew he needed to quit, but his addiction was starting to get the most of him. He was about to crack open the top of the bottle when Medoferro and Simon came in.
"Still drinking that vile stuff, Rav?" Medo asked him.
"What of it?" Suvorov asked, then realized who it was, "Shit, Medo…"
"Relax," Medo grinned, "I’ll buy you a pint at the pub if you can get five people for plainclothes duty."
"You got Massimaferro to agree to this?" Suvorov asked him.
"You bet," Simon grinned, "With a little blackmail involved of course."
"All right," Suvorov nodded, glad to have something to do, "I’m sure I can find five people. Meet me in the lobby in twenty minutes?"
"Make it thirty," Medo said, "We’re going over to the school and see if we can liberate Stacy and Miranda."
It was more like three quarters of an hour before everyone convened in the lobby of the palace. The guards were a motley mix of the off duty ones wanting a little bit of excitement.
"Ok," Stacy said, "We’re here. Now where are we going?"
"I thought that the place where we started would be a good place," Medo said, "Think we can get away with a back booth there?"
"There’s a back room area for people who don’t want much public," Suvorov remembered from when he was a regular there, "I’m sure we could get it if we head there now."
"Let’s go," Simon said, "Let’s rock and roll."
They went as a group, walking quickly towards the pub. Medo and Simon were wearing civilian clothes, rather shabby versions of them so that it would be less likely that they’d be easily recognized. All of Suvorov’s men were equally dressed, and knew enough about the situation to make things look like a group of friends going to the pub instead of a group of guards.
"I can’t believe you got them to agree to this," Stacy chuckled, "How did you do it?"
"Threat of open revolt?" Simon joked.
"We told him we were going," Medo grinned, "He didn’t seem to have too much of a problem with it."
"With as bad as Cirrus has been getting it is no wonder," Miranda said, "I’ve been reading the news reports from that area."
"They’ve been giving everyone headaches," Medo nodded, "Iggy has been handling afternoon sessions while Massy tries to get a handle on that mess."
"What do they have you two doing in the afternoons?" Stacy asked, "Still have the old man beating on you?"
"We’re trying not to think about that right now," Simon grinned, "I’m personally thinking about the sweet ale that we’re going to be drinking at the pub."
The guards went in first, heading for the back area and taking places where they could see the back table area. Medo, Stacy, Simon, Miranda and Suvorov slipped into the back and took a table, sitting so that Stacy and Rav were in the back and able to watch out. This had the added effect that Medo and Simon were facing the back wall and couldn’t be recognized as easily.
"I realize that this is going to be a step down in fun and food…" Miranda started, smiling slyly at Medo and Simon.
"I’m sure we’ll manage," Simon grinned, "Good food can only go so far…"
Stacy laughed and tossed a pretzel across the table at him. Miranda and Medo began talking about happenings in the school and the world when the waitress came over to take the orders. Medo tensed a little bit, hoping that he didn’t get recognized.
"All right," the harried waitress said, "What can I get for you all tonight?"
"Sweet ale all around," Simon said, taking the attention from Medo, "I’ll buy the first round tonight."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Suvorov said, "Bring a bottle of whiskey as well."
"Any food for you?" the woman said, still not looking over.
"I’m up for anything," Medo shrugged.
"Breaded onion roll loaf?" Stacy suggested.
"Yeah!" Simon exclaimed, "My older brother used to rave about that…"
"Sounds like a plan to me," Miranda shrugged, "I just hope they have mints here…"
The conversation flowed with the sweet ale and the food. It was a definite change for Medo and Simon, as they were getting used to the atmosphere at the palace, which, while often fun, could be a little bit oppressive at times. There was little respite from the pressure of learning how to be a ruler, despite the efforts of the house staff.
Stacy and Miranda treated them like real people, which was a breath of fresh air for both of them. Even Simon, who really loved the life in the palace, found a lot of enjoyment being around regular people again. Suvorov was the only one who didn’t look like he was having a particularly good time, but he was getting to the point where he always looked that way.
"So Simon," Stacy said, the ale hitting a bit harder than it did the time before and feeling like talking, "How are you liking life in the unreal kingdom?"
"Unreal kingdom?" Simon asked her, "What do you mean by that?"
"That’s what the secret guard calls the palace," Stacy grinned, "The amount of shit that they have to put up with is insane. I’m rather glad I’m the peon I am."
"Especially since this is ranking pretty much as a vacation," Simon chuckled, "Right?"
"How do you figure that?" Stacy wondered.
"The odds of us needing another Mullinix anytime soon are slim to none," Simon told her, "What with Massy and Iggy both being on the young side of Mullinix and Medo being a fresh pick."
"I’ll take what I can get," Stacy grinned, "Seeing that Rav here is now on Mullinix guard."
"How did you end up with that, anyway?" Medo asked Suvorov, "I thought you wanted back onto the lines."
"I did," Suvorov grumbled, "But they don’t want me back down there right now. I made some mistakes last time and they figured I’d be a safer bet here."
"I told you, Rav," Stacy said, "You really need to lay off the sauce a bit."
"Fuck it," Suvorov grunted and drained his glass, filling it again, "I didn’t listen to my parents and I don’t have to listen to anyone else either."
"Nice attitude," Miranda noted, "You must be a gem at parties, Rav."
Rav ignored the younger woman, a sentiment which pretty much everyone at the table was about to share about him. Simon and Stacy continued their conversation, moving into a discussion about self defense tactics now that Simon was learning a lot from the old man.
"How about you, Medo?" Miranda asked him, "How are you handling it?"
"To be honest I haven’t felt all that much of the burden yet," Medo admitted, "Still learning a lot, but I haven’t started sitting in on cases yet. That starts after we finish our self defense training."
"I’ll have to come up and watch session with you there," Miranda grinned, "That should be interesting."
"Not really," Medo said, "Both Iggy and Massy claim that watching session is about as much fun as watching paint dry."
"Beats our classes," Miranda chuckled, "I’m glad the civics end of it is most of the way over. I’m looking forward to next session."
"What are you going to be doing?" Medo asked her, "Clerking?"
"I’ll be interning with my sister," Miranda said, "Back to the village and learning Medicine. I’ll probably be the second Medico there."
"Now that’s nice," Medo nodded, "Going to train with your sister?"
"She was fifteen when I was born," Miranda said, "I was a late life baby for my parents. So by the time I actually really got to know my sister she was already in training to be the new Medico for our village."
"Which village are you from again?" Medo asked her, drinking down some more sweet ale.
"It doesn’t really have a name," Miranda said, "It’s a small place about twenty-five miles or so northeast of Skolnik. Pretty much right on the Siraqi Border."
"I know the area you mean," Medo nodded, "Isn’t there a big market that happens right outside of the village proper a few times a month?"
"Yes!" Miranda exclaimed, "The international swap meet. People come from Siraq and oftentimes Serenia to trade there. It’s out of the way, but traders come from all over."
"If I remember correctly it is held there to keep the security problems out of Skolnik proper," Medo said, "There was someone there who made the best pastries, best I’ve ever had, though I won’t tell that to the cooks here at the Palace… A tall red-haired woman made them…"
"My mother is tall and red-haired," Miranda grinned, "You were getting pastries from her, most likely. She’s been baking there for thirty years."
"Ooo…" Medo beamed, "You’re going to have to introduce me someday. Maybe when we go to the trade talks with Siraq in a month or so."
"I’ll be heading home soon after you go there," Miranda smiled, "I’d love to see you then."
"Sounds like a plan," Medo said, "You know, there’s music going on and none of us have danced yet…"
"That place really is having an effect on you," Miranda chuckled, "The first time we were here Simon had to drag you over just to talk to us."
"My worst fears were confirmed," Medo grinned, "What more do I have to lose?"
"Well you still need to ask," Miranda teased.
"Would you like to dance with me, Miranda?" Medo grinned.
"I’d love to," Miranda smiled, standing up and offering an arm to Medoferro, "Let’s go!"
Medo and Miranda went out and started dancing to the live band that was playing a bunch of old and fast songs. Simon and Stacy watched them while they danced up a storm.
"Look at them go," Stacy said, "Who would have thought that Medo would have been that good a dancer?"
"You’ve never seen him in defense training," Simon told her, "For someone who has never really done anything athletic, he’s doing pretty well at that too."
"How about you?" Stacy asked him, "You doing well with it?"
"Not as good as he is," Simon chuckled, "I’m not looking forward to the next few days. The old man is going to have my head on a plate."
"It can’t be that bad," Stacy said, "So you’re going in for intensive training?"
"Yeah," Simon nodded, "Three days at the old man’s place. Not sure what we’re going to learn but I know it’s going to be a long session."
"Well," Stacy said, smiling at him, "If it is going to be such a long period of privation, maybe you would like to join me on the dance floor."
"I thought you didn’t even like me," Simon said, surprised by this.
"I’ve had enough ale to see past that," Stacy giggled, "One time offer, Sutcliffe."
"Let’s go," Simon grinned, "You know me, a sucker for a pretty face."
They left Rav sitting drinking at the table while they went and joined Medo and Miranda on the dance floor. It was a sight to see, even though nobody recognized any of them. They lasted nearly an hour before they collapsed back into the chairs at the table.
"Good god," Miranda laughed as she sat down, "I don’t think I’ve ever danced like that."
"You two were like banshees," Stacy said, "You dance well together."
"Remind me to thank the old man, Simon," Medo said, "Without that training I’d have never figured that out."
"You may want to think twice about that," Simon laughed, "Considering how bad he’s going to be kicking our asses for the next few days."
"I don’t get that," Miranda said, "Why is he going to take you for several days?"
"Massy said it was for exhaustive training," Medo shrugged, "We’ll find out when we get there I guess."
"Man," Simon said, looking at Suvorov, "Look at him. We’re better off defending ourselves than he would be."
; Rav Suvorov was pretty much out cold, drunk out of his mind. He’d finished the bottle of whiskey he’d ordered and a few additional glasses after that. Stacy sighed and looked at the man she’d gone through civil service training with. Medo saw the look in her eyes and wondered what she knew.
"Why does he do this to himself, Stacy?" Medo asked her, "You obviously know him."
"He and I were in service center together," Stacy said, "We were friends, but not overly close until we both were chosen for secret police training. We went through training and spent most of our service period up in the northeast provinces."
"I note you say most," Medo nodded, "When did that change?"
"He was sent down to Cirrus like most of the men were," Stacy said, "That disputed area is still a hell hole. I didn’t hear from him again until he was injured, about two years ago now."
"What happened?" Miranda asked her.
"I don’t know," Stacy sighed, "I never could get it out of him and the commanders said it wasn’t their place to say."
"And he was like this when he came back?" Simon wondered, "A complete drunken asshole?"
"He hit the bottle and has yet to come out," Stacy nodded, "They threw him in with you because they figured he couldn’t screw that up."
"He did well enough that they figured he’d be good enough for security," Medo nodded, "They may not tell you what happened, but they’ll sure as hell tell me."
"Might be a good idea," Stacy nodded, "I’d like to see if we can help him."
"It’s getting late," Miranda said, "We’ll get another mark if we come in too late."
"Yeah," Medo nodded, "It’s time to go."
"Come on, drunken master," Simon said, poking Suvorov, "It’s time to stumble home."
The rest of the guards, all of whom were actually still sober, saw the signal to leave and slipped out when Medo, Simon and the girls did. Two of them came up and took their boss’s weight away from them, leaving the other two to stand up with Medo and Simon.
"Let’s get you home first," Medo said, "I don’t want to leave you alone out there."
"Thanks," Miranda chuckled, "But I think we’ll survive."
"It’s on the way," Medo protested, "And we need to sober sleeping beauty up a little before we get home."
"Works for me," Stacy chuckled, "Lesson number #24, never ever refuse when two reasonably attractive men offer to walk you home."
"Great logic as far as I’m concerned," Simon grinned and offered Stacy an arm.
"I bow to the logic of my elders," Miranda laughed, "Shall we go?"
They walked and chatted, but Medo noticed something in the background. It wasn’t quite a solid feeling, but he had an impression that they were being watched. The feeling continued as they walked into the compound and approached the building that the women lived in.
"If you survive your days with the old man give us a ring," Stacy said, "This has been a whole lot of fun."
"But of course, my lady," Simon said, bowing and kissing Stacy’s hand, "Your wish is but our command…"
"Uh…" Medo said, watching his friend and cocking an eyebrow, "Since when did you become gallant?"
"Shut up," Simon grinned, "Let me ply the Sutcliffe charm, eh?"
"The same charm that has laid you up every day from overindulgence?" Miranda asked him, remembering some of what she and Medo had talked about earlier.
"I think it’s wonderful," Stacy laughed, "Feel free to ply the charm on anytime, Simon."
"We’ll get in contact after we get back," Medo promised, "Provided the old man doesn’t kill us in the process."
"We’ll see you later," Miranda promised, "Count on it."
She beamed them a smile that made Medo almost forget about the feeling that he’d had on the way over. They went out towards the palace and the feeling came back to them, pretty well in spades.
"Simon," Medoferro said as he looked around, "Do you get the feeling we’re being watched?"
"I’ve had too much to drink man," Simon chuckled, "You probably have too, you are getting paranoid. Need to get home and have Marina put you to bed."
"I don’t think so," Medo said, straining his eyes in the dark, "There’s something moving out there."
The guards perked up, knowing that they’d better check into what Medo was thinking. Suddenly Medo’s young eyes picked out what had been bugging him. There was someone hiding in behind a tree. Medo pointed it out and two of the guards went for the motion. The two that were holding on to Suvorov unceremoniously dropped him and went over to their charges.
There was a little bit of a scuffle but the two guards that went behind the tree dragged another man out. Two more came out of the woodwork, raising their hands and making sure that they didn’t appear threatening. Medo and Simon thought that they looked familiar, but it wasn’t until one of the guards started talking that it started to fall into place.
"Robin?" one of the guards said, "What the hell are you doing here?"
"You know them?" Medo asked.
"Massimaferro sent us out," the captured man said, "He wanted double security on you."
"Well thanks all to hell for telling us," Medo seethed, "Where is Massy now?"
"Probably in his card game," Simon said, "He was having a big one tonight, remember?"
"I think we need to have a talk with him," Medo said, "How about you?"
"Yes," Simon agreed, "I think so."
There was silence as they all headed back to the palace. Both Medo and Simon were steamed at the fact that Massimaferro had gone behind their backs. Once they got back onto the palace grounds they went straight for the common area, which was where the card games were taking place. Massimaferro saw the fire in their eyes and knew this wasn’t going to be good.
"Excuse me for a few minutes, will you?" Massimaferro said to his fellow players, "Go ahead and deal around me, my hand is bad and I’ll fold."
Massimaferro walked over to talk to the young men and tried to figure out just what had raised their ire so much.
"Night didn’t go well, boys?" Massy asked them, "You don’t look happy."
"Night went fine, Massy," Medo said, taking the lead, "What didn’t go fine was the walk home. Why the hell didn’t you tell us you were assigning extra guards?"
"Because you didn’t need to know," Massy said, "What happened?"
"I noticed one," Medo seethed, "I don’t mind the security. After the incident at the lake I see the need for it. I don’t like the fact that you didn’t trust us enough to tell us."
"Ok," Massy acquiesced, "I should have told you. Fact is that I was worried more about Suvorov than you two. He’s proving to be as much of a fuckup as his record indicates."
"We need to talk to you on that one too," Simon told him, remembering the conversation with Stacy, "We want to see his records. Something happened to him down in Cirrus to cause this. Stacy said that he wasn’t like this before then."
"Did Stacy go to her superior about it?" Massy asked him.
"Her superiors said that it was none of her business," Medo said, "Something that doesn’t sound right to me. Mind if we look into it?"
"Go ahead," Massy said, cocking an eye at that one, "They actually told her that?"
"That’s what Stacy said," Medo told him, "I don’t think she’d have any reason to lie about it at this point."
"That’s against policy," Massy said, "They are supposed to have an open door. Maybe something is going on down there. Paulus sent a wire a few days ago that something strange was going on down in that region."
"Enough to stop us from going to spend three days with the old man?" Simon asked hopefully.
"Nope," Massy said, "That is paramount. Don’t worry too much. It won’t be too bad and I’ll be there for it as well as a refresher."
"You?" Medo said, "Who is going to do session?"
"Iggy will be," Massy shrugged, "He knows how and will be doing it when we go to Siraq as well."
"I�
��m going with you then?" Medo asked him, "I knew that Simon was going to be going with Roland for it."
"That’s the plan," Massy nodded, "It’s been several years since either Iggy or I made a public tour because of Cirrus and because Taliaferro was so fragile. So I figured that I’d get you the hell out of this place for a while and we’d tour around so you could see some of the country you will be ruling."
"Just so long as one of our stops is a border village near Siraq," Medo grinned, "I found out that Miranda’s mother makes the heavenly pastries up there…"
"We’ll talk about it when we set the itinerary," Massimaferro promised, "I’m sorry I didn’t tell you boys, I just didn’t want to give you the opportunity to refuse."
"Just don’t do that to us again," Simon asked, "If you want extra security, tell us so Medo doesn’t jump out of his skin again, eh?"
"I should have known it was you," Massy nodded at Medo, "The old man says you’re one of the best he’s had in a while."
"Ok," Medo said, rubbing his head, "I think I’m going to go to sleep so I’m not a Zombie tomorrow."
"Good plan," Massy nodded, "I suggest you do the same tonight, Simon. Sascha can sleep alone for once."
"I guess I should try it," Simon said, "Night guys."
The boys left, somewhat placated but not completely. Massimaferro sighed and remembered the days of his youth, thinking that he was indestructible. He still had the scars from an attempt that came too close to him twenty-five years before. He just hoped that Medo and Simon wouldn’t have to learn the same way.
The Mullinix Book 1: Ascension Page 36