Paying the Price (Book 5 of The Empire of Bones Saga) (26 page)

Detective Powers sighed and made a note in his little book. “So, the bad guys attacked. Your neighbors downstairs heard them breaking in. One even saw them in the stairwell. Masked, of course, but with heavy weapons. That matches the level of destruction in your apartment. And the one across the hall. Luckily for everyone involved, the occupants were out partying.”

Carl had known the rooms were empty of people because of the combat remotes he’d scattered around. Otherwise, he’d have brought Mjölnir in through a different wall. Unfortunately, the other apartment provided the best way to stop most of the attackers. He’d have to find out how much he owed them for lost personal belongings.

And the university would be pissed about the damage to the buildings. First, the classified lab he’d been storing the hammer at would need some roof work. Then the two apartments would need major repairs. And anything the van parts landed on, of course.

And let’s not forget the windows he’d smashed when he’d gone supersonic.

Yeah, the bill was going to be spectacular.

“So, your guard was shot, but you escaped. None of the cameras showed you exiting the building. How’d you get down?”

“That’s classified.”

The detective gave him a flat stare. “Uh huh. I suppose the grav car that broke the sound barrier had something to do with that. Probably shot down the bad guys, too. Can you at least confirm that?”

Carl shook his head. “It’s all classified. Was anyone hurt when the grav van came down?”

“Other than the four men inside it who were killed in the explosion? No. You were damned lucky. Part of the wreckage went almost across the campus. It hit some lab and caved in part of the roof. Or, more likely, it was a missile that missed the van. The angles are odd, but that’s the only answer that fits the facts. Maybe the grav van took a shot at your car.”

The man shook his head. “I suppose I’ll find out some version of the truth eventually. Honestly, Major Ellis is going to get a much sterner questioning from me. She holds responsibility for most of the damage, I suspect. Along with those yahoos at the back of the chapel. You’re only a kid. No way you caused this kind of havoc.”

If he only knew.

The detective put his notebook away. “One more question. The major came into the hospital dressed only in her underwear. I can’t help but notice those are hospital scrubs you’re wearing. Might I assume that you and the major have a…complicated relationship?”

Carl’s clothes had been covered in blood. They’d found the scrubs so he didn’t scare the other people in the waiting room.

The detective held up a hand before Carl could deny it.

“I’m not judging. You’re a legal adult and can sleep with whoever you choose.” He smiled with a glint in his eye. “I will say nice going, though.”

He stood without letting Carl say a word. “We’ll get to the bottom of this. Whoever these bozos were, we’ll identify them. That’ll get us the answers we need.”

Carl watched the man go back to talk to Coulter. The marine wouldn’t tell him anything. In a way, that was good. The fewer lies out there, the less trouble keeping things straight.

Since the marines had overheard everything, he also suspected a few juicy rumors about them sleeping together were going to start making the rounds. By the time Major Ellis found out, it would be far too late to do anything about them.

Except possibly punching him again.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Talbot woke in pain. His head was throbbing. His abused arm hurt even worse.

The memory of the attack came flooding back in and he tried to sit up. Nope. His captors had tied him to a bed. Arms, legs, and a belt around his middle. Someone didn’t want him getting up.

He smiled. Good.

“Ah, our guest is awake,” a male voice said from the darkness beside him.

Talbot adjusted his ocular implants and saw the man in the shadows. Hair pulled back into a long tail, dressed well enough. He’d recognize the face if he ever saw it again.

He activated his recorders. If he didn’t make it out, he wanted someone to catch the bastard.

“Where am I?” Talbot demanded in a voice that almost croaked. “Who the hell are you?”

The man leaned forward. “The less you know about me, the better the chances that you’ll walk away from this unpleasantness.”

“You picked the wrong guy to snag. I don’t exactly know that much. I’m just a jarhead.”

“Surprisingly, I agree. We didn’t target you for your knowledge. We want to examine those machines inside you. To have someone look over the code that drives them. As a senior officer, if anyone is compromised, it will be you.”

Talbot took a moment to activate his retrieval beacon. The fact no one had pinged it from the outside told him he must be some distance away from the capital. At least now, someone would find him. It was only a matter of time. Kelsey wouldn’t stop looking until she did.

“I don’t suppose my sincere assurance that I’m not under any compulsion will do.”

The man smiled. “No, I’m afraid not. That weapon was quite a surprise. It took down my men in short order. If you’d had a few more moments, you might have escaped entirely. Everyone recovered, so it’s non-lethal. What is it?”

Talbot felt around for it with his implants. A smart man would keep it out of his range. Then again, they didn’t know he could access it.

He found it in a drawer near the edge of his range and locked it down. Now they wouldn’t be using it for anything. Too bad he didn’t have the long-range com inside Carl was proposing as a universal upgrade.

“We call them stunners,” he lied. “The police in the Old Empire used them.”

The man looked impressed. “That’s quite a tool. When in doubt, take them all out. One would’ve been very useful in taking you down. Or the other targets.”

That made his stomach flutter. “You have other prisoners? Who?”

“Alas, we didn’t get the others. It’s quite embarrassing, really. We wanted to take a scientist to assist with analyzing your code, so to speak. His guards used significantly more force than you to stop us. They killed nine men.”

“It might shock you to know, but I’m sorry about that,” Talbot said. “I’m not a fan of needless slaughter. I was only a guy out on the town. If you ran up against a dedicated protection detail, they’d use whatever force they deemed necessary to protect the subject.”

“Or perhaps more. They blew up the top floor of an apartment building and then used a missile to shoot down our van as it fled. Without any prisoners, I might add. That feels a tad excessive.”

That sounded excessive to him, too. His people wouldn’t just shoot down a fleeing enemy. Not outside a combat zone. And blowing up an apartment building was never a good idea.

“Who was the target?”

“Not one of your major players, I understand. A lab assistant named Owlet.”

That explained a lot. The damned hammer could cause that level of damage in inexperienced hands. He’d seen the vids to prove it.

“He’s a graduate student,” Talbot said. “Bright enough, but the lowest ranking guy on the science teams. Why would you trust what he had to say, anyway? He’d be just as compromised as the rest of us, by your standards.”

The man shifted in his seat. “We’d hoped to have him guide us into extracting the computer code and understanding it. My employer is quite concerned that you people are time bombs waiting to explode.”

“I don’t suppose you’d care to share a name with me.”

The man smiled. “No. Believe it or not, Major Talbot, I intend to release you unharmed. When I do, you’re free to tell whoever you want about our concerns.”

The man rose to his feet and straightened his jacket. He still probably thought himself safely concealed in the dark. “I’ll let you get a bit of rest and we’ll talk again. Perhaps over breakfast. Sleep well.”

Talbot waited for the man to leave before testing the strength of his restraints. He wasn’t getting loose easily. The bed was solid, too. He wouldn’t be tipping it over. And even if he could, he’d really mess his arm up. They had him well and truly trapped.

He sighed. He’d just have to count on Kelsey to come to his rescue. Humiliating, but something he could count on.

* * * * *

The duty physician was just closing up the wound on Jared’s leg when Admiral Yeats came storming into the medical center. “What a freaking mess. Your boys and girls killed all four of the attackers.”

“Considering the circumstances, I can live with that. And I killed the two in the bedroom.”

The senior Fleet officer’s eyes widened. “Well, that’s a surprise. You never struck me as a close combat kind of man.”

“I’ve had to do a lot of things I’d never planned on over the last year, Admiral. Any idea how they got onto Orbital One? My implant database said they weren’t Fleet.”

The other man’s eyes narrowed. “What have you got tucked away in there?”

Jared shrugged. “I wanted to be sure I had at least a little information about the officers on the board of inquiry, so I loaded the public records for all active Fleet personnel. None of those people were in it. I suppose there could be some secret group that you don’t have open records for, but I’m betting they aren’t part of it.”

“Of course we have some off the book investigators, but you’re right. Those people weren’t active duty. All four were marines in the past, though. One retired and three kicked out of the service. Someone in Orbital One security let them aboard. Their ship didn’t wait for them and you weren’t the only target.”

Jared’s stomach sank. “Someone was killed?”

“Someone was liberated,” Yeats corrected. “They busted Wallace Breckenridge out of holding. Killed the on duty security detail in the prison. Whoever they were, they wanted you dead and him free. Does that ring any bells for you?”

Jared eyed the medical staff. “No one I’d mention in public.”

Yeats jerked a thumb toward the corridor hatch. “Everyone out.”

The staff seemed surprised, but they followed his orders. A few minutes later, the two of them were alone.

“There,” Yeats said. “Now talk.”

Jared considered his words carefully. One didn’t just come out and accuse the heir to the Throne of murder and conspiracy to murder.

“You recall Kelsey’s mentor from the Department of Imperial Affairs? Carlo Vega. He died shortly after we left Imperial space. Poison. I have no proof, but I suspect the target was actually me.

“I gave him some candies that the Palace sent to me. One of them was probably poisoned and the only person there who hates me that bad is Ethan Bandar.”

Yeats pondered what he’d said for a moment before responding. “That’s a serious accusation. Particularly without proof.”

Jared nodded and stood, testing his leg. It felt a lot better. He’d need some more time in the regenerator, but he could walk without help.

“Which is why I haven’t said anything. The investigation is still officially open, but I’m certain he was behind it. The last time we met, he basically told me he’d eliminate me as a problem. Permanently.”

Yeats rubbed his chin. “I can’t officially enter that into the record, but I’ll have a private talk with His Majesty. He needs to know how you feel.”

“Then I’d best be the one to tell him.”

Yeats nodded. “I suspect so. How will you do it?”

“I think I need to meet up with Kelsey. The two of us can tell him together. If you can excuse me from the board of inquiry for the day, that is.”

“They have enough testimony to go over without you. There are a ton of other witnesses to speak with.”

“You need to be careful, Admiral,” Jared said. “With Breckenridge on the loose, that tells me there’s something going on that might include Fleet. I hesitate to mention this, but we saw the Pentagarans go through an attempted coup. Watch your ships and commanders.”

The older man rubbed his face. “I hope to God we don’t have that kind of rot, but you’re right. They had someone here in their pocket. We can’t count on others being clean.

“I’ll raise the alert level and warn the senior officers on all ships that he’s loose and that we need to be on guard. Better safe than sorry.”

“With your permission, I’ll do the same. My people are less disposed to be allies of his after what he did.”

“Do it,” Yeats said decisively. “If they can’t take over your ships, they can’t win.”

“You need to get a marine detail you trust,” Jared said. “If they can’t control you, they might try to eliminate you. With you gone, Breckenridge might move to take charge of Fleet.

“We have some unpowered armor that non-enhanced personnel can use that would make your guards tougher. Also, there’s a kind of lightweight armor that Kelsey uses under her regular clothes. It’s tough. I’ll see that you get a set.”

“I worry we’re being too paranoid, but it won’t hurt to take some basic precautions. I’ll accept all your suggestions. Now get down there and settle this, Jared.”

“Aye, sir.”

He found his pants and summoned the marines waiting in the corridor after the admiral had left. “We’re going down to Avalon.”

They formed a protective wedge around him and took him straight to the docking level. Their pinnace disengaged as soon as they were strapped in.

He opened a channel to
Invincible
. “Marcus, go to alert status.”

“Already there, Admiral. Shall I go to battle stations?”

“No, but I want the fleet ready for trouble. Breckenridge has escaped and I think something big is in motion. I don’t want any of our ships falling into unfriendly hands.”

“I’ll notify all senior officers at once. I’ve already taken the liberty of summoning the crew back from leave. With the exception of Major Talbot, everyone is accounted for.”

Jared nodded. “Excellent. Be ready to throw up battle screens at the first sign of trouble. A supposedly friendly ship might open fire with no warning.”

“Once again, Admiral, I’m one step ahead of you. All ships have their computers watching. At the first sign of hostile activity, every battle screen in the fleet will snap into place. No missile will have time to hit us and the New Empire vessels don’t have beam weapons to worry about.”