The Empire of Dust: Chronicles of the Second Empire (The Chronicles of the Second Interstellar Empire of Mankind Book 3) by Robert I. Katz

Author:Robert I. Katz [Katz, Robert I.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-07-24T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

“We’ll find her,” Wendell Halliday said, his voice subdued. He sounded as if he were trying to reassure himself more than Michael.

The two guards were indeed dead, their bodies stuffed into stalls in the ladies’ room. They had been shot with lasers, which cauterized the wounds and left very little blood. They had also been stabbed multiple times each, which left quite a lot of blood, indeed. Whoever did it had planned well. Paper coveralls and shoe covers, dripping with red, were left in the trash bin.

“If she’s alive,” Michael said.

Wendell Halliday grimly nodded.

Forensics techs swarmed over the room. A tall, hard-eyed woman named Clarice Sullivan was in charge. She had introduced herself to Michael as Donnelly’s Chief of Security. She stood at the back of the room, consulting a handheld device, occasionally speaking into it in a low whisper. There must have been a security screen around her since Michael could see her lips moving but couldn’t hear a sound. He could read lips, however. Perhaps best not to let them know that.

So far, he had suspicions but no evidence that their hosts might be responsible. The Prime Minister had given her condolences. Her face was white. Her voice quavered. She seemed sincere. The press conference was not mentioned, presumably canceled for the duration.

“They walked down a back staircase,” Clarice Sullivan said. “They avoided people but made no attempt to evade the security cams. A pod was waiting around the side of the building. There were four of them, three men and a woman. They bundled your crewmember inside and took off.” She hesitated. “She appeared to be sedated but was alive.”

Richard, Curly and Rosanna were hanging back while Michael dealt with the authorities. He could see them quietly speaking among themselves. Romulus, at the request of their hosts, had stayed behind in the hotel. They had wanted the cameras to focus on the people and the Parliamentary debate. Romulus would distract from that.

“What now?” Michael asked.

Clarice Sullivan shrugged. “Their pod has been tracked. They can’t hide.”

“Who are they? Do you know?”

“Yes. They’re a well-known group of radical morons. They’ve been insisting that the crisis we are faced with is a fraud promulgated by the government. They claim to have evidence that once the majority of the population has evacuated, then the few wealthy who stay behind will steal everything that’s left. They’re insane.”

“Evidence, huh?”

Clarice Sullivan shrugged. “Their so-called evidence consists of nothing more than a few oblique, cynical comments from people far removed from the government. Their theory is nothing more than a wishful fantasy.” The corner of Clarice Sullivan’s lip twitched upward. “Unfortunately, one of these idiots is William Atkins, the Prime Minister’s grandson.”

“Awkward,” Michael said.

Clarice Sullivan nodded.

“I sympathize with the Prime Minister’s situation but I don’t really give a damn,” Michael said. “I want my crew back.”

“The pod is being tracked. When it lands, we’ll know.”

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