Battletech #58 - Initiation To War by Robert N. Charrette

Author:Robert N. Charrette [Charrette, Robert N.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Fiction, Adventure, General, High Tech
ISBN: 9780451458513
Publisher: Roc
Published: 2001-12-07T06:00:00+00:00

22

Dori

Arousian Region, Epsilon Eridani

Chaos March

25 February 3062

Trish whispered in Romano Shu's ear, "The police have arrived, my lady. They have questions."

"Let them get in line."

Kelly looked at the two plainclothes officers in the doorway who were talking with the deceased minister's aides and trying to make sense of their excited babble. "How did they get here so fast?"

"Maybe they're just hotel security," JJ suggested.

"Even if that's all they are, they got here pretty quick." Kelly moved to the window, intending to see if there were any police cruisers on the street below. Fleeting reflections on nearby buildings indicated that vehicles with emergency lights were approaching, but so far none were parked in front of the hotel. As he pondered the situation, a lightning flash showed him something more ominous: a BattleMech moving several blocks over. The chunky humanoid shape was too big to be a Commando, so it wasn't Sam. Too big, too, to be the 48th's Panther.

It had to be the Enforcer or Clint belonging to Crawford's unit. He called Veck over and told the commander what he'd seen. Veck didn't waste any time trying to confirm Kelly's sighting.

"It's a set-up!" Unceremoniously, he grabbed Lady Shu's arm and started hustling her towards the door. "We've got to get you out of here. Now!"

The officers at the door objected to anyone leaving, and a hot argument ensued about noble license, diplomatic privilege, and the law. Kelly whispered his intent to JJ and got the lady's staff moving past the knot of disagreement and down the hall to the elevators. It was their good fortune that the "police" didn't notice until they'd gotten the last of the aides out of the suite. Lady Shu caught on quickly and turned her argument into a debating retreat. A shove from Veck removed one officer's restraining hand from the elevator door long enough for the doors to slide shut, but not before a last hurled threat of arrest and prosecution for leaving the scene of a crime joined them in the car for the ride to the lobby.

"They'll be adding assaulting an officer to the charges against you, Commander," predicted Romano Shu.

"I expect they will," Veck said calmly. "It won't mean anything if they don't catch me. Somebody has put a good bit of planning and arranging into this morning's affair. Best we can do to screw it up is to not cooperate. The truth will come out eventually. We need to make sure we're around to help it along."

"I fear that the commander is right." Kelly guessed that Lady Shu was speaking more for the benefit of her aides than herself. "Right now time and distance are our best allies. Getting wrapped up in legal coils is not to our benefit. We have to get out of this town and give the county's lawyers a chance to go to work. Commander Veck, I hope you have a plan to ensure that we remain at liberty."

"I'm working on it. The first thing we have

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