“I'm sure they want to see me, too.”

“Yessir,” the trooper said, surprised that Wolf already knew.

“Well, I'm not in the mood. If the body's not one of ours, tell them to come back tomorrow. If it is one of ours, put the Kuritans on ice and don't worry about being gentle.”

Wolf dismissed the soldier and started back to the planning room when the disturbance at the entrance increased. Above the deep tones of the men, Wolf heard a feminine voice.

“Jaime! Jaime, tell them to let us through!” It was Marisha Dandridge.

Wolf was down the corridor as though it were empty. On the steps, he found Marisha standing in front of about a dozen Kuritans. Wolf brushed past the Dragoon guards and embraced her.

“I thought you were safe on the Hephaestus.”

“Marisha was at the mansion when the riots started,” a new voice stated.

Wolf pulled back from his lady to look at the tall, dark Kuritan he had passed without a second thought. He had not expected to see Minobu here. In the stark shadows, he had been just another Draconian to a man who only had eyes for his loved one.

“It was my duty to see her safely into your custody,” Minobu continued. “I apologize for the delay, but I waited until I thought it was safe. As it was, we had a little trouble getting here. I hope you were not unduly worried.”

“If I had known she was in your care, my friend, I would have had no worries at all,” Wolf said, relaxing his grip in Marisha. Still encircled by her arms, he turned toward Minobu. “I didn't know you were on An Ting. We have a lot to talk about.”

“We do, indeed. I also brought this,” Minobu said, indicating the body one of his men had slung over his shoulders. “I'm afraid it is in no shape to answer any questions, though it poses several.”

The Kurita trooper dumped the body at Wolf's feet. The pale skin of its face reflected the light, revealing a visage fixed in a final expression of surprise. The body wore a Kurita uniform with the insignia of the Ryuken- ni'. It stank of blood and excrement.

“It is not one of mine, despite the clothing. The man had been working at the mansion for several weeks. He was only a servant hired in my absence when the household became shorthanded. He came with excellent references.”

“Forged, no doubt,” said Stanford Blake, appearing at the edge of the group around the corpse.

The glance Minobu gave the Dragoon suggested that he found him slow-witted and a bit boorish. “A man may be good at more than one thing. Does it matter whether he was a real servant?”

“No, I suppose not,” Blake conceded.

Wolf suddenly became aware of all the people standing around. “Let's go inside,” he said. “Riker, haul this garbage out of here.”

Minobu's men were left in the waiting area, having submitted without a word to being relieved of their weapons.

After detailing a pair of Dragoons to clear away the corpse, Riker returned to his protective vigil. Minobu, Marisha, Wolf, and the Dragoon officers withdrew to the planning room.

Minobu told them of the discovery of the gunman on the tower and of the events that followed. “We were unable to recover his weapon, but we found this on the body,” Minobu said as he came to the end of his narrative. “There was nothing else.”

Minobu tossed an object onto the table in front of Wolf. It was a package of cigarettes.

Wolf picked it up. Its weight alone betrayed that it was not what it seemed. After poking at it a bit, Wolf triggered a catch. The bottom of the package fell back and a flat black panel with tiny, lozenge-shaped buttons slid out. A second panel popped open and an antenna extended from the package.

“What do you make of it, Blake?” Wolf asked as he handed the device to the intel officer.

Blake looked it over, licking his lips in thought as he considered the object from every angel. “It's a communicator. Short-range. Its pattern fits one used by the Lyran Commonwealth's Bondians.”

“Bondians?” Marisha interjected incredulously. “What in Unity's name is a Steiner secret agent doing shooting up Kurita insurrectionists? I would think the Lyrans would be happy to see trouble on a Combine planet.”

“Their people certainly like to stir it up,” Blake confirmed. “Dropping that loud-mouthed rabble-rouser was a sure way to set the mob off.”

“We don't know who the gunman really worked for,” Wolf reminded him.

“Just as we do not know his intended target,” Minobu added.

At that, Wolf looked sharply at Minobu. The Kuritan's face was impassive, unreadable. Wolf was about to question him when Cameron interrupted. The Captain was back at his comm console, having gone back to work as soon as the group had entered the room.

“Message from Captain Shadd, Colonel. The interference is still there. This came in uncoded on a hard line from a public utility. Here's a playback.”

Cameron touched a stud on his unit and Shadd's voice came from the speaker.

“... Shadd here. Tell the Colonel that I can't get his message out. The ComStar facility is crawling with armed Robes and Snakes. Locked tight. The Snakes are all in civilian clothing, but most are toting military hardware. The Adept says the HPG is forbidden to the—get this—'outlaw' Dragoons. He says to remind the Colonel of ComStar sanctity and that he'll blow the generator if he sees any 'Mechs. Tell the Colonel I'm headed for the barracks. It's closer and my ... friends ... are there. Will call on arrival.”

“How long ago did that come in?”

“Just a couple of minutes. He won't have reached the barracks yet.”

“Keep a line open to them. Tell the commander that he's on the way and to keep an eye out. A sally is authorized, if necessary, to get him inside. I want to speak to Shadd as soon as he gets there.”

“Yessir.”

“Blake, I want you to have a talk with ComStar. Find out what this outlaw business is all about.” The intel officer was halfway to the comm console by the time Wolf finished speaking.

“This is an unfortunate turn of events, Jaime-saw,” Minobu observed.

“Yes, and it's going to be even more unfortunate for whoever started it,” Wolf pledged.

41

Dragoon Administrative HQ, Cerant, An Ting

Galedon Military District, Draconis Combine

2 January 3028

 

Minobu could see from the set of Wolf's jaw that the mercenary had not taken Shadd's report of the situation at the ComStar facility well at all. Wolf's attitude promised that violence would come from this latest obstacle, violence that would make the riots in the streets pale in comparison.

Minobu listened while Wolf queried his officers for their views of the situation. Some held it was only exaggerated rhetoric that made the ComStar official call the Dragoons outlaw, but the rest believed that the Adept's statement reflected ComStar's official position on the Dragoons. If ComStar branded the Dragoons as outlaws, no one would hire them. They would become targets, hunted fugitives. Even the full force of the largest mercenary group in the Inner Sphere could not stand up to the hosts that the Sphere would bring against them. Every man's hand would be raised against them and no place in the Sphere would be safe.

First to attack them would be House Kurita.

Minobu hung his head. The clouds had gathered even faster than expected, and the dark shadow of those thunder-heads now fell between him and his friend. His hope that the ComStar Adept had been merely speaking for effect was slim, but had to be nurtured. Minobu resolved to have the comm officer patch him through to the facility. Despite Samsonov's warning against aiding the Dragoons should they go rogue, Minobu would do what he could for his friend.

Minobu turned to find Cameron listening intently to some communication. The Captain looked up, his face ashen. His blue eyes met Minobu's brown, and the Kuritan read the naked fear in the younger man's eyes.