Assumption of risk

by Michael A. Stackpole

  Peter smiled faintly at her, then turned to Tormano. "Have you told my brother about this?"

  "Believe me when I tell you how hard I have tried to communicate to him the danger here. He thinks me a stupid old man who is crying wolf just because he cut my appropriations. It is not true, the threat is real, and anyone who has watched Sun-Tzu's Zhanzheng de guang's predations in the Sarna March can see what I am saying." Tormano stopped himself and drank some tea. "Forgive me, Highness, but the gravity of the situation and your brother's cold indifference have me agitated."

  "I can understand that, Mandrinn Liao."

  "Being a warrior, you can also understand this. I have engaged a mercenary unit, Khorsakov's Cossacks—you know of them, of course, and how they have supported my efforts against the illegitimate regime on Sian—to undertake a recon-in-force of Shiloh. I hope they will come back with physical evidence of the Harloc Raiders' presence because the photos and holographs my agents have obtained—at such great risk to their own lives—have been decried as inconclusive by your brother. He will not believe me."

  Tormano held his hands up in a gesture of hopelessness. "I beseech you, my lord, to take the information the Cossacks bring back to your brother. Convince him of this threat. The evidence we recover should be sufficient to make the case, and if you deliver it ... well, there will be no way he can deny my report."

  Peter smiled warily. "I can guarantee he will have no choice but to accept it."

  Tormano blinked his eyes innocently. "How?"

  "I will command the Cossacks. I will see what they see, and I will report it from personal experience."

  Tormano shook his head adamantly. "No, I cannot allow that. You would be in grave danger."

  "More danger than here on Solaris?" Peter gestured to the window behind Tormano. "I could be in a sniper's gunsight right now. A bomb could destroy my hotel tonight. I am under a death warrant here and the most galling thing about it is that I am a MechWarrior. You were a MechWarrior, Mandrinn. You know what it is to be able to crush your foes. If I am to die, I would prefer that it be in the cockpit of a 'Mech, not a pool of blood in the street. You will let me go."

  "Please, Highness, do not insist. If something should happen to you, I ..."

  Peter's face hardened as his eyes flashed with triumph. "Think of it this way, Mandrinn Liao—I am your liaison officer. You have told me of your plans to send an armed incursion into another sovereign nation, a deed that could bring us to war. If you refuse to let me go with them, to oversee the mission, I will shut it down. It will go nowhere." Peter sat tall in his chair. "You have a decision to make, but you really have only one choice."

  Tormano opened his mouth, then shut it and let his shoulders slump forward. "No wonder your brother fears you as a rival. You are as hard as he is. As hard as was your father."

  "I am even harder than that, Mandrinn, as you will see on this mission."

  The older man nodded wearily in defeat. "I wish you godspeed, Highness. I will not rest easy until you return, and when you do I will rejoice. This victory over our enemies will guarantee that your brother can never shove you aside again."

  "My thoughts exactly, Mandrinn." Peter stood, rejuvenated by the meeting. "You will have details on the expedition communicated to me. I will be preparing my kit. I assume we leave soon?"

  Tormano nodded. "Their DropShip is already headed out of the system. I can have a shuttle at your disposal in four hours."

  "Very well." Peter smiled cautiously. "If the Harloc Raiders are on Shiloh, we will find them, destroy them, and deliver their ashes to my brother as proof of their elimination."

  Peter marched from the room, taking the report from Nancy as she showed him out. Tormano remained seated until she returned to say that Peter had left the building.

  "Thank you, Nancy. Now I must ask you to do two things: for me. First, please send a message to Nikolai Khorsakov and tell him that Case Prokofiev is in effect." In deference to Khorsakov's sensibilities, Tormano had chosen to name the operation after the composer who had created "Peter and the Wolf." It gave Tormano a certain grim satisfaction that Khorsakov would think the title meant that he had real value to the Mandrinn. "Easily done. And second?"

  Tormano's eyes narrowed. "We still have a file of known agents working for the Maskirovka and Sun-Tzu?"

  "Active and unfortunately expanding."

  "Pity, yes. Pick one, a reliable one, and let him know that a mercenary unit will hit Shiloh ten days from now. Let Sun-Tzu know that it's the Cossacks, but do not let it slip that Peter is with them."

  Nancy stared hard at him. "But that will get the Cossacks killed. And Peter, too."

  "Indeed, it very likely will." Tormano shrugged. "And then Prince Victor will have to avenge his brother and let me destroy Sun-Tzu, won't he?"

  Tharkad, District of Donegal

  Federated Commonwealth

  Victor hesitated at the threshold of his sister's suite. I have never seen her so devastated. She must blame herself. He knocked lightly on the door casing, then entered the dimly lit room. The drawn shades kept out the light reflected by new-fallen snow, and the illumination coming in through the doorway barely served to dispel the shadows. "Katherine, we must talk."

  The quilt-shrouded lump in the overstuffed chair did not answer. The lighter shade of gray that marked her hair moved slightly, giving him evidence that she heard but no way of telling if she understood. All she gave out was the occasional congested sniff followed by the addition of another crumpled tissue to the pile surrounding the chair.

  "We have some information about the bomb. It was radio-controlled. Whoever set it off, did so deliberately." Victor remained in control, letting no emotion bleed into his voice. "It was not a bomb like the one that killed our mother. And we have reason to believe you were not the target, Katherine. Galen was."

  Her voice came as a harsh croak. "What do you know?" An intake of breath punctuated each word, as if saying anything taxed her unto death.

  "The Solaris City Constabulary made an intercept of a message to a 'broker' on Solaris asking for a hit on someone called il Capo. As that is underworld slang, the tip went to the organized crime people, but they could make nothing of it. The Intelligence Secretariat now believes that call was placed by a man who wanted Galen dead. We checked other records, because we have that man under surveillance but we believe a technical problem destroyed the evidence we need to show that his boss gave the order."

  "Who?"

  "The man was Sven Newmark. He is in the employ of Duke Ryan Steiner. We believe the order came from Ryan."

  The lumpy figure in the chair became smaller. "Ryan? Ryan killed Galen?"

  "He didn't have his finger on the button, no, but he gave the orders." Victor folded his arms across his chest. "There is something else you should know."

  "Galen is gone."

  "He is, Katherine, but no one could have prevented it. We know who did it, but only because of hindsight." Victor watched her for a reaction, then shook his head. "The man who arranged for Galen's assassination was the same man who hired the assassin to kill our mother."

  "What are you saying?"

  "I have all the evidence I need to convince me that our mother was assassinated on the orders of Ryan Steiner."

  Katherine's shadowed head rose slowly. "He must die, Victor."

  "Katherine?"

  "You must kill Ryan. He has committed treason. You cannot try him in court and keep the Federated Commonwealth intact."

  Victor shook his head. "The evidence would not stand up in court. I know he did it. I have no doubt that he did it. But I cannot prove it."

  "He killed Galen. He killed our mother." Tears filling her eyes picked up enough light to make them glitter. "He wants to destroy us, Victor. Kill him."

  Victor slowly nodded his head. "I concur. That is what I will do."

  "How soon?"

  The prince shook his head. "As soon as can be arranged."

  "How?"

&n
bsp; "You don't want to know."

  "Make it soon, Victor, very soon." Katherine's head sank again and he saw her shoulders wracked with sobs. "Only then will our dead rest in peace."

  "They will, Katherine." Victor withdrew from the room and left her suite. He met Curaitis in the hallway outside. "Tell the people on Solaris it's time to act."

  The agent nodded. "Did she tell you anything useful?"

  "She wants Ryan dead." Victor shook his head. "So do I. Your people can do it?"

  "By the end of the week."

  Victor looked up at the man walking beside him. "Shouldn't I feel something in ordering a man's death?"

  "The lack of feeling is not a problem, Highness." Curaitis did not look at Victor, but stared unseeing down the hallway. "It's when you start enjoying it that you've got trouble."

  Solaris City, Solaris VII

  Tamarind March, Federated Commonwealth

  Kai Allard-Liao smiled in spite of the distracted look on Peter Steiner-Davion's face. "Sorry to surprise you, Peter. I tried to call before coming over, but I couldn't get through."

  "I'm not answering right now." Peter hung in the doorway of his room blocking the view of the interior. "Is there something you want?"

  What's going on here? Kai kept his smile in place. "I wanted to apologize for not getting in touch with you before this. The night of my title fight there wasn't time, then, well, after the explosion I had to get Caren Fung to the hospital because she went prematurely into labor. I should have been here sooner."

  Peter's expression eased just a bit. "Apology accepted, but I can't talk long. I have some things to do."

  "Things to do with my uncle?"

  "Are you spying on me?" Peter's face flooded with color as his hands tightened on the door jamb. "I knew Victor would put you up to that."

  "Hold on, Peter." Kai looked both ways down the hotel corridor and noted the concern of the security people posted nearby. "Don't you think we should go into your room to discuss this?"

  "Don't evade my question! What have you told my brother about me?"

  Kai paused for a moment to rein in the anger and suspicion that he knew were more rightly directed at Tormano. "I am not spying on you. The only reason I know that you visited my uncle is because I do have people watching him. I have no idea of the nature of your meeting. But from some things I've recently learned, I'd have to classify my uncle as an unsavory individual. I would prefer to insulate you from him."

  "There's nothing wrong with your uncle."

  "He meddles in affairs of state that are beyond him."

  "Better than to be like you, hiding here, acting as a spy for my brother." Peter stabbed a finger into Kai's chest. "He told you to come here, didn't he? Don't deny that you've talked to him about me.

  A million different ways to phrase his reply as a shield for Victor came to Kai, but he rejected all of them in favor of the truth. "Your brother did send me a holodisk with a message saying he hoped we'd become friends. It arrived while I was in training. I have failed him in that I did not attend to his request immediately. I have come so I do not fail you as well."

  "So you showed up because I talked to your uncle. You don't think I can take care of myself, do you?"

  Kai held up his hands and took a step back. "I know you are a very capable individual."

  "But you came here today, now, because you think Tormano has found a way to force me to do something I don't want to do, right?"

  Kai couldn't reconcile the question with the confident grin on Peter's face, but he answered in spite of the paradox. "I was concerned, yes."

  "And if I had not met with him, you might not have come today, right?"

  Kai winced. "Probably not."

  "I thought not." Peter folded his arms across his chest. "Listen up, Kai. I don't need you to watch over me. I'm a big boy. I know Victor wants me to fail, and he wants you to witness it. Well, no sale. I'm not going to fail at anything. I wouldn't give either one of you the satisfaction."

  This is not going at all the way I expected or intended. Right then and there Kai decided to back off and try again later. If I meet with the same problem, or he meets with Tormano again, my uncle and I will have a showdown. Should I have the Red Cobras watch Peter the way they watch Tormano or ... ? No, if Peter or his security men spotted them, there could be trouble.

  "Peter, forgive me. I've come at an awkward time for both of us." He thought for a second. "I'll tell you what, why don't you come down to my training facility and log some 'Mech time. How about tomorrow morning? Shall I come by for you at ten?"

  Peter nodded. "Sure, ten is fine."

  "Until tomorrow, then."

  "Until we meet again."

  30

  Solaris City, Solaris VII

  Tamarind March, Federated Commonwealth

  24 April 3056

  Kai saw a smile blossom on the hotel manager's face when she recognized him. "May I help you, my lord?"

  Kai nodded. "If you would be so kind as to ring Duke Peter's room for me. I'm here to pick him up."

  The dark-haired woman hesitated. "There must be some mistake."

  Kai glanced at his chronometer. "Well, I was supposed to meet him at ten, so I guess I'm a bit early."

  "No, not that." She hit some keys on a computer console. "Duke Peter checked out last evening. He is no longer a guest here."

  "Gone?" Kai blushed. His mind raced back over their conversation of yesterday, and suddenly Peter's final remark hit him as both incongruous and ominous. "Has the room been cleaned? I have to get in there now!"

  "No, not yet, but I don't know if I can ..."

  "You have to." Kai pointed to the ComStar satellite office just off the Armored Fist's lobby. "I can have a priority message sent to Tharkad and have their answer back immediately if you want."

  The manager thought for a second, then shook her head. She punched some numbers into the computer, then slipped a blank magnetic key into a slot. Lights flashed and the machine beeped before spitting out the key. Then she came around from behind the desk and ran with Kai to the elevators. "What will you be looking for?"

  "I don't know." Kai fought to keep his anger down. "Anything that will help me stop Peter before he gets himself in real trouble."

  DropShip Zarevo, Transient Pirate Point -1.33763

  Solaris VII, Federated Commonwealth

  Peter felt the familiar tremors run through the DropShip as it linked up with the JumpShip Remagen. "Your crew is to be commended," he told his companion. "That link was quite smooth."

  Nikolai Khorsakov nodded proudly. "Discipline and training are the two things that keep MechWarriors alive."

  "That is so." Peter glanced at his chronometer. "How soon until we jump out?"

  Khorsakov's face darkened. "We could jump now, but that wouldn't put us any closer than six days from the planet at one gravity acceleration. We can get closer, but because of the gravitational dynamics of the Shiloh system, pirate points open and close with annoying irregularity. A two-day wait here and we could jump in almost on top of Shiloh."

  "I think we should go now." Peter realized that by now Kai Allard-Liao would have discovered his deception and might have gone straight to Victor to try to stop him. Not that I would obey any order from my brother, of course. "After all, a six-day run into the system makes sense for a merchantman. It also allows us to collect background data from the world. We might actually get the evidence we need through holovision broadcasts."

  Khorsakov nodded, but Peter could read the frustration in his eyes.

  "Of course, Nikolai, this doesn't mean we won't attack the Raiders." Peter smiled boldly. "It just means we'll know where they are, and that will make our job much, much easier."

  Solaris City, Solaris VII

  Tamarind March, Federated Commonwealth

  "What the hell have you done with Peter Davion?" Kai stormed into his uncle's office, barely noticing Nancy Lee at her desk in the outer chamber. "I warned you."

  T
ormano looked up from a stack of holographs, patiently and slowly, as if he hadn't a care in the world. "Ah, good morning to you, nephew. What is it, then?"

  Kai resisted the impulse to leap over the desk. "Where is Peter Davion?"

  "Why ask me? He merely liaises with me. I am not his keeper."

  "Enough of your games, Tormano." Kai forced his fists to open. "I know that you had Khorsakov's Cossacks brought to Solaris and I know you spoke with their leaders. That means you're up to something. I also know you met with Peter, and that means you're up to something. Peter has vanished from Solaris and so have Nikolai Khorsakov and his people. If you got Peter mixed up with those mercenaries, you've got trouble."

  As he spoke, Kai saw the light shift in his uncle's eyes, and he started putting two and two together. I wouldn't put it past Tormano to have hired the mercs to hit a Capellan-loyalist base in the Sarna March, or even an actual Confederation world. If he has Peter liaising with that unit, it covers his ass. He felt his stomach begin to suck in on itself. "Where have you sent them, Uncle?"

  "Nikolai was here because he is an old friend and has recently retired. Peter and I had tea yesterday. Beyond that, I know nothing."

  "You lying bastard." Kai wanted to put his fist through the bland smile Tormano was giving him. "If you think stonewalling me will do any good, think again. I'll find out where they are and I'll stop them. You can believe it."

  "What I believe, Kai, is that you will do nothing of the kind." Tormano picked up one of the holographs on his desk, and casually flipped it toward Kai. "You have too much to lose."

  Kai snapped the holograph out of the air and looked at it. Deirdre? It showed her and a little boy petting some deer. Kai looked back at his uncle, but the million questions he wanted to ask all jammed in his throat and not a sound came out.

  Tormano stood, his smile taking on a cruel edge. "That is Dr. Deirdre Lear and her son David. He's already more than three years old, Kai. And you last saw her just shy of four years ago. Allow me the pleasure of presenting to you your son."