Inadvertent Adventures

by Jones, Loren K.

  Bettina took them to Von Rubenstein House. “I would be pleased to host you while you are here, Ann. All of the children have moved out, and this place is too large for just the few of us who are left.”

  “Thank you, Bettina, but don’t you think there might be trouble?” Ann asked.

  “No. Brandon can’t come out here. After his last temper tantrum I filed an injunction against him. The house is actually in the children’s names.” She looked at Katrina, and then shook her head. “Not all of them, however. He did that to hurt you.”

  Katrina shrugged one shoulder. “Like I care. Let the others have it. I have a planet. Besides, I bet the others would cut me in if I asked.”

  Bettina chuckled. “I suppose they probably would. Go on up to your room and change into something nice. I’ll settle Ann and Sterling in a guest room.”

  “Yes, Mom,” Katrina said, then turned and dashed up the stairs.

  Once Katrina was gone, Bettina turned to Ann and Sterling. “The scars are hardly noticeable.”

  Ann nodded. “She took most of the damage on the backs of her hands. The burn cream we used is also the best in the Navy inventory.”

  Bettina sighed and motioned them toward a set of stairs. “We all hoped she might come home now, but it seems I made her even more independent than I planned. And she’s right, of course. She doesn’t need this anymore.”

  “True, she’s still young and adventurous, but she needs a home as well,” Sterling said as he followed the women. “Everyone needs somewhere to call home.”

  “And where is your home, Sterling?” Bettina asked over her shoulder.

  “Wherever Ann is,” he answered, and saw the smile on his wife’s face widen.

  *

  They all met back down stairs an hour later. Ann and Sterling had dressed in formal business suits, and were surprised when Katrina joined them dressed in an elegant gown. Their surprise must have been evident because she laughed.

  “It’s the only thing that still fits. I must have gained more weight than I thought over the last two years.”

  Bettina smiled and shook her head. “You have just matured, Katrina. We all do, you know.” She smoothed the fabric over her own hips. “I’ve ordered a light lunch. After that I will take you to the DA-CC tower.”

  Ann and Sterling nodded, and followed Bettina into a huge dining room. The “light lunch” she’d ordered only had five courses. They spent an hour eating and discussing the happenings of two years before Bettina led them to a hover-limo.

  “DA-CC tower, Bruno,” Bettina commanded, and the chauffeur immediately started the car. It wasn’t long, however, before Bettina started looking puzzled. “Bruno, where are we going?”

  The chauffeur looked into the mirror and said, “I have my orders, Ma’am.”

  Bettina snapped, “Bruno, take us to DA-CC tower immediately.”

  Bruno shook his head slowly. “Sorry, ma’am, but I have my orders.” He flipped a switch and the doors locked, then a barrier rose behind his seat.

  “Mom, what’s going on?” Katrina demanded.

  “I don’t know. Bruno has been a loyal member of our staff since-Oh, God, he wouldn’t!”

  “Who wouldn’t what?” Sterling demanded.

  “Brandon. He wouldn’t try to kidnap you. He wouldn’t.”

  “He’s in deep shit if he does,” Ann snarled.

  Katrina grabbed the phone, but put it down without dialing. “It’s dead.”

  “And my com is on my uniform,” Ann muttered.

  They received no answers until more than an hour later, when the limo pulled to a stop in an underground parking garage. The doors unlocked and opened, and they found twenty men facing them, and a step in front of the rest was Brandon Von Rubenstein.

  “Katrina, I am so pleased to see you again,” Brandon said as he smiled broadly at his daughter. “Your recalcitrance needs to be curbed. I’ll see to that later. As for you three,” he said as he looked at his ex-wife and the two officers, “it’s unfortunate that you were killed in a hover-car accident, but these things happen on the ground.”

  “Brandon, you can’t-” Bettina began, but Brandon cut her off.

  “Don’t tell me what I can’t do, Betta. You didn’t think I’d just let you take away everything that was mine without a fight, did you?”

  Katrina stalked toward her father with her hands balled into fists. “Father, back off,” she snarled.

  “You insolent little bitch,” Brandon snapped and backhanded Katrina while his men kept the more dangerous adults covered.

  Katrina broke his knee with a side-kick, then wrapped one arm around his neck and grabbed his chin, and pushed against the side of his head with her other hand. “All of you back off, or I’ll break his neck!” she shouted.

  The men around them froze. Experienced as they were, they recognized that Katrina was in a position to actually carry out her threat.

  “I am your father,” Brandon snarled. “You will obey me.” He tried grabbing Katrina’s arms, but every time he touched her she pushed a little harder.

  “You’re not my father anymore, you arrogant bastard,” Katrina snarled back. “You disinherited me. You kicked me out for not knuckling under to you. For not saying, ‘Yes, Vater,’ and letting you rule my life. Well, Daddy, if I push a little harder, you die.”

  One of the thugs stepped forward so he was facing her and raised both hands in what was supposed to be a placating gesture. “Miss Von Rubenstein, you don’ know what ye’re doing. Ye’re confused. These people have brainwashed you t’ believe-”

  “Blow it out your ass, Mick,” Katrina snarled. “The only person who has ever tried to brainwash me is on his knees. He let Otto rape me when I was ten.” The pressure she was exerting against her father’s neck increased, making him groan in pain. “He demanded absolute obedience, absolute control of every aspect of my life. And when I decided to go my own way, he tried to destroy me. Sterling, take their weapons.”

  Sterling and Ann both stepped forward, but Ann saw the look on a few of the men’s faces and stopped. “Throw your weapons over here,” she commanded. “You’re not getting your hands on either of us.”

  “We’ll no give up control of this situation, lass,” the leader said in an oddly familiar accent.

  “You lost control the minute Kat got hold of her dad,” Sterling said as he stepped away from Ann and raised his right hand slightly. He had something in his hand, but it wasn’t clear what it was. “I’ve also been broadcasting this to our ship. Our Second Officer and Navigator are in contact with the planetary authorities. With this position fix, they shouldn’t be long.”

  From somewhere outside came the two-tone wail of police sirens. The men shared looks all around, then broke and ran for the exits. All but three of them. Ann looked at those three and asked, “Are you really that loyal to a man who would try to kidnap his own daughter, and murder his ex-wife and two planetary ambassadors? Are you willing to spend the rest of your lives in jail with him?” That was enough to convince them, and they all broke and ran.

  Once the garage was clear, Ann looked at Katrina and nodded. “You can let him go now, Kat.”

  Katrina hissed, “No. I have been waiting for years to say this. Father, I hate you and everything you stand for. Your greed. Your grasping for power. Your need to control everything around you. Well I have news for you. You’re a failure.” She pushed on his head a little, just enough to make him groan in pain again. “You failed to control me. You failed to control Johan. You failed to control Alana. You failed to control Manfred. You failed to control Gertrude. You failed to control Cynthia. You failed to control any of us. I defied you openly, but the others have been defying you behind your back for years. Now you’ll die a failure.” She shoved him away from her, and he fell on his back, grasping his broken knee as he gasped in pain. “Where are those cops?”

  Sterling smiled apologetically. “There are no cops. That was a bluff. I don’t know what that siren was
for.” Now he held up the object in his hand so it could be clearly seen: It was a shot glass from the limo’s wet-bar.

  Ann looked at him, then past him. “Sterling!”

  Sterling turned to find Bruno lunging at him, and used the glass in his hand to club the chauffeur to the ground. “Stay down!” he commanded, and Bruno rolled onto his back.

  Ann looked at Bettina and nodded toward the limo. “Perhaps you should really call the police.” Bettina immediately scrambled into the front seat of the limo and grabbed the phone.

  “Police! Police! We need help!”

  “What is the nature of your emergency?” a voice asked.

  “We were kidnapped!”

  “Is anyone injured?” the voice asked.

  “No. Yes. We got away, but two of the kidnappers are down. We need help.”

  “Do you know where you are?”

  Bettina looked around. “No. We’re in an underground garage somewhere.”

  “I am activating your emergency locator. I show you in the basement parking garage of the DA-CC warehouse on Fredrick’s Lane. Police and an ambulance are on the way. Remain calm. Can you identify any of your assailants?”

  “Yes,” Bettina all but hissed. “One of them is my ex-husband, Brandon Von Rubenstein, and the other is our former chauffeur, Bruno Windholt.”

  “Understood,” the voice said. “A police cruiser is pulling into the parking garage now. Can you give him a level and location?”

  Bettina looked around. “It looks like level three, section orange eight.”

  “Understood. The information has been relayed to the police unit.” It was just a few minutes later that a police car rolled to a stop with its headlights illuminating the area. “They say they have you.”

  “Yes, thank you,” Bettina said, then hung up the phone.

  She strode forward toward the police, but a voice commanded, “Stay where you are!”

  “I called you! We were kidnapped!”

  “Arrest them!” Brandon shouted. “They assaulted me!”

  “You will all remain where you are until we assess the situation,” the policeman said in a no-nonsense tone. “You, in the blue suit, drop what you are holding and keep your hands in plain sight.” Sterling did as he was told and the glass shattered on the cement. “One at a time, I want your identity papers. You first young lady,” he commanded, and Katrina walked forward and handed over her documentation. “Back away now. You others come forward one at a time.” Bettina, Ann, and then Sterling walked forward and turned over their papers. “You in the black suit as well,” the officer said, and Bruno climbed to his feet and delivered his papers.

  The cops were busy for a moment, then the one who had been doing all the talking said, “Um, Missus Von Rubenstein, was it you who called?”

  “Yes, you dolt.”

  The officer was quiet for a moment, then came forward and handed everyone back their identification. “My apologies, Missus Von Rubenstein, but we were told that DA-CC Vice President Brandon Von Rubenstein was involved.”

  “Arrest them!” Brandon all but screamed from the ground. “I am Brandon Von Rubenstein! They attacked me! Arrest them!”

  The police officer looked at Brandon, then back to Bettina. Before he could say a thing, she explained, “He is my ex-husband.”

  “Um, it’s your word against his, so I’m afraid I have to-”

  “Young man,” Ann interrupted, “I am Annette Fairmont Stevenson, captain of the independent space ship Admiral Ann’s Revenge. As of twenty days ago, we became ambassadors for the Farflung Star System and have diplomatic immunity. My husband, Sterling Silver Stevenson, and our ship’s cook, Katrina Alexandra Von Rubenstein, are included on the ambassadorial list.”

  “You’re really the people who-?” the police officer’s voice faded away. “I have to wait for the lieutenant to arrive to make a decision.”

  The ambulance and lieutenant arrived at the same time a few minutes later. While Brandon was being treated, the officer explained what he’d learned. The lieutenant walked over and faced Ann.

  “Captain Stevenson, I am pleased to meet you. Would you please explain what’s going on here?”

  Ann did. Graphically. At the end she said, “So you see, Brandon Von Rubenstein was trying to retake control of DA-CC by killing us and seizing Katrina’s portion of the Farflung system. She has the paperwork from when he disinherited her, proving that he has no rights to her assets.” She shrugged. “He was also trying to kill his ex-wife to get all of his stuff back.”

  The lieutenant took a deep breath, then turned to where Brandon had been placed on a gurney and walked over. He stopped and said, “Brandon Von Rubenstein, you are under arrest for kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder.” He pulled his handcuffs from his belt and cuffed the great man to the gurney. Looking at the paramedics, he said, “He’s to be transferred to the prison ward of the hospital.”

  “No!” Brandon finally shouted as he came out of shock from hearing the policeman arrest him. “You can’t do this to me! Do you know who I am! I’ll have your jobs! All of your jobs! Release me!” He jerked his arm, making the handcuffs rattle against the gurney’s metal rail. “Damn you, take these things off me!” He was still making threats when the ambulance doors shut behind him.

  The lieutenant walked over to where two of his men were holding Bruno. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

  “I was just doing what my employer told me to do.”

  “Former employer,” Bettina said from behind him. “You worked for me, Bruno, not Brandon. Worked being past tense. Your belongings will be taken to the police station later today.” The officers led Bruno away, and the lieutenant turned to Bettina and bowed slightly.

  “Lady Bettina, we’ll need to take you all to the station to take your formal statements.”

  Bettina nodded, then turned to the limo, but only took one step. “Who is going to drive?” she asked.

  “I will,” Sterling volunteered. Everyone looked at him, so he explained, “I worked as a limo driver for two years on Hobson’s Planet. I think I can handle it.”

  The lieutenant nodded and said, “Please follow me.” Everyone got in one car or the other, and the lieutenant led them out of the garage. Sterling was behind him, and three other police units were behind them, forming a motorcade.

  The police station was thirty kilometers away, all the way across Dresden. The drive was long enough for Bettina to break down, cry her fear and heartache out on Katrina’s shoulder, then recover herself and freshen her makeup.

  The lieutenant led them into the station, and as soon as Ann, Sterling, and Katrina’s identities were verified, all hell broke loose. Men and women were running every which way to follow the often contradictory orders of their superiors.

  In the end the Mayor of Dresden, Dresden City Police Commissioner, six Dresden Police captains, and several public affairs officers met with Ann and Sterling in a private conference room. Katrina and her mother met with other high-ranking police officials to formalize their complaints against Brandon.

  They were still there when Countess Alexandra arrived several hours later looking for them. “Ann, Sterling, are you all right?” she asked. “Where’s Betta and Kat?”

  “They are still filing their complaints against your brother, Countess Alexandra,” Ann replied. “Our complaint is already on file.”

  Countess Alexandra looked chagrined and bowed her head deeply. She murmured, “Brandon has gone too far this time,” without looking up from the floor. Then she looked Ann in the eye and continued in a stronger voice. “Nothing can save him now. And DA-CC will not try.”

  Chapter 34

  IT WAS EARLY THE NEXT DAY when Kaiser Wilhelm IX of New Frankfurt arrived in Dresden. He traveled with the full fanfare of the planetary ruler, and his motorcade took twenty minutes to arrive and sort themselves out in the parking lot of Von Rubenstein House. The Kaiser walked up the steps to the entry and was met at the door by Countess Alexand
ra and Lady Bettina.

  Both women curtsied deeply, and then Lady Bettina spoke. “Kaiser Wilhelm, we welcome you to our home.”

  The Kaiser clicked his heels and nodded his head slightly, but his attention was on his cousin’s widow. “Alex, I haven’t seen you since Manfred’s funeral. How are you?”

  Countess Alexandra curtsied again. “As well as a woman my age can ever be, Herr Kaiser.”

  The Kaiser chuckled and shook his head. “Considering I’m two years older than you, I understand completely. Let’s go inside before my security people have puppies.” He smiled as the women curtsied again and allowed him to pass between them into the mansion.

  They were just inside the doors when Kaiser Wilhelm continued. “Alex, Brandon has really gone too far this time. The stuff he did in the past concerning the Admiral Ann’s Revenge and her crew was bad enough, but we could recover from it. But this time?” The Kaiser shook his head. “This time he’s embarrassed the entire planet!”

  Countess Alexandra nodded as she walked by his side. “I understand, Willie. I’ve already initiated actions in the DA-CC Board to remove him. The kids have agreed to petition the courts to disperse his shares as soon as he goes to prison.”

  “You’re already resigned to that?” the Kaiser asked.

  She sighed deeply before simply saying, “Yes.”

  The Kaiser nodded. “Good. This is a diplomatic nightmare. It’s grounds for Frisland to refuse to do business with New Frankfurt. And to break any contracts they had with DA-CC.” The Kaiser shook his head sadly. A fair share of his personal fortune was tied up in DA-CC, and he’d quietly bought more since the initial contracts had been signed.

  Countess Alexandra sighed deeply as she said, “I know.” She gave the Kaiser a crooked smile when he looked at her. “We are fortunate that Ann and Sterling Stevenson are more forgiving than most. And that Kat is so well liked among her crewmates. They have decided, after a four-hour com-conference, to retain all previous contracts with DA-CC.”