We Need General Luc for the long game. Leona will explain why later. Although I’m supposed to know already. The fact he’s commander of the Wolf Brigade, the private guard of Farlight’s emperor, should tell me. It doesn’t.
‘But OctoV’s dead.’
She pouts.
‘You said you felt him die.’
‘Yes and no,’ she whispers, before telling me it’s unimportant. I should concentrate, in the short term, on not getting killed.
The Wolf is watching me.
Still wearing that red dot between his eyes.
Sergeant Toro has his side arm to the side of my head. Even Colonel Vijay looks bemused not to be the centre of attention. But I’m not sure I’m going to let this go, so I hiss another question at her instead.
‘If our glorious leader is dead then General Luc is out of a job, right? You can’t command the emperor’s guard if there isn’t an emperor.’
‘You’re all out of a job.’
That thought shocks me. Colonel Vijay as commander of a reborn Third Regiment is the heart of my plan. Only, the Wolf wants the colonel as well. He wants to wrap his heart in a bow and give it to Aptitude on a plate.
So there is no long game.
Killing General Luc is the right move.
‘About fucking time,’ says the SIG-37, when my finger tightens on the trigger. ‘Hate to think you’d lost your nerve.’
‘Sven,’ Colonel Vijay sounds clipped. ‘You will lower that damn gun.’
‘Sir . . .’
There’s a sudden flare of interest in the Wolf’s grey eyes as he watches me wonder whether to obey.
‘I mean it,’ the colonel says. ‘That is a direct order.’
‘But, sir-’
‘Stand your team down, lieutenant.’
‘Fucking great,’ the SIG says. Diodes fade along its chassis as I flick it into sleep mode.
‘You heard the colonel,’ I tell the Aux.
Very slowly, Neen lowers the muzzle of his rifle so it no longer points at Sergeant Toro, and Anton takes his blade from their corporal’s throat. Sergeant Toro’s first punch takes Neen from his feet.
Anton is raising his blade when the Wolf’s snarl demands silence.
‘Enough . . .’ He nods to me. ‘Your men will put their weapons on the ground. And you,’ he scowls at his sergeant. ‘Don’t let that happen again.’
‘Let the Aux keep their weapons.’
That’s not me talking, obviously.
‘If you will accept my parole,’ Colonel Vijay says, ‘I guarantee no one under my command will use their weapons against you or your men.’
Fucking idiot.
‘Your word as a Jaxx?’
‘No,’ Leona says. ‘His word as the new Duke of Farlight.’
Both men stare at her and the Wolf sneers. ‘Have an heir, do you?’ he asks Colonel Vijay.
The colonel shakes his head.
‘Then it’s going to be a short dukedom, isn’t it?’ The Wolf grins, showing yellow teeth. When he tells Colonel Vijay his parole is accepted, the colonel bows slightly. Nodding at me, the Wolf says, ‘Get your rabble in formation.’
I pass this command to Neen.
‘My son,’ the archbishop says. He’s keeping his distance from General Luc, which seems wise given the blood dripping from a cut over the prelate’s eye. ‘You must give him up for trial . . .’
He gestures. As if pointing the way to the promised land.
‘Here comes the truck.’
Two police officers hang from its doors, riding shotgun. They look young and excited to be part of history. Their chief should have chosen two who knew what they were doing.
‘Close ranks,’ General Luc says.
The Wolf Brigade tighten their formation.
We could use their new focus to fight free. Colonel Vijay must know what I’m thinking, because he catches my gaze and shakes his head.
‘Boss,’ Neen says. ‘Can’t we ignore him?’
I’ve been wondering that myself. It’s not like we’re high clan ourselves, so why should we be bound by Vijay’s stupidity? Except the colonel was our CO on Hekati, and for all I know he’s the highest ranking Third Regiment officer alive on Farlight.
‘No,’ I say. ‘We can’t.’
But we can stop Sebastian Thomassi getting his hands on the man. I have the Aux fall in beside the Wolf Brigade. Colonel Vijay gave his word we wouldn’t fight General Luc’s men. He said nothing about not fighting anybody else.
Halting, the truck opens its doors and ten prison guards jump out. They’re everything you’d expect, from the guts hanging over their gun belts to the coffee stains on their flak jackets. They’ve even got cattle prods and extendable batons in little leather pouches at their sides.
I don’t like prison guards.
Given the number of prisons I’ve been in that’s understandable.
Stumbling to a halt, they only take formation when their NCO barks an order. The police officers look less happy than they did a few seconds before.
‘Sir,’ the older one says.
He is addressing Colonel Vijay.
Instead of being offended, General Luc laughs. And it occurs to me the officer only talks to Vijay because he’s afraid to talk direct to the Wolf.
‘I need your surrender for trial, sir.’
‘On what charges?’
‘Being a member of an illegal organization.’
‘A what?’
‘You’re a colonel in the Third Regiment. That regiment of the Death’s Head is now proscribed. All officers, NCOs and soldiers are to surrender immediately. Failure to surrender is punishable by death.’
He’s reciting from memory. Obviously enough.
‘Death?’ The Wolf looks interested.
‘Refusal to surrender constitutes treason to our newly elected leader Prince Thomassi.’
‘Who elected him?’ Leona demands.
The police officer ignores her.
‘And he’s not a prince,’ I add. ‘And he’s only a senator because his brother died.’
‘Sven,’ says Anton, ‘you’re not helping.’
That’s fine. I’m not interested in helping. I want the Wolf Brigade to attack the police and guards while we spectate. A little friendly fire, and the Wolf’s down and Colonel Vijay’s conscience is clear.
Unfortunately, the colonel is regretting he can’t oblige. He has surrendered already and it’s impossible to do so twice. He says this politely. Of course, should the Wolf decide he doesn’t want the colonel’s surrender . . .
General Luc’s lip curls.
The police officers go pale.
Nodding to his driver, the Wolf climbs into his scout car and we hear its engine start. He nods again. To Colonel Vijay, this time. I have no doubt that General Luc intends to cut out his captive’s heart. But he still offers him a ride.
High clans. Fucking insane, the lot of them.