Ah-ha!

[maderr]

One down, and....only four to go before I'm actually caught up. Ah well, that's what long weekends are for. Apologies for the roughness.



Chapter Twenty-one


Planet 00000000 (Zero), Alexander Private Estate


"Well, no distress calls yet." Faller said, eyes still on the screens that monitored the entire house. "Then again, that room seems to be in some sort of lockdown so I'm guessing he could be dead and we'd never know."

"You don't sound too concerned," Karmikel observed.

"Only because I'm certain he's alive. If I thought he'd get himself killed, I would've gone with him."

"It would have been wiser for me to go with him. The closer we are, the stronger our magics are."

Faller waved away his words, unimpressed. "Yeah, and those magics would have been a great help if your ship hadn't been able to stop the Temperast. You magics capable are all the same - you think magics will solve everything."

"I can fight just fine without my magics." Karmikel sounded almost sullen.

"Still wouldn't have helped you against the Temp. Magics capability is as much a strength as it is a weakness."

"And the same goes for you," Karmikel retorted. "Don't think you're special just because you know how to kick and punch. That Temp would have gotten you too, in the end. If a stunner didn't do the job first."

"I've faced worse odds than that. And did you not notice that the two of you were hiding behind me?"

"I wasn't hiding behind you!"

Faller snorted, "Whatever."

Whatever reply Karmikel might have made was prevented, as the door chimed a warning of someone trying to enter. "Open the damn door!" Einn said from the other side.

"Why should I?" Faller asked.

"Because if you don't, I'm going to kick your fucking ass when I finally get through it."

Rolling his eyes, Faller mashed the open button. "I see you've successfully retrieved our hostage."

"Good to see you again too," Cyan replied.

"Something like that," Faller rose from his seat.

Cyan didn't reply, his attention captured by the stranger in the room. "You must be Karmikel."

"Yeah, that's me. You're the boy toy we've been after?"

"Boy toy?" Cyan turned to glare at Einn.

Einn held his hands up, "Not my words. All his. He's got a problem with manners - as in he has none."

"So who are you?" Cyan looked back at Karmikel.

The Draconis pointed to Einn, "His match. Under protest…make that under heavy protest."

Cyan blinked, "You mean matched like…Sean and Mendel are matched?"

"Ew, no. Compare me to those two lovesick idiots again and I'll kill you." Karmikel reluctantly stood up, "We're matched as in our magics are compatible. And he's not all bad as company when he keeps his mouth shut."

"I see…I think." Cyan's lips twitched. "So I don't have to hate you?"

"No. He's all yours. Please. I'm told he's more tolerable to live with when you're around. Then again, Faller could be lying just because he's a bastard like that."

"That's enough!" Einn growled. "Sheesh. Shut the hell up, both of you. I think my mutinous crew was nicer to me."

"And what about me?" Faller asked, glaring at them all.

Einn shrugged, "What? You are a bastard."

"Aren't we supposed to be getting out of here?" Faller asked in an icy tone of voice.

"Yeah," Einn looked at a clock hanging on the wall. "But we're actually ahead of schedule, I'm impressed."

"So am I," Faller said. "Now let's get going. Pyotr can't wait around all day."

"Going," Einn responded, motioning the others to follow as the door opened and he stepped into the hallway. "I was really expecting this to be a lot more difficult, seeing as Alexander is supposed to be highly intelligent and all that."

"He is," Cyan said quietly. "But he's also over-confident. And we're not out of trouble yet. All this does is create one huge mess for us."

Einn looked over his shoulder to shoot Cyan a grin, "Oh, just wait. Your buddy Sean and his Draconis have quite the connections." Hitting the stairs, the four of them rapidly descended. "How do you think we got the codes to transport here? And how I knew where to go to fix things so Lark and Karmikel could come after me?"

"Pyotr you mean?" Cyan frowned in thought. "I don't know the name."

"For shame, Rehab." Faller taunted. "You don't know the name of one of your brother's peers?"

"What?"

Karmikel huffed, "Shut up! Just get on the transport. You people talk more than my mother's match did when she gossiped with her friends."

Faller let out a bark of laughter. "That's funny coming from someone that could pass for a woman."

"I almost kicked your ass once for that, red skin," Karmikel said in an angry hiss. "I'll do it again if you don't shut the fuck up."

"Whatever, battery."

"Are you two always like this?"

Einn laughed as he punched in the codes that would take them away from the Alexander Estate. "Actually, the funny part is that it's usually Karmikel and me who are fighting. I don't see why Lark gets so mad at us - it's rather entertaining to watch."

Faller's words were lost as they transported away.


Planet 00000000 (Zero), Kavalerov Private Estate

"You are back," Pyotr said calmly as they appeared in his home. "And Mission completed successfully, excellent. And what of the Lord Alexander?"

"Locked in his room with a broken nose," Einn replied.

"I see." Pyotr extended his hand to Cyan, "The younger Alexander. It is a genuine pleasure to meet you."

Cyan hesitantly shook his hand, "I'm not too sure about that, but thanks all the same." He blinked, "Aren't you Lower Chancellor Kavalerov."

"You can remember a name like Kavalerov but you can't remember Pyotr?" Einn asked him.

"I am he," Pyotr spoke over Einn.

"And you've been helping Sean?"

"Indeed I have."

"Huh. So what do we do now?"

Pyotr motioned the group to follow him, "We have a meeting to attend. This game has continued long enough - it's time to start bringing things to an end." He lead the way through his house, past a dizzying array of patterns and colors, ornate porcelains and paintings that both Einn and Faller mentally tallied as the walked, exchanging brief, rueful glances. Pyotr paused in front of a large, dark wooden door and flipped open a hidden panel, rapidly typing in the code.

The door slid open, and he led them inside.

An old, stern looking man sat behind a large desk made of some dark gold wood, ornately carved with abstract whorls. His mandarin-style robes were of a heavy maroon and antique gold, a stark contrast to his severely cut dark grey hair. He looked up as the group entered, fixing Pyotr with a stony glare. "What's this all about, Pyotr?" He frowned at the rest of the group briefly, then refocused his ire on the Lower Chancellor. "I really don't like what I'm reading in this reort. And I'd imagine you already know why else I'm severely displeased with you."

"Yes, sir." Pyotr said, unperturbed. "I'll accept due punishment for my actions - but later."

"Later," the man agreed. "Is everything in this report true?"

Pyotr looked momentarily offended, "Yes, sir. All can be verified with the listed contacts - a few of which are present here." He indicated the men gathered behind him.

"One of your listed contacts is a convicted murder," the man said. "And I notice you neglected to list a means by which to actually contact him."

"Of course, sir. I wish to guarantee his safety first. And a promise that he won't be imprisoned until certain matters are resolved."

"Did you not hear me when I said he's a convicted murderer? Pyotr, even I can't undo something like that."

Pyotr remained unfazed, "What about his match? Sean Noor?"

"Yeah," Karmikel interjected. "You can't lock up his match for a crime he didn't commit."

"Precisely," Pyotr shot the Draconis a warning glance. "At the time of the murder, Mendel and Sean had not yet even met."

"I think we all know the circumstances of their meeting," the man said dryly. And with that in mind - Noor is suspected of helping the prisoner escape. So he'll quite possibly be going to Rehab on charges of his own."

"No," Cyan shook his head. "I was there when Mendel was brought in. Sean collapsed right beside me, before Mendel snatched him away and vanished. If someone is trying to say he aided Mendel's escape, he's lying. I would swear my life on it."

"I see," the man said, looking none too pleased by Cyan's adamant words. "If what you're saying is true, I've got yet another problem that I really don't want to deal with." He glanced at the screen in front of him, looking over Pyotr's report. "Reading through this, I see no conclusive evidence that the High Chancellor is involved. Just your word and that of Lord Alexander - who is himself currently under suspicion. And notably lacking in evidence against him." He looked up at the Lower Chancellor, "You're not giving me much to work with."

"If you don't mind," Cyan interrupted, "Would someone mind explaining what's going on to me?"

The old man looked at him in annoyance, but Einn spoke up first, rapidly relating to Cyan all that he had missed, with Pyotr occasionally filling in details.

"I see," Cyan said when they finished.

"You see what?" Pyotr asked.

Cyan shook his head, "Nothing in particular." He ignored Einn's suspicious look.

Pyotr pressed him, "If you have any ideas as to your brother's motives, I'd appreciate your telling me."

"I make a point to stay out of my brother's business. All I can tell you is that he hoped to use me to get to Sean and Mendel. After that? I couldn't tell you."

"That we already knew, apparently." The old man sounded more aggravated than ever. "Pyotr, you stay. The rest of you are dismissed - but stay on the premises. I may want to speak with you later."

Faller snorted, "Are you always this rude? I would have expected better from you."

"I'm not in the mood to be polite. Especially to the people who brought me a fiasco like this."

"If you'd been doing your job in the first place--" Faller was silenced by Karmikel, who clapped a hand over his mouth and promptly dragged him out the door Einn opened, before Faller had time to react.

Faller's voice was ominous as he jerked away from Karmikel out in the hallway, "You're going to pay for that."

"Che," Karmikel was unfazed by the tone. "I'd be dealing with a lot worse if you'd been able to finish telling off the Grand Chancellor."

"He needed telling off."

"You're not the best one for the job. The whole lacking tact and subtly and civility thing."

"You're one to talk Miss Manners."

Einn lifted a brow at them both, then motioned quietly to Cyan to follow him down the hall. "So what gives?" he asked when they'd left the sounds of the argument behind.

"What do you mean?"

"You know a lot more than what you were willing to tell."

Cyan shrugged, "It's nothing anyone needs to know. Jade's finished, that's all that matters." He paused, "Where are we?"

"Pyotr's house?"

"That's not what I meant. I mean - can we go find somewhere to sit or something?"

"Hmm…" Einn paused at the first door they came to, thumbing the button to open it. He slipped inside, ignoring Cyan's warnings, and reappeared a minute later. "Looks good to me - don't think anyone uses this bedroom." He grabbed Cyan's wrist and dragged him inside, closing and locking the door behind them. "So talk."

Cyan was still for a moment, then all but launched himself at Einn, wrapping himself around the startled Fornarian and kissing him deeply. "Later."

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