Текст книги "Coupe"

Sian Commonality, Capellan Confederation

24 October 3029

“Sic semper tyrannis."

The words hung heavily in the air between Justin and the Marauderlike the green smoke wafting through the shattered doorway. Justin shifted his gaze from the bore of the PPC leveled at his head to the polarized canopy over the 'Mech's cockpit.

Andrew's hushed voice crackled through the Marauder'sexternal speakers. "What the hell did you say?"

Weariness entered Justin's voice. "I said sic semper tyrannis."

The edge returned to Andrew's voice. "The guy on your shoulder, he's got to be our agent. How did you get the countersign out of him?"

Justin shook his head. "You're right. He is one of ours." Justin stared at the Marauder'sdark cockpit. "You know me, Andy. If I'd wanted to fool you, I'd not have brought him along. Sic semper tyrannis—I want to go home."

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! It is you! You're it!" Andrew's voice echoed with joyous surprise and relief. "Thank God I didn't pull the trigger on you without wanting to rub your face in it first. Damn . .."

Justin laughed aloud. "I'm glad it was you that found me. Anyone else and I'd be ion vapor right now." Justin motioned for Andrew to squat his 'Mech back down again. "This guy really is one of ours, and we're going to get him out, too. Crack your hatch and pull him aboard."

Andrew lowered the Marauderand opened the hatch in the top of the torso. He stepped down on the 'Mech's right arm and got his hands under Malenkov's armpits. With Justin's help, he pulled Alexi into the Marauderand strapped him into a jump seat behind the command couch.

Andrew handed Justin a canvas satchel. "Everybody got one of these. We were told to give it to our agent."

Justin smiled and slung it over his shoulder. "Yeah. It's got some things I can use if I have the time." Justin popped his head out of the hatch and looked around for Liao infantry. "Looks safe enough for now. Spread the word. Let them know I'll be coming out in Yen-lo-wang."

Redburn glanced at his chronometer. "You've got ten minutes. We've been down for twenty. Our window is closing."

Justin winked at him. "Got it." The slender MechWarrior hoisted himself out of the Marauder,then looked back in. He extended his hand to Redburn, who shook it heartily. "Take good care of Alexi there. He saved my life, just like you did once. I owe him."

Redburn nodded solemnly. "Then I'm in his debt too for saving a friend of mine. Good luck."

Justin slid from the Marauder'storso and ran back into the Capellan Chancellor's Palace. Racing through the corridors, he reached the Chancellor's throne room without incident. He cracked open the massive bronze doors just enough for him to slip into the room, then silently made his way down the length of red carpet and mounted the steps to the throne itself.

Justin smiled as he swung the satchel around and unfastened the velcro strips holding it shut. In addition to some standard medical gear, a Davion ID module for a 'Mech, and a replacement lasing cell for his arm, he found a holodisk with the Davion sunburst and sword crest. As he had been directed, Justin deposited the disk in the center of the throne's seat, then turned and descended the steps.

Her voice and the sound of a needle pistol being charged behind him, stopped Justin a half-dozen steps away from the throne. "Who are you, Justin Xiang, and why are you here?"

He turned slowly to face her, raising his weaponless hands. "Major Justin Allard, Armed Forces of the Federated Suns, currently on special assignment."

Candace moved forward into the muted half-light coming down from the lattice-worked balconies. The needle pistol in her right hand did not waver. "This special assignment . . ." Her voice trailed off as anger and other emotions strangled it to silence.

Justin raised his head. "To convince Maximilian Liao that House Davion had perfected a new and improved myomer fiber and to get him to equip his 'Mechs with it."

Candace's gray eyes glittered coldly. "And becoming part of the crisis team?"

Justin shrugged. "I was to suggest the formation of such a thing because Alexi would have been a logical choice to work in it. I knew he was a Davion plant, but he did not know who or what I was. No one did except my father, the Prince, and Ardan Sortek. And Sortek only learned of it because he threatened to go public with his outrage over my trial."

"Why did you do it?"

Justin moistened his lips with the tip of his tongue. "Orders. I pledged my loyalty to Prince Hanse Davion, and this is what he asked me to do."

Her eyes narrowed to steel slivers. "And what about me? Was I something he asked you do?"

"No." Justin lowered his hands. "I wanted to—I really tried to—avoid you. I knew this would happen. I knew we would fall in love ... And I do love you very, very much. You mustbelieve me."

"What I believe, Justin Allard, is that you have proved yourself a very convincing liar in the past."

Justin nodded his head sadly. "Then I guess you have two choices. You can shoot me," he said, meeting her arctic stare, "or you can come with me."

Her finger tightened on the trigger and her gun lipped a long flame. The cloud of plastic needles it shot out passed wide of Justin, smashing Tsen Shang back into one of the bronze doors and chasing the two Maskirovka agents with him back out into the corridor.

She triggered two more blasts at the door as Justin scrambled to cover behind the throne, then she ducked back as ruby laser bolts burned into the walls behind her. Kneeling down beside Justin, she gave him a quick smile, then poked her pistol back around the throne and fired another pair of shots.

"Damn this pistol." She stared at the gun as she moved the selector lever from single shot to three-shot burst. "Fine for shooting people, but the needles can't get through the bronze doors." She glanced over at Justin. "I'm sorry we're both going to die here, but I can't think of anyone else I'd rather spend the rest of my life with."

Justin returned her smile. "Keep them busy for a moment, if you really mean that’rest of your life' remark."

As Candace triggered a burst that kept the guards back behind the doors, Justin ripped the left sleeve of his jacket open to the elbow. He depressed a rectangular section on top of his blackened steel forearm, then flipped it up with his thumbnail when it clicked. He twisted his left arm, dropping the burned-out lasing cell to the throne room floor. He fished the replacement cell from his satchel and slid it into place. He snapped the coverplate back down, then worked his hand off and configured it for sighting.

Candace stared quizzically at his left hand's awkward position. "What in the name of..."

Justin smiled. "I'm double-jointed. Are they behind both doors?"

She nodded. "They're keeping their heads down. You can see where I've scraped some varnish from the doors.”

“Got it. On three."

Candace counted off, then triggered a long burst from the right side of the throne. Justin popped out to the left and sliced the laser's green beam through both bronze doors about a meter above the floor. The clatter of metal hitting the ground drowned out the guards' dying screams.

Candace took Justin's right hand in her left as they sprinted past Tsen Shang and into the corridor outside the throne room. They raced through the hall of portraits and into the 'Mech bay. Candace strapped herself into the jump seat on the right side of the Centurion'scockpit while Justin closed the canopy and went through the ignition sequence.

He pulled the Davion ID module from his satchel and inserted it into a slot beneath the command console. With it firmly in place, he flipped the 'Mech's radio over to Davion military frequencies. "Changeling to Davion Force Commander. I'm coming out of the 'Mech bay in a Solaris-style Centurion."

Justin recognized Morgan Hasek-Davion's voice. "Long way from home, aren't you, Changeling?"

Justin laughed and saw Candace, who had plugged an auxiliary headset into the jack near her head, smile widely. "Roger that, Commander." Justin guided the Centurionthrough the 'Mech bay and out through the opening Andrew had created earlier. The mist had all but dissipated, though the thick, black smoke produced by burning myomer had replaced it.

He saw an Atlasstanding halfway between the 'Mech bay and the DropShip. The broken bodies of a half-dozen burning 'Mechs surrounded it, yet the damage done to the Atlas had barely scratched its armor. Though no moving Liao 'Mechs were visible on the field, the Atlasstood guard while the other Davion 'Mechs reboarded the DropShip.

Justin smiled to himself. That has to be Morgan."Going my way?"

The Atlaswaved him forward with its left hand. "Wouldn't think of leaving without you. Next stop: home."

52

Nusakan

Isle of Skye, Lyran Commonwealth

24 October 3029

From his position in the front rank of the Kell Hounds, Dan Allard marveled at the peace on Yorinaga Kurita's face. The Combine Mech Warrior, flanked sides and back by a half-dozen of his Genyosha,walked around to the north side of the hastily erected platform where his son waited, and stepped up onto it. He looks more like someone heading to some pleasant social occasion than to his own death.

Walking to the platform's western edge, he removed the formal gray shitagibearing the Genyoshacrest on the sleeves, breasts, and back. He exchanged it for a kimonoof purest white and slipped it over his bared torso. Yorinaga bowed his head to the man who assisted him in the change of clothing, then turned and crossed back to the center of the platform. There, where two white tatamimats had been laid out in a T pattern, Yorinaga knelt with his back to Akira Brahe and faced south.

Clad in the Genyosha'sformal gray raiment, another assistant brought Yorinaga a tray bearing a sakeflask and a small cup. Grasping the barrel of the flask in his left hand, Yorinaga poured the saketo the left, filling the cup in two motions. As he watched the Kurita warrior lift the cup to his lips, Dan recalled what he had been told of this portion of the ceremony. He'll drain the cup in four swallows—two and two—because the Japanese wordshi means both "four" and "death."

Yorinaga replaced the empty cup, and the aide whisked it away silently. He held his head high, then bared his chest and abdomen by stripping the kimonoopen in the front and bringing the neck of the garment to the middle of his back. He carefully folded the sleeves beneath his ankles so the kimonowould prevent his body from falling backward in the moment of death.

The elder Mech Warrior looked out over the assembly of mercenaries and Combine Mech Warriors. "I thank you for honoring me with your presence today." With hands resting on his knees, he glanced to his left and nodded. Tai-shoPalmer Conti brought a white tray bearing a paper-wrapped knife onto the platform and set it down near Yorinaga's left hand. He bowed and withdrew.

Akira Brahe, acting as Yorinaga's kaishaku,readied himself for his part in the ritual suicide. Also wearing a white robe, Akira rose up from his seated position to his left knee. He slid a white-hilted katanafrom its scabbard and raised it high over his head in his right hand. His tawny eyes measured the distance from himself to the back of his father's neck, then his left hand closed on the hilt.

As assistant, Akira must strike off Yorinaga's head before Yorinaga can dishonor himself with any show of pain.Dan studied the fierce expression on Akira's face. It's tearing him up, but he is determined not to dishonor his father.

Sunlight glinted sharply from the bared tip of the seppukuknife as Yorinaga grasped it in his right hand. Razored edge to the right, he plunged the blade into his belly over his left hip and drew it across to the right. Then he twisted the blade and made a jumonji—a crosswise cut coming up. His body rock-still, his control unbroken, Yorinaga withdrew the gore-streaked knife and brought his right hand to rest on his knee again.

Akira's sword flashed down, severing his father's neck completely and ending the agonies Yorinaga never permitted to show on his face. The headless body wavered for a moment, then sagged forward.

Allard, Ward, Wilson, and the rest of the Kell Hounds watched the senseless and barbaric loss of life in horror. No matter how familiar they were with the seppukuceremony, they could not reconcile it with their values.

From within the breast of his kimono,Akira drew a thickness of white rice paper, folded into a triangle. Using it, he grasped Yorinaga's head by the hair and raised it up. He showed it to Chu-saNarimasa Asano, who nodded, confirming Yorinaga's death. Akira reverently lowered the head back beside the body, then used the paper to cleanse the blade.

Akira backed to his earlier position and slid the katanahome into its white scabbard. He bowed in the direction of his father, and according to tradition, should have withdrawn as the attendants bore the body away. Instead, he stood and looked out over the assembled Combine soldiery.

The bronze-haired MechWarrior drew their immediate attention. "It is a minor comfort to me that, according to the laws and dictates of our nation, I am not legally the son of Yorinaga Kurita. This action I am about to undertake would bring shame upon him and his memory, which I would not do for anything. All of you who saw him here, saw how he faced death. You know this was a man who deserved more respect than what marked the later years of his life."

Beginning in a low whisper, his voice grew in intensity and vitality as he went on. "Yorinaga Kurita wanted only one thing: to account for what he saw as his personal shame for the last thirteen years. Two years ago, the Dragon, Takashi Kurita, offered him that release if he would create and train the Genyosha.He gave Yorinaga free rein to gather to himself the finest MechWarriors in the whole of the Combine, and through our training, he created an elite unit—one that surpasses even the vaunted Sword of Light regiments in skill and ability."

The scorn in Akira's voice as he mentioned the Sword of Light regiments stung Conti, but the younger MechWarrior never gave the Tai-shothe chance to respond. "What did we get in return? On Northwind, we are treated like roninor bandits or, worse yet in the eyes of the Dragon, mercenaries. The Genyosha,the troops that prevented mercenaries front overrunning Tai-shoConti's headquarters, we are commanded to execute prisoners like ashi-garu.We are not green warriors who should be given such menial tasks. We are samurai! We deserve to be shown more honor."

Akira turned and thrust a finger at Palmer Conti. "This man brought his regiment here to steal the glory of destroying the Kell Hounds for himself. Look at him. Even now he schemes and plots. He will find a way to lay the blame for his command's destruction at the feet of my father. He will tell the Dragon that we arrived too late, or that we refused to attack or that his people died trying to save us from the Kell Hounds. No matter how feeble the fiction he creates, it will save him.

"It will save him because Takashi Kurita will believe anything. The Dragon is old and worried. His personal vendetta against Jaime Wolf prompted him to order all mercenaries to be killed on sight. As a pretext for this order, he reminds us that mercenaries fight for money and, therefore, have no honor. They cannot be true warriors because of this character flaw, and we should find them an affront to our sensibilities."

Akira looked over at Morgan Kell. "There is your honorless mercenary. My father slew Patrick Kell on Styx, but Morgan did not hate him for it. On Terra last year, Morgan Kell and Jaime Wolf, both gold-grubbing thugs in the eyes of the Dragon, joined with and helped my father win through a very dangerous situation—saving my life and probably his in the bargain. And then here, after a day's worth of battle in this desert, Morgan Kell honored my father's desire for a duel, yet refused to shame my father in it."

Akira raised his head high. "I find more honor in one mercenary colonel than I do in the Coordinator of the Draconis Combine. For this reason, I resign my position within the Genyoshaand, if Morgan Kell will have me, I bind my personal honor to that of the Kell Hounds."

Chu-saNarimasa Asano stood at his place on the platform's eastern edge. He bowed respectfully to Akira, then turned to face the Genyosha."I have listened to Akira Brahe's words, and I find much truth in them. Yorinaga Kurita was the Finest and most competent leader I have ever served within the Combine. The indignities heaped upon him, and upon the Genyosha,serve only to shame the Coordinator."

Asano glanced over at Morgan Kell. "This being said, and without any intention of dishonoring Colonel Kell or his valiant warriors, I cannot pledge allegiance to a mercenary company. I am certain the Coordinator's madness will pass, one way or another. The true Dragon, the Combine itself, will endure. Of the leaders in the Combine now, only one showed Yorinaga respect, and only that one leader treated the Genyoshalike the elite organization it is."

The elder Combine Mech Warrior looked out over his troops. "I bear no ill will to those among you who share Akira Brahe's feelings. If you wish to follow him to the Kell Hounds, or strike out on your own, you have my respect for your decision. I, however, am renouncing my service to Takashi Kurita and pledging myself to his heir, Theodore. The Kurita Prince is a warrior I can follow, and his destiny is one I wish to empower."

Perhaps a dozen GenyoshaMechWarriors—most of them appearing to be from Rasalhague District—walked toward the platform. One by one, they executed two deep bows of respect, the first to Chu-saAsano and the second—held a second or two longer than the First—to the bloodstained mat upon which Yorinaga had knelt. Then they passed to where Morgan Kell stood and bowed to him. Morgan returned the bows, then welcomed each warrior with a hearty handshake.

Akira turned to face Narimasa Asano. "Thank you, Chu-sa,for your wisdom. I do not look forward to the next time the Kell Hounds meet the Genyosha."

"Nor do I." Asano smiled warmly at Akira. "You are every bit your father's son. Never forget that." He bowed deeply, then straightened and walked from the platform.

Having returned his bow, Akira likewise stepped from the stage. He bowed again toward where his father had died, then turned and walked to Morgan Kell. "I would be grateful if you. could find a place in your command for a humble MechWarrior."

Morgan offered him his hand. "Your request honors us. Welcome to the Kell Hounds."

53

New Avalon

Cruris March, Federated Suns

16 November 3029

Justin looked up from the front row of the audience in Avalon City's Notre Dame Cathedral as Prince Hanse Davion took his place at the podium. His heart pounded heavily in his chest, and Justin thought to himself that it hadn't beat this hard when he used to wait for a fight on Solaris to begin. Smiling at his nervousness, he reached out with his right hand and covered Candace's left.

The Prince nodded his thanks to Cardinal Maraschal. "Thank you for that invocation, Cardinal." He faced the packed crowd in the cathedral, then adjusted the podium light to shine more directly on the text of his speech. Taking a deep breath, he began.

"The war means different things to different people. To soldiers in the front lines, war is long periods of utter boredom punctuated by moments of unrelenting terror. Machines the size of buildings stalk over the surface of a world destroying anything that opposes them. The weapons they use are hellishly powerful; the scars they leave on people, places, and things never heal.

"Those left behind at home face a different challenge. Their terror, while more subtle, is equally uncompromising. Is the next visiphone call going to tell you your husband has been killed? When you scan your electronic mail, or get a message from ComStar, will you learn that your son or daughter is being shipped home in an urn? Or worse yet, will that soldier at your doorstep tell you that your grandson is missing, but the AFFS is doing everything they can to find him?"

As the Prince's strong voice filled the church, Justin glanced over at Candace and then beyond at her brother Tormana's smiling face. We both thought he'd been killed in the first waves of the war. I've never seen Candace as happy as she was when the Prince reunited them.

Hanse Davion continued eloquently. "Despite these burdens borne by those on the front or at home, we can take comfort in one thing. At all times we know who we are and what we are a part of. We are not ashamed of letting this pride show through because it reinforces our confidence and belief in our society. It confirms the correctness of our mission and gives all of our efforts meaning. Seeing this confidence and pride reflected back from the others around us is the ultimate reward and sustains us even in the darkest times."

Hanse shifted the top sheet of his text to the bottom of the pile. "This is not true of a third class of individual working in our war effort. These people have to subsume what and who they are to fulfill their role in the war. For some, this means they must forge a whole new identity to perform their duties. For others, the job is to become more than they ever wanted to be. The stress of leading such a dual life would tear anyone apart at the best of times, but in a time of war, the pressure can be lethal."

Hanse looked up at his audience. "This evening, we are gathered here to honor four individuals whose singular and collective contributions to the war defy quantification, but cannot be overstated. The first of these individuals is Alex Mallory."

Far to Justin's right, Alex stood. The slender, blond man adjusted his black tuxedo jacket, then leaned occasionally on a black cane as he walked to the front of the cathedral's altar. Unable to genuflect, he crossed himself, and strode proudly to the Prince's side.

The Prince opened a box on the podium and drew from it a black medal encrusted with diamonds arrayed like the sunburst of the Federated Suns. "Known as Alexi Malenkov in the Capellan Confederation, Alex Mallory became a trusted member of the Maskirovka. At great risk to himself, he managed to send enormous amounts of intelligence back to the Federated Suns. It was through his efforts that we were able to thwart Maximilian Liao's first assassination attempt on the late Colonel Pavel Ridzik. Out of gratitude, Colonel Ridzik concluded a peace with us that saved countless lives on the Tikonov front. Later, when discovered by the enemy, Alex endured torture without surrendering one piece of information about himself or his confederates."

The Prince pinned the medal to Alex's jacket pocket. "In recognition of your efforts, I award you the Diamond Sunburst for service and devotion to the Federated Suns." Hanse offered Alex his hand, and the two men shook hands warmly. Alex, smiling, withdrew to a chair back behind the Prince and sat.

Hanse Davion looked at and invited the next recipient onto the altar. When Andrew Redburn, dressed in the black and gold dress uniform that the First Kathil Uhlans had adopted, reached him, the Prince smiled broadly. "All too rare in the services, but in excellent company here tonight, is a warrior who does not ask, 'Why?' when given an order. This man, Major Andrew Redburn, led his troops on a half-dozen of the most dangerous missions this conflict has yet offered us. He never begged off an assignment. He just went out and did what had to be done. In addition, he was able to set aside his own personal feelings and hatreds to accomplish the most dangerous mission of all: the recovery of two agents—one of whom was Mr. Mallory—from the capital of the Capellan Confederation."

The Prince opened another slim medal-case on the podium. The light glinted sharply from the gold sunburst disk, that formed the back of the medal. Superimposed over it was a platinum sword driven into an anvil. The Prince pinned it high on the black breast of the Uhlan uniform, right beside the Golden Sunburst Andrew had won two years before.

"For your service to the Federated Suns, I am proud to award you our highest medal: the Medal Excalibur. From this time forward, you will be known as a Knight of the Realm, and you will be granted a parcel of land on your homeworld of Firgrove."

Andrew, beaming broadly, shook the Prince's hand, then retreated to stand beside Alex.

The Prince let a smile light his face. "The third individual I would honor here tonight has requested, repeatedly, that I should not reward him. Though I appreciate and respect his request, I cannot grant it. To do so would be to deny him the long overdue praise and thanks for invaluable services he has performed."

Hanse looked down into the front row. "Morgan Hasek-Davion, please come forward."

Tall and strong, Morgan unfolded himself from the front pew. His red hair rode down over the shoulders of his Uhlan dress jacket, almost totally obscuring the golden epaulets. He glanced back once at Kym Sorenson, then mounted the steps to the altar. He genuflected crisply, then joined his uncle beside the podium.

Hanse looked from his nephew to the audience. "When we learned of a planned Liao strike at Kathil, a strike that would have crippled our JumpShip repair and construction capability for years, I needed a commander I could trust to stop the assault. I only had a handful of veteran troops to give him, and very little time for him to organize a defense. Morgan willingly accepted this assignment, and in the course of a week, managed to do just what had been asked of him."

Hanse glanced over at Morgan, then shook his head slowly. "And then, so he could get to Sian quickly and rescue the agent who had communicated news of the assault to us, he put himself at great risk. Using captured Liao DropShips, he convinced a succession of JumpShip captains that his force was the remnant of the Kathil strike force, and that they were returning with Morgan Hasek-Davion as a captive! Unmindful of his personal jeopardy, he led his people into the capital of the Capellan Confederation and made sure that everyone, including our agents, were on board his DropShip and accounted for before he left the field of combat."

Hanse slipped an envelope from his dress jacket. "Moreover, Morgan endured untold frustration before he was given the assignment on Kathil. Because of his position as my heir, I refused his repeated requests for combat duty." The Prince smiled broadly. "And, in fact, had he let meknow about his plot for reaching Sian quickly, I probably would have denied him that as well."

Hanse handed Morgan the envelope, and with a nod of head, bade him open it. "As you would refuse any reward I would offer you—though you willbe inducted into the Order of Davion at the end of the year—I give you this."

Morgan tore open the envelope and unfolded the yellow half-sheet. His green eyes scanned the message printed on it quickly. His smile grew as he read it through again and then threw back his head in a deep, hearty laugh. He grasped his uncle by both shoulders. "Is it true? Really, Hanse?"

The Prince nodded his head, then enfolded Morgan in a hug. They separated, and Morgan threw him a salute that the Prince answered sharply. A broad grin on his face, Hanse turned to the crowd while Morgan took his place with the other two award recipients. "That envelope contained a message communicated to me through the Lyran ambassador. It seems that during her covert visit here last June and July, my wife managed to conceive a child."

Thunderous applause erupted spontaneously from the crowd. Justin felt his heart leap. Hanse will have an heir!He glanced back over his shoulder at where his father sat and threw him a wink. Quintus Allard acknowledged it with a nod and a pleased smile.

'The Prince waited for the applause to begin to die, then raised his right hand to put it to rest. "As joyous news as that is, and as much as I dearly look forward to welcoming another Davion into the Successor States, I have one more person I wish to acknowledge here tonight. In a way, this is a birth of sorts, or a rebirth, and could only be described as the product of a fiercely difficult labor."

Hanse Davion swallowed hard. "Over four years ago, we began an effort to groom an agent we could use to leak information, believable information, to Liao forces. His work, which was slow and meticulous, had begun to pay off. He had established a series of contacts with Liao agents on Kittery and appeared to the enemy to be a potential defector. Unfortunately, three years ago, he suffered a maiming injury in a Liao ambush, and investigators looking into the incident unraveled the network of contacts he had created."

The Prince looked out at Quintus Allard. "At that time, only the agent, the Minister of Intelligence, Information, and Operations, and I knew of the preparations that had been made. Because information about our agent's treasonous activities had already begun to leak out, we were faced with a choice between abandoning the operation, or using this hostile information to make him even more attractive to the Capellan Confederation."

The Prince motioned to Justin. "Please, come up here."

Murmurs swept back through the crowd as Justin stood. He looked out at the people arrayed behind him and felt their confusion. The last they knew, I was someone to be reviled. I was the half-breed who reverted to his baser nature. I was safe to hate, yet now I am honored.He smiled weakly while making his way to the altar. I don't doubt it confuses them... It confuses me.He genuflected, then crossed to where the Prince waited.

"Justin Allard himself made the decision to continue with the operation. He knew, because of the evidence against him and how we would be forced to arrange things, that he would be degraded, ridiculed, and hated. He knew that, because only his father and I were privy to the truth, he could expect no help from anyone he had called friend in the past. He knew, because we had given him the identities of various agents in the places we expected him to end up, that he would have to destroy himself if captured. He knew, if he died at any point in the operation, his name would never be cleared and he would join the ranks of Judas and Stefan the Usurper in the annals of history's great betrayors."