“No. God in the generader. We can have elecdric lighds and steam heed.”
A week later, with Vienna mostly recovered, the new order for construction on Liechtenstein Tower was given. They would focus on getting a temporary roof over the central mezzanine and stringing lights. The next priority was the pipes to take the steam to the first two floors.
The emperor was pleased with the arrangement, and wanted to see the tower in operation, even if only limited. After all, once it was finished, the Liechtenstein Tower was to become the Imperial Tower. Part of the deal that left the honking huge bank accounts in the Barbies’ names in the imperial bank was that Liechtenstein Tower was to be completed by the Barbies and then transferred to the emperor.
Tavern in Vienna
Gundaker and Adorjan Farkas were in the same chairs as before. The Hungarian mercenary wasn’t happy.
“You agreed to pay my people.” His face was flushed, bringing his scar into sharp contrast.
“That was when they were going to be doing the job,” Gundaker hissed. “I don’t pay for what I’m not buying.”
“You’re the one changing plans, not us.”
“Circumstances have changed.”
“What circumstances?”
“None of your business,” Gundaker said. “I’ve paid you and your people for your efforts up to now. I don’t owe you any more money, nor any explanation.”
There was an expression on Farkas’ face and Gundaker waited for the threat. But the threat didn’t come, and after a minute Gundaker nodded sharply. So Farkas knew enough to realize that a man of his station didn’t threaten a man of Gundaker’s, ever, under any circumstances. He gave one more sharp nod, got up and left.
If he had thought it through, he still wouldn’t have realized that Farkas was a man unimpressed with rank and as willing to kill a king as anyone else. Gundaker didn’t think that way. And the Barbies weren’t real nobility, so didn’t count. He didn’t see the expression on Farkas’ face as he left. Besides, Gundaker had his mind on other things. He needed to figure out where to get several hundred pounds of gunpowder, and a good excuse for not attending his nephew’s wedding.
With hatred in his heart, Adorjan Farkas watched the man go. He had been used by nobles to do their dirty work from the time he was a boy. He hated them all with a kind of cold passion that made people like Melissa Mailey seem models of conciliation. But he was a practical man, who believed in very little. Certainly not the twaddle of wild-eyed idiots like the Committees of Correspondence. He drank his beer and tried to figure away to get some of his own back from Gundaker von Liechtenstein. Then he got up and went to give the bad news to the boys. They had been following the Barbies around for weeks now, learning their patterns. Maybe something could be done with that.
“No, Captain. They are too well guarded. And they are armed. All of them. You know the shooting range at Race Track City? I have seen them all shooting. Mostly they are not that good. Not bad, but not really skilled. However, they all carry guns. Every one of them. And all the guns are the up-time style that shoot several shots. I wouldn’t want to try for them without a dozen men. Even then, we would likely just end up with a body, not a hostage.”
It wasn’t news. That was consistent with all the reports. Even the one who wanted to be a doctor carried a gun and trained with it at least once a week. And they were all accompanied by guards everywhere they went. It was hard enough to get close enough just to watch them.
“Fine then. But keep watching them. We may get lucky and I want Fredrich on His Serene Highness Gundaker von Liechtenstein.”
“Good enough, Captain. But remember, we aren’t getting paid. If we don’t get lucky soon, we’re going to run out of money.”
“I know,” Adorjan agreed with his long-time friend. “I know.”
Word rapidly spread through the men of Adorjan’s company, and disappointment bred sloppiness, as it so often does.
Water Park, Race Track City
“I like ice skating,” Her Serene Highness Trudi von Bachmerin said, as she leaned back into Jack Pfeifer’s embrace. Jack liked ice skating too, especially if it caused Trudi to lean into him like this. He just wasn’t sure what to do next. Everything had been going along swimmingly, till the emperor had gone and made Trudi an imperial princess. His parents had approved of the match. She was wealthy, and the daughter of an imperial knight was a step up for the family, but not an unreasonable step. A serene highness was a completely different matter.
“Trudi, ah, Your Ser-”
“I’m still Trudi, Jack. And I’ll always be Trudi. To you, at any rate.”
“But you-”
“Yes, I know. But I spent the last several years in Grantville. The difference in our rank doesn’t really bother me. The bigger issue is the difference in our bank accounts. How are you going to deal with that?”
“What do you mean?”
“I am probably the poorest of the Barbies. I had the least to invest from the beginning, and haven’t been able to afford to get in on all the deals. But BarbieCo was sort of my idea, so I got a bigger share than the money I had would have justified. When the empire bought BarbieCo. . what it amounts to is, I’m now as rich as Judy Wendell was before the BarbieCo deal. How are you going to deal with that?”
Jack just looked blank.
“I mean, how are you going to deal with me being richer than you?”
“It doesn’t bother me.”
“Really? Vienna doesn’t need seven imperial banks. Susan is probably going to be staying in Vienna with Moses. So that means if I’m going to set up a bank, I’m going to have to do it somewhere else. Maybe back in Grantville, maybe Magdeburg, Venice, or Amsterdam I’m not sure where yet, but not Vienna. That would mean you’d have to move. How would you feel following me around?”
That was something Jack hadn’t thought about. He looked around, and as he did he saw a man and something about the man caught his attention. He’d seen him before recently. “I wouldn’t mind. I know a law professor who would be better qualified to manage the legal requirements of SFIC and the new principality than I am. You’d give me a job, wouldn’t you?” He asked trying to sound winsome. “After I finished my law studies?”
They turned and headed for the open-air refreshment area at the side of the skating rink. As they did, Jack saw that same man again. He shifted Trudi in his arms, and the man turned away. When he turned, Jack saw a patch on the back right shoulder of his cloak. That was it. He had seen the man earlier that morning across the street from the Fortney house. For that matter, he had seen him before that, but he wasn’t sure where.
It wasn’t that patched cloaks were unusual. Patches were the rule, not the exception, all over Europe. This one was a faded red, and Jack remembered it. He seated Trudi and kissed her gloved hand. “I’ll be back in a minute, okay?” She nodded and he walked over to Felix, one of the guardsmen, and quietly pointed the man out. “Let me know what you find out, Felix? Something about him bothers me.”
“He’s a mercenary, Herr Pfeifer,” Felix said. “I know the look.”
“But who’s he working for and what’s his interest in Princess Trudi?”
“I’ll find out,” the guardsman told him. Then Jack went back to Trudi.
“What was that about?” Trudi asked.
“Maybe nothing.” Jack said. “I saw a man that I recognized. He’s been hanging around and I don’t know why. Likely he has a perfectly legitimate reason and it’s all just a coincidence.”