“An excellent cover identity,” he said to the concierge of the Hotel Duquesne. “And well placed for watching everybody of importance, thanks to The Republic’s generous policy of housing so many of its people in your fine establishment.”
Emil seated himself, smiling all the while under his waxed mustache. “You’ve put me to a great deal of extra work over the years, Paladin Levin, with your insistence on staying at the Pension Flambard. I can assure you that Madame Flambard is, indeed, as incorruptible a guardian of her guests’ personal privacy as you have always believed. The woman is a veritable dragon, and I’d give a great deal to have her working for me.”
“Yes. Well. The Exarch—”
“The current Exarch,” corrected Emil gently.
“The current Exarch says that you’ve prepared a summary for me of the overall intelligence situation in the aftermath of the election.”
“Yes,” said Emil. He took out a datacube and set it on Redburn’s desk. “This cube contains copies of the Exarch’s eyes-only intelligence files. You’ll probably want to familiarize yourself with them before your inauguration.”
“Of course,” Jonah said.
“In addition, I have a couple of quick verbal updates. First, as regards the Steiner-Davion investigation, and based mostly on material taken from your own closing report to the Exarch, Senator Geoffrey Mallowes and Henrik Morten have been charged in a thirty-seven-count indictment.”
“Only thirty-seven?”
“For the moment, yes. Also, your contract employee Burton Horn has been reimbursed for his expenses. And he has been cleared, by virtue of his exercise of your authority, of any charges anyone might consider bringing against him related to this matter.”
“And the rest of the Senate?”
“Will not be cleaned up in a day. Lina Derius looks to be the most likely to fall next, but even that’s no sure thing.” Emil looked steadily at Jonah. “Devlin Stone established the Senate to serve as a valuable aide to the Exarch. As of this moment, and probably for most of your term, the Senate is going to be your enemy. They see the way things are going, and they want to hold on to power. Many of them see themselves as nobility first and Senators second, particularly since the HPG blackout. While there are many Senators who are loyal to the Exarch’s office and who continue to support The Republic, a significant number have begun to show a tendency to fall back into the old ways, in which nobility automatically equates to rulership.”
“Won’t make my job easier.”
“I’d say not.”
“Can I arrest them all?” Jonah said, and he wasn’t entirely sure he was joking.
“Eventually, maybe,” Emil said with a ghost of a smile.
Jonah shook his head. “The whole idea of Paladins and Senators working together—the nobles and the military, all cooperating for the good of the people—that was one of Stone’s best moments. That goal was supposed to keep all of us thinking of things larger than ourselves.”
“That’s difficult for many people. Especially nobles.”
Jonah almost laughed. “I wish we could just blame the nobles. But it’s clear that The Republic’s problems run deeper than that.”
Jonah sighed. “All right,” he said, refocusing on the tasks at hand. “What about the Kittery Renaissance?”
“Clandestine, insurgent organizations are designed to keep information concealed. Cullen Roi, the man Paladin GioAvanti captured, is quite gifted at staying silent. We’re fairly certain he was one of the top three people in the organization, but he’s not helping us confirm anything. We’re certain we didn’t get everyone. The woman Paladin GioAvanti calls Norah is still at large, for one, and there’s likely several more out there.”
“Do we have any idea why they were staging these riots?”
“As a matter of fact, we do. We made another important arrest on the day of the election—a Senate page who was on KR’s payroll. He was caught trying to get into the Chamber of Paladins during the election.”
“Let me guess—with a bomb?”
“No, with an urgent summons from the Senate. The message reported out-of-control rioting in the streets, and demanded that Paladin David McKinnon be dispatched to quell the troubles.”
“Out-of-control rioting?” Jonah asked with a smile.
“They overestimated how effective they’d be.”
“Why McKinnon? Did they want to draw him out into a fight? Kill him?”
“Draw him into a fight, yes,” Emil replied. “Kill him, maybe not. He’s hardly the number-one enemy to the KR’s cause. No, our theory is that they wanted McKinnon to put down the rioting. They’d present token resistance, then back down. McKinnon would return to the chambers as a hero and be swept into power.”
“He would? Are we Paladins really that easily manipulated?”
Emil chose his words carefully. “Don’t underestimate the emotional effects of a military victory on a crowd, even a veteran crowd like the Paladins. Remember the applause for Paladin GioAvanti when she returned. Had she chosen, she might have used her speech to build support for herself, and could well be Exarch-elect right now.”
It’s true, Jonah thought. I was ready to vote for her—again.
“She chose to use her speech for your benefit,” Emil said, then corrected himself. “Well, not directly, but that was the effect. She described a person that everyone recognized as you. But the point is, had McKinnon returned and reported victory, it would have been him, not GioAvanti, receiving the accolades. He could have—he would have—easily turned that into victory.”
“Do you think McKinnon knew about this? Was he in league with KR?” Jonah asked, thinking uncomfortably about the anonymous messages he had received during the election.
“I doubt it. It’s not his style. I think KR thought McKinnon was electable, unlike Sorenson, and he’d create the right environment for them. He’s not as extreme as they are, but they considered him a step in the right direction. They also knew how trusted McKinnon was throughout The Republic, and thought he’d be perhaps the best emissary possible for spreading Founder’s Movement sympathies, even if it was in what they considered a diluted fashion.”
“You know, we almost elected him without the KR’s help.”
“I know. He’s a good man. He’s just…” Emil paused. “He’s a man whose beliefs could, at this time, be used for the wrong ends.”
“And mine can’t?”
“I suppose, to some degree, anyone’s can. But I agree with the sentiment expressed by Paladin GioAvanti—at this time, you are the type of man The Republic needs.”
“That’s what everyone keeps telling me,” Jonah said.
Silently, he considered his position. The new unit he had been assigned to lead was much larger than his last one—two hundred and fifty planets strong. Sure, he faced a more powerful enemy this time, but there was no question that he and his troops would hold the line for Devlin Stone’s dream.
About the Author
Jason M. Hardy has been festering under the surface of the gaming and writing world for a few years, like a sneaky alligator, or possibly like gangrene. He has contributed to a number of role-playing sourcebooks and written one of his own, The Labyrinth of Oversoul. He also wrote two novels set in the Crimson Skies ™ universe, but they are available only in European editions. The Scorpion Jar is his first novel to be published in English.
He lives in Chicago with his wife and son.