“I wish I shared your optimism,” Kurt said. “The evidence could also make it suggest the regulations were bent for us. That would also be a political headache.”
He sighed. The British Aristocracy had learned, the hard way, just how dangerous favouritism — or even the appearance of favouritism — could be. Kurt and Rose might not be aristocrats, but they were heroes — and the appearance of letting them off lightly because of their heroism could cause the government a whole series of problems. It was a toss-up if the government would let them resign gracefully, throw them out on their ears or send them to a work crew in the worst-hit parts of the country.
“Let’s go through this,” Rose said. “Someone is trying to blackmail you. What do they want?”
She went on before he could say a word. “They don’t want money,” she continued, “or they would have demanded it before you left Earth.”
“I don’t have much,” Kurt said. “And money is practically worthless right now.”
“So whatever they want,” Rose said, “is more likely to be a major headache. Did they give you any specific orders?”
“Merely that I would receive a message,” Kurt said. “And that when I received the message, I was to go to the observation blister and… see who met me there.”
“That means they have someone on the ship,” Rose said, slowly. “Did they realise we were fucking during Operation Nelson — or earlier?”
“Or the newcomer is part of the ambassadorial party,” Kurt said. It hadn’t occurred to him that someone on Ark Royal had betrayed them. It should have, he knew. Someone had ratted out Prince Henry and Janelle Lopez, after all. “And whoever it is has a great deal of access in places that are meant to be secure.”
Rose sat down next to him. “So we have… three options,” she said, after a moment. “They’re reporters, they’re someone involved with the government or they’re interstellar spies.”
She frowned. “Reporters aren’t big on delayed gratification,” she added. “And besides, blackmail could open them up to all manner of interesting criminal charges. You and they might end up sharing the same cell. That leaves a government conspiracy or international spies. I’d lean towards the latter.”
“But if they were in the government,” Kurt objected, “they could make sure we were both jailed…”
“They also wouldn’t need to resort to blackmail to force you to do what they wanted,” Rose countered. “If they’re the government, why bother with blackmail when they could just issue orders? You’re not the Admiral. I don’t think they’d need something out of a Z-List Evil Government Conspiracy Theory Movie to get you to do whatever they wanted.”
She paused. “And that suggests international involvement. But for what?”
“They knew I was going to Luna City,” Kurt said. “How would they know that without having access to the naval datanet?”
“There’s no shortage of international officers at the Academy,” Rose reminded him. “And where else could you go for a short leave?”
Kurt frowned. She was right. There had been no shuttles to Earth, Sin City was closed and anywhere else would have consumed half of his leave time just getting there and back. Luna City was the only logical destination. And, given access to the city’s public access datanet, the blackmailers could probably have tracked him right up to the moment he entered the cafe and sat down. Fred might even have been hard on his heels.
“And there was a possibility you’d be summoned elsewhere too,” Rose added. “Weren’t you on the list of people to attend a conference on countering alien starfighter tactics.”
“I was uninvited,” Kurt said. “Too much work to do here.”
Rose wrapped her arm around his shoulder. “You have to go to the Admiral,” she said. “We have to go to the Admiral.”
Kurt stared at her. “But…”
“This is an international spy mission being carried out under his nose,” Rose said, flatly. “If you keep quiet about it, you’ll probably wind up carrying the blame for the whole affair — assuming, of course, that we survive. And if that happens, you and I will be lucky not to be put up against a bulkhead and shot. But if we help the Admiral catch the spies, we will be able to request a honourable discharge as a reward.”
“Your career will be destroyed,” Kurt said. He cursed himself under his breath. “Rose…”
“Shut up,” Rose said. “I’m a big girl. I made the decision to fuck you because I believed we would die soon and I didn’t want to die without feeling some human contact. If we’d stopped it then, it would probably have been fine. You could have gone back to your wife and I could have found someone nearer my own age. Instead… we developed feelings for each other.”
She poked him with her finger, making him wince. “You’re not a rapist,” she said, “and I am not a helpless victim. We got ourselves into this mess and we’re damn well going to do whatever it takes to get out of it with our skins and reputations intact. And if that means baring everything for the Admiral… well, we can do it. We don’t have a choice.”
Kurt shook his head, slowly. She was right, he knew, and if it had been just him at risk, he would have done so without a second thought. But his children were also at risk.
“And what will happen to them,” Rose asked when he said that out loud, “if they discover their father is branded a traitor? Because that’s what will happen if you surrender to blackmail and do as they tell you.”
She stood up, then pulled him to his feet. “Kurt, I know how you feel,” she said. “But you can’t let fear blind you, even if it’s for your children.”
Kurt sighed and leaned into her embrace. “How can you be so cold about this?”
“One of us has to be,” Rose said. She sighed. “You’re the one who taught me to consider a situation and evaluate it thoroughly if there’s no need to act immediately. And this situation needs to be considered carefully. They think they have you by the balls — and they’re right. That’s what’s stopping you from thinking properly.”
She gently pushed him away from her, then straightened. “Get yourself cleaned up in the head,” she ordered. “And then we will go see the Admiral.”
Kurt nodded, cursing himself once again. Perhaps they could have escaped notice completely if they’d broken off the affair after their first return to Earth. He was fairly sure there were at least three other couples who’d had an affair, then been separated by being assigned to different ships. But he had been stupid. No matter the problem with Molly, no matter the growing awareness that he and his wife were slipping and sliding towards divorce, he could have prevented himself from having an affair with a subordinate. There was always Sin City and its endless chains of brothels.
He stepped into the washroom and studied himself in the mirror. His face looked pale and wan, reminding him that he’d slept poorly for the last few days. He turned on the tap, poured water into the bowl, then washed his face thoroughly. It didn’t make him feel any better. His life was about to change, which was bad enough, but he’d also damaged his children’s lives…
“Come on,” Rose ordered. She looked presentable, surprisingly so. “There isn’t time for you to do your makeup.”
“Oh, be quiet,” Kurt grumbled. “Rose…”
Rose stopped and looked at him. “Yes?”
“I’m sorry,” Kurt said. “I…”
“I think we have already established it wasn’t entirely your fault,” Rose snapped. “It was me who made the first move, not you. Yes, you fucked up; I fucked up too. And now all we can do is make a full confession and take the consequences.”