'Allow me to point out that your respective spouses are very keen that you should cooperate,' said Toby. 'Trust me, just lie back and relax, and it'll be over before you know it.'
'Get out,' said Lily.
'Honestly,' said Toby, smiling till his cheeks ached, 'you'll enjoy it, once we get started. Haven't you ever wanted to have your face on the holoscreen, broadcast across the entire Empire, in front of a guaranteed audience of practically everyone with a set? The stardrive ceremony is big news. There's bound to be a massive audience. Your names could be on everybody's lips.' He looked hopefully at Lily and Michel, and then sighed and shrugged. 'I know; get out. Come on, Flynn. We'll try again some other time when they're not feeling so aristocratic.'
He bowed briefly to Lily and Michel and left, followed by Flynn, who didn't bow to anyone. Michel relaxed a little as the door closed behind them. Lily scowled.
'Impertinent little creep. Speaking to us like that. I can just imagine the sort of questions he had in mind. Publicity like that we don't need. Not with what I've got planned.'
'Well, what precisely have you got planned?' said Michel impatiently. 'And who the hell are these friends of yours? Why haven't you mentioned them before? Have you told them about us?'
'I didn't have to,' said Lily. 'They already knew. That's why they came to me.'
'Who the hell are
'Clan Chojiro. I've been one of their agents for ages now. They respect my witchy nature, and they pay very well. They had a great many agents in place here already, but through me they now have access to all kinds of levels they couldn't even touch before. They're quite willing to see we get everything we want, as long as they get what they want. They even have agents among the local rebels, feeding them information. Honestly, things couldn't be working out better for us. Could they?'
'I don't know,' said Michel. 'Conspiring with Clan Chojiro is like shark fishing and using yourself as bait. I need time to think about this.'
'Well, think quickly. Someone will be coming here to talk to us any minute. Our plans can begin anytime now. The last piece of the puzzle has just arrived.'
'I hate it when you go all allusive. I assume we're talking about a double agent. What makes him so special?'
'He's a Jesuit commando,' said a calm voice behind them. 'Which means he has access to all the security systems in and around the factory complex.'
Michel spun around, fists clenched at being caught unawares, and then he quickly unclenched them as he remembered who he was facing. The Jesuits were the enforcers of the Church of Christ the Warrior and were said to be the best fighters you could find outside the Investigators or the Arena. This particular Jesuit was wearing purple and white battle armor and a sardonic smile. He was tall, dark, and not particularly memorable. He didn't look especially tough, either, but Michel had absolutely no intention of testing him. Or even upsetting him. Michel's muscles were strictly for show.
'So glad you could come and see us,' Lily said graciously to the Jesuit. 'I take it everything is going as planned?'
'So far,' said the Jesuit. 'I am Father Brendan, Michel. You may have complete confidence in me. In this room, for example, the security systems are currently running on a closed loop, so we can talk for as long as we need without fear of being overheard. Now, I'm sure you have questions. Ask away.'
'All right,' said Michel. 'Let's start with why we should trust anyone from the Church. Last I heard, they were still advocating the return of the death penalty for adulterers. This could all be a setup by Kassar. He'd love to have something he could use to bring down the Wolfes.'
'The Cardinal knows nothing about this,' said Brendan, or we'd all be dead by now. As to why I've chosen to work with Clan Chojiro, it's really very simple. Before I joined the Church, I was originally Clan Silvestri.'
'What the hell do Chojiro and Silvestri have in common?'
The Jesuit smiled. 'Blue Block.'
Michel realized his mouth was hanging open and closed it with a snap. Blue Block. The extremely secret, half-mythical school where younger members of the Families were trained and conditioned almost from birth to be utterly loyal to the Clans, to death and beyond. The Families' secret weapon.
'But…' Michel struggled for words. 'Why is Blue Block being used against the Wolfes, one of their own?'
Brendan smiled. 'The Wolfes in general—and Valentine in particular—are becoming too powerful. He's tipping the balance. We feel it would be best for all if Valentine could be made to stand down, and others more willing to share the profits of stardrive production took over.'
'Which is where we come in,' said Lily. 'Daniel and Stephanie will fall easily without Valentine to protect and support them, Constance will be quietly sidelined, and we will take over the Family. Clan Chojiro will support us now in return for future generosity on our part.'
'Quite,' said Brendan. 'You don't have to do anything much to begin with. We'll supply explosives and provide exact locations where they'll do the most damage. All you have to do is place them in those areas of the complex that only you have access to. It won't be a particularly big explosion. Just enough to throw production into chaos and make Clan Wolfe look incompetent.'
'So no one has to get killed?' Michel said quickly.
'Only as a last resort,' said Brendan. 'We prefer to avoid actual bloodshed. It's so… obvious. Trust me, Michel, we'll try everything else first.'
Michel nodded reluctantly. 'All right. When does the balloon go up?'
'At the ceremony,' said the Jesuit. 'Live, on holoscreens all over the Empire. It'll be a ratings smash.'
'You see, lover,' said Lily to Michel, slipping an arm through his. 'Even that little toad of a reporter will end up helping us. Everything is planned, down to the last detail. Nothing can go wrong.'
Toby Shreck hurried down the narrow corridor, glanced at the watch face set into his wrist, and swore quietly. This was officially sleep time in the factory complex's living quarters, and after the day he'd been through he felt he could sleep for a week. In the hours since his unsuccessful little chat with Lily and Michel Wolfe, he'd been running himself ragged trying to set up all the interviews and factory footage he could.
No one was cooperating except under the direst of threats, and trying to make this factory look good was a task that even an experienced PR flack like himself would have blanched at. Personally speaking, Toby felt he'd seen sexier-looking abattoirs. But none of that mattered now. He had a chance at a once-in-a-lifetime interview, and he was damned if he was going to lose it now, just because it was an hour when all civilized men had their heads down and were dreaming furiously. Everyone else could give him cold shoulders till their joints froze up; this one interview would make his reputation.
He tried to hurry himself a little faster, but he was already out of breath. Too much weight. Too many good lunches at PR events and launches. As a result, he was built for comfort rather than speed. All right, he was fat. For once, it didn't matter. No one would be looking at him in this interview. He forced himself on, puffing hard. Trust Flynn to have his quarters halfway across the complex. Actually, that wasn't really fair. Toby had quarters in the better area because he was, after all, an aristocrat, and Flynn very definitely wasn't. Toby sniffed. He didn't feel like being fair. He finally stumbled to a halt before the right door, leaned on it a moment while he got his breath back, and then hammered on the door with his fist.
'Go away,' said Flynn's calm voice. 'I am resting. If you're factory personnel, go to hell. If you're Toby the Troubador, go to hell by the express route. If you're a Wolfe, this is a recording. If you're a potential lover, leave your name and location on my computer file. Full image, please. Clothes optional.'
'Open up, damn it,' said Toby. 'You wouldn't believe who's agreed to talk to us.'
'Tell them to take two aspirin, and I'll see them in the morning. I am off duty, and I don't have to talk to anyone I don't want to. If you don't like it, take it up with my Union.'
'Flynn! It's Mother Superior Beatrice of the Sisters of Mercy!'
There was a pause, and then the door lock snapped off. 'Very well. Come in. But on your own head be it.'
Toby growled something uncomplimentary and very basic, kicked the door open, and stormed in. He managed about six steps before he came to a dead stop. The door closed behind him and the lock clicked shut again, but he didn't notice. Someone could have slipped a live grenade into his underwear and he wouldn't have noticed. The cameraman's quarters weren't much, being basically cramped and functional, but a few feminine touches had helped to brighten the place up. And the most feminine thing in the room was Flynn, reclining on his bed in a long
