Three-quarters of an hour sauntered past until an orderly waved me through the public area and into the hallway beyond. Inside I waited silently while a pair of guards removed my dagger and gave me a thorough once over. They’d upped security since yesterday, or else they just wanted to fuck with me. Afterward one of them escorted me to Pretories, knocking on the door and waiting for an affirmation before allowing me entry.
Joachim sat behind his desk, a thick bundle of papers evenly separated in front of him. ‘I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, Lieutenant,’ he said. ‘As you can see, we’ve got a lot going on at the moment.’ He pointed at the seat across from him, but I remained standing.
‘Rhaine’s dead.’ I kept my voice flat, and low. It could have been accusing, or despondent.
‘What?’
‘Rhaine Montgomery is a corpse in the Low Town muck.’
Pretories gave a credible impression of being shocked: he slumped back into his chair, squeezed his forehead with one hand, and allowed an appropriate interval to pass without speaking. ‘You’re certain?’
‘I saw her body.’
‘By the Firstborn,’ he said. ‘I’ve failed him again.’
I took the seat he’d offered. ‘I think we both know where the blame lies, Commander.’
If you were watching close enough, you could have seen a break in the facade, an angry crack in his false surface of regret. But then in fairness, I knew what I was looking for.
‘Sons of bitches at Black House,’ I spat out this last with sudden and honest venom, the first display of emotion I’d allowed myself. ‘How long are we gonna let them do it? Roland wasn’t enough – they had to send someone after his little sister too?’ I slammed my fist down on Pretories’ table, sending sheets of paper floating to the ground.
‘Black House,’ Pretories agreed after a moment. ‘Sons of bitches.’
‘It wasn’t your fault, Commander,’ I said, adopting his mournful pose. ‘It was mine. I was too slow in getting to her, and too slow in coming to you.’
‘As you said, Lieutenant. We both know where the blame lies.’
‘I’ve been no friend to the Association these last years, I know that, and I’m sorry. I was . . . I was afraid,’ I said slowly, drawing it out. ‘I have people to protect. You know I used to wear the gray. I’m in their books, a loose end they’d be happy to tie shut. I’ve got to be careful – I can’t stretch my neck out.’
‘And now?’
‘Seeing Rhaine’s body . . .’ I shook my head bitterly. ‘Same as her brother. Twelve years and nothing’s changed – we’re still nothing to them. They take everything we got and step on us if we make a noise. Someone needs to answer for her, for her and for Roland.’ Strictly speaking, that last wasn’t even a lie. ‘I’m with you from now on, wherever it takes me.’
I wasn’t sure how far Pretories was swallowing my sudden shift in allegiance. It didn’t exactly fit with my reputation as a man whose sole concern was his own back. But of course, the less he trusted me the wiser he would be to fake it. Better to have me close, where he could keep an eye on me. ‘With the Throne threatening our future, we need the support of every veteran we can muster. The march isn’t for a couple of days, but of course there are ways to get involved before then. Check with one of the men at the front desk, they’ll direct you as needed.’
That was the end of the conversation, but I stayed where I was.
After a moment, Joachim clarified his dismissal. ‘If there’s nothing else then, Lieutenant . . .’
‘I’m afraid there is something else, Commander.’ I swallowed hard and looked at my lap. If I had a cap I’d have taken it off my head and worried it between my hands. As it was I just tried to give that impression. ‘There’s something I should have told you the last time I was here. I should have told you, and I didn’t, and I’m sorry.’
‘Go on.’
‘I’ve had to do things I’m not proud of since I left the service. I don’t suppose that’s a surprise for you to hear.’
‘I’m aware of how you make your living, Lieutenant. And not in any position to judge.’
No, you bloody well aren’t. ‘But doing what I do, it means I hear things that not everyone else does. The word on the street is that the syndicates aren’t happy with some of your recent developments. This march you’ve planned, it’s got people riled. Wasn’t so long ago the veterans marching in the streets meant blood in the gutters for anyone who got in their way.’
‘We aren’t in that line anymore – the Veterans’ Association is one hundred percent legitimate, a duly registered organization advocating for the rights of its members.’
‘Would the Courtland Savages agree?’
He waved that away. ‘The Courtland Savages can do whatever the hell they want, so long as they do it in Courtland. They set up a shop around the block from us – I can’t have them selling in front of the damn headquarters. Hroudland and his boys went over to talk to one of their higher-ups – there weren’t any problems. They told me the issue was settled.’
‘That’s what they told you.’
‘Spit it out, Lieutenant. Equivocation is unbecoming in an officer.’
‘I’m not being coy with you, Commander – I don’t have anything solid. Just whispers. Of course, whispers can turn concrete when you aren’t looking.’ I leaned across the table, like I was offering a secret. ‘You know the Savages work for the Giroies.’
‘What of it?’
‘Memory serves, you and Roland put a fair number of Giroie boys in shallow graves.’
‘Roland was my brother, and the greatest man I’ve ever met.’ It rolled off his tongue smooth as chocolate. ‘But he was misguided. The Association has no business going after the syndicates, however objectionable their activities may be. Our business is our people, making sure the government doesn’t screw us any worse than it already has. Whatever . . . unpleasantness was between us and the Giroies was put aside long ago.’
‘That shot you took at them, it knocked them back from the front ranks. They’ve been scrambling for footing ever since. I imagine that might be the sort of thing they’d remember.’
‘It’s been more than ten years since we were cross. Why start making trouble now?’
‘Yeah, you’re right. They seem like a nice bunch of people. I could send word their way – maybe they could come round for coffee and cake.’
Pretories was not a man for humor. ‘I appreciate the warning,’ he said slowly, ‘and certainly hope you keep me abreast of any further developments. But beyond that . . .’ He built his hands into a pyramid, elbows leaning against the table. ‘Our organization is at the most critical point in its history since the death of Roland Montgomery. I can’t afford to expend resources in ancillary theaters.’
‘Of course. Do what you think is best.’ I propped myself out of the seat. ‘I’ll keep my ears out, let you know what I hear. And if there’s anything else, Commander, anything you need, make sure to contact me.’
He rose quickly and put one hand on my shoulder. ‘It’s good to have you back in the fold, Lieutenant. Remember: what we do, we do not just for us, but for those that have been taken – for Roland, and for Rhaine. The justice of the Firstborn is slow, but certain. Those responsible will get their due, have no fear on that.’
Something fierce brushed across my face. If Pretories had been watching me rather than pontificating, I think the game might have been up right there. ‘You’re damn right they will,’ I said.
When I left the speaker was starting up again, on the dot for his one-thirty performance. I waited around for a few minutes to see if he’d ad-lib something, but it was hot as hell, and he didn’t, and I split.
20
I’d been crapping blood for half a week when the lieutenant sent me to the wards.
This was a few months after Beneharnum, before I had met Roland, when I was still a private and had nothing more to think about than following the man in front of me. The front was still relatively fluid, the planes of Nestria not yet strangled by hundreds of lines of fortified trenches. The Dren had suffered some setbacks in the east, and were retreating a hundred-odd miles, tightening up their interior lines. We were marching forward to meet them.
It was my own fault, my own damn fault, and I’m not saying otherwise. But I’d never seen cherries before,
