“Um, okay, wow,” Ashton said, faking dumbfoundment, all the while realizing, Yeah, this is Martin. And he was never the brightest bulb in the box. Sounds like he’s teetering on the brink now. Maybe he’s already gone over the edge, by the sound. “So you’re gonna…what?”
“I gotta kill you,” Martin declared, waving the pistol at him. “It’s your fault, see. And I’m the only one left. Bill Kershaw wanted you dead, so I gotta do this. There’s nobody else left to do it. Then I can concentrate on goin’ home.”
“But why?”
“Huh? Ashton, what the hell are you talkin’ about now? I gotta do this. Just shuddup an’ lemme finish matters, so I can go home.”
“Hold on,” Ashton said, holding up his hands, deciding to run with his gut and Martin’s ramblings. “I see what the problem is, here. I think I can help you out.”
“How the hell can you help me outta this shitty situation?”
“Simple. You don’t wanna do this. I can tell. You give me the gun, it’s over. We walk away from here, and I tell nobody. I don’t arrest you, I don’t report you, I don’t put out a warrant for your arrest. You’re free and clear.”
“Huh?”
“Well, you feel obligated, right?”
“Hell, yeah…”
“And you’re angry about it. Because they set you up in a no-win situation.”
“DAMN STRAIGHT THEY DID!” Martin yelled. “That damn bastard Kershaw! Two-timin’ sumbitch! I bet he never had any intention of gettin’ me offa this damn asshole of a planet!”
“Probably not,” Ashton agreed, calm. “Stranding you here was mild, really. Hell, I saw him and his pet bulldog, Stash, kill off lots of their loyal guys, once they got ‘in the way.’ I used to work for ‘em, you know. That’s why I don’t, now. And why they wanted me dead. I just got in the way. So I got out of the way, and they still came after me.”
“Really? You…you know?”
“Sure do. Firsthand,” Ashton said, holding out his hand, palm up. “That’s why I’m offering to let you off their hook. Gimme the gun, we both walk away from here, nobody tells anybody anything, you’re free.”
“You mean that, man?”
“I sure do. Gimme the gun, I tell nobody. We both walk away free.” He waggled his fingers. “All you gotta do is give me the gun.”
Martin paused with the gun lowered, searching Ashton’s face. Finally he nodded and laid the pistol in Ashton’s open palm.
“Okay,” he said. “Here you go. It’s all over, right? It’s gonna be okay now?”
“Sure thing,” Ashton agreed, slipping the handgun into the pocket of his jacket. “I won’t tell anybody, won’t send anybody after you. You’re free.”
Ashton turned and headed out of the alley.
“HEY!” Martin yelled after him. “What about getting me home to Sintar?”
“Oh,” Ashton said, slowing as he neared the mouth of the alley, with sector headquarters in sight. “I never said anything about that. That’s up to you. And Kershaw, I guess.”
And he disappeared around the corner.
“DAMN YOU, ASHTON!” Martin yelled after him.
Coronations and Assassinations
Finally, after a considerable amount of tension, especially in Catalonia Ciudad – though, thankfully, no serious incidents – the day of the coronation arrived.
Ashton sat with a couple of other police officers, watching the coronation from their offices, on a screen showing the VR feed. They saw the coronation of Trajan, followed by the secession speech of the “new Empress of Catalonia,” then the declaration by Emperor Trajan.
“People of Catalonia.
“You have been the victims of a deception. You have been lied to by your sector governor and by her paid minions in the Catalonian press. I am not an illegal occupant of the throne of Sintar, I did not execute the Council without cause, and I am not a tyrant.
“When my sister, the Empress Ilithyia, named me her heir, it was perfectly legal, although not traditional...”
“Yeah,” Ashton told Hernandez then. “This is the Major Dunham I knew.”
“He is a strong man,” Hernandez decided. “He survived the death of his family, his wife, the destruction of his world, when the Council and the police headquarters attacked. And now he carries on his sister's wishes. Alone.”
“Yes,” Ashton agreed. “That's the man I met.”
“And this is the man that idiota wants to supplant,” Hernandez said in disgust. “Feh.”
“...And yet,” the video continued depicting Trajan’s statement to the Sector. “People of Catalonia, if this is the path you wish, and not just the ravings of a madwoman, then I must take your desires into account. But you must also know that, if Catalonia leaves the Sintaran Empire, it leaves behind the benefits of being a part of the Empire. The medicines, the technology, the rule of law, the peace of Sintar.
“To that extent, it is your decision. I will not fight against a secession that has the popular support of the people of Catalonia. I will not lay waste to a portion of the Empire I hope to rule. I will not kill the very people I hope to serve.
“The moment of your decision is upon you. As a taste of what you would be missing, though, the Empire will no longer support the VR system and QE radio network that is only a small part of the Empire’s benefits.
“I await your decision.”
Ashton laughed silently to himself; Major Dunham – now Emperor Trajan – had definitely played a trump hand on that one.
And then the VR feed onscreen went dead.
Ashton blinked in shock. Wow, he
